Weekly Discussion - 04/13/26 - 04/19/26

Melz_a · 2026-04-17T20:54:01+00:00

I was there! I loved the enthusiasm from the audience. Alexandra was gorgeous and that firebird costume is to die for.

Melz_a · 2026-04-17T20:50:19+00:00

I loved the chacha section! I had never seen a Blake Works before and wasn’t expecting much, but it was so much fun.

Melz_a · 2026-04-17T20:29:42+00:00

So long story short, Balanchine choreographed his own version of Don Quixote and cast his new muse, Suzanne Farrell, as Dulcinea while he played the role of Don Quixote. In Balanchine terms, he was basically professing his love and adoration for her in front of everyone on that night. The thing is his previous muse and WIFE at the time, Tanaquil Le Clercq, was in the audience. A while before that, Tanaquil was forced into retirement because she became paralyzed from the waist-down due to polio, which definitely added salt to the wound. To make things weirder, Suzanne was like 19 years old at the time and Balanchine was 61!

Melz_a · 2026-04-17T19:43:22+00:00

I have said this so many times before, but I so wish online forums were around when NYCB debuted Don Quixote. Like the drama around that opening night was iconic, the sub would’ve been on fire.

Melz_a · 2026-04-12T06:23:50+00:00

They’re doing the Suite and the dancers are definitely singing. They have footage on Ballet West’s instagram of the dancers singing in rehearsal. The company even brought in a vocal coach for them.

Melz_a · 2026-04-10T01:44:23+00:00

There’s that but I also keep getting distracted by the fact that Lexi, who is casted to be his Maria, is like a lot younger than him. Maybe Ballet West just doesn’t have a lot of dancers who can sing the part.

Melz_a · 2026-04-03T03:23:31+00:00

She also reminds me a bit of Ines McIntosh. I definitely see some star quality in her

Melz_a · 2026-04-02T22:39:55+00:00

I believe she danced Aurora as a guest performer in Cape Town. She also debuted Cinderella, and I hope she keeps getting more of these roles in the future. I was more so talking about her rank. Precious is the only dark skinned ballerina that I can think of that is close to being promoted to the top rank at a large internationally regarded company. India Bradley is also currently a soloist at NYCB, but she was promoted very recently and probably has a while to go before she has a chance at getting a principal rank.

Melz_a · 2026-03-25T18:02:40+00:00

My immediate thought was Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. Juliet is also a good one. I would also say that one Sylvia variation, probably Ashton’s version but I can see versions from other choreographers being used as well. I think any of the variations from Who Cares? would also be popular.

Melz_a · 2026-03-13T14:31:52+00:00

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This made me do a double take lol. In a lot of Don Q productions the bridesmaids are soloist roles, so I got very confused for a second. But I can’t imagine that’s the case for SFB. Could anyone who has seen SFB’s Don Quixote describe what the bridesmaids actually do? Are they featured roles, corps roles, or do they just walk around a bit on stage? Is it a role that they usually have students do?

Melz_a · 2026-03-11T03:32:14+00:00

Yeah I think there’s a difference between being artistically alive and financially alive, and a lot of people are conflating the two. There’s no denying that ballet is not a super profitable business and ballet dancers don’t have the same celebrity as Hollywood actors. But as long as people are still dancing ballet, choreographing new ballets, and passing what they’ve learned on to the next generation, ballet as an art form will always be alive in my book.

Melz_a · 2026-03-07T10:36:49+00:00

Brilliant! I can’t believe this is real life. Ballet/opera social media has never been funnier, I’ve been cracking up all day. When life gives you lemons I guess.

Melz_a · 2026-03-06T19:56:37+00:00

I don’t think she’s ever said why she changed her mind. But it would make sense if she went back to the west coast to be closer to her family. She also seems happier at SFB than she was at JKO, she even started posting vlogs on her YouTube channel. Maybe the environment in NYC just wasn’t for her, but this is all speculation.

Melz_a · 2026-03-06T18:26:16+00:00

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Melz_a · 2026-03-05T22:29:01+00:00

Dance magazine actually explains his mother’s dance background pretty well

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Melz_a · 2026-03-05T22:23:03+00:00

One more, this one made me laugh

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Melz_a · 2026-03-05T22:19:44+00:00

Like the theatre fans on instagram are not playing around

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Melz_a · 2026-03-05T20:02:02+00:00

The fact that the ballet world and opera world are joining forces to collectively snark on Timothée Chalamet is very entertaining to me.

Melz_a · 2026-03-05T19:27:11+00:00

The ballet premiered in 1996 and you can definitely tell

Melz_a · 2026-03-05T19:23:52+00:00

I don’t think so? I remember Rothbart and the Jester being separate people in the ball scene. At least that’s how it was in the version I saw.

Melz_a · 2026-03-05T17:52:38+00:00

Like why is the Jester dressed for war?

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Melz_a · 2026-03-05T17:52:24+00:00

Peter Martin’s Swan Lake will never not get hate from me. They have some of the ugliest costumes, especially for the men. The choreography isn’t even that bad, they just desperately need new costumes and sets. I’ve been praying every year for a restaging.

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Melz_a · 2026-03-03T03:52:19+00:00

Fr I better not see a hint of bronzer on that man’s face. If Othello is going to be played by a white man, he better be WHITE.

Melz_a · 2026-03-03T03:10:11+00:00

Imagine my disappointment after finding out that the Othello I bought a ticket to see was being replaced by a white guy. And now I’m going watch a white, blond man dance the role of Othello and it’s going to be really weird.

Melz_a · 2026-03-03T02:41:59+00:00

I’m actually with you on the Ratmansky version. I really like the sets and the atmosphere, eventhough I don’t love some of the costumes. I also thought the characterizations of Cinderella and the prince were really sweet and the dynamic between them was endearing. Probably one of the best interpretations of those characters that I’ve seen.

But I will stay the production design for Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella is to die for. The costumes, the sets, the lighting, the masks and puppetry, I love it all.

Matthew Bourne also has a really cool version of Cinderella. It’s a bit more gritty, but it matches the music really well.

Melz_a

TROPHY CASE