nanushka

Vishneva is still listed on the ABT app.

Not on the ABT website calendar. It's Seo.

I am kicking myself for choosing to go tonight over last night. I am so upset!

Wow, that is horrible. In the last set of balances, she never takes the last suitor's hand! Haha!

She doesn't take the last *two* suitor's hands! There are only two promenades! And that first balance, while long, ends up almost crashing.

Well, I'm not sure in this run since I didn't see it, but there were several occasions when I was on balance that my partner let me start the port de bras backward with no support and catch me at the bottom of it. It was a lot of fun to do and got a lot of response from the audience which was kind of funny to us as it wasn't all that risky. In retrospect, it probably looked mighty impressive. All I remember thinking is at least I don't have to come back up

Like in the Cinderella variation cambre back! I always had a a

Partner catch me. Maybe the do employ her leaning into him, but I would bet money at least one or two of the dancers did that themselves.

Yes, I sat in two different spots in the theatre (orchestra balance, with a pretty good view into the space between the two dancers, and front of dress circle), and from where I was it did not look like either Sarah or Gillian could have been leaning into their partners. I'm less sure for Isabella. It was a slow, steady backbend that was especially impressive from Sarah, as her partner seemed to let her just hang there for seconds before holding her.

Here's a good example of where the fetish for balances takes over and destroys the overall integrity of the dance. Awful!

(Sorry, I don't know how to embed videos right on this page. If anyone can offer tips, I'd appreciate it!)

Any thoughts on what this may mean for the future of ABT?

Well, one thing Wendy Perron is certainly right about: I go to Romeo and Juliet because of the relevance of its "violence between warring factions," and I go to Giselle because it teaches me valuable lessons about how "class differences can forbid one from marrying for love" and about how "recognizing your mistakes can change your life."

Good grief!

The production as a whole is at once being faulted (as was the Mariinsky reconstruction) for being too pedantic and not pedantic enough...If a time machine could take me to the premier (sitting next to Bakst please-who was there), then I would go--but of course I don't expect ANY reconstruction to look exactly as the original did in every detail.

Intentions? The production has clear intentions in honoring certain aesthetic qualities that bring us closer in spirit to the essentials of what makes Petipa Petipa....It has to be an interpretation (eg where the notations are lacking and for that matter where dance historians and artists may disagree) and at least to some degree an adaptation.

It would be absurd (for example) to expect dancers to try to dance in completely unfamiliar pointe shoes, a recipe for injury probably. But does that make it absurd to ask them to hold their bodies differently or perform a lift from the original notation? Everyone will draw the line differently...but I don't think so.

Very well put. No reconstruction can possibly be an exact replication -- for so many reasons, many of which have been mentioned in previous posts. But that doesn't mean that the aim of reconstruction is futile or valueless. In fact, the many forces (temporal, physical, aesthetic, etc. etc.) that make replication impossible make reconstruction all the more valuable as a check against complete loss of an historical legacy. No one production has to be all things for all viewers. This is one production among many in the world, and it has a role to play among that multi-textured variety of interpretations.

This Kajiya/Simkin Don Quixote was recorded at ABT's Japan tour several years ago. Simkin is hugely popular here and this was first broadcasted on TV. I haven't bought the DVD but went to the actual performance and also saw the broadcast. It was fairly a good one with Veronika Part as Mercedes and Cory Stearns as Espada although Simkin showed his partnering weakness. (I know now he has improved since then) The filming quality is good I think judging from the broadcast, as it was produced by NHK public broadcaster which is used to film Ballet.

I am not sure why it is not available in US but solmeretailers like HMV will ship it to US. Although it is NTSC region 1 format which is not compatible with US players you can still watch on your computer or otherwise with a multi region compatible DVD player.

Also there is a documentary DVD on Simkin available only in Japan.

Thanks for the info! Sounds like it'd be worth getting a copy. I'll check it out. Would love, among other things, to have more video of Veronika Part's dancing, which is all too rare.

Copeland and Gorak seemed tentative in their partnering, and Misty needs to develop more depth in her characterization of Juliet; she seems to rely on a few stock facial expressions. Joseph was very convincing as Romeo.

This is going to be a big challenge for Misty going forward. She always seems to rely on that one rather extreme smile. (Reminds me of Sarah Lane -- though her smile was rather different -- back when she first did Aurora.)

Misty could also use some professional consultation on her makeup application. I recall some orange lips and other atrocities in the past.

Has anyone seen this? I just discovered it on Amazon. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be available in U.S.-compatible format. Why/when was this made, and why isn't it available for U.S. buyers? Has ABT been making films abroad that we don't know about?!

The origin of the Désiré variation in the K.M. Sergeyev and Grigorovich versions is somewhat unclear, but I have seen it attributed to K.M. Sergeyev. The notated variation, reconstructed by Ratmansky, is very different, quite a bit more technically challenging for contemporary dancers, and, to my taste, vastly superior.

The music is also much more filled with movement in the Ratmansky version, which I really appreciate. I've always disliked the traditional Désiré variation because there's so much standing/walking around getting reading to do something. Yes, there are more obviously bravura elements in the traditional version (though I suspect that Ratmansky's is in fact rather more difficult), but it doesn't really look as much like dancing.

I believe the rights and royalty negotiations are mammoth in such undertakings given so, so many creative participants ... which is why there has been such a wide gap in ABT releases ... and indeed why there was such a paucity with ABT video releases even during their own glory days at the end of the so-called dance boom. Had it not been for the PBS' supported 'Dance in America' series I think there would have been even less than that smattering we have to cherish now. I briefly worked for the woman responsible for contracts at ABT during the preparation for the 'American Ballet Theatre at the Met' video and I well recall how close it came to that not being done at all. Time I believe has made the negotiations even more cumbersome and the bottom of that particular commercial market has now well and truly evaporated.

It's really sad that there's no recognition on all of those creative participants' parts that getting the product out in front of a wider public can pay back in spades when it comes to increased visibility, popularity, ticket sales, and a higher profile for the art in our culture. Ballet (like opera, classical music, etc.) can't survive if it's kept behind closed doors, and this is increasingly the case in our contemporary technology-focused culture. There may well be no ABT to pay these people's checks before long.

I sincerely doubt it. I'm sure it comes down to money and a lack thereof.

I can't imagine David Koch wouldn't love the opportunity to get his name out there to all of America as a supporter of the arts by funding telecasts on PBS and subsequent DVD releases. He's put up the money for ABT productions, wouldn't this be an obvious opportunity for him as well? A way to reach a LOT more people, for one thing.

I'm happy to have ABT dance with the devil if it means there's some record of this company's performances!

This is a forlorn hope but I vote for the Antony Tudor Romeo&Juliet. It may already be too late. It has been 38 years since it was last performed and some of the cast members from the 70s (Fernando Bujones, Ivan Nagy) who could have helped with a reconstruction are now lost to us. But Carla Fracci, Natalia Makharova and John Prinz are still with us so I still hold out hope (however diminishing).

It's a great shame this hasn't been done sooner. Like the company's failure to record any of the past decade plus's best performances (so many fine dancers with next to nothing on video available to the public), this demonstrates a real neglect of the legacy.

And a season that's finally free of the floopity-flopity Julie-Kent-vehicle drivel (i.e. Othello, Lady of the Camellias, Onegin, Merry Widow, etc.)!

A complete, new production of Raymonda, staged by Kolpakova (assuming that Ratmansky won't want to do another full-length quite so soon), and featuring the Raymondas of Veronika Part, Gillian Murphy, and Isabella Boylston.

Thanks so much for these quotes, Ilya! I've ordered myself a copy of Wiley's book (cheapest I could find was $40!) and look forward to reading it.

Loved Trenary and Simkin. I wish Simkin would walk to his position at the corner of the stage a bit faster, though, after the initial portion of the pdd. He walks so slowly to his spot. Is this for effect or to catch his breath.

I noticed this with Blaine Hoven as well, twice, and I suspect it's to catch the breath, though it could be a (misguided) attempt at some effect. I've seen it on videos of some Bluebird PDDs as well, so I wonder if the first movement of this particular PDD is particularly tiring for the male dancer, compared to some others? I did notice yesterday afternoon that Zhiyao Zhang wasted no time in getting back to position and began his variation almost immediately after Sarah Lane had cleared the stage. I liked that much better.

How's this for a pedantic answer? It sounds like she's signifying Aurora will have white arms, which has both general and specific meanings in Greco-Roman mythology. The general significance is just that Aurora will be wealthy, as opposed to a poor woman who would have tanned arms from working in the fields. (And, like today, signifiers of leisured wealth were also signifiers of beauty...except that the description "tanned with poker-straight blonde hair" has the exact opposite connotation for us today.) The more specific meaning might be that she'll have a queenly or goddess-like status: Hera, the queen of the gods is often called "the goddess of the white arms."

(By the way, thanks for the great review!)

Ahhh....thanks so much for the info! That makes a lot of sense, but is rather obscure for modern audiences. A little miming dictionary in the program might help! It's too bad, also, that the article on the reconstruction that was in May's playbill wasn't reprinted in this month's, as many more people actually saw the production this week than in its initial two-day run, and I'm sure there were many who hadn't read up on what they were seeing.

ITA. I fear it will go the way of Ratmansky's Nutcracker. It is much too long, with many boring stretches. Completely unbalanced roles for Aurora and Desire, and even if Petipa did it that way, does that mean that a full reconstruction is always the way to go? If you're going to go back to the 19th century original, you still have to bear in mind that the audience is 21st century, not 19th. It is quaint and new this season, but further down the road I think the audiences will thin out. Unlike Swan Lake, for example, which is a highlight year after year, no matter how terrible the production.

Think of all the money that went into this production and could have been spent instead on coaching and developing the many talented dancers who begin their careers at ABT and then have to leave because of neglect.

I actually have quite the opposite view. I think this production demonstrates an unusual commitment to company coaching and training that must have been given in order to achieve the degree of company unity that has been on display during this production's run. This strikes me as a good sign for the company, and if it takes an unusual production such as this to instill a sense of the need for company coaching, then all the better. Perhaps ABT has been complacent for too long, dancing ballets that they think they can manage with little corps unity, and perhaps this production is posing a challenge that will force the dancers to rise to the levels of achievement that it requires.

Speaking from someone who has danced this ballet many times (it was a bit of signature for me and my husband) lifting the arms above the head is actually extremely difficult. It's not the final position that's hard, but the transition from first to third (Russian training, it would be 5th most everywhere else) When the arms are traveling, suddenly there is a lot more weight in front of the body, so you have to compensate, then return to the original position to balance in. Being on pointe is so different to standing flat. You can even see this when student are at a balance at the barre then told to lift their arms up. Even in soft shoes, dancers struggle. When you and hyperextended knees and big insteps, it complicates it even more. Yes mentally you have to be focused, but in that very simple movement lies a minefield. Another thing to take o to consideration, is that she is dancing with 4 different partners, all of which partner differently. When you see a dancer dancing with a new partner, adjustments are made to suit both dancers. Not so for Rose Adagio. The ballerina has to make adjustments for every partner she has. That alone can be beyond nerve wracking. I could balance all day in a secure position. But changing arms or head changes the weight, which changes where your center is. I hope that makes sense.

Thanks so much for these insights, Fraildove! I was dubious about the comparison of on-pointe balances to tree pose. What a difference between a few toes and a whole footsole!

If you've seen the new ABT Sleeping Beauty, do you have any insights on the balance on pointe with a backbend that Aurora does in the adagio of the Grand PDD? People were suggesting on the ABT forum that she's being supported by leaning in to her partner's chest during this, but that really doesn't fit with what I've seen from several different spots in the theatre. It looks to me like she really is going into a backbend while balancing on her own. This was really impressive when Sarah Lane did it in May; less so (though still impressive) from Isabella Boylston and Gillian Murphy this week -- as soon as they finished bending back, their partners began supporting them, whereas I feel like Sarah held the pose a few seconds before getting support. It was quite astonishing. Though perhaps they were all three the same and I was just particularly impressed by seeing it for the first time. But people did gasp and break into applause there for Sarah, whereas they did not for Isabella and Gillian.

Today was probably the most all-around satisfying of the three performances of Sleeping Beauty that I saw this season. (Previous were Lane/Cornejo in May and Boylston/Gorak on Wednesday night.)

As suggested above, Gillian's performance was both beautiful and agile. I saw none of the sluggishness or weightiness that's previously been reported about her performance in this role. The Rose Adagio was excellent -- confident, with lots of lovely little touches on the acting front. One thing I noticed that Gillian did which I don't think the other two Auroras had done: when she gets each of the first set of roses, I've generally seen Auroras shift their right foot from in front of the leg to behind. I've always loved this little detail (which is echoed in, I think, the Vision Scene), but I missed it from Sarah and Isabella.

Joo Won Ahn has been a real standout among the Fairy Cavaliers in all three of the performances I've seen, with swift legwork and nice elevation.

I continue to miss what the big fuss is about regarding the Fairy Violente's variation. To me it seems perfectly in keeping with the character of these variations collectively.

Question: what is the meaning of the mime gesture performed by the Fairy Candide during her variation, where she looks like she's sliding long gloves off her arms, from her elbows down to her wrists? Carabosse mocks her for this and it's later repeated by the Lilac Fairy just before the Vision Scene, when she's describing Aurora to the Prince.

Keith Roberts was very good as Catalabutte, but I really don't like Clinton Luckett's performance of the tutor in Act II. During the blind-man's-buff he doesn't seem to understand that his goal is to tag those who are swatting at him. Craig Salstein was much better at this on Wednesday night. Salstein's Carabosse today was also quite lively; nearly as good as Marcelo and much better than Nancy Raffa, who made much less of the character and extensive mime. I love watching Carabosse and her rats and her little monkey boys (or whatever they are) dancing around!

I agree that Stella's Lilac variation was quite good, but it was also a bit simplified; the tricky footwork that Devon Teuscher did quite well in May (though apparently not so well the other night) was missing. But it was still the harder of the two versions of the variation -- not the one that Veronika did on Wednesday (which actually included more mime bits -- gestures toward the crib and such).

While their costumes do seem a bit out of place, I do love how the Violin Pages in Act I look with their red tights and impressive leg work. Those girls are impressive!

I sat in Dress Circle today, after sitting in Orchestra Balance for the other two performances. What a difference this made for the Garland Waltz! It still looked a bit crowded, but not nearly as bad. I love the colorful garlands used in this production; so many companies use rather drab looking garlands that don't at all capture the spirit of a dance with flowers as the visual focus.

(Sorry this review is kind of all over the place -- I realize I'm not really going completely in order! Just looking at my program and noting whatever catches my eye and triggers my memory.)

Isabella Boylston was very good as the Diamond Fairy. Lauren Post stood out among the other three, with lovely attitudes and crisp legwork.

Sarah Lane's Florine was a bit disappointing. I was very much looking forward to this, but Stella did a much better job in the other two performances I saw. There were two odd flubs in the adagio: one supported pirouette early on seemed to get stuck before completion, and Sarah just held an odd pose for the rest of the phrase. (Quite possibly the fault of Zhiyao Zhang, her Bluebird.) And then when she went down on one knee at the end, right after the lift, she had to hold herself up awkwardly with one arm on the floor.

Zhang was a very good Bluebird, but I liked Blaine Hoven's performances better. Zhang has a nice look for the part -- slimmer legs, for one thing. But Hoven had greater elevation and (despite his "thicker" look) swifter footwork, I think.

The Grand PDD was exceptional all around, to my eye. James Whiteside was an excellent Prince Désiré throughout the afternoon, and then his dancing in the variation was quite striking. Much swifter and lighter than Gorak's, whose performance really slowed down in the last portion. (I'm generally a big fan of Gorak's dancing, and I liked his overall interpretation of the role, but the Grand PDD was disappointing on Wednesday night, from both him and Isabella, who had danced a wonderful first two acts.)

The fish dives were also much better here than on Wednesday, though I do wish Gillian would get her bottom leg up into position more quickly. She ended up almost upside down, which was a bit different from what I've seen before. They held on to the last one an extra long time.

Gillian's variation was lovely, with again a lot of nice acting touches; her artistry has really grown in recent years, and her dancing has become softer and more all-around engaging and joyful. Her Vision Scene variation was equally lovely, though I have to say I really prefer the other version of this -- chor. by Sergeyev, I believe, though to the music Tchaikovsky originally intended for the variation. The music Petipa ended up using, for the version Ratmansky reproduces here, sounds quite out of place, to me -- with orchestral accompaniment like a wheezing barrel organ. Tchaikovsky's original music is much more in keeping with the mood of the scene and the image of an ethereal vision of beauty.

Seeing this production from up above today, at the front of Dress Circle, was quite a delight. It's really beautiful -- with some odd touches, to be sure, but those seem to just add to the overwhelming texture and spectacle of the whole. Much nicer than when everything looks overly coordinated, with everyone wearing coordinating colors as they never would in life. I particularly liked seeing the fairies and their cavaliers in the Prologue; while the fairies' costumes and the cavaliers' costumes can seem odd when they're together as separate groups, when they get paired up (fairy to cavalier) and all 12 are onstage together they suddenly make so much sense.

Very much looking forward to seeing more of this production next year, when it will hopefully return (as new productions of the full-lengths generally seem to, in their second seasons).

Kochetkova (who can't be more than 5')

Seriously? Is this an exaggeration?

I in fact attended a rehearsal in which Giangeruso delivered the exact Petipa notes as told to her by Ratmansky. It really was an amazing thing to watch, seeing a dancer adapt so amazingly to a different style of dancing. The deep bends in elbows, triple chainee turns in 2 counts, lightning speed double rondejambes, and traveling hops on pointe...

Nanushka, in several interviews previewing the work, both Ratmansky and Fullington have stated that the use/placement of arms and hands are missing from the Sergeyev notes.

These two posts seem to contradict one another. Is it true that there are no notations of use/placement of arms and hands whatsoever in the Sergeyev notes? Does anyone have a source on that? I'm curious whether Ratmansky, in those interviews, was saying that there were none, or whether he was saying they were occasionally missing. I'd be interested to learn more about the extent to which Ratmansky found his choreography in the notations and the extent to which he had to make surmises or add ideas of his own.

Giangeruso *is* good in the Violente variation. I don't care for Ratmansky's rethinking of the port-de-bras to make it as goofy and silly as iit now is. It breaks the general classical tone of the fairies suite, IMO. Canari, as quick as she is, still fits into the majesty of the proceedings. Not this new goofy Violente, IMO. But that doesn't kill the overall wonder of the staging.

Natalia, what makes you think that this is Ratmansky's rethinking of the port-de-bras, rather than what he found in the notations? Not that its (perhaps) being "authentic" means you necessarily have to like it. I'm just wondering about the basis of your comment.

I didn't get the impression that the aim of the choreography was to be "goofy and silly."