Ahh. Ballet. The one constant in my life ever since I was 3. We've been through our ups and downs; the phases of likes and dislikes, then the appreciation comes along followed by the abrupt withdrawal and ensuing nostalgia, leading to an even deeper love for all types of dancing.
Anyhoo, I'm deviating from the point.
I've danced my fair share of ballets (My Fair Lady, Getting To Know You, Swan Lake, Dancing in the Rain, Les Sylphide, Waltz of the Flowers and La Bayadere to name a few,) and I've been lucky to attend a number of ballets live as well (Men in Tutus, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Swan Lake, and as of today, the Nutcracker.)
As my friend pointed out, I've seen all three of Tchaikovsky's balllets.
Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and the Nutcracker. I saw all three at the Kremlin, so I guess it's safe to compare them with each other as they're of the same par.
Everyone goes crazy over Swan Lake. Personally, I never "understood" the hype for Swan Lake. The only parts I really really loved/looked forward to were when the Black Swan appears (Act 3) and of course her 32 fouettes. But watching the full length ballet live, I came to really enjoy the jester dude (Benno?) and all the formation changes as well with the Corps.
Sleeping Beauty. It was the first ballet that I saw in Moscow. I went in not really expecting much, but thoroughly enjoyed myself.
And, the Nutcracker. I've been looking forward to the Nutcracker for ages and ages. I don't know why but it's always been a favorite in my mind even though I've yet to see the ballet performance live.
I finally watched it earlier today, and I was... disappointed. I don't know if my expectations were too high, or if my mind just built it up to this magical number, but I left the ballet feeling... robbed/cheated.
I enjoyed the first part well enough, but found it to be really short (only 1 hour). But the second part was the one I was really anticipating. I loved the five dances (Spanish, Arabian, Chinese, Russian, Danish) but found them to be way too short. Surprisingly, I recognized music for four out of five of the numbers. (I've never seen the full ballet before this.) Sorry Spanish dance. I'm really trying to think of the positives before I move on to the negatives but it seems most of my memory has been tainted :-/
Oh well. On to the negs.
The costume was pretty enough, loved what they wore in the first scene. I though the Sugar Plum Fairy's outfit could be more... more. But omg what the Corps wore for Waltz of the Flowers, I can't. I'm sorry, but the costumes we had for our concert was nicer than what I saw today. Whats the thingy thingy crawling on one arm? What's with the tutu? It was split into four quadrants and I really didn't like how it looked when the dancers did certain steps. Like, No.
But the backdrop was pretty. The backdrops and props are always pretty, but I think Sleeping Beauty wins for the general look of the stage while Swan Lake wins with effects (I really really really loved how they made it look like the swans were swimming across the lake.)
On to the dancers. Hmm. Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake's Corps didn't irk me as much as Nutcracker's did. I've seen YouTube videos and the leads of all three ballets can't really compare to "top tier" soloists (i.e. internationally famous ballerinas,) so I guess that was a bit of a let down. It's not Bolshoi, but hey, it's still Russian. And tour groups come to the Kremlin to watch these ballets! (There was a Chinese and an Italian group today.)
Watching ballets used to be all about "OMG so cool" and "Wish I could learn to do that one day" or "I wonder when my technique will be good enough to pull that off" and "how do they beat/turn so many times?"
I used to look at the Corps and go "Yeah, I'm not as good but I'm pretty sure I can pull of some of those moves" but now I'm looking at the leads and going "Yeah I used to be able to do that" and it's such a let down! I go to the ballet to be amazed and awe struck. Maybe it's time for me to scout out other theaters as well.
I think it might be hard for Nutcracker to pull off a higher technical difficulty level because of the children involved as well, but omg there was this one Corps girl who was so terribly sesat with her timing for Waltz of the Flowers that I just couldn't concentrate on anything else. What gives?! And it wasn't just once - her sesatness continued into a lot of that particular number.
The formations were messy too. I sat in the center, so it's pretty obvious when something is lopsided or a different distance upstage/downstage. If Swan Lake got a 9 (I'm a tad OCD), then today's performance earned a 5. I really didn't like it. :(
And. I had a problem with Clara's hands. It's hard to enjoy a ballet when the lead ballerina's hand irk you.
The jumps weren't really there for the guys, and generally you could tell the dancers were probably getting tired in the second half. I was pursing my lips on the inside going "I can see you thinking". I don't expect perfection, but people are paying to watch this performance. Guess I expected a little more quality-wise.
For the very first time ever, EVER, I had a problem with the orchestra. Someone messed up big time during the Sugar Plum Fairy's dance. The celesta was definitely way too loud in the opening bar and the conductor probably overcompensated with the whole orchestra in the next phrase which made it even more glaringly obvious. (Kudos to Clara for continuing as though nothing was wrong.) I don't know what was going on with the percussions, but it wasn't good either for some of the numbers. And oh god that piccolo. Someone do something about today's orchestra.
My final verdict? Sleeping Beauty was my favorite ballet at the Kremlin. I'm like a kid, so give me elaborate, colorful costumes rather than the bland white swans; and today's Nutcracker just wasn't on par with their technical difficulty.
So. I'll probably give Nutcracker another chance with another theater and hope that one will deliver better. Until then, there are still a lot of ballets out there to be seen. :)
Anyhoo, I'm deviating from the point.
I've danced my fair share of ballets (My Fair Lady, Getting To Know You, Swan Lake, Dancing in the Rain, Les Sylphide, Waltz of the Flowers and La Bayadere to name a few,) and I've been lucky to attend a number of ballets live as well (Men in Tutus, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Swan Lake, and as of today, the Nutcracker.)
As my friend pointed out, I've seen all three of Tchaikovsky's balllets.
Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and the Nutcracker. I saw all three at the Kremlin, so I guess it's safe to compare them with each other as they're of the same par.
Everyone goes crazy over Swan Lake. Personally, I never "understood" the hype for Swan Lake. The only parts I really really loved/looked forward to were when the Black Swan appears (Act 3) and of course her 32 fouettes. But watching the full length ballet live, I came to really enjoy the jester dude (Benno?) and all the formation changes as well with the Corps.
Sleeping Beauty. It was the first ballet that I saw in Moscow. I went in not really expecting much, but thoroughly enjoyed myself.
And, the Nutcracker. I've been looking forward to the Nutcracker for ages and ages. I don't know why but it's always been a favorite in my mind even though I've yet to see the ballet performance live.
I finally watched it earlier today, and I was... disappointed. I don't know if my expectations were too high, or if my mind just built it up to this magical number, but I left the ballet feeling... robbed/cheated.
I enjoyed the first part well enough, but found it to be really short (only 1 hour). But the second part was the one I was really anticipating. I loved the five dances (Spanish, Arabian, Chinese, Russian, Danish) but found them to be way too short. Surprisingly, I recognized music for four out of five of the numbers. (I've never seen the full ballet before this.) Sorry Spanish dance. I'm really trying to think of the positives before I move on to the negatives but it seems most of my memory has been tainted :-/
Oh well. On to the negs.
The costume was pretty enough, loved what they wore in the first scene. I though the Sugar Plum Fairy's outfit could be more... more. But omg what the Corps wore for Waltz of the Flowers, I can't. I'm sorry, but the costumes we had for our concert was nicer than what I saw today. Whats the thingy thingy crawling on one arm? What's with the tutu? It was split into four quadrants and I really didn't like how it looked when the dancers did certain steps. Like, No.
But the backdrop was pretty. The backdrops and props are always pretty, but I think Sleeping Beauty wins for the general look of the stage while Swan Lake wins with effects (I really really really loved how they made it look like the swans were swimming across the lake.)
On to the dancers. Hmm. Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake's Corps didn't irk me as much as Nutcracker's did. I've seen YouTube videos and the leads of all three ballets can't really compare to "top tier" soloists (i.e. internationally famous ballerinas,) so I guess that was a bit of a let down. It's not Bolshoi, but hey, it's still Russian. And tour groups come to the Kremlin to watch these ballets! (There was a Chinese and an Italian group today.)
Watching ballets used to be all about "OMG so cool" and "Wish I could learn to do that one day" or "I wonder when my technique will be good enough to pull that off" and "how do they beat/turn so many times?"
I used to look at the Corps and go "Yeah, I'm not as good but I'm pretty sure I can pull of some of those moves" but now I'm looking at the leads and going "Yeah I used to be able to do that" and it's such a let down! I go to the ballet to be amazed and awe struck. Maybe it's time for me to scout out other theaters as well.
I think it might be hard for Nutcracker to pull off a higher technical difficulty level because of the children involved as well, but omg there was this one Corps girl who was so terribly sesat with her timing for Waltz of the Flowers that I just couldn't concentrate on anything else. What gives?! And it wasn't just once - her sesatness continued into a lot of that particular number.
The formations were messy too. I sat in the center, so it's pretty obvious when something is lopsided or a different distance upstage/downstage. If Swan Lake got a 9 (I'm a tad OCD), then today's performance earned a 5. I really didn't like it. :(
And. I had a problem with Clara's hands. It's hard to enjoy a ballet when the lead ballerina's hand irk you.
The jumps weren't really there for the guys, and generally you could tell the dancers were probably getting tired in the second half. I was pursing my lips on the inside going "I can see you thinking". I don't expect perfection, but people are paying to watch this performance. Guess I expected a little more quality-wise.
For the very first time ever, EVER, I had a problem with the orchestra. Someone messed up big time during the Sugar Plum Fairy's dance. The celesta was definitely way too loud in the opening bar and the conductor probably overcompensated with the whole orchestra in the next phrase which made it even more glaringly obvious. (Kudos to Clara for continuing as though nothing was wrong.) I don't know what was going on with the percussions, but it wasn't good either for some of the numbers. And oh god that piccolo. Someone do something about today's orchestra.
My final verdict? Sleeping Beauty was my favorite ballet at the Kremlin. I'm like a kid, so give me elaborate, colorful costumes rather than the bland white swans; and today's Nutcracker just wasn't on par with their technical difficulty.
So. I'll probably give Nutcracker another chance with another theater and hope that one will deliver better. Until then, there are still a lot of ballets out there to be seen. :)
