Nyankeesy01

I watched Vishneva/Gomes, Seo/Hammoudi, and Cojocaru/Hallberg this week. I think most of the posts have captured my thoughts so I'll keep this brief. Each couple presented very different Giselles from each other; V/G - wild and passionate, S/H - beautiful and classic, and C/H - character and story. I was surprised by how much I liked Seo's Giselle. I haven't seen her perform in a while and was ready to be maybe just satisfied, based on other reports. I thought her dancing, especially in Act II, was clear and so breathtaking. When she had to do that series of jumps/hops, it really looked like she was levitating in air for a moment. I thought she deserved a partner in better state in Hammoudi; some of the partnering looked rough. I was so disappointed that both Hammoudi and Hallberg eschewed entrechats for the brisees!! Especially after Marcelo set the bar so high on Monday. As for the other two couples, they were truly fantastic. Perhaps Alina has had better performances of Giselle, but her portrayal of Giselle lit up a lot more lightbulbs for me than Vishneva or Seo did. I noticed she did a few "character" moments differently than the other two dancers (for one, keeping the necklace on while starting her variation in Act I). I'm a fan of how Cojocaru uses her extensions to play with the music; I love that she lingers in the music sometimes. As for Vishenva, I let the Diana Vishneva Bandwagon gladly pass me by the past ten years, but I think I'm finally ready to hop on this year. Looking forward to Swan Lake!

Remotely related, but The Royal Opera House YouTube channel released a very short rehearsal video of Carlos Acosta's DQ.

Time Out NY has an interview with Simone Messmer - she's leaving for SF Ballet. I read it in the issue so don't have a link yet.

I thought Aaron Scott was really well-matched with Herman Cornejo (and the ballet in general) as Mercutio tonight. He was spot on. It was a good night. Nothing out of this world but no disappoinments either. First time seeing Herman Cornejo as Romeo and I really, really liked him in the role. His height works for me in this ballet; when he and Reyes were standing side by side at the center of the stage in Act I, I could see them fully as their characters. Reyes was good, but didn't fully scratch my itch for Juliet.

So sad to hear that Alina won't be dancing Swan Lake! I'm stuck on where I stand in the whole bringing-in-guest-artists debate. On the one hand, it's great to see ABT talent grow; but on the other hand, I'm equally excited to see these dancers in roles at the Met that I would never have been able to see live otherwise.

I was there tonight as well and thought Seo's fouettes were okay..? Though I hadn't read this thread beforehand so wasn't really paying attention in particular to the Italian fouettes. I think Stella is fabulous in this role. Hee is gorgeous, but Stella had more life. It was an okay performance overall tonight; some watered-down variations and that fish dive was a bit tricky. I would have preferred a number of dancers over Cory Stearns, but I can't do anything about that! I will stick to Polina + Swan Lake from now on. James Whiteside is a good dancer and great partner, based on what I've seen in Onegin and DQ. I wonder what DQ with Whiteside & Semionova would have been like.

Pointe Magazine did a little Q&A with Irina - here's a scan of the article from ABT's Facebook page: https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/549814_10151522123341858_730188298_n.jpg I like her response to the last question!

I think they were probably taken in dress rehearsals earlier in the day. From what I know, they tend to take the pics then, rather than during the actual performance. But who knows?

MakarovaFan noted the orchestra in the previous page and I have to agree - there was one section tonight where the strings sounded sublime, but at other times, one flooby flute solo, French horns out of tune, a violin solo out of tune, etc. I thought the orchestra had rebounded in the past few years, but I'm not so sure after this season!

I went to the Vishneva/Gomes performance earlier and attended the Cojocaru/Kobborg performance tonight. I agree with Batsuchan above when he/she says that Cojocaru is the ideal Juliet. I'm not a fan of over-the-top dancing at all and to me, Cojocaru hit the sweet spot completely tonight with her nuanced and well danced version of Juliet. C/K were not as powerful physically as V/G, but I found a story in their performance much more easily. I was somewhat hesitant about Kobborg at the start of Act I, but by the balcony scene, he seemed more a man than a silly boy and sold me on the part. I hope I can see more of these two (or anything with Alina, honestly) in the future!

I agree. I was so excited when Matthew Golding joined ABT and to be able to see him grow through a variety of roles, but that unfortunately didn't get to happen! Perhaps something can be worked out in the future...?

LOVED tonight's performance. I would've been more than content with the two Don Q's I've seen this past week but Osipova was truly amazing. Her variations were slightly different from the ABT norm but they didn't take away from her performance at all. She omitted the full balances from Act III but that was trivial in comparison to everything else she offered. The substitution notice stuck in programs is usually not a good sign but I was ecstatic to see that Simkin would be the lead gypsy tonight. I agree that a Simkin/Osipova Don Q could be electrifying; they could feed off each other's energy and create a dynamite performance. I've never seen Carreño in Don Q so I can't say much but he was alright. Tonight was Osipova's night without a doubt; everyone else seemed secondary to me. I think Lane's been the best Amour so far and Ethan Stiefel the most comedic Basilio. Great week of ballet. If Alastair Macaulay was there tonight, it'd be interesting to see what he has to say. Hopefully something positive!

I attended Friday night & Saturday night's performances and thought both were good, and I agree that Corella isn't maybe 100% of what he used to be. Paloma can definitely hold her balances though! During Saturday evening's performance I saw Sascha Radetsky and Rachel Moore (not sitting together) around my section and wondered what their perspective of the performance would be like. I don't have much to add aside from the reviews already written but will agree that Simkin and Lane were great in their roles as gypsy and Amour, respectively. Can't wait to see Osipova!!

Watched Vishneva/Gomes/Murphy & Murphy/Stearns/Seo this past week and thought both were good, but different ballets. As much as I want Seo/Stearns to be spectacular, I enjoyed the Vishneva/Gomes/Murphy combination much more. When the curtains closed on Murphy in Act I, her evilness filled the stage and radiated into the audience, but Seo had a dainty evil that kind of just hung around. Stearns fulfilled the minimum requirements but wasn't particularly memorable. The Vishneva/Gomes pairing had more fluid lifts and chemistry that made the plot at least somewhat believable. Gillian was technically great in both roles, no surprise there, and I thought the Shades were beautiful as well, though I haven't watched many Bayadere performances to compare. Stella Abrera was in the audience and it seems like she just had a minor illness last week but is fine to dance now!

Sabra and Danny together would be ideal and I would love to see them do a contemporary piece as well. Danny's reaction to finding out that he wasn't in the bottom for once was adorable As for Sabra & ballroom, I think she did rumba once before.