California

If anyone sees public social media on pas de trois casting for Swan Lake this week, please post. Thanks!

I saw the last four Sylvias, so I saw four of the five casts (all but Boylston-Ahn). I had never seen this ballet in the theater and love it. It's worth bringing back next year for many reasons others have cited. I thought the two Saturday performances were best, although this was the second performance for both casts, so perhaps they felt more comfortable in the roles than others by then. Shevchenko-Clarke (Saturday evening): He reminded me so much of the tall, dark, handsome Bolle in the Royal recording! Very powerful, great technique, etc. Much stronger performance than Thursday when he subbed for Bell one day after performing. She has such a strong presence and technique, not much to quibble about. Hurlin-Royal (Saturday matinee): I thought she knocked it out of the park with great dramatic appeal, technique, etc. Royal was fine but not the strong presence of Clarke. Roxander-Brandt (Friday evening): I love Roxander and he seemed completely on, with technique, dramatic appeal, partnering. Someone thought he was understated and wondered if he was injured. I wonder instead if the coaching urged him to dial back Etudes-appropriate exuberance. I'm not a big Brandt fan for reasons others have cited. Misseldine-Clarke (Thursday evening): A fine debut, but I wonder how hard it must be to debut in such a difficult role with a partner change late in the game. Takumi Miyake (Eros Saturday evening): Holy moly! He took off like a rocket in the jumps/leaps in the third act in his too-brief variations. We need to see so much more of him. Re: that flat-footed passage several have discussed: What's puzzling to me is the fact that the variation has so much fiendishly difficult pointe work, why not keep it going instead of shifting to something that many assumed was a mistake. What was Ashton thinking???

It also occurred to me that an on-stage promotion -- to or from soloist! -- would have detracted from the celebration of the corps tonight, complete with confetti! It was a nice touch for Brandt to give her flowers to the conductor who then tossed them to the orchestra. They both recognized what others have noted, that the orchestra was just terrific. And such a great score. I'm a big Roxander fan and hope he gets some lead roles this year so promotion to principal makes obvious sense to everybody. I agree that he did a great job tonight all around.

There's some kind of celebration of the corps Friday night - a nice opportunity to announce promotions. I'm not attending, but if anybody is, please let us know. I'm also wondering if Roxander is in line for promotion if he does well tonight in Sylvia.

The Royal Ballet streaming service has Bolle and Darcy Bussell in a 2005 performance of Sylvia. Glorious! They also just added Ashton's Ondine. If Jaffe wants to acquire more things from Royal, that might be another to consider. Preferable to things like Woolf Works, if they want longevity in the rep.

Looking back at old calenders, Bell did R&J on a Tuesday in July 2023 and two days later subbed for Stearns in the same ballet.

I'm disappointed Bell won't be doing Sylvia and hope he is able to do Swan Lake last week. I'm glad I got to see him in Giselle and Winter's Tale. Unlike some dancers, he never gives us any hints about reasons for cancellation. Very disappointing. I noticed that he's not going to Vail this year, although several ABT dancers will be there, including Misseldine, Hurlin, Boylston, Whiteside, Royal, Miyake. https://vaildance.org/ He's still listed for Giselle at Segerstrom, but who knows: https://www.scfta.org/events/2025/american-ballet-theatre-s-giselle And he's still listed for the Robbins festival in August: https://www.joyce.org/performances/165/curated-by-tiler-peck/ballet-festival-jerome-robbins? Flashbacks to Hallberg's frequent injuries which ended up with taking three years off in Australia for massive physical therapy. Hope Bell isn't looking at something major and recurring like that. https://www.gramilano.com/2018/03/david-hallberg-explains-his-injury-i-felt-a-pop-in-my-calf-and-from-then-on-a-sharp-pain/

ABT just sent email. Fall season October 15 - November 1. Spring March 6 - 21. Schedule announced mid-July. Priority ticketing for members July 28.

I'm not sure about Nabokov's explanation. The United Stated did not sign onto the Berne convention until 1989, long after Stravinsky's death and long after his tweaked versions were copyrighted in the US. This might have more to do with copyright law in Russia at the time. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/berne_convention

Just a brief report on the second performance of The Winter's Tale Wednesday afternoon: Herman Cornejo was Leontes, the role Aran Bell took at the opening. Powerful dramatically, as one would expect from him. Cassandra Trenary as Hermione was fine. I believe this is her last role with ABT? Skylar Brandt was terrific as Perdita. Her great flexibility was gorgeous in this role. Jake Roxander was a wonderful Florizel. Their partnering was superb. Several of those overhead lifts onto his shoulders seen very contrived and gimmicky to me but they pulled them off. A couple of one-armed overhead lifts with Skylar bent way back over his head were stunning. I don't remember those from yesterday, but that's probably just me. Elwince Magbitang was the Clown (the role Miyake had yesterday). He's another one to watch. Wonderful technique and presence. This is a great role for promising corps members to show their stuff and both did. I am not able to see the other two casts, and look forward to your reports. Although I have come to like this ballet, I will probably not want to see it repeatedly in the future or ever.

There's so much to discuss in The Winter's Tale...just a few things for now after seeing the opening night at the Met. I had seen this before (the Royal Ballet stream, a rehearsal, and 10 years ago in London). I found the plot confusing, but that was probably my fault. It made much more sense seeing the opening night. Aran Bell: As we often note, he's the complete package. His acting/dramatic talent was extraordinary, especially in Act I. I was truly moved by his agonized performance. Cast: as noted, wonderful overall: Teuscher, Hurlin, Shevchenko. I was also impressed with Carlos Gonzalez (who I still think is on a principal path) and Takumi Miyake in Act II. Unusual for a ballet to have so many good roles for principals and they delivered. Choreography: I found Act II much more interesting in the Bohemian setting, with ensemble work, pas de deux, solo variations. More a celebration than a drama. Special effects: impressive special video and other effects. Wheeldon came out for bows on opening night, along with (apparently) his production staff. Appropriate, I suppose, as this was ABT's NYC premiere, although the work is 10+ years old. Of the several works ABT has acquired from Royal Ballet, I think this one was the smartest move.

Hurlin performed beautifully Tuesday night at Winter's Tale.

I saw both Saturday Giselles. The matinee seemed flat ("workman-like") to me, although I agree that Ahn is much more developed dramatically. I loved Li's Myrtha -- authoritative, in command. I was disappointed Hurlin cancelled and hope she recovers for Sylvia, if not also Winter's Tale. Misseldine's debut in Giselle was in Minneapolis with a different partner (after Bell's injury). The potential is there, but several flubs others have noted. I wonder if it was Met-first-time nerves. Bell -- what a wonder. The total package dramatically, artistically, technically. And he's only 25!! We have so much more to see from him.

I went to Costa Mesa/Segerstrom for the weekend to see the Miami City Ballet do Ratmansky's reconstruction of Swan Lake. The more I see it, the more I like it, especially extensive ensemble work we don't normally see. Act I (usually a truncated bore) is glorious with a large ensemble of men and women in intricate patterns and formations. And Act IV seemed to have more for the swan corps than we see in many versions. Surprisingly fast tempos. I was in a hotel elevator with several other ballet goers and a couple of dancers. We were commenting on the fast tempos and one of the dancers said "Alexei" was adamant about that. The metronome was invented in the early 19th century, so I'm guessing there was documentation available about the tempo they used in 1895. I don't know this company enough to single out specific dancers, though all the leads were quite acceptable. The theater's top two tiers were closed off although it looked like there were a few people in the front row of the tiers at the opening night. Way too much late seating. They allowed drinks with lids but no food. Someone on this site wrote a detailed report on the differences in this production from what we usually see. I think that was back in 2017 when La Scala performed this version, but I can't seem to find it back. If anybody can find that, please post that link again. Anybody else get to these performances?

After reading all the rave reviews of de la Nuez, I'm surprised they didn't use him as the sub. Perhaps Whiteside is the sentimental favorite, as they've danced together so much over the years.