cobweb

Still no Week 3 casting! I enjoyed last night's Serenade. Sara Mearns continues to grow and is a force of nature that I have trouble finding the words to describe. I enjoyed the debuts by Ashley Hod and Miriam Miller. Both have room to grow, but it was refreshing to see new faces in these roles. My only quibble was Taylor Stanley. He makes such incredible and beautiful shapes that it can be hard to take my eyes off of him. But oftentimes I feel his heart is not really in what he's doing, and last night was one of those times. Obviously I have no way of knowing what he's really thinking or feeling, but it's just my impression is that he's not fully engaged.

A few quick thoughts on last night's Serenade-Goldberg Variations program. I wasn't sure how I would like Goldberg Variations, having had mixed reactions to it when it was last done, probably like 5-7 years ago? It's a long piece and if Robbins had a unifying theme in mind, it isn't obvious to me. It's kind of all over the place, style-wise, and I don't know what it's all about. Still, it's a terrific showcase for a whole bunch of dancers, and they are doing actual ballet - as opposed to, say, some current choreography that uses ballet dancers but they're not doing actual ballet. The music alone is worth the price of admission; as happened last time, the music lingers in my mind all the next day, especially the opening theme. I remember the opening/closing couple being Faye Arthurs and Zachary Catazaro last time, both beautiful. Here it was Miriam Miller and Preston Chamblee. He looked very elegant, especially in the opening costume, while Miller is beautiful but seemed to have trouble slowing down to the slowly unfolding pace of the music, and was arriving at her positions too fast. There were many standouts in the principal cast. Ashley Laracey and Emilie Gerrity both delivered absolutely lovely, assured performances. I was thrilled to see Isabella LaFreniere, in the second half with Adrian Danchig-Waring, looking grand, expansive, and ready for more. So great to see her doing these big roles, finally! And Chun Wai Chan is INCREDIBLE, somehow both commanding and kind/gentle, I find him mesmerizing. Jovani Furlan is beautiful also, and generally, all the principals looked terrific. Must get back to work now, will try to commend on Serenade later.

I'm surprised they are not doing Midsummer Night's Dream next Spring. I sort of think of it as a perennial spring season closer. I will have to get my fill this year. I imagine for this year we will have at least one new Titania... Mira Nadon or Isabella LaFreniere, perhaps?

Wasn't Symphony in C also on the original schedule for Spring?

Wow - this is a big step up for Emma von Enck. Very welcome, and if it happens I will be there! Curious about other new Divertimento No. 15 casting. In the "digital season" video they put out, Ana Sophia Scheller looked quite lovely, and Abi Stafford was charming. I believe those are the 3rd and 4th solos (before the male principal comes out for his variation). Who else does those roles, or who might be cast?

I'm hoping for the best with next year's programming. Should be out before too long, and presumably should be relatively unencumbered by COVID limitations. And am I remembering wrong, or wasn't Symphony in C originally scheduled for Spring? Did that get removed too along with the changes they made to the Winter season?

I've been looking ahead to the spring programming, trying to map out my schedule. There's not a whole lot that I'm really looking forward to. Divertimento No. 15 is at the top of my list. I'm wondering about casting for several pieces, since likely there will be a good number of debuts. For Firebird, I believe the most recent Firebirds were Kowroski, Reichlen, and Bouder. Two of those are now retired. Any official word on whether Bouder is likely to return for spring? Has Sara Mearns done this role? I assume LaFreniere is likely to get Firebird, since she was scheduled to do it years ago before getting injured. Perhaps there will be another debut -- Phelan? Also they may need a new Apollo, with Garcia retired. Joseph Gordon perhaps, or Jovani Furlan. I assume Miriam Miller will do Agon since she has done it before, but there too they might debut at least one more person.

I did manage to read the article, and thanks to those who sent me tips for how to access it. I agree with dirac that it's interesting Woetzel contested the method, rather than the findings. It sounds like things aren't going well for him there. However, I don't think that a Board member, however uber-wealthy he may be ($6 billion, really??), should be allowed to run things behind the scenes. That doesn't sound good for the health and integrity of the institution.

Reading these reports, I'm sorry I missed this!! I took a pass because so often these mixed-company/gala/whatever-type programs have dubious programming. Wish I had realized the programming would be so good! Along these lines, does anyone have thoughts about the upcoming City Center Dance Festival? I'm familiar with the Paul Taylor programming, but can anyone provide informed perspective on the programming for Ballet Hispanico (another work inspired by Eva Peron - Dona Peron, really?), Martha Graham, or Dance Theatre of Harlem?

I have used up all my free NYT articles for the month. If anyone can post more info, I’m very curious.

Me too, @nanushka! I was expecting Chun Wai Chan rather than Peter Walker. But I know he is highly respected as a partner, as per @vipa's recent comments on the Black Swan pdd with Isabella LaFreniere. Not being a professional dancer, I am not the best judge of partnering, but that must be a huge plus.

Thanks for that report, Kathleen! I was just coming on to ask if anyone was at the matinee. I'm wondering how Unity Phelan and Peter Walker did in Swan Lake.

I was at the matinee but only saw 4Ts. The new theme couples perhaps need some more time/rehearsal to settle in, but no matter, I loved seeing the new casting, and Riccardo and Dutton-O'Hara looked very good. He is on the way up, and she always has a most intriguing quality. I loved the debuts of both Isabella LaFreniere and Mira Nadon. (During Sanguinic, the mother and young daughter sitting next to me apparently were mesmerized by LaFreniere and Bolden and spent half the movement flipping through the program, looking at casting and then scrutinizing the page with photos of principals. I felt like whipsering loudly, "ISABELLA LA FRENIERE, SHE'S A SOLOIST".) Question for @vipa, what did you think of the Nadon Choleric? Sebastian Villarini-Velez as Melancholic made beautiful shapes, and Russell Janzen was a totally committed Phlegmatic. Glad to see all the new corps/apprentice ladies, the battement-ladies, the buzzing ladies, and tall ladies of Phlegmatic. I could see 4Ts again and again. Like @bellawood, I was baffled by the lack of applause after 4T's, I loved it!

I was at last night's performance. Now that I know what to expect from the one-act Swan Lake, e.g. don't expect Swan Lake, I'm warming up to it a bit. Maybe they should manage audience expectations by giving it a slightly different name. How about, say, Swan Lake Dreams, or maybe George Balanchine's The Abridged Swan Lake? I most enjoyed the two soloist swans, Ashley Laracey and Emily Kikta. Laracey has such incredible articulation in every aspect of her body, and I especially love the effect of her large, broad, very articulated hands. Kikta just has such a grand, sweeping presence. I enjoyed the Anthony Huxley-Emma von Enck Andantino. They look great together. And von Enck is marvelous, confident and authoritative, so so sharp, and with an appeal to the audience that goes beyond the charm she obviously has - she also comes across like a real, mature adult. I really look forward to seeing more of her. Also enjoyed the Harrison Ball-Sara Adams Tchaikovsky pdd. Like Huxley and von Enck, they are another excellent pairing, appearance-wise. It wasn't quite as bravura as I'm used to seeing from recent inhabitants of the roles, but Ball looks great and Adams is truly a gracious dancer, possibly the most gracious in the entire company. Her smile and the pleasure she conveyed were a delight. Would LOVE to see more of her! They were well received by the audience. In an overall fine performance of Serenade, Megan LeCrone stood out. She is a beautiful dancer, and talk about hands, hers are on display as the Dark Angel, and she uses them very effectively.

Kikta did come out for the initial curtain call; she only missed the front-of-curtain call. She was a blazing Choleric, looking in command of the role. It was great to see 4T's once again. I find it a real tonic, giving me a jolt, much needed during a season with some lackluster programming. It was great to see some new casting in 4T's. I especially enjoyed Mimi Staker in the second theme, who came out with a scowl so fierce she looked ready to take on Choleric. Also Miriam Miller looked great in the third theme, although maybe she could use more a sense of the darkness of the piece. Ashley Hod and Peter Walker did Sanguinic. I find Hod difficult to warm up to, so no comment there. I thought Walker looked wonderfully clear and precise. Finally, as noted Kikta was a blazing Choleric. In Black Swan pdd, Mira Nadon looked much more comfortable than Isabella LaFreniere did a few days ago and seemed to be enjoying vamping it up. I found her a little uncontrolled though, loose, unprecise, as if she's not fully in control of her limbs. The foeuttes included a bunch of doubles (and triples?), but she was a little all over the place with her form, traveled a bit, and came down pretty clunky. I hope these young dancers get the chance to thoroughly prepare a full-length piece, not just apparently thrown into these snippets which are barely satisfying to the audience (me anyway).

Thanks for the info! I wish there was a bio of the great Karinska.

Yes, but not the sandwiches.

I think because Scotch Symphony has a different name from La Sylphide, the connection doesn't really register with me such that I compare the two, except in the most vague way, and I love Scotch Symphony. Whereas the one-act Swan Lake just seems like a rushed, truncated version of a classic ballet and I feel like I'm being shortchanged. Maybe I can try to change that mindset and think of it more as a Scotch Symphony type situation.

Wanted to agree with @vipa that I also noticed Olivia Boisson in 4T's, looking precise, polished, and silky. For me a big part of the problem with this one-act Swan Lake is the pace. It moves along so frenetically, and I really missed the languour that I feel should be part of Swan Lake. As I watched Sterling Hyltin hurrying through the Odette variation, I found myself longing for the best Odette variation I ever saw -- Veronika Part. To some extent that's the difference between Part's plush quality and Hyltin's more clipped quality, but also just the hurried pace of the music that made it hard (impossible) to take it all in. However, I did like some of the corps sections. In any case, I will have a chance to see it a few more times this week and I'll see if I can warm up to it some more.

I saw today's Four Temperaments and then Sonatine and Black Swan pdd, but I bailed out before the manic Swan Lake. I have tickets to a few more shows later this week, mainly to see the assorted casting in the other pieces, so maybe I'll be motivated to sit through it again with some of the debut casting. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing 4T's, just what I needed. Chun Wai Chan is an incredible dancer (I am SO GLAD he is here!) and he and Emilie Gerrity looked great in Sanguinic. Huxley also just amazing, and the four battement-ladies were mesmerizing. Overall an exciting performance. In Sonatine, Ashley Laracey looked better than ever, beautiful and articulate in every aspect of her body, and somehow her presence just expanded way out into the theatre. Really lovely. For Black Swan pdd, Isabella LaFreniere didn't look totally at ease. Peter Walker was fine but there's not a lot to work with dramatically in just an excerpt. I wish there was some way they could do this pdd without Von Rotbart, he looks silly and distracting just sitting and hovering around in that flamboyant orange cape and garish makeup. I look forward to any reports on this evening's Sara Adams-Harrison Ball Tchaikovsky pdd, or the Emma von Enck-Anthony Huxley Andantino.

A few more comments about last night. Mejia and Peck looked great together in Tchaikovsky pdd. Although sometimes Mejia hurls himself into the air with such force that he loses his form. I admire his abilities, and the audience certainly appreciated him, but I'd rather see a little more finesse. Also I thought Indiana Woodward and Gonzalo Garcia looked lovely in Andantino. If I've ever seen this piece before, I've forgotten it, but I enjoyed it. Woodward looked very fresh considering she just came off her debut in Serenade, and her legs somehow look longer than I remember. If anyone sees the evening performance, I'd be especially interested in hearing about the Sara Adams-Harrison Ball Tchaikovsky pdd. I don't think of Adams as a bravura dancer, but I've seen so little of her in recent years I can't be sure. In any case, this looks like a lovely pairing of two charming, airy dancers. Also interested in hearing about the Emma von Enck-Anthony Huxley Andantino. This is another great-looking matchup.

Great to hear Megan Fairchild is back in action, and @BalanchineFan thanks for the comments about Joseph Gordon and Unity Phelan in Black Swan pdd, I was wondering how that went. I would love to hear any other reports, also how was Chan in, I believe it's Sanguinic, in 4T's? I was at this evening's performance, and while I have seen the Balanchine one-act SL before, it's been some years. I do NOT love it. It felt odd to be plunked right down into the action of Scene 2 with no preamble whatsoever. There's no plot to speak of. The tempi plowed along so fast it seemed like the conductor was in a rush to get home. Thankfully it slowed down a bit for the pdd. I didn't love the section with what I would call the two "big swans" -- Ashley Hod and Claire Kretszchmar, neither of them looking stellar, and would rather have had cygnettes. If anyone more familiar with the history of the choreography can tell me when this dates from, I'd be glad for the info. I didn't love the black swan outfits, which didn't seem very swanlike (I don't have the program handy, but surely this cannot be Karinska's work.) And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I missed the end of the Peter Martins SL, where she kind of melts back into the flock of backwards-bourreeing swans disappearing into the wings.

Was anyone there tonight? Would be interested in a report and if Miller made her debut in Slaughter. Her legs are certainly suited for the role. Does she have the comedic chops?

I attended the Mozartiana-Rubies-La Valse program again last night, mainly drawn in to see a repeat of the stellar Saturday night casting. After seeing Harrison Ball in Mozartiana twice now, I conclude that he still has plenty of room to grow in this role, in order to feel truly comfortable in it and to project into the theatre more. Nonetheless, he looks really beautiful and has a quality that just touches my heart. I would gladly see him in this again. I'm not sure this is the best role for Tiler Peck, as I would like to see someone with more interiority. Also I don't think the Ball-Peck partnership has much natural chemistry, although it would help if he would relax his face more. Still, overall a performance I'm very glad I saw. Rubies was incredible again, with Mira Nadon, and Sterling Hyltin and Roman Mejia all tearing up the stage. Can't ask for much better. Glad I didn't miss this. I've been enjoying La Valse more than expected, after seeing it during the fall and again several times this season. Just the beauty and sweep of it, along with some outstanding individual performances. I can't wait to see Emily Kikta in bigger roles, but she is also making a huge impression in the Menuet of Mozartiana, where her long limbs command attention; and with her sense of drama as one of the three ladies in La Valse.

Wanted to agree with this too. I had the impression that Ball had done a lot to prepare for this performance, which is a good fit for him and a good opportunity too. Someone up-thread mentioned he was impassive - I noticed that as well. Yet despite that, I found him quite vulnerable and touching. Not sure how to put all that together, but that was my impression. I bought a ticket to see this program and casting again on Wednesday, largely wanting to see Ball again.