cobweb

So... was anyone there at either performance??

I look forward to any reports from the workshop performances. I have enjoyed attending for a few years now, but sadly have to miss this year as I’m out of town for a family graduation. Please report!

I absolutely love Square Dance and was very much looking forward to it. Erica Pereira was a real letdown, sucking the energy out of it. I kind of feel bad for her, but kind of not. The directors should not put her up for roles she cannot to justice to.

I was also at yesterday's matinee, and agree with much of @vipa's comments (and good to see you & co. again too, vipa!). Fancy Free is a great piece of theater and storytelling, and while it may be out of touch with the zeitgeist, I find the themes pretty timeless - friendship and buddyhood, flirtation and fun, being young, in the city, and looking for adventure. I love that the women can handle themselves and are more clear-eyed than the hapless men. But however great a piece Fancy Free may be, as others have commented, I have seen this a LOT over the years and it's not high on my list to see again. I found Lauren Collett, as the red-purse girl, makes a very good impression, but Indiana Woodward in the purple dress was more lackluster than I've usually seen her. Agree that Peter Walker was lacking, although he had a delightfully goofy smile. It was great to see Agon, and as many times as I've seen it too, I feel I could see it forever. What a striking, but so simple, device to start and open the ballet -- four men at the back of the stage, with their backs to the audience. Isabella LaFreniere looked great in the bransle gay section. Anything with large, bold movement suits her extremely well. (For this reason she was very miscast in Sleeping Beauty, IMHO.) And Miriam Miller has really upped her authority, and she and Russell Janzen danced beautifully in the pdd. Finally, Brandenburg. I don't love Robbins' tendency to cutesey elements, and it especially seemed out of place with the august Bach. Overall I would definitely see this piece again but it would wear thin soon. Emma von Enck looked terrific. The corps needed more rehearsal, it was pretty ragged at times.

Not so, Royal Blue! I remember vividly your comments about my reaction to the sublime marching section of Union Jack. You said, roughly quoting, "I do not share your admiration for Union Jack, cobweb, but I admire your enthusiasm." I appreciate your appreciation!

It is great to hear all these glowing reviews of Brandenburg! I look forward to seeing it on Saturday. Seems a shame they aren't bringing it back next year!

Thanks too, cargill! I had no idea who this young man was, and now I look forward to seeing him!

Agree, interested to hear any reports from tonight! I have a ticket for the matinee on Saturday, and highly tempted to add in the evening too. I am looking forward to seeing Brandenburg, about which I know nothing, aside from the music.

Thank you for these detailed critiques, @FauxPas! As someone who only attends ABT approx 5x/yr now (like so many others, that's down from close to 5x/WK back in the day), I agree with much of what you say. In the corps, Zimmi Coker, and to a lesser extent (that is, I've seen them on fewer occasions), Lea Fleytoux and Fangqi Li have caught my eye as having special qualities and potential. I have really loved Patrick Frenette in a few things, except for his exaggerated, tense facial expressions. And agree that it is sadly time for Gorak, Shayer, and Hoven to move towards retirement. That should open up a lot of spaces to move up some of the men. I saw Elwince Magbitang as Puck and was impressed with his technical facility but not much else, ie, little presence or artistry... but he has time for that. Anyway, I probably won't be around to see the summer season (again, back in the day I NEVER would have made travel plans to be away so long during the season) but I look forward to reports on here and seeing how things develop. Hoping for a real turnaround, it seems like there is talent there. Oh, and a big thumbs' up to bringing back Daniil Simkin!!!

Thank you for your critique of the principal roster, FauxPas! I look forward to hearing your analysis of the soloists. Perhaps also any corps that you find noteworthy?

I was very surprised when I tried to get tickets to last night's performance, and found it was sold out - all the Swan Lake performances are completely sold!! Good for them. I went with standing room, which is about a quarter mile away from the stage, but the price is right ($25). I'm sure I've seen Pictures at an Exhibition before, but had little memory of it, and like @nysusan above, I didn't love it. Too much running around, without much distinction between the variations. So it seemed to me. I don't love this Swan Lake either, and I think the audience should be warned this isn't really Swan Lake -- just a cut-up version of the second and fourth acts. But, it's a sellout and the audience was very enthusiastic, so who am I to say? Given how well Swan Lake sells, this seems like an excellent opportunity to introduce audiences to the company and present other works they may like on the other half of the program. I'm not sure Pictures at an Exhibition was great for that. For something similar but way better, how about Dances at a Gathering? As for the dancing, Sara looked great, although it's interesting @nysusan loved her epaulement, because on the contrary, I kept thinking about the Studio 5 presentation of Nina Ananiashvili coaching Sara on her epaulement, and wishing Sara could take that more to heart. Emma von Enck looked terrific in the Valse Bluette. She has her own distinct individuality, and I especially love the marvelous expressiveness in her upper body. Glad I saw this program, but I won't be seeing it again.

All very unfortunate!

Last night I attended the "Inside NYCB" presentation on The Balanchine Pas de Deux. This was a very fun and informative presentation, hosted by Sterling Hyltin and Russell Janzen. It seems a shame they are only doing it the once! We saw excerpts from several ballets, along with commentary by Hyltin and Janzen, and some comments from the dancers. First they did excerpts showing Balanchine's range and different kinds of male-female relationships: the pdd from La Source (Indiana Woodward and Anthony Huxley), central pdd from Agon (Miriam Miller and Peter Walker), Terpsichore and Apollo (Unity Phelan and Taylor Stanley), and Kammermusik (Miller and Walker again). Then they showed two beautifully contrasting pieces of same-sex duets, and while it was all done to piano we were meant to envision the two trumpets of Agon (Sebastian Villarini-Velez and Andres Zuniga) and two violins of Concerto Barocco (Unity and corps member Rommie Tomasini). Finally, we concluded with the first movement of Duo Concertant (Woodward and Taylor Stanley). Hyltin and Janzen were personable, charming hosts, although both seemed a little nervous with public speaking and need to get more comfortable with this. The real surprise for me was hearing from Miriam MIller, talking about her role in Agon. In speaking, she comes across as warm, vigorous, and humorous. By contrast, I often find her dancing remote. I hope she can find a way to bring some of that warmth, vigor, and humor into her dancing! I would love to see more programs like this. Well done.

My guess is they are grappling with the best way to handle the reduced audience. Alienating subscribers is never a good idea, and reducing the number of low-priced options is not a good idea either. (I personally spent years scraping together every last dollar to see performances at the lowest possible price point, before I could finally afford better tickets without pain.) I hope they can figure out some better solutions. Back to contemplating next year's programming, and what I wish they could have included, I recall seeing Glinka's pas de trois with Miami City Ballet during the Balanchine Celebration at City Center in 2018. Does NYCB never do this piece? I remember thinking it was totally delightful and would suit many of the current dancers.

Wow, hope Kikta, Chan, and Grant all return asap. All very valued! Also I notice on the casting sheet that Pollack replaces Coll in The Times are Racing. It has to be quite, quite awhile since Brittany Pollack appeared on the stage. Has she performed post-pandemic?

I believe that is pianist Susan Walters.

Mr cobweb and I decided to try the La Source-Namouna program last night, despite his hesitation about going out in the rain, and my doubts about the program. I had not seen La Source before, and although I enjoyed Namouna when I saw it years ago, I wasn't sure it would hold up. First off, Indiana Woodward and Joseph Gordon were great in La Source. The very young apprentice and corps ladies all looked delightfully light and airy, aside from one nasty fall (the young lady who's very slender and very blonde -- as I try to get to know who's who, can anyone ID her for me?). Olivia MacKinnon in the soloist role was better than I've usually seen her, with more clarity in her dancing and a brighter, more pleasing facial expression. Still hoping for more specialness from her. My real issue with La Source is that it's all fluff, with no tension, no drama, and no overall cohesion. It's a series of disparate sweets. I might enjoy seeing this more in another context, most especially student performances, but I'm not sure it belongs on the main stage. Namouna was entertaining, but the cutesiness and knowing jokes get annoying after awhile. I don't need to see this again anytime soon. Mira Nadon, Sara Mearns, and Ashley Laracey all looked great, as did Roman Mejia. Agree with others that the pairing of Mejia and Laracey seemed very odd, but individually they both looked wonderful. As I look at the upcoming schedule, I just wish I could see LaFreniere and Chan in Raymonda Variations again!!

Totally agree. I am not there to hear the conductor talk, even though some of them are very interesting. I'm there to see dance. I feel very impatient when this happens on a weeknight, and especially now that I live much further from Lincoln Center than I used to. On the weekend, I'm able to enjoy the talk without thinking about what time do I have to get up in the morning.

If only Von Enck or Maxwell had "pulled a Skylar Brandt" and been ready to step in!

I am heartbroken also! Mozartiana, Sonnambula, and above all, Puck. So so beautiful.

Last night's performance of Square Dance was depressing. Erica Pereira has no line, no shaping of steps, no phrasing, no energy, no presence. Everything is smudged and bland. Why oh why is she on this stage? There are so many other dancers who could do this role. Woodward, Von Enck, and Maxwell are obvious choices. Sara Adams could be good. Looking at the corps, I would love to see Baily Jones. For principals, how is it that Tiler Peck has never done this role? Isabella LaFreniere is taller than it's usually cast, but she would bring a thrilling joy and boldness to it, and I bet Emilie Gerrity would be great too. This is a disservice to the ballet, and I see up-thread that it has already turned off one loyal balletgoer (@Balletwannabe) to this joyful piece. It's also a missed opportunity to introduce the audience to a dancer they might not know and would love. I was planning to see both performances of La Source/Namouna this Saturday, since I am unfamiliar with La Source and want to immerse myself in all things Balanchine, but no way can I see the matinee with Pereira. Anthony Huxley, on the other hand, was fantastic. He is everything Pereira is not -- substantive, musical, and crystalline. After this desultory beginning, "See the Music" only slowed the evening down even more. Unity and Joseph Gordon were lovely in Afternoon of a Faun, and I enjoyed Christina Clark in Haieff Divertimento. But for the me, the evening only gained any energy when Tiler Peck and Andrew Veyette took the stage. Thank god for them!! Tiler was dazzling as usual and as @vipa noted above, Veyette pulled off a very commendable performance.

I was there last night and thoroughly enjoyed LaFreniere and Chan in Raymonda Variations. She dances so large, bold, full of joy. It's a real pleasure to see her in roles like this and Concerto Barocco. I think she does better in roles that call for large, fast movement such as Balanchine works, whereas she was miscast IMHO in Sleeping Beauty. That final leap into Chan's arms was huge -- the audience gasped. For the soloists, Baily Jones was charming in the second variation and Lauren Collett continues to look very polished and beautiful in the sixth. For me the real standout in the variations was Meaghan Dutton-O'Hara in the fifth. She has such lovely qualities, expansive and delicate. I would love to see her in more soloist roles. In Kammermusik, Miller looked more interesting than usual, and Kikta really sizzled -- intriguing, loose and so alive. Concerto Barocco looked a little more ragged than it did during the two performances I saw earlier in the run. Mr cobweb, a former musician, complained that the music was too slow and that the corps were trying to go faster than the conductor was playing.

What a thought! that would be fascinating, but my hope (probably more likely) was to see Woodward or E von Enck.

Casting is updated for this week. Megan Fairchild is out. Replaced tomorrow night in Square Dance by Erica Pereira. Very disappointing, Pereira was reported to be blah in earlier performances, while Fairchild has been dazzling. Hope she's back very soon.

Agree that both Slaughter and Western Symphony are over programmed, and I'm tempted to add Stars & Stripes into the mix, although I enjoy that one a lot more and it's probably done less often. I also agree about Orpheus being outdated, and I have never warmed up to Tarantella. I think the programs I'm most looking forward to are Dances at a Gathering/Brahms Schoenberg Quartet and Four Temperaments/Liebeslieder. And again, I am really sorry they couldn't find room for easy-to-love gems such as Divertimento, Chaconne, Mozartiana, and Square Dance. None of these calls for a cast of millions, either.