abt: sleeping beauty

Last night I grabbed a ticket to Sleeping Beauty at the Met Opera House. I've never seen Part in a lead role, and I wanted to see her shine, and she did not disappoint! With an understated elegance and not showy, she is the classical ballerina I imagine Pavlova to have been; solid technique, speaking through dance and not through theatrics. Which is why I think the NY Times critic may have not liked her; "she is a bore"...(come on, don't u know that her parents read reviews?), the fact that he also did not like Michele Wiles (another classic, non-flashy dancer) told me that he probably favors dancers like Herrera & Ferri, who obviously have their charms.

Anyhoo, I thoroughly enjoyed her performance, her face *is* very expressive...and the smiles she exchanged with Gomes were genuine and fun to watch. The fish dives were breathtaking! Gomes, of course, shined in his solos but looked embarrassed during his dream, when he was being carried by the men towards Aurora..that really was a silly section. Cornejo stole the show as Bluebird (someone give that guy a principal role please!). And I can finally say I saw Gelsey Kirkland on stage; she is such a tiny lady!

Friends sitting next to me had a funny conversation:

Girl #1: Did you know Gelsey Kirkland is performing tonight?
Girl #2: She's only like the most famous ballerina ever.
Girl #1: Is she Aurora tonight?

heheheheh. She's only 55 yrs old...now, having Kirkland as Aurora...that would be an interesting take on Sleeping Beauty!

And while I liked the "new" take on Sleeping Beauty (the pace of the ballet was quicker), it still seemed a bit stuck in what audiences expect Sleeping Beauty to be (very Disney & Petipa)...I could tell because the ballet class who came to see the performance sitting behind me started humming the music that was featured in the Disney film. Could we please update the costumes as well? Must we continue to use pastel, candy colors, glitter in the hair in men, and sparkles galore? I think it would have been fun to see fashionable, minimalist costumes in a new production of Sleeping Beauty. It was obvious that a lot of money was spent on these costumes; I would have loved to have seen more dramatic, lithe costumes than stuffy ones covered in glitter (the cockroaches?!? Please).

On a random note, I met fellow dance blogger Tonya Plank during intermission...it was nice meeting you! I also spotted David Hallberg, some NYCB dancers in the audience..it was cool to see dancers supporting their fellow colleagues on nights off.