ABT Opening Night Gala

[carbro]

The balance gods were not watching over ABT's women tonight. From the opening Entrance of the Shades, with two ladies in the front row struggling mightily to stay upright, to the Rose Adagio where Veronika Part not only fell off pointe, but had a hard time getting back on pointe, and then later just hitting her stride again in the dance. It was a shame, because from her first pointe tendue pose, she looked like a young princess, both proud and modest. What we did get throughout was beautiful, classical line, elegant epaulement, and musicality.

Between the Shades and the Beauty suite, Kevin McKenzie gave his front of the curtain thanks to the various patrons and underwriters, then introduced Caroline Kennedy (in stunning diamond earrings) who suggested we come back often and bring a child.

The rest of the Sleeping Beauty suite was Michele Wiles dancing Lilac Fairy variation, Diana Vishneva's Vision Scene Variation, and Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky in the Act III pdd. Vishneva had problems with some of the pique turns into arabesque -- looked like she may have been dancing on a raked stage recently and hadn't compensated. Four Vaganova-trained ballerinas, and only two could do their steps.

Too much sparkly stuff on the costumes. but otherwise, they were pretty nice. I especially liked the costumes worn by Aurora and her prince in Act III.

Next came Lang Lang accompanying Abrera and Radetsky in a small piece d'ocasion. Robbins gave the same music (Chopin Waltz No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 34, #2 -- with fewer repeats, I'm sure) to the Woman in Pink and Man in Brown in Dances at a Gathering. Not much going on here, but no one got slapped, so I guess it was okay. Abrera looked even more elegant than usual in her (uncredited) plum gown.

Encore by Lang Lang -- the highlight of the night IMHO.

Intermission.

Second half was much better. MacMillan's balcony pdd looked better than ever before after having seen the version across the plaza. I've never seen a Romeo dance that choreography as fluently as Cornejo did, and Reyes was a innocent Juliet discovering the mystery of adult passion. I could almost be persuaded to see them.

The next piece was Lubovitch's closing pas de deux from Othello. Another love duet (someone gets worse than slapped, though), and even with as irresistible a dancer as Gomes and a great actress as Ferri, I'll sit this one out.

We welcomed Ananiashvili back to dance the Black Swan adagio and coda with Corella. Perhaps not a perfect match, she danced with sweet freshness and glowed throughout. She and Corella worked out moments in the pas to suggest, as he passed under her arm, an abracadabra effect.

What can you say about Kent and Carreno in Manon's bedroom pdd? Again, much better than the love story just closed next door, but not my thing.

Bayadere suite showed a sweet and vulnerable Nikiya (Herrera) dancing the Act I duet with David Hallberg, Murphy's variation and coda from the Pas d'Action (coda supported by corps and demis). I just can't warm to Murphy. There's nothing she can't do -- and with great elan -- but as she finished, I turned to my neighbor and whispered, "Same steps, different order." Here it was Steifel's sure and strong rendition of Solor's variation that brought relief. After all he's been through, he's never looked better.

Welcome back Nina and Ethan!

[FauxPas]

Veronika did look radiant in her entrance and her first poses showed gorgeous form and extension. However, the first balance was shaky and the second she fell off pointe and had to get back on it. In the second set of revolving supported pirouettes in arabesque with balances she was holding on very close to her cavaliers and never seemed secure.

Frankly, there have been many great ballerinas who excelled in "Swan Lake" or as Giselle or Nikiya but did not excel as Aurora. Or were great Giselles but not great Auroras (Makarova is one example). Not every Kitri is a great Giselle or great Odette/Odile. Not every ballerina can dance every classical role equally well. Susan Jaffe came close growing into roles like Giselle through dramatic skills. Vishneva if she conquers Odette/Odile fully will be another. Hopefully, for Veronika this is a case of a bad dress rehearsal (a very public and dressy one) being followed by a triumphant opening night (her opening night in June of the full production). She, Gelsey and Irina Kolpakova have a lot of work to do before she is going to own this role. Her natural role is the Lilac Fairy but if she is willing to knock herself out she has the artistic qualities to be a lovely Aurora. Does she have the will and drive to overcome her sometimes recalcitrant technique and physique?

However Max and Irina were glorious together in the Grand Pas de Deux from Act III. Vishneva must have been upset with herself because she didn't come out for a bow with the other "Sleeping Beauty" soloists. She did show up for the final bow at the end. Diana's arms were gorgeous and I think this also was her shaky dress rehearsal with a triumph to come. Michele Wiles looked very good in her solo. Note: the sets weren't used but the new costumes were and they look gorgeous. Very tasteful but rich and detailed with lovely colors.

I found Lang Lang's encore a case of flashy virtuosity barely disguising shabby, vulgar lack of taste and musicianship. Yes he has fast fingers but like a dancing dog, you are surprised he can do it but is it art or just a curiosity? He was better playing the Chopin adagio for Stella and Sascha (he really looked great and she is always gorgeous and sensual to watch in movement).

Herman Cornejo's elevation and physical abandon made for a quicksilver Romeo who spoke of his love through his feet. They did not touch the ground that much during his difficult solos getting huge ovations from the audience. His lack of inches made the overhead lifts of his Juliet, Xiomara Reyes rather anticlimactic as she didn't get that far off the ground. He partnered well though. She is a lovely Juliet who is tiny and childlike but with a wide-eyed openness to emotion and experience and an emotional maturity at odds with her appearance. I would be willing to see the entire ballet again just for her.

Marcelo Gomes' passion and dramatic commitment as Othello surpassed my memory of Desmond Richardson and Keith Roberts' interpretations of the same role. He really made this look like a masterpiece and Alessandra Ferri was right beside him giving right back to him. Marcelo the Magnificent was not wearing any dark makeup as the Moor, I wonder if they are going to get out the brown shoepolish or Light Eyptian for the whole show later this month.

Boys and girls, Nina is back, no regrets and no apologies. Nailed the 32 with only a little fatigue on the last two and traveled for only the last ten revolutions. Otherwise fast, high and tight. Her rippling swan arms in the section where Odile mimics Odette had the audience gasping and applauding. No problems anywhere. Angel was a radiantly buoyant partner with soaring jumps.

Julie looked ravishing and supple as Manon and Jose was an ecstatic partner. The pas de deux left the audience on a high.

Paloma always surprises me with her excellence as Nikiya - the part fits her body well and her phrasing and artistry are much better than in other classical roles. Gillian's virtuosity as Gamzatti is not news but she owned the stage when she was on it. It was good to see Ethan dancing with so much verve and ease - only the circle of tours was a bit smaller scale than in the past. Everything else looked like the old Ethan.

There was so much drama at ABT this Met season with Veronika's potential breakthrough (still in doubt, alas), the final goodbye of Ferri to come, the return of Nina after a long absence due to pregnancy and the return of Ethan after a difficult recovery from knee surgery. The last two came through with flying colors and Alessandra showed those qualities in a new role that will make her unreplaceable. Veronika thank god has many opportunities to show her mettle (and has to take advantage of them to the fullest). Julie Kent, Angel Corella, Jose Manuel Carreno, Xiomara Reyes and Michele Wiles showed their continuing worth. All in all a good evening.

[Dale]

I can guess Part was given the Rose Adagio in the gala so she could get used to doing it front of an audience before the premiere. There were several beautiful moments, but she looked terrified during the balances. One thing - in a BBC program, Cojocaru was shown rehearsing the Rose Adagio. She and the cavaliers also said the woman is supposed to hold her arm out with a curve, as does the man, creating what they called an S-curve that was parallel to the floor. Part had her curve going, but the men let their wrists and elbows drop. Maybe it was because on pointe, she towered over them. It gave her shaky support - that and her long legs are very bowed and her feet are long and narrow. She doesn't seem to have a solid base to balance. Not to excuse her, though.

[christine174]

Thanks for the reports! This is very disappointing news about Veronika! ... but better than I dared to hope about Nina. A trip to the box office may be in order tomorrow...

[drb]

NINA :wub: times 10

+

Yes, Nina Ballerina is all the way back, and she did more turns than that many, some with arms unsymmetrically up, sometimes folded, just to make the point. She was dazzling and very seductive throughout Odile, and when she deceived Angel with those amazing rippling wings, you knew Odette was back too! Let's get the season out of the way and get to June 28! Angel looked inspired by her too.

The Bayadere corps, especially number four and a couple others in the front row had real problems staying up on their left legs, the right having far less difficulty.

In the Sleeping Beauty excerpts, I found Michele Wiles's little Lilac variation showing her usual technical aplomb, but also simultaneous softness and clarity, which just might be a hint of how ABT shall benefit from Gelsey Kirkland's coaching. I saw Ms. Part's Rose Adagio much as Carbro reported. When she repeated that diagonal of assisted balances, after having received the second gift of roses, she looked worried, and only held the balance for that split second that it took the next hand to grab hold. Perhaps with her Nikiya coming up she's had lots of rehearsals to deal with. She looked decidely thinner than she did last season. Diana Vishneva looked uncomfortable in her Vision Scene variation. It may have been partly to do without having the context of the ballet, with her method I suspect that really matters. Irina and Max easily won the dancing prize for part one of the gala with their GPdD, fish dives and all. They (as always) looked happy, but one sensed they were more in the story, a kind of refinement that may not be without Gelsey's influence. When the curtain closed on these excerpts the applause faded fast, but returned for Michele's curtain call. Then stopped cold, but Veronika and her four balancers came out anyway. It started again. Then down, but then got loud for the Beloserkovskys. The gala audience just doesn't get it. But the key point is that Diana did not come out for her solo bow.

Lady's Choice was dominated by Lang Lang. The Liszt encore was not mentioned on the program. When the curtain closed they needed time to move the piano forward, but the rich folks sections went silent. The dancers had to come out for a curtain call to give the stage hands time. Very awkward, despite the darkened theater people were walking out for intermission. Lang Lang was his usual self in the Second Hungarian Rapsody. As he speeded up applause burst from the main floor. We knew who they were... While I'm fortunate to hear him often, with quiet audiences, this audience was a disgrace. Although, as for Carbro, his performance was a highlight.

The second part a greatest hits affair.

R and J's Balcony Scene was choreographically way ahead of R+J's, with plenty of heat from Reyes/Cornejo. But my heart still belongs to the Pereira/Peiffer duo.

Glad to get Othello out of the way. It was good to see Ferri/Gomes.

Often Julie Kent wins the gala competition with Manon, but she and Jose Manuel Carreno had to follow Nina this time.

Bayadere's Temple PdD, was very bland, but since seeing Cojocaru trace the entire history of her relationship with Solor in Nikiya's memory variation before he arrives, I am incapable of rational evaluation of this scene. I found Gillian Murphy and Ethan Stiefel's classicism and virtuosity in the Gamzatti/Solor Pd'A thrilling.

[Haglund's]

Tonight was a mix of great disappointment, great joy, and more disappointment. Excerpts from full length ballets, dropped on the stage out of context, with no scenery or framing, can be difficult to enjoy. But sometimes, the artists make it work. Tonight we saw who couldn't and who could.

The night began with part of Kingdom of the Shades. One shade lost her balance in the arabesque parade like I've never witnessed before. She stepped completely off line to the side almost turning sideways. One or two of the center developee arabesques were quite wobbly. Maybe it's unfair to point out the very few problems in an overall serviceable performance, but in this piece, any deviation from the expected norm is highly noticeable and disturbing.

Next -- the excerpts from Sleeping Beauty. Beautiful costumes, all of which could be seen very clearly on the empty stage with hideous utility lighting. The choreography will not make me look forward to this production. The music was glorious. Michele Wiles performed a very brief, uninteresting Lilac Fairy variation with great commitment, stability and aplomb. But the content (again on the empty stage with wretched lighting) was boring. Next came Veronika Part in the Rose Adagio who managed to turn this into an endless train wreck. Despite her fine lyrical qualities, I think McKenzie should fire her after tonight's performance or else his Board should fire him if he insists on entrusting her with the premiere. She missed every balance. She fell off pointe while desperately clutching one of the cavalier's arms. She was way off balance on most all of her supported pirouettes. No question she was pretty. She was very pretty and smiled and walked and developeed with great grace. But plain and simply, she can't do the job, and hopefully she will be replaced by June 1st. If she isn't, I'm exchanging my ticket. Next -- Diana Vishneva in an Aurora variation. I couldn't figure out what she was doing or why she was doing it. I recognized all the steps and the vocabulary and the transitions -- but I couldn't grasp the point of it in the absence of any framing. The last S.B. excerpt was the Grand Pas from Act III with Dvorovenko and Beloserkovsky. Finally, they took me into the fantasy. They were in love. They knew why they were dancing. They could have come out on stage dressed in brown paper bags, and still could have created a compelling and beautiful performance.

The Piece d'Ocassion with Lang Lang, Stella Abrera, and Sascha Radetsky was visually stunning. Abrera, in a plummy evening type gown, was absolutely gorgeous. Radetsky could not have been more proud dancing with her. It was the stereotypical piano PdD, but it showed both of them off nicely - oh yeah, and Lang Lang, too.

Cornejo and Reyes in the Romeo and Juliet balcony PdD showed great promise but still the partnering is cautious looking.

The Act III PdD from Othello with Ferri and Gomes was incredible. Very powerful drama. Very MacMillanish in a post-MacMillan way. I had enormous sympathy for both characters. Ferri, and maybe this is my overactive imagination, left the impression that maybe Desdemona was not 100% innocent of all charges. I think their single performance of Othello may be one of the best of the Met season. Not for the kids.

Next -- it was the return of Nina in S.L. Act III with Corella. It was wonderful to see her again -- and it was obvious from the audience response that she has been missed terribly. She gave a sturdy performance but was not the Nina who we last saw on the Met stage. Corella appears to be in very good form.

Next -- Manon with Kent and Carreno. Kent is a beautiful dancer, but she is not a deeply passionate dancer. This PdD requires unbridled passion, and tonight was a bit too restrained.

Lastly -- La Bayadere excerpts from Act 1 looked very good. Paloma Herrera in the Temple PdD with Hallberg was beautiful. Every season brings a new layer of artistry from her. There seems to be so much more expressiveness in her head, neck and shoulders. Gillian Murphy's and Ethan Stiefel's pas d'action variations closed the evening on a virtuosic high note.

There were some indescribible dresses in the audience. Did anyone else see that white ostrich like feather thing that the woman in the third row of the orchestra was wearing? Oh, my word, I thought that it was some type of a transgender Halloween costume. Oh, my, my, my.

[christine174]

Whew, Haglund's! That bad??? You're going to exchange your ticket for the premiere? And harder on Nina than the others! Based on tonight, what principals would you recommend for the season? ... and thanks for the report on gala dresses.

[Ceeszi]

This is the first time that I have been to the Opening Gala and I am trying to process it all. There was so much beauty on the stage tonight!

The opening entrance of the Shades from "La Bayadere" is always extraordinary to watch. I did see a few struggles with balance, but all in all I thought it was mesmerizing. I am really looking forward to the full ballet. I have tickets for Saturday night with Diana and Monday night with Nina. However, after tonight, I want to see all of the casts! I don't know if I can, but I will try my best!

Michele Wiles was good, but I felt that her solo was over too quickly to fully appreciate her dancing. Same with Diana Vishneva. I thought that Diana was very good, but my friend who accompanied me tonight thought she was a little off. This is probably why she did not come out for a curtian call at the end.

I felt bad for Veronika Part. I agree with the previous posts that she absolutley looked the part of Aurora. I was looking forward to something spectacular, but that one bobble at the start left her very shaky. A previous poster mentioned her partners not doing a good job. One of them looked like he was spinning her way too fast when she was on pointe. To her credit, she held it together and finished strongly. But I wonder if these little glitches are what keeps her from being promoted to a principal. The only other time I saw her in a leading role was when she and Marcelo Gomes did "Swan Lake" in the summer of 2005. Again, she was radiant, but had a few glitches, especially in the Act III pas de deux. Tonight, Veronika was lovley, but she did not make me cry. Alina Cojocaru made me cry when she did the Rose Adagio last summer in Washington DC. But as previously posted, hopefully this is just dress rehearsal jitters.

On the other hand, I thought Maxim and Irina were silky smooth in the Act III pas de deux.

I thought "Lady's Choice" was okay. The dancing by Stella Abrera and Sascha Radetsky was lovely. In his encore, Lang Lang played like a man possessed.

Act II was much better than Act I. The balcony scene from "Romeo and Juliet" was beautiful and dramatic. It was nice to see Herman Cornejo in the lead role and not just the acrobatic sidekick. He and Xiomara Reyes did a beautiful job. Herman danced the part with great intensity, especially in his solo number. Xiomara was very girlish and innocent. I noticed that they drew the curtain just as they reached for each other. The audience kind of let out a collective sigh when this dance was over.

I have posted this before - Marcelo Gomes looks like such a great guy in real life, but he really excels in these menacing bad guy roles. "Othello" was a real surprise for me - I did not know what to expect. This was an incredibly intense dance. And who better to dance with Marcelo than Alessandra Ferri? She gets into these incredible positions when she dances. Her dancing is a combination of wild abandon with total control. And how did they do that strangulation scene?

The highlight of the night for me was the Act III pas de deux from "Swan Lake" with Nina Ananiashvili and Angel Corella. This is the first time that I ever saw Nina dance live. She was incredible - no one does that rippling of the swan arms like her. She and Angel both excelled tonight! There was a complete confidence in their dancing - you just knew that they were going to be on tonight.

The Bedroom pas de deux from "Manon" was also beautiful with Julie Kent and Jose Manuel Carreno. I miss Julie Kent - I haven't seen her dance since the summer of 2005 (that's my own fault!) They did a beautiful job of conveying the playfulness and love of this dance. I particularly loved Julie's positions and the lovely arch in her back.

I was really hoping that Paloma Herrera would do well. The last time I saw her was at the YAGP Gala two weeks ago when she took a spill in "Rubies". How lovely she was in the Temple pas de deux with David Hallberg. Now, after tonight, I want to see her Nikiya also. What lovley positions she hit during this dance. I especially liked the beginning where she was dancing with the water jug in her hand, looking for Solor.

Gillian Murphy and Ethan Stiefel were solid in the Engagement Party dances. I had a feeling that Gillian would be picked for Gamzatti. She looked like she was in total control the whole time. And Ethan was great in his solo.

Well - tonight really has really made me want to see a lot during this season. I will be out of town for three weeks in June, unfortunately, so I am limited as to what I can see. But my friend and I remarked on the way out - "We are so lucky to be here tonight!"

[Old Fashioned]

Next came Veronika Part in the Rose Adagio who managed to turn this into an endless train wreck. Despite her fine lyrical qualities, I think McKenzie should fire her after tonight's performance or else his Board should fire him if he insists on entrusting her with the premiere. She missed every balance. She fell off pointe while desperately clutching one of the cavalier's arms. She was way off balance on most all of her supported pirouettes. No question she was pretty. She was very pretty and smiled and walked and developeed with great grace. But plain and simply, she can't do the job, and hopefully she will be replaced by June 1st. If she isn't, I'm exchanging my ticket.

Eeek--I'm sorry to hear it was that painful. I'm still crossing my fingers she'll be able to pull it together by the premiere, and hope she won't be replaced.

[art076]

Thanks for all these detailed reports everyone!

Can someone speak to the choreography in Sleeping Beauty, for the Lilac and Vision scene variations? Do they go more towards the Russian/Soviet variations, or more towards the ones that the English use - with the Lopukhov Lilac variation and the Ashton vision variation?

[carbro]

At the Works & Process event, Kirkland said they were taking some set pieces from the RB and some from the Kirov. Vishneva's Vision variation looked very unfamiliar to me. If the battement-retire section was there, I missed it entirely.

[atm711]

I found most of these comments about Part most distressing......as Swan Lake is not about 32 fouettes, Sleeping Beauty is not all Rose Adagio.....all comments of her future status in the Company should be on hold until the end of the season. I can only imagine how crushing these comments must be to an artist as sensitive as Part....

[Dale]

I'm with Old Fashioned -- I hope the casting stays as is. I'm looking forward to seeing Part in the rest of the ballet.

Carbro - I didn't recognize the choreography either for the vision scene solo. It's not the soviet version, the Royal version or the 1890 version. I guess it's the McKenzie-Kirkland version.

[MJ]

Tonight was a mix of great disappointment, great joy, and more disappointment. Excerpts from full length ballets, dropped on the stage out of context, with no scenery or framing, can be difficult to enjoy. But sometimes, the artists make it work. Tonight we saw who couldn't and who could.

The night began with part of Kingdom of the Shades. One shade lost her balance in the arabesque parade like I've never witnessed before. She stepped completely off line to the side almost turning sideways. One or two of the center developee arabesques were quite wobbly. Maybe it's unfair to point out the very few problems in an overall serviceable performance, but in this piece, any deviation from the expected norm is highly noticeable and disturbing.

You've got some VERY strong words there. Rose was flawed, but beautiful nonetheless.

Black swan was great, as was Ms. Murphy.

Lang Lang Stole the show!

There were beautiful people in the audience, but one woman with a hideous ruffled/ribboned dress with a big ruffly hat to match, truly inappropriate for the opera house. it looked like a high-school sewing project! I saw the Ostrich dress as well, up close it looked great!

There were large groups of very late folks. where did they come from, Dinner? Cocktails?

[drb]

I'm with Old Fashioned -- I hope the casting stays as is. I'm looking forward to seeing Part in the rest of the ballet.

Carbro - I didn't recognize the choreography either for the vision scene solo. It's not the soviet version, the Royal version or the 1890 version. I guess it's the McKenzie-Kirkland version.

Could it have been the Malakhov version in the Berlin production that he and Vishneva dance frequently? She may not have arrived in time to learn whatever ABT is going to do.

I hope Part is able to dance Aurora. Remember too that she has Nikiya tomorrow. Ashley Bouder came off pointe once in her first Rose Adagio, 'though was not so rattled, then proceeded to deliver the best Aurora I'd ever seen. Until her next one.

[Haglund's]

Perhaps my comment about the disposition of Part was a bit harsh. I just reminded myself that no one fired McKenzie after the droopy sweatpants incident during R&J on Live from Lincoln Center.

[Balanchinomane]

At the Guggenheim Works and Process Wes Chapman spoke of the tension

backstage surrounding the Rose Adagio. He said every ballerina he had seen

was visibly apprehensive pre-performance, and that most of the cast members

watched it from wings in a show of support. Afterwords there was a collective

sigh of relief and the dancers went on to enjoy the rest of the performance.

As much as we don't want to believe it, dancers are human. Part recovered

quickly and it probably won't happen again.

[Helene]

I found most of these comments about Part most distressing......as Swan Lake is not about 32 fouettes, Sleeping Beauty is not all Rose Adagio

Unfortunately, that's probably the worst downside of excerpting these parts for a gala.

[carbro]

I found most of these comments about Part most distressing......as Swan Lake is not about 32 fouettes, Sleeping Beauty is not all Rose Adagio.....

I completely agree with you, atm. But the Rose Adagio, excerpted as it was last night, is all about the Rose Adagio.

[nysusan]

I found most of these comments about Part most distressing......as Swan Lake is not about 32 fouettes, Sleeping Beauty is not all Rose Adagio.....

Agreed, Swan Lake is not about 32 fouettes and SB is not all Rose Adagio, but each of these variations is critical to the respective ballet and I would argue that the Rose Agagio is more critical to SB than the Black Swan is to SL. In Swan Lake, at least Odette's character is established and while I think it's important for Odile to do her 32 fouettes I don't think it ruins the ballet if she doesn't do them perfectly - as long as she is able to do them decently and do everything else necessary in the 3rd act the ballet works. In Sleeping Beauty, the Rose Adagio is our introduction to Aurora and everything about that variation is meant to reflect the perfection, symmetry and harmony of this young princess whose personality and character are the culmination of the gifts all the fairies bestowed on her. Blow that and as far as I'm concerned you've compromised the underlying basis of the story.

Everyone knows how much I love Veronika Part but her Rose Adagio last night was a complete disaster, and it was inexcusable. This was nothing like a simple fall off pointe. When Bouder fell off pointe early in her Rose Adagio she smiled and then proceeded to nail all the rest of her balances, completely in character and bursting with joy. When Ms.Part fell out of her second balance it was only the beginning of the problem. After that every time she had to balance she gripped each prince's hand as if her life depended on it. In her second series of balances I swear she didn't hold a single one unsupported, it felt as if she let go of one hand and grabbed the next with no balance in between. Of course, everything else about her performance was gorgeous - her line, epaulment, extension and musicality but this is not an Olympic sport where you take a tenth of a point off for missing the balances and still wind up with a 9.9 - this is art and her inability to balance ruined the effect of the Rose Adagio. If you can't balance you can't dance Aurora, period. If there was some reason for this sub par performance then fine, but unless she is positive that she can nail this next time she should withdraw from the role and bless us with her Lilac Fairy.

I also found the wobbles by the corps in the shades scene of Bayadere disconcerting - uniformity is critical to the effect. Why can't America's national company find 24 corps girls who can hold an arabesque? Or at least put the ones who can't in the back. I love this company but right about now it looks to me like they need some tough love!

The highlights for me all came in the second act - Gomes and Ferri were fantastic in Othello, they made me very glad I decided to get tickets to see them. Nina came back and claimed this stage as her own, it's so good to have her back. Cornejo was stunningly beautiful in his solo dancing in the R&J pdd but for me there wasn't enough abandon in the partnering sequences. I guess this is unavoidable with him and didn't ruin it for me - Reyes was lovely and they were very good together it just wasn't as good as the best I've seen. I also really enjoyed Kent & Carreno in Manon and my only quibble with the Bayadere excepts that closed the show was that Hallberg didn't get to do much except partner a very lovely Paloma.

[fandeballet]

I think that an overemphasis on counting fouette turns and balances during the rose adagio, can ruin overall enjoyment of the ballet . I am no fan of Park, but since she is considered a part of ABT's future, we should at least give her time, rehearsal time that is. I don't blame her. I blame it on opening nite. Not enough time to prepare EVERY piece, like it should be.

[Klavier]

I also found the wobbles by the corps in the shades scene of Bayadere disconcerting - uniformity is critical to the effect. Why can't America's national company find 24 corps girls who can hold an arabesque? Or at least put the ones who can't in the back. I love this company but right about now it looks to me like they need some tough love!

Sounds as if you're echoing some of the complaints by the French viewers when ABT opened with this scene not so long ago in Paris.

[vipa]

T Next came Veronika Part in the Rose Adagio who managed to turn this into an endless train wreck. Despite her fine lyrical qualities, I think McKenzie should fire her after tonight's performance or else his Board should fire him if he insists on entrusting her with the premiere. She missed every balance. She fell off pointe while desperately clutching one of the cavalier's arms. She was way off balance on most all of her supported pirouettes. No question she was pretty. She was very pretty and smiled and walked and developeed with great grace. But plain and simply, she can't do the job, and hopefully she will be replaced by June 1st. If she isn't, I'm exchanging my ticket.

Has a big premier replacement ever happened?

[vipa]

I am hoping to see Part promoted to principal, and I think she will be if she has a good season. I am not her greatest fan, but I appreciate her great attributes. For me the catch has always been the fear that I sense when she approaches technique that she finds problematic. I feel her fear and then more often than not see the flub. That said, I was hoping that this season would be her moment. I still hope she can be a total Aurora, but for better or for worse a gracious Rose Adagio is part of that. She is approaching the age of 30 (correct me if I'm wrong) so it seems that it is now or never.

[drb]

I hope the event and all the attention and criticism it has drawn is not too distracting for Ms. Part, as she is to reprise her 2000 Mariinsky role of Nikiya Wednesday afternoon and again Friday. Merde!, Veronika.