@@heb246 A wannabe?? You're rude and nasty. My dreams came true and I worked harder than you could ever imagine to make them a reality. I'm retired, so you could call me a has been, but that sure as hell is better than a never was.
It seems to me that both of them simply didn't have a great night, maybe they were tired or under prepared for the performance. You can see they were exhausted at the end of each segment. Ashley Bouder is taylored to Balanchine style and you can see it in other video of this pas de deux. I think other versions of this variation could maybe be likeable for some people but not truthful to the original Balanchine. (Especially from Russian dancers)
I agree, neither of them were having a great night. Both are wonderful dancers. Gonzalo looked like maybe he was coming down with or recovering from something.
Thank you for posting! This is such a beautiful and dynamic pdd, however, some things appeared a little off. Their partnering was off, and Garcia seemed to run out of steam towards the end. Did anybody else pick up on his pained expression after his first solo variation? Ashley was her usual wonderful self, though she ended her fouettés awkwardly. 😑 I still loved it 👏👏🥰
she is dancing a faster pacing in this variation too though compared to the pdd from the previous year, that may have contributed to the exhaustion. but I agree, her lame ducks did seem kind of off centre too. i think everyone doing this female variation (especially balanchine style-trained dancers) probably aspires to reach the pace of music that (from what i’ve seen) only tiler peck has achieved. and tiler has yet to even reach Melissa Hayden’s pace, which is absolutely insane lightning speed. i believe that nela in rehearsals a year ago (a specific one where she was in white and grey with legwarmers) came close to that pace though. slower than tiler’s, but faster than the russians, younger nela, lauren cuthberson, and younger ashley. it’s hovering around this performance with ashley, and tiler’s.
all these negative comments! and you just know each one of the girls making them has a tear stained reject letter from NYCB in her hope chest hidden under a couple of 'emergency' family-sized bags of Doritos
Ashley is a good dancer but isn't my fav doing this piece... she ain't Patricia McBride. Like so many of the current generation of NYCB ballerinas, not a lot of personality or style, but technically excellent. I blame Peter Martins for that tendency.
I understand and agree that Ashley Bouder is an incredible athlete, such powerful steely legs, and her speed and stamina are outstanding. But that's all - outstanding athleticism. 0 fluidity in the steps she "dances", 0 grace/lightness/effortlessness, horrible painfully stiff upper body and oh, the preparation for turns... It couldn't possibly get any more soulless and plain athletic than this. NYCB style at its finest, Balanchine must be turning in his grave...
I couldn't agree with you more about Ashley. The most ungraceful, stubby, and stiff looking ballerina Ive ever seen, right down to her fingertips. It's actually distracting for me. Ive always thought so. Plenty of power, but no finesse. Id never pay to see her dance, its almost painful to watch. This part was made for Tiler Peck, she does it so beautifully
I understand what you are saying. However, I think that Russian dancers can't be compared to NYCB dancers... Not because one is better or worse than the other but because Balanchine wanted to create a totally different style (and in fact he did), which in my opinion is quite the opposite of Vaganova. Balanchine repertoire is NYCB's legacy, not Vaganova's.
@@florenciaalegrediaz7903 Besides, Balanchine didn't even study under Vaganova and he considered Soviet ballet boring and old-fashioned. But these Russian ballet stans neither know nor care about seeing Balanchine ballets danced the way he wanted it. They even call the likes of Violette Verdy and Suzanne Farrell poor dancers, for Christ's sake.
I hate watching the Russians do Balanchine, personally. And the same with Paris Opera. There is no weight and the playing to the audience drives me crazy. To each his/her own.
