nanushka Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 20 minutes ago, vipa said: Last thought about Sarah Lane now that I've read other comments and had a day to think about the performance. For all the ups and downs, all the elements are there, and this season she has proven herself IMO to be a real artist. I sincerely hope that last night will not be her last SL with ABT. I would love to see her again when she's had some real preparation and rehearsal time. I hope Kevin McKenzie sees it that way too - promotes her and gives her Swan Lake opportunities before next year's Met season. AGREE. You perfectly sum up my feelings. I want to see more. I would to watch her grow into this and other roles over the coming years. Link to comment
Mme. Hermine Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 many years ago, in chicago, during an abt tour, i saw a performance of swan lake which i was told was martine van hamel's first with abt - cant remember who her partner was. she started her fouettes well but they gradually travelled more and more untl she was up to 16, at which point disaster was imminent , and at that point she switched directions and did the remaining 16 en dedans. Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 1 minute ago, Mme. Hermine said: many years ago, in chicago, during an abt tour, i saw a performance of swan lake which i was told was martine van hamel's first with abt - cant remember who her partner was. she started her fouettes well but they gradually travelled more and more untl she was up to 16, at which point disaster was imminent , and at that point she switched directions and did the remaining 16 en dedans. WHAT?! I didn't know that was even possible! Link to comment
Mme. Hermine Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 oh yes. abt was using our studios and she was dressing with us, and when i congratulated her on the save she turned various shades of purple embarrassment Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 1 minute ago, Mme. Hermine said: oh yes. abt was using our studios and she was dressing with us, and when i congratulated her on the save she turned various shades of purple embarrassment So just to clarify she kept turning in the same direction but just switched working legs? Were you dancing with a company there at the time? Link to comment
Mme. Hermine Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 i honestly dont recall but ill have to have someone ask her! no i was a student for a long time at ruth page but i was never strong enough to do anything much. Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 20 minutes ago, Mme. Hermine said: i honestly dont recall but ill have to have someone ask her! no i was a student for a long time at ruth page but i was never strong enough to do anything much. You're so lucky to have that experience. I often wish I'd studied. I feel I would see so much more. Link to comment
Mme. Hermine Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 actually it may not have been her first with abt, but i found an article about godunovs first so it may have been this one- http://people.com/archive/in-his-american-debut-aleksandr-godunov-will-have-his-hands-full-with-sturdy-ballerina-martine-van-hamel-vol-13-no-7/ i know i also saw him do giselle in that engagement with makarova. Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 4 minutes ago, Mme. Hermine said: actually it may not have been her first with abt, but i found an article about godunovs first so it may have been this one- http://people.com/archive/in-his-american-debut-aleksandr-godunov-will-have-his-hands-full-with-sturdy-ballerina-martine-van-hamel-vol-13-no-7/ i know i also saw him do giselle in that engagement with makarova. "Sturdy"?!?! Ouch! Hah that headline is unbelievable. Link to comment
vipa Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 12 minutes ago, Mme. Hermine said: actually it may not have been her first with abt, but i found an article about godunovs first so it may have been this one- http://people.com/archive/in-his-american-debut-aleksandr-godunov-will-have-his-hands-full-with-sturdy-ballerina-martine-van-hamel-vol-13-no-7/ The article actually gave her height and weight! I don't believe that would happen today. Link to comment
fondoffouettes Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 What's unbelievable is that People magazine covered this. How pop culture's interest in ballet, opera and classical music has waned... Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 2 minutes ago, vipa said: The article actually gave her height and weight! I don't believe that would happen today. In what other context would 5'7 120lb ever be called "commanding"? Hah! Link to comment
Balanchinomane Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 The whole article is nutty. Embarrassingly personal. Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 (edited) "Martine's lover"!? This is cray. Edited June 17, 2017 by nanushka Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted June 17, 2017 Author Share Posted June 17, 2017 Just now, nanushka said: "Martina's lover"!? This is cray. That part made me howl! Link to comment
canbelto Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 I also love how after giving out Martine's romantic history they make sure to emphasize that the two are not living together ... Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Saw Martine and Kevin and Gary Chryst at dinner between Sarah's and Gillian's Giselles a few weeks back. Boy did I want to give Kevin a piece of my mind!. Link to comment
alexL Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 I forgot to mention that Lendorf is the only Rothbart who really nailed his arabesque balance. Just love how he excecutes each steps with his strong legs. Now that I remember, after Simkin's impressive solo variation Lendorf momentarily broke his character and genuinely smiled. I don't blame him since pretty much everyone in the theater was smiling with him. Anyway, Lendorf not performing in Sleeping Beauty last year was a huge loss for me and some of my friends. Now that we have him as a principal maybe ABT can stage La Sylphide again... although I read from his interview that he came to the City to expand his repertoire and dance in different ballets than Bournonville. Also, I can picture Blaine as James and Sarah as the Sylph! Sorry about going off topic! Link to comment
cubanmiamiboy Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Any report on Seo's tonight..? Link to comment
abatt Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 3 hours ago, vipa said: Last thought about Sarah Lane now that I've read other comments and had a day to think about the performance. For all the ups and downs, all the elements are there, and this season she has proven herself IMO to be a real artist. I sincerely hope that last night will not be her last SL with ABT. I would love to see her again when she's had some real preparation and rehearsal time. I hope Kevin McKenzie sees it that way too - promotes her and gives her Swan Lake opportunities before next year's Met season. I also wonder what will happen with Kochetkova and ABT now that she's missed the entire Met season. People miss entire seasons all the time due to injury. That usually doesn't form the basis for a termination. Link to comment
LadyBubbles Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 I think nothing will happen with Kochetkova as far as her tenure with ABT, unless she voluntarily leaves the company (she's a busy ballerina). Having said that, ABT could terminate any dancer's contract if they believe that the dancer is not doing enough for/with the company and/or is not needed anymore. I'm convinced the only reason they keep Bolle in the roster is because he is Bolle and because they already have a shortage of tall men who can do the roles without much notice. He didn't dance much this season, but he can still do a lot of the classics. He could have easily done Swan Lake if he didn't have the guest performances in the UK so close to the SL runs. Same with Giselle, and we all know he can do R&J half asleep if it makes a comeback next year. Same with Kochetkova. She doesn't dance much with the company due to her busy schedule (no tours, no Nutcracker, no fall season this past fall) but they'll probably keep her in the roster because she's Kochetkova and she's short. About the latter, however, we have three short soloists ready to step up at anytime.... Link to comment
Natalia Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 1 hour ago, cubanmiamiboy said: Any report on Seo's tonight..? Yeah, that's what I'm waiting to read, with an emphasis on the fouetté-o-meter. Link to comment
Drew Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 (edited) 4 hours ago, fondoffouettes said: What's unbelievable is that People magazine covered this. How pop culture's interest in ballet, opera and classical music has waned... For ballet, the cold war/defection drama was a big piece of it. This may be an article about Van Hamel, but the just-defected Godunov is the hook. You are right that there are changes in U.S. media and culture as a whole -- but without the cold war impetus I think ballet would have gotten less broad media attention than it did. Edited June 17, 2017 by Drew Link to comment
Buddy Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 (edited) Today, Veronika ! She's performed, along with Ulyana Lopatkina, the finest Swan Lake that I've ever seen. She's performed Many of the best Swan Lakes that I've ever seen. I've seen about eight of hers. In fact she's performed some the best dancing and stage performing of any kind that I've ever seen. I don't live anywhere near NYC, but I try to see her if she's anywhere nearby, doing anything. Added: Hee Seo I haven’t followed some of what’s been said about her, but I have very nice and deep feelings about her. I’ve seen her twice at the Mariinsky Festivals. The first time she did Giselle and I was smitten. Last year she did Sleeping Beauty. She might have been somewhat tired and not at her technical best, but I still consider it one of the best and most memorable of those performances. Her ability to combine her beauty of dance with an agility of poetic drama both embraces and fascinates me. Edited June 17, 2017 by Buddy Link to comment
Barbara Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 11 hours ago, Mme. Hermine said: many years ago, in chicago, during an abt tour, i saw a performance of swan lake which i was told was martine van hamel's first with abt - cant remember who her partner was. she started her fouettes well but they gradually travelled more and more untl she was up to 16, at which point disaster was imminent , and at that point she switched directions and did the remaining 16 en dedans. I was recently watching a dvd of the 3 Tschaikovsky ballets danced by Royal Ballet. In the extras on the Swan Lake disc there was a group discussion of the O/O role with Beryl Gray, Monica Mason, Leslie Collier, and Marienela Nunez (who dances in the dvd). Ms. Gray pointed out that Moira Shearer could not do the standard fouettes and always did them in a combination of en dehors and en dedans. She went on to say (and I paraphrase), "It worked perfectly well!" Link to comment
Recommended Posts