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Giselle 2011


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Well, I just came back from a gorgeous performance of "Giselle" thanks to the sublime Diana Vishneva and marvelous Marcelo Gomes (and the commanding Veronika Part)! BRAVO!!! :clapping:

I'm a little too tired to give a full description now--I also saw Cojocaru/Hallberg in Act I, and Herrera/Bolle in Act II in the dress rehearsal today, but I will wait to comment on that until after they actually perform.

I took 5 friends with me to tonight's show, most of whom are not very familiar with ballet. All of them thought the performance was great, and the ballerina exceptional, but they all had the same question, which was, "Are they [Vishneva/Gomes] a real-life couple?" :sweatingbullets: Yes, indeed, the key to this performance was the fantastic connection between Vishneva/Gomes and the passion they shared. Bravo, I say again!

More to follow later...

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Well, I just came back from a gorgeous performance of "Giselle" thanks to the sublime Diana Vishneva and marvelous Marcelo Gomes (and the commanding Veronika Part)! BRAVO!!! :clapping:

They were terrific together - a terrific partnership. I saw an exquisite Giselle with Vishneva and Corella about 5 years ago. However, Vishneva and Gomes now seem to have a solid partership. I really got (in Act 2) that Albrecht needs protection from Giselle as well as the generally demonstrated love they have for each other. This is the first time I have seen that so clearly dramatized. So,different chemistry than Vishneva/Corella but just as wonderful.

I also thought that Part was strong as Myrta; she looked better to me than she has looked previously. But for me the revelation of this week has been Isabella Boylston. She was terrific tonight has Moyna (Yuriko was Zulma) and did a more than credible job in the Ratmansky and Wheeldon works on Wed. night. I look forward to seeing more of her.

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I agree that this was an absolutely gorgeous and emotionally gut wrenching performance. Vishneva's Giselles have become more traditional over the years and while her early "wild" Giselles were fascinating I think this is a good development.

She and Gomes had great chemistry and, of course, he was an impassioned Albrecht. They should dance together much more often!

Part was a brilliant, implacable Myrtha and both Kajiya and Boylston were excellent. I was surprised at how much I liked Kajiya - she is such a lovely, lyrical dancer I don't know why ABT always seems to want to force her into virtuoso roles.

I was also impressed by Maria Riccetto in the peasant pas. Her dancing was pristine, as always, but last night it also had a great delicacy and lovely phrasing.

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It was a gorgeous performance. Others have already mentioned the chemistry between Gomes and Vishneva. I think Vishneva now is at a point in her career where she has to conserve some energy in Act One so she can blow us away in Act Two. As a result her Act One is tamer, not the "wild girl" of a few years ago, but very beautiful and touching nevertheless. Her Mad Scene is always a thing of wonder, she seems completely disembodied, and I love how she makes her hair fall apart when she's breaking up Bathilde and Albrecht.

In Act Two I thought both Gomes and Vishneva were magnificent. Their pas de deux was just beautiful. He lifted her like she was paper, and at various points he drew her closer to his body. Gomes did a series of wonderful entrechat sixes when ordered by Myrtha to dance, and I love the way he traveled upstage, closer and closer to Myrtha, as if being drawn by her power. Vishneva's initiation scene is also a wonder -- the way she suddenly starts turning furiously, as if really possessed, sets the stage for the entire act. She appears so wraith-like -- her arms start to float and even fly in every direction, as if this was really a spirit dancing. And when the clock strikes four I have never seen such a sudden transformation of Giselle. This Giselle crossed her arms every time Albrecht tried to touch her, as she bourreed back to the grave. Just a haunting end to a beautiful performance.

I thought Veronika Part as Myrtha gave one of her best performances. Really implacable and commanding. Not even heartless, just the Boss and thus even more frightening. The corps de ballet tonight looked on, after looking so raggedy last week.

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I thought the Vishneve-Gomes Giselle last night was utterly ravishing. How to describe it? If only I were a poet. Even after having seen countless performances of this ballet in my lifetime, I was crying at the end of Act I, so moved was I by how vividly Marcelo conveyed the depth of his grief. Vishneva's Giselle in Act II was flawless and weightless, an exceptional, perhaps defining rendition (as if such a thing could ever be possible). She reminded me of the performances of Ekaterina Maximova in the 1960s, in which Maximova seemed to float above the stage, never quite touching the floor. Vishneva, too, transcended the material world, elongating and shaping her body into the most eloquent embodiment of perfect ballet line. My husband described the production as "operatic," noting the light motifs in the music, which recur more and more ominously. Which brings me to the magnificent Veronika Part, who was gorgeous and merciless as Myrtha, truly a wili on the warpath. Glorious, unforgettable performances by all. And let me not forget to commend Gennadi Saveliev, who, IMHO, seems more than anyone else to embody the role of Hilarion.

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Giselle with Alina Cojocaru - I've been going to the ballet for more than 40 years. This was one of the greatest performances I've ever seen. I don't even know where to begin. I'll write more tomorrow -maybe.

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Giselle with Alina Cojocaru - I've been going to the ballet for more than 40 years. This was one of the greatest performances I've ever seen. I don't even know where to begin. I'll write more tomorrow -maybe.

Please do!

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The Vishneva-Gomes Giselle was wonderful. Their potent chemistry was obvious from their first moments onstage. Vishneva was good in Act One and I agree with canbelto about the nice touch of her letting her hair down before she breaks apart Albrecht and Bathilde.

Her solos were beautiful but I've seen better Mad Scenes. Makarova's, in my opinion, is the gold standard in its power, creepiness and poignancy.

Act Two was glorious. Veronika Part's Myrtha was ruthless and her naturally majestic stage presence was amplified in the role. She was one scary Willi Queen! Part should go down in ballet history as one of the best Myrthas of all time along with Martine Van Hamel and Gillian Murphy. Vishneva was spot on perfect. A wild newly born Willi and angelic at the same time. She danced with exquisite lyricism and abandon in her solos and with Gomes. Giselle's initiation scene was an OMG moment -- the way she exploded into those turns was amazing. Vishneva moves around the stage with an unearthly weightlessness especially with Gomes. One got the impression that Albrecht was lifting a spirit. And their respective series of entrechats! I've never seen a ballerina ever get the height out of entrechats that Vishneva did. And Gomes's series of entrechats moving upstage were stunning. It was an Act Two filled with drama and poetry. Now I know why Vishneva's Giselle is so renowned.

At the curtain calls it was obvious that Vishneva and Gomes have formed a close bond. A great partnership has been born.

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It really was a great night at the ballet. It's amazing that NY audiences got to see, two nights in a row, maybe the two best Giselles there are in the world right now.

Diana Vishneva's Giselle is absolutely unique -- it really has to be experienced to be believed. From the moment she steps out her cottage, Vishneva brings a kind of moody intensity to the role that can't be topped. Think Giselle is a pretty ballet about a girl who dies for love? Vishneva will make you think again. This Giselle will stare emptily at the ground, as if lost in her own world. When she did the Spessivtseva variation, in her hops on pointe she turned towards Albrecht, in an almost erotic exhibition of this girl's love of dance. Seeing Albrecht and Bathilde together will unhinge her so much that her hair falls out while she's breaking them apart, not when she falls to the ground. In the mad scene she bumped into Bathilde before making a curtsy, with a completely blank, demented look on her face. When she mimed the "he loves me, he loves me not" bit in the Mad Scene, she mimed herself angrily tearing up the flower. Vishneva now conserves some energy for Act Two, but the basic outline of her Giselle hasn't changed over the years (I've now seen it three times). She has a doll-like face and is petite and pretty, but emphasizes the serious, dark side to this ballet.

Vishneva in Act Two is still probably the most intense, well-rounded characterization I've seen of the role. When Myrtha initiates her as a Wili, Vishneva sudden dropped her head to the ground and started turning furiously, really possessed. Natalia Osipova's turns might have been faster, but they had a lightness to them that left a completely different impression. Vishneva was stern and unsettling, as she never lifted her eyes, never let you forget that this was a ghost. Her eyes remained downcast for the entire second act, even when she did the developpes or the bunny hops. She wore a huge white skirt with many layers that flew in every which direction, and her eyes were drawn with dark eyeshadow. There was a wraith-like quality to Vishneva's Giselle that was frightening. She used her long arms to create an impression of a complete ghost, as she often would whirl her arms in different directions as she danced. When she grand jeted across the stage, she pounded her feet hard. One great example of a dancer reworking a role to suit her strengths -- Vishneva doesn't have the effortless, airy jump of, say, Alina Cojocaru, so she even makes her jumps fierce and forbidding.

Diana had wonderful chemistry with Marcelo Gomes, the Albrecht, who brought his own moody intensity to the ballet. Technically he was superb, but he made the dancing serve the drama, just like Vishneva. In Act One when Giselle expired in his arms Gomes visibly panicked more than any other Albrecht I've seen. When Myrtha commanded him to dance, he did a series of entrechat sixes that moved closer and closer to Myrtha, as if drawn by some sinister spirit. Gomes was a great partner -- he lifted Vishneva as if she were paper. Perhaps the greatest moment of last night's Giselle was when the clock struck four, and Albrecht was saved. Gomes carried Vishneva to her grave, and all of a sudden Vishneva let all life drain out of her. Her arms and legs dropped lifelessly, and all of a sudden Albrecht was carrying a corpse. It was spooky and scary. Vishneva then repeatedly crossed her arms whenever Albrecht tried to touch her, really as an untouchable spirit. She bourreed farther and farther away, and then she was gone. She never looked at him. Vishneva and Gomes made Giselle an unsettling, unforgettable gothic love story.

Veronika Part as the Queen of the Wilis was tall, stern, commanding, and really Vishneva and Part together made for one scary stage. Myrtha is one of Part's best roles -- it takes advantage of her strengths (her commanding appearance, the surprising lightness of her jumps), and she really has the role perfected. The imperious sweep of her arms as she commands her intendants, Giselle, and Albrecht was something else. Maria Riccetto and Jared Matthews gave one of those "nothing special" performances of the peasant pas de deux.

If Diana Vishneva's Giselle was so ghostly that it made your hair curl, Alina Cojocaru, David Hallberg, and Stella Abrera (subbing for an injured Gillian Murphy) made Giselle a kinder, gentler ballet. Cojocaru is naturally sweet and waif-like, Hallberg a sort of blond prince whose elegance of dancing is accompanied by a nice guy stage persona. The two of them were adorable in Act One. It was puppy-love at its most endearing -- I loved the way they giggled together while sitting on the bench. Their dances together had the joy and spring of young love. Cojocaru was really believable as a peasant too, not just as a ballerina posing as a peasant. Her hair was almost casually pulled behind her head with some flowers, and she smiled and curtsied to everyone with a winning artlessness. In the Mad Scene she didn't really run around the stage and swoon dramatically, but often stood or sat alone, arms folded, crying, like a teenager.

In Act Two, Cojocaru and Hallberg made it a continuation of their love story in Act One, rather than a shocking contrast (as Vishneva and Gomes made Act Two). They touched each other gently throughout the ballet blanc. It almost felt like in Act Two, this Giselle and Albrecht finally consummated their relationship. The same white Giselle costume looked ghostly on Vishneva but looked like a wedding dress on Cojocaru. Cojocaru was not really wraith-like -- this was the same sweet girl of Act One. Whereas Vishneva had her eyes downcast the entire act, Cojocaru often looked upwards, as if drawn by some kind of divine, benevolent force. Cojocaru and Hallberg embraced tightly when the clock struck four. Cojocaru did something I've never seen any other Giselle do -- she steered Albrecht away from her grave until the last possible musical cue, at which point she all of a sudden stopped and bourreed offstage, but not before dropping a daisy center stage. This Giselle simply could not be morbid, even in death. Giselle was very uplifting when Cojocaru and Hallberg danced it -- two lovers who cannot be together in life reunite in the afterlife.

Cojocaru has had a number of injuries, and there were moments where she visibly had difficulty with the technical demands of the ballet. One such moment was the Spessivtseva variation. Cojocaru's feet are disfigured by bunions, and I imagine this kind of pounding on pointe must be extremely painful. For a moment I thought she simply would not do the variation, as she stopped onstage and seemed frozen. But she grimly did the hops across the stage, but not traveling very far. Her arms were gripped tightly to her side. She stopped around center-stage and to everyone's relief went to the pique turns that end the variation. In Act Two, she had a wonderful lightness of movement and an airy jump, but I notice she was careful with the series of backward-traveling entrechats. Her initiation as a Wili didn't have the breakneck fury of Vishneva, but Cojocaru is able to make everything so enchanting. She accelerated her turns, and made the audience forget that she was doing less actual rotations. Cojocaru took advantage of what she does have -- namely, exquisite flexibility, grace, elevation and lightness. Even her bourress are so silky she drew applause just for bourreeing offstage. She brought her own personality to the ballet -- Cojocaru was the most lovable Giselle I've ever seen. You practically wanted to run onstage and give this Giselle a hug. Whereas Vishneva made her arms spooky looking, Cojocaru always had her arms tilted in these series of soft Romantic poses.

David Hallberg complemented Cojocaru beautifully. His Albrecht is not really a cad, just a good-looking and somewhat careless playboy. He's much taller than Cojocaru, but their body line matched each other and they looked born to dance together. In Act Two, Hallberg was the same as he was with Natalia Osipova two years ago -- somewhat reserved, but inspired to dance beautifully. Whereas Gomes collapsed by Myrtha's feet, Hallberg looked like he could have danced all night without collapsing. His less Byronic portrayal would have clashed terribly with Vishneva's Grimm Brothers approach to the ballet, but it matched Cojocaru's softer approach perfectly. He's really a very elegant-looking dancer, and he and Gomes are really stepping up to the plate this season as the ABT's male roster seems to be disappearing.

Stella Abrera stepped in for an injured Gillian Murphy and she's a beautiful dancer, but I kept thinking that this was a Giselle rather than a Myrtha. She didn't have the block-like torso and imperious "queenly" look of most Myrthas. Hee Seo was a standout as Zulma, really beautiful and elegant. Danil Simkin and Sarah Lane in the peasant pas de deux were technically impressive in their variations but had some visible partnering problems. At this point he's too skinny and scrawny and short to partner most ballerinas, even if he is a technical wunderkind.

One last thing -- the curtain calls. Both Vishneva and Cojocaru took them "in character." Vishneva stared moodily at the stage, her face stern and her eyes blank, for all of the curtain calls. She never looked up at the cheering audience, and never dropped character. Cojocaru on the other hand echoed the low curtsies and shy smiles of *her* Giselle. They were both works of art.

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I saw Cojocaru/Hallberg/Abrera. When I bought the ticket it was Cojocaru/Steifel, Murphy!

Act l - Cojocaru was young, sweet, joyful (you believed she loved to dance) and open to life. Technically there was one oddity (noted by Canbelto). In the Act l variation there are hops on pointe that usually travel on diagonal. Cojocaru did hops in place and opened to a balance before moving on to pique turns. If you know the ballet you'd notice. The people I was with who never saw the ballet before thought the way she open her leg and balanced was beautiful, they didn't mention the hops. Her dancing was beautiful and full in every way - balances, turns, extensions, jumps, the way she covered space, her port de bras, also her wonderful musicality in the length of her musical phrasing - all in service to the ballet. At one point she sustained a pique arabesque directed at Albrecht and opened her arms and chest as if to say - I'm opening my heart to you. As an audience member you loved her and didn't want anything bad to happen to her! This made the mad scene all the more devastating. The mad scene was totally in keeping with the character. She didn't run around ranting but instead crumbled into madness

Act ll - Myrta initiated her and jerked her about, but Giselle's sweetness of spirit always shined through. Pique arabesques across stage, head thrown back, fluid arms - this was a spirit rising. (I have to say that I was a little surprised at how good her beats were when she did an entrachat six, a lot of women don't really beat). There was moment in a lift when Hallberg held her extended leg and she just lifted her other leg from the floor, making her look totally weightless (sorry, I know that's a bad description), So many moments from both acts come back to me. Too many to set down. Cojocaru brings every detail, moment and step to life.

I had not seen Hallberg in much before, and haven't been a big fan. I have new found respect and admiration for him based on both the strength of his dancing and his characterization.

This interpretation of the ballet is Giselle at its most uplifting. The sweetness and purity of Giselle's spirit, and love for Albrecht couldn't be destroyed by betrayal, madness or death and Albrecht, taking the flower that Giselle leaves for him at the end, has learned about love.

The other roles - I agree with Canbelto that Abrera seems more suited to Giselle than Myrta. I hope she gets a chance. The lieutenant Willis, Riccetto and Seo were perhaps a little underpowered, but fine.

Peasant Pas - Lane/Simkin were very enjoyable in their solos. He still has some partnering problems. In fact she seemed better off turning without him than with him!

I feel privileged to have seen Cojocaru in this role.

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I can't add much to the superlatives regarding the performances of Friday and Saturday evening. I had seen Vishneva many times before, so I knew what to expect from her Giselle. I had never seen Cojocaru's Giselle. She was stunning. This suited her much more than Kitri. I also saw the matinee. It wasn't on the same level of artistry as the Fri and Sat evenining performances, but it was pretty good. I was interested in seeing Kobberg, in particular. He is a marvelous actor and dancer, but the lack of any connection or chemistry between him and Dvorovenko caused the performance to be less impressive. Also, Dvorovenko is not particularly good at portraying frailty. Thank you ABT for a marvelous weekend of Giselles! Hope Murphy comes back soon.

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I'm envious, too. But I have to say that reading these wonderfully descriptive reports from our fellow Ballet Alert members has helped me to feel just a bit as though I had been there.

The same holds true of Macaulay's review. (Thanks, canbelto, for the link..) Is there any other dance critic who does quite as good a job of finding words to help us "see" what he has seen, and feel what he has felt?

For example, the following. (I choose it because it contains allusions to one of Ballet Alert's favorite themes: the tendency (or not) to raise the leg a little too high.

[Cojocaru] is nonetheless a marvel. Her art is one of transcendence. After Giselle leaves the sanctuary of the cross in Act II, her first step is to extend a leg to the side while holding her arms still in a halo above her head. Because Ms. Cojocaru's leg — radiant with energy — ascends way above head height, you could already hear a tizzy of excitement in the house, but she immediately made a much more affecting impression simply by the way she then parted her hands and opened her arms; the simpler feat was the more poetic.

I also appreciate the way he discusses "musicality" -- not just with a word, but with an illustration in words. For example:

And, whereas other Royal dancers in this role tend to dance on and into the beat, Ms. Cojocaru tends to arrive, with Romantic responsiveness, after it. (By contrast Ms. Vishneva, unlike many Russians, danced a few steps on the beat, pingingly.) Ms. Cojocaru doesn’t fill a musical phrase to the brim.

Or:

Both [Mr. Hallberg] and Mr. Gomes provided the most musically illuminating dancing of the two performances; both of them gave their ballerinas beautiful support. If you’d seen only Mr. Hallberg dance the long Act II series of entrechat-six, you’d think his super-definition could not be matched, but Mr. Gomes was even more wonderful in timing (he hits the downbeat with the apex of the jump) and more rich-toned.

I learn from comments like this. Just as I learn from the generosity of those Ballet Alert members who take the time to share with us what you have seen and why you admire it or do not admire it.

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If you read my comments about last Friday's performance of Giselle you know I thought it was amazing. I am still feeling, recalling it and taking about it to those who were with me. We are all still in its thrall.

Someone told me that the day after the performance Hallberg twittered the follow - "Alina took me on ride last night & then we flew to a new sphere."

It would seem to me that Hallberg probably gained/learned a lot from Cojocaru - I'm not suggesting that it was totally one sided, I'm sure she got something new from working with Hallberg, it's just that she as been doing & thinking about the role for a while, and is a very established ballerina.

Hallberg is soon partnering Hee Seo in her first Giselle. I can't help but wonder if Cojocaru's impact on Hallberg will have an impact on Seo. It's interesting to think about how this all works.

If anyone has seen other performance of Giselle please post comments.

Thank you all.

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Just wanted to add my thanks to all who took the time to share such detailed and nuanced reviews. I learn so much from the forum! And I agree with Bart's comments about the Macaulay review. It's hard to believe we're only halfway through the Giselle run! At least two more perfs lined up for me, and possibly three.

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I am neither erudite nor educated enough to offer an insightful review, but I can attest to the continuing power of ballet, generally, and "Giselle", in particular, as illustrated by the following transcript of my conversation with my very tolerant significant other of nearly 20 years.

Mr. Puppytreats: Before performance: "You can give my ticket to someone else if you want [please]. I don't mind. [i'd rather stay home and watch the Mets or hockey finals if they are on tv.] I mean, why do they have to wear those outfits?"

Puppytreats: "Please join me. I will enjoy it more if you are there. You will understand my interest better if you see it. Thank you so much for the tickets. I am so excited." [Jumping up and down with glee.]

Mr. Puppytreats: "OK, but I'll take my earphones and ipod with me into the theater."

Puppytreats: "The music is very nice. You'll like it."

Mr. Puppytreats: At intermission: "The band [sic] is so good. I did not need to turn my ipod on at all. Also, the lady in red [bathilde, performed by Leann Underwood] is so beautiful. It was worth coming here just to see her."

Puppytreats: At intermission: "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

Mr. Puppytreats: During Act II: "How on earth does she do that? She is amazing" [as Giselle bourees.]

Puppytreats: Before curtain calls: "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you."

Mr. Puppytreats: "It was really good."

Mr. Puppytreats: During curtain calls: "Why does she get to be 'The Decider?'" [as Michele Wiles, who performed the part of Myrta, bows.]

Puppytreats: "Because she is the Queen of the Wilis."

Mr. Puppytreats: During curtain calls: "She's a hottie; I'm taking a picture of her" [as Paloma Herrera graciously picks up a bouquet of white roses thrown by the man sitting two seats away from us.]

Mr. Puppytreats: As we leave the theater: "The band was great. And the dancing was so well done. I couldn't read the small lettering in the program, but you didn't need to - you could understand it all just from watching the ballet. It was so emotional. Dancers are really great atheletes. And that woman in red is such a cutie."

Puppytreats: "I am afraid that I let out an audible gasp when the ballet started. Did you hear me?"

Mr. Puppytreats: "Oh, yes, I heard you. But don't worry, several others in the audience did the same thing."

Puppytreats: During the entire walk to the car: "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you" [leaping, jumping, skipping].

Mr. Puppytreats: "Why didn't you tell me there were puppies in that show?"

Puppytreats: "None of the versions I've seen [on tape] have ever had puppies. Or the two children."

Mr. Puppytreats: "No, there were four children. See, I was watching the whole thing."

Puppytreats: "Did Roberto Bolle have a bandage wrapped around his leg under his tights. Do you think he is injured? His dancing was not affected, but I thought I saw a bandage."

Mr. Puppytreats: "Oh, I didn't look at that. Why do they have to wear those outfits? And who was that character who looked like he came from the movie "Shrek"? [Hilarion]

Puppytreats: "I know the costumes need improvement. I think they spend money on the stars, not the costumes. But you liked it?"

Mr. Puppytreats: "Yes, I'll go again."

----

I had the following observations:

Misty Copeland danced in the peasant pdd. She is more beautiful in person than in her photographs. She looks like someone poised to go to the next level. I was very impressed. Her partner looked tired and did not match her level of competence on that day.

Zhong-Jing Fang as Zulma and Stella Abrera [according to the program] as Moyna displayed a vivid and effective contrast. Ms. Fang held her face in an icy, numb stare, and she showed a demonstrably deferential attitude toward her queen. Contrarily, Ms. Abrera's eyes were sad and pained. One can imagine either one of these emotions in a wili.

The face of Michele Wiles, as Myrta, looked imperious, angry, sometimes frightening, and gratified in her vengeance. Ms. Wile's arms and hands are incredibly elegant and graceful (as are those of Mr. Bolle.) She has very long fingers that she points artfully, and her hand positions are beautiful. I could not tell if she was trying to suggest that the lower half of her body was being held down, earthbound, making her angry and vengeful. When she had to leave at 4 a.m., she was visibly perturbed, not just powerless and departing.

Paloma Herrera conveyed so much emotion in her dancing of the part of Giselle. During Act I, she was so innocent, and less flirtatious than other interpretations I have seen. She moved into her own world in the mad scene, and was unreachable, just as she was unreachable during the beginning and end of Act II. In Act II, she portrayed such love for Albrecht that I literally felt the emotion inside of my heart. Usually, I just feel the heartbreak, but I felt more than aching in Ms. Herrera's portrayal. The love was continuing and generous, especially as she wrapped her arms around Albrecht from behind. I got the impression that she and Albrecht met briefly in a dream world in Act II, which I never felt before.

Gennadi Saveliev danced the part of Hilarion with admirable skill.

Roberto Bolle mesmerized. He focused on Ms. Herrera intently. During Act I, he threw her in the air and caught her before letting her down, like one throws a baby. (I have not seen these types of throw lifts before). During Act II, he lifted her as if she were air, without any effort. The audience was enraptured by his solos. His failed grasps for Giselle were heartbreaking. I do not think I took a breath or blinked whenever he was on the stage.

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