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Veronika Part leaving ABT


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46 minutes ago, canbelto said:

 

Nope. It was actually a quiet, classy affair. Also, Mozartiana is one of those ballets that ends up hitting me emotionally when I least expect it. When Blaine Hoven and Veronika finally held hands and danced together I don't know why but I felt a lump in my throat.

 

It can be a surprisingly moving ballet, considering the style, I agree! (I mean apart from the preghiera, which is obvious.) Very Mozartean in that way.

Edited by nanushka
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43 minutes ago, canbelto said:

 

Nope. It was actually a quiet, classy affair. Also, Mozartiana is one of those ballets that ends up hitting me emotionally when I least expect it. When Blaine Hoven and Veronika finally held hands and danced together I don't know why but I felt a lump in my throat.

Mozartiana is IMO an incredible, spiritual work that has such amazing depth that more can be discovered upon every viewing. In a way it's wonderful that Part was given this role.

 

Balanchine gave her and us a bouquet.

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Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread and reported about Veronika's farewell performance.  I couldn't hold myself and cried. There weren't that many ballerinas whose retirement made me this sad and heartbroken.  I do hope that Veronica didn't mean she'd never dance again. 

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James Wolcott, who has written about Veronika for Vanity Fair, has posted this tweet on his public account:

 

 

He has previously posted publicly that they're friends and neighbors.

 

One of his pieces about her is here. I vividly remember that performance, when a man tried to throw a bouquet onto the stage after her Rose Adagio. I couldn't blame him for trying!

 

Edited by nanushka
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11 hours ago, vipa said:

Mozartiana is IMO an incredible, spiritual work that has such amazing depth that more can be discovered upon every viewing. In a way it's wonderful that Part was given this role.

 

Balanchine gave her and us a bouquet.

I agree, Vipa.  This is an astonishing ballet that just keeps revealing more and more every time one sees it.  It's so rich in texture and emotion.  I couldn't help but notice the utter differences in both the Gomes work and the "new" Ratmansky with the Balanchine.  While both of the newer pieces are clumsy and cluttered, the Balanchine seemed fresh and totally in the present.  Unadorned; only ravishing movement. No choreographer living and working today can come up to Mr. B's standard.  No one can reveal what dance can and should be. No one can really move us beyond the superficial that is presented so much to us these days.   Dance over... bye, bye.  But with Balanchine it stays burned in the memory and continues to speak to us even after the curtain comes down.  While we can say that ABT is not a "Balanchine" company per se, still yesterday's performance by Veronika, et al gave us the perfume that is of the Master.  No small thanks and recognition must go to Maria Calegari who set this work on the company.  I have to hope that Veronika has this triumph to carry with her, despite all that has happened in the past few weeks.  Perhaps she will be able to heal (both in body and spirit) and return someday and somewhere to teach and perhaps coach.  She has so many gifts still to offer.

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Balanchine, the son of a composer, grew up studying ballet and music concurrently. After his studies at the Mariinsky, he spent three years studying music at the Petrograd State Conservatory of Music, so he was a professional musician as well as professional dancer. I don't think it's possible to have another Balanchine unless that individual has studied both music and dance to such high levels. To me, he is the Mozart of ballet.

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Watching the video I just noticed: usually for these farewells the dancers get pretty dressed up. Yesterday the only dancer to wear a suit was Marcelo Gomes, despite having danced the previous intermission. One of the many ways that he showed class. 

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3 hours ago, vagansmom said:

To me, he is the Mozart of ballet.

To me, he is also the Shakespeare of ballet! Everything he does is suffused with warmth and empathy, and he has an understanding of a vast range of human experience. 

 

As to Veronika... I know that other dancers have been forced out, including very recently, but somehow this feels sadder. Maybe it's because she seems so sad herself? Also because she is still dancing so beautifully. Yesterday Mozartiana was played at a noticeably slower tempo than at NYCB, but aside from not having NYCB speed, Veronika was grand and beautiful. Her feet alone are so marvelously flexible and fluid that I got transfixed watching them. One of the most beautiful parts was her simple walk forward on pointe, hands stretched yearningly ahead of her. Her tiptoes caressed the floor lovingly. 

 

I have no idea why she was not originally scheduled for a farewell (since the program order was just changed like last week), but I am assuming that the lack of a full-scale farewell was partly due to her wishes. 

 

Maybe when they took so long to promote her to principal, she should have left. She was obviously not appreciated, and being promoted to principal didn't really change that. It might have been better to find a company where her unique talents were valued. 

Edited by cobweb
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8 hours ago, canbelto said:

This photo is the best:

 

 

Veronika-Part-Mizartuaba-7-8-17-X3.jpg

[Admin edit] ©Kent G. Becker

http://www.notmydayjobphotography.com/Copyright

From the moment the little girls offered their roses, I was a blubbering mess. I was shouting bravas from the Dress Circle but my voice kept breaking. Her leaving has touched me more than I would have expected. Very sad that she has apparently decided to no longer dance. Heavy sigh.

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Nobody else seems to have noticed how much Veronika smiled with full teeth during the performance, except for the opening prayer section, when she was appropriately stoic. Throughout the Tema e Variazioni and the end she was mostly all smiles. Reminded me of her bright smile in Apollo with the Mariinsky.

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7 minutes ago, Natalia said:

Nobody else seems to have noticed how much Veronika smiled with full teeth during the performance, except for the opening prayer section, when she was appropriately stoic. Throughout the Tema e Variazioni and the end she was mostly all smiles. Reminded me of her bright smile in Apollo with the Mariinsky.

 

Hmm at NYCB the Theme and Variations part is also very "smiley." Not the big broad toothy smile but definitely a pleasant, happy face. Certainly Maria K, Sterling Hyltin, and Sara Mearns all smiled. I think that section of the ballet is meant to be very playful and Mozartean. 

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38 minutes ago, canbelto said:

 

Hmm at NYCB the Theme and Variations part is also very "smiley." Not the big broad toothy smile but definitely a pleasant, happy face. Certainly Maria K, Sterling Hyltin, and Sara Mearns all smiled. I think that section of the ballet is meant to be very playful and Mozartean. 

 

Yes, casual occasional smiles at NYCB but not the frozen toothy grin. Veronika was probably nervous given the circumstances of yesterday. The actual dancing was gorgeous, as I noted elsewhere.

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58 minutes ago, Natalia said:

Nobody else seems to have noticed how much Veronika smiled with full teeth during the performance, except for the opening prayer section, when she was appropriately stoic. Throughout the Tema e Variazioni and the end she was mostly all smiles. Reminded me of her bright smile in Apollo with the Mariinsky.

 

I noticed this somewhat at Monday's performance –– see my review on p. 4 of the Tchaikovsky Spectacular thread. But certainly nothing like a "frozen toothy grin." That sounds rather ghastly.

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5 minutes ago, Josette said:

I can't say that the change in caption is any less heartbreaking to me than the earlier one. But I hope she continues to dance - she is just too beautiful and should not be stopping because of ABT's idiocy. 

 

Yes, this one is almost more heartbreaking overall, even if less specific as a statement about the future.

Edited by nanushka
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5 hours ago, nanushka said:

 

I noticed this somewhat at Monday's performance –– see my review on p. 4 of the Tchaikovsky Spectacular thread. But certainly nothing like a "frozen toothy grin." That sounds rather ghastly.

 

Yes, it was very obvious even from way up in Row A of the Balcony. Maybe the stress of the afternoon was affecting her.

 

The dancing itself went beautifully; just one small misstep in the finish of the 2nd of two slow pirouettes en dedans in the "flute variation" in the Tema e Variazioni, which she corrected awkwardly but quickly. All else went well. The seven quick lifts with Blaine went well.

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6 hours ago, Natalia said:

 

Yes, it was very obvious even from way up in Row A of the Balcony. Maybe the stress of the afternoon was affecting her.

 

The dancing itself went beautifully; just one small misstep in the finish of the 2nd of two slow pirouettes en dedans in the "flute variation" in the Tema e Variazioni, which she corrected awkwardly but quickly. All else went well. The seven quick lifts with Blaine went well.

 

I thought she was less smiley than Shevchenko on Weds.

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