ABT's Sleeping Beauty- Chicago Apr 12 & 13, 2008

Ms Part & Mr Gomes (SB 2007)

So today concluded the last of 4 viewings of ABT's Sleeping Beauty. Normally, I hate to admit to enjoying foo foo, pretty ballets, where the corps does lots of pointe work wearing frilly tutus on elaborate sets. It just seems too cliche or like I'm being forced into someone's idea of a fairy tale. Wait a minute! Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale, and I'll be damned if I didn't fall for it hook, line and sinker. But I really did enjoy each "SB" performance, tutus and all.

The interesting thing about ABT's SB is that it got better and better looking the further away from the stage I sat. For today's Sunday matinee, I was sitting in the nosebleed section (6th Fl.) with my friend and (2) twelve-year-olds. We had an amazing time, and, yes, I had my binoculars. The staging for this ballet was especially pretty to see from so high up that I began to see things that I'd missed sitting on the main floor and in dress circle. There's the requisite Village dance sequence in Act I, where the dancers line up and follow each other under and through a hand-held floral lattice of sorts. Of course it was cheesy, but it still looked nice. Suffice it to say, I can be had by gloriously vivid costumes w/itty bitty wings, good choreography, fairies, fancy set decorations, nice music, and, of course, men in tights. There are pretty much 4 adjectives that describe this ballet: light, colorful, rich & sparkly.

The dancing throughout SB was nice. Sure, I have my favorites that just really stood out for one reason or another,but all of the artists were entertaining, which is what is most important. What I think really only matters to me b/c it's based on my personal needs and wants. That being said, Veronika Part was really wonderful as The Lilac Fairy. She wasn't always as light on her feet or soft in her landings as say Ms Maria Riccetto was, but Ms Part had a distinguished presence and confidence that explained everything clearly and that she would set things to right eventually. When Ms Riccetto danced that role, I had trouble feeling or connecting to her character. It was like, "Who is she?" or "What?" Unfortunately, Ms Riccetto had the same effect of invisibility for me in both of her Princess Florine performances with Mr Radetsky & Mr Hoven. There was nothing wrong with her dancing, she's lyrical but lacked a strong enough stage presence for those two roles.

Hee Seo as The Fairy of Sincerity

The other Fairies and Lilac Fairy attendants were danced equally well by members of the corps and soloists for all 4 shows. However, Ms Zhong-Jing Fang's emotional portrayal and musicality really captured my attention as The Fairy of Joy. I liked Ms Misty Copeland's Fairy of Valor; she has a different and stronger physical appearance than most classically trained ballerinas. Quite frankly, Ms Copeland brings a nice dimension to her roles and to ballet in general that I feel is mostly lacking overall. My favorite grouping of the five main Fairies was Ms Seo (Sincerity), Ms Fang, Ms Copeland, Ms Yuriko Kajiya (Fervor), and Ms Melissa Thomas (Charity). The synchronicity between the much larger pool of artists performing as The Lilac Fairy Attendants was oftentimes missing. The cor. was still beautifully danced but lacked that overall precision that I've seen danced by the Kirov Ballet's corps in Swan Lake back in Nov 2006, which was freakishly in sync and perfect.

The men of the corps and soloists helped keep this production from turning into a pool of estrogen. May I just say that Mr Cory Stearns is just too cute for words even though he did jump the gun or added in some extra steps on a couple of different occasions. I'm assuming they were "extra" b/c none of the others did them. Mr Blaine Hoven was all over this ballet as one of The Fairy Knights, The Russian Prince, The Prince's Friends, and The Bluebird. He is a very nice dancer and had good chemistry with the Princesses. It was very easy to believe he was in love with each of the Princess Auroras or would lay down his life is he had to. I am always impressed by the high quality and caliber of ABT's male corps de ballet mbrs & soloists: Mr Radetsky, Mr Salstein, Mr Matthews, Mr Lopez, Mr Hoven, Mr Hammoudi, Mr Stearns, Mr Tamm, Mr Easter, Mr Forster, Mr Mantei, Mr Piris-Nino, Mr Ogle, Mr Phillips, Mr Scott, Mr Davis, Mr Delong, Mr Ribagorda and Mr Stewart. These guys all danced as Fairy Knights and/or Prince's Friends and they were very elegant and mostly in sync with one another. It helped that the cor. was good if not too brief for my tastes. They should have been given more cor. to dance IMHO.

I saw 4 different couples perform The Princess Florine and The Bluebird Pdd, but the couple that really thrilled me was Ms Kristi Boone and Mr Carlos Lopez. They were the only couple that I felt had all 3 things: chemistry, artistry and technique. Ms Boone has a very beautiful line and presence while Mr Lopez practically floated, light as a feather as The Bluebird. He was extremely lyrical and the couple very much in sync. I just thought they were really beautiful together, and I wanted to see them again. Jared Matthews, though not quite as lyrical, did a very nice interpretation of The Bluebird. Mr Hoven appeared uncharacteristically uncomfortable in the role. It appeared that he may have struggled a bit controlling some of the jumps and landings b/c at one point I thought he was gonna fly into the orchestra pit. He didn't, but I wish I could have seen him perform the role a 2nd time.


As for the principal roles, I was a little disappointed that Ms Gillian Murphy and Mr Ethan Stiefel did not make the Saturday matinee as scheduled. I've never seen Mr Stiefel perform live, and he indirectly started me on all this ABT nonsense to begin with in the movie "Center Stage". However, Ms Paloma Herrera and Mr Angel Corella did not disappoint at Sunday's matinee. Both are wonderful artists and excellent technicians so there was no muss or fuss with any of the cor.; they eat that stuff for breakfast. All of the principals were a delight, but, man oh man, Ms Kent and Mr Gomes blew me away! So touching; so emotional. That is a couple to see if ever one has the chance.

I was reading a couple of reviews for Opening night and it's interesting to note how the mistakes I noticed were not the ones that were pointed out by the critics (review 1 and 2). Also, there's nothing actually wrong with a Broadway or a Vegas-like feel to a set as long as the costumes are made of good quality material and design. It's why that sort of stuff draws people to those venues or to ballet in the first place. People, esp. women, like vivid imagery. I don't know if any of these critics saw The State Ballet of Georgia perform Don Quixote feat. Nina Ananiashvili, as Kitri, back in March 2008, but that set definitely had a cheesy, low budget feel to it. Despite that, the dancing was nice (see review). One final criticism to mention was that Artistic Director, Mr McKenzie chose to cut out the lengthier versions of the Little Red Riding Hood & Big Bad Wolf Pdd as well as the popular Puss in Boots & the White Cat Pdd (see it here) b/c the musical score alone is famous, esp. to anyone who has seen this ballet or the movie Center Stage before; but, whatever, right? The ballet is definitely worth seeing if you like pretty and foo foo!!


I bid farewell to ABT and its vast array of talented artists. May we meet again in the future!

ABT's Sleeping Beauty- Chicago Apr 9th & 11th 2008

Ms Kent & Mr Gomes- Tudor Leaves are Fading

So last night I saw the 2nd of 4 shows I'm scheduled to see. If you are not a balletomane or someone that lives in NYC and sees ABT regularly then you will not understand the whys and wherefores. However, if you are a sports fan and have season tickets to watch the same team play again and again then you should know that ballet is no different. I go to the different shows to see different company members dance the principal roles. Even if I lived in NYC, where ABT resides, I'd still have to go to a lot of different shows just to see the various artists perform. It's a large company with a lot of principals and soloists, and they don't all perform on the same night.

Julie Kent is amazing and so much fun to watch! She danced the lead role of Princess Aurora along with principal, Marcelo Gomes last night. Together they were fantastic, and I feel so lucky to have been able to see them live! This year, unlike last year, I came prepared with mini binoculars just so I could see the expression and emotions cross Julie's face. Watching Ms. Kent perform without being able to see her facial expressions is like going all the way to Paris to see the Mona Lisa only to find that her face had been spray painted over. Yes, you'd be seeing the Mona Lisa, but you would not be seeing her as she was meant to be viewed.

Now, I'm fairly certain that Ms Kent is a fantastic technical dancer because she is a principal, but what makes her artistry special in my mind is how vulnerable and emotionally honest she appears in her characters. I fell in love with her acting in the movie "Center Stage" (BTW, if I had a dollar for every time I heard someone mention that movie while at the theater both nights, I could have bought front row seats). Last night Ms Kent was radiant, and I was not disappointed. There were several times where she clearly struggled to maintain her balance en pointe, particularly, during the famous "rose adagio", and it showed on her face. She literally fought to hold on.

Imagine trying to keep your balance while en pointe doing an Arabesque en attitude epaulee derriere. You've got one arm up in a fixed third position and with your opposite arm, you will need to keep your balance and body position in between placing your hand in one of four different gentlemen suitors as each approaches then turns you in a circle. This sounds simple enough, but it's difficult to execute because each time she switched male partners and/or was turned by them, it threw her balance off then she still had to raise that arm up into 3rd position briefly before grabbing the guys hand again. I personally felt that she should just skip trying to raise her balancing arm overhead, but I guess she felt she had to stick with the choreography. It was a bit painful (in sympathy) to watch because her balancing arm was rushed and shaky. Her body alignment remained unaffected though. You could actually see her mouth and face go "grrrhhh" as she fought for it. As I was watching her struggle, I held my breath and made little oohing sounds as I mentally gave her my support. The fact that she struggled, and let it show on her face made me love her artistry that much more. Everyone struggles in life, but we don't necessarily do it in front of an audience, our peers, or with an orchestra accompanying us. Julie Kent showed us "live" what perseverance looks like both emotionally and physically. I completely empathized with her. It was so sweet to see her and her male partners silently communicate with one another during the battle to keep her balanced; she even smiled at them like, "Yup, I'm struggling here, and your support is much appreciated!" I don't know; it had a touchingly, beautiful authenticity.

Marcelo Gomes was spectacular! His artistry, his technique, and his emotions were amazing to finally get to see live. I know someone, who practically thinks the sun rises and sets on him, and I can understand why she feels that way! He has a wonderful quality of presence or being in the moment about him that shines through whether it's a live performance or on DVD. He just owns the character. Oh yeah, he rocks that Latin machismo thing, too! He and Julie together were so effortless and emotionally and technically in sync with each other that I knew I was seeing something amazing! I am so glad that I saw that show!!

On Wednesday's opening night, I saw Xiomara Reyes as Pr. Aurora and Jose Manuel Carreno as Pr. Desire. They were wonderful together as well. Ms Reyes is a wonderful technician; there were absolutely no signs of struggle going on. Artistically, she dances with child-like wonder and abandon or like anything is possible if you can dream it. She's dances with lightness and a free-spirit. This was my first time seeing Mr Carreno live, and he, too, was definitely worth seeing. This wasn't the best technical performance of his that I've seen, but is was emotionally and artistically satisfying for me. Mr Carreno embodies the words cutey-patootie, and he exudes what appears to be a very pure spirit. I've seen him dance and in interviews before, and it feels like he is a real life Prince Charming and that everyone will be safe, in good spirits, and protected as long as he's around. In the psychiatric world, this would be called a transference issue, but in ballet the viewer is entitled to interpret the characters in anyway that provides personal meaning.

The rest of the ensemble was nice to see, but I'll discuss them in a later post. In particular, Sascha Radetsky as The Bluebird was a delight to see. He dances with such power and prowess in everything that I've seen him in. He dances like there's no tomorrow. When I compare Mr Radetsky to other's who've danced the same role, his moves are always bigger, faster, higher, have more rotations, more beatings, and more drama. The only other dancer I've seen like that is Derrick Agnoletti of the Joffrey Ballet. In other words, these dancers are technical standouts, and you'd like to see them in a principal role to see if their artistry can match.

Late entry dated Apr 14th: Here's what Principals, Ms Kent & Ms Murphy, & Artistic Director, Mr McKenzie, had to say beforehand about their upcoming Chicago Sleeping Beauty- revised version. I didn't know what the rose adagio was until I saw it on Wednesday's opening night.

Joffrey's "Cinderella"- An Old Oct 2006 Review

Joffrey Ballet's "Cinderella" Oct 4th-15th Chicago, IL
October 08, 2006, 09:45:14 PM [Originally posted on The Winger Msg Board]
http://thewinger.com/mboard/index.php?topic=186.msg458#msg458
This was the 1st live ballet review I had ever written. I was already in love with the male stars of ABT so my opinions were definitely biased towards ABT. I've since changed my views.


Hello,I just have to share my experience of Sir Ashton’s “Cinderella” with the Joffrey Ballet at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. The program was touted as the first American performance by this particular choreographer. Keep in mind, I have not seen a live classical ballet performance in more than 2-3 years nor since I saw “Center Stage” and learned about the existence of NYCB and ABT. In a word for me, the ballet overall was ‘exquisite’. I had no idea how much fun a performance could be until I really opened myself up to it. Because I cannot recall having been to more than 6 different auditoriums, I was taken aback by the fact that my chair was free standing, plush, high-backed and facing perpendicular to the stage, which was awkward, because everyone had to move and shuffle chairs so everyone could squeeze into the entrance and see the stage. My box seat was upper tier and cost $25.00 (plus an add’l $11.00 via Ticket masters). Also, one wrong move forward and one would plummet over the dangerously low-walled balcony. Part of the experience was meeting and exchanging commentary with my fellow box seat members before and during the 2 intermissions. They consisted of a former ballet dancer, Mr Douglas Henshaw, who is now 71 years old, two transgendered females (they were pretty quiet), and an odd, but sweet, talkative couple. From a personal and medical point of view, I could not have been seated with a better bunch of individuals because of the stimuli. Overall, the theatre is beautiful, and I am told has the best acoustics in the USA. I could see everyone onstage and everyone in the orchestra pit.

As far as I know, there are no current superstars in this company, which prides itself on being an ensemble cast with equal opportunity for starring roles. I had never heard of any of the dancers prior to attending, but had read some mediocre to mixed reviews about the company’s performance last season. Like I cared, it was live ballet. Cinderella was danced by Victoria Jaiani, who was fabulous. The Prince was danced by Mauro Villanueva, who got off to an awkward start but thoroughly won my support. The fairy Godmother was danced beautifully by Suzanne Lopez. And finally, the Jester was danced by a cutie named, Calvin Kitten. Two guest artists played the Ugly Stepsisters to perfection: Gary Chryst & Christian Holder. The rest of the ensemble was excellent. For strictly personal reasons, I loved the multiple ethnic groups represented in the company including the conductor and orchestra; it almost brought a tear to my eye.

Okay, so I cannot do a fair comparison btw ABT and Joffrey. However, ABT’s Swan Lake & Joffrey’s Cinderella are big productions with some similarities. One thing the Joffrey was lacking in overall was timing with the musical score, which Douglass said may have been due to the difficulty of the musical score. I don’t know? The Jester achieved great élan (sp?) or should I just say height and was technically good; however, he never quite finished on bended knee or with punctuation with the ending of the score. The Prince did a sequence of turns in the air in which he landed in a weird way such that I didn’t really see a smooth plie then turn, plie, turn so it looked like he just jumped and stopped, jumped and stopped, etc.; Douglass said he never landed in a tight 5th foot position but rather a looser variation of that so that no plie was achieved. At any rate, I noticed it right away, and I am a novice but after watching the superstars of ABT do that move to absolute perfection, I would have to have been blind to miss it. There was one moment when the entire audience gasped and held our collective breath as Cinderella made her grand entrance into the ballroom post-transformation; she was wearing a long gauzy-like cape which was carried by 4-6 boys. As she was going down the 3rd of seven very high and somewhat narrow steps, en pointe & holding hands with the Prince, we all saw one of her feet catch on a step and she hesitated for just a moment there and then again as she continued down the remaining three stairs before safely reaching stage level. She handled herself remarkably well in that situation and never did she break from character as her gaze was transfixed forward. It was awesome!! My favorite part was the pas de deux and adagio. The partnering seemed so intimate and delicate, but I could sense how much trust the two had in each other, which was just incredible to witness. I have seen many fabulous partnerships but today, it just blew me away!! It felt like Cinderella and the Prince were dancing for everyone in that auditorium as if all of our lives depended on watching these two express their love for one another. It was simply breath-taking! How many years it must have taken to create such a moment onstage, and just for us it seemed? Without a doubt, there is no way to express the energy and delicacy of a live performance through a camera lens.

Ooh! The Joffrey Did It Again.

This photo, featuring my heroine Erica Lynette Edwards, is on the current Playbill.

The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago out did themselves with their Antony Tudor Centennial. Besides the dancing, there was the amazing voice of Baritone Stephen Salters in the piece Dark Elegies as he was accompanied by the always fabulous Chicago Sinfonietta conducted by Musical Director, Leslie Dunner.

An airborne John Gluckman

I saw performances on Sat. Feb 23rd at 7:30p & the Sun. Mar 2nd Matinee. I don't know if it has anything to do with the new Artistic Director, Ashley Wheater, but everyone brought their A-game to Tudor. A group of bright, shining stars is what I saw both nights. They were simply outstanding! It's always amazing to watch artists grow and improve over time, and I look forward to their next performance of American Moderns in May 2008.

Cloverfield Made Me Sick, Literally!

OK. So I just now saw this movie for only $3 at a local theater, but it was worth the wait. And, yes, I almost vomited on the floor about 20 minutes into the movie, too. So I'm getting into the story line and had just finished my McDonald's parfait when suddenly I began to feel terrible and nauseous; it took a few seconds for me to realize that it couldn't have been from the yogurt, not that quickly anyway, so it must be from the jumpy camera work. Yup! That's what it was alright, and there were times when I simply had to look away from the screen or else. I guess you do what ya gotta do to watch a movie these days whether it's buy expensive concessions or vomit for 'the man'.

I learned a valuable lesson tonight, which is that Dramamine is necessary for me to take before certain movies. On a scale of 1-5, I give the movie a 3 overall. On a nausea/vomit scale from 1-5, it rates a 4. If you haven't seen the movie, you've been forewarned!

PDT: Shaggy dog and me

I absolutely, unequivocally love my psychiatrist/therapist, Shaggy dog. He knows it; I know it and so does anyone else who truly knows me. I'm happy about it. What is just as amazing is that he loves me back. Now, I am not talking about that sappy, romantic bullshit we call "common love" but rather true love, which never dies, fades or hurts. True love encompasses the qualities of caring, compassion, empathy, patience, understanding and forgiveness. True love usually develops over time as people form attachments to one another. True love can and more often than not is fractured very early on in our infant lives if it ever existed between our primary caregivers and ourselves. As adults, true love requires an act of willingness to "go there" even if we don't actually believe the other person is deserving. True love is what the world needs more of b/c it is the only perfect love that exists. The reward of "giving" true love, emphasis on the word giving, is that love is received in return. True love is more of a spiritual quality (insert Godly or whatever higher power you may believe in) than a physical or worldly concept b/c it depends on trust, faith, prayer, constant reminders, and practice to create, engage in or maintain. Few of us will ever truly love others constantly or continuously b/c like many things in life, the ability to practice true love is dynamic, and we are often limited by our humanness. The act of being truly loving is something that I aspire to be, and again it is a work in constant progress.

One of the certainties of PDT is that it will come to an end. This is called termination. I know that I will part company with Shaggy Dog someday in the near future, which brings me great sadness, yet I cannot help but marvel at the beauty and preciousness of our therapeutic relationship as it is currently. This single relationship has done for me what my family could not. I thank God and my lucky stars that I met this wonderful psychiatrist/therapist, who has restored my faith (if indeed it ever existed) that I am a lovable, perfectly created human being and woman. I wanted to die more than a year ago, and now I want to live my life more than ever. That's the power of true love, baby!!

The Pain & Process of My Recovery

In the process of trying to find myself inside of myself by going to and doing the work required for both individual psychodynamic therapy (PDT) and self-therapy, one theme continually recurs: pain always precedes recovery. There's no way beyond the realization of "No pain. No gain" as I attempt to rid myself of unhealthy defense mechanisms. Those defense mechanism do not fall away easily; I have to fight to tear them down and kept them from being resurrected on a daily basis. It has been humbling to understand that at this stage in my life, I am my own worst enemy during this process of recovery. That is, I have been using the same operational framework or perspective since my childhood that had past its expiration date long ago. My adult life, although painful at times, has been much less traumatic.

Today, I hold the power to choose how I behave, what I think, and what I believe in. It's not been easy, reliving the past, but it has been necessary for growth. The key lies in utilizing one's feelings as an internal measure or guide; without these necessary feelings, we'd all be at a loss as to how to function. I think psychologist Raymond Lloyd Richmond says it best:

"And as I say on other pages, during the psychotherapeutic process you will experience many emotions that are similar to the intense and confusing emotions you felt as a child. Disappointment. Anger. Confusion. Feeling misunderstood. Feeling devalued. Feeling abandoned. Many different events—some of them just chance occurrences during therapy, and some of them deliberate therapeutic interventions by the therapist—will trigger these emotions. Just remember that when you feel an emotion in therapy, the therapeutic task will be to name it as an emotion and understand it as an emotion—not get caught in it as if it were your helpless destiny. For if you get caught in it, you will feel like a victim and will blame the therapist for your pain. The entire therapeutic process will feel like judgment and criticism. And then, in deep bitterness, you will want to “get away” from the therapy just as you wanted to get away from the original emotions as a child." Retrieved December 29, 2007 from, http://www.guidetopsychology.com/questions/q_directions.htm

As I continue along life's journey, I try very hard to give meaning and names to the painful past experiences. They call this naming your pain. Then I try to figure out why it happened and how it has or continues to affect me in the present. There are several specific strategies involved in doing this work such as making a list of one's core values, core & operational beliefs about the world and self, rules for living (like must haves, ought to haves, and need to haves), current payoffs, and current problems (Butler & Hope, 2007; Kasl, 1990). Dr Phil always says that no one repeats a behavior without there being a payoff attached to it. Our job is to recognize it or name it to claim it.

The last step in all of this is to be understanding and kind to myself as I examine my behaviors, thinking, and beliefs. This is where I could get all mushy and start talking about finding redeeming love and nurturing true love for self and others, but I won't. Theoretically speaking, we are not born with all this psychological baggage; our culture, family, temperament, genetics and chance are all factors that lead to our core belief systems. It usually is created in direct response to some childhood neglect, injury, abuse, and/or loss. What we create are defense mechanisms that allow us to survive these childhood events. Ultimately, all of this leads to the formation of our value, thought, behavioral and belief systems.

In my case, I once believed the world and most of the people in it were not to be trusted. Safety and security were illusions or happened only to other people. Good parenting and a nurturing, support system were things which existed only in fairy tales. There was no happily ever after; life sucked and then I died having felt worthless, ashamed, depressed and anxious through out much of it. These were the types of problems in my framework that I have changed already or am currently working on. Life is one big work in progress, yet you will still die. I believe that life is truly a spiritual journey. I'm going to die having known and experienced life's amazing grace and many other emotions in between as well as the pain.

References:
Butler, G. & Hope, T. (2007). Managing your mind: The mental fitness guide (2nd ed.).
Kasl, C. S. (1990). Women, Sex, and Addiction: A Search for Love and Power.