ballet: Carnival of the Animals, at the Academy, Sunday 6/8/08
Wow, I am so behind on posting my review of this one.
Three different pieces were performed that day. First was "Jupiter Symphony", a Mozart piece with world premiere choreography by Canadian Peter Quanz. It was sort of interesting and also sort of really not interesting. Minimalist staging, as usual in the modern choreography--just a white backdrop and not even any curtains, so you could see the scaffolding backstage (if your seats were off to the side a bit, that is, like ours were). I had issue with the costuming. The women were in these pink tutu skirts that stood out horizontally. The men were wearing skintight shorts and t-shirts--again, could they make costumes look any more gay? They were in browns and greens, which kind of didn't go with the women's pink outfits. (Note: costume design was by Holly Hynes--need to make note of this for future reference, maybe it's just her designs I dislike?) Also, I was not particularly interested in the choreography. I dozed. I was expecting something more interesting, because I usually really like the modern stuff, but this was just sort of eh.
Second piece: "Penumbra", and "Pampeana No. 2", music by Alberto Ginastera, who I've never heard of before, and world premiere choreography by Matthew Neenan. I really, really like Neenan's work in general, and this performance just confirmed that again. The first piece especially was striking. There was a dark, sexy 1940s quality to it that was really amazing, in the music and in the way the dancers danced. Interesting grouping of dancers, too, two women and three men, so that they coupled and uncoupled in different ways. The men were costumed to look almost like they were in tuxedos, and the women were in these amazing flowy dresses. God, what I wouldn't give for a dress like that. Mom and I both were captivated throughout the first piece. Second piece was not as interesting, but was still very good, and I did not fall asleep. Rock on, Matthew Neenan.
Third piece was the top-billed "Carnival of the Animals". It was written by John Lithgow, which is pretty awesome, and Lithgow was there as the narrator for the Friday and Saturday performances but unfortunately not for ours on Sunday. It would have been absolutely awesome with Lithgow in it, but was still lots of fun without him. The story is that a young boy falls asleep in the natural history museum, and in his dreams all the animals in the display cases come to life as people he knows. My favorites were the turtles (two old ladies who sit in the park)--their dance was so slow and stately and elegant. I thought the hens and cockerels did an excellent job of being hens and cockerels. The kangaroo was also really good. The swan was really terrific and kind of heartbreaking and lovely. Overall, this was a really fun ballet to watch, and must have been terrifically fun to dance. A good one for the kids especially, but great for adults too. Mom and I liked it a lot.
So, over the course of the year, I've been trying to get into the whole ballet thing, and "get to know" the PA Ballet Company. It's hard, though, because it's so tough to recognize individual dancers from the balcony. The women all look pretty much alike--skinny and sylphlike with long hair. I can often pick out Arantxa Ochoa and Riolama Lorenzo, partly because of their darker skin/hair coloring and partly because they're both principals and are usually soloing or right in the front. The men tend to be a bit easier. Jermel Johnson is probably my favorite overall, because being black he is the easiest dancer to identify from the balcony. However, since I've been watching him, I've noticed that he really has his own style that stands out from the others as well. He's worth watching, and not just because he's easily identifiable, is what I'm saying. Francis Veyette has longish hair and Zachary Hench wears a ponytail, so I can usually pick them out too. Zachary looks to be a hottie in his program photo, too. I'm also getting better at spotting Andre Vytoptov, because he's so very blonde and also kind of squirrelly. Anyway, what I'm saying is that I'm trying hard to foster some connection to these dancers and feel involved. And when I can notice that Andre or Jermel or whoever is dancing well tonight, I feel all happy for them.
Mom and I have season tickets again for next year. We've just found out that we get to keep our seats at the Merriam, which we like a lot, and we get to move seats at the Academy, which will be awesome. As I'm sure I've mentioned, our seats at the Academy this year were in the back row of the balcony, with a pole off to the right of our line of vision, and sometimes all the dancers go back there and laugh at us trying to see them. Also, the lighting is crap in that back row. This time I remembered to pack my flashlight so we could read our programs. The one thing I will miss about our Academy seats is the sweet old ladies who sat next to us. They were nice seatmates to have. But hopefully our new seats will be better next year.
Three different pieces were performed that day. First was "Jupiter Symphony", a Mozart piece with world premiere choreography by Canadian Peter Quanz. It was sort of interesting and also sort of really not interesting. Minimalist staging, as usual in the modern choreography--just a white backdrop and not even any curtains, so you could see the scaffolding backstage (if your seats were off to the side a bit, that is, like ours were). I had issue with the costuming. The women were in these pink tutu skirts that stood out horizontally. The men were wearing skintight shorts and t-shirts--again, could they make costumes look any more gay? They were in browns and greens, which kind of didn't go with the women's pink outfits. (Note: costume design was by Holly Hynes--need to make note of this for future reference, maybe it's just her designs I dislike?) Also, I was not particularly interested in the choreography. I dozed. I was expecting something more interesting, because I usually really like the modern stuff, but this was just sort of eh.
Second piece: "Penumbra", and "Pampeana No. 2", music by Alberto Ginastera, who I've never heard of before, and world premiere choreography by Matthew Neenan. I really, really like Neenan's work in general, and this performance just confirmed that again. The first piece especially was striking. There was a dark, sexy 1940s quality to it that was really amazing, in the music and in the way the dancers danced. Interesting grouping of dancers, too, two women and three men, so that they coupled and uncoupled in different ways. The men were costumed to look almost like they were in tuxedos, and the women were in these amazing flowy dresses. God, what I wouldn't give for a dress like that. Mom and I both were captivated throughout the first piece. Second piece was not as interesting, but was still very good, and I did not fall asleep. Rock on, Matthew Neenan.
Third piece was the top-billed "Carnival of the Animals". It was written by John Lithgow, which is pretty awesome, and Lithgow was there as the narrator for the Friday and Saturday performances but unfortunately not for ours on Sunday. It would have been absolutely awesome with Lithgow in it, but was still lots of fun without him. The story is that a young boy falls asleep in the natural history museum, and in his dreams all the animals in the display cases come to life as people he knows. My favorites were the turtles (two old ladies who sit in the park)--their dance was so slow and stately and elegant. I thought the hens and cockerels did an excellent job of being hens and cockerels. The kangaroo was also really good. The swan was really terrific and kind of heartbreaking and lovely. Overall, this was a really fun ballet to watch, and must have been terrifically fun to dance. A good one for the kids especially, but great for adults too. Mom and I liked it a lot.
So, over the course of the year, I've been trying to get into the whole ballet thing, and "get to know" the PA Ballet Company. It's hard, though, because it's so tough to recognize individual dancers from the balcony. The women all look pretty much alike--skinny and sylphlike with long hair. I can often pick out Arantxa Ochoa and Riolama Lorenzo, partly because of their darker skin/hair coloring and partly because they're both principals and are usually soloing or right in the front. The men tend to be a bit easier. Jermel Johnson is probably my favorite overall, because being black he is the easiest dancer to identify from the balcony. However, since I've been watching him, I've noticed that he really has his own style that stands out from the others as well. He's worth watching, and not just because he's easily identifiable, is what I'm saying. Francis Veyette has longish hair and Zachary Hench wears a ponytail, so I can usually pick them out too. Zachary looks to be a hottie in his program photo, too. I'm also getting better at spotting Andre Vytoptov, because he's so very blonde and also kind of squirrelly. Anyway, what I'm saying is that I'm trying hard to foster some connection to these dancers and feel involved. And when I can notice that Andre or Jermel or whoever is dancing well tonight, I feel all happy for them.
Mom and I have season tickets again for next year. We've just found out that we get to keep our seats at the Merriam, which we like a lot, and we get to move seats at the Academy, which will be awesome. As I'm sure I've mentioned, our seats at the Academy this year were in the back row of the balcony, with a pole off to the right of our line of vision, and sometimes all the dancers go back there and laugh at us trying to see them. Also, the lighting is crap in that back row. This time I remembered to pack my flashlight so we could read our programs. The one thing I will miss about our Academy seats is the sweet old ladies who sat next to us. They were nice seatmates to have. But hopefully our new seats will be better next year.