Carmen
by Mona on 2/6/24Meridian Hall - TorontoSuch a nice show and great dancers. I enjoyed the show!
Such a nice show and great dancers. I enjoyed the show!
A reimagined Carmen for the 21st century. Everything from the sets, the choreography, the dancers to the music was on point. We sat in the 150th performance and supposedly the last. I hope all dance aficionados had the opportunity to see the run because it was beyond-mesmerizing and special. The dancers were strong. Escamillo was captivating and Carmen beguiling- both in perfect character.
The energy and skill of the dancers was well featured in the performance. The choreography and the settings were added complexity and the scenes were well matched.
City Ballet is the best ballet company in San Diego. This was a passionate performance by extremely talented dancers. This happened to have a married couple in the starring roles, and the chemistry was evident. Wow.
I expected to view "Carmen" and not have to sit through a school's dance recital first. Young dancers (mainly 16 & 17) are quite entertaining to friends and family, but have a long way to go to be entertaining to the general public. One number, done by the artistic director and one of the principle dancers, centered around alcohol and drunken behavior. I thought it in extremely poor taste considering they are mentoring impressionable youth. The main event, Carmen, began after the intermission. Since I am a ballet-starved Gwinnett resident, I was rapt at the artistic, athletic performance of the principle dancers; the ones at a healthy weight that is. A couple of them were disturbingly angular. Was it worth the nearly $65 I spent on two tickets? Only if there is no alternative dance entertainment and you have a strong desire to contribute to supporting arts in Gwinnett.
This evening was not at all what I expected. It was a higher class recital of a dancing school. The Audience were most family and friends of the dancers. The first half were various dances and had nothing to do with Carmen. The second half of the show was the shortend version of Carmen. Everything was well performed (there were no stage decorations), but it was not an evening performance of Carmen. This event was wrongly advertised. If I had known that, I would not have bought the tickets and driven 1 1/2 hrs. to Atlanta. It was not worth it.