ABT Fan

45 minutes ago, California said:

Act I, Sancho Panza was tossed high from a blanket. The Bolshoi tosses the real person. Cuba tosses what was obviously a stuffed dummy, even from the first tier. 

I couldn't help but think back to Alonso's 90th birthday celebration by ABT at the met in 2010. They did Don Quixote, but with three sets of principals, which was truly fun. I remember that Marcelo Gomes did Act I and Osipova-Vasiliev did III, but can't remember the rest. Interesting that this seems to be the ballet everybody associates with her. This production by Cuba dates to 1988 and I'm not sure she even danced the role much if at all. At least the film this week showed her Giselle and most of the music came from Theme and Variations, another of her greatest roles.

A stuffed dummy? Sounds a bit odd, however, from what you've described the dancing was pretty stellar with some minor quibbles. Wish they were performing in NYC.

At the ABT 2010 celebration, Act I was Herrera/Gomes, Act II was Reyes/Cornejo, and Act III was Osipova/Carreno. I didn't attend and kicked myself afterwards.

1 minute ago, fondoffouettes said:

But I only have major props for Cornejo. He still delivers in many ways and is an exciting dancer.

I completely agree. I'm just used to seeing him virtually flawless so that made this stand out to me. His lessening flexibility doesn't deter anything for me. And, I also wanted to add, as I forgot before, that I couldn't agree more with the others on how special and intense the partnership is between he and Lane. I really wish they could have done a Giselle together again this year. It was so full of passion. Their sweet and personal embrace during the bows tonight made many in the audience go "awwwwwww" at the sincerity of their affection towards each other. 

It was a mixed bag tonight. Dancers who are usually secure had off nights and a few who have been inconsistent had a good performance. Still, some beautiful dancing.

This wasn't the debut Lane wanted I'm sure. She was overall gorgeous, soulful, had lovely acting, beautiful port de bras. But, her balances were really off and she had a lot of wobbles. A few of her supported pirouettes with Cornejo ended awkwardly with him stopping her too early. The scarf dance wasn't very good. Lane had a lot of trouble with the developes and the turns and she came out of all of them early. There were many lovely moments for her with strong dancing but this was an off night for her. A few people have said she's inconsistent in general, but that's not what I've seen over the years. This was an unfortunate night.

Cornejo had many gasp-inducing moments with his stellar jumps and turns. But, some of his partnering was off like the pirouettes I already mentioned. In Act II during one of his solos, he finished his pirouettes really early (the kind where he usually spins for like 10 times before turning them into another dramatic series of spins), and had to fill up the music awkwardly with walking and arm gestures before he could start his ménage. Very unusual for him.

Brandt had a stellar debut as Gamzatti. Those big, expressive eyes of hers were put to great use. The bracelet battle was intense and she stared Lane down with looks that could kill. When Nikiya was dancing with the basket of flowers and gestured them towards Gamzatti and Solor, Brandt's face said "what flowers? I don't see any flowers. I don't know anything about any flowers." Priceless. Her dancing was secure and she handled the fouettes and Italian fouettes without any issue. Her center of gravity seemed off kilter during some of her turns, but she didn't wobble or fall out of them. The biggest thing with her though was how she owned the role. Complete confidence. And, she's stopped opening her mouth so much, especially at the end of phrases.

Shayer was the Head Fakir and his jumping skills were on terrific display here. 

Gorak did the Bronze Idol and he was magnificent! Clear, precise, strong and powerful. For a guy who has fallen by the wayside over the years with so-so performances, this was a revelation. Of course, it's a small part, but he still has skill and performance ability in him.

Fang, Giangeruso (both just ok) and Hurlin were the 3 shades. Hurlin was extraordinary. Such presentation, lovely upper body, secure technique. She stood out amongst all of the shades. Speaking of, the shades entrance has not improved from what others already saw this week. R Richardson was first followed by Nicole Graniero (always love seeing her return for the Met season). Richardson was very wobbly and finished each arabesque a second earlier than the rest. Several other shaking legs in the rows. Once they were all in formation,    Richardson and Graniero were so off balance in the opening develope, that I was sure one or both of them would fall over. A woman behind me gasped they were wobbling so bad. Very uncharacteristic of Graniero. She is always one of the most solid and reliable dancers (and is perfectly in sync when she does the 4 little swans in SL). And, in the Pas d'Action, Graniero and McBride collided. Also, McBride is an excellent dancer and she stands out, but she needs to tone down her Colgate smile that I notice in every performance. It looks forced.

The D'Jampe dancers were all over the place and not together. I didn't catch in the announcement who the 2 dancers were who replaced the ones in the program, but they looked poorly rehearsed. Aran Bell had a small part in the Pas d'Action. His dancing was excellent but he had no presentation. 

I really wish Lane and Cornejo got another performance this week to iron out the kinks. Hope the corps can come together and give some better shows.

4 minutes ago, pherank said:

Who is staging La Bayadère for ABT? Is it Makarova?

Yes, Makarova.

On 5/25/2018 at 1:42 AM, Helene said:

James Whiteside interviewed Kevin McKenzie for his podcast "The Stage Rightside" the week before the Gala, and one of the topics they discussed was the works in the gala.

https://stagerightside.libsyn.com/kevin-mckenzie-on-directing

This is a not-to-miss episode for anyone interested in ABT.

Thanks for this. A VERY interesting interview that had some genuine advice-seeking questions from Whiteside, and on a more personal note than I would have expected, that I really appreciated hearing. 

It's confirmed that Gray Davis (husband of Cassandra Trenary) is leaving after the Met season, and will presumably head to Georgia shortly thereafter.

It'll be interesting to see if Lendorf remains on the roster after this season. It's been assumed he's been injured (he was injured awhile back, but is he still (?), I've seen no confirmation), but he's barely danced with the company, pulling out of one performance after another. If he's still injured, I wish him a good recovery. But, I wouldn't be surprised to see him go. 

2 hours ago, California said:

I don't think Bolle ever performed in the Swan Lake reconstruction.  Did he do the Sleeping Beauty reconstruction with ABT? He is seriously committed to the new season, and as he nears retirement, I wonder how much of the programming was designed with him in mind. Nureyev stagings typically have enhanced choreography for the male principal.

Bolle did not do Ratmansky's SB w/ ABT. I can understand why this version would not be everyone's cup of tea, but I thought there was nothing cheap looking about it. Quite the contrary.

Bayadere kicks off this week and I'm looking forward to seeing some debuts and reading everyone's critiques (if anyone sees Ahn's debut, please post!).

3 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

Sterling Baca in the men’s dressing room at the Met! (It was posted by Carlos Gonzalez as an Instagram story.) I wonder what this means, if anything. 

Could he be coming back to dance with ABT for the Met season, the way Nicole Graniero does? I don’t think PA Ballet has anything programmed until October. That’s a long layoff period...

I don't think so. He has an Instagram story up that says he's in NYC for the weekend to see his ABT friends. He was probably taking class with the company and using the men's dressing room afterwards (and hanging out with his friends).

3 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

Here's the interview with Boylston:

http://observer.com/2018/05/isabella-boylston-brings-realism-to-american-ballet-theatre-2018-season/

She says, "The music is exquisite, which is probably the reason why he wanted to bring it back, so beautiful and danceable. But there’s also lots of hopping on point—so painful!—and it’s conspicuous when you fail."'

Copeland is still set to dance Gamzatti next week, which is no walk in the park, so I can't image she's injured. Ratmansky has cast her in lots of his ballets, so I wonder if he wanted to try to make this work but she couldn't pull off the steps. 

Thank you - that's the interview I was thinking of.

I agree that it doesn't appear that Copeland is injured with all of her other roles still scheduled. 

Whatever the reason, I'm glad that Brandt was cast and I'm really looking forward to seeing this ballet.

9 hours ago, alexL said:

An update on Harlequinade casting- Skylar Brandt will be dancing in place of Misty Copeland. That is June 6th mat and 9th eve. 

I also just realized that Simkin will be dancing with Boylston in Swan Lake on 19th and Aran Bell is dancing Rothbart on 22nd. Why didn't I see this before? Anyway, I happened to have June 6th ticket and am very excited to see the Brandt/Simkin pairing!

Wow. Isabella Boylston said in an interview (or was it an Instagram post?) that Columbine has a lot of hops on pointe in her choreography, so I wonder if that's the reason for the change. Happy for Brandt though.

Lendorf has been completely removed from the season (even from Bayadere in LA), which many of us predicted would happen. Simkin replaces him in SL. Whiteside replaces him in DQ with Shevchenko. Good for Bell getting a Purple Rothbart debut (two shows). I have a feeling he replaces Lendorf in at least one of those. Happy Royal gets 3 PR's. Hope I can catch one of those. 

I finally saw this the other day on Netflix and I found it engrossing.

The x-ray of her back as a young girl before she got the brace for her scoliosis - oh my goodness. I could not believe how severely crooked her spine was. It's amazing that she was able to dance at all.

It was surreal to see Peter Martins post-"retirement". He came off as quite caring of her.

I was fascinated with the parts on her injury, surgery (not as gory as I was expecting) and recovery, and it's incredible that until that time she had been basically injury-free her entire career. It was very touching to see Albert Evans, and disheartening to hear other dancers tell Whelan something to the effect of "oh, I'm sorry I haven't called/texted/emailed, I've been so busy...." while she was out. It seems like she was forgotten.

Overall, I really felt for her and it was quite sad at times. Yes, dancers have a laser focus and train intensively from an early age. But, Whelan really had tunnel vision (not a criticism) and came up at a time when having outside interests or pursuits (or babies) was not nearly as common as it is for today's young dancers. But, I didn't get the sense that she was blaming NYCB for any of that. I was especially moved when she talked about some recently retired dancers who had transitioned into other careers that they had been preparing for while they were still dancing, and here she is face-to-face with retirement with nothing else to do, nothing else that she wants to do. I really felt that she felt her life was coming to an end. Though, by the end of the documentary she seemed more at peace with it.

Oh wow! Congratulations to them!

An article in the NY Times today says that the search for a successor is only now beginning. And, that it's "the first phase of a process that is not expected to include interviewing candidates until fall at earliest".

The article also states that whomever is chosen will continue to lead both the company and SAB.

I think it's good that they're taking their time and interviewing dancers, board members, staff, etc. to get their take on the kind of leader that they want.

Given the timeline here, it would be reasonable to think that a new leader won't take the helm till January, at the earliest.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/23/arts/dance/new-york-city-ballet-searches-for-leader.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront

1 hour ago, abatt said:

The problem with that is that you have paid full price to see half a program.  ABT tickets aren't cheap.  They should have given a parental age warning at the time subscription sales began.  Since they failed to do that, they should offer a full refund to anyone who requests it regarding this program.   We all know there is a snowball's chance in hell of that happening.

Of course. But, I'm guessing some of Copeland's fans would still want to see her in Firebird and would still consider it a win-win, even if they only stayed for that one ballet (and the little girls holding the Copeland Barbie doll would be thrilled). But, I'm sure some of them would want to see an entire program. Without any warning (and at this point, it's after the fact, after they've purchased tickets) folks aren't given a chance to decide. There are people, including yourself according to some of your postings, that leave a program early or come late for whatever reason (whether that's at ABT, NYCB, or wherever). It's an option. A great option? Maybe for some, maybe not for others. But, at this point, and I just checked their website, I'd put the chance of them issuing a warning right up there with them re-hiring Veronica Part.

What is the order of this program? Is Firebird first or last? Many young children will be going to see Copeland in Firebird, and I imagine a number of children will be going anyway, especially to the matinees. If Firebird is first I imagine the families could leave after that if they knew about AfterRite's content. But, given how poorly this program is selling (combined with Macauley's review, and many people read reviews before buying tickets) I imagine they don't want to jeopardize further sales. I didn't go last night and I don't plan on seeing this program, but it doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy to say the least (I'm also no fan of that kind of exaggerated choreography with splayed legs every which way and partnering that continually manipulates the woman). I'm all for art imitating life and pushing boundaries, but I think there's a time and a place and a way to do it that isn't gratuitous or just for shock value. That's my take. Others are free to have their own opinions. I can't imagine little kids seeing this. 

I did not go to Abrera's Giselle this year as I found her performance last year to be disappointing (some lovely moments, but not great). That said, I am still a devoted member of the Stella fan club and am looking forward to seeing her Pierrette and Mercedes in a few weeks.

I have a hunch though, that she knows her technique isn't what it used to be, and that's why she pushed through an apparent injury to keep her Giselle performance. People who saw her last year as well as this year have noted even more of a decline in that one year, so perhaps she concluded that she better do whatever it takes to get on that stage because who knows what will happen next year. 

I'd say that the guest artists of the past 5 or so more years (post "golden age" that abatt references) did Abrera the most disservice. However, McKenzie chose to give principal roles to Seo and Boylston (the few roles that were given out to the core ABT dancers) during that time instead of Abrera. Abrera had that terrible back injury about 10 years ago, but she was healthy for several years after that and spent that time dancing peasant pas instead of getting new roles. So, it wasn't just the guest artists, per se, it was the AD choosing other homegrown dancers over her, and much younger dancers, who, IMO, could have waited a year or two to get Giselle or Juliet. 

I've been trying to figure out why he's loaded up Teuscher so much this season, more than any other female principal. I've thought that perhaps he sees her as "Murphy's replacement", a dancer with exceptional technique who can do practically any principal role. Teuscher turned 29 recently. I'm guessing Shevchenko is around that age. Although, I don't like the fact that he's overlooking other dancers (and is opposed to shorter dancers in many roles, on both the female and male side), perhaps he's figured out that he needs to make up for lost time and start pushing Teuscher and Shevchenko now before they're nearly 40 and past their prime!

Hopefully, Brandt and Trenary won't fall into soloist purgatory like Lane and Abrera did, but given the AD's dislike for short dancers, who knows what their trajectory will be like. I'm cautiously optimistic. They both have the goods and I believe they're both around 25 (?). I hope they don't have to wait another 5+ years for the plum parts and a promotion.

Stella Abrera posted a touching tribute to Salstein on her Instagram this morning. Scroll through to see some nice pictures.

1 minute ago, abatt said:

But how could he know anything about her personally, since he does not have a personal friendship or relationship with her.  As a critic, his remarks about each dancer relates to what they did on stage that he observed, not what they are like off stage. 

My guess is that he's judging her by what he's seen and read of her in interviews, in print and in video, and how she presents herself offstage. 

As a critic, his remarks should relate to someone's dancing, and only their dancing. But, he doesn't always do that. His comment years ago that Stiefel's hair made him look like a member of the Hitler Youth, had nothing to do with Stiefel's dancing (not to mention being highly offensive for many reasons).

My impression is that he isn't talking about Copeland's dancing here, but her offstage persona.

If he isn't, then using the word "unspoiled" is an odd adjective of choice to me.

I guess I have a different opinion on what Macaulay means.

I think by "unspoiled" he's talking about her personally, as in she's remained humble and gracious despite her fame. I don't think he's talking about her dancing here, because "unspoiled" or "spoiled" usually refers to a person's character and also because he references her dancing immediately after that, changing the topic.

If he meant that her dancing was "unspoiled", then his sentence should have read something like: "Since she’s now among the biggest names in world ballet, it's refreshing to see how unspoiled her mannerisms are, but I wish she projected more sheer authority."

Macaulay has a habit of critiquing, or less often, praising the personal qualities of dancers, that has nothing to do with the actual dancing. How many remember the most unfortunate description he gave to Ethan Stiefel's hair and overall appearance several years ago?

Shevchenko's wobbles on the opening arabesques at the matinee were, from what I've seen, very uncharacteristic of her. I saw all three of her Myrta's last year and even in that first performance, her debut, she was rock solid. And, I love her characterization. I haven't noticed any sickled feet on her, as someone else mentioned. I'm glad to hear that Williams' debut went well; I wish I could have seen it. And, hopefully Waski will get her Myrta debut next year (assuming they do Giselle next year - please!). 

I saw this on the other thread. Very sorry that I'll be missing his farewell. Though he wasn't a pyro-technician I thought he was a great dancer with a strong, precise technique and a great stage presence. He was also a very good actor. I'll miss him.

50 minutes ago, Quiggin said:

Thrilling to hear a gospel chorus sing "Stand by Me" at St George's chapel – 

They were marvelous. And, they were all marvelously dressed. Anyone know where they were from?

I did love Markle’s second dress and her mother’s. 

49 minutes ago, Barbara said:

Did Bolle really do 3 performances today??? That's what it looked like from his IG story. The 11:00 Kids performance, then the 2 Giselles. Or perhaps he was just indicating his admiration of the company doing 3 performances in one day. 

I saw his IG story too and I took that as just his admiration for the company doing 3 shows today. 

1 minute ago, laurel said:

At least Lane will get another chance to perform.  Because it looks like she will be off all of next week.  Hoping Trenary will be back in time for the debut of the McGregor piece on Monday.  Not to mention her upcoming Gamzatti in Bayadere.

Yes, I agree with this completely.