« I only have pink eyes for you . . . | Main | Friday Cat Blogging - Quieting the masses edition »
May 5, 2005
Oh Frabjous Day!
Carla Körbes has been promoted to soloist at NYCB. Confirmation is a little squib in the middle of the the Times' review of the Spring Gala.
Körbes is not a steely technician, nor the sort of just-add-water dancer that can speed through the ranks at NYCB. Peter Martins has said in interviews that before promoting a dancer he wants to know he does not have to worry about them. Körbes is harder for him to promote given those criteria; she's an act of faith. She may always need a little extra care or special handling. What she has is one of the most unforgettable presences of the young dancers in the company.
I'm so glad this happened. I bet there are going to be a lot of happy faces in the Fourth Ring tonight.
Thanks to harpergroup at Ballet Talk for catching this.
Posted by Leigh Witchel at May 5, 2005 3:24 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.leighwitchel.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/101
Comments
For those of us in the hinterlands, could you say more? What makes her unforgettable?
Posted by: TexAnne at May 5, 2005 7:05 PM
She's physically lush. On the tallish side with a beautiful heart-shaped face, long strawberry hair and long, rounded limbs, a huge arabesque and particularly beautiful feet.
She also never goes blank on stage - she's what the French would call a bête de scène. It's less like Alexandra Ansanelli - for her, life is lived at an operatic pitch. Carla seems (without knowing her) more like Peter Boal - the stage releases her. You can see it in the sweep of the movements.
She also has the big ballerina secret - an inner life so vivid that it projects all the way to the back of the house. That's what Kistler has, and Körbes does as well. Fantasy is essential to a ballerina. They have to believe in the illusions they create.
Posted by: Leigh Witchel at May 6, 2005 1:29 AM
She sounds lovely. It's so much more interesting when there's a person on stage, as opposed to a living technique.
Posted by: TexAnne at May 7, 2005 12:18 PM