mussel Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Premier starts in less than 3 hours. It's killing me I am here but not there. I'll be waiting with bated breath for members' reviews. Link to comment
Helene Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Just a note that many of Ratmansky's productions take some time to get into the bones of his dancer and that it's unlikely opening night will be set in stone: it's more like to be a work in progress, as least as far as details and timing are concerned. Link to comment
Natalia Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Premier starts in less than 3 hours. It's killing me I am here but not there. I'll be waiting with bated breath for members' reviews. Well, it's 1:30AM on the West Coast. The premiere performance is over and the gala patrons must be basking in the glow of the after-party. Now we just need the reports and maybe a 'sneaky photo' or two! (Wink) Link to comment
bad feet Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Premier starts in less than 3 hours. It's killing me I am here but not there. I'll be waiting with bated breath for members' reviews. Well, it's 1:30AM on the West Coast. The premiere performance is over and the gala patrons must be basking in the glow of the after-party. Now we just need the reports and maybe a 'sneaky photo' or two! (Wink) #proudtobeapartofABT Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Bad feet - for those of us not on Facebook what does your hashtag link to? If it's a picture can u post it so we can see it? Link to comment
ksk04 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Just to get us started, here's the biggies for opening night casting: Aurora / Desire : Vishneva / Gomes Lilac: V. Part Carabosse: Nancy Raffa Florestan / Queen: V. Barbee / T. Ratmansky Catalabutte: A. Agoudine Fairies: Candide (Sincerity): D. Teuscher Fleur de farine (Wheat Fairy): M. Copeland Miettte qui tombent (Breadcrumb): S. Lane Canari qui chante (Canary): S. Brandt Violente (Temperament): S. Abrera Suitors: Hammoudi, Forster, Hoven, Zurbin Galifron, Prince's Tutor: C. Salstein Countess: Leanne Underwood Precious Stones: Diamond: I. Boylston Gold: S. Williams Silver: L. Post Sapphire: M. Hamrick White Cat / Puss in Boots: Isadora Loyola / Sean Stewart Florine / Bluebird: C. Trenary (wow what a discovery for me) / Simkin Lil Red and Wolf: Adrienna Schulte / P Ogle Cinderella / Prince Fortune: Gemma Bond / S. Baca (yes they do their actual variation) Ogre / Ogress / Hop-on-my-thumb (and brothers): R. Bowman / B. Travis / area students (they also do their variation) Bluebeard / Ariana: L. Estrada / D. Clemente Porcelain Princesses: B. Geoghegan L. Higgins Mandarin: K. Kodama Scheherazade: L. Miller Shah and his brother: R. Thierry / I. Ochoa Plus what seemed to be an infinite supply of corps dancers, extras, and dancing children. Link to comment
Helene Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 A shot of the Sapphire costume tweeted by Paulina Waski:https://twitter.com/PaulinaWaski/status/573114888341483520 Gillian Murphy tweeted this Instagram link: https://instagram.com/p/zyyV7bnVQj/v Link to comment
ksk04 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I don't think I have it in me to do a big review but here are my overall impressions (and if you have a question, I'm happy to try to answer): - The costumes are gorgeous. Really. I've never seen an ABT production where people were compelled to applaud a dress (or the woman stuck wearing the dress--poor Tatiana Ratmansky; it looked so heavy), but the people did. It was hard to focus on the dancing whenever someone new came on the stage as I had to get the binocs out to see all the costuming details. - There is a clear turn away from the way today's dancers perform "classical ballets". Low passes (very few done at the actual knee), chainee turns on demi-pointe (making it revelatory when Aurora ends her 3rd act solo with chainees on full pointe), saute arabesques with softly bent knees and low legs (for all--men and women), back foot on demi-pointe when standing in B plus (rather than arched over--even the bows are done like this). Soft soft soft, pose pose pose seems the mantra, which is what makes it jarring when a dancer isn't able to quite do this. Which leads me to my next point... - How/why this production was made for a company that imports a lot of its "star" dancers is very unclear to me. The grand pas de deux is vastly different from the text we are used to, and vastly different from even the 1890 Mariinsky recon (I watched this morning for verification). A dancer has to completely subsume all the training and style they are used to in order to blend into this production. I don't see how it comes with a few short rehearsals. Does this indicate a shift in casting? Doubtful--isn't Osipova cast in this for one performance at the Met? - Vishneva acted her butt off through the Rose Adagio which I've never really seen someone manage (since they are usually gripping for dear life); she had a whole storyline of surprise and playfulness at being the center of attention: one moment totally serene, the next unable to help herself from a quick stealing smile to her parents. Both she and V. Part often danced (and Part mimed) with a mischievous, playful twinkle in their eyes and I don't know, yet, whether this is the dictate for the production or just how they decided to play it. Part is the quintessential Lilac Fairy for me (though she had some trouble with a pirouette in her solo), and she has a warmth, grace, and humor that shines through (Desire to her: what do I do to wake this girl up? Lilac: think you stupid boy! [big sly grin]) - Other Stand-outs: Cassandra Trenary--wow, wow, wow. Not sure if I've seen her dance (certainly not in a solo), but she was fantastic. I'd love to see her paired with Cornejo (since she's small enough to dance with Simkin) in some classics. Could easily see her as Aurora. Lauren Post as the Silver Fairy--so precise and on form. Stella Abrera as a sterner-than-usual Violent. V. Part's giant feather headdress for Act 1 onward. The Hop-on-my-thumbs kids, what they lack in accuracy is made up for in attitude. Nancy Raffa (though the weird long fingers look a little floppy and might be best left off the costume). The sheer number of people packed onstage for the Garland Waltz. edited to add: Vishneva's wig in the 3rd act was so, so, so terrible. Put on totally poorly; I hope they figure it out. No one else seemed to have such a bad wig application. Really heinous, especially on the opening night when these things are still in mint condition. Link to comment
pssfrb Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 ksk04: Do you know who these dancers you listed are-for bluebird, porcelain princess (and down that list), as they are not with ABT so am just curious. Were these dancing roles? Young/old? Link to comment
Helene Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 The continually updated Twitter hastag is: https://twitter.com/hashtag/ABTSleepingBeauty?src=hash Searches on #proudtobeapartofABT on Twitter and Facebook came up null. Link to comment
bad feet Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Bad feet - for those of us not on Facebook what does your hashtag link to? If it's a picture can u post it so we can see it? sorry ABT Fan, can't get it to work on here. It's a picture of the thr cast taking their bow's. Link to comment
ksk04 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 ksk04: Do you know who these dancers you listed are-for bluebird, porcelain princess (and down that list), as they are not with ABT so am just curious. Were these dancing roles? Young/old? They did a little walk-stylized movement around in the entrada and apotheosis, but no real dancing. They could have been older dance students, perhaps? I didn't recognize their names either, but they are listed individually on the casting sheet so I wanted to include them in case I wasn't up to date on the apprentices/etc. Link to comment
pssfrb Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Thank you, ksk04. No, they are not apprentices, so my guess is local dance types. Link to comment
PeggyR Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I don't think I have it in me to do a big review but here are my overall impressions (and if you have a question, I'm happy to try to answer): That's enough to make my mouth water! Thank you so much for posting, and can't wait to hear more from you and all others who were there. BTW how long did the performance end up lasting? Did it come in at 3 hours? It sounds like there was a LOT of dancing. ETA: Also, how did the longer tutus look in motion? I always wondered if they would flop around or look ungainly to eyes accustomed to the pancake style. Link to comment
ksk04 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I don't think I have it in me to do a big review but here are my overall impressions (and if you have a question, I'm happy to try to answer): That's enough to make my mouth water! Thank you so much for posting, and can't wait to hear more from you and all others who were there. BTW how long did the performance end up lasting? Did it come in at 3 hours? It sounds like there was a LOT of dancing. I had to leave after the first round of bows (before individual ones front-of-the-curtain ones, I assume) and it was ~10:35 when I walked out with a 7:30 start time. Notably, I did not see McKenzie come out on stage; though again, I left a bit early. I thought he would have been out after the creative team (Ratmanksy, Hudson, etc.) took theirs. So someone correct me if I'm wrong about that. Pleasantly, I think the third act was sped along by the fact that there wasn't a stop for bows after each variation (except during the two big pdd to allow the dancers to catch their breath). edit to add about the tutus: They weren't particularly floppy as they appear quite heavy and weighed down. But there's very little extreme movement, I think, with an eye toward that. I think I only saw the "bloomers"/crotch of a tutu a handful of times throughout the night, really. Link to comment
Natalia Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Thank you so much, ksk04! It sounds fascinating. I can't wait to see this in DC next winter, if not sooner in NY. Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Thank you so much for the report! And thank you for offering to answer our questions. The grand pas de deux is vastly different from the text we are used to, and vastly different from even the 1890 Mariinsky recon (I watched this morning for verification). Was the pas de deux similar to what Doug Fullington presented with dancers from Pacific Northwest Ballet at the Guggenheim? (Starting about 1:05:30). https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=6xpOVN3cfGc#t=3931 I'm also curious whether the "long" or "short" version of the Bluebird's variation was used. Stylistically, what you describe sounds similar to what Ratmansky did with Paquita with the Bavarian State Ballet, a company just as mongrelized as ABT. I found it to be very beautiful. It seems to me that if dancers are expected to replicate at least a semlance of Bournonville style, Balanchine style, Ashton style and even McGregor style, they should be able to do proper Petipa style. Ratmansky reminds us that Petipa ≠ Vaganova, and if part-time principals have to put in more rehearsal time with ABT in order to fit in to the production, so much the better. Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Marcelo Gomes just posted this close up picture from last night. Much easier to see the costume details. Gorgeous. https://instagram.com/p/z0Idx4iuYa/ Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 And, look at this close up of the Silver Fairy's crown posted by Lauren Post: https://instagram.com/p/zyaZ-0s-OU/?modal=true Link to comment
sandik Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Just to get us started, here's the biggies for opening night casting:... Plus what seemed to be an infinite supply of corps dancers, extras, and dancing children. That seems to be standard for all productions of SB... Link to comment
ksk04 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Thank you so much for the report! And thank you for offering to answer our questions. The grand pas de deux is vastly different from the text we are used to, and vastly different from even the 1890 Mariinsky recon (I watched this morning for verification). Was the pas de deux similar to what Doug Fullington presented with dancers from Pacific Northwest Ballet at the Guggenheim? (Starting about 1:05:30). https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=6xpOVN3cfGc#t=3931 I'm also curious whether the "long" or "short" version of the Bluebird's variation was used. Yes, very similar to that with the addition of fish dives (which were fantastically snappy) in place of the developpes seen in the video. But still, lower passes, lower arabesques/attitudes, and honestly it seemed to me like the dancers started with a slightly modified fourth position for pirouettes--rather more open than crossed. By the way, I forgot to add the Desire variation is FIENDISH. It's almost entirely very fast, petite allegro. Gomes handled it like a champ, but it looks like a real killer and will definitely expose anyone who has been slacking. What would I be looking for with the Bluebird variation? The Male solo seemed essentially like every other Bluebird solo I've seen, but I do not claim to be an expert. Or do you mean the pdd? Link to comment
fondoffouettes Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 And, look at this close up of the Silver Fairy's crown posted by Lauren Post: https://instagram.com/p/zyaZ-0s-OU/?modal=true How adorable! Love it! Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 What would I be looking for with the Bluebird variation? The Male solo seemed essentially like every other Bluebird solo I've seen, but I do not claim to be an expert. Or do you mean the pdd? Western versions typically use (nearly) all the music Tchaikovsky composed, meaning that the opening theme is repeated twice and the dancer performs the sequence of jumps in two directions. Russian versions, and apparently it was notated this way, don't repeat the opening theme. I was curious about which option Ratmansky chose. Link to comment
sandik Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I don't think I have it in me to do a big review but here are my overall impressions (and if you have a question, I'm happy to try to answer): ... - There is a clear turn away from the way today's dancers perform "classical ballets". Low passes (very few done at the actual knee), chainee turns on demi-pointe (making it revelatory when Aurora ends her 3rd act solo with chainees on full pointe), saute arabesques with softly bent knees and low legs (for all--men and women), back foot on demi-pointe when standing in B plus (rather than arched over--even the bows are done like this). Soft soft soft, pose pose pose seems the mantra, which is what makes it jarring when a dancer isn't able to quite do this. Which leads me to my next point... - How/why this production was made for a company that imports a lot of its "star" dancers is very unclear to me. The grand pas de deux is vastly different from the text we are used to, and vastly different from even the 1890 Mariinsky recon (I watched this morning for verification). A dancer has to completely subsume all the training and style they are used to in order to blend into this production. I don't see how it comes with a few short rehearsals. Does this indicate a shift in casting? Doubtful--isn't Osipova cast in this for one performance at the Met? Firstly -- many thanks for the detailed descriptions -- they are truly appreciated! I understand the concern about subsuming style, but (as Volcanohunter points out earlier in this thread) we ask dancers to do this when they perform the work of other choreographers. This is likely the closest we'll get to what Petipa wanted to see -- more contemporary productions have their virtues, but this is more like the actual text. I think it's more than worth the effort it takes to make it work. (sorry for all the 'mores') - Vishneva acted her butt off through the Rose Adagio which I've never really seen someone manage (since they are usually gripping for dear life); she had a whole storyline of surprise and playfulness at being the center of attention: one moment totally serene, the next unable to help herself from a quick stealing smile to her parents. Both she and V. Part often danced (and Part mimed) with a mischievous, playful twinkle in their eyes and I don't know, yet, whether this is the dictate for the production or just how they decided to play it. Part is the quintessential Lilac Fairy for me (though she had some trouble with a pirouette in her solo), and she has a warmth, grace, and humor that shines through (Desire to her: what do I do to wake this girl up? Lilac: think you stupid boy! [big sly grin]) Oh, excellent news -- these parts really do have the potential for that kind of byplay, but as you note, they can be such a technical challenge that a performer doesnt' get to that level. I envy you the experience of seeing it played out fully! edited to add: Vishneva's wig in the 3rd act was so, so, so terrible. Put on totally poorly; I hope they figure it out. No one else seemed to have such a bad wig application. Really heinous, especially on the opening night when these things are still in mint condition. The wigs in Ratmansky's Don Q for the Dutch company have a few duds as well. The first time I saw Pacific Northwest Ballet do it, Cupid seemed like a variation of Melanie Griffiths in Working Girl -- puffy and stiff, but with those awful wings on the sides.... Link to comment
sandik Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Stylistically, what you describe sounds similar to what Ratmansky did with Paquita with the Bavarian State Ballet, a company just as mongrelized as ABT. I found it to be very beautiful. It seems to me that if dancers are expected to replicate at least a semlance of Bournonville style, Balanchine style, Ashton style and even McGregor style, they should be able to do proper Petipa style. Ratmansky reminds us that Petipa ≠ Vaganova, and if part-time principals have to put in more rehearsal time with ABT in order to fit in to the production, so much the better. Yes! ABT presents itself as a repository of many different traditions in ballet -- stylistic specificity is crucial to that kind of mission. Link to comment
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