nanushka

27 minutes ago, abatt said:

Roxander rocked the house

He was fantastic! Such stage presence, in addition to his technical skills.

Thanks for the heads-up, @dirac!

Why would they add PDDs to a program they've already started to publicize, when doing so would mean reconceiving the program (and having to alter marketing materials that are likely already in process), given that the program is currently titled "21st Century Works"? I'd assume that, if they wanted to include PDDs in the program, they'd have designed it to include them, and they'd have done so before making the initial season announcement. Anything's possible, of course, but I think further additions are unlikely. (It'd be a different story if for some reason they had to swap out a currently planned work.)

As for Misty, I will personally be rather surprised if she performs another full-length classical role with ABT.

12 minutes ago, coffeelover said:

Not sure if this info has already been put out onto this forum, but I listened to James Whiteside’s podcast with Misty Copeland which was released February of 2023. She says that she’ll “definitely [be] dancing in, I think, Romeo and Juliet and Giselle in the spring.”

Not sure if this means Giselle and R&J will on during MET season again, just something to ponder haha. 

If she said "in the spring" in February, that wouldn't seem to refer to 2024. Perhaps she was intending at that time to return for the now-almost-finished season?

They couldn't possibly program R&J for the third Met season in a row. (I hope!)

Yes, Ratmansky has presumably chosen to use the Ukrainian transliteration going forward. The announcement includes the following:

Quote

Ratmansky’s On the Dnipro received its World Premiere on June 1, 2009, at the Metropolitan Opera House, under the title On the Dnieper...

Forster was fantastic in On the Dnieper in 2019. It was a great role for him.

I too am excited to see Ballet Imperial in tutus, which I think is as it should be — given the work's original title, and its echoes in the choreography.

19 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

Stella Abrera will be performing Lady Capulet, per Carlos Gonzalez's Instagram:

I think reading this is the most excited I've been all season!

(I really miss the old Met seasons. They were always among the best 8 weeks of the year. A real annual highlight. It's just not the same now.)

1 hour ago, ba11et0mane said:

young ballet fans are rare but we do exist!! I got into ballet as a non dancer during the pandemic, at first it was a causal thing but I fell down the rabbit hole quite quickly! I am starting college in a month-ish for age reference and have been spending this summer bringing my friends who know little to nothing about ballet to see ABT. The responses have been extremely positive even though they didn’t have high expectations at first hahaha. 

Welcome to the club! Was there a standout performance or experience (virtual or live) that really got you hooked?

39 minutes ago, Papagena said:

I'm not understanding the mild disapproval in these reports. Thank god there is enthusiasm at the Met! Are we not thrilled that such a technically brilliant dancer (who has room to grow artistically) is getting the attention we wished on her years ago?

I don't mind applause and even cheers at the big moments, but literal screaming at any remotely impressive technical achievement, and at multiple entrances in a single scene? No, personally I'm not thrilled at that. It just seems a bit much.

I too disliked those supported pirouettes. Unfortunately, they got applause each time, though, so I worry the positive feedback may mean we'll be seeing them more. The magic of supported pirouettes, IMO, depends on there not being the sense that every ounce of rotational force is coming straight from the hands of turner's partner. As @fondoffouettes described, though, that was indeed the impression I got last night.

As @California also described, Shevchenko's fans seemed to be ready to scream at anything — including every entrance she made in the ballroom scene (when she and Rothbart appeared, again when she and Siegfried came out for the opening of the PDD, etc.).

Ischuk was decent as Rothbart, but I wish they would cast some dancers who have a bit more maturity and stage presence — i.e. the ability to really come across as a dominating figure, one who can take full control of the room.

When I saw Hoven listed in the program as Benno, I was eager to see what kind of shape he's in these days. In the years after his belated promotion to soloist, I thought he gave some quite good performances.

Waski's performance was a real head-scratcher; those non-existent jumps at the end of the coda were bizarre.

The two sets of cygnets I saw this year (Bonfiglio/Coker/Kimura/Lall on Wednesday night, Bonfiglio/Coker/Marshall/Yamada last night) have been more united and well-prepared than they sometimes have in past years.

Carlos Gonzalez stood out in the Spanish dance both nights, and Joseph Markey looked to have gotten some additional coaching between Wednesday and Saturday; last night, he was a much better match for Gonzalez, giving a lot more energy and definition to his dancing.

Klein replaced Magbitang both nights in the Neapolitan, dancing with Roxander; both were great, especially on Wednesday.

I really hope we get some new productions of these classics in the coming years. I'd love to see the company get a shot of adrenaline from a fresh take on what they've all been doing for years — and I’m very tired of a lot of McKenzie’s choreographic additions.

Blaine Hoven is dancing Benno tonight (with Paulina Waski and Sierra Armstrong).

Here's perhaps a better one, cued to his entrance:

2 minutes ago, eduardo said:

I do realize this is off topic and apologize for that.

As a foreigner who doesn't live in the US and knows nothing about that, I wonder why many people despise the fact that the former NY State Theatre has been renamed Koch Theatre.

Suffice it to say the politics of the man it’s named after are distasteful to many who visit the facility.

34 minutes ago, Papagena said:

A dull Purple V R is almost worse than a dull Siegfried for me (in this KM version, anyway) - a dull performance can suck the tension out of Act III.

Definitely. I can't help but think that the more-than-usually-audible response to last night's special effect flash of Rothbart's transformation resulted from the audience having become lulled by the lack of drama in the moments and minutes leading up to that. There was no seduction of the court, no believably devious machinations during the pas, no triumphant glee in the instant of Siegfried's mistaken vow. The whole act become dramatically inert.

1 hour ago, onxmyxtoes said:

I think it's wise to be kind to these newer principals and know that you choose to see their early performances as a stepping stone in their careers. This is part of the process of making a true star. If you want to see a fully-formed interpretation, you're better off choosing a senior principal (albeit not one who has come back recently from a very serious injury).

There are no sure things in ballet performance; I've seen senior principals give unusually disappointing performances, and I've seen much younger dancers give exceptional ones. I went to see Hurlin's O/O precisely because I wanted to see what she'd do with the role; she's impressed me in the past (especially last week in Giselle), she got a rave review last year in the Times, and she's a principal dancer in a major company — deserving of scrutiny and, I believe, very able to withstand it. I don't think there's anything unkind about giving an honest description and evaluation of what one has seen. I certainly do expect her to improve as she becomes more experienced, and I look forward to seeing that as well. 

I certainly agree about Hurlin's innate qualities as a dancer, and she put them to superb use the week before as Giselle. Her performance last night, though, was to me disappointing and unsatisfying, in part because of those innate qualities and that prior success, but also just judging it as a performance by any principal dancer and the impressions I got of its good and not-so-good qualities. If last year's NYT review is to be believed, it sounds like she did much better in her first Met outing in the role.

I quite agree about tonight’s performance. I found Hurlin far less convincing than in her Giselle last week. The swan arms at the end of Act 2 were truly awful. Nice arabesques and backbends though. Her Odile was somewhat better but I was less pleased by her fouettés which did start fast but then lagged quite a bit behind the music in the second half. The first attitude turn in the solo was messy. Otherwise turns were generally the better parts. Overall there seemed to be a lot of adjustments between steps, too little sense of fluid enchaînement.

Sebastian was the least interesting Rothbart I think I’ve seen. His facial expression did not change one bit throughout his entire solo. He looked like he could have been alone in a practice studio. Zero charisma. Not at all seductive. I don't even think he got a bow (and it was smart of him not to take one, as the applause was already dying down when he stood and gestured to the princesses).

I too really enjoyed Jane Eyre! (Quite to my surprise.) I agree they were great together in that. I don't necessarily see them as mismatched for Swan Lake — I just don't want to see her in that role. (I remember going to JE specifically to see Forster do a full-length, disappointed he was paired with her, but pleasantly surprised. I've only liked her dancing in certain things, and she is quite far from my ideal O/O.) I love Forster, but I think I'll have to miss him this time. I'm very excited for Hurlin's that night!

Balanchine, for one, seemed to realize that not every dancer — even at top-tier companies — can perform every step or sequence effectively, and so when coaching an old role on a new dancer would simply change that problematic element. If a dancer can bring something interesting and exciting to a role, he seems to have felt, why should one step or sequence prevent that? Just change it, no big deal — that, as I gather, was his attitude. These works have been performed for 50, 100, 150+ years, and they've changed over that time — even the steps actually notated have undoubtedly changed, in subtle ways. That's what happens in a performing art, and especially in one like dance where transmission comes not primarily through a text, but from individual dancer to individual dancer.

3 minutes ago, abatt said:

Bad news.  Per the Met website, Boylston is now listed on the Wed matinee for Swan Lake, replacing Murphy.

Ugh. I was really hoping to see Murphy's Swan Lake one last time, and looking forward to seeing Forster as well. Now I'll have to decide if I still want to do a double-header that day — maybe not.

I'd love to see Roxander do Benno, curious if he's cast.

31 minutes ago, California said:

Maybe I'm part of a small minority, but I much prefer the brises, which we saw with Baryshnikov. They work best with shorter men. Dramatically, Albrecht is looking at Myrtha as he progresses, under her command. For the entrechats, he has to turn away from her and look forward to the audience. 

Yes but on the other hand the uninterrupted entrechats are so much more evocative of Albrecht’s fated compulsion to dance. I always feel torn! — each option is compelling in its own way, when very well done.

33 minutes ago, BalletFan said:

Management should not continue to gloss over her mistakes, in my opinion.

I'm not clear on what the mistakes are, though. So far the only mistake I can recall being mentioned above from yesterday's performance is the hops. I also mentioned the Act 2 side-by-side assemblés, but there wasn't a mistake — they were just rather small. My impression of the performance was that the elements, in general, were all there — other than the hops. (As I've said, though, I don't have a perfectly step complete knowledge of the choreography)  There were some elements (e.g. the dedans/dehors turns (with the music), the slow penchés, the opening spin in Act 2) that were quite good, I thought; there were a good number of elements that I thought were just fine, though. That's why, to me, it was not a very technically strong performance. By no means did it seem among the lower 50% of technical performances I've seen in ABT full-lengths, especially in recent years. It sounds like her artistic interpretation has grown a lot since she did the piece before; I found it to be extremely compelling. That doesn't mean I value artistry more than technique; it doesn't mean I don't want to see both. But I haven't gotten a clear sense of why people found her performance to be so very inapt, and inept, by the standards of ABT performances.

28 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

But, generally speaking I’m of the camp wanting BOTH technical and artistic excellence. 

Certainly. To my eyes, the flaws in her technique were not so dire as a few others have suggested. The only “glaring omission” I recall was the hops, which she very smoothly transitioned to a sequence of relevés. I certainly don’t have every step memorized but I’ve seen the ballet many times. While not flawless, it seemed to me a fully realized performance — not a rehearsal.

Similarly, while one may prefer one to the other, I think the brisés are a perfectly acceptable alternative to the entrechats. One doesn’t as often get to see the former, especially from a tall dancer, and I thought Whiteside’s looked better than many I’ve seen.

Speaking of potential promotions (and the male soloists currently taking up slots) where are Gorak, Hoven and Shayer? Have they performed at all this season? Shayer isn’t doing any Rothbarts; I’ll be very surprised if Hoven or (especially) Gorak does Benno. Perhaps they’re just being kept on payroll until contracts renew in August?

40 minutes ago, abatt said:

Trenarys technique is weaker than any of the other GIselles at abt this week. Even the much maligned hee seo was far better. 

Probably true. That said, it sounds like the Giselles have overall been quite technically solid this year — no obvious duds. (I didn't see Seo, but it sounds like she's dancing quite well these days.) But I'll take a dramatically very alive and technically fine (not great) performance over a technically very strong but quite soulless one, like Brandt's. ("Coached within an inch of its life," someone above wrote; I thought that was a perfect description.) Trenary's was well worth seeing, in my opinion.