nanushka

My favorite bit was when they were all in a huddle at upstage center, near the end, giving themselves the heimlich.

Yes, it's there in the music. You need to see her launch.

EXACTLY! So well put. And to add yet another dimension to the seemingly impossible achievement, it must be musical even so!

Agreed on many points. There were some very nice moments from both dancers during this, but also a lot that was disappointing. Those backward hops of Boylston's were impressive but tasteless. If you're not going to pay attention to the music when dancing Balanchine, of all choreographers, what's the point? This is Tchai Pas, not Grand Pas Classique. The final lift was quite anti-climactic. It would've been better if they'd have just jetéd offstage and called it a night. And the fish dives –– especially the first one –– were quite unimpressive. He may as well have just lifted her straight up and tilted her on her side. It's true that Gorak did look much livelier than he has at other points this season. His sideways jumps with développé (don't know the term for them) were lovely. And yes, Boylston's unfortunate "crab claw" arms were back, especially during the manège of piqué turns. But you're right, Batsuchan, that lowering of her leg was quite impressive –– almost as impressive as Bouder in this video (at the 6:20 mark) that stuns me every time I watch it:

Mozartiana is a piece I really love, but, apart from the preghiera, I hadn't thought if of it as a particularly natural fit for Veronika Part; so in addition to the intense disappointment of learning that she was leaving ABT, I was also disappointed that this (and not, say, Odette/Odile or Nikiya) would be her final role. I shouldn't have been. I completely agree with Batsuchan: As it turned out, I felt that this was a perfect final piece to see Veronika dance. (I haven't yet gotten a ticket for Saturday; I'm worried the event would just be too upsetting for me, and the two performances I've seen from her this season have been so fulfilling that I might just leave it at those.) Between the preghiera, the tema promenade, the four solo variations, the two-part PDD, and the finale, Balanchine has devised so many differently toned ways of having his ballerina move through space that by the end you feel you've seen the complete catalogue of her finest attributes artfully and musically deployed by a true master. Even if you were to watch this ballet only from the dancers' waists up, there's enough variety and expressivity in the ports de bras to be endlessly engaged. Veronika was of course utterly gorgeous in the preghiera –– that kneeling back bend with the arms spread in communion with the heavens was a true sight to behold. The complete serenity of this first movement was exactly what I needed after the days of frustration, anger and disappointment I'd experienced in learning of her situation. I have to admit I wasn't able to fully register Simkin's performance in the gigue, being so affected by what came before, so I'm glad that I'll be seeing him again in it on Wednesday. My sense is that he restrained himself to the clarities of the Balanchine style more than I'd expected, though he was also less buoyant than I'd hoped. I was very impressed by Blaine Hoven's performance in the male variations. He seemed not to tire in the least, and those can be real killers. It's essentially 45 seconds on / 45 seconds off, for the entire stretch. The steps were clean and crisp throughout. Veronika smiled quite a lot during her variations, and I can imagine this annoying some viewers. (I read about this in some old BA posts on here, from previous ABT runs, in which it was suggested that Calegari may have even coached the lead ballerinas to do something like this.) For me, there's so much inventiveness in the choreography that I can't help smiling myself when seeing much of it, even for the umpteenth time, so it didn't particularly bother me. The first portion of the PDD, before the menuet girls run around, was one part that didn't work as well for me. It seemed a bit too studied and careful, whereas the effect of the pair's sinuous turns and twists around the stage can really be heightened by playing up the illusion of spontaneity –– especially since true spontaneity is so obviously impossible here, given how complicated the timing of the counterpoint is between the two bodies. The main PDD, to the violin solo, was quite lovely, with those arcing lifts particularly standing out. Supported pirouettes were on the whole fairly secure, and the various points at which chaînés, piqués and other turns are deliberately given in slower motion were particularly effective. The only really major problem spot was on the final pose, back-to-back, with the ballerina in supported arabesque. Veronika was clearly straining here (possibly supporting herself on her recently injured ankle?) and had to bring her leg down for a moment before raising it again. She looked quite shaky and uncomfortable, and I actually wish she had just kept the leg down at the end to maintain the final brief restfulness of the pose. Numerous critics have commented on the replications and mirrorings in the roles of this ballet –– the four little girls as versions of the four menuet girls as versions of the single ballerina, not to mention the contrasting male roles –– but it's Arlene Croce's description (reprinted in Going to the Dance) of the ballet's finale that best sums up for me why this felt like a perfect (if bittersweet) ending for Veronika's years of giving superb performances on the Met stage: As she returns, strolling at the end of the ballet, the cast assembles for the first time, its tiny ranks expanding with cosmic implication. Thus does the master choreographer aggrandize the gifts and presence of a ballerina. Thus does he reveal her, sovereign in her kingdom of ballet –– the one among the many who are one.

Actually I'm pretty sure that's what I saw on there over the weekend for premium orchestra.

I'll check later tonight when home. I've been debating for a week whether to go Saturday in addition to tonight and have looked at the seating chart a lot so I may be able to remember!

UGH if so that's in disgusting taste. Tickets were already at "Misty prices" before all this.

Kent would be very wise to snatch her up now, especially if Veronika has an interest in coaching after retirement from dancing.

HAHAHA! Or maybe a soon-to-be announced new principal. That'd be a nice gesture. Gotta keep laughing.

Anywhere along the Acela corridor sounds good to me! (Though I know that's not what you meant! )

The Times article has been updated yet again, with the following added: A spokeswoman for Ballet Theater said the company, which does not discuss personnel matters, would not comment further. Ms. Part was not available to comment on Monday.

If you scroll down to his earlier post, you can see the original wording of the article's title.

This is definitely a good point to keep in mind, in terms of the farewell performance itself. I can quite imagine Part wanting to make a quieter exit than many others. Though of course that's a separate issue from whether she wanted to make an exit at all at this particular time.

It's quite possible it was changed. Perhaps even at her own insistence.

The headline reads, "Veronika Part to Retire from American Ballet Theater [sic]." And reread the first paragraph: Veronika Part, the Russian-born ballerina who has been a principal dancer with American Ballet Theater since 2009, will retire from the company at the end of this season because her contract was not renewed for another year.

I would be surprised if he does, especially when the article says quite directly, "her contract has not been renewed." I know I, for one, would feel severely hard-pressed not to shout out some boos. The only thing that would stop me is the desire to avoid putting Veronika in an even more uncomfortable situation. And I completely share those feelings you describe. In particular, this whole thing has completely killed the excitement I was feeling leading up to any impending announcement of promotions. I feel disgusted.

Agreed! (Though I didn't get to see Forster as Cocoa.) I'm excited to see Blaine in Mozartiana tonight. The reviews here on BA of his 2009 performances in the part were rather mixed, and he apparently had some difficulties with some of the trickier choreography, but I think he's grown a lot since then. He danced it at least once with Veronika that year as well, subbing for Maxim B. His regular partner was Maria Ricceto.

Saturday night: Was a bit less bothered by the schlagobers waltz choreo. Was even more bothered by some inhibiting costumes, especially Don Zucchero's sack. It takes a lot to make me think well-executed (by A. Scott) double assemblés (probably my favorite male step) are ugly. I agree completely and this expresses kind of what I've felt all season, in the little I've seen of him. Calvin Royal danced this last night and the contrast was striking: a taut, energetic, characterful performance. It's a chicken and egg question for me. Is Gorak disspirited because he's not advancing or is he not advancing because his performances have been beautiful but a bit flat?

I agree completely. I hope some smart people are calling her with great opportunities and that we'll see more from her in some capacity.

Yes, Part is now a US citizen.

Part's preghiera is going to murder me.

As in the NYT video posted on another thread, which shows the class doing barre work less than two hours before curtain. Part of why I think today is unlikely –– I can't see Kevin thinking that less than an hour before curtain is a good time to make announcements that cause either great elation or great disappointment.

Last night was my first time attending as well (going back for a second tonight –– disappointed that I won't be seeing Cornejo), and I too agree with much that has been said by both ABT Fan and fondoffouettes. The piece is charming right from curtain up, with the business of the carriage horse and driver outside the little church. The trick of using oversized heads on adult characters (most of them) to make the "children" look small is an ingenious solution to the problem of casting adult dancers in children's parts and is central to the working of the piece, because Ratmansky clearly wanted to keep everyone really dancing in his signature, complex way. I was surprised that he had the boy eating his whipped cream way at the back of such a visually rich set; if I hadn't read the synopsis, I might well have missed this –– not that it matters much if one misses a plot point, since plot is not the point. Abrera was delightful –– playing with every inch of her body to craft a comic character while also creating some gorgeous dance moments. And Gomes was a perfect match for her, in both beauty and humor. I love how Ratmansky plays against the lines of classical technique (slouches, angles, twists, etc) while also tapping their beauty for great effect. There's so much to take in in his best choreography. Even with Petipa I often feel I have to see something three or four times before I really consciously register the structure and the highlights and the distinctive elements. With Balanchine, make that six or eight; with Ratmansky, make that 10 or 12. I'm grateful for the Works and Process video, which I watched yesterday and which shows four or five dances; I hope to watch those again today before going back tonight. I loved the use of four Tea Flower attendants with three Prince Coffee guards. By creating a little "problem" like that for himself, the choreographer thus ensures that he'll have to come up with fresh and inventive solutions (matching everyone up or using the "extra" girl in various ways) throughout the whole pas d'action, keeping the whole thing even more visually interesting. (And yet, tracking his solutions was just another thing that pulled my attention away from the intricacies of the central choreography, making it even harder to take everything in –– a wonderful frustration!) I did have some trouble with a few of the costumes. Tea Flower's tutu was lovely (though at times the hanging petals seemed a bit too distracting), and Prince Coffee's outfit was very handsome; Prince Cocoa's hat and cape worked well enough. But Don Zucchero's outfit hung from him in an unattractive way, I thought, and muddied the effect of his dancing. Similarly, while Mlle. Marianne Chartreuse's bottle outfit was trim and attractive, Ladislav Slivovitz's and Boris Wutki's bottle outfits seemed baggy and distracting. I, too, was quite disappointed by the whipped cream scene that closed Act I. First I felt cheated that only 12 of the 16...what does one call them? dollops?...came down the slide, while the other four slipped onstage immediately after. But more importantly, I agree that the choreography in this scene was not very interesting and didn't seem at all of the same caliber as Ratmansky's masterful snowflake scene in The Nutcracker. Obviously, the style and particular effects here would need to be quite different. But I hoped for something that would similarly use the spirit of the "situation" in inventive ways to create really distinctive dance effects. I liked it best when he really had the dancers moving around the stage, but there was not enough of that –– and perhaps he could have played more with using different numbers and configurations onstage at different times? Apart from the nurses (whom I agree fell flat –– could he have gotten more from fewer, by using just four or six?), Act II was just a series of new delights, one after another. The fantasy parade, with all those creatures and Princess Praline atop her snow yak, is of course a big highlight, and the audience was absolutely giddy. It was one of those magical moments when suddenly everyone becomes uninhibited (no longer aware of needing to be a quiet, formal, respectful audience sitting in THE Metropolitan Opera House) and just lets out gasps and giggles. And there was so much excellent dancing from both Lane and Simkin throughout their pas d'action and later in the final scene –– at times delightfully intricate, at times narratively infused, at times bravura. Lane is by nature, I think, an essentially sunny dancer (not that she can't quite effectively play against that at times, as in her Odette and her Act II Giselle), so this part really seemed to fit her like a glove. I'm excited to take it all in again and hopefully see much more of what's there tonight.

Saturdays are undoubtedly a bit more tightly scheduled, so I'd guess the beginning of next week –– but that's just a guess. Yes, and last year they came on July 1.