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lacdescygnes

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Everything posted by lacdescygnes

  1. I'd much rather have seen her paired with the (excellent) Camargo on Wednesday than the lacklustre Boylston... but principal pairings are a mystery at ABT as everyone above noted.
  2. I was there last night as well. Surprised (pleasantly) to see James Whiteside in the audience. Very solid show overall. The corps looked great, especially Lauren Post. It was my first time seeing Daniel Camargo and he didn't disappoint - beautiful clean lines, good jumps and he conveyed the emotion of Siegfried well. I wish I could say the same thing about Isabella Boylston - technically she's strong, yes she nailed the fouettés, but she is neither musical nor a particularly good actress so her performance was quite blank. Costumes and sets are luxurious and always a treat to see. Ballroom scene was especially nice, although I found Jose Sebastian more campy than scary as purple Rothbart. Nice to get a glimpse of Jake Roxander in Neapolitan.
  3. I have not seen any communication on this from ABT or the Kennedy Center (I have tickets for the first night of the run which is in exactly one week). Nothing either on the dancers' Instagrams... does anyone have any news that I may have missed?
  4. Not everyone wishes to share personal issues or injuries (if that is indeed what is going on) on a public facing social media. James Whiteside's public sharing of his knee injury and subsequent rehab when it wasn't clear that he would be able to return was the exception rather than the norm - and took a great deal of guts to do. Over at NYCB, Joe Gordon just let it slip today he was injured earlier and worried about his season. He didn't share earlier - and there are no requirements for him to do so! Of course he danced marvelously as he always does 🥰 The point is - we are not owed updates by individual dancers.
  5. I'm thinking about going to see the Cornejo/Brandt cast. Any advice on which seats are best at Wolf Trap? The heat worries me - I usually avoid this venue, but I'm getting all the ballet I can down in DC these days!
  6. He danced Mercutio at the Kennedy Center and I was impressed. Not up to my gold standard (Cornejo in his younger days) but very good technique and presence. Miles above Gorak or Shayer - glad he got cast in the role.
  7. I was at the Kennedy Center for the second program last night - it seemed well attended, so hopefully some people took advantage of the discounts! I found the program to be a mixed bag overall, but I don't get to see NYCB as often as I used to, so I was still glad to get a chance to see new dancers and new works. I had somehow never seen Pictures at an Exhibition - Susan Walters had come with the company as the soloist for this piece (for the other works it's the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra that accompanies the company), so this felt very much like being at the State Theater! I liked the piece a lot, and I finally got a chance to see Chun Wei Chan dance. Beautiful quality of movement, I can't wait to see more of him. I enjoyed getting a glimpse of Mira Nadon is a non-Balanchine piece also, she is stunning. Standard Deviation, the new Pires, was fine - I didn't enjoy the music, but I liked some of the choreography, and the simple costumes worked well. Solo was a little uninspired I thought, although Naomi Corti danced beautifully - Barber's adagio is overplayed, so a different piece of music might have worked better Love Letter on Shuffle had some of the most hideous costumes I've ever seen, and I found them distracting. but there were some parts that I really liked, especially whenever Taylor Stanley was on stage, the choreography really suited him. I found some parts a bit trite and repetitive - a gargouillade or a saut de chat set to pop music? how cute and innovative - repeated six times, less so. But I liked the ending. Now to wait until next year!
  8. I did and I thought he was wonderful (maybe I'm biased, he is one of my personal favorites). Both he and Megan Fairchild were technically excellent and had great stage presence and musicality. He returned for Afternoon of a Faun, which I think is rightfully becoming one of his signatures. The whole program last night was excellent. Tiler Peck is back from injury and she and Mejia delivered the fireworks in Donizetti. The audience was lapping it up, so it's disappointing to see so many discounts. Concerto Barocco is classic Balanchine at his best, and I thought both Nadon and LaFreniere were very well cast - they match in height and attack. I'm going back tonight for the other program.
  9. Thanks for the update Sorry to hear about Huxley but I love Gordon is just about anything, so I'm actually excited to see him twice in one evening! I've never seen Naomi Corti in a featured role so very much looking forward to that - always great when corps dancers get prime opportunities. Peck created Solo on Huxley if I remember correctly - who else has performed it?
  10. I'm 5'2 and a regular KC goer. Was just there for the opera in Row T of the orchestra. I would go with the orchestra seat, AA is far enough back that the rake and staggered seating work in your favor and you will definitely see the whole stage.
  11. I have tickets to both programs on June 6 and June 7 respectively and can't wait to see some of the newer dancers and some perennial favorites of mine like Joseph Gordon!
  12. and thank you FauxPas for the detailed analysis - I agree with most of what you said! I'm looking forward to what the next generation has to offer. I do find it surprising that ABT has not been able to take advantage of some of the Western dancers that had to leave Russia coming back "on the market" so to speak. But I guess they have a full roster and no funds left!
  13. Bell had great presence as Romeo when I saw him at the Kennedy Center this season. He's not Bolle (no one is!) but his acting was very good and his youth really worked in his favor. Devon Teuscher was a bit of a cold fish as Juliet, so I give him extra credit!
  14. Lots of losses for the Paris Opera Ballet these past few months. A beautiful tribute to Pierre Lacotte on their website - how amazing to still be choreographing a full-lengths ballet (Le Rouge et le Noir) at almost 90!
  15. I was there last night, not fully knowing what to expect and was very favorably impressed, so would encourage anyone on the fence to snag a ticket! The storytelling worked surprisingly well, although I would have structured the ending a tad differently. The cast was fantastic, the music (and Kennedy Center orchestra and live soprano) excellent. Beautiful costumes. Possokhov's choreography is hard to describe, but it really conveys the emotions of the characters.
  16. I couldn't agree more And I'm selfishly glad it's not LWFC they're bringing to the Kennedy Center in 2024 but Swan Lake! [I live in DC]
  17. I too am glad to see that Sarah Lane is teaching and guesting in her post-ABT career. However, I must also point out that on their Instagram accounts, both Skylar Brandt and Cassie Trenary post a lot of footage from rehearsals with Cornejo. Which leads me to wonder 2 things - did ABT management ask Cornejo to step up his rehearsal time with partners in the wake of Lane's complaints, or conversely did Lane ask more more rehearsal time than "average", or at least these other 2 principals. I don't think we'll ever know either way, of course
  18. Report from last night (2/15). I had forgotten how much I love this production of Romeo and Juliet, with the lush sets and costumes and of course Prokofiev's music! It was my first time seeing Aran Bell in a leading role and he didn't disappoint - excellent stage presence and his youth really works in his favor as Romeo. Teuscher was a fine Juliet. First time also seeing Carlos Gonzalez, who was a very good Mercutio. Very pleased overall. Nice to see some familiar faces on stage in what felt like a very luxurious casting with Thomas Forster as Tybalt, Blaine Hoven as Paris and Joe Gorak as Benvolio. The corps was good. I feel like the pandemic years have really done ABT a favor giving some younger dancers time to develop and more mature dancers a welcome respite. Would love to hear report from the other casts!
  19. Robbie Fairchild had been given that role a few months ago, although from his IG I seem to recall he got injured before making it to the stage. Nice to see the Met hiring top-level dancers for this! I still don't seek out Whiteside as a dancer but after reading Center Center and seeing his openness in discussing his serious injury on social media, he has considerably risen in my esteem as a person.
  20. I was there on Friday and largely agree with your take, especially on the music. Also the music didn't appear to be live, which I thought was a bit disappointing. The story was pretty close to the Brothers Grimm, with the spirit of the mother (in Grimm, it's a tree on her grave that bestows the dress and shoes), the stepsisters mutilating their feet and the overall darker tone. Not necessarily what I expected as the Perrault version is the default one in the French-speaking world, and that's the one that has the fairy godmother and the pumpkin carriage. I was somewhat surprised that Cinderella was barefoot the entire ballet, although the sequins effect was a neat touch - it has to be quite challenging for the dancer. I felt that the ball sequence lasted too long and the corps didn't have anything interesting to do, and as they were not characters we had met before it was a bit pointless. That said, I still enjoyed the production and the fact that it was a different style. And it was nice to have a younger, more diverse audience. I was also very impressed by how Les Ballets de Monte Carlo comes through as a unified company when they have dancers trained at Vaganova, SAB and the Paris Opera Ballet school, among others.
  21. Perhaps Zhurbin's promotion means ABT will show more ballets like The Green Table where character artists have more of a leading role? Zhurbin was terrific (and terrifying) last time ABT staged The Green Table, which seems like far too long ago
  22. My experience with Hee Seo has been that she really responds to the energy from her partner - so the few times I saw her with Roberto Bolle she was marvelous and luminous as Giselle. With Cory Stearns, on the other hand, I found her much duller. I would expect Bell to bring out her best quality in Swan Lake or R&J, but still can't quite see her as a Kitri...
  23. I'm glad to hear of his plans, but I will miss him on stage. He had such great presence.
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