ABT Fan

Wow. Thank you for posting those. Gomes' jump is definitely diminished (due to getting older or just not dancing very much any more), but his nobility, graciousness, dramatic intensity and partnering skills remain as glorious as ever. I've always thought he collapsed to the floor really well in Act II. Seriously. That's not easy to do without either looking overwrought or too careful so you don't hurt yourself. And, what a ginormous bouquet, and bigger than Osmolkina's! (Maybe the card says: "I'm sorry. Please come back. Kevin.")

I guess I wouldn't be surprised. However, Hammoudi is barely dancing. He's doing one Siegfried at the Met (and two Espada's). That's it. No Albrecht or Romeo, even though he's done both in the past. A corps dancer is debuting as Solor, not him. Unless he's tapped to cover for Hallberg, assuming Hallberg cannot dance, it would be desperate to say the least to promote someone who's dancing ONE lead. I've been thinking that maybe the company has finally wised up regarding him, and that's why he's doing so little. He only did SL in Singapore as a sub, for, I can't remember who (Gomes? Lendorf?).

I saw SL last Saturday night, 3/17, and regrettably I have many critiques. California, I agree with most of what you wrote earlier. First off, this was my first time at the Academy of Music, and at 160+ years old it is absolutely beautiful. It looked like an old opera house should, I think, in grandeur and ornateness. Not much leg room in the rows, but I was 2nd from the aisle and I didn't have to get up too many times for others, so it was manageable. And, despite the academy being as old as it is, they have installed ample-sized restroom facilities, for the women at least which even newer concert halls cannot accommodate for some reason. The house was packed; it looked pretty much sold out. I'd expect that of SL, but PA Ballet has had a hard time selling tickets, in general, so this was good to see. Also, the age range was extremely diverse - including many young folks (millennials) and some children (who were very well behaved). Luckily, I didn't have the nightmarish audience interruptions like cobweb did. There were two cell phones that did go off, one right before Odette begins her solo in Act II, of all places, but both times they were quickly silenced by the many heads that whipped around with death glares (including my own). Otherwise, everyone was quiet, very respectful and serious. ACT I: I certainly didn't miss ABT's prologue that shows how Odette was captured as a woman and turned into a swan (or, if going by the prop, more like a rubber chicken). The overall idea is appreciated, just not how it's executed. So, I was grateful that PA just gets on with it by starting with the birthday celebrations. The sets were ok; very simple painted backdrops. The stage is smaller than what I'm used to, and at times that really inhibited the choreography. Though it's not a grand stage, they really could have used a few supernumeraries as village elders and as additional guests in ACT III (the only people on stage were the dancers, except in ACT III they had two/three non-dancing footmen). They could have been stationed off by the wings so they wouldn't be in the way of the dancing. A sense of village community was really missing. The costumes were a mixed bag. The Queen mother's gown was no different from the peasants, except that they added maybe three rhinestones to her dress and she was wearing a crown. No way to dress a queen. Peter Weil was a charming Benno, who looked like a very young Angel Corella. He has the same boyish good looks, was extremely charismatic and a good actor. His technique needs some improving, but he's a corps dancer with potential. The peasant pas de trois with Alexandra Heier and So Jung Shin, was forced to dance under themselves at times as the size of the stage really limited them. They each had some nice moments, but they all ran out of steam quite visibly at the end. Clearly they were exhausted. When Sterling Baca made his entrance as Siegfried, I was questioning if he was a prince or just some random guy who wandered into someone else's party. Speaking of Corella, at his ABT farewell performance several years ago, his inner conflict during ACT I was so beautifully and articulately portrayed, clearly struggling with his noble responsibilities and impending marriage (to someone); better than I've ever seen. Baca, and it pains me to say this, was extraordinarily bland during the entire ballet. No character development, no passion, no excitement, no nobility, ok technique, ok partnering. From my perspective, he hasn't progressed at all since leaving ABT and frankly, I'm questioning why/how I thought he had so much potential back then. What did I see then that I clearly didn't see here? ACT II: The set changes, as already noted, were very loud; I didn’t hear any stage hands talking, but I was in the orchestra’s 6th row, so maybe I wasn’t close enough. But, from each act to the next, there were a lot of loud booms. Lilian DiPiazza was O/O. Her grand jete entrance was nice, but then she stumbled a bit coming out of her first arabesque and out the next step, so that killed it a little for me. She has pretty good technique, but I saw several bobbles and a few over/under-rotations during some turns and other steps. Her swan arms were unremarkable. Her characterization was a little better than Baca’s, but for the most part she just maintained a far-away look on her face. There was no passion or story-telling with these two. And, I’m not a fan of the long tutu for O/O, though it’s fine for the corps. Rothbart……what the….? Starting with the most hideous costume that ever wandered out of a B horror film, complete with really tall horns, this character needs to be completely re-done: costume, choreography…. Ian Hussey, a principal, looked heavy and out of shape. Was he recently injured and is just now returning? The saving grace for the entire ballet were the swans. The four little swans were excellent; totally in sync till the very end (at other companies, sometimes I’ve seen them start off well but end all over the place). The swan corps was immaculate. Clearly, they were very well rehearsed and with a few very minor exceptions, they were incredibly in sync and had some beautiful domino effects. These were the hardest working swans I’ve ever seen (not overtly so) and they deserve every accolade I can give them. Corella needs to invest the same amount of time and energy with the principals. ACT III: The Queen mother was finally dressed like a queen and overall the costumes for this act were very good. The princesses and the national dances were danced very nicely. The two Neopolitans, Cato Berry and Taro Kurachi, are both apprentices! Berry had a few stumbles, but was still charming. Kirachi, wow! Beautiful, plush jumps, nice feet, crisp pirouettes. Very impressive for an apprentice. Again, Rothbart…..oh my. The ridiculous horns were replaced here with super white make-up and an equally ridiculously long goatee. Hussey executed his solo very poorly and his revoltades barely left the floor. Baca came out with an inappropriately huge smile on his face which remained throughout this act. He had a very low arabesque, lacks flexibility where it’s needed (in grand jetes, for example) and most of his turns and jumps ended in a sloppy fifth. Odile has an added solo here, that’s not in most SL’s, and DiPiazza had a lot of trouble with it, a lot of stumbles. The typical Odile variation was better and she did, I think, 28/29 fouettes (and singles, which is fine) but she ended with a stumble. Also, during her fouettes, her right hand turned downward from the wrist as soon as she started each fouette, which I found very distracting. ACT IV: The suicides are rushed here, and as noted by others earlier, with no explanation beforehand. The jumps were embarrassing, which wasn’t the dancers fault – they take off from a very low platform, after they cumbersomely climb a few steps (due to design), and at least from the orchestra the jump looked more like a trip. The swan corps again, brought their A game. Finally, there was one corps dancer that I couldn't identify who kept catching my eye. His face was very animated, and he interacted really well with his partners in the ACT I village scenes and in the ACT III Czardas. He also has a wonderful mop of curly hair.

Their website was designed by dancers?? As in dancers who were still dancing, or who had retired?

Since Hallberg has canceled Manon a month out due to injury, it can't be minor. What a shame. I feel terrible for him. I'm guessing it's doubtful he'll show up at the Met. Even if he recovers say late next month, he'll have missed rehearsals which are especially critical for the new Harlequinade. Expect to see a lot of cast changes, and possible debuts. Perhaps Royal will replace him in Harlequinade. I wouldn't be surprised if Hammoudi gets his R&J's (two w/ Boylston) since he's not cast this year. Giselle? I'm afraid to find out.

It looks as if Gomes and his partner, Nick Palmquist, have gotten engaged. Or, perhaps married, since in Palmquist's Instagram below, they're already wearing ring bands. Congrats to both of them!

Precisely.

I think it's going to make sense for Cirio to be on the principal payroll when Simkin decamps to Berlin next year and won't be performing w/ ABT so much, presumably. And, Cornejo is 37 and frequently injured. They will need a short principal to dance w/ Copeland, Lane, Brandt, Trenary. Of course, in the meantime, he's twiddling his thumbs. I believe the reason Teuscher has been cast so much this year (and twice in some roles) is because McKenzie sees her as Murphy's replacement, the female technical stalwart who can do nearly every role. He's getting her up to speed. We all know that Murphy gets injured a lot and is nearing 40. Teuscher is very talented and I do like her a lot, so I'm not saying she doesn't deserve her status or the opportunities. I just don't agree that she should be doing as much when you have other dancers who aren't doing a lot. But, I do believe (going by my gut) that this is the AD's intention.

You could pretty much replace "conductor" or "musical director" with "AD" or even "choreographer" and the article would be spot on. Except that AD's don't make millions.

I saw this on her Instagram the other day and had the same thought. She's doing the trois w/ Cirio and Brandt. Yes, that's superb casting. I know Cirio did either the trois or Giselle's peasant pas soon after he was promoted. But, to have two principals doing this (or really just one) seems a bit absurd.

Yes. I completely agree. It had to be demoralizing.

I agree, it's very disappointing. He has/had a lot of potential. Whatever the reason, a lack of investment in his development with the proper amount of coaching to work out issues wouldn't be surprising.

I don't think Gorak's stagnation is due to Jeffrey Cirio. Look at how infrequently Cirio dances. He's cast as The Boy in Whipped Cream and Basilio, neither of which I could see Gorak doing.

Gorak hasn't been injured. Some of us have written about him on various threads - he's in no man's land, going nowhere. He does a lot of peasant pas and similar soloist roles. No principal roles anymore. I haven't seen him develop and the last few times I've seen him he just dances pretty, with a weird pasted on smile, like he's going through the motions. I don't know if that caused his stagnation and lack of opportunities. I didn't see his Romeo, but others who did wrote that it wasn't very good and that he had some real partnering issues.

Well, this should be interesting. I'm happy to see them doing something different. I know that Cornejo was in one of her pieces last year at Vail and did some tapping.

Agree 100%!

Yes. The male soloist roster isn't very young. I believe Royal is about 28 (?), so I sure hope they don't let him lag about without the necessary opportunities to move him forward.

Copeland has been center stage for a few years now, so this isn't a new development, not that that makes it any easier to swallow. I'm surprised that Boylston is in everything, and that she was also given Harlequinade. As I wrote on another page of this thread, I also thought Brandt would be cast. And, I can't believe that I just noticed, but Abrera isn't cast in Bayadere this year. She's always done Gamzatti. It'll be interesting to see how Abrera's and Murphy's retirements (or "retirements") are handled when the time comes (I'm betting next Met season for at least one of them). I can definitely see Abrera getting "the Part treatment". Murphy has been a favored principal for a long time, so I think she might be able to go out on her own terms, but as others have mentioned upthread, we've seen other favorites not treated well. The female principal roster is really full right now, so I can't see Brandt or Trenary getting promoted until Abrera or Murphy retire. There won't be enough principal roles to go around. I don't think that's an issue this year as Brandt/Trenary aren't quite ready yet, but next season if one/both of them are given a major debut, and succeed as expected, the AD will need to make room. Just like last year.

How I positively hate those.

Gomes! It was his 20th anniversary celebration performance.

Thank you California. I'll look out for the various things you mentioned when I see this next weekend. Re: Baca. I really liked him when he was in the corps at ABT, and am eager to see him in a principal role, but I've honestly hard a hard time imagining him carrying a ballet. I've been hopeful for a growth spurt of sorts. Doesn't sound like that's happened.

Casting suggestions are of course very subjective, so I can only give you my opinions. My suggestions: Lane in Giselle. It's a Wednesday matinee, so may not be possible if you work weekdays. I'm taking the day off to see it. If you read the Giselle thread from last year, you'll see many of us talking about her triumphant and extraordinary debut in that role last year. Murphy in SL (though her prince is an unfortunate choice), and DQ (Espada in her perf's is a newly promoted soloist, Royal, who is amazing). She's in her late 30's so she might not be dancing for many more years, so see her now. Though, she gets injured often so buyer beware. I also agree with others above regarding Lane/Cirio in Harlequinade. Lane was also terrific in Whipped Cream, though I suspect Brandt and Trenary are too (two extremely promising soloists). WC is a charming ballet. Incredible sets/costumes. I didn't care for the music though.

On their site, go to the ballet/program you want to see and next to that it'll say Buy tickets, Learn More, and Casting. If there is no Casting button then it's not announced yet. Casting is there for SL. http://paballet.org I've not seen the company much, but I'm going to see Sterling Baca. He was in the corps at ABT till he decamped for PA a few years ago for a principal contract. He had great promise at ABT and some of us here feel his loss and believe he would have been promoted soon to soloist. So, I'm eager to see how he's developed since then.

From Cassandra Trenary's Instagram, it looks like her husband, Gray Davis (the subway hero....), may be leaving after the Met season to become the new Artist in Residence at The Georgia Academy of Dance and the Performing Arts. She says that he starts in the Fall and I'm assuming that's a full-time job. That aside, thought I'd pose the question of who do we predict will be promoted (or hope to see) at the end of the Met season this year? My money is on Shayer. It'll be inexplicable if he's not. They need more female soloists, and I think Hurlin is in the running. Also, maybe Waski, if her Myrta debut is successful. I don't expect anyone to be promoted to principal this year. I wouldn't be surprised if they hire a male principal at the end of the season, though.

Thanks abatt. I don't follow Broadway closely, and I thought the show was already well under way. Pollack and Ramasar are also in the cast: http://carouselbroadway.com/#bios