ABT Fan

Cobweb, I’m in the same boat. My designated drawer for my programs is bursting, so my current ones are just sitting on a counter. I guess I need to clear out another drawer. I also can’t bring myself to tearing them apart. 

55 minutes ago, aurora said:

In my opinion, you are missing out by not seeing Shevchenko in the role! (Not that Sarah wouldn't be reason to come back too, but there are other good reasons to see it)

Shevchenko and Lane are the only O/O I would see (again). Although, next year I might see Teuscher again only to see Bell as Siegfried. 

1 hour ago, nanushka said:

@scoutforsythe

Thanks. Apparently, Bond is leaving, per Forsythe’s Instagram. She shows two images in her story and one says goodbye to Bond and Waski in a “swan hug”.

12 hours ago, AB'sMom said:

An ABT dancer’s Instagram story today said, “Congratulations on a great career at ABT, Gemma Bond,” and showed Gemma standing at the front of the room reading something and the whole company applauding. Is she officially retiring?

Whose Instagram was that?

11 hours ago, Lena C. said:

Yes, I meant the white swan pas. It was listen as dying swan in the program, but perhaps that was only for the benefit of the children's understanding.

That is very strange. 

1 hour ago, Lena C. said:

By chance I saw that Sarah donated her Manon debut shoes to the dancer's emergency fund and I snatched them right up and had Sarah and Herman both sign them. 

Wow - that is quite a treasure! 

1 hour ago, Lena C. said:

Anyone else think Sarah only came on the wolf trap tour to be Misty's understudy? 

Most definitely. But, I’m sure she enjoyed accompanying her husband who was scheduled to dance.

1 hour ago, Lena C. said:

Yesterday I saw Christine and Alex perform the dying swan for a kids show at the new victory theatre. She was just exquisite, impressive for not having had the entire show to build on emotionally. I wish Christine was performing at Wolf Trap, more than just the new York audience need to see her Swan Lake! In my opinion, she is the current best interpreter of the role, Gillian aside. Definitely deserved more than one show this past met season. 

I believe you mean the White Swan pas de deux. The dying swan is a stand alone solo that is not part of Swan Lake. I agree that Shevchenko deserved more than one show at the Met and she should be doing it at Wolf Trap instead of one of the other ladies.

8 hours ago, bingham said:

i read somewhere that Tom is 6'2 or 6'3.

 

That’s about right. Hoven is inches shorter. I recently stood next to him so he’s about 5’10, 5’11 at the tallest.

46 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Does the current roster (even counting Bell as a principal in all but title) seem sufficient then?

Even for the Met season I’d argue that the ranks are too thin. Hallberg’s and Simkin’s travels (plus injuries, etc) all have to be factored into the mix. It’s McKenzie’s job to account for such things. Last week we had a corps dancer pick up two lead role performances and drop a solo to get through it all.

I agree that the male roster is too thin, even with Bell dancing leads. I also wouldn’t rule out Mack joining for the upcoming season. He will be a guest with ENB through the fall so perhaps he’ll dance with ABT starting in the winter. Or, just guest again at the Met. 

Regarding Forster, he hasn’t been adequately tested to rule him out. Why not? I’d love to know. Dramatically, I think he’d be amazing, perhaps astonishing, as Siegried or Albrecht. Technically, I cannot say but I believe he should be given the chance (in contrast with Royal, who would have a LOT of difficulty with the choreography).  I don’t see him as Benno though, partially due to his size and natural authority. I think it would look odd to have Siegried’s sidekick tower over him. I don’t see him in this role at all, I guessed for other reasons I cannot explain. 

And, I agree with abatt that if the AD wasn’t so lenient with Hallberg, he’d be out of there in a millisecond. He’s proven that ABT is his last priority. 

It’ll be interesting to see if Lendorf actually dances this season.

17 minutes ago, CTballetfan said:

Thank you, ABT Fan, for this update. I too would love to see Lane in R&J. I also have my eye on Catherine Hurlin, hopefully for some big roles, and Aran Bell too, whom I have not seen. 

Since Bell has already done Romeo, Siegried and Prince Desire, I suspect he’ll debut Solor and/or Albrecht next year. Bayadere he’d be paired with Teuscher I imagine. Hmm...for Giselle, could we see a double debut with Trenary? Or, would he be paired with Seo? Regarding Hurlin and the other female soloists, they have a lot of competition for lead parts (unlike Bell), especially assuming Murphy will be back by then. Watch the casting for the winter tours!

3 minutes ago, CTballetfan said:

Thank you to all the posters on this forum for your reviews and impressions of the spring 2019 season. I followed you all. I was not planning to see any ABT performances this season, despite having been a past subscriber for many years (I do subscribe to NYCB) but I felt impelled to see Lane and Cornejo in Manon and SB and I was not disappointed. Their chemistry in Manon and Lane’s Rose Adagio and  Cornejo’s solo in SB were worth the effort of getting there.

What are you hoping/expecting to see in spring 2020? Is it time for Giselle or Don Q or R&J? Will there be any ballets not often performed? Will Gillian be back to dazzle us with her technical mastery? Any clues to any of this?

Wishing you all a good summer. 

They are doing SL, Giselle and Bayadere on tour in 2020 so we will definitely see those three at the Met. Also, Ratmansky is doing a new full length which we’ve discussed on another thread. Besides those four, I’m also curious what we’ll see. R&J would be great, if Lane will finally get her debut (and be cast with Cornejo). 

Murphy had said she’d be back for the fall, but she wasn’t listed in the fall announcement. Maybe they’re doing a wait and see approach. If not the fall, I imagine next summer if not sooner (Nutcracker, tours, etc).

Congratulations to both of them! Glad Ahn was also included (Bell was a sure thing). 

2 hours ago, abatt said:

Bell danced in today's matinee, but they deleted Desire's big solo in the Wedding Act.  Very disappointed.  Boylston was outstanding.

To anyone who saw Bell’s earlier performances, was this a first or had they deleted this sequence before? 

Hilarious......

19 minutes ago, California said:

Good grief - what a schedule! Is there no one else who could substitute? On Instagram, the morning after his Swan Lake, Hallberg said he felt like he had been hit by a truck. 

Bell is only 20 years old, so he’s got youth (and more energy) on his side vs a mid-30’s Hallberg who has several injuries behind him. Still, four is a lot. I guess Whiteside is still injured or sick. I wonder why they didn’t have Gorak take one, esp since he’s done this ballet with Boylston before. I suppose this is a good test for Bell - to see how he handles (last minute) pressure. Although, I believe his promotion is inevitable regardless and I suspect only days away.

I agree with all of the wonderful things that have already been said about Lane/Cornejo in SB. Lane is a quintessential Aurora. She was like a hummingbird: light, airy, delicate, lovely, spritely. Cornejo gave no hint of a recent injury. His petite allegro was outstanding. The vision scene was by far the best for them - so romantic. And the backbend described above was unreal. And, it was so charming to see Lane’s husband be her number one suitor. 

Shevchenko was a gracious, lovely, regal Lilac. She had a few minor bobbles with some turns but otherwise she was technically strong. I don’t think I’ve seen her in anything that wasn’t an outstanding performance.

I was happy that Keith Roberts subbed for Carabosse. He was menacing and stole the spotlight. The prologue fairies were just ok with the exception of Brandt as Canary. It’s too short of a solo for someone as perfectly cast as her. Giangeruso tried her best as Violente but she doesn’t possess the quick footwork. Tom Forster was wasted as a Fairy Cavalier. 

Teuscher was surprisingly charming as Diamond. Technically she was predictably excellent, but she projected much more personality than usual. However, I like this role better on Boylston for her big jumps. Hoven was terrific as Bluebird - yes, not the typical size for this but his arms and footwork were beautiful. K Williams was also terrific as Florine. She’s really blossomed this season since being promoted and has become another one of my favorites.

Despite the excellent performances, this SB is like Harlequinade for me now - twice was enough. I appreciate the historical reconstruction, but some of the choreography is too old fashioned: chaine turns on demi (awkward looking),  the low passes, men preparing a pirouette in a half second position instead of in fourth (this one really irks me). The repetitive waltzes and folk dances, esp in Act I...oy. And, poor Bluebird in his padded diaper. I really hope Ratmansky doesn’t do any more reconstructions for ABT.

23 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

The fact that management had initially scheduled her for just one O/O, before Murphy went on maternity leave, seemed a wise decision to me. Who knows what will happen next year, after the weirdness of her pulling out of the black swan PDD in the first performance, and her not even attempting the fouettes in the second. Assuming they bring back R&J next year, they can make that a big Copeland vehicle and perhaps allow her to bid goodbye to O/O. While I could see her staying with ABT for another 5+ years, I think there's going to come a point before that when she physically won't be able to dance O/O any longer. Her private training and skipping company class seem to have done nothing for her technique. 

I forgot that she was initially only scheduled for one performance. However, I very strongly doubt that she’ll ever be taken out of SL, regardless of her abilities. She’ll continue to make technical adjustments as needed. SL will most likely be her retirement performance. Having a black ballerina do O/O with a major company is a very big deal (and it made history with ABT) and it seems like her fans mostly come to that show (others too, but understandably they want to see her in the most famous ballet).

I don’t wish to start another debate on something that has been discussed to death everywhere, but since I’ve said very little about this, I will say that I have very mixed feelings about it all. As a former dancer and current balletomane, I only want to see a dancer who can successfully do the choreography and elicit an emotional reaction from me. For me, that is not Copeland. On the other hand, I understand her importance as a role model and someone who broke barriers and woke up a lot of people (and it was about time). So, I’m conflicted. I can understand her getting one O/O. Not thrilled with it, but I can understand it. Two shows? Nope. 

I just watched this story, too, and agree that the "new" choreography in place of the fish dives is disappointing. It doesn't have the same climax. 

Also, this filmed rehearsal sequence (I've seen a few with the same style) is incredibly annoying with the dancers' bodies cut off to show upside-down reflection in the piano, etc. Grrrr!

Bell is replacing Whiteside in tonight's opening night performance w/ Boylston.

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

Hard to believe this is the final week of the season. Looking forward to seeing Lane/Cornejo as well as the slew of soloist roles this ballet provides. 

1 hour ago, nanushka said:

Royal is looking great this year. He's really building further on the early promise he showed. I can see him making principal in another few years. There's a need for some greater consistency and refinement first, and a few good showings in full-length leading roles in the classics.

ETA: It sounds like Sebastian may have filled in for Hammoudi last night, so he’s getting three shots at the role in his debut run, which is great. Unfortunate that Hanmoudi may be injured, given that he was perhaps having a potentially revitalizing season. (I’m not certain that’s the case but he at least looked better in Dnieper than I’ve seen him in years).

I saw on Fang's Instagram story curtain calls that showed Sebastian as Purple Von Rothbart last night. Royal replaced Hammoudi on Tuesday, so he's clearly out with something.

I agree with what you said about Royal, although I'm uncertain about his principal potential. He definitely needs more refinement, first. I really like how he's developing so far and I was very impressed by his V.R. this time around. 

1 hour ago, cobweb said:

While I hesitate to see ABT do Balanchine, I would be tempted to see a Lane-Cornejo cast. Shevchenko would also be an obvious choice. Others have mentioned Murphy (has she done it before?), Teuscher, Hurlin, and Boylston (no). They can't all do it; someone's going to be left out. But what about the male role? Remember what happened last time... was it that Cory Stearns got injured? Can't remember the cause, but I don't think they want to be turning to Andy Veyette again for this one. 

Murphy has done T&V before, many times. They are doing 5 shows of it so all 5 of those ladies could do it if they only get one performance. I’m not advocating that, just saying it’s possible. I’d rather see no more than 3 casts so 2 casts get to do it twice.

As for the men, Stearns and Cornejo have performed this (yes I believe Stearns was the one who had to be replaced by Veyette). I wonder if Cornejo still has it in him for this? Otherwise, who would Lane dance with? I feel confident Whiteside would be cast. He did a lot of Balanchine at Boston and may have done this there. He is an excellent technician. He and Shevchenko would be a good pair. And, I could see Bell getting it too.

2 minutes ago, California said:

Has an actual schedule been posted anywhere, or just the press release, which is also now on the web site?

https://www.abt.org/abt-2019-fall-season-announced/

It's now on the Master Calendar:

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

33 minutes ago, abatt said:

If I remember correctly, Some Assembly is a pas. 

Yep. I remember seeing it at Avery Fischer Hall (when they held one Fall season there in 2009) with Maria Riccetto and Jared Matthews.