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NYCB Swan Lake (Winter Season)


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Or for that matter did anyone see Ashley Bouder? I couldn't get tickets - good for NYCB for selling out - bad for us guys who wait!

Ashley was excellent in white, though in my opinion she lacked vulnerability. In black she lacked arrogance, viperishness. She is a swan in the making. I look forward to seeing Sterling Hylton on Saturday and will deliver my report.

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I had the good fortune of seeing all of the casts at NYCB. I saw the Mearns/Angle cast all three times - twice in the fourth ring and once, thanks to my husband's splurge and effort in securing tickets, from the first row center of the first ring. (I saw former general manager of the Met Opera, Joe Volpe, that night. Marcelo Gomes was also in the first ring.) I'll join the chorus of all those who praised Mearns' performances as remarkable and exquisite. Her performance in this ballet should be on DVD. Jared Angle doesn't really do a thing for me in this ballet.

I saw Bouder/Veyette once. Unfortunately, while I think Bouder is a great dancer in certain roles, I did not think she was a particularly memorable Swan Queen. Apart from the issue of a lack of vulnerability mentioned above, I felt like she rarely stretched her positions to create beautiful lines. Also, I felt there was way too much arm flapping. This was a pitfall that Sara Mearns wisely avoided. Normally, I would have expected Bouder to at least knock the Black Swan section out of the park. She was having a bit of an off night when I saw it (last Wednesday) and nearly lost her balance after coming out of some spins. Veyette's dancing tends to look very effortful. He has learned to achieve height in his jumps, but this seems to come at the expense of his line.

I saw Reichlin/T. Angle last Thursday. Reichlin had some excellent, beautiful moments. Her elongated limbs suit this role perfectly. However, there were many moments where the performance looked like a work in progress. It didn't help that the tempo was so fast at times that she could barely perform all the steps and still keep up with the music. Tyler Angle was excellent. He was a romantic partner and handled his solos very well. Tess is too tall for him, but they worked well together.

Hyltin and R. Fairchild gave a very good debut performance on Sunday afternoon. Hyltin had lovely stretched positions. She paid attention to details in the use of her arms, head and neck. She and Robby handled the technical demands of their roles very well. I would definitely be interested in seeing them again in the future when they develop more in their roles.

On to some of the minor roles. I think it was noted earlier how brilliant T. Peck. DeLuz, M. Fairchild and A. Stafford were in the p.d.q. I was disappointed by the later casts. Christian T. seemed to have difficulty w. the demands of the role. Chase Finlay has a lot going for him, but he has difficulty cleanly landing his turns in the air. He also struggled with the difficult choreography. I saw Pereirra in the second cast of the p.d.q. There is no technical challenge that is too great for her. She is marvelous. I thought Megan LeCrone was out of her technical league in the pdq. S. Lowery was miscast. Petite allegro is not her forte.

It's been a fun and exciting Winter Season. Kathryn Morgan and Adrian Daching Waring are missed. Now it's about time to get excited about our new casts for Apollo, Vienna Waltzes and other masterpieces returning in the Spring.

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I had the good fortune of seeing all of the casts at NYCB. I saw the Mearns/Angle cast all three times - twice in the fourth ring and once, thanks to my husband's splurge and effort in securing tickets, from the first row center of the first ring. (I saw former general manager of the Met Opera, Joe Volpe, that night. Marcelo Gomes was also in the first ring.) I'll join the chorus of all those who praised Mearns' performances as remarkable and exquisite. Her performance in this ballet should be on DVD. Jared Angle doesn't really do a thing for me in this ballet.

I saw Bouder/Veyette once. Unfortunately, while I think Bouder is a great dancer in certain roles, I did not think she was a particularly memorable Swan Queen. Apart from the issue of a lack of vulnerability mentioned above, I felt like she rarely stretched her positions to create beautiful lines. Also, I felt there was way too much arm flapping. This was a pitfall that Sara Mearns wisely avoided. Normally, I would have expected Bouder to at least knock the Black Swan section out of the park. She was having a bit of an off night when I saw it (last Wednesday) and nearly lost her balance after coming out of some spins. Veyette's dancing tends to look very effortful. He has learned to achieve height in his jumps, but this seems to come at the expense of his line.

I saw Reichlin/T. Angle last Thursday. Reichlin had some excellent, beautiful moments. Her elongated limbs suit this role perfectly. However, there were many moments where the performance looked like a work in progress. It didn't help that the tempo was so fast at times that she could barely perform all the steps and still keep up with the music. Tyler Angle was excellent. He was a romantic partner and handled his solos very well. Tess is too tall for him, but they worked well together.

Hyltin and R. Fairchild gave a very good debut performance on Sunday afternoon. Hyltin had lovely stretched positions. She paid attention to details in the use of her arms, head and neck. She and Robby handled the technical demands of their roles very well. I would definitely be interested in seeing them again in the future when they develop more in their roles.

On to some of the minor roles. I think it was noted earlier how brilliant T. Peck. DeLuz, M. Fairchild and A. Stafford were in the p.d.q. I was disappointed by the later casts. Christian T. seemed to have difficulty w. the demands of the role. Chase Finlay has a lot going for him, but he has difficulty cleanly landing his turns in the air. He also struggled with the difficult choreography. I saw Pereirra in the second cast of the p.d.q. There is no technical challenge that is too great for her. She is marvelous. I thought Megan LeCrone was out of her technical league in the pdq. S. Lowery was miscast. Petite allegro is not her forte.

It's been a fun and exciting Winter Season. Kathryn Morgan and Adrian Daching Waring are missed. Now it's about time to get excited about our new casts for Apollo, Vienna Waltzes and other masterpieces returning in the Spring.

Here's a dark horse prediction: Chase Finley has been given many prominent roles. I suspect he's being prepared for Apollo. He'd make a perfect Apollo as his technique sharpens and he gains more performance experience.

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An item on my ballet wish list finally came true: I got to see Ashley Bouder in Square Dance last night! It was a match made in ballet heaven: A dancer with great technique and musicality. But the added pleasure was her young partner, Taylor Stanley. Wow! He matched Ashley step-for-step but the surprise was in the great male solo. The entire variation just flowed beautifully, as it should. Terrific. I hope the two of them get to do this again before they retire.....

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An item on my ballet wish list finally came true: I got to see Ashley Bouder in Square Dance last night! It was a match made in ballet heaven: A dancer with great technique and musicality. But the added pleasure was her young partner, Taylor Stanley. Wow! He matched Ashley step-for-step but the surprise was in the great male solo. The entire variation just flowed beautifully, as it should. Terrific. I hope the two of them get to do this again before they retire.....

I and the entire audience agreed with bobbi. Tremendous cheers for both of them, and especially for Stanley's solo. "Flow" is the exact word I used as well. His line is perfect, his footwork is light, elegant and precise, and one of the things that I think makes him stand out is his épaulement, and a very slight tilt of his head. Not like Helene Alexopoulos, but that's one of the things that made her stand out, and it works similarly for him. He was extraordinary. Great Promise. Beautiful dancer.

Here's a review by Leigh Wichtel that confirms what bobbi and I just said:

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/city_ballet_it_hip_to_see_square_3H6w4ffFWx7emTIZZOd43H

Edited by ViolinConcerto
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Kathryn Morgan and Adrian Daching Waring are missed.
Gentle reminder please, that reports of a dancer's condition, if s/he isn't performing, is not permitted here unless you can cite (preferably link to) a respected source. A quote from the dancer or company spokesperson, a report in a newspaper -- all are acceptable sources. Something from a fan's blog is not.

My attendance has been a little spottier than usual, but I don't believe I saw Danchig-Waring this season, and I know I didn't see Morgan.

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Kathryn Morgan and Adrian Daching Waring are missed.
Gentle reminder please, that reports of a dancer's condition, if s/he isn't performing, is not permitted here unless you can cite (preferably link to) a respected source. A quote from the dancer or company spokesperson, a report in a newspaper -- all are acceptable sources. Something from a fan's blog is not.

My attendance has been a little spottier than usual, but I don't believe I saw Danchig-Waring this season, and I know I didn't see Morgan.

sorry

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Now that the Winter Season is over, NYCB updated the photos on its home page to highlight things that are coming up in the Spring. There is a rehearsal photo for The Seven Deadly Sins (SDS) that features Wendy Whelan surrounded by several crouching men. I really liked Lynn Taylor Corbett's Chiascoro. I have high hopes for SDS.

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Finlay is certainly a future candidate for Apollo and many other major roles. He may even be learning the role as an understudy now. However, he is too young and not ready for a major role of that stature at this juncture.

Agreed. But he is all potential.

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I saw Bouder/Veyette and Hylton/Fairchild in Swan Lake in the past week. Bouder can do anything technically, but she is still callow as a girl, and I don't mean that at all maliciously. I mean she did not convey the pathos of the role, she seemed a young girl who has never known true heartbreak. Veyette, while certainly an authoritative dancer, also did not convey the emotional depth I was seeking. I found it in the performances of Hylton/Fairchild. Sterling Hylton, though so young, had the pathetic quality that permeates Swan Lake, she suffers like a Russian, yet is always natural, never cloying as they can sometimes be. Fairchild truly has the emotional range for the Prince. He is left bereft at the end, and it is a still, but deep moment. The entire fairwell of Odette and the Prince is beautifully, poignantly rendered. They are the couple to watch. Such a difference in performances between the technically thrilling Ashley Bouder/Andrew Veyette and the expressively mature Hylton/Fairchild.

Which brings me to what Ashley Bouder does so well. She is charming, adorable in Fall of the Four Seasons on Sunday, and a week ago she sparkled in the finale of Stars & Stripes. That is what she is perfect for at this stage in her career, being a gorgeous, cheerful soubrette. Until she knows heartbreak, I don't see how she can fully know Odette.

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erpollock, I have to disagree about Ashley being only a soubrette. I found her Odette wonderful, and the farewell at the end was especially poignant. If you've ever seen Ashley do Emeralds, there's nothing soubrette-ish about that, she's wonderful at adagio b/c she can dance with such amplitude and abandon. In fact, I wish NYCB would allow her to do more of that kind of repertory. I would hate it if all she danced were soubrette roles. On a side note, although I don't know why reviews of non-swan lake perfs have popped up on this thread, I would like to say that Ashley's Square Dance has to be seen to be believed, it was out of this world amazing and gorgeous! Can she please do the main Barocco role next, pretty please?? :)

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I saw Bouder/Veyette and Hylton/Fairchild in Swan Lake in the past week. Bouder ... did not convey the pathos of the role...

I found that to be the case as well. Bouder is a marvel in many roles, but she needs some coaching as Odette. One example of failing to convey pathos occurred in the final act. There is a quiet moment when Odette sinks to the floor and then lowers her arm to the ground. Most ballerinas slowly lower the arm. Bouder decided to slam her hand on the stage floor so that it made a sound when her hand hit the stage floor. She may have been trying to convey Odette's frustration, but for me it robbed the scene of grandeur and pathos. It made Odette seem like a frustrated child.

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