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Macaulay on ABT Spring Season


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Good news for those of us hoping that PNB gets it!

On the one hand, the Stowell Swan Lake, with sets by Ming Cho Li, is paid for and sells, sells, sells.

On the other hand, Peter Boal is jettisoning the Stowell rep. His Cinderella was also paid for, with Martin Pakledinaz's gorgeous costumes, to be replaced by Maillot's execrable Cendrillon. Were Swan Lake to be replaced, that would leave Carmina Burana alone from the Stowell rep.

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What I meant was maybe instead of Seo or Murphy there could have been Vishneva (or someone else) in at least one of those two performances. Then, in Swan Lake maybe Tereshkina could have had one performance, etc. Just a couple more stars but spread out so as not to keep anyone from getting a chance. I don't mean fill up the week of Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty with stars but have at least one in each ballet run and the other slots could be for homegrown. So Trenary could have still gotten her chance in SB and another star would have been in another ballet. Seo did two performances and that to me was overkill considering the talent level. And I really doubt the name Seo or even Murphy (as well known as she is) really bring in the out-of-towners......One of the Seo performances could have gone to a well known ballerina. I think there are ways to do it so that both homegrown and international stars could have chances and maybe once the homegrown talent have names that are known around the world maybe then jettison most of the international stars, but for right now I think they need some famous stars to keep buzz alive. To me this past season had a few stars but it seemed like it went from too many to not enough. There should be a happy medium to please various types of people. But that is just my opinion.

Seo is the ABT ballerina who has danced at the Mariinsky Festival, this year & last (or the year before). Not too shabby. Herrera danced Medora in one of the early Festivals but she's retired. Boylston danced at the Mariinsky three years ago, yes? I'm wondering if Misty will be invited for 2017?
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The problem, for me, arises when visiting artists from these (and other) companies, only come to do the big, older ballet "warhorses". Which , I suppose, is OK, except they rarely "fit" with the rest of what's going on in the ballet. Stylistically, there's little coherence. They rarely even "relate" to others on the stage. And many, but not all, don't do the more forward looking work that is still a part of the ABT rep. Even Osipova could barely muster a performance out of "Symphony in C". And I would argue that she didn't come up to snuff doing the Ratmansky "Trilogy". For me, I would much prefer if we could see some of these visiting artists more frequently with their own companies, but of course that would mean they all do more touring abroad. The only dancer in current memory that defies all that I just said was Marianela Nunez from the Royal. She seemed to be a nice fit for ABT when she guested here. And Cojocuru. Well, it's an endless argument. One that resides on one's personal tastes. For now, I do support the dancers we have now in the company and enjoy so many of them. One day we may be adding any one of their names to the list you originally stated.

It saddens me that a certain type of touring (the 3-4 week season with varied repertory and casting) is no longer common in New York. What's worse is that at Lincoln Center, even two weeks for major companies (Royal, Mariinsky, Royal Danish Ballet) seems largely a distant memory. They managed it with the Bolshoi doing ultra predictable rep.

Very much agree about Cojocaru, though I did also want to speak up for Osipova in the Ratmansky Firebird--also Juliet though I realize Juliet isn't exactly "forward looking." At the Royal she seemed quite up to snuff in McGregor's Infra (for what that's worth) and, for myself, I found her extremely interesting and compelling as Titania albeit with a few caveats. But of course she is dancing with the Royal regularly and that does make a difference. Drop-in, Drop out performing--that has greater limits.

As for Semionova (not a guest artist but a Russian-trained import)--perhaps oddly, I have never seen her look better--freer, fresher, more fun--than in Tharp's Bach Partita! For me the jury is out on her overall contribution to the company as a regular principal, since presumably Mckenzie didn't hire her because he needed Tharp dancers, but because he needed a reliable ballerina for the classics. I wrote above that I didn't think Ananiashvilli held a candle to Makarova as Odette-Odile. Well, in the classics I have seen them both dance (Bayadere and Swan Lake) I'm not sure I think Semionova holds a candle to Ananianshvilli. That's a little harsh: she is technically very accomplished, so...maybe a candle.

Still, my liking for some imported and guest ballerinas notwithstanding, I'm cautiously optimistic the company has the talent it needs to develop some terrific American/American-trained dancers and also think some of its current crop of principles may be being a little under-valued. Though I could wish several of them were further along in their development and/or compelling in a greater variety of repertory or, indeed, just more consistent. (I exempt Murphy from any of these strictures. She's not a perfect ballerina and may not be to everyone's taste, but she is a ballerina worthy of the name.)

And thinking of what it means to be a ballerina...someone please do something about Boylston's hair; I even found it distracting in the Ratmansky Trilogy where I could pretend she was stuck with the absurd dye job because it was Soviet Russia in the 1950's. That's a personal remark, so apologies to Boylston and her fans for being....well...personal, but I make it because I do believe she has something to offer on the ballerina front. And for a ballerina, every detail counts.

The fact that ABT now has more in the way of substantive and/or intriguing productions and rep (which Macaulay talks about) is perhaps, though, the most important development of recent years and the thing that got me traveling to NY this year.

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Seo is the ABT ballerina who has danced at the Mariinsky Festival, this year & last (or the year before). Not too shabby. Herrera danced Medora in one of the early Festivals but she's retired. Boylston danced at the Mariinsky three years ago, yes? I'm wondering if Misty will be invited for 2017?

I must have seen Seo on off nights then.....Gamzatti in 2012 and now Aurora in 2016......both times she seemed like someone I would have no problem with at a regional company, but she was not dancing at a high standard those two times. Same with Misty Copeland, in my personal opinion. I want to like both dancers because I think it is refreshing to have diversity, so I really want to like both of them, but I have not been impressed by either dancer at all.

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I must have seen Seo on off nights then.....Gamzatti in 2012 and now Aurora in 2016......both times she seemed like someone I would have no problem with at a regional company, but she was not dancing at a high standard those two times.

Abatt mentioned s/he thought Seo was better last year as Aurora. I was interested to read that remark, because I did not see her this year, but I really enjoyed her Aurora in 2015. I have had slight reservations about her performances in other roles--both classics and 21st-century. (Reservations less about technique--except as Gamzatti where the night you and I saw her was not good--than a certain lack of distinctive inflections and projection.) But the Aurora I saw was radiant and has actually lingered in my memory. Macaulay, notably, makes a point of praising her Aurora this season, too, for its arc of development and that was surely a strength of her performance last year--though not (as I saw it) the only one.

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Isn't McKenzie negotiating the exchange artist from ABT that the Mariinsky gets. I wouldn't assume that Seo's appearance at the Mariinsky was because she was a great ballerina that the Mariinsky management had a particular or acute interest in. McKenzie steered it that way, and in return ABT got Xander Parish this season as a guest (in Sylvia).

Bart, you have not seen Seo on "off nights". My conclusion is that any night of work that requires fouettes, balances or other difficult technical challenges is very likely to be an off night for Seo. Any night that depends more on lyrical interpretation (Juliet, Tatiana or any other "long skirt role") is usually a pretty good night for Seo.

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Was Seo an exchange artist...and both times?

I've been praising her Aurora, but in a general sort of way I do sometimes find Mariinsky invitations (exchanges or not) a touch puzzling from what I consider a strictly "artistic" point of view. Or, at any rate, from my point of view :wink: .

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That's interesting...I don't remember Makarova being considered a phenomenal technician per se. In the ABT of that era, one was more likely to see -- or read about -- Gregory's feats of derring-do.

For myself, I hugely admired Makarova. I did occasionally find her a bit 'calculated' which may be related to Waelsung's complaint about her dancing being "too obvious." Still, until I saw Lopatkina I don't believe I ever saw any Odette I found as wondrously legato.

(At ABT, I enjoyed Ananiashvilli as Odette-Odile, but still didn't think she held a candle to Makarova in the role. I'm not 100 percent sure that reaction wasn't partly influenced by quirks of taste (Kirov versus Bolshoi), but I certainly found Makarova more poetic ... )

I don't recall Markarova as a great technician. She had a beautiful instrument but she wasn't a favorite of mine. Mostly because she distorted the music. If something was slow, she wanted it really slow! Also I agree that see seemed calculating, almost narcissistic the way Vishneva comes off to me.

One thing I do recall about those ABT days was that everyone had strong favorites among the ballerinas - Makanrova, Fracci), Gregory, Van Hamel, Kirkland even Eleanor D'Antuono had a following. Feelings ran high among ABT fans in this regard. It was an interesting time.

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Speaking of Radvanovsky, I'm listening to Met Opera on Sirius, where in a performance of Gotterdammerung from 2002, and she's singing Gutrune, not the usual progression to Donizetti.

One thing Radvanovsky seems to have in spades is LOUDNESS...at least when I've seen her. She made the Luisa Miller ensemble moments seem like a solo with the entire cast just her back up singers!!! I don't know if she is still blasting like that but it would help her in Wagner if she decided to go back to that repertoire! Even that early in her career she had a strange vibrato.

I am stunned that so many people (and many I respect) think she's wonderful in bel canto and Verdi. I am at a loss for words that she continues to sing Norma (my favorite opera) all over the place. If she were singing it at the Met and I were walking past Lincoln Center right before it started with no plans for the evening and someone offered me a free ticket for her Norma I would decline.

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One thing I do recall about those ABT days was that everyone had strong favorites among the ballerinas - Makanrova, Fracci), Gregory, Van Hamel, Kirkland even Eleanor D'Antuono had a following. Feelings ran high among ABT fans in this regard. It was an interesting time.

Well, the overall quality of our current favorites may have changed, but I think we still have the high feelings covered...at least if all the blisteringly heated threads we've had on this board about Lane, Abrera, Copeland, and Part are any measure! ;)

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As far as guest-star-to-home-grown ratios are concerned, I think it's useful to remember that Semionova, Lendorf, and Hallberg--all bona fide international stars--were all initially scheduled for this year. A main reason the home-grown team loomed larger this year is that McKenzie replaced them with the home-grown folks rather than hiring in replacement stars (as he has in years past).

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I'm dubious (and sad) about whether or not Semionova and especially Hallberg will return. I really hope that we do get a well-healed Lendorf, maybe even in the fall. So maybe the "home team" will continue to get more opportunities.

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I've got to think that he's been touch with Kevin McKenzie and someone at the Bolshoi (or did he finish his contract there?) but he's been off grid from any social media since last December. I wonder if he will still be on leave status for fall ABT season as he was for spring.

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One thing I do recall about those ABT days was that everyone had strong favorites among the ballerinas - Makanrova, Fracci), Gregory, Van Hamel, Kirkland even Eleanor D'Antuono had a following. Feelings ran high among ABT fans in this regard. It was an interesting time.

Thanks for this recollection! I wish I could transport myself back in time for a week or two and attend the ABT (and NYCB) of yesteryear.

I've always wondered whether Eleanor D'Antuono had a following like the other stars. (She was my teacher at NJ Ballet many years ago.) I've often thought that Sarah Lane is a bit of a D'Antuono--as she is a consistent technician that lacks spectacular extensions and highly arched feet, but is so musical and adept with petit allegro--but I never saw D'Antuono dance onstage beyond YouTube. I ran into Ms. D'Antuono on the subway when I was working uptown (2008 or 2009?), and she immediately started talking to me, very emotionally, about Fernando Bujones. It was as though she was still reeling from his death and just wanted to make sure I knew how remarkably special and dear to her he was. I hope someone at the Dance Library has brought her in for an oral history.

There are still cohorts of fans who have their favorites, though perhaps the followings aren't as strong. Macaulay is clearly on team Boylston, but he is not alone. It seemed that there were hordes of teenage girls at her Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake this season. This season, however, he finally had some good words about Veronika Part. Several people here have commented about the possibility of a Murphy Giselle, as she danced it in NZ. But how about Part who danced Giselle at Marinsky? I mean, if she's good enough to dance Giselle there, why not at her home company?

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When V. Part danced Giselle at Mariinsky, she was just out of Vaganova Academy. A few years in the US could change the dancer.

As for coaches, M. Gomes speaks often of his coach, Clinton Luckett with great respect. Isabella Boylston speaks very highly of her coach, Irina Kolpakova. It seems they support the coaching they are getting.

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When V. Part danced Giselle at Mariinsky, she was just out of Vaganova Academy. A few years in the US could change the dancer.

The years at ABT surely have changed Part, but she was invited back to the Mariinsky to dance Giselle a couple of summers ago--there was a thread discussing it and some youtube videos turned up that generated a bit of debate/disagreement. Here is one I found just now:

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Well, thank you. Utterly beautiful, but this is Russian ballet. I am thrilled to see how she fit right in. I will look for 2nd Act.

If you find it let us know! I suspect that whoever recorded that didn't stay for Act II (criminal!), because nothing ever showed up from him/her on YT, so far as I know. I would kill a close family member to see video of it, though!

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Thanks for this recollection! I wish I could transport myself back in time for a week or two and attend the ABT (and NYCB) of yesteryear.

I've always wondered whether Eleanor D'Antuono had a following like the other stars. (She was my teacher at NJ Ballet many years ago.) I've often thought that Sarah Lane is a bit of a D'Antuono--as she is a consistent technician that lacks spectacular extensions and highly arched feet, but is so musical and adept with petit allegro--but I never saw D'Antuono dance onstage beyond YouTube. I ran into Ms. D'Antuono on the subway when I was working uptown (2008 or 2009?), and she immediately started talking to me, very emotionally, about Fernando Bujones. It was as though she was still reeling from his death and just wanted to make sure I knew how remarkably special and dear to her he was. I hope someone at the Dance Library has brought her in for an oral history.

D'Antuono wasn't my favorite but I was definitely a big fan, and she had fans. She didn't have the line and flexibility required to be in a company today, and was a principal when body types were changing. Never-the-less she had gobs of technique and a really pleasing stage presence. She was terrific in the Vortex section of Ailey's "The River." I also remember fine performances in Coppelia, Giselle and Don Q. pas. I never walked away disappointed. She always got the job done and more. I wouldn't really compare her to Sarah Lane. Lane's technique is not as rock solid (I never saw D'Antuono miss a turn, come off point, or have any technical mishap). On the other hand Lane has a refinement and expressive port de bras that D'Antuono didn't have - as far as my memory can be relied upon.

D'Antuono has a lot of ballet history within her that I hope isn't lost. She was a kid when she joined the Ballet Russe and then saw a lot of years in ABT.

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