Josette

Regarding the quote above: does that mean "the Russians" don't find the prevalent, extremely high extensions in The Sleeping Beauty vulgar - not to mention all the splayed-leg lifts found in Grigorovich's pas de deux? Someone help me out here. I wonder who the source is of Jann Party's comment. (I also thought that professional reviews were not to be alluded to or quoted in this forum.)

I like, as a whole, the sets, costumes, and music for Hummingbird, but I obviously was won over by certain dancers' presence and expressiveness last year perhaps more than the choreography, as I alluded to in my comments yesterday. Though I'm not really complaining, its third section was meaningless with the cast I saw this year, in contrast to last season's fascinating Simone Messmer and dynamic Jaime Castilla Garcia - they are each so unique - and I do think that there is choreography overkill in the third section. I also agree with Quiggin's comment about Kochetkova's over-extensions, which I found jarring and out of place in Dances at a Gathering, distracting from the mood of the piece. The Karapetyan step that caused gasps from the audience was a double tour landing in fifth position and flowing downward into a perfectly controlled, plush grand plié.

That's Merle Park at 2:10 in the first clip.

Gorak used both hands to partner Boylston after she pulled into the pirouette, which looked clumsy and should have been unnecessary. He had to change the direction of his body to handle the turn, and she looked manhandled. This is one of the reasons I went online to watch how Fonteyn and Michael Somes, and Fonteyn and David Blair executed it (with just the left arm and without any fuss, without any reverberation after hitting the fish position, and with a beautiful smile from Fonteyn - sigh). I assume that Gomes did it correctly with the one arm because it didn't strike me on opening night with Vishneva. Cory Stearns did not actually turn Hee Seo with both hands like Gorak, but he did use both hands to get her into the fish position, and then wasn't able to pull her up into a defined or really any position en pointe before the preparation to execute another turn diving into the fish. Hammoudi not only used just the left arm, as it should be, but he effortlessly pulled her up out of the fish into a clean, balanced passé position en pointe before she prepared for the next fish dive. It was perfect.

Thanks, Quiggin, for your comments. I also enjoyed this program, which I saw on February 27, 2015. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of Sofiane Sylve and Vanessa Zahorian on stage in van Manen's Variations for Two Couples, as they are both technical monsters, but Sylve was majestic and Zahorian delicate but still strong. Then came The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, which I've only seen online. For me, of the three women, only Julia Rowe had the freedom of movement in the torso, shoulders, head, and neck, plus a throw-it-all-away-ness. The ballet itself is a delight. Manifesto was danced with conviction by all its cast. Myles Thatcher did commendable work, no doubt learned a lot, and the dancers were brilliant. Then came La Bayadere - Kingdom of the Shades. The corps de ballet were pretty solid and unified in the opening passage of arabesques through to their first exit from the stage. In some of the allegro passages, the corps was not always together as to where their bodies were facing, which comes from their not being from the same school. Vitor Luiz was an excellent Solor. I was bowled over by Frances Chung in the lead. She was pulled up out of her torso which gave her classical-ballerina carriage and danced with a solemnity and majesty (and perfection) that I had not seen from her before. She was breathtaking. It has been amazing seeing her constant growth as an artist over the years.

I went to the opening night performance of Dances at a Gathering, which I hadn't seen in several years, and Hummingbird, which I saw last season with a different cast. I thought that the dancers all did a beautiful job individually and collectively in Dancers at a Gathering. My particular stand-outs were Davit Karapetyan, for his smooth, full dancing; Vanessa Zahorian for her effortless grace and variety of moods so naturally expressed; Dores Andre for her energy and happiness; and Lorena Feijoo for her wit, musicality, and expressiveness. Davit Karapetyan's solo brought gasps from the audience. A special mention also to Steven Morse, who is in the corps de ballet, for matching the other dancers who were all either principal or soloists. The cast as a whole had a camaraderie and personal, lilting communication among themselves that was a delight. The staging and coaching were truly done well. Then came Hummingbird, which I loved last season, but, due to expectations and memory, I could not adjust myself to the change of dancers, with the exception of Gennadi Nedvigin and Frances Chung in the first section - last season I saw Sarah Van Patten and Pascal Molat. Nedvigin and Chung danced with abandonment and control; they were flawless and dynamic. In the middle section, I was so enthralled last season with Lorena Feijoo's depth and humanity, aside from her beautiful dancing, but, this time, I found myself watching the partnering mechanics of the pas de deux with Yuan Yuan Tan and Luke Ingham, which they executed extremely well, of course. Consequently, it became a changed ballet for me. In the final section, last season I was fortunate to have seen the much-missed Simone Messmer . . . and that pretty much says it. The ensemble as a whole danced with commitment.

And Marcello Gomes was fantastic as Carabosse - a fully committed performance. He stole the show when on stage, as had Salstein.

And the fish dives in Act III had Hammoudi using just his left arm going around Murphy after she pulled in for the double pirouette.

ksk asked for the fairies' names, so here they are for the March 7 matinée with Boylston/Gorak: Candide - Melanie Hamrick Fleur de farine - Stephanie Williams Miettes qui tombent - Gemma Bond Canari qui chante - Cassandra Trenary Violente - April Giangeruso Lilac Fairy - Devon Teuscher Diamond - Christine Shevchenko Gold - Brittany Degrofft Silver - Lauren Post Sapphire - Paulina Waski Luciana Paris danced the Fleur de farine fairy on Sunday evening. Zhong-Jing Fang danced Canari and Skyler Brandt the Diamond Fairy in the Sunday matinée. The Sunday matinée had a really wonderful, ardent Prince in Cory Stearns. The last tableau that ends Act II had him on bended knee looking up with love and devotion to Aurora Hee Seo, and his variation was perfectly executed. Stearns looked and danced as you would expect from an accomplished principal dancer of a major company. I enjoyed Hee Seo in the role, due to her pristine execution, classical line, and her lyricism. She left out one of the suitors in the first set of balances in the Rose Adagio. For me, she was most successful in the first and third acts, but she was lovely throughout. In Act III, Skyler Brandt danced a clean, light Diamond Fairy variation. Christine Schevchenko danced with warmth the Lilac Fairy variation without any changes made to it, she accomplished pulling in from a battement fouetté ending in arabesque into a double en dedans pirouette and then tombé-ing into an attitude fendu - which is what all the fuss is about in the variation, particularly as the dancer has to do this twice. I went on line after the Boylston show and watched two made-for-TV filmings of The Sleeping Beauty with Margot Fonteyn and found Beryl Grey dancing the Lilac Fairy variation in 1955 with the battement fouetté pulling into a pirouette done perfectly and expansively - that was 60 years ago. The Sunday evening had Gillian Murphy and Alexandre Hammoudi both giving generous performances. Gillian Murphy sailed through the technical aspects, was at ease throughout, and accentuated the different aspects of Aurora dramatically in each act. It was a solid and radiant performance. Hammoudi's Prince Désiré initially had a royal hauteur in the Hunt Scene, which turned into a burning flame for Aurora in the Vision Scene. His solo was perfectly clean, musical, and he was in command and appeared truly happy. He looked like a principal dancer. After the pas de deux, the two of them at the outset of their bows had a emotional moment of being nearly overcome with joy. It was a beautiful performance. Stella Abrera danced the Lilac Fairy, and was elegant and acted with a greater range of expression than the other Lilac Fairies, though all were excellent.

And yes, it's late and I meant "unprofessional" and not "unprofessionable," plus some other "fautes de frappe" in my post above.

I was also at the Friday night Herrera performance and found her lacking in any investment of thought and heart. It was an empty performance with no characterization discernable from my second-row orchestra seat. There was no story told, there was no Aurora. What a disappointment. Her dancing was without strain but there was no phrasing. By the time we got to Act III After two acts with a lackluster leading ballerina, it made Cassandra Trenary's vibrancy an utter joy in the Bluebird pas de deux - and what a relief that was as she displayed all the qualities you'd expect in an Act I Aurora: warmth, charm, effervescence. Hopefully Herrera will be more emotionally committed at her ABT farewell performance in New York. I agree with ksk about Nedak in this role and the lack of chemistry between the two leads - really, it is unforgivable, sloppy, and unprofessionable on the part of ABT management to let this occur. The Bluebird solo is the shorter version musically. Victor Barbee obviously worked on manipulating his King's royal robe in the Prologue, for which I appreciated his professionalism. From her entrance on, Veronika Part was in luxurious, unrushed command as the Lilac Fairy. As ksk wrote, the last third of her variation was completely simplified into a series on alternating sides of pique (sorry I can't get the accent over the e on my IPad) en attitude ouvert derrière, coupe, jete en avant, which she danced with great beauty. Then I saw the Isabella Boylston/Joseph Gorak performance, which was the Saturday matinee. Boylston made her entrance with energy and a smile. I had such a sense of total emotional support for her from four suitors before the Rose Adagio began. She performed the Rose Adagio credibly, but, right before stepping onto pointe for the final set of promenades en attitude followed by the balances, her face tensed, and after the final balance, her face registered clear relief. Her Act I was her best act. She had no lyricism or mystery or beauty needed in the Vision scene that would make her fascinating such that the Prince would seek her. And then, we had a repeat of what happened in the previous show: Princess Florine exemplified the qualities you expect from Aurora, except, in this case, it was the exquisite and graceful Stella Abrera. Boylston has faulty port de bras, in particular, fussy hands, that marred her dancing in this most classical of ballets. Joseph Gorak had princely restraint and danced an excellent solo. He had to use both hands to literally grab Boylson and turn her for the fish dives, which was a distraction. Melanie Hamrick was a lovely Candide. Devon Teuscher was the Lilac Fairy and danced the difficult version of the solo which Part attempted opening night. Teuscher was exquisite in the second act. I absolutely loved Courtney Lavine who performed as Cinderella with Calvin Royal as Prince Fortune. She told an entire story with such engaging vulnerability and loveliness. Roman Zhubin is magnetic on stage and created a real person of the King. His Queen, Karen Uphoff was a beauty, and there was a loving communication between them. Cassandra Trenary's made her mark on the audience as Canary. Craig Salstein was a terrific Carabosse- his mime was both big and subtle. Tomorrow I see See/Stearns and then Murphy/Hammoudi.

FYI to naomikage: I saw Manuel Legris dance Solor twice in La Bayadere in May of 2001, when he was 36 1/2. He was wonderful.

I have a distinct memory of reading an article, likely in Dance Magazine several decades ago when the magazine spotlighted The Sleeping Beauty (a Fonteyn headshot in profile was on the cover), and it stated that Tchaikovsky had Natalya Rostova from War in Peace in mind when writing the music for Aurora. Natalya Rostova was an impulsive, romantic, high-strung young girl at the outset of the novel and arguably could be called "giddy" if a pejorative term were substituted for "impulsive." I saw Vishneva dance the role twice in the early 2000's with the Mariinski, and she was, memorably, the epitome of joy in the first act. I respect Vishneva's re-thinking her characterization and not presenting a well-behaved, docile, shy princess with lowered eyelids. Aurora could conceivably be excited and, yes, even giddy to be the center of attention of four handsome princes who are vying for her hand, and, at age 16, she could well be a bit of a coquette - like her charming mother is in this production. It is always a relief to see a characterization and not a dancing doll. I do hope that each of the other four Auroras this week will be uniquely true and alive in characterization. I regret that Sarah Lane is not dancing it here. It's so interesting reading all the comments posted here and I'm looking forward to the reports from all of you when the production is in New York.

Thanks for the correction as to the lovely Ms. Trenary's first name.

That quote from Ratmansky is heartening. I wonder what Ms. Murphy, a splendid ballerina, means by "modern use of . . . port de bras," as it's uncommon to see beautiful, expressive port de bras.

I've been thinking the exact same thing.

The pre-performance speaker is Elizabeth Kaye, who has a monopoly on ABT pre-performance lectures in Southern California. I didn't attend.

There was no curtain speech before or after the show, thank God.

I stayed for all the bows, and McKenzie did not take a bow. I could also hear the stage manager yelling the calls to the dancers during the bows, which was amusing.

I'll have better comments about choreographic differences when I've seen it a few more times.

I saw the premiere last night, and it went very well. The sets and costumes are beautiful, harmonious, and opulent. There are a lot of wigs. Choreographically, as ksk04 reported, the chainés were all done on a low demi-pointe, except in Aurora's last act variation. I think the only men who did a pirouette were Simkin as Bluebird and Marcelo in his last act variation. All pirouettes were mid-calf that I recall, except for an accidental blooper. The Prince has only the Act III variation, and it is a deceptively killer variation - there's no walking to a corner to prepare for coupé-jetés. The diagonal in the Bluebird-Princess Florine pas de deux with brisé volée with a relevé to arabesque, chassé and pas de chat had the arabesque on demi-pointe by Princess Florine. I don't think the men of the company had much dancing except for the fairies' cavaliers in the Prologue, Bluebird, and the Prince. The corps de ballet did beautifully in the Prologue and Vision scene. When the women stand on one leg, which these days is called "B Plus," here, the foot on the non-standing leg is not fully stretched but is softy broken on demi-pointe. Everything is stylistically softer than what has developed in ballet over the last decades, and it was fascinating to take it in. The port de bras is soft, no exaggerated lines, it was more romantic in feel than what we tend to consider classical ballet, at least these days. There were no penché arabesques, no high extensions, no split jetés - it was wonderful to see dancers attempt to dance with quality, grace, charm, gentleness. In the Vision Scene, Aurora's variation is to the music danced by the Lilac Fairy in the Russian versions or what Nureyev used as the Prince's solo in the Vision Scene in his production. The pirouettes are not for counting, as Vishneva did only single pirouettes for the first two unsupported pirouettes in her Act I solo. The Rose Adagio, which she floated through, ended with an unsupported double pirouette from Aurora. Visneva, whom I've seen dance Aurora with the Mariinski, was superb. Her Act I Aurora was an effervescent, high-spirited, spontaneous young girl. Her Vision Scene was gorgeous, romantic, beautiful arms, musical, expressive, sublime. Her Act III Aurora was gracious, radiant, beaming, generous. I loved her in the role. Marcelo Gomez was completely at ease and a pillar, and he and Vishneva were a joyous couple. I don't know if I've seen Christine Trenary before, but she was a beautiful and charming Princess Florine. I did not like the Lilac Fairy's long costume, I'm sorry to say that with the wig, huge feather headdress, lilac tights, shoes, and gloves, the majestic Veronika Part looked like she was dressed for the Golden Horseshoe Saloon at Disneyland, which is not located far from Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts. I also did not feel Aurora's Act I costume was effective; her friends' dresses were prettier. As for the Prologue variations, I particularly liked Stella Abrera's attack and presentation as Violente (Golden Vine in some versions) and Sarah Lane's soulfulness as the Breadcrumb Fairy. Ms. Part projected nervousness in her solo and made it look difficult (not that it's not) and had had difficulty with the last pirouette; the variation for the Lilac Fairy is similar to the Royal Ballet version; she was relaxed and generous after she got through the solo. They need to do something about the King's royal robe in the Prologue, as is was often lying in an untidy heap in front of him, behind him, beside him . . . . I loved Tatiana Ratmansky as the Queen, she had a delightful coquettish air and affection for her husband. I found myself watching Roman Zhurban as the Indian Prince in Act I, he was truly entertaining! Leann Underwood was quite vulnerable and expressive in movement and her acting as the Countess - she handled the costume so well and moved so effortlessly, it made me want to see her in a true dancing role. Gemma Bond was lovely as Cinderella, and I wished she had danced one of the Prologue fairies. I did not care for Isabella Boylston as the Diamond Fairy, her hands were spikey and stiff and seemed to have an animation that had nothing to do with the choreography. (I am seeing her Aurora on Saturday with Joseph Gorak.) My hat is most off to the glorious Diana Vishneva. Twice at the beginning of Act III, her little pages either stepped on her long gossamer cape or her dress, so that she could not walk forward. And both times, when she had to position herself and her long costume downstage right while the fairy tale characters came on, and she turned and gave the most beautiful, loving smile to her little pages and then she greeted each fairy tale character with grace and brilliant warmth. What a ballerina she is.

The posted casting for programs 3 and 4 seems to change daily. It appears that soloist Sasha DeSola is injured or indisposed as her name is no longer listed, though she was originally listed in the first-night casts for The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, the new Myles Thatcher work, and Dances at a Gathering, as well as cast as a solo Shades (and dancing two different variations) in La Bayadere Kingdom of the Shades. Hope she is back on stage soon.

Can anyone tell me when single tickets are available for online purchase for the spring-summer Met season? I want to see Marianela Nunez in Ashton's Cinderella. Thanks!

I'm seeing all five casts next week in O.C.

I checked SFB's website and the casting has changed for Friday, Feb. 27, with, for example, Frances Chung in La Bayadere and Vanessa Zahorian in The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, which I will be seeing. The casting is also up for Thursday's Dancing at a Gathering and Hummingbird.