And for that, I’m giving you a treat, or maybe I’m giving myself a treat? Nevermind, ladies and gentleman: probably the most amazing combination in the world, Jolina and Manon!! (Well, Jolina and pretty much anything but… ;)) (Sorry, for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, Jolina is the partnership of Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg). Ok, so MacMillan’s Manon is already amazing as it is, specially in the first act pas de deux. Give it a good partnership and you have a perfect moment throughout, but I’m going to give you three perfect moments today…

My perfect moment: 4:20, the moment when the music builds up and Des Grieux picks up Manon and turns. It is especially good when done on the music, as it is in this video.
One little example of why I adore Jolina is very clear at 4:48, in the way she turns her head to face him while turning. It’s in this kind of details that true artistry resides, in my opinion.
And one guest perfect moment! The lovely Dave (if you haven’t already, check out his blog! DaveTriesBallet) chooses the moment Manon goes to the floor with her back arched to hold on to Des Grieux, beautiful!!! You can see it here around 4:52. Thanks Dave!

And here, the video 🙂

And for our contemporary choice today, Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon! Lightfoot recently appointed Artistic Director of Nederlands Dance Theatre, both have been collaborating to create work for both NDT and NDT2 for a while, with amazing results! Here, just an example. Note the use of carpet here, this use of elements in the choreography is one of the strongest things in NDT (and the gorgeous dancers, amazing choreography, etc. ;)), inherited directly from the master Kylian. My moment here is the end, the moment when the carpet is about to be rolled completely and they just do one more movement together before she steps front and he goes back. It’s around 4:40, and after there’s a lovely image too with his back to the audience and her fading with the light.