ABT Fall 2015 season

[Barbara]

I thoroughly agree with Stuben about the Ratmansky Piano Concerto in terms of numbers on stage and the excellent dancing. I'd forgotten how good this piece is and look forward to the full length in the spring. The two main couples, Shevchenko/Royal and Brandt/Shayer were on fire!

Off topic, I noticed the heights of the women as they were lined up for bows. Trenary is quite short - she might be a good partner for Cornejo instead of Kochekova who, so far, hasn't made much of an impression on me.

[stuben]

... a good partner for Cornejo instead of Kochekova who, so far, hasn't made much of an impression on me.

I thought Cornejo with Lane was a perfect match in Spectra myself and look forward to them together in Spring. Kochekova is not a favorite but then again this is a matter of preference and as someone else mentioned somewhere in this thread...we all have our favorites and that is why I guess we are known as fans.

[DeCoster]

Off topic, I noticed the heights of the women as they were lined up for bows. Trenary is quite short - she might be a good partner for Cornejo instead of Kochekova who, so far, hasn't made much of an impression on me.

I feel the same way about Kochetkova. I just don't get it. At least not yet.

I suppose KM doesn't trust the new soloists with a Sylvia or Swan Lake yet, so he needed to bring in a more experienced tiny ballerina for the season. From what I've seen, however, Syklar Brandt would be a more compelling Sylvia than Kochetkova. She's got spunk and jump in spades!

Cornejo and Lane are set to dance Spartacus together in Argentina this November. Hopefully this bodes well for their partnership. I really hoped to see a Lane/ Cornejo R&J this season, but 'twas not to be. By the time she gets the chance to dance Juliet she'll be 40 years old. :-(

[abatt]

McKenzie completely ignores Lane, so I doubt we will ever see her Juliet. We are more likely to see a Brandt or Trenary Juliet before we ever see a Lane Juliet.

Kochetkova is here to stay, like it or not. (I am not a Kochetkova fan.) If you want to see Cornejo, you must accept Kochetkova as part of the package deal.

[DeCoster]

Kochetkova is here to stay, like it or not. (I am not a Kochetkova fan.) If you want to see Cornejo, you must accept Kochetkova as part of the package deal.

Are you sure she's here to stay? I thought the announcement was pretty clear that Kochetkova was being brought on just for the 2015/2016 season.

And Kochetkova is not "packaged" with Cornejo for every ballet. He's with Lane for "7 Sonatas" and "Sleeping Beauty" and with Misty Copeland for Ashton's "La Fille."

I'm not giving up on my Cornejo/ Lane R&J. I remember reading somewhere (here?) that she learned the role. Like Stella, Sarah is waiting in the wings. She knows the steps, and once given the chance . . .

[abatt]

My understanding is that Kochetkova is a principal at ABT not only for this season, but permanently.

The circumstances that allowed Stella to perform Giselle on short notice were unique. She had just completed a long run of Giselles a month or two before, so she had lots of experience in the role elsewhere only a few weeks before her ABT Giselle. Also, it was her great fortune that Polina was out, and the scheduled Giselles were all stretched to the max. Since it was a special ABT alumni homecoming weekend, it would have been very poor judgment to cast a guest in the open Giselle spot, especially since the Albrecht was a guest artist. (STella should give Polina a big kiss and hug when they next see one another.) Stella lucked out because of timing, and also because she had a great partner in Shkylarov. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see the stars aligning like that again for a very long time in terms of potential opportunities for Lane.

[stuben]

Cornejo and Lane are set to dance Spartacus together in Argentina this November. Hopefully this bodes well for their partnership. I really hoped to see a Lane/ Cornejo R&J this season, but 'twas not to be. By the time she gets the chance to dance Juliet she'll be 40 years old. :-(

I saw this annoucement somewhere myself and wish they would broadcast here as well, if anyone in BA attends please post review as I love their partnership. Totally agree with DeCoster and wish KM would give Lane more chances too...before she turns 40 or me becoming too old to get to the theatre. Much prefer Lane to the all hype Copeland as Juliet myself.

[miliosr]

Side note: It was wonderful to see a member of the Jackie O family at the show!! Lee Radziwill surprised me and great to see her looking so well!

Aunt Lee still looks great.

[lmspear]

Didn't she marry Herbert Ross after Nora Kaye died (another ABT connection)?

[cobweb]

I was at the performances on Friday night and Saturday matinee. A few short notes.

I saw the Marcelo Gomes piece twice. I very much enjoyed the section with the nonstop solos for the corps/soloist women. Otherwise I found it largely derivative and not so interesting. Made me think -- wow, Tharp and Taylor -- they really know how to express the music, while with Gomes I kept wondering, why is that guy doing that? it didn't seem connected to the music.

As others have said, Skylar Brandt has a wide-open and intelligent face, beautiful feet, and tons of appeal. I look forward to seeing her in anything.

Stephanie Williams. There is something very intriguing and appealing about her.

Good to see Catherine Hurlin in a few featured roles. She certainly is beautiful. Good luck to her on her way up!

[laurel]

Cornejo and Lane are set to dance Spartacus together in Argentina this November. Hopefully this bodes well for their partnership.

A brief announcement of this performance appeared in the Fall 2015 issue of ABT’s “On Pointe” magazine. In addition, Sarah Lane posted a mention on her public Facebook page, and included a link to several dynamite photos on iCloud of herself and Cornejo in costume taken by Lucas Chilczuk. If you can’t access iCloud, google “Herman Cornejo Sarah Lane Spartacus,” and links to several different websites will pop up where you can view/access these photos. Makes you want to buy airline tickets and fly to Argentina immediately!!

[fondoffouettes]

I thoroughly agree with Stuben about the Ratmansky Piano Concerto in terms of numbers on stage and the excellent dancing. I'd forgotten how good this piece is and look forward to the full length in the spring. The two main couples, Shevchenko/Royal and Brandt/Shayer were on fire!

I just want to add my voice to the chorus of praise for the two main couples in Ratmansky's Piano Concerto. Shevchenko and Brandt were explosive, whipping off spins with lightning speed and precision. A particular highlight was when Brandt flew across the stage in a series of jetes. I want to see more of them -- in anything. Royal and Shayer were equally wonderful and handled the incredibly tricky lifts and other partnering elements wonderfully. They were all dancing at 110%. During the curtain calls, both women gave their bouquets to their partners.

The company looked fantastic in the Brahms-Haydn Variations, even better than when I had seen them the previous week. Boylston impressed with her sky-high extensions in both the Tharp and Morris pieces.

The fall season made me feel very optimistic about the future of ABT. I think it will take a few years, but we should hopefully see some more innovative casting (for the Met season) in the future.

[mimsyb]

McKenzie completely ignores Lane, so I doubt we will ever see her Juliet. We are more likely to see a Brandt or Trenary Juliet before we ever see a Lane Juliet.

Kochetkova is here to stay, like it or not. (I am not a Kochetkova fan.) If you want to see Cornejo, you must accept Kochetkova as part of the package deal.

Not sure they are a "package", but I like them together quite a lot. She has energy and zip in her dancing, they look good together and he seems to partner her with ease. As far as Lane is concerned, she seemed to melt into the wallpaper an awful lot these past few weeks. She has technique and she always comes off very nicely, very pretty. But for me she always has that "poor little match girl" expression on her face. There's never a sense of suspense or danger in her dancing. I saw her do "Green Table" and thought, "OK, she's pretty good in this type of ballet.". Then I saw Skylar Brandt dance the same role the following night,and I promptly forgot anything about Sarah. Skylar's musical sense is sensational and she always swings for the fences. Both Skylar and Cassandra Trennary seem to be the ones to watch for the near future. And also Shevchenko. All three ladies have a certain "something " about their dancing and performance that sets them apart from the others. Sarah is too predictable for my taste. The other three offer a challenge to "come watch me dance" every time I see them. I hate to say this, but Lane seems to be cut from yesterday's cloth. Somehow she doesn't seem to be on the same level as the other three mentioned. I'm still waiting for her to come into her own, but it would appear that time is moving on and in another direction.

[choriamb]

DeCoster, might the odd instrument perhaps be the single trumpet notes played at phrase endings using a straight mute? (It creates an odd buzzing sound like a snare drum.)

And, miliosr, the performances that I saw (Thursday and Saturday matinee) were fairly well sold, for what it's worth.

I'm reserving judgment on Kochetkova until after the Met season: it takes time to settle into a company, even for a pro. At the very least she's articulate and strongly committed to her partners (she always looks engaged with them and covers missteps).

[stuben]

Didn't she marry Herbert Ross after Nora Kaye died (another ABT connection)?

Indeed he did till his death and ahh the Turning Point

[vipa]

It seems that Sarah Lane has moved solidly into the divided opinions category almost as much as Veronica Part. Personally I'm a big fan but I know others are not.

[stuben]

It seems that Sarah Lane has moved solidly into the divided opinions category almost as much as Veronica Part. Personally I'm a big fan but I know others are not.

Totally agree with you vipa and in your camp, Sarah was the one who came out in roses for me in Spectra, no pun intended . As I have said before we all have our favorites and there is the saying that there are two sides to every coin, so I guess there are still a few of us on the other side.

[Barbara]

I'll join you in the Sarah camp! Even though upthread I wondered about a possible partnership for Cornejo with C. Trenary, I'd much rather see him paired with Sarah than Maria K.

[fondoffouettes]

For the Lane fans -- a neat 360-degree video of her rehearsing The Sleeping Beauty filmed by The Wall Street Journal:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/behind-the-scenes-with-a-ballerina-at-lincoln-center-1446646806

[stuben]

For the Lane fans -- a neat 360-degree video of her rehearsing The Sleeping Beauty filmed by The Wall Street Journal:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/behind-the-scenes-with-a-ballerina-at-lincoln-center-1446646806

Thank you fondoffouettes So nice to see Lane is recognized, this is relieve to watch vs the disturbing video (posted upthread of another who's name I shall not mention, as she is recent soloist and muched loved by many on BA). This is a personal issue that I hold a high standard for ballerinas, and have trouble for my grand daughter to aspire to anyone other than those whom present themselves as ballerinas at work or not, especially on social media. Lane shows class in both IMO

[its the mom]

Thank you fondoffouettes So nice to see Lane is recognized, this is relieve to watch vs the disturbing video (posted upthread of another who's name I shall not mention, as she is recent soloist and muched loved by many on BA). This is a personal issue that I hold a high standard for ballerinas, and have trouble for my grand daughter to aspire to anyone other than those whom present themselves as ballerinas at work or not, especially on social media. Lane shows class in both IMO

I am just curious. How is a ballerina supposed to act or "present themselves" outside of work?

[stuben]

I am just curious. How is a ballerina supposed to act or "present themselves" outside of work?

I can only speak for myself in this case, as I am sure there is no set "standard of presenting themselves" outside of work and it is all very subjective. That is why I mentioned it was a personal issue. The words "ladies and gentlemen" comes to my mind, but I am old fashioned and I guess many on BA may not agree. As a grandmother I do hope that my grandchild whom enjoys the beauty and elegance of this artform would see likewise of these dancers outside of their workplace, especially in the world of social media. These dancers are admired by many impressionable age aspiring dancers and audience, they are public figures and the world of social media can work both ways.