ABT Fan

So, Curley is now playing Mithridates 6 times?! I haven't seen the production yet, just rehearsal clips - it seems to have some difficult choreography, but maybe it's a short role. Still. Wonder why they didn't spread the love amongst him and Frenette, the later who is only doing it twice. Sorry to hear that Stearns is either ill or injured. But, a good opportunity for the corps fellas.

I wonder what the Plan B is for SL which is only the following week, in case Stearns is out of that as well. He has 2 shows.

Boylston and Simkin blew the roof off tonight! They got an even bigger reception than Brandt/Cornejo at the matinee. This is a great role for Boylston: she has a big, high jump, great extensions and a vivacious personality. Fast turns, good hops on pointe (though Brandt’s traveled much further) and fast fouettés, though she nearly lost it at the end. Simkin brought his usual bag of tricks: 540’s, endless pirouette revolutions, beautiful, high jumps, plus charm, wit, and impeccable timing. Overhead lifts were solid. 
 

Teuscher was an underwhelming Mercedes; no sass, spirit or flair. Such a contrast to Trenary’s fiery interpretation at the matinee. Her Queen of the Dryads was lovely but her lack of an arabesque muddled some lines. Forster was a very good Espada. Williams and Waliski were fine flower girls. Klein was outstanding as the lead gypsy - so glad he’s getting Mercutio, he needs to be featured more. Coker and Granlund stood out in the corps, both need to be promoted. Crispino again caught my eye; he was a Toreador and played it up magnificently.

A wonderful double-feature day at the ballet.

Brandt and Cornejo were fantastic this afternoon! But, Cornejo was truly exceptional. At 41 with a long history of injuries, he was in truly magnificent form. He pulled off multiple pirouettes with ease, leaped high with no strain, and his swagger, charm, dramatic and comedic abilities are unparalleled. Only a few times did his age show - in Act III his jumps to arabesque gave away a reduced flexibility in his back and leg but it didn’t matter. He also dances with intelligence but no ego - maybe twice I saw him attempt a crazy turn that you could tell he couldn’t quite complete or at least complete cleanly but he quickly shifted gears and ended the turn with a flourish and additional step or two that beautifully covered it up without it being obvious. The one arm overhead lifts, and all overhead lifts, were effortlessly and beautifully done.

Brandt was also exceptional but there was something missing which I can’t quite articulate. She had some amazing balances which drove the audience wild. Hops on pointe covered the entire stage with ease. But her Plisetskaya jumps were a bit sloppy and she didn’t hit the shape. She’s really turned into a marvelous actress. She and Cornejo had some funny, natural moments. Her maturity really comes through now, she’s an intelligent dancer with lots of confidence but I think sometimes she vears too close to boasting. She also juts her head out a lot which breaks her alignment. 
 

McBride and Granlund were lovely flower girls, but McBride needs to ease up on her megawatt smile. More soloist opportunities for Granlund please.

Trenary was a gorgeous, sexy, commanding Mercedes and a beautiful Queen of the Dryads with secure Italian fouettés. Shayer was ok as Espada. He lacked Spanish flair and bravado; he did really well with the cape though. He has extreme flexibility but he needs to reign that in at certain moments. 
 

Coker was a lively and sassy gypsy lady and her partner, Magbitang, wow! I see him as the next Cornejo - technique, charm and great stage presence. Incredible that he’s only an apprentice and probably still a teenager. Always great to see Ribagorda as the hilarious Gamache. Rachel Richardson was a last minute sub for Amour; she was spritely and charming. Luigi Crispino caught my eye in the background- he has a very animated face and fabulous technique. He’ll make a great Basilio some day.

The company really looked great and  I almost couldn’t believe I was finally back at the Met after 3 years. I did miss the extra supers on stage, especially the man with the bushy white beard who used to super in all the full lengths.

21 minutes ago, abatt said:

Casting for Mercutio in R&J is now listed on the ABT website.

Fantastic to see two deserving corps dancers get cast, Klein and Pogossian. Anyone else remember Jeffrey Cirio in this part? Wow. Hope to see a few other corps fellas get Benvolio. 

14 minutes ago, cobweb said:

There have been a couple of recent comments about the stalled career of Joseph Gorak. I don’t attend ABT nearly as much as I did, say, 5-10 years ago, so I haven’t followed his career closely. For those of you who attend ABT all the time, any thoughts about his failure to live up to his early promise? Was it injury, lack of opportunity, lack of suitable partners, or other (official news only of course!)?

Positively not lack of opportunity nor partners. He was given Romeo, Nutcracker Prince, Prince Desire, the poet in Les Sylphides, T&V, and other high profile solo roles. He danced with Boylston, Copeland, Lane, others. His partnering never improved, in fact it was scary at times or just plain weak. Dramatic and technical abilities never developed beyond peasant pas or the Bronze Idol, his two most frequent roles. For whatever reason he just didn’t progress in ability. As far as I know and remember, he was never injured, at least nothing long term or serious. He was an absolute favorite of mine for years, in basic soloist roles. I will say that his Bronze Idol is one of the best I’ve seen.

Oh yeah, how could I forget about Gorak. Speaking of, he’s not cast in anything. Assuming he’ll do peasant pas de trois in SL like usual, but for a soloist it’s sad that that’s the best he can do. I’m wondering if he’ll leave soon.

5 minutes ago, abatt said:

I'm guessing that this weekend might be the last time we see Simkin at ABT, since he is no longer a company member and only acquired these guest appearances because Whiteside was injured.  Simkin was a wonderful addition to the company. I hope he and Susan Jaffe can come to an agreement where he continues to appear with ABT.

I also wonder whether this will be the last run of Don Q for Cornejo, who is now 40 or 41.

 

I think you’re probably right. I also hope that Jaffe brings him back as a guest (I also hope she trims the roster a bit). Cornejo is 41; I’m shocked he’s even doing T&V especially since he didn’t do it at their last Fall run in 2019.

1 minute ago, tutu said:

Literally — how tall is Bell again?

Pretty sure 6’3

I don’t think Bell and Shevchenko have danced together before and they probably had little rehearsal time. So a little unsteadiness or apprehension seems expected under the circumstances. Wish I had seen it as it sounds like it was a great show regardless.

Yes, that was originally Stearns

Wow. I’m sorry to have missed Hurlin, but I just couldn’t sign up for a 3rd DQ in one week.

For those who didn’t see this, ABT posted rehearsal footage of Hurlin’s fouettés for an ad on IG:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CezB1VJpalH/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

21 minutes ago, tutu said:

Did anyone see the Hurlin Hurricane?  Especially curious after the positive reports from the gala.

I also would like to know…

Who went to the gala tonight? Would love to hear about it.

So, Paulina Waski has returned to the company from Boston and will be dancing Flower girls this week:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CepUbqxM5uA/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Omg, that SNL skit is a hoot! Yes, thanks for posting.

Volcanohunter, I haven’t seen the new film but your comments are exactly how I felt about La La Land. I made it through about 10 minutes, which was 10 minutes too long.

Yeah, that is odd. Seems as if Abrera is only taking this on for the 22-23 academic year while they search for a permanent replacement, which could turn out to her in the end I suppose. 

T&V casting has finally been posted:

Shevchenko/Bell: 7/7 and 7/9 (evening
Teuscher/Ahn: 7/8
Brandt/Cornejo: 7/9 (matinee)

I'm surprised, but pleased, that Shevchenko got 2 shows. I would have expected AD fav Teuscher to get that.

https://www.abt.org/performances/master-calendar/

21 minutes ago, angelica said:

I especially hate and (2) the women's costumes in the first act where they are so encumbered by fabric that you can't see what are possibly beautiful (don't know 'cause can't see 'em) lines.

Yes! Such a distraction. And, the thick puffy collars. Most of the women look swallowed up as if they were playing dress up. Especially bad on the smaller dancers.

2 minutes ago, California said:

With my apologies: https://www.instagram.com/p/CeWIMvhI34p/

thank you!

5 hours ago, California said:

Here's a new clip of Hurlin and Bell rehearsing Of Love and Rage, with Ratmansky directing. I think he looks pretty healthy!

https://aesthetics-online.org/news/600328/Virtual-Summer-Aesthetics-Festival-Announces-Programs.htm

California, where is the clip of them rehearsing? That link takes me here:

Virtual Summer Aesthetics Festival Announces Programs

Thursday, June 2, 2022   
Posted by: Julie Van Camp 

The 2022 Virtual Summer Aesthetics Festival is pleased to announce programs in June and July. The Festival is co-sponsored by the American Society for Aesthetics, the British Society of Aesthetics, and the Kent Centre for Aesthetics. Attendance is free and open to all. 

June 3: The Aesthetic Value of Scientific Experiments (panel)

https://aesthetics-online.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1621636&group=

June 8: Does Kant Really Have an Account of Humour?

https://aesthetics-online.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1626358&group=

June 10: The Ethics of Cover Songs (panel)

https://aesthetics-online.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1626071&group=

July 5: Aesthetic causes of epistemic underestimation and the banality objection to aesthetic cognitivism

         https://aesthetics-online.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1645377&group= 

Do you have a proposal for the Festival?

Guidelines: https://aesthetics-online.org/news/news.asp?id=590512

38 minutes ago, California said:

I just watched the live stream of the opening night cast rehearsing Act II for Of Love and Rage, with Ratmansky. Bell was there and to my (untrained) eye did not seem injured or limited in any way.  So we'll hope the cast change was triggered by something else.  This is the opening night cast:

Catherine Hurlin (Callirhoe)

Aran Bell (Chaereas)

Daniel Camargo (Dionysius)

Cory Stearns (Mithridates)

Roman Zhurbin (King of Babylon)

Katherine Williams (Queen of Babylon)

There was a live stream?? (Only for donors or something I guess?)

Thanks for letting us know. Maybe Bell has a wedding to go to (or some other random thing that caused this casting shuffle...).

If Bell is injured, maybe it is minor enough that he believes he can get through Act I at the gala but not risk the entire ballet. 

Certainly hope he is not injured. If he needs to be replaced in several ballets, Ahn is the most likely replacement as he has the least to do. With Whiteside already out, they do not have a deep bench to pull from.

As of right now, nothing posted on Bell's IG.

Such a pet peeve when the Met opera has updated casting but ABT’s own site does not. 😒

Nice to see two more corps dancers get a shot at Purple VR. I know Royal is doing two Siegfried’s but I still wish he was cast; his interpretation is so good.

On 5/26/2022 at 10:58 PM, abatt said:

No it is not for all performances.  If you click on the link it shows you which performances it applies to.

Thank you.

Did anyone happen to notice the shows that are mostly listed? Nearly all of Seo's: one of her SL's, both of her R&J's, both of her Love/Rage. Yikes.

12 minutes ago, angelica said:

Didn't ABT present Raymonda Variations (or some such name) as part of a Repertory program before they shut down for the pandemic? I remember Devon Teuscher doing magnificent multiple turns of all kinds, which totally won me over.

Yep, but many, many years ago. It was Raymonda Divertissements (Kolpakova/McKenzie) from California's list above. Remember the hate the new costumes got? I'll admit I didn't love them but it was a hot topic on this site. Here's a YouTube video of the bows from one performance (Teuscher wasn't at this performance). 

Teuscher had just been promoted to soloist. We might have been at the same performance - I remember how extraordinarily (and effortlessly) she handled some of the prickliest choreography I've seen. Men were shouting "brava" before her solo was finished. At the time, I remember thinking that no principal woman could have done it half as well as this relatively unknown dancer (except Murphy). She doesn't bring it in terms of artistry for me, but technique-wise she blew me away at that performance.