Colleen Boresta

I just want to say that I don't think the slap belongs in 'Romeo and Juliet' at all. And looking at what I've written, I also want to say that I don't think the portrayal of Lord Capulet is Jock Soto's fault. I suspect he was told to perform Lord C. the way he did. I think Martins should get rid of the slap entirely and rethink the entire character of Lord Capulet. I haven't read the play in years (since high school I think and that was many many years ago) but does anyone know offhand what Shakespeare's take on Lord Capulet is? In the ABT production of 'Romeo and Juliet' he's portrayed as ineffectual throughout th entire ballet. But this could be Kenneth MacMillan's idea, not Shakespeare.

No one has posted anything about 'Romeo and Juliet". I'm aware I'm into a very small minority, but I really like Peter Martins' 'Romeo and Juliet'. Anyway, let me post my thoughts about it. Peter Martins’ ‘Romeo and Juliet’ has received mainly mixed reviews from the press. I, however, was totally absorbed by Martins’ ballet. I do agree that the costumes by Per Kirkeby and Kirsten Lund Nielsen are, for the most part, very unattractive. It’s almost as though a contest was held to decide what were the ugliest shades of green, purple, yellow, blue, etc. The scenery, designed by Per Kirkeby, is definitely on the cheap side. When compared to the true to Renaissance Italy’s scenery and costumes of American Ballet Theatre’s ‘Romeo and Juliet”, NYCB versions fall flat. Costumes and sets aside, Martins’ ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a very valid production. It is certainly different from ABT’s adaptation, but in its own way, equally as good. NYCB’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a bit shorter than most productions of the work, but I do not feel in any way shortchanged. I am very impressed by the performances of Robert Fairchild’s Romeo and especially Sterling Hyltin’s Juliet. At Sunday’s matinee Hyltin is by far the best I’ve ever seen her. She is a perfectly natural Juliet full of coltish charm. She is so beautifully innocent that Hyltin becomes Juliet for me. She also knows how to use her body to show Juliet’s development from a fourteen year old child to a young wife who cannot live without her husband. Robert Fairchild is an ardent young Romeo who clearly shows his love for Juliet with every leap and turn. As well as they dance individually, the real joy is how perfectly complete Hyltin and Fairchild are together. In the balcony pas de deux the couple performs a beautiful circle of flying lifts. Hyltin and Fairchild are in so in sync they bring tears to my eyes. Daniel Ulbricht is outstanding as the happy go lucky Mercutio. He is an incredible actor and his dancing is beyond spectacular. His leaps have tremendous elevation and his whiplash turns are very exciting. Antonio Carmeno is wonderful as Benvolio, both in his acting and dancing. Gonzolo Garcia is a powerful Tybalt, the leader of the Capulet family. His sword fighting scenes with Daniel Ulbricht’s Mercutio are very authentic. Darci Kistler is a sweet and loving Lady Capulet. As Lord Capulet, Jock Soto’s take on the role is confusing. For the first half of the ballet he is an ineffective leader of his family, staying mostly in the background. After Tybalt’s death he suddenly becomes a very stern father to Juliet. Soto’s acting, however, is not very convincing. When he “slaps” Juliet, his hand is so far from his daughter’s face that his action seems pointless. Obviously Lord Capulet does not know how to replace Tybalt as head of the family. I may be in the minority, but I really enjoyed Peter Martins’ ‘Romeo and Juliet’. I hope NYCB continues to perform it for many years to come.

I attended the February 12th matinee. I did see "Sins" again. It still isn't great, but it was somewhat better than what I remembered from when I saw it last May. The ballet begins with Anna 1 and Anna 2 leaving their home in Louisiana to find fame and fortune. Anna 1 and 2 seem to be different parts of the same person. As they travel throughout America, Anna 2 encounters those seven deadly sins, one for each city they journey to. Anna 1 sings about all the temptations Anna 2 faces. Anna 2 does all the heavy lifting while Anna 1 takes most of the money her sister (Anna 1 refers to Anna 2 as her sister) earns. Their family back home in Louisiana consists of a mother (sung by a man in drag), father, an older brother and a younger brother. They function as a sort of Greek chorus/barbershop quartet. For some reason, both Anna and the Family constantly criticize Anna 2. Anna 2 doesn’t seem to be committing the sins she encounters in every city she goes to. Her family and sister sing about how lazy she is (for the deadly sin of sloth), but Anna 2 is shown scrubbing the floor with all her might. Her anger seems justified in response to a movie star (Sara Mearns) firing her dance partner when he accidentally bumps into her. Poor skinny little Anna 2 is not even allowed to eat a chicken leg, yet her Family accuses her of gluttony. And how lustful is it when Anna 2 is forced to give up the man she loves (Craig Hall) to become the mistress of a wealthy man (Zachary Catazaro)? The sin of envy has Anna 2 stealing a baby. She doesn’t seem envious of the baby’s mother. To me it looks like Anna 2 has finally cracked up due to all the pressure Anna 1 and the Family have placed on her to make money for them. In the Epilogue Anna 1 returns to her family in Louisiana wearing a mink coat. Due to all the money Anna 2 has made for them, the Family is now living in a mansion. Anna 2 goes back to Louisiana as well, only to collapse to the ground and die. Her body is then pulled off the stage. “The Seven Deadly Sins” is all right as a novelty, but it is not a ballet I want to see very often. Besides the storyline bordering on the ridiculous, the choreography is pedestrian at best. As Anna 2, Wendy Whelan tries very hard, but she really doesn’t have much to work with. It’s always good to see Patti LuPone, but both the music and lyrics are pretty forgettable. Obviously, even great artists like Weill and Brecht have their failures. This time at least I was able to understand what LuPone was singing. When I saw Sins” last May, I was barely able to make out a word being sung. If Ballet Master in Chief, Peter Martins, wants to get guest artists from Broadway or television or the movies or the music world, he has to give them a better performance vehicle than Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s “Seven Deadly Sins”. The rest of the afternoon consisted of two lightweight ballets – Jerome Robbins’ “Interplay” and Peter Martins’ “Zakouski” and one sublime work – George Balanchine’s “Vienna Waltzes”. Jerome Robbins choreographed “Interplay” in 1945 to a jazzy score by Morton Gould. “Interplay” is a slight but enjoyable ballet. It gives its young dancers a chance to shine as they play hopscotch, do cartwheels and try to outdo each other with their leaps and turns. “Zakouski” is a trifle of a piece choreographed by Peter Martins and set to the music of four Russian composers – Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky. It is very well danced by Megan Fairchild and Andrew Veyette, but there’s not much to this ballet. The afternoon ends on an extremely high note – with George Balanchine’s “Vienna Waltzes”. The ballet is a series of four waltzes and one polka, with music by Johann Strauss II, Franz Lehar and Richard Strauss. The sets by Rouben Ter-Arutunian are magnificent – from the forests of the Vienna Woods to the haunted ballroom of “Der Rosenkavlier. Karinska’s period costumes are gorgeous. “Vienna Waltzes” begins with “Tales from the Vienna Woods”. Savannah Lowery is lovely as a young debutante with Tyler Angle her attentive cavalier. Next is the only section danced on pointe – “Voices of Spring”. Janie Taylor is a sparkling sprite. Antonio Carmena excites the audience with his tremendous elevation and dancing rich with musicality and joy. Erica Peirera and Adam Hendrickson are very funny as they dance “The Explosions Polka”. The Silver and Gold Waltz is a disappointment. Jonathan Stafford is stiff rather than dashing. Teresa Reichlein as the Merry Widow looks like she’s playing dress-up. Reichlein’s widow lacks both mystery and allure. The most romantic dance of the afternoon was performed by Sara Mearns, alone, in front of a mirror. She is a woman haunted by memories as a phantom lover (Jared Angle) waltzes in and out of her life. Mearns is absolutely perfect in the role – with just a wave of her arm she conveys a whole world of meaning. The gorgeous arch of her pliant back shows the depth of her heartbreak. The Hollywoodesque finale, with chandeliers aglow and white gowns swirling, is as intoxicating as ever. I can only hope that NYCB will dance “Vienna Waltzes” for many years to come. While watching Daniel Ulbricht in "Interplay" I found myself wondering why he seems stuck in the same roles he did while he was a soloist and even a corps dancer. I loved Antonio Carmena in "Voices of Spring", but that seems to me a part that Ulbricht would be spectacular in. Why isn't he ever El Capitan in Stars and Stripes instead of the guy leading the male corps? Why isn't he in Union Jack? As much as I liked Tyler Angle in the part this winter, I think Ulbricht would be even better. Besides being a fantastic dancer, he's got charisma to burn. I think he should be dancing all the Damian Woetzl parts. Of course, Peter Martins isn't asking me for my advice (obviously). It's not just the fact that Ulbricht is short. I think DeLuz is even shorter (or at least the same size) and he's moved on to bigger and better roles (which he is marvelous in.) I remember that once Herman Cornejo became a principal at ABT, for a few seasons he continued to dance his old roles. But Kevin McKenzie did finally give him a chance to perform many leading roles. And Cornejo had partnering problems for a while. Ulbricht doesn't. Anyone who can partner Teresa Reichlein as well as Ulbricht does in "Prodigal Son" is a partnering pro.

I hope to see Albert Nobbs, but I don't know if it will come to Staten Island. I guess I can either make the trek into Manhattan or wait until the dvd comes out. During Oscar season, I wanted to recommend two more Oscar nominated movies - "War Horse" and "The Descendants". Here are my reviews. TRAGEDY IN PARADISE - "THE DESCENDANTS" Matt King’s (George Clooney) current life tests the view many of us have that Hawaii is a heaven on earth. Matt’s cousins want him to sell an unspoiled stretch of land on the island of Kauai to a development company. (Matt and his cousins own the land together, but, as the sole trustee, what to do with the land is eventually up to him.) Much worse is the fact that Matt’s wife, Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie), is in an irreversible coma after a boating accident. Not long after the doctors tell Matt that his wife will not get better, he finds out that she’s been cheating on him. With his wife near death, Matt, “the understudy”, “the back-up parent” (as he describes himself), has to learn how to be a father to his two girls. Scottie (Amara Miller), the ten year old, is lost and confused over what’s happened to her mother. Alex, who is seventeen, is very angry, especially at her mother. It is Alex who tells her father that Elizabeth has been having an affair. She also tells Matt who her mother’s lover is. Matt discovers that Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard), the man who has cuckolded him, is a realtor who’s presently staying on Kauai. Matt then decides to take his two girls, as well as Alex’s friend and sidekick, Sid (Nick Krause), to Kauai. It would be giving away too much to reveal what happens when Matt finally meets Brian. I also won’t tell how Matt deals with his cousins over the selling of the family plot on Kauai. Matt does learn how to be a good parent, though he makes quite a few mistakes along the way. He also helps his girls to come to terms with their mother’s death. At the same time Matt learns how to forgive his wife and say goodbye to her. “The Descendants” is a wonderful family drama, both heartbreaking and funny, often at the same time. As Matt, George Clooney is magnificent. As a father dealing with his daughters on his own and a husband dealing with both his wife’s coma and infidelity, he is so natural, so real. There is absolutely no artifice in his acting. Clooney becomes the character of Matt King. Shailene Woodley, in the role of Matt’s older daughter, Alex, is a real standout. Nick Krause, who plays Alex’s goofy friend Nick, is also very good. Judy Greer, as the wife of Elizabeth’s lover, only has a few scenes but her performance is heartbreaking. Alexander Payne has done a great job directing “The Descendants”. Payne, along with Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, has also adapted the film from the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. Anyone who’s ever been part of a family (and that’s all of us) can relate to “The Descendants”. At the very end of the movie we see Matt, Alex and Scottie watching “The March of the Penguins” on tv. They’re eating ice cream, totally at ease with one another. It’s both amazing and wonderful to see how far Matt has come as a father. The Bond Between a Boy and his Horse Can Never Be Broken First, there was the children’s book written by Michael Murpurgo. Next came the very popular stage version, with Joey, the half-Thoroughbred, played by huge puppets. Now “War Horse” is a gorgeously heartwarming film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the early twentieth century. In the British countryside (Devon) Joey is one of the horses put up for sale. Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan) has come to the auction to buy a plow horse. Ted is a proud man, however, and when it looks like his landlord, Lyons (David Thewlis), is going to buy the half-Thoroughbred Ted outbids him. Now Ted has a race horse instead of a horse suitable for farming. He’s also spent the rent money in order to buy Joey. Ted’s stern but loving wife, Rosie (Emily Watson), wants her husband to return the horse and get their money back. Their son, Albert (Jeremy Irvine), forms an immediate bond with Joey and swears he can turn him into a farm animal. With the whole village watching, sure that the boy and horse will fail, Albert patiently trains Joey to pull a plow. All is going well for Albert and Joey until World War I begins. Ted sells Joey to an officer in the British army and the horse is shipped off to the battlefields of Flanders and France. Joey doesn’t stay with the British officer for very long. He is part of a huge cavalry charge against the German army. It looks like the British have completely surprised the Germans and will easily win the battle. That is until the English cavalry run straight into a German machine gun nest. Most of the English officers and their animals are slaughtered. Joey survives, however, along with his friend, a beautiful black Thoroughbred named Topthorn. After the British defeat, the two horses are owned by the German army, but then run away to be taken care of by a French farmer (Niels Arestrup) and his granddaughter (Celine Buckens). German soldiers invade the farm in search of food. Joey and Topthorn escape from these Germans but Topthorn dies. The terrified Joey runs from battlefield to battlefield until he is trapped in the barbed wire separating the British and French trenches from the German trenches. In an amazing collaborative effort, a British soldier and a German soldier work together to free Joey from the barbed wire. Joey is then reunited with Albert who is now fighting on the Western front. Albert just happens to be in the British trench closest to where Joey has been trapped by the barbed wire. Joey and Albert remain together until the end of the war. The half-Thoroughbred is again put up for auction, but not being an officer Albert cannot purchase his friend. The highest bidder that day happens to be the French farmer who sheltered Joey and Topthorn earlier in the war. His granddaughter has died and the Frenchman buys Joey in her memory. When the grief-stricken grandfather sees the love between the horse and Albert, however, he realizes he cannot keep him. Joey is back with Albert and they both return home to their Devon farm. “War Horse” is a stirringly beautiful movie. It’s the kind of picture Hollywood doesn’t make anymore, but fortunately Steven Spielberg does. The motion picture is gorgeously filmed, both the early pastoral scenes and the bloody World War I scenes. Spielberg’s usual cinematographer, Januz Kaminski, does a magnificent job. The script, adapted from the 1982 Michael Morpugo novel by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis, is literate and intelligent. All the actors are wonderful, especially Jeremy Irvine as Albert and Niels Arestrup as the French grandfather. Joey (said to be portrayed by eight different horses) is a wonderful animal actor. We really feel the horse’s bond with Albert and his terror when he is caught in the barbed wire is palpable. Most of the real life war horses did not survive World War I. Of the one million British horses fighting in World War I, only 62,000 remained at the war’s end. Most were either killed in battle or slaughtered for their meat. Thankfully “War Horse” has a happy ending. Such an inspirational and stunningly produced movie is definitely worth seeing. That something positive can come of the horrors of war is a very hopeful message, one we can all relate to. If anyone is interested, the address for my movie blog is colleenlovesmovies.blogspot.com. I only have five reviews on it. Oscar season is usually the only time of the year there are actually movies that I want to see.

I'm sorry to read that Seven Deadly Sins sounds just as disappointing as it was last year. I at least was hoping that the amplication problems would be solved by now. I'm going to see Sunday's performance. I have to debate whether I'll be able to sit through Seven Deadly Sins again (After seeing it last year, I knew what the eighth deadly sin is - boring the audience.) Unfortunately it's going to be very cold on Sunday, so I may not to take a walk during Seven Deadly Sins. I'm really looking forward to Vienna Waltzes however, At least the afternoon will end on a high note.

I saw Julie Kent (with Jose Manuel Carreno) dance the full length Manon during ABT's Met season. I think it was in 2008. She was really wonderful. I had seen it the year before with Reyes and Corella. Corella was good (as was Carreno with Kent) but Reyes was so miscast. She didn't have the sensual quality needed for the main role and Julie Kent had it in spades. I am sorry I never got to see Alessandra Ferri in Manon, but I just loved Kent as Manon.

Not to beat a dead horse about Thatcher's Pearl Harbor speech to Al Haig in The Iron Lady, but yesterday I found Margaret Thatcher's memoir The Downing Street Years. I found it in my house while cleaning. A friend had given it to me as a Christmas present years ago, and I'd forgotton I owned it. Anyway, I immediately checked out the section about the Falklands War and I can't find any mention of Thatcher comparing the Falklands crisis with the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor. What Thatcher really said (at least in her view) is in my opinion more interesting and certainly less weird than the Pearl Harbor analogy. In today's world, when it's so easy to check out whether something really happened, why would the screenwriter (I think her name is Abby Morgan or Amy Morgan or something like that) just make things up. Anyway, I won't mention the subject again unless I find more source that admits to the truth of the Pearl Harbor argument.

Yesterday I saw "The Artist" and really, really loved it. I haven't seen The Help (but I would like to since I really enjoyed the book) but of the films nominated for best picture which I've seen (only "Warhorse", "The Descendants", and "The Artist") I thought "The Artist" was by far the best, and really deserves the Best Picture Oscar. For more of my thoughts, here is my review from my newly created movie blog. http://colleenlovesmovies.blogspot.com/

Jayne, thank you so much for the information about the Argentine Dirty War. Like you and Dirac and many others I wonder what Thatcher really said to Haig during their meeting. I remember the news reports in the US at the time of the Falklands War talking about the inhabitants of the Falklands being mainly penguins. (Not that penguins aren't living creatures, but you know what I mean.) I think it would have made more sense if the screenwriter (I forget her name) had had Thatcher lecture Haig on the realities of the Dirty War. Whether in reality Secretary of State Haig knew about this (and in his position he must have) it would make things clearer to the audience. Did people in Great Britain hear about details of the Dirty War during the Falklands War? I would really love to find out.

I don't think I've been to a live performance recently (either Broadway or ballet) where I wasn't bothered by the lights from at least one person's cell phone. I'd steal a look and there they'd be merrily tweeting or texting away. Okay, it's marginally better than talking on a cell phone, but it's still very annoying in a darkened theater. Why do any of us in the audience have to put up with this? Could theaters have a rule that anyone texting or talking on their cellphone will be given one warning, then removed from the theater? Is that legal to do? America is becoming a society where more and more people only see their own needs and wants. They seem to have less and less idea how to get along with everyone else.

Dirac, thank you so much for the information on Margaret Thatcher's alzheimers. Whether you loved her or hated her, it's so sad when such a vital person succumbs to something as terrible as alzheimers. I tried looking online for some info about her meeting with Alexander Haig during the Falklands crisis. One source said that Thatcher showed him statues of Churchill and other British war leaders and talked about following in their path. I couldn't find anything about Thatcher comparing the Falklands crisis to the Japanese attack on Pear Habor during her meeting with Haig.

I also want to add that I find Thatcher fascinating, but not at all admireable. As has already been mentioned, she did not care about the common people at all. Look what she did to the coal miners (captured very well in the movie and musical Billy Elliot). And how many British subjects were living in the Falklands when Thatcher's gov't went to war over it. And comparing the Falklands to the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor when she was meeting with Secretary of State, Alexander Haig. Did Haig really say nothing when Thatcher brought up that ridiculous analogy? Did that meeting really happen. I should do some online research and try to find out.

I saw The Iron Lady last week. Like those who have already posted about the movie, I think the best feature of it is Meryl Streep's incredible performance. I didn't like the way the movie kept jumping back and forth in time. I think it would have been better is Iron Lady had just concentrated on the years Thatcher was being groomed for the leadership of the Conservative party and then her years as Prime Minister. I thought Streep was particularly amazing as the elderly Thatcher, but it made me feel very sad. Also, does anyone know if Thatcher is really in such bad shape mentally (seeing and talking to her husband, Denis, eight years after his death for example). Is the screenplay just taking a lot of liberties with the life of the elderly Thatcher?

I read the John Le Carre Search for Karla trilogy a long time ago and I don't remember a lot of details. My husband just reread Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy after we saw the movie and he keeps saying that Gary Oldman doesn't physically fit the part of Smiley. Smiley is supposed to be short and fat. I don't think that matters. Alec Guiness didn't physically fit the part either. But I think Oldman has caught the essence of the Smiley character. I'll have to reread the book myself to see about that. I think the movie stands very well on its own. It must be hard to cut a book of that length and make a two hour movie out it. I think whoever adapted it did a great job (which is why they or he or she is up for an Oscar for the job). One thing that surprised both me and John (my husband) about the movie was that Jerry W. (I just read his last name in your post but I can't remember it now) had a small part in it. I do remember that Jerry is the main character in The Honourable School Boy. I really want to re-read all three books when I get a chance. Fortunately my husband owns them.

I loved The Descendants and thought George Clooney was fantastic in it. I really think he deserves the Oscar for Best Actor. I don't think The Descendants will win for best picture, however. I think The Artist (a movie I haven't seen yet) will take home Best Picture. I was really glad to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy nominated for some Oscars (best actor for Gary Oldman, best adapted screen play. I'm not sure what else.) I loved the John Le Carre novel and and the current movie. I don't think it's doing too well at the box office though. My husband and I saw it on a Sunday afternoon and there were only like seven people (including us) in the theater. Maybe the Oscar nominations will encourage more people to see it.

I forgot to mention that I didn't get to attend the 1:45PM talk on Sunday afternoon. When I got to the box office at the David Koch Theatre (a little after 12:00PM) the man there told me the tickets were all gone. Could I have gotten the ticket to the talk over the internet? Do you have to go in person? I live in Staten Island and don't want to make that long trip if I don't have to. With regard to simona's question, I have often attended performances at the end of NYCB's season (whether winter, spring or now fall). My subscription is on Sunday matinees and often I've gone to the very last performances of the season. I've never noticed any major differences between the quality of the dancing at the begining and end of the seasons. Sometimes dancers get injured and NYCB has to change performers or even the program. Injuries seem more likely to occur at the end of the season, but they can of course occur any time in the season.

Here is my review of NYCB's Sunday performance featuring Who Cares and Union Jack. Let me start with Who Cares? All the dancers are wonderful, but the real standouts are Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild. Fairchild’s timing, his rhythm, the snap of his fingers – all remind me of a young Fred Astaire. Tiler Peck is just perfect as the girl in pink. The first time I ever saw New York City Ballet perform (February of 1980) Who Cares? was on the program. I was totally blown away by Patricia McBride’s solo to “Fascinatin’ Rhythm”. Her quicksilver footwork and dizzyingly fast series of turns left me gasping in disbelief. I saw McBride in Who Cares? many times. After she retired from NYCB, I hoped to find a ballerina who could equal her rendition of “Fascinatin’ Rhythm”. Some dancers came close – Nichol Hlinka, Janie Taylor, Jennifer Ringer – but they just could not match my mind’s eye image of Patricia McBride performing that solo. On Sunday, however, Tiler Peck nails “Fascinatin’ Rhythm”. Her precision, her musicality, her phrasing – all are beyond compare. Peck’s whiplash turns are danced at a breakneck pace. In their pas de deux to “The Man I Love” Peck and Fairchild are magical. The radiant yearning of their love brings tears to my eyes. As the girl in blue, Teresa Reichlen is demurely coy in her duet with Robert Fairchild to “Embraceable You”, but shows her steely technique to great effect in her solo “My One and Only.” Sara Mearns seems miscast as the girl in red. In both her duet with Fairchild to “Who Cares?” and especially her solo “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise” she lacks the coltish playfulness needed for the role. “Who Cares?” is a gorgeously joyous ballet. As Ira Gershwin once wrote, “Who could ask for anything more?” The afternoon ends with Union Jack, a three part salute to Great Britain. It uses regimental military tattoos, Scottish ballads, British folk music, music hall ditties and sailors’ hornpipes to set the desired moods. The score is provided by Hersey Kay. Part I is a tribute to the Scottish and Canadian regiments. 70 members of these clans, clothed in their tartan best, parade onto the stage in intricate patterns. Then the marching evolves into phenomenal dancing. The highlight of these is the MacDonald of Sleat variation, where the lead performer dances a very quick paced solo to a staccato drumbeat. Wendy Whelan has owned this solo for years. On Sunday the 44 year old ballerina performs it flawlessly. Obviously Whelan is ageless. Part II is the Costermonger pas de deux. It is set in an Edwardian music hall, where a down on their luck husband and wife team perform. Andrew Veyette has a goofy charm as the Pearly King. Megan Fairchild, his wife in real life, is adorably hammy as the Pearly Queen. At the end of the pas de deux, their daughters, the Pearly Princesses, arrive in a pony cart. Then the whole family dances together, with the Pearly King and Queen still trying to upstage each other. Part III is a salute to the Royal Navy. All the dancers join in the highflying hijinks. My favorite part of Union Jack is the second section of the Royal Navy tribute. In my mind’s eye I still see former NYCB principal, Damian Woetzel, performing the solo. He always made the endless leaps and turns look so light and effortless. On Sunday Tyler Angle is fantastic in this role. He doesn’t quite have Woetzel’s happy swagger but that will come in time. As usual, Union Jack ends on a joyous note. As the orchestra plays “Rule Britannia”, the cast uses hand flags to signal “God Save the Queen” and the Union Jack rolls down the back wall of the David Koch Theatre. It was a wonderful afternoon at the ballet.

Eileen, thank you so much for telling me where the promenade is and telling me I need to get a special ticket at the box office. I will definitely report on the talk as well as the performances some time next week. And I also want to mention, Eileen, that I really enjoy reading your posts.

Thanks for all the great reviews!!! I'll be attending Sunday's matinee and will post about it later in the week. I just want to say that I, like so many Ballet Talk posters, am very confused and annoyed about the pricing this year and the lack of information (in my opinion) subscribers were given about price increases. I have a Sunday subscription. My seat is K3, which is center orchestra. During the 2010-2011 season, the price per ticket was $100. It was the same price (if you had a subscription) for all the orcestra seats. Last June or July or whenever it was, when I got my order form for the 2011-2012 seasons, I got a letter saying that the price per ticket for my seat was going up to $119 per ticket, since my seat was an extremely desired one, blah, blah, blah. Silly me, I naturally assumed all the orchestra seats for subscribers were going to be $119 per ticket. But when I switched a ticket and got seat K6, I saw the cost printed on the ticket was $103. Huh????? Three seats from the aisle is somehow worth $16 less than two seats from the aisle?? I then started looking into this further and found out there are orchestra seats that are much cheaper than $103. And the thing is you can sit all the way on the end in the David Koch Theatre and have a great view. So when I get my order form for the 2012-2013 seasons, I'm getting a cheaper subscription. Was anyone aware of the diversity in prices when they ordered their subscriptions last year? Did I miss the fine print or something? I've been attending NYCB performances since 1980 and have had a subscription since 1996 or 1997 (At the moment I can't remember which one.) Well, thanks for letting me vent about this. Oh, this is going to sound like a dumb question, but where is the promenade in the David Koch Theatre? I want to attend the 1:45pm talk on Sunday, and the NYCB website says it'll be held in the promenade.

Here's my best and worst list. I know some of these have already been mentioned. Best 1. ABT guest artist Polina Semionova in Don Q with David Hallberg and especially in Swan Lake with Marcelo Gomes. 2. David Hallberg as Albrecht in ABT's Giselle. 3. ABT guest artists Natalia Osipova and Vladimir Vasieliev in Alexei Ratmansky's The Bright Stream. 4. Vladimir Shkylarov and the rest of the Mariinsky cast in Alexei Ratmansky's The Little Hunchbacked Horse. 5. NYCB's Jewels, especially Teresa Reichlein in Rubies and Maria Kowroski and Charles Askegard in Diamonds. 6. Elizabeth Holowchuk and Momchil Mladenov in Balanchine's Meditation - performed by the Suzanne Farrell Ballet. Worst 1. NYCB's Seven Deadly Sins. 2. NYCB's Ocean's Kingdom.

I went to BAM to see the December 28th matinee. I hadn’t seen a live performance of The Nutcracker in over ten years. I love Tchaikovsky’s music, but I’ve grown to think of The Nutcracker as a holiday entertainment for children and tourists. Then I read several great reviews of American Ballet Theatre’s new Nutcracker. The choreography is by Alexei Ratmansky and I loved his The Bright Stream and The Little Humpbacked Horse. So I decided to buy a ticket and head to Brooklyn to see what all the hoopla was about. Ratmansky’s Nutcracker is charmingly innovative. It starts in the kitchen where the servants are preparing for the Stahlbaum’s annual Christmas Eve party. The children, Clara and Fritz, arrive to sample the sweets, while their parents check on how the kitchen staff is progressing. As soon as everyone leaves to greet the guests, mice come into the kitchen looking for scraps of the holiday goodies. The littlest mouse, played by the scene-stealing, Jared Parker, is especially enduring. At the party Clara is given a Nutcracker doll by her godfather, Drosselmeyer. After the guests leave, Clara is sent upstairs to bed while the Nutcracker remains in the party room. During the night Clara sneaks downstairs in search of her favorite new toy. When the clock strikes midnight, Clara sees everything change around her. Sitting in a gigantic chair, Clara watches as the now life-sized Nutcracker is attacked by the mice. They are led by their Mouse King, while the Nutcracker enlists the aid of an army of toy soldiers. When it looks like the Mouse King may defeat the Nutcracker, Clara kills him with one of her shoes. The mouse army is defeated and the Nutcracker becomes a teenaged boy. Clara and the Nutcracker Boy begin to dance when adult versions of themselves suddenly appear. This grownup Clara and her Nutcracker Prince perform a glorious pas de deux. Next the young Clara and the Nutcracker Boy are trapped by malevolent dancing snowflakes in a terrifying blizzard. Fortunately Drosselmayer arrives with a sleigh and rescues Clara and the Nutcracker Boy. He takes them to the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy, who looks very much like Clara’s own nanny. To celebrate their defeat of the Mouse King, the Sugar Plum Fairy provides entertainment for Clara and the Nutcracker Boy. This festival displays dances from all around the world. Arabia features a shirtless muscle man being chased by his four wives. From Russia Ratmansky gives us dancers reminiscent of the Three Stooges, if the Three Stooges could leap and tumble and twirl in the air. Mother Ginger finds a stowaway in her enormous skirts. It’s none other than the littlest mouse who proceeds to dance merrily with Mother Ginger’s children, the Polichinelles. The Flowers waltz beautifully, but in Ratmansky’s Nutcracker they are partnered by four bees. Suddenly Clara finds herself magically transformed into the adult Clara. She dances The Nutcracker’s well known pas de deux with her grownup Prince. This famous pas de deux becomes even richer with the addition of Ratmansky’s magnificent choreography. After this Clara finds herself back in her bedroom in the Stahlbaum home. It is Christmas morning. She wonders if this magical evening has only been a dream. All the performers in ABT’s The Nutcracker are wonderful. Xiomara Reyes and Herman Cornejo are perfect as the grownup Clara and her Nutcracker Prince. Cornejo even bears a striking resemblance to Philip Perez, who performs the role of the Nutcracker Boy. As the adult Nutcracker Prince, Cornejo excites the audience with his multiple air turns and incredible ballon. Reyes’ Princess Clara stands out for her twinkling footwork and gorgeous port de bras. In both pas de deux Reyes and Cornejo dance with a radiant sense of childlike wonder. Their Act II pas de deux is so rapturous it brings tears to my eyes. One of the final lifts is a bit awkward, with Cornejo lowering Reyes too quickly. But it is a very slight glitch in a gloriously beautiful performance. Athena Petrizzo and Philip Perez are the young Clara and the Nutcracker Boy. They both give performances rich with wide-eyed innocence and youthful joy. Both the Snowflakes and the Flowers dance in splendid tandem with the music and each other. Performing as the Snowflakes and Flowers are students from the JKO ballet school among the ABT corps members. They all dance so perfectly that I find it impossible to distinguish the students from the ABT company members. All in all it was a wonderful afternoon at the ballet, enjoyed immensely by children of all ages. I will definitely be going to Brooklyn to see ABT’s The Nutcracker for many years to come.

I attended the Sunday matinee. The afternoon begins with Alexei Ratmansky’s magnificently simple Seven Sonatas, set to the piano music of Domenico Scarlatti. It is not a narrative ballet, yet the stories of three very different couples shine through the choreography. The first pas de deux is well danced by Yuriko Kajiya and Gennadi Saveliev. Yet I do not feel the same sense of tragic yearning as when Maria Riccetto and Blaine Hoven danced the same pas de deux on Thursday afternoon. As wonderful as Joseph Philips was in Seven Sonatas, Herman Cornejo’s performance as the young lover is beyond compare. Very few males dancing today come close to Cornejo’s level of technical perfection. And the utter joy he brings to every movement makes me smile inside and out. As Herman Cornejo’s partner, Xiomara Reyes continues to impress – with precise, quicksilver footwork, lovely turns and exciting jumps. As well, Reyes and Cornejo’s chemistry is palatable. As the final twosome, Julie Kent and Alexandre Hammoudi are delightful. Kent’s dancing is rich with poetry and grace. Hammoudi’s startled reaction when he realizes that Kent has left his side is priceless. Sunday’s cast in Seven Sonatas is adept at revealing the gentle humor in Ratmansky’s choreography. The second work on the program is Paul Taylor’s Black Tuesday. Black Tuesday is very similar to Taylor’s Company B, only it is set to songs popular during the Great Depression. Many of the tunes are musically upbeat, but the lyrics are sad and bitter. All the dancers in Black Tuesday are wonderful, but a few of them really stand out. Dancing to “(I Went Hunting) and the Big Bad Wolf was Dead”, Gemma Bond is all nonstop energy and spunky charm. In “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” Misty Copeland is heartbreakingly sexy. Her velvety phrasing is absolutely gorgeous. Copeland’s powerful portrayal of the down but never out young streetwalker brings tears to my eyes. Daniil Simkin is a virtuoso wonder as the World War I veteran in “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” Simkin spins on his knees and leaps ever higher in the air as Bing Crosby sings of how far the vet has fallen. At the end of the song, Simkin thrusts out his palm in a begging motion. As the ballet concludes, only his palm is lit up, as are the palms of the rest of the males in the cast who are lined up behind Simkin. It is an unforgettably poignant finish. The afternoon ends with Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, danced to the music of Philip Glass. I have never seen this ballet before, and I absolutely love it. It is like watching an Olympic marathon of dance. The Upper Room is an endlessly inventive combination of ballet and modern dance. There are innovative lifts, jumps and turns galore. The pulsating music and breakneck pace of the dancing builds up to a rip roaring climax. The entire company dances full out, with total joy and exuberance. Aaron Scott shines with his high leaps and beautiful line. Sascha Radetsky, so good as the “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B)”, is electrifying, both with his shirt on and off. Craig Salstein is dazzling, especially his multiple turns a la seconde, performed at the speed of sound. At the end of In the Upper Room, almost the entire audience leaps to their feet in a spontaneous (for once) standing ovation. I hope ABT returns to City Center next year and performs at least two weeks or longer.

I attended the Thursday matinee. Thursday’s afternoon program begins with The Garden of Villandry, a very forgettable work choreographed by Martha Clarke, Robby Barnett and Felix Blaska. It is about a woman (Xiomara Reyes) who can’t decide between two suitors (Grant DeLong and Alex Agoudine). Very little happens during the ballet. When it ends – an interminable ten or so minutes later – the woman still has not made up her mind. I was really looking forward to Sinatra Suite, a Twyla Tharp piece danced to five Frank Sinatra songs. I saw it performed in 2006, with Luciana Paris and Marcelo Gomes as the lead couple, and I really enjoyed it. On Thursday afternoon, with Paloma Herrera and Marcelo Gomes performing the leading roles, it is a major disappointment. The partnering is really off, especially during the first two songs “Strangers in the Night” and “All the Way”. During the first song Gomes attempts to lift Herrera, but cannot manage it. I was really afraid he was going to drop her. (Fortunately he didn’t.) I have rarely seen such clumsy partnering from professional dancers. It was as though they were dancing two different ballets, going in completely opposite directions. This muddled Sinatra Suite is especially surprising as Marcelo Gomes is renowned for his partnering skills. I’ve seen Gomes dance with ballerinas considerably taller than Herrera (Michele Wiles, Veronika Part, Polina Semionova) and perform much more complicated lifts. Didn’t Herrera and Gomes rehearse Sinatra Suite before Thursday afternoon’s performance? Unfortunately, it sure didn’t look like they had. Gomes finally comes into his own during the final number “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road). This is fittingly a solo. Gomes not only dances it flawlessly, he channels the world-weary Frank Sinatra spirit perfectly. It doesn’t make up for the rest of the ballet, but at least Sinatra Suite ends on a high note. The next work was Alexei Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas, set to the piano music of Domenico Scarlatti. Everything in this ballet – the music, the choreography, the dancing – flows seamlessly together. The piece is not narrative, but still manages to tell the stories of three very different couples. The first twosome’s pas de deux, beautifully danced by Maria Riccetto and Blaine Hoven, is full of loss and yearning. Have they suffered through some heartbreaking tragedy? Are they trying to say goodbye? Sarah Lane and Joseph Phillips are a young, playful duo. Phillips’ air turns are gorgeous, with plush, soft landings. Lane stands out for her sparkling footwork. The final pas de deux of the piece is danced by Christine Shevchenko and Jared Matthews as a pair in a comfortable, teasing relationship. Schevchenko is an elegantly lyrical dancer, with an exquisite flow of movement. Seven Sonatas is a rapturous gem of a ballet. I’m looking forward to seeing it again with a different cast on Sunday, November 13th. The program ends with Paul Taylor’s Company B, set to the music of The Andrews Sisters. This work shows the lighthearted innocence of wartime America juxtaposed against shadowy figures of young boys going off to fight and die in World War II. All the young company members perform with energy, speed, wit and charm. Aaron Scott’s timing and rhythmic movement is spot on in the syncopated “Tico-Tico”. Craig Salstein shows off his flair for comedy as the nerdy guy chased by seven women in “Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh”. Sascha Radetsky stands out for his dynamic high spirits in “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B). Simone Messmer is heartbreaking as a girl sending her young love (Grant DeLong) off to war in “There Will Never Be Another You.” It is good to see ABT at a more intimate theater like City Center. It is even better to see the talented ABT soloists and corps members get a chance to shine.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought the bottom two for week 8 were Rob and Cheryl and Nancy and Tristan.

I saw the Sunday October 2nd matinee performance of Jewels. Emeralds is a sedate, dreamlike piece. All the dancers are wonderful, but to me the real standouts are the three soloists Antonio Carmena, Erica Pereira and Ana Sophia Scheller. Carmena has a lovely ballon and clean, crisp turns. Pereira and Scheller dance with a feather light vivaciousness that is perfectly suited to the delicate nature of Emeralds. Rubies is a playful, jazzy ballet. As the central couple, Megan Fairchild and Joaquin De Luz show incredible energy and project a lively sense of fun. Fairchilds precise, quicksilver footwork is amazing to watch. De Luz just gets better and better every time I see him perform. In Rubies De Luz is electrifyingly captivating. His whiplash turns are danced at a breakneck pace. Many other dancers would lose control while whirling at such mind-blowing speed. In Rubies De Luz is in complete command of the stage at the David Koch Theatre. As Balanchines Tall Girl in Rubies, Teresa Reichlen threatens to steal the show. Everything about her performance is larger than life. Her unbelievable extensions, (She has legs that go on for days.) the forcefulness of her attack, her gorgeous arabesques all are combined with an explosive stage presence that keeps the audience riveted. I will never be able to see Rubies again without seeing Teresa Reichlens performance in my minds eye, and wanting only her to dance the part of Balanchines Amazon. Whatever George Balanchines intentions were while choreographing Diamonds, it has always seemed like a loving tribute to the ballets of Marius Petipa, especially The Sleeping Beauty. Much of Diamonds is also reminiscent of Balanchines 1947 masterpiece Theme and Variations. If Balanchine wanted to pay homage to himself, (or just copy from himself) he was certainly entitled to do so. Sundays performance of Diamonds was magical, especially the central pas de deux. As the lead couple, Maria Kowroski and Charles Askegard are achingly beautiful. Kowroski stands out for her meltingly expressive upper body, her gorgeously fluid movements and her lyrically lovely extensions. Askegard is dancing with more energy and precision than Ive ever seen from him. As always, Askegard is an elegant and attentive partner. There has been a very special connection between Kowroski and Askegard for quite some time. On Sunday, due to Askegards approaching retirement from NYCB, (He retires on October 9th.) this rapport seemed bittersweet. During the bows, as Askegard knelt and kissed Kowroskis hand, she looked as though she was trying not to cry. Seeing such emotion made their performances even richer for me. I hope New York City Ballet continues to dance Jewels at such a high level for many years to come. .