Best and Worst of 2014

[CTballetfan]

The best and the worst on the same evening: Gillian Murphy as Odette took my breath away. I have never been so transported by a ballerina in that role before and I was so lucky to be sitting in row E center orchestra to see her up close. And you know the worst-- the announcement that she was injured and could not go on as Odile. In fairness to Hee Seo, she was there to step in--the show must go on--but her dancing cannot hold a candle to Murphy's-- no drama, no spark, no energy, just technical correctness. It was interesting to see how grateful Marcelo Gomes was to her when they took their bows. He's always invested in putting on the best performance--he's a gem--and he correctly felt that she saved the evening.

Finally, a note of thanks to New York City Ballet for another exciting, varied, incredible spring season. Here's to more works by new choreographers and to all the dancers--splendid in all the ranks.

[volcanohunter]

Best

During one weekend I saw Ruslan Skvortsov in Giselle and Sara Mearns in “Diamonds” give the most musically transcendent performances I’d seen in I don’t know how long. They seemed to have absorbed the music on a cellular level and sang it back to the audience with their bodies. A rare and wonderful thing to behold.

Although I was heartbroken to see him go, Nicolas Le Riche retired from the Paris Opera Ballet in grand style, and the international internet community was lucky enough to watch.

Personally, seeing Alina Cojocaru and Alexandre Riabko dance together was a [Midsummer Night's] Dream come true. Now I'm desperate to see more.

Volumes 1-5 of the New York City Ballet in Montreal series. It is a great gift to have these films readily available on DVD and raises hope of more such treasures emerging from the vaults into the light of day, where they belong.

The return of the original Palais de cristal to the Paris Opera Ballet.

Fiona Tonkin during the Australian Ballet’s segment of World Ballet Day Live. I recall that she retired from the stage fairly early, and watching her teach class and coach dancers, I could understand why Maina Gielgud had begged her to reconsider her decision; frankly, Tonkin looked as though she could step out on stage tomorrow. What an inspiring example and positive mentor.

Worst

The ticket shenanigans at North American venues: seating charts that appear to have been dreamt up on weaving looms, yo-yoing ticket prices, various and sundry promo codes, variable exchange procedures. All of this leaves ticket buyers wondering whether they’ve gotten a good deal or been bamboozled, and sows distrust and dissatisfaction among the people with whom arts organizations ought to be cultivating the best possible relations: subscribers.

The continuing ramifications of ABT’s rent-a-principal policies, which are turning the company into a place where many promising young careers go to die.

The Bolshoi’s revival of Legend of Love. Bombast, incomprehensible narrative, pasties, spangles, silly walks, lots of hugging of lower extremities. By the time Ferkhad emerged for his third-act dream sequence looking an awful lot like Conchita Wurst, all levels of absurdity have been surpassed. Poor Maria Allash. This is one ballet that should have stayed in the mothballs. Disclaimer: I watched it on YouTube and not at the cinema. Perhaps it looked better on a large screen.

Grigorovich’s Nutcracker, Nureyev’s Nutcracker, Béjart’s Nutcracker… My fervent wish for 2015 would be for all joyless and charmless versions of the piece to vanish, because everyone, especially children, encountering ballet for the first time through The Nutcracker deserves to see a beautiful, enchanting production.

[sandik]

It always feels a bit off to be doing one of these in the middle of the performance year, but I understand the allure of calendar dates.

One of the best things in my part of the dance world has been the ongoing commitment that local producers have to audience education. The performance in the theater is still the main experience, but for those of us who spent years digging for whatever information we could find in program notes and photo captions, these lectures, seminars, demonstrations and open rehearsals are such a gift. In 2014, Pacific Northwest Ballet hosted seminars on Le Sacre du Printemps, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Giselle; studio run-throughs of programs for Jacob’s Pillow, the Guggenheim Works and Process series and the Joyce; as well as coaching sessions for Sleeping Beauty and Jewels. Velocity Dance Center regularly holds “Speakeasy” panel discussions on topics related to their programming, and Seattle Theater Group just launched STGtv, a web-based video project highlighting their own presenting series as well as local artists. This joins On the Boards own “tv” subscription project, which is an astonishing online collection of contemporary performance videos.

As far as specific performances are concerned, PNB closed last year’s season and opened this year’s with two amazing productions that gave us a chance to return to well-known ballets and deepen our understanding. Last season’s Giselle, with new sets and costumes by Jerome Kaplan that reinforced the period details of the reconstructed choreography, was thrilling all around. And in the autumn, the casting for Jewels contained over 20 debuts – a wonderful chance to see young artists move into new parts of their careers. Just to mention one, Leah Merchant in the Verdy role in Emeralds gave an amazing performance at the end of the run – thoughtful, adult, womanly. It was a revelation to us, about what she is capable of and what that role means.

The Mark Morris company was here last season with a double “Love Song Waltzes” program, which was truly beautiful, but then they really knocked me flat with his staging of the Satie “Socrate.” Plain almost to the point of austere, with that special kind of emotional resonance that abstraction can have. At the end, when Socrates “dies” they all just lay down on the floor, like sleepy children. What a brilliant choreographer.

Morris’ work showed up again in the autumn, on a mixed bill devoted to men in dance – the only requirement for the program is that the performers are men. The rest is up to the artist, so it’s big combination of styles, ages, and professional levels. Aaron Roux, who started dancing as a child with the Creative Dance Center in Seattle, came home to perform Morris’ “I Love You Truly” which is an early work, set to Balkan folk songs full of the eccentric rhythm patterns from that part of the world. Morris excels at that kind of play, and the youthful verve of the solo is a great showcase for Roux. On the same program Bill Evans gave a wonderfully nuanced performance of a solo tap improvisation. He was, for many years, the leading artists in the Seattle dance community, and it was a pleasure to see him here again.

[miliosr]

My first attempt at this got lost in the ether. Let me try again!

Best:

Being able to see French ballet companies in high definition on the Internet: the Nicolas Le Riche farewell program (especially Bejart's Bolero), Ballet de Bordeaux's Lifar tribute program (especially Suite en Blanc) and the Fall 2014 defile.

Worst:

ABT in disarray. The Irina Dvorovenko and Simone Messmer exit interviews in Time Out, the departures of so many leading soloists and corps members, papering over the roster (and repertory) problems by flying in stars (and non-stars) from all over the world (which only bolstered detractors' longtime claim that ABT is a stars collective and not a company), no movement for Stella Abrera, Misty Copeland and/or Sarah Lane to principal status, Daniil Simkin hardly performing with the company, too many press releases and not enough top flight productions -- the list goes on and on and on.

My New Year's Wish is for Susan Fales-Hill to lead a coup against the present regime!

[PeggyR]

Best: The Ratmansky Trilogy (at San Francisco Ballet)

Worst: Not seeing more ballet companies

Just read miliosr's post, which reminded me to add to my worst list: Simone Messmer leaving SF Ballet. Whatever the reason, it was a significant loss of a very special talent.

[sandik]

Worst:

• The people we've lost. RIP carbro.

Indeed.

[sasark]

Here's my list:

Best overall single production: The Taming of the Shrew, at the Bolshoi

Best female lead(s): I can't choose between them -- Olga Esina, as Odette/Odile, dancing with the Mariinsky, and Ekaterina Krysanova as Katharina in the Bolshoi's Taming of the Shrew

Honorable mention female lead: Rebecca King of the Czech National Ballet. King's Odette was inspired and gorgeous, and her Gamzatti was the standout the one night I saw the company's new La Bayadere. One of the things I like about King is that her athleticism and grace are both so impressive. I can never figure whether her grace exceeds her strength or vice versa. They're both great, and they make her a real pleasure to watch.

Best male lead: Vladislav Lantratov as Petruchio in the Bolshoi's Taming of the Shrew

Honorable mention male lead: Alexei Popov as James in the Mariinsky's La Sylphide

Best corps: the Mariinsky. I enjoyed them during three consecutive Swan Lakes, and my appreciation was heightened after seeing a few more companies' SLs right after my trip to Russia. The Mariinsky corps may have ruined me for other companies.

Best rock-solid balances: Aliya Tanykpayeva as the Sylph in the Hungarian National Ballet's La Sylphide. I had some issues with her interpretation, but I couldn't argue with the perfection of her balances.

Best comic-relief in an otherwise serious ballet: Igor Kolb as Madge in the Mariinsky's La Syphide, and Jevgenyij Lagunov as Gurn in the Hungarian National Ballet's La Sylphide

Best costumes: The Vienna State Ballet's Sleeping Beauty. The dresses of the court women called to mind the costumes in Sofia Copolla's Marie Antoinette and may actually have been more sumptuous.

Honorable mention costumes: The Paris Opera Ballet's Palais de Cristal

Most innovative use of a costume: During Act III of the Mikhailovsky's Sleeping Beauty (the Nacho Duato version), the unfurling of an incredibly long gauze-like canopy that Aurora (the wonderful Irina Perren) walked slowly under. When she gets to the end of the canopy, the people holding it lower it onto her head and you understand that it's a veil. Great drama and visual effect.

Best feet: Nina Polákov of the Vienna State Ballet

Honorable mention feet: Oxana Skorik

"Bright light" award: S. Tayama, for her charming Lilac Fairy in an otherwise disappointing touring production by the St. Petersburg Festival Ballet (set to, shudder, recorded music). She followed up the same day with an admirable turn in the Swan Lake pas de trois.

Best bit players: I can't figure out their names from the program, but in the Brno (Czech Republic) National Theater's Nutcracker, a few dancers played horses pulling a carriage. These dancers were perfectly synchronized, and they moved in a slow, almost trippy manner that was the most "dreamlike" aspect of Clara's dream. Their white, simple costumes emphasized their legs perfectly.

Most heart-stoppingly expensive ticket: The Vienna State Ballet's Nutcracker, for a third-row seat in the Tsar's Box. I can't bring myself to type the actual price.

[California]

Most heart-stoppingly expensive ticket: The Vienna State Ballet's Nutcracker, for a third-row seat in the Tsar's Box. I can't bring myself to type the actual price.

Oh, please tell us. And is it really called "Tsar's Box"? I would have guessed "Emperor's Box," as a remnant of the old Austro-Hungarian empire. I don't believe Vienna was ever ruled by the Tsars, was it? Or was this a courtesy box for when he visited?

(And thanks for your detailed reports on companies not many in the US have seen.)

[sasark]

On the ticket price, haha -- let's just say it cost more than my round-trip flight from Prague to Paris earlier in the year. And it wasn't even such a good seat!! You're right; they do not call it the Tsar's Box. That's just what I call it, based probably on having spent so much time earlier this year poring over Mariinsky and Bolshoi seating plans. The Vienna theater calls it the Mittelloge, or "central box." As I suspected it would be, it's way too far from the stage for me! However, it was worth it to be able to go (the rest of the theater was sold out).

[California]

The Vienna theater calls it the Mittelloge, or "central box." As I suspected it would be, it's way too far from the stage for me!

Funny...the most expensive parterre box in the center at the Met is also way too far back for me. Ditto the President's box at the Kennedy Center Opera House.

A funny story they told on the backstage tour of Covent Garden: the Royal Box over on stage left is so far forward they have a seriously obstructed view of much of the stage and use the box mainly only for official appearances. When Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother (reportedly, serious ballet fans) wanted to actually see a performance, they sat elsewhere.

[Drew]

An aside, from Sasark's discussion of best costume...

... (the wonderful Irina Perren)

Although I had seen Perren once before in a relatively minor role, I finally got to see her in a major (if still secondary) role this year -- as Diana Mireille in Flames of Paris--and she was wonderful.