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Swan Lake in Orange County


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Setting aside my timid nature (face it, Giannina; you're chicken) I'm going to be positive about ABT's production of Swan Lake. I liked it. Green Slime Rothbath was a bit creepy but I liked the dual personality. "Prince" Rothbart at the ball made me think of Bourne's seductive Swan Lake ball scene; Marcelo Gomes was wonderful in the role. The sets were beautiful. The evening ended on an upsetting note: Julie Kent developed a lemon-sized spot of blood on her left foot half way through the ball scene. My mother-instincts may have overwhelmed me but I swear the expression on her face changed for the rest of the production. The only obvious sign of trouble was the fouettes. Half way through she was traveling so badly to her right that she ended them and finished with a series pirouettes off stage right. The wrong direction! That had her coming back on stage from the wrong side but she and Carreno adapted. Newspaper reviews won't be out til tomorrow so I'm hoping she's OK.

Kent is soooo thin. Just hours before I'd seen Ashley Tuttle in a rehearsal; she's a healthy girl and the memory of her made Kent look even thinner. Kent's dancing was sublime though I thought she overdid the arm waving a bit. Jose Manuel Carreno was solid, and an attentive partner. Herman Cornejo in the pas de trois was noteworthy.

It's surprising how little Odette/Odile dances in Swan Lake.

Giannina

[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: Giannina Mooney ]

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Thanks for posting, Giannina -- think how brave you are compared to your first weeks on Ballet Alert!! You should be proud smile.gif

I was struck by your comment about how little Odette/Odile has to dance -- with a great ballerina, I don't think one notices that. Same with Siegfried, who has next to nothing to "dance." There's something about the great ones, some magic, that makes you think of them even when they're not onstage.

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Swan Lake Thurs. night starred Paloma Herrera and Marcelo Gomes. I saw Herrera in SL years ago; she was superb technique and no swan. I so looked forward to this performance, hoping that the two had come together for her. It was not to be, though there were moments. I found her leaden in the White pdd. The steps were there and nicely done, but no spirit, no buoyancy. As always the Black pdd was better, but she didn't really shine until her first solo and that was truly lovely. Act IV was beautiful, and in their final pdd the stars were in their element.

A few thoughts. The womens' costumes for the pas de trois are so beautiful; the border print on their skirts is a fashion statement. Herman Cornejo repeated his role as Benno and repeated his success. Ricardo Torres was "Prince" Rothbart and his enterpretation was very different from Gomes' Tues. night. In the ball scene Torres was a predator and toying with the women. Gomes, on the other hand, was having a wonderful time, strutting his stuff, vamping the women, being handsome and knowing it. At the conclusion, when Prince Rothbart plops himself down next to the queen and sharply turns to her, Torres is saying, "I'm dangerous!" while Gomes smilingly says, "How 'bout THAT, Queenie?!"

I find this Swan Lake production's Act IV my favorite. The opening corps dance, rather than groups dancing the identical steps, reminds me of swans flying into and landing in a lake. The agitation of the storm leads into the agitation of Odette and Sigfried and makes their pdd all the more beautiful. Their death leap is a bit campy but I won't quibble.

The theater was jammed. Wonderful to see as ballet attendance at Orange County has been slack. I guess Swan Lake hasn't lost it's drawing power.

Giannina

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Giannina, evidentally you aren't the only one that feels that the 'death leap is a bit campy' (or at least the execution of it).. When ABT was here for SL a couple years ago one of their principal dancers was watching the performance in the audience behind us. When 'Prince Sigfried' took his leap she laughed so loudly heads turned several rows in front of us back her way. ABT's men dance beautifully but after seeing several SL's that week we came to the conclusion that only Belotserkovsky can dive just as gracefully! By the way, we loved the overall production too. I wish I could be there to see it again but - perhaps this spring in NY.

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