MRR

Thanks for starting this thread, Buddy.

I first saw Chloe in the Swan Lake pas de trois at the MET: July 5th, 2022.  During the two minutes of her solo, I made a snap judgment that she was going to have a "big" career and whenever she danced Odette/Odile, I would be there.  Missed the D.C. debut as tickets had already sold out, but I am determined to catch her performance in NY.

I wrote this at the time:

Quote

Chloe Misseldine was luminous; her variation one of the best parts of the whole evening.  Each step seemed to bring her joy, with fleeting footwork and extra revolutions in pirouettes that seemed to come out of nowhere.  She has potential to go very far. 

Interesting, I thought Gonzalez stood out in the class.  He's never caught my eye onstage, but have not seen him do anything featured.  I thought Frenette who is talked up quite a lot on this forum looked comparatively mediocre.  De la Nuez has potential. 

Mostly agree on the women.  Misseldine is striking but she has an extremely shallow plié.  Beyer looks ready for soloist roles, at a minimum.  Fangqi Li looks lovely, even doing a stunning balance in arabesque penché at one point.

Catherine Hurlin and Daniel Camargo (who took barre, way in the back) also rehearsed Don Q pas with Kolpakova:

Also adding to Sunday matinee:

Misseldine was easily the highlight of Ballet Imperial and perhaps the whole performance.  It is refreshing to see a taller ballerina in this role with every limb stretched to its fullest, carving space and air.  Excellent floaty jetés, ironclad pirouettes and balances, and high, long extensions in every direction.  If I'm to quibble, she takes "air biting" to the extreme with a wide, open-mouthed smile in many of the difficult passages.  Her entrechat six were muddy, but no worse than Brandt's.

Shevchenko basically took Boylston's performance in reverse, the good and the bad.  She was cleaner in the opening solo with no trouble on the double pirouette to arabesque (Bella took a sizable hop) and generally more seamless transitions.  Her port de bras is classical and rounded, with an expression appearing in control.  Unfortunately the technical challenges mounted and she came up very short in the allegro:  weak footwork and not a six in sight.  She also did not bring any mystique or yearning in the adagio, though I blame some of this on Calvin's partnering.  I disagree that it was "very solid," he had visible off-balance adjustments of feet and hands throughout and nearly had her off pointe in the first finger turn manège.  The blurring supported turns that went on for about 8 or so on Saturday, stopped abruptly at four with Shevchenko having to go back to arabesque.  Technically he also wasn't strong in what is a thin but exposed role:  weak, floppy feet, thin beats, cheated takeoff on tours, gradually diminishing cabrioles, and finally a triple pirouette that crashed to the knee.   Especially when comparing to Philip Neal above, or even James's utilitarian but competent effort Saturday, this was not a performance of a principal.  

Fangqi Li and SunMi Park were lovely demis, with Li in particular presenting an elegant, aristocratic bearing.  

Don't dispute it's time for Gillian to retire, or think she deserves any special praise for performing at age 44.  But I'm more with canbelto thinking her Titania was far from a disaster.  Even on Sunday running out of steam faster than opening night, she did not give a drastically different performance.  She still brings a certain charm to the role and her arabesque, while creeping to the side with a bent knee, is not embarrassing.  Her balances and turns in the solo were fairly good, perhaps diminishing in speed, but I didn't notice the constant falling off pointe.  The pas de deux was the most evident point of decline with a stiff, jagged epaulement that got worse as she tired.  She did not possess that floating, fairy quality.  But I saw Kistler in Balanchine's Midsummer at around the same age, and Murphy danced more than adequately in comparison.

Camargo as Oberon has a stately, elongated posture but a rather clipped, exactly 90 degree arabesque.  He was perhaps a touch more relaxed Sunday, or animated, not having to contend with Roxander's Puck.  He brings a certain mysticism to the role with good comedic timing, flowing turns, and sharp allegro for someone of his stature.  The manège in the Scherzo were a bit awkward cutting the corners of the stage, more so today, and there were a few wobbled landings.  Overall I agree he is not as memorable an interpreter as Gomes or Hallberg, but right now Camargo is the go-to for the role at ABT, pending Bell's eventual debut.

Elwince Magbitang as Puck was not flattered by the comparison of Roxander in the role before.  While fleet-footed, he has no quality of projection, comedy, or technique that highly stands out.  His jump gets maybe half the amplitude of Jake's without the piercing glissades or endless pirouettes to go in-between.  The four lovers also did not approach nearly the same level of wit as Saturday.  Blaine Hoven was painful as Bottom, falling at the end of his solo opening night and not executing really any of the choreography on pointe.

Odd, I recall James doing them.  What did he do instead?  He would have landed on his right knee, and his left was the one injured.  

Tour to knee is compulsory for a male dancer (obviously harder in BI where they happen between partnering a ballerina) that it shouldn't be omitted if a dancer is healthy to perform.

So I'll bite on Saturday evening:

For one reason or another, I have never seen Ballet Imperial. Not live, not on video, not as Tchaikovsky Concerto no. 2. So any thoughts have no reference point to NYCB or any other company.

ABT presents the grand, original, capital R Russian, ballet where the audience might as well be in a bygone era, sitting at the Palace of the Czars. Blue drapes, chandeliers, a snowy backdrop of the Neva, and opulent tutus of blue for the corps (light blue demis), peachy red for the soloist and white for the principal. Call this stuffy or dated, but the curtain opening to two diagonals of corps men and women standing proudly as they face one another was breathtaking. Mr. B certainly knew how to open a ballet.

The principal ballerina role is a monster and Isabella appeared nervous at the start. The preparations for steps had more adjustments than optimal, and her pained ballerina expression looked, well, actually pained. The presence of James was just what she needed; appearing to relax gradually into the pas de deux and finishing with triumph once the fouettes were checked off, solid singles with a rather floppy foot into a clean double. She has an excellent jump and can make an impact with a manege or entrechat six, and there are moments of beautiful line. Her petite allegro was great; port de bras far less so. This had to have been an intimidating task, performing a role danced by Mearns and Peck a mere two weeks prior, and in the House of Balanchine no less. Boylston looked determined, and the potential for an excellent performance is there, but up close the concentration and effort behind the steps were evident despite having great physical qualities.

James Whiteside is in an old Balanchine Cavalier role (T&V excepted) where the man is there to look handsome and support the woman. He has a somewhat shallow, brittle plie, but his technique was quite good in the batterie and pirouettes. Tours to knee were finished clean but all cheated on preparation by a 1/4 turn. His demeanor is stoic and partnering sound, giving Boylston the necessary security to get through the ballet.

Skylar has uncanny balance and gyroscopic ability, and she gives the soloist role plenty of glow. Some might find her excessive smiling overdone, but there's not much else to convey in this ballet, and she never lets her performance down for a second. The one weakness was her ballon in a role that requires it: the entrechat six thinly sketched with not much amplitude.

The corps women have quite the juggernaut and looked strong and cohesive, relative to other ABT ballets. Colleen Neary who staged the work came out for the curtain call.

The Dream was obviously The Moment for Jake Roxander, with a debut all you would expect and more. His entrance with blurred pirouettes stopping on a dime set the tone for a master class throughout the evening, and we were treated to a Puck as memorable (if not necessarily better) than Cornejo in his prime. His bounding split jumps in the Scherzo were my favorite part, hovering in the air. Each sequence, and there were many, garnered applause, before a deafening ovation at curtain call.

Will write more thoughts on Gillian and Daniel after today's matinee.

Deleted: review below

1 hour ago, abatt said:

I couldn't decide initially whether Hurlin was making errors in the fouettes or adding difficulty by inserting small jumps.  As this continued it became apparent that this was entirely intentional, and that she was adding small jumps into the fouette sequence.  I don't recall every seeing anyone do this.  Pretty amazing.  

Agnes Letestu performed this same sequence.  Video for reference:

Saw Ashton entering the theater and for a moment thought Jake wasn't dancing!  They are about 5 years apart but look so alike.  

Shostakovich PC #1 checks off pretty much all the Ratmansky traits: choreographically obtuse, wall-to-wall with difficult steps, partnering, and formations, and rich in subtle, almost indiscernible symbolism. Watching from the sixth row makes it all but impossible to keep track of everything and I'm curious if sitting higher up for tomorrow (and repeated viewing) will help.

Christine Shevchenko is striking with a robust, elegant technique, but as with her Swan Lake last year, I don't find her especially imaginative or unique. Skylar Brandt lacks a beautiful line but she is forceful and exceptionally committed, and Jake Roxander matched her step for step. Calvin Royal is lithe and agile in contemporary and more adept at partnering than Roxander at this stage, but his jumps look earthbound in comparison (I guess most anyone's would).

As for Petite Mort, the opening male sextet did not suffer disaster with dropped swords or falling behind the curtain a la Breaking Pointe. However, a sword mysteriously ended up near center stage when one of the corps men (Joseph Markey?) ran from the wings, all the way across stage right to left to retrieve it before the women's entrance. A nightmare if it remained considering the mannequins.

Cassandra Trenary despite not being the 32 fouette or hops en pointe type of ballerina is highly effective here. Every step has intention and clarity, and the music seems to come inside of her. Chloe Misseldine is lovely but her movement felt stick straight with not enough pliancy in her torso, ditto Hee Seo. The men don't have much dancing after the opening but my eye always went to Herman. Such presence and command that is befitting of an artist over 40.

Now, for the "pièce de résistance": Etudes. I love this ballet for being transparently kitsch: it never pretends to be high art or anything other than entertainment (and a monster technical obstacle course). Catherine Hurlin had a great debut that overcame two smallish mistakes: dropping off pointe after the arabesque balance switches (unsteady from the start), and her ensemble fouettes under rotated with a visible shuffle to the side. She was rapturous and whimsical in the Sylphide solo, and her allegro had plenty of charm with excellent hops en pointe. Her solo fouettes were nailed, doing single-single-double, and jump variations. She is not the purist classical dancer with tension creeping into the wrist and not enough bend at the below, but her attack, charisma, forward momentum, and speed are wondrous. The audience was completely behind her.

This ballet is all tricks and hamming it up, and Roxander understood the assignment. A master class of bravura: his a la seconde turns pull in for five or six on a dime, all perfectly sustained, and he has ballon for days.  Double cabrioles and consecutive double tour pose no challenges; he also has tremendous use of weight and depth to his mazurka.  Sung Woo Han was predictably more subdued, if mostly clean in the endless pirouettes with decent enough feet and petite batterie. His double-double tour to knee was his weakest moment, cheating an entire revolution on the way down.

Props to Lea Fleytoux for executing possibly the cleanest double pirouette from fifth I've ever seen. One of the women in the back, possibly Fangqi Li, came to grief on the ensemble fouettes. Luigi Crispino stood out among the corps men.

Nadon is that rare talent who not only lives up to the hype, but stirs the imagination by conjuring images of ballets she has yet to dance.  Her performance of Barocco was like a waterfall: sensitive and luxuriant, taking the audience on a dream.  Her trust in herself, her partner, the music and Mr. B is remarkable for an artist so young.  Lush and expansive, her off-balance lunges are something to behold, leaning entirely off her leg in the adagio before setting her foot down. The gradual descent of her working leg after a long series of turns, reaching for her partner's outstretched hand, showed in one sequence her mystery and beauty.  She is also adept at allegro, and while evidently (and forgivably) taxed by the ending steps, she gave a master class in carving the space with those long limbs.  A shame she and Balanchine never got to work together.  Whenever she dances Diamonds, I'm there.

Isabella Lafreniere as the second violin is somewhat straightforward and perfunctory next to Nadon, but she is athletic with great force, shown best in her a soaring diagonal of grand jetes.  Gilbert Bolden was mostly stalwart in the pas de deux, flagging just a touch in that exhausting series of lifts. 

It was great to see veteran Daniel Ulbricht dance up a storm in the title-role of Prodigal Son.  His opening solo was buoyant, ferocious, and emphatic, bolting all over the stage.  He was perhaps dramatically less impactful in the final scenes as it is difficult to shed that Olympian persona, but no denying a terrific performance.  Miriam Miller is statuesque as the Siren with endless arms and legs.  As with her Dark Angel in Serenade the previous night, her presence doesn't reach beyond the footlights, but I sense she hasn't yet come into her prime.

Bizet finished with a top-down roster.  Tiler Peck and Chun Wai Chan were my favorite couple, somewhat of a surprise as I've not always warmed to Tiler's dancing on video.  This ballet is excellent for her, especially viewing from third ring which gives full appreciation to the vastness of her dancing.  No step is insignificant, nor is it effortful, tossing off the technical challenges with ease, sparkle, and grandness of scale.  Her series of turns down the center was tremendous.  Chan is ardent with great beats, excellent lines, a speedy if slightly flawed series of triple pirouettes, and attentive partnering.  

Unity Phelan lacks some of the majesty and grandeur for second movement, and her extension in a la seconde and nose-to-knee penchee could be higher.  Nonetheless she is elegant and capable: the way she swirled her torso into every fouette arabesque was lovely, and her arabesque is among the most disciplined in the company.  Alec Knight was a strong partner but could have dared more on the trust falls.  Baily Jones and Cainan Weber (third) suffered a miscue early where the one-handed turn to arabesque pitched far forward with Baily's legs flying out from underneath her.  No big deal as they did two more without incident, and their ballon was well utilized here.  Emilie Gerrity was secure and articulate in fourth movement, partnered by the excellent Peter Walker.

Also attended last night's mix rep. Decided to come into NY to catch the last of NYCB and beginning of ABT, and this is my first time seeing NYCB since the 2017 Jewels festival.

Sara Mearns is arguably cast against type as Waltz Girl relative to Dark Angel. Though I found her allegro brittle in a couple of places (the section with the consecutive pirouettes comes to mind), she imbued the role with great sensitivity and drama. Her "late for class" moment was riveting; as was the acceptance of her fate when she is lifted into the uncertain beyond. Her extension is still high and grand in arabesque penchee if less so in a la seconde.

Indiana Woodward was lush and buoyant in Russian. Each series of jumps and turns floated into the next, and what a jump she has! Miriam Miller was elegant with the longest arms imaginable but otherwise not that memorable. The double arabesque promenade had no issues (apparently a problem earlier in the week?) but ended in a fairly skewed, a la sebesque position.  Taylor Stanley seemed fairly earthbound and too short for Mearns in the waltz.

Can't add a lot about Orpheus. The score is not one to remember or review over and over and neither is the ballet. Not a place to see anyone dance up a storm, Joseph Gordon in the title-role does a lot of walking and being led around the stage. From my first time seeing him in anything, he looks strong, boyish, and nimble, capable of good dancing in a variety of ballets. Ashley Laracey was committed and sinuous as Eurydice and Emily Kikta made something of the brief but dynamic Bacchante section.

T&V ended mostly a success. Robbie was in the front row to cheer his sister to rapturous applause from the first solo. Megan is not a star, but a veteran, leading her company to an accomplished and worthy performance. The first solo got squirrely on the opening soutenu pirouettes but ended with relatively good entrechat six and controlled pirouette to the knee. The second solo was excellent, and from there her confidence only grew, glowing in the finale.

At this stage of her career the extension and arabesque, never her strength, is diminished with her penchee not getting past 150 degrees, bent and off to the side, with shoulders frequently up to her neck. Despite this, her clarity of the steps was consistently shown, and while not my favorite ballerina, she assumed the authority of the virtuoso role with a certain calm and elan.

Anthony Huxley had great success in the opening solo with a diamond plie, strong six, and good line. The multiple pirouette section stayed mostly centered with triples and a quad thrown in. The second solo which is an easier version than ABT's had double tours gradually dipping to the side as he "popped" the last one to a single. Partnering was a bit jittery, frequently catching Fairchild's tutu as she improvised the part with the swinging battements. The fouette catches were also a touch awkward and the final shoulder sit barely held. The promise he showed early in the ballet will hopefully develop into the latter parts.

Megan LeCrone was stiff and unexpressive relative to her demi counterparts, almost like she were marking. Hope she's OK. The whole company had a rousing finale, one of my favorites in all of classical ballet.

18 minutes ago, abatt said:

  I'm not sure of the state of the company's finances right now.  Is there even any money to hire a major guest artist?  Since the company cut its number of weeks at the Met, did the dancers have to take a pay cut due to the reduced schedule?

I've also been curious about this, but more in terms of the number of contracted weeks the dancers are offered with the shortened season.  The dancers could be making less overall with fewer weeks but being paid the same or more weekly.  ABT seasonal contracts were consistently shorter than NYCB's even when performing 8 weeks at the MET.  NYCB has a 40+ week contract, while ABT topped out at 36 weeks pre-COVID.  A main reason for this is Nutcracker, where ABT's run is extremely short compared to NYCB's and those of other major companies.  However, this does have a benefit of opening up more time for guestings and thus additional income.  

42 minutes ago, Helene said:

and NYC is the only one with two major mostly resident ballet companies, plus other major companies that tour, like Joffrey and Dance Theatre of Harlem. 

Joffrey Ballet has been based out of Chicago since 1995.  There is an unaffiliated Joffrey school that remains in New York.

Alvin Ailey and Ballet Hispanico would be other examples.  

8 hours ago, California said:

I'm only able to see San Francisco Ballet one, maybe two long weekends each year. But it's always very difficult to get good seats, even with some priority friends ticketing. And I'm struck that, yes, the house always seems to sell out. It just seems to be a city that really supports ballet, for whatever reason. And they don't seem to be dependent on tourists the way NYC is, although their practice of scheduling two overlapping programs over a few days is a big advantage to visiting out-of-towners. 

Impressive as the War Memorial Opera House seats over 3100, roughly in-between the size of the Koch and the MET.

I would add Houston Ballet to the list who sold out its entire run of Swan Lake, several days in advance.  I know, I know, Swan Lake is indestructible with box office, but I was told by a longtime follower of HB that the company had never sold out an entire run before, only individual performances.  Tickets were reselling on StubHub at sizable markups.

Also the Joffrey Ballet's Anna Karenina (February 2023) was its record grossing production outside of Nutcracker.  This beat their 2019 premiere despite swaths of protestors outside the Lyric Opera House, calling for the production be cancelled.  Dare I say, the press covering the production (and the protests) helped?  Ticket sales increased the second week.

Evening:

Skylar Brandt's Giselle is hard to appraise.  Her interpretation was realized, measured, and coached within an inch of its life, featuring a stamina and commitment to the role that never waned.  She had a palpable and tender romance with Cornejo, the only partnership fully in love, and her relative experience with the role showed.  But as far as her portrayal was realized, I was never convinced it was her own, for what became a well danced but frustrating evening.  

The Act I entrance and waltz were extremely good, radiant and projected, with her near collapse in the beginning far more convincing than the other Giselles.  Unfortunately, the more the act wore on, the more her doe-eyed expression remained, in what looked not that divorced from a retro Soviet, Mezentseva portrayal.  Spessivtseva was fine, but not exceptional, rushing the music in the pique en dedans/en dehors series, and not showing the same forward momentum as Hurlin in the manege.  The mad scene lost me, particularly the excessive shaking during "He loves me not."  Everything felt performative, designed for effect and to elicit a specific response from the viewer, rather than the audience being drawn in to her inner world.  This approach may work for some, (evidently it has or was interpreted differently, given certain reviews), but I wasn't moved.

Act II was better if on a similar trajectory.  The opening turning hops rising onto pointe were impressive, and her jete en tournant, executed long rather than high, landed like a feather. Ethereal and appearing as if she could float away at any second, she was the most spirit-like of the Giselles.  But here her face seemed excessively pained, like she were constantly suffering.  Even in a romantic tutu, her aesthetic suffers:  the angular knees and odd, "soup can" look to her shoes prevent her from achieving a truly beautiful line, no matter how high her extensions go (and she had a very strong, controlled developpe and penchee).  Nor did I always find her musical, as she became indulgent in the balances with her leg stretched en avant. And that more or less encapsulates Brandt:  remarkably disciplined, strong, with a marathon stamina, but without a magic that resonates.  Consummate as she is, I'm not swept away by much of what she does, her performance existing in a glass bubble.   

Cornejo gave an S-tier Act I with passionate romance and drama.  He was handily the most authoritative Albrecht with a love for Giselle that could be felt to the back row.  He was terrifyingly brooding with Hilarion and I felt the whole time we were watching A Star, the last of the phenomenal generation of ABT men from the 2000's.  However, most of his dancing is in Act II, where he merely got the job done.  No longer is there flexibility to speak of---he is tight in shoulders, hips, and back, with a rather slumping posture.  His cabrioles were effortful and hoisted up in large part by his arms, the turns and tours were better, but the substituted brises were rather anemic.  Not sure how I felt about the elevator-like angel lifts, but they were certainly impressive and a virtuosic feat.  His ending was entirely different from Camargo's, walking downstage center as the curtain draped to its close, as if he were entering an uncertain beyond.   Cornejo's end, as with his whole performance, showcased mastery of art and stagecraft, if not entirely overcoming the more than visible wear and tear of his technique.

Misseldine had even greater authority than on Tuesday, though her beats in the assembles were muddy (if completed at all), more so than I recall with her earlier performance.  She has a unique, magisterial elegance and the sky is the limit for her potential.  And speaking of:  Roxander delivered the best peasant pas in memory.  I loved his clean, stuck, diamond plie after double assemble or tour en l'air, not a shift or bobble in sight, with everything punctuated on the music.  His cabrioles were exceptional and better than all three Albrechts, with the advantages of a smaller physique and lower center of gravity.  The end of his second variation had a never ending pirouette with the note held; the audience started yelling even before he jumped for the double tour.  His partnering doesn't appear totally comfortable with the tricky en dedans turns in the adagio, but they weren't a disaster.  Any ballerina could be upstaged by such a showing, but Zimmy Coker showed interesting phrasing, an engaged presence, and generally fine technique (a turn to the knee got sort of stuck, but she finished).  Andrii Ishchuk as Hilarion has plenty of potential: maybe not dancing as big as Curley, but technically strong with good dramatic instincts.  The one semi-disaster in this performance was the six ladies in Act I:  bizarrely out of unison and poorly coached, despite largely excellent and well rehearsed corps dancing in both acts, throughout the week.  

Also attended the Wednesday double header.  I rarely commit to this many Giselles as it is not my favorite ballet (heresy on this forum?), even with the beautiful, moving images and pathos of the 2nd act. But this work is integral to ABT's rep and the casts were tempting, so I'm glad to have went.

Matinee

Catherine Hurlin in the title-role has fast become my favorite ballerina in the company after a vivid, colorful Odette/Odile last year and show stealing run as Gertrudis in LWFC.  Her Giselle was a valiant, if incomplete, effort, the aspects of frail peasant turned ghost not fully in her wheelhouse dramatically.  She seemed conscious of overacting Act I, careful to not turn this into Lise or Swanhilda, that she often blended in with the ensemble.  Her big moments at the end of the act mostly delivered---Spessivtseva was lovely, if not as free and abandoned as she is capable, and the mad scene was auspicious with a striking balance of mortal, feral, and spiritual.  Her running through the crowd was highly effective, darting around the stage as if possessed and not in control over herself or her body. The plucking of the petals was subtle and resigned, and her anger, not merely her heartbreak, spurred on the scene, as if Giselle with a stronger heart could have fought back.

Her Act II didn't fully inhabit the spiritual realm despite an impressive entrance with fast, beautifully shaped arabesque hops, and forceful jetes that begged, somehow, for a bigger stage.  Her interpretation was remote in places, but serene and empathetic at best, with a force pleading to save Albrecht, expressively poignant in the closing minutes.  Technically the entrechats were strong---a real six in the adagio, and high quatres in the variation that became somewhat blurred as the tempo sped up.  She has a strong line with good high a la seconde and arabesque penchee descending slowly to a fairy high peak of the leg.  Her port de bras, better coached in Act II, sometimes bend too much at the wrist and not enough at the below, particularly when going through 5th position, and her portrayal, celestial and a bit blank, wasn't distinctive as it has been in other roles.  Perhaps Giselle isn't "her" role, at least as of yet, but Hurlin is a memorable and worthwhile ballerina, her promotion to principal entirely merited.

Daniel Camargo does justify the hype I have read on here, his performance a sort of middle ground of Bell's highly virtuosic but somewhat blank showing on Tuesday and Cornejo's riveting but diminished technical effort in the evening.  He is handsome with a taught line, high technical acumen, and a sort of masculine, romantic charisma.  His Act I was more engaging for me than some others:  he has grown up in privilege and completely unaware of the implications of what he is doing.  There is love for Giselle, but he has no idea what to do with it.  He was forceful against Hilarion (an excellent Jarod Curley) for an imposing faceoff. 

The second act showed his excellent partnering and an accomplished, if unsensational, classical variation.  This is an interesting comparison with Bell on Tuesday, who bored me for much of the ballet but handily delivered the most important three minutes for Albrecht:  the solo and entrechat six.  Daniel has all the goods but a few too many sloppy moments---a missed beat in the second cabriole, an off kilter quintuple pirouette that should've been left at four, and not consistently square landing or preparation of double tour---that collectively somewhat diminished his excellence.  The sixes were commendable---not exceptional once again---starting off clean and somewhat low in the first 16ish and flagging quite a bit around 23-30.  He wasn't as anguished as I had hoped for, and he collapsed ahead of the music, but his ending walk was visually and emotionally powerful, distinctive, and fitting of his characterization.

Fangqi Li has a baseline interpretation of Myrtha, conveying a rehearsed authority and elegance without delivering anything individual of the role.  Considering the short preparation and her lack of experience, she was fine, if frankly not as good a dancer as Moyna and Zulme (Breanne Granlund/Zimmy Coker).  Her biggest ace in the hole is her jump, light, hovering in the air and suspended, without apparent force or effort.  The jetes floated around the stage, but this did not carry over to her beats, the entrechat six simply not there.  Not an embarrassment, she maintained poise, good placement, and calm.  Betsy McBride in the peasant pas did not leave a great impression:  an untucked ribbon can happen to anyone, but the low, splatty grand jetes, pasted on smile, and awkward position of arms in turns were not befitting of a soloist.  Tyler Maloney was fine, skating a bit on his double tour landings, not exuding the most confident showmanship.  Granlund and Coker were among the best pairs of two wilis I've seen.  Granlund has a creamy but authoritative quality with strong, well articulated beats and jumps.  Coker was gorgeous in the renverse series, sustaining and arching each one, with such commitment to the scene like her character had a story all its own.

Evening review to come...

Also saw the matinee.  I last saw ABT's Giselle in 2008 with Nina Ananiashvilli and Jose Carreno, back as an SAB student watching from the dress circle.  How times have changed...

Devon Teuscher has an interesting physicality for the role:  tall without a long line; lean with a strong, steely technique.  If you want a ballerina with delicacy, beautiful feet, or endless adage for Act II, look elsewhere. This is a Giselle in the Dorothee Gilbert mold, effective enough on its merits, without being a revelatory or "new" interpretation of the role.  The entrance was bouyant and pleasant; she had a warm, sympathetic engagement to Bell and seemed timid, distraught, and heartbroken in Mad Scene, even hesitating to wield the sword. It wasn't an especially theatrical Act I---rather understated and clear---and Isabelle Gueren's coaching appears to have guided this.  One interesting detail is she hesitated to believe Albrecht right when Hilarion presents the sword, not waiting until Albrecht fights him.  

She had a couple of minor difficulties in Act I Spessivtseva: the first pique en dedans/en dehors went awry with an improvised chasse exit, and the hops, sturdy and dutiful, were not consistently on the music nor sustained at the end.  Technically she took full advantage of the many jumps in Act II: beautiful entrechat quatre in the variation and a rare, creditable six in the adagio.  The initiation turns were fast if not blinding, and her diagonal of jete en tournant went clear to the wings.  Needless to say the adagio was her weakness: Giselle shouldn't be a pretzel, but a stiff back in arabesque is never ideal, nor is a hinged, barely realized penchee with leg not extending much beyond 90.  Dramatically she wasn't especially ghost or spirit like, but empathetic and human; her presence enduring to save Albrecht.  

Aran Bell is an excellent dancer, though, for me, has a fair ways to go before becoming the "perfect" romantic lead or danseur noble.  Inevitably expectations are high given his following since childhood and more so his obvious gifts for ballet.  At 6'3" with supposed disadvantages of gravity he has no trouble with cabrioles, tours, or pirouettes, and the 32 entrechat six could rival anyone at Paris Opera.  But this performance, thrilling at best, took on a similar trajectory as his Siegfried last year, dramatically and romantically inert at the start without much chemistry to Teuscher, developing gradually to an anguished, remorseful, and often poignant Act II.  There wasn't much sense of who his Albrecht was at the beginning or what motivates him to pursue Giselle, but fortunately for him, and thankfully for us, his character arc showed resolution at the end.  If not a complete performance, his Act II variation and coda couldn't be argued, by any standard, in what were by far the biggest moments to deliver.  His multiple pirouettes to attitude and dramatic pirouette-tour to the floor were anguished bravura at its best.

Chloe Misseldine at 21 has authority and presence beyond her years:  she seems straight out of an Elizabethan court.  The power of her stance, eyes, and simple outstretch of an arm give her a mystical elegance.  Her interpretation isn't especially detailed, yet, but already she shows just the tiniest sense of vulnerability in an otherwise cold, imperious aura, making you wonder of the Myrtha before her betrayal.  I had no problem with her bourrees; however, she suffered somewhat jittery penchees and jagged transitions of her epaulement, perhaps due to the fast tempo.  Her solo with the grand jetes was largely excellent with clean entrechat six and less clean six de voile.  The manege of saut de basque were like a gust of wind bursting around the stage.  Much as I was concerned for the age/experience gap of Teuscher and Misseldine, I had no reason to, and Misseldine had no problem commanding her wilis.  Already convinced she would have a major career based on her pas de trois last year, I found today's performance just as auspicious.

Jarod Curley as Hilarion made the most of his brief stage time with great projection for the MET and apparent strong technique.  SunMi Park had a slightly rocky start to the peasant pas (bobble on the opening diagonal of turns) but brushed it off completely for an otherwise serene performance.  Jose Sebastian was more invisible by comparison, but checked off two variations of good pirouettes, tours, and beats, if not the best line of arabesque or turn-out.  Remy Young and Ingrid Thomas were fine if perfunctory as Moyna and Zulma.  The corps, better coached than many past ABT ensembles, had minor issues of low arabesques and not matching arms in fifth (occasional crossing of wrists when not supposed to...) in an overall committed, disciplined effort.  For the unfortunate truncating of the MET season, it seems to have produced better coached performances of dancers top to bottom, evident today.

Also saw the final performance of LWFC on Saturday evening.  It was a packed house at least at orchestra level, and I spotted Wendy Whelan, Daniel Ulbricht, and Alastair Macaulay in attendance.

I did a bit of a 180 with this ballet mid-performance.  Much of Act I felt tedious, plodding, and void of real dancing even with the numerous scene shifts and storytelling going a mile a minute.  There's only so many times you want see someone roll over a table with legs in a V, or worse, perform ensemble choreography with chairs.  However, the very end of Act I, and the major parts of Act II/IIII proved a big payout:  this was inspired work, from the visuals and dramaturgy to the choreography.  Wheeldon really knows how to end an act, if not necessarily to begin one, and the final images for each were memorable.  The revolutionary scene was choreographically his best; the ensemble lit up the stage.  The final pas de deux was more effective on a scenic and musical level than perhaps a choreographic one, but the lasting image of Tita and Pedro rising in the flames drew gasps from all around the theatre.  It may have been kitsch, but I found it one of the most visually powerful ends to a ballet I've ever seen.

Don't have much to add about the comments about the first cast, but Cassandra Trenary and Catherine Hurlin were far and away the standouts.  Trenary immersed herself in what is a technically light, but emotional and physical marathon of a role who appears in practically every scene.  After this performance I wanted to see her Juliet or Giselle:  she ran the whole gamut of emotions and brought Tita to life.  Catherine Hurlin blew me away as Gertrudis, even if per Wheeldon's interpretation she is the thinnest dramatically of the three sisters (in the book, she is the oldest, but here she's interpreted as the middle and we don't see that she was the daughter of Elena's first lover).  She made something worthwhile of the "Roxy Hart" number in the first act, which without having seen other casts, I suspect many ballerinas couldn't.  Her dancing alongside Juan Alejandrez and the ensemble men was highly virtuosic and entertaining.  Herman Cornejo as Pedro was ardent and precise, but not employing some of the flexibility and expansiveness of the choreography at this stage in his career.  Hee Seo as Rosaura has one great scene before perishing in the third act; otherwise I found her forgettable, perhaps more the fault of the choreography.  Claire Davison held her own with a principal cast, but she wasn't genuinely terrifying or menacing at any of the point despite her imperious posture.  Carlos Gonzalez as Juan was good and capable, but this is a role that really needs a Cesar Corrales or Aran Bell to fully realize its power.  

Talbot's music was not something I would ever listen to on its own except maybe two scenes (revolutionary and last PDD).  It is atmospheric enough to create a sense of setting without overwhelming the ballet, and perhaps that was the point.  The soprano in the last PDD was very impactful.

Shevchenko has a busy week and a lot of frequent flyer miles ahead.  Between her scheduled performances of LWFC (June 28th mat, July 1st eve), she dances Giselle at Orange County with United Ukrainian Ballet on June 29th.

https://www.scfta.org/events/2023/united-ukrainian-ballet

Also posted my review of HB's Swan Lake with Sisk/O'Connell.  I had planned to see Lane, but had a conflict so was able to sell my ticket before she cancelled.  

Also saw Houston Ballet's production with the same cast as nysusan.  Welch's Swan Lake is indeed a shock to the system to those expecting a traditional production (ABT/McKenzie's is downright demure and logical in comparison).  I could maybe see it appealing to someone unfamiliar with the ballet: this version is not lacking in camp, scenic elements, quick changes, and Olympian dancing.  The Frederickson designs are somewhat minimalist with a Neptune blue, wavy scrim and tree drops in the lakeside scene, followed by a mosaic Ball set with long walk down staircase.  Inexplicably the last act features a dragon that never wakes up or does...anything....but at least Stanton restored the double suicide ending (the production originally had Siegfried attempting to shoot Rothbart, but missing and hitting Odette instead).  

The first act features the extended music for the Prince's entrance and Dance of the Goblets (without goblets, instead all the men carry crossbows), with NO waltz and no traditional pas de trois.  The huntsmen dominate the scene, though with Houston Ballet's excellent, top-down roster of men, this is one of Welch's more defensible choices.  The princesses are major characters each with solos before coming back in the Ball; Siegfried also has two sisters who appear in a duet and recur throughout the ballet.  The music of the traditional pas de trois variations is used (entirely rechoreographed) as well as much of the Ashton pas de quatre, including the Grigorovich/Bourmeister Black Swan assigned to the Hungarian Princess who performs fouettes before Odile. Despite the often lovely dancing from the princesses (Tyler Donatelli as Neapolitan, Alyssa Springer as Russian, Aoi Fujiwara as Hungarian, Jacquelyn Long as Spanish) the extended roles made their rejection entirely redundant by the Ball.

The music for Odette's maiden pas with Siegfried features the Nureyev moody solo and the Act I Finale Andante (not the Scene Moderato heard in McKenzie's).  This is a MacMillan style PDD where Siegfried and Odette make out onstage against flickering lights and Rothbart appearing in the background, destroying the magic of Odette's entrance and making the story less, not more, logical.  The staging sets the first lakeside scene in the day, so Odette is assumed to be in swan form throughout the pas de deux, variation, and coda.  Welch's slashing of mine would be the envy of the Soviets, but I suspect not his other interludes: the corps waltz repeating after the pas de deux, the laborious entrance of the White Swan solo where the audience is heard coughing for 45 seconds, or the black swans' appearance in the coda, performing the entrechats with Odette.  The spell is finally explained to Siegfried at the end of the act before Odette exits in nondescript fashion (well before the traditional music), quick changing into maiden Odile flanked by Rothbart, two Rothbarts-in-waiting, and the aforementioned evil black swans.

The Ball features a mostly normal structure with not well choreographed national dances for the four princesses and their entourage.  Odile makes a wild, feral entrance in maiden form before Siegfried chases her; she next appears in tutu for the pas de deux.  Black Swan has everyone exit the stage except Odile, Prince, and Rothbart, an effect that gets stranger as the pas goes on, but at least the choreography is kept intact.  There is no vision Odette; instead Odile has to quick change into maiden Odette, appearing in the palace in a forlorn state, with the Prince realizing his infidelity when Rothbart pulls off the veil of maiden Odile as a different ballerina.  The finale of the scene, with the circular design on top of the stairs opening up to a starry night backdrop, has Rothbart jump into the abyss. 

The final lakeside scene, after intermission, begins with maiden Odette commiserating with her fellow maidens in one of the better choreographed ensembles of the ballet, before each of the maidens runs frantically across the stage with another ballerina behind her as a transformed swan.  Siegfried does not search for Odette amidst the clusters of swans as that already happened before the Act II PDD.  The traditional music of the double suicide is given to Odette and Rothbart in two major lifts that cover the stage, the first an arabesque presage and the second a Manon style flip where she pushes off his shoulders to face the ceiling, before Rothbart lowers Odette to his chest, lifting her in arabesque all over again.  Odette and Prince finally jump into the lake on the next "big" music, before the Swans create the ending, symmetrical formation of vigorous flapping bourrees, staring the audience defiantly as the curtain closes.  

I share most of the plaudits of Beckanne Sisk who is competitive with several, and perhaps all, of ABT's current O/Os.  Her proportions are  an unusual mix of long, muscular limbs, a short neck, and high arched but wide feet. She was well coached and more dramatically subtle than expected, with a strong range between adagio and allegro.  Whatever their merit, the maiden scenes suited her, and she had Herculean stamina for Welch's version which demands the Mount Everest dual role on steroids.  Her tutu Odette, strongly danced, exposed a somewhat limited flexibility in her back and not the greatest detail of elbow and wrist. Odile was perhaps the better fit with vigorous forward momentum, turns, and balances all very much in her wheelhouse.  The solo showcased rock solid triples to single attitude and a shaky triple to start an otherwise strong set of single and double fouettes.  She was dramatically varied and engaging in both roles and brought something of herself to what is an extremely heavy handed, saturated production. 

Chase O'Connell as Prince has Paris Opera lines when you envision them stretched to a 6'5'' frame.  He has a beautiful enterchat six, well positioned quad pirouettes and elegant posture, and there was some dramatic commitment in the first act.  Unfortunately his Black Swan solo and coda were marred by double tour that were cheated on preparation and landing, but less forgivable was his lack of projection or command of space.  For such a tall dancer, he gave no sense of making the stage look smaller than it is; the jetes did not soar, appearing earthbound.  One can't fault his security of partnering, but his solo work was without volume, giving a muted and streamlined, if elegant, rendition of the role.

Houston Ballet has consistently had a strong roster of men and women right down to the apprentices.  The opening male ensemble made a strong case that men can do corps de ballet, and well, no matter how difficult the sequences (an ensemble series of double-double tours!).  Simone Acri was a particular highlight with a master class of technique.  The swan corps were coached in a somewhat abrupt, staccato style, the usual diet for Stanton ballets, but their commitment, clarity, and cohesion as an ensemble were admirable.  Of the princesses, Tyler Donatelli was the standout and ideally suited to Neapolitan with a true entrechat six, everlasting turns, and a buoyant, spunky disposition.  

Wonder if Jaffe would consider presenting the Possokhov Anna Karenina that premiered at the Joffrey Ballet in 2019.  Their 2023 revival was the company's record grossing production outside of Nutcracker, despite swaths of protestors outside the Lyric Opera House before the first several performances (I attended two).  The production is projection and lighting heavy with lots of moving scenery but few big set pieces, perhaps not unlike LWFC.  Much of the choreography is difficult, particularly for the men.

If Corsaire and Bayadere are out of the rep, there need to be alternatives if ABT is really the "company of the story ballet."  It doesn't seem like Jane Eyre or Of Love and Rage got the reaction or attendance they wanted, and we'll know soon if that's the case for Like Water for Chocolate.

Sarah has withdrawn from her performance of Swan Lake with Houston Ballet.  In the comments she states that she is not injured, but she mentions "prioritizing health" and that "circumstances have shouted loud enough for me to hear and I will not perform."  Soo Youn Cho replaces her.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtmMmdYOepi/?hl=en

I agree that Misseldine is in the right place at the right time and it's good not to see her languish in the corps, but I can't help but think how much she would have benefitted in a 8-week MET season.  She'll be featured this summer in Like Water for Chocolate and presumably will dance Myrtha, but R&J and Swan Lake she'll be doing the same rep as last year and that alone is half the season.  

There's a host of supporting roles she could dance:  Lilac, Gamzatti, Season or Godmother Fairy (Cinderella), Olga (Onegin), Gulnare, Queen of the Dryads, on and on.  Le Corsaire is probably never going to come back but Jaffe mentioned wanting to "save" Bayadere. 

ABT has not updated its casting for Myrtha, but Devon Teuscher confirms she will be dancing the role on the Saturday, July 8th evening show (Murphy/Forster).

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr58eRku95z/?hl=en