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laurel

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Everything posted by laurel

  1. Highlight of this afternoon's performance of Carnival of the Animals was narrator Terry Mann completely blanking on his lines for what seemed like a full 60 seconds, bringing the performance to a complete standstill, until someone backstage finally threw the forgotten lines at him. Can't say I've ever seen this happen before, especially not from Mann, a Broadway stalwart with decades of leading roles behind him. And with his daughter, Shelby, dancing as one of the Weasels and Rats classmates. Standout animal performance was definitely Harrison Coll as the Baboon, banging on the piano, swinging his elongated arms with utter glee. The audience roared with approval. I also loved Sara Mearns' lovely, poignant turn as the Swan, the faded beauty of yesteryear. I wondered how close to reality that might have seemed for her. The nonstop wind and rainy weather did nothing to dampen the afternoon's mostly sparkling performances by the entire company.
  2. For an abbreviated Met season, I vote for Coppelia, with Brandt and Roxander teamed for a minimum of two performances!
  3. That's exactly what I saw last night. Very surprised to see Boylston, at this point in her career, looking so nervous. Her back was stiff, her fingers splayed like the digits on a tree frog, grasping a leaf. She appeared to be gritting her teeth as well. She didn't relax into the performance until the start of the 3rd movement, when her back visibly eased, and both she and Whiteside began to smile. It was about time. Neither looked regal or imperial, but rather like workhorses, just trying to get through the choreography. Skylar Brandt was very, very good. She appeared very much at ease with the choreography, her feet precise and delicate. Her pasted-on grin, however, began to annoy me. It bore too strong a resemblance to Conrad Veidt in the silent horror film, The Man Who Laughs. She was at her best when joined by featured dancers Betsy McBride and Erica Lall. They were a beautiful trio. McBride was the only dancer I could see who really inhabited the concept of "regal." She held her back and shoulders upright, but not stiffly, her demeanor was royal. And more pleased than giddy; i.e., no grinning. If ABT would like this ballet to continue as homage to Balanchine's Imperial Russia, I think everyone should be coached to hold themselves properly. And after her performance in Ballet Imperial, Erica Lall moved seamlessly into the corps de fairies in The Dream. I'd love to see her in more featured roles in classical works. She never gets to display her skills in these kinds of ballets. Jake Roxander continues to astound. As Puck, in The Dream, he executed one airborne split leap into the downstage left wing at an enormous height, it could have been five feet in the air (though it seemed so, it wasn't), but truly gaspworthy. In this role, he reminded me less like Cornejo, and more like Daniel Ulbricht at NYC Ballet. His characterization, the playfulness, and the all American ease of his performance for me echoed Ulbricht as the Harlequin La Sonnambula, or even Candy Cane in Nutcracker. No matter how brilliant his dancing in the past, Cornejo always seemed to maintain his reserve, to hold back on visibly large emotions. I think Roxander's acting ability will be of great importance once he is given the chance to tackle the big three-act classical ballets. Something extra to look forward to in the spring!
  4. Yes, I was there last night. It was a wonderful evening, with three well programmed ballets. In Ratmansky's Piano Concerto No. 1, Skylar Brandt and Jake Roxander were paired, and they were the most remarkable duo I've seen since the days of Lane and Cornejo. They are so well matched in size, speed and sizzle, it's almost as if Brandt has been waiting for him to appear in order to bring out the deeper, more penetrating performances we know she's capable of. I'd really love to see them tackle Theme and Variations! Last week I thought I'd seen the ne plus ultra T&V with Tiler Peck and Joseph Gordon - especially Peck, who was so comfortable and confident with the choreography. But I think that Brandt and Roxander would bring to it the kind of energy, skill and attention that's been missing from ABT dancers for so long. Also think they'd be great together in Ratmansky's Nutcracker! I enjoyed Petit Mort, but Etudes was a major showstopper in which everyone appeared to be dancing full out. Devon Teuscher, slender, tall, moving like the wind! This was the best performance I've seen from her. Jake Roxander nearly burned up the stage in this, and if he isn't promoted before the end of this month, there would have to be an administrative or budgetary reason for it. This one evening made me feel that Susan Jaffe really has an understanding of what kind of dancers she has, their potential, and how best to use them. I have confidence that she'll be showing us much more in the spring, and also hopeful that maybe some of the elder statespersons in the company will feel more comfortable about stepping aside and letting the new generation take over. This is definitely an exciting time to be part of the ABT audience! Finally!
  5. If it was 2017, it was Maria Kotchetkova who was injured. Brandt replaced her in Corsaire, Sarah Lane replaced her in Giselle and Swan Lake, and was finally promoted. Kotchetkova did not return to ABT afterwards.
  6. After experiencing Daniel Camargo’s fantastic performance in Like Water for Chocolate, I ran to see him in last night’s Romeo & Juliet, with the added bonus of Jonathan Klein as Mercutio. Both men brought the house down with their remarkable dancing, with Klein receiving continued applause throughout the Mandolin dance. His dancing was beautifully smooth and consistent, and he made the choreography seem easy as he flowed through the intricate footwork. Kudos to him; I hope Susan Jaffe will be giving him more featured roles soon so that last night’s promise won’t become another wasted opportunity. Daniel Camargo is my new reason to buy tickets to ABT. He is a remarkable leading man, with enormous passion, skill, vibrancy and a real emotional connection to each character he portrays. He was so good that I didn’t even mind Isabella Boylston’s always sloppy upper body and eternally claw-like hands. At this point in time, Camargo is the only ABT dancer I feel eager to see again. Really looking forward to seeing him in the fall, no matter how he's cast – maybe in Ballet Imperial, The Dream or On the Dneiper/Dnipro!
  7. One afternoon years ago, when they were new dancers in the ABT corps de ballet, I happened to be standing at the box office at the Met Opera House when Jonathan Klein and Gabe Stone Shayer dashed past me, running through the lobby and out the front doors, laughing and enjoying a fun moment as they raced through the plaza. They were cheerful and giddy, and looked to me like they were the cutest boys in school, and at that moment I decided to follow both their trajectories at ABT. While Klein hasn’t had the training, experience or the same opportunities as Gabe Shayer, he takes whatever he is given and uses it. Whether it’s a small bit in the corps or a featured role in a Ratmansky ballet, he performs with energy, skill and dedication (though I still think he could use some finesse). But even in a tiny role, you always notice him on stage with his enormous energy. He’s been missed this spring, and I’m looking forward to seeing him as Mercutio in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, Gabe Shayer has been a continued disappointment, in performance after performance. I’ve grown weary after years of watching his sloppy, careless dancing, in role after role in the Nutcracker, as Blue Bird in Sleeping Beauty, or as Ariel in Ratmansky’s Tempest - a role made on Daniil Simkin, which he might have attempted to make his own if he’d tried, but which came to nothing in the end. It’s difficult to understand how someone with his solid background could toss away good roles because he felt they were too small, insulting, or some other irrelevant excuse. He seems to have some serious emotional and identity issues which he’s equated with the dance roles he’s been given. Calling Harlequin a “comic court servant” with a “shuck and jive” is an indication to me that Gabe either doesn’t understand or doesn’t want to understand the essential nature of the performing art he’s chosen as his own, and has closed his mind to the endless possibilities with which performance might free him. Harlequin is the people’s hero, the people’s knight, is smarter and braver than anyone else, and even has a supernatural being on his side. If Gabe had used some imagination, he could have played him as a rebel leader. But Gabe’s own issues have trapped him in a personal humiliation from which he’s still unable to free himself. Shayer won numerous competitions, multiple scholarships, and received excellent training when young. Five years ago, he invited Skylar Brandt to join him in Moscow for extra coaching at the Bolshoi, and even without a knowledge of the language, you could see via Brandt’s Instagram videos how much better she was at absorbing the lessons she was receiving than he was (they were doing lifts). It was as if he’d already convinced himself that he wouldn’t be able to do it. They had a wonderful budding partnership, and it might have gone even further if it weren’t for Brandt’s immense drive and work ethic which propelled her way ahead of Gabe. Gabe’s problems are his own, but ABT’s problems with him can be traced directly back to McKenzie and the ABT Board. They are fearful people who seem to worry less about box office issues and more about public opinion. Marcelo Gomes – 1,000 times better a dancer than Gabe Shayer ever could hope to be – was quickly and quietly hustled out the back door of ABT at the first whiff of a scandal, just months after they’d rewarded him with a great celebration of his 20 years with the company. Personal loyalty doesn’t exist at ABT, only how much positive public good will someone may be able to bring them. Three years ago Gabe complained on Instagram that he couldn’t get promoted and three months later was rewarded with same. What changed? Certainly not his dancing or work habits. The promotion was the product of fear and shame; Gabe’s public revelation must have terrified ABT management. It would be almost Shakespearian if it weren’t so preposterous. Gabe Shayer’s “opinion” item in the Times today is about as depressing a piece as I’ve ever read and yet another indication of this dancer’s self-delusion and self-destruction. Possibly he feels that this is his only way to express himself and his frustration with the company. From what I can see, his frustration is born of his own personal problems. If he feels more comfortable working in Europe, why not return and dance for a company there? There’s no certainty that ABT will reward him with anything after this. However, I will say this for Gabe. He’s always been a stylish guy, and the photo accompanying the article is wonderful. Maybe this very public piece self-promotion will lead to his hiring a new agent or manager who could get him the kind of work he feels he deserves. Good luck to him, wherever he may go, but I don’t expect to see him on stage at ABT any time soon.
  8. laurel

    Sarah Lane

    I find the negativity directed toward Sarah Lane rather presumptuous. I traveled to Houston to see Sarah’s performance and arrived on Saturday afternoon to be greeted by a local temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I saw Sarah’s posting after I arrived. Sarah later texted me after I’d expressed my concern for her ill health to let me know she was okay, but also to explain that after years of fighting her way through illness in order to perform, she was unable to do it this time. At this point in her life, her health has become a priority. If she was unwell, pushing herself onstage during a blazing heat wave probably would have made it worse. And she apologized to me – apologized! – for traveling out there to see her only to have her cancel. As if it were her fault she fell sick! Would anyone rather have had her give a second rate performance, or perhaps collapse on stage and need to be replaced? I wouldn’t. It was her call to make, and no one ought blame her for being ill. We’ve all seen sold out houses packed for celebrated performers, only to have them call out sick at the last minute. At ABT, it often ended up as a great opportunity for the talented dancers shoved aside by McKenzie, dancers like Lane, Abrera, Yuriko Kajiya, Jared Matthews, and even Skylar Brandt, all of whom rose to the occasion and brought down the house. Everyone’s health is their own personal prerogative and Sarah did what was right for her. Yes, I was disappointed to miss Sarah’s performance, but I’d never been to Texas before, much less Houston, and I saw this as a chance to enjoy something new from a ballet company I’d never seen. And another thing – Houston Ballet’s production of Swan Lake is a knockout! It makes ABT’s old McKenzie production look utterly stodgy and ponderous in comparison (which it is), and NYC Ballet's speed dial production a wasted opportunity (which it isn't). Every company has a different take on the classical material. They cut, paste, and weave their own production using whatever plot points, choreography and music they feel is best for them. In Houston, Stanton Welch has pulled together a 3-hour crowd pleaser which moves like lightning but essentially leaves out nothing. The emphasis is on the deep emotional tie which grows between Odette and Siegfried. Everything is built around this core. For example, in Act I, the music of the peasant pas is used not for the trio, but for a duet by Siegfried’s younger sisters, and introductory dances by the foreign princesses, all of whom Siegfried rejects. This makes his upcoming meeting with Odette (in her human form) all the more striking. Costume changes are utilized to delineate Odette and the swan maids both in human form and as swans. In both Acts I and II, a body double is used to cover for Odette and Odile’s quick costume changes. You may consider this a "cheat," but it's a big help to audiences unfamiliar with the plot line. Rothbart is called an “evil knight,” rather than a sorcerer, and wears black armor and a helm sporting a scarlet plume. His cape is constructed with poles or wires along the arms, a la Loie Fuller, which allows him to raise his arms and reveal his bat wings at dramatic moments. He is followed by similarly dressed minions and four black swans, one of whom transforms to Odile in Act II. I was impressed by the way Welch was able to move dancers around the stage in varied and interesting ways, using music and sometimes silence to set up transitions between scenes. He covers the entirety of the stage, upstage, downstage and centerstage, with the entire company, fluidly and with great skill. This is a dynamic, full bodied production in which lyrical dancing and facial expression are paramount. I can see why Sarah Lane would have been invited to perform in this production. It is an excellent fit for her performance style, complex lyrical dancing with strong emotional characterization. Wooden faced dancers like Cory Stearns and Aran Bell would not be welcome in this production. On Saturday night, Beckann Sisk gave a great performance in the leading role. She has a vibrant athletic quality coupled with a lyricism which allowed her to whirl through 36 (by my count) of Odile’s Act II fouettes without faltering, double-double-singles all the way through. Unfortunately, her Siegfried, Chase O’Connell, had run out of steam by Act II, achieving no height in his leaps and landing turns with loud thuds. It wasn’t a great performance, and Sisk kind of blew him away. On Sunday, Sarah Lane was replaced by Houston principal Soo Youn Cho, a fine lyrical dancer much loved by the audience. I was seated close enough to the stage to notice her strange habit/performance style (?) of soundlessly mouthing words to herself throughout her performance as Odette. At one point in Act I, she clearly mouthed “I love you” to her Siegfried, soloist Ryo Kato, but the rest of it was undiscernible. It became somewhat distracting, and pushed her performance for me into something rather like an overwrought and emotional Bette Davis, which might have been okay if her dancing had held up in Act II. As Odile, she struggled to hold her balance during the unsupported arabesque, staying upright only by lowering her leg far below a 90-degree angle. She fell off point at least once during her fouettes, but did make it through all the way. I felt Ryo Kato gave a much better performance as Siegfried than O’Connell the night before; he was far more responsive emotionally to Odette and absolutely soared through Siegfried’s leaps and turns in Act II. For this, my first glimpse of the Houston Ballet, I was very impressed. This is a first-rate company with top notch dancers at every level. Their entire run of Swan Lake was sold out and they appear to have very strong community support for their performances, which is a great deal more than ABT could hope for these days. If another opportunity to see them arises, I wouldn’t hesitate to go.
  9. I adore Ratmansky’s Whipped Cream, and it was wonderful to see the ballet return last night at such a high level of performance. The fantastic score, the unique costumes, the crazy choreography – what a wild 1920s hallucination of fantasy, satire and overindulgence. The company was so well rehearsed, and so very alive with the thrill of performance. The gingerbread men were swinging their mallets at the marzipan archers with ferver, as if they wished to do real harm. Wham! For the first time, every dancer presented a character on stage, utilizing facial expression and excellent mime. No one made a misstep, no one was sleepwalking in the back row or going through the motions. There are so many new, young dancers in the company, and so many opportunities opening up, everyone seemed thrilled to be on stage and was dancing full out. Sarah Lane’s Princess Praline, with her lacy, layered footwork, has given way Skylar Brandt’s big, bold, movement. Her movements are faster, higher, deeper, wider; Princess Praline now is a different character, much sassier. Brandt is able to lengthen her limbs to such an extent that she appears far taller than her true height. It's quite an achievement. The endless work with Max and Irina has definitely come to fruition. Brand's natural inclination for goofiness makes Princess Praline a perfect fit. ABT absolutely must do right by Brandt and revive Coppelia for her. She was born to play Swanilda, and in my opinion she would be the ultimate American dancer in that role. This is my *personal* recommendation to Susan Jaffe... In case you’re unaware, Jonathan Klein was a youthful figure skater in France, and as a young adolescent competed in the French junior national championships. Emily Hayes posted some old footage of him on the ice in one of her food/travel vlogs on Youtube (“Made by Mily”), and he was quite impressive. You can see the vigorous athlete in him and why his pirouettes and leaps are amazing. However, he could use some finesse and lyricism in his dance. A few months at the Paris Opera Ballet School or something similar would be perfect. Well, no matter what may or may not be possible, I imagine that he (and everyone else at ABT) could use better coaching than what is currently available to the company. Princess Tea Flower was languid and lyrical when danced by Stella Abrera, but Christine Shevchenko has turned her into a glamour girl, sparkly and lively. Calvin Royal’s dancing has improved enormously since I last saw him, and he was especially confident last night as Prince Coffee. Among their attendants there were two knockouts: Chloe Misseldine and Jarod Curley. As the attendants move about the stage in performance, frequently changing partners, these two more often than not ended up together, and they looked like an unbeatable team, the tallest dancers in the room. Jarod Curley is ABT’s answer to Daniel Day-Lewis. With each costume and wig change, he vanishes into his character. He is tall and blonde, and last night, whirling around the pastry shop, he was unrecognizable as the dancer who performed Mithridates in Of Love and Rage. I had one of my little fantasy moments at this point, and kept imagining him as Purple Rothbart in Swan Lake, entering the ballroom with Chloe Misseldine as Odile. Whoa! That's yet another fantasy I hope to see come true one day. Major congratulations to the three dancing liquor bottles: Catherine Hurlin, Blaine Hoven and Connor Holloway. Their teamwork was great, and I’ve never seen the three bottles performed so well by all three dancers together. In particular, Hurlin’s mime has improved so much, she’s finally able to get some big laughs as Marianne Chartreuse. I hope that they, and everyone in this case, perform just as well or better on Saturday. Cheers, all!
  10. laurel

    Sarah Lane

    Loved Sarah's heartfelt post on Instagram this morning. Looking forward to making my first ever trip to *Texas* to see her dance in Swan Lake once again - and, hopefully, to see Yuriko dance as well.
  11. I was at the Saturday matinee as well, and was stunned. This was a truly brilliant and original re-imagining of a classical (Romantic) ballet. The plot of Giselle was sliced down to its bare bones, so that even non-dance fans with only a passing familiarity to the original would find it easy to understand. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I felt there was a strong similarity in the production's visual design elements to those associated with steampunk and post-apocalyptic fantasy graphic novels (and their film/video/anime design kin). This Giselle pushes itself far further than most ballet; it's contemporary and relevant on many levels. This was easily the best and most modern theatrical production I've attended in a long time, way better than many of the "groundbreaking" Broadway shows I've seen recently. Truly spellbinding; would love to see it again, on Broadway, available to a much wider audience.
  12. While not a standout in the corps de ballet, nevertheless she was a stalwart and full of positive energy. Her announcement seems to herald a new job or position, possibly a relocation as well. My best wishes to her. I, for one, will miss her!
  13. I saw that clip this morning, and it's exactly what I thought, too. That magical performance when no one in the audience breathed, and time stood still.
  14. The last time I attended an ABT performance was in December 2019, during my annual holiday visit to Costa Mesa for family and three ABT Nutcracker weekend performances. At the Saturday matinee show, Katie Williams was a standout as one of the Nutcracker's sisters. Their choreography is not easy, and I often feel the dancers are holding back during the variation, not putting too much of themselves into it. Not Katie Williams. She simply didn't make the choreography her own, she absorbed it and lived it. She moved so easily and swiftly across the stage, the other four dancers (Katie Boren, Brittany DeGrofft, Zhong-Jing Fang, Rachel Richardson) seemed to vanish in plain sight. I've never seen anyone else perform that variation as well. Katie Williams needs more opportunities to show just how good she is, and what she can do. I wouldn't hesitate to attend a performance in which she was featured.
  15. laurel

    Sarah Lane

    Whether you admire her or not, Sarah Lane has always lived by her own set of rules and values which very likely have helped keep her sane through this whole ABT ordeal. I was astonished to learn that during her decade in soloist purgatory, she was offered a principal contract in San Francisco. Family or no, how many other young ABT dancers would have turned that down? It appears to me that the company’s offer of her dream role debut in R&J next spring was an outright bribe, akin to hush money to drop her action against them. Say what you will, but it makes me feel good to know she had them running scared for a while, knowing she’d caught them in their clumsy combo of hypocrisy and bias. Other dancers who left the company under a cloud may not have had that kind of luxury, of knowing they were in the right, both morally and legally. Personally, I feel the odds are against my seeing Lane perform live again, but I’m still grateful to her for sticking around New York for so many difficult years and allowing us to see her beautiful, moving performances in roles both small and large. My life has been punctuated by moments when I’ve experienced something so extraordinary on stage, both theater and ballet, that it’s changed my view of what might be possible for an art form to achieve. Many of those moments belong to Sarah Lane. I’m so glad I was there to see her dance.
  16. Now that's a dream worth dreaming, though most likely not realistic [sigh]. I vote for Sascha Radetsky and Stella Abrera as co-directors.
  17. During my first - and only - viewing of Black Swan, I assumed the plot had been adapted from the 1947 movie A Double Life starring Ronald Colman, about a Broadway star's descent into madness and murder. No dancing involved, but the theatrical setting was highly evocative.
  18. I awakened this morning to the news about Diana Rigg, and now this news of Lane. Two of my favorite cultural icons in one day. It’s really too much. There’s no longer any reason for me to return to ABT. The only reason was removed from the roster this morning without an acknowledgment or farewell. No one deserves such cavalier treatment, especially not a skilled artist who devoted her entire career to one organization. However, if Lane really knew about this in advance, she ought to have said something on social media, the way Hammoudi and Scott did, rather than leaving people to speculate. Her fans understand the difficult situation she’s always faced at ABT. In my opinion, ABT today seems to have morphed into something like a cold corporate entity rather than a nonprofit ballet company, performing a not very successful balancing act between profit and art. All the newly promoted dancers are “youthful” and may seem “exciting,” but some are not skilled enough for principal level and often visibly struggle with artistry. Possibly there will be improvement, but what I expect more is the company doing what it always does: glossing over lack of skills and choosing instead to promote names and faces on social media, emphasizing how exciting all this change is, and ignoring the fact that there are no more virtuoso, world class dancers left in the company (yes, Cornejo, but he’s not what he once was and I don’t think he’ll be around much longer). Lane is the victim both of a changing American culture and of a management which never really supported her, but probably felt obliged to promote her because of her extraordinary, explosive artistry three years ago, which was wholeheartedly supported by the audience. Lane also greatly admired the earlier generation at ABT which didn’t have or believe in self-promotion on social media, which has become de rigueur today. Her disagreement with Cornejo, which sundered their partnership, became the coup de grace for her career at ABT. This talk of a falling out with Ratmansky seems odd. Her final ABT performance this spring was scheduled to have been Aurora in Ratmansky’s Sleeping Beauty. Why then would he have allowed her to perform this great role in his major restaging? Removing her from a small part in “The Seasons” yet allowing her to perform the difficult lead in “Sleeping Beauty”? That’s just bizarre. Why has Lane’s company persona suddenly turned from quiet, insecure, overlooked artist to company harpy and harridan? If anyone ever bothers to write a memoir or history about this terrible era at ABT, I hope I’m no longer around, because the answer would probably anger me even more. I doubt I’ll ever get over the rupture of the Lane-Cornejo partnership, but I’m glad I forced myself to travel and saw as much of them as I could. No matter how much management tries, they can’t erase the fact that for many years theirs was the best partnership in the company, like no other, and brought much joy to the audience. And the memory of Lane’s Swan Lake in Richmond on Valentine’s Day is a wonderful one, worth the anxiety of traveling at the outset of a pandemic just to see her. She was everything you’d want O/O to be and more; pure, gorgeous dancing, with two vastly different and beautifully limned characters. Ballet heaven, indeed. And that should be her legacy: ballet heaven incarnate. Lane appears to have a teaching gig lined up in NJ, and perhaps she’ll decide that now’s the time to start a family. Her future should be a bright one, hope it will be smooth sailing ahead!
  19. So sad, another ABT soloist retiring without much fanfare or farewell. Scott was one of those dancers we never seemed to see dance often enough, but when he did get the chance he was completely invested in the performance. Best of luck to him in his future endeavors.
  20. Stella Abrera invaded my consciousness sometime in the early 2000s during a performance of Jerome Robbins' "Afternoon of a Faun," with David Hallberg. Her warm, lustrous dancing was so enthralling, the stage seemed bathed in a golden light. To this day, I can't recall a thing about Hallberg during that performance; Stella's golden light simply erased him. One other performance of hers which stands out in my memory was her Cinderella in 2015, at the moment she entered the ballroom and appeared to float down the stairs en pointe. Because I believe she was, literally, floating - she'd been promoted to principal only a day or two before the show. I thank her for the many, many beautiful memories she's given me.
  21. It was a disappointing program, and rather indicative of just how out of touch ABT management is with contemporary life, in so many ways: in its lackluster use of digital media, its refusal to utilize and monetize whatever archival film and video assets it may hold - put your assets to work for you, management! - and its absolute refusal to give the audience what it wants, which is ballet dancing. Beautiful, transporting, sigh-inducing ballet dancing, in complete performances or even just portions of performances. We came for the ballet dancing, but all we got was . . . nothing. I'm not sure what it was we got, besides sadness.
  22. Wonderful video. Thank you for the link.
  23. Lena C., just curious about how long the Saturday evening Swan Lake performance lasted. Did it end between 9:30 - 10:00 pm as ours did on Friday? That second intermission lasted a loooooong time. I thought there might have been a problem, perhaps someone was injured, but thankfully, no. But it was really nerve wracking just waiting for that curtain to rise!
  24. Lena C., you are amazing! Up and down the east coast with ABT! Thanks for the info. on Sung Woo Han. I'd like to see him in this new role in the spring.
  25. Thanks, ABT Fan, I did see the Q&A with Lane this morning. I was at the hair salon and brought my phone so I could stream it. Some of the stylists came over to watch a little of it, too! They didn't know who she was or what she was discussing, but were impressed that I'd just seen her perform a couple of days ago. I thought the students asked some excellent, thoughtful questions. It was a more interesting discussion than most. I was stunned to learn that even as a new principal, she couldn't get tech rehearsals for her debut ballets. I wonder if they treat other, more favored principal women as cavalierly. She's lucky her leg wasn't badly injured when it went through the set flat!
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