Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

ABT To Unveil New Sleeping Beauty For 75th Anniversary


Recommended Posts



Could it be that numbers 6 and 7 a are blue bird and number 5 is something else?


Vipa I think you're right. I looked at the casting again and based on March 6 alone (Shevchenko is 5, Simkin is 6 and Trenary is 7) 6&7 must be Bluebird because Shevchenko is way too tall for Simkin to partner. But then what role is 5?
Link to comment

It breaks my heart too, NinaFan, because I have been a long-time fan with a series subscription every year. I don't go to many other cultural events because I want to sit center orchestra and 2 seats are very expensive, so I put my money into ABT. After last spring's mediocre season (IMO) I decided not to renew my subscription this year. I hope they will find a way to replenish the principal and soloist ranks rather than continue with what one other poster called the "rent-a-Russian" way of doing things. I find myself much more enthralled with NYCBALLET and that is where I will be spending more of my ballet-going time and money.

To me, ABT is the best at mounting story ballets and there is a place for that in New York City, so I hope management will do something to rebuild the roster of dancers and reclaim the loyalty of fans like me.

Link to comment

It breaks my heart too, NinaFan, because I have been a long-time fan with a series subscription every year. I don't go to many other cultural events because I want to sit center orchestra and 2 seats are very expensive, so I put my money into ABT. After last spring's mediocre season (IMO) I decided not to renew my subscription this year. I hope they will find a way to replenish the principal and soloist ranks rather than continue with what one other poster called the "rent-a-Russian" way of doing things. I find myself much more enthralled with NYCBALLET and that is where I will be spending more of my ballet-going time and money.

To me, ABT is the best at mounting story ballets and there is a place for that in New York City, so I hope management will do something to rebuild the roster of dancers and reclaim the loyalty of fans like me.

CTballetfan - I totally agree with everything you wrote. I am much more excited with NYCB, and as a result they are getting more of my patronage than ABT. I used to treat both companies equally.

I have always looked forward to ABT’s Spring season because they have continually done such a wonderful job of mounting the full length ballets. And while I will still attend performances, to my mind, they are not the company they once were. So as you said, “I hope management will do something to rebuild the roster of dancers and reclaim the loyalty of fans like us”.

Link to comment

Shayer with Copeland? That's kind of an odd match up no? She seems bigger than him.

The African-American duo, I guess. (rolling eyes)

Misty isn't very tall, but has long torso in proportion to legs compared to average classical ballet dancer nowadays.

I usually don't have much good to say about the two biggest NYC Ballet companies, but I'm happy to see a black dancer get a bigger part.

Link to comment

I usually don't have much good to say about the two biggest NYC Ballet companies, but I'm happy to see a black dancer get a bigger part.

Seems like Alexei is Gabe's champion at ABT, lol. He also gave him a principal part last year in his mixed-reviewed The Tempest. I heard he was really good in it too. If left up to McKenzie, Gabe probably would be only doing corp parts right now so I'm happy that he's being given this opportunity.

I'm just not optimistic about this pairing. They just don't seem to match body wise. But hey, him and Misty might be really awesome together. We'll see.

Link to comment

I think Shayer has enormous potential. He really stood out in Clear with his enormous jumps and super plush landings so I'm very happy he's been given Bluebird. I think this could be a break out role for him. Copeland is quite petite. I can't recall if Shayer is much taller but he's not slight of build (like Simkin) so their pairing could work really well although I haven't seen him partner much.

Link to comment

Me too. I am very tempted to fly to CA for the weekend just to see it. It's a very good sign the production will have precious stone/metal variations.

I was thinking about it, but unfortunately (or fortunately, for my wallet), I'm on call for work that week and can't switch my weeks.

The Met season can't come fast enough!

Link to comment

ABT Fan, I totally agree with you about Shayer's potential. As far as I'm concerned, he (and Thomas Forster) made Clear worth watching.

I, too, am a big Shayer fan. But he's not that much bigger than Simkin. We'll see how partnering Misty goes.

Gorak is really being fast tracked (very unusual for McKenzie), doing 1 Prince Désire at Segerstrom and a whole lot of big roles at the Met. He might actually become a principal this year or next:)

Link to comment

After watching the Bavarian Paquita on live-stream, and spending last weekend with Ratmansky's staging of Don Q (at Pacific Northwest Ballet) I'm really sorry that I won't see this Sleeping Beauty any time soon -- Ratmansky has a very special gift staging the 19th c classics.

After seeing Ratmansky's Don Quixote and Bright Stream live and his Le Corsaire on video, I'm still holding my breath a bit. I can't wait to see how he rises to the occasion!

He's brilliant at vibrant crowd scenes with multiple points of focus (those villagers in Don Quixote never looked better), but I worry that those more formal groupings that make up Aurora's wedding will go too academic, like the Jardin Anime in his Corsaire (although the Bolshoi dances it beautifully). To my eye, the downside of his ability to lead the focal point toward the entire company (rather than a single pair of leads) is that the narrative threads in his productions tend to suffer.

I also fear that he'll feel the need to undercut sentiment too much. (I'm assuming here that the costumes/staging of the Vision scene in his DQ--a manic tropical fever dream--were created with his approval.)

Link to comment

He's brilliant at vibrant crowd scenes with multiple points of focus (those villagers in Don Quixote never looked better), but I worry that those more formal groupings that make up Aurora's wedding will go too academic, like the Jardin Anime in his Corsaire (although the Bolshoi dances it beautifully). To my eye, the downside of his ability to lead the focal point toward the entire company (rather than a single pair of leads) is that the narrative threads in his productions tend to suffer.

I haven't seen enough of his work to have a sense of this. I think, though, that he is still clearly in a learning mode, and I'm very curious to see what happen with his work in the next few years.

I also fear that he'll feel the need to undercut sentiment too much. (I'm assuming here that the costumes/staging of the Vision scene in his DQ--a manic tropical fever dream--were created with his approval.)

Not sure what you mean by "undercut sentiment" here -- I felt that the vision scene had great sweetness, especially in the Dryad queen. Where am I not looking?

A total speculation: Jardin is a ballet blanc, as is the DQ vision scene. They operate differently (as theatrical constructions) than the more narrative material surrounding them. It can feel a bit jarring to our 21st c selves to go from one to the other, but I have a feeling that it's true to the original sense of the work, and that's very important to Ratmansky right now.

Link to comment

Segerstrom Centre in Costa Mesa has posted a pic of the set design to its facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/SCFTA/photos/a.129720390889.106586.6822650889/10153061530175890/?type=1&theater

Judging from the scale model of the set, it looks much better than the last production. Hope the gold ceiling of the set won't be as jarring as the model's.

Hudson's costume sketches for Carabosse and Aurora rose adagio:

CARABOSSE%2BNew%2BCrown.jpeg

ROSE%2BADAGIO.jpg

Detail of Carabosse's skirt:

dscf9200.jpg

Link to comment

Just a note that Burlaka was responsible for the Bolshoi Corsaire's Jardin anime.

Thanks -- all I could remember was that it wasn't your reconstruction!

(which is being restaged for the Pacific Northwest Ballet School show in June, just saying...)

Thanks for the correction, doug.

[sotto voce] And thanks, sandik, for notice of the revival of doug's reconstruction: count me in!

Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...