cobweb

I am disappointed, very, about Kikta!!

Maxwell is insanely overdue for promotion. I want to keep meaghan Dutton O’Hara in the mix, I would love to see more of her. Riccardo is also glaringly obvious - why wait? Can’t help being disappointed about Laracey and Kikta. Why aren’t my favorites also management favorites? Probably Tiler Peck?

I look forward to any reports from the matinee... hoping for a more polished performance from LaFreniere and Walker.

A few years ago I saw Lauren Lovette have a worse Rose Adagio than LaFreniere. Lovette came off pointe at one point, and in the final promenade section, she was wobbling so badly she was about to keel over. It was so bad that the when the fourth suitor took her hand, he (Jared Angle, very wisely) amended the choreography to hold her in place, rather than take her on the turn. Nonetheless, Lovette went on to deliver a performance that was so radiant I bought a ticket to see her a second time. This is what LaFreniere needs to work on. Things might go badly, but you have to deliver the rest anyway. She just looked uncomfortable.

I was also there last night and wanted to echo the praise for Meghan Dutton-O'Hara's Fairy of Generosity. I could definitely see her as a soloist. I find her much more refined, expansive, and interesting than, for example, management-favorite Baily Jones.

Just MHO but it would be ridiculous to wait any longer to promote, especially women. The ladies principal roster is pathetically understaffed and there are 4 or 5 of the soloist ladies, as I see it, who are obvious principals. Why wait?

Great idea. Totally agree.

Further thoughts on last night. Baily Jones and Cainan Weber were Princess Florine and the Bluebird. Weber can perhaps get more comfortable with partnering, but otherwise he looks very promising. Baily Jones gets a lot of big opportunities, and she is reliable, solid technique, charming, but I don't see her as bringing anything particularly special. It will be interesting to see if she gets promoted. For the Jewels section, Harrison Coll replaced Roman Mejia. Reports on here are that Coll had a very difficult time with this a few nights ago, but he managed decently well, if a little ragged, but no major mishaps. Olivia MacKinnon and Malorie Lundgren were Emerald and Ruby, and both looked good. Mira Nadon was Diamond and was so beautiful. Oh, and it was tough seeing Harrison Ball relegated to a Suitor. He looks so proud, and so humble somehow at the same time. In several performances over the last year -- Mozartiana, the Poet, and Puck -- he was just as beautiful as can be. I am still crushed that he is retiring so prematurely, but I guess that's kind of an occupational hazard, so to speak, of falling in love with dancers -- they have their own lives to live.

I attended last night's Sleeping Beauty. They certainly are selling a lot of tickets, I haven't seen the house so full in ages. I guess those ads with the undulating rose and electronic music did the trick. I hope some of these become regular balletgoers. In the ladies room at intermission, I saw a group of women in sequined-type cocktail dresses, all seemingly fairly inebriated. How they got intoxicated while sitting through a lengthy ballet I have no idea; also they did not seem inclined to head back to their seats even when the chimes signaling the end of intermission. Who knows. Anyway, on to the ballet. I had my doubts about Unity Phelan as Aurora and would not have chosen to see this cast except that was my subscription ticket. As soon as she appeared in the rose-colored tutu, all I could think was that she looked so beautiful it almost didn't matter what else she did. But she went on to dance well, maybe with tension in her face during the balances, but overall no real issues. She doesn't have the dramatic arc or depth, true, but no complaints from me. Veyette did reasonably well in his solos, but it is definitely getting to be beyond his capacities. The fairies introduced us to some of the newer corps members. First up was corps veteran Olivia Boisson, the epitome of graciousness, but I wish she could do more to open herself up to the audience. Next, Nieve Corrigan brought a raucous energy to Vivacity. She could use some lessons in graciousness from Boisson, but I admired her rambunctious enthusiasm. Dominika Afanasenkov was a lovely Generosity. This is a young lady with potential, with beautifully shaped feet and legs, and a nice presence. Next up was Lauren Collett, also full of energy. It was charming to see these young ladies eager to make the most of some of their first featured roles. Finally, out bounded Alexa Maxwell as the Fairy of Courage. From the moment she appeared she took command of the stage, with authority, confidence, clearly shaped steps, and polish. My lord. Why on earth was she not promoted with last year's batch?? Miriam Miller as Lilac did not do it for me. Up-thread, @abatt commented on her being the least technically proficient of the likely principal candidates; to me she is the most boring. She is beautiful, with incredible legs and arms, but I just find her empty. Also the quality of her movements can be oddly stiff - when she goes into arabesque her leg stops like it hit a wall, with no sense of flow or elasticity. Work calls! I will try to fill in a few more comments later.

So far it sounds like this run of SB is a mixed bag of performances. I'll be there Tuesday night and will report on Phelan and Veyette. It sounds like most everyone is in agreement that the fairy variations are way too fast, and that the "jewels" section is perhaps superfluous. Obvious suggestion, remove the jewels and slow down the tempo to something more reasonable for the fairy variations, or really just for the entire ballet. I realize they're trying to adapt SB for a modern audience, and I personally don't want to be getting out of the ballet close to midnight, but I don't want Sleeping Beauty to feel so rushed, either. It loses a lot of grandeur and graciousness when it's breathlessly plowing along. Also, kind of paradoxically, I feel it gains its own momentum when taken more slowly.

Thanks, bellawood! I saw Peck and Chan and assumed that was it; I didn't realize the footage went on and on! Lots of great stuff. I would sure love to see Emma von Enck's Aurora! She looked great.

I seem to have missed the footage of von Enck and LaFreniere! If anyone sees them put it up again, please post!

Thank you abatt. I do like to get to know the youngsters. It's so annoying they've discontinued putting up pictures next to the bios. All this social media footage, and they can't find the manpower to flesh out the website? Annoying.

If anyone was there tonight I am interested to hear who were the young men attending Lilac’s fairies. I was at the Dress last night and they were not listed in the casting, but several of them looked stellar. I recognized Riccardo, Melnikov, Nelson, Abreu, possibly Klesa(?) and…? Can anyone help me out here from the program?

Just in from the Sleeping Beauty dress rehearsal. It was a lot of fun. Whoever goes to see the Fairchild-Gordon-Nadon cast is in for a treat. All beautiful dancers.

I attended the matinee today. It seems like a long time since I've seen Fancy Free, and I had forgotten how much fun it is. Jovani Furlan (subbing for Sebastian Villarini Velez) was a special delight, throwing himself into the role with humor and gusto. This is the first time I've seen Mary Thomas MacKinnon in a featured role, and I thought she did well, holding the stage with confidence. Also I thought her approach to the red-pocketbook girl worked well; she never looked scared or intimidated by the three guys tossing her handbag around; she stared them down like they were gnats. This is also a great role for Alexa Maxwell. Nieve Corrigan made the most of her walk-on at the end. And just lots of fun dancing for the guys. Again, Furlan's solo was a special treat. I had never seen Rondo before. It is slight, but I enjoyed it and could see it again. The ladies looked lovely in the pastel skating dresses. Indiana Woodward was radiant. Olivia MacKinnon did not as fare as well, IMHO. She looked effortful and not completely polished. She keeps getting big opportunities, but so far, I don't see it. I had never seen Solo before, either. Anthony Huxley was magnificent. I guess I could see this one again, but it will not be a favorite. Finally, the real reason I was there -- Episodes. LaFreniere and Chan looked commanding in the first section (despite her belt coming loose midstream; she found a moment to grab it and toss it into the wings). Mira Nadon brings her richness to the Ricercata, but I could see room to grow here. Overall an amazing piece.

Totally agree. I don't understand this casting at all. Neither Phelan nor LaFreniere strikes me as right for Aurora, whereas both cry out for Lilac Fairy. Emma von Enck, on the other hand, is fearless and radiant and would be a perfect Aurora. What were they thinking?

I totally agree. I'm speechless. He is so talented and so beautiful. I can just picture him in that violet Mozartiana vest, looking a little remote, mysterious, sultry, and noble all at once. Are you sure, Harrison? You have a rare gift -- shouldn't you take the time you have, at least a few more years of it, to share your gifts with those who get joy from seeing you?

Thanks for the report, vipa! I saw Miller in the Ricercata in the fall, and found her pretty bland. I'm looking forward to seeing Nadon in this role, she should fire it up! ... inner fire, of course, not a distortion of the steps.

bellawood, I have zero insight into the company's plans of course. But what I think they should do is promote about 3-4 women to principal, asap, like at the end of the SB run. There is a shocking shortage in the ranks of female principals, and while the new batch of soloists have only been soloists for a year, several of them are palpably ready and carrying principal loads. They should move several of them on up now, move up a couple of corps to soloist, and keep vigorously developing the younger dancers. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, however!

Just based on my impression, I’d say the tallest woman in the company is Christina Clark, and the second is Miller. Kikta is close behind. I know they are tall, but since they promoted a batch of tall ladies to soloist, I assume/hope that means they can envision at least one of them as principal.

It's great to see so many corps members getting opportunities in SB, especially those who are newer/lesser known, like Afanasenkov, Collett, and Lister. It does seem like India Bradley and Baily Jones are having breakout seasons. I certainly hope and expect to see some ladies promoted to principal at the end of the season, and based on casting it seems likely to be Nadon, LaFreniere, and possibly Gerrity. I am very disappointed at the lack of opportunities this season for what is in my mind the most interesting tall dancer they currently have, Emily Kikta. Maybe she will do Lilac in the second week.

Thank you abatt, I will look for it! It was you and Mr abatt who recommended Sapphire Indian restaurant which I loved, so I trust you on Rossetta.

Yes, the old sandwiches weren't cheap either, but they were good. It was an occasional splurge that I could look forward to. But I would not again get the sandwich I had today. Maybe the others are better. The eggplant and mozzarella sandwich looked tempting. I look forward to hearing what you think, BalanchineFan!

Just in from the matinee. Stravinsky Violin Concerto is so incredible. I feel like I've never appreciated it the way I do now - maybe I just needed time to grow into it. I loved the cast I saw the other night, and after comments about Phelan and Gerrity up-thread, I was prepared to be a little disappointed. That didn't happen. Phelan and Taylor Stanley looked great in Aria I, and Gerrity and Russell Janzen were moving and tender in the second aria. Just an incredible work of art. I'm haven't seen Donizetti Variations very often, and I'm enjoying it. Indiana Woodward and Joseph Gordon both looked wonderful, just a joy to watch. I'm enjoying the three corpsmen, KJ Takahashi, David Gabriel, and Charlie Klesa. Klesa is still an apprentice and looked uncomfortable during his brief moment partnering Woodward, but otherwise he looks very promising. KJ Takahashi is dancing with the polish and authority of someone years older. He's very young, but ready for bigger things already. Unity was stunning in Haieff Divertimento, and Erica Pereira was fine in Valse-Fantaisie. I enjoy both of these pieces. The program overall is very well-balanced, with two long works, two short works, and balanced between more traditional versus modernist pieces. I wish SVC was coming back in the Spring. Next year, please! Finally, a side note on the sandwich situation. After the pandemic they did away with sandwiches at the refreshment stands, only selling chocolates, mints, and whatnot. I was disappointed with this, since I often come straight from work and sometimes enjoy a sandwich and glass of wine before the performance. I noticed the sandwiches are back, with a changed selection from before, so I decided to try one today. Awful. I got the ham and swiss on croissant. It was dry, did not appear super-fresh, and the ham quality was questionable. Also I noticed it said "Enjoy Before 1/31" on the label. Really? It was going stale already, I can't imagine selling it three days from now. Also, needless to say, quite expensive (like $11). Not recommended.