ABT Fan

A few folks posted their reviews earlier in this thread.

OMG! I'm sorry about Maria, but good for Lane! Boy, the replacements and injuries (assuming Maria is also injured) are piling up early.

Oh no! I was so looking forward to seeing Murphy tonight. But, at the same time I'm thrilled I get to see Shevchenko again. I feel so bad for Murphy. I hope she recovers quickly so the rest of the season goes as planned for her.

sandik, I'd love to read this article if you have the link handy (assuming there is a link if the article is now available online). Thanks in advance!

I love this part as well and you reminded me of a similar detail that I noticed during Lane's matinee. I didn't notice Hilarion's red shirt (probably because I was sitting somewhat on the side) but I did see both of Halstein's hands reach up to catch her as she leaned backwards. It was still beautifully done, but it almost made me laugh at the sight of two hands reaching up out of the grave. I thought there must a way to do it where one doesn't notice that. I hope Boylston recovers quickly. It seems she's rarely injured. Her next performance isn't for 2 weeks so hopefully she'll be fine by then.

You have to be a donor, I'm pretty sure that's the only way. A $90/year Friend donor gets you two dress rehearsal tickets: https://support.abt.org/dancerscircle

I was also at the matinee yesterday and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I agree with what so many others have already said. I was so excited to see Lane's debut and had high hopes but she far exceeded my expectations. I wasn't prepared for the emotional wallop and I have never felt so uncomfortable watching the mad scene before. Lane was so natural with everything she did, nothing looked contrived or even thought out. She made me believe I was watching an innocent in-love girl lose her mind. Her extensions were higher than ever, her turns were fast and effortless, her jumps light and airy, and her ports de bras and upper body are as beautiful as ever. To echo someone else above, hers are the best in the company. She is the most natural Giselle I have ever seen. Lane and Simkin are a great pairing and when they were blowing kisses at each other early in Act I they really looked like kids in love. Simkin's dancing was breathtaking. Good heavens....those leaps of his! His partnering has greatly improved but you could see the shakiness in a few of the overhead lifts and he couldn't get her high enough in a few others. But, no big errors and they have amazing chemistry. Shevchenko was a formidable Myrta, commanding with the confidence of a principal. She too was even better than I had anticipated. As as others have noted, I too have been hoping for a Lane R&J and after yesterday I can only imagine how heartbreaking she and Simkin would be together. I'm going to hold my breath and cross my fingers that Lane will now get the promotion she deserves. If it can happen for Abrera perhaps ABT will see the light a second time.

Purple Rothbart casting is now up. Royal gets the Wednesday matinee for Teuscher's NY debut. And, Gomes, the most evil and delicious of PR's gets two performances. http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=6/1/2017

I just noticed that Teuscher has replaced Murphy as Princess Tea Flower in tomorrow's matinee performance, as per ABT's site. That's huge. Murphy must still be injured (or this is a precautionary move so she'll be fully healed for her Giselle debut on Saturday), and this will be Teucher's debut in the role as she did not perform this on tour. The soloists are really stepping up and it's only the 2nd week in. I'm sure Teuscher will be wonderful. Hope Murphy is A-ok by Saturday.

Who played Champagne last night? I loved the way she rode in on the shoulders of one of the other liquors during bows, but I can't tell if it's Shevchenko or Hurlin?

Here it is:

I don't think this confirms that they don't have an understudy. As you said, Cirio isn't doing Albrecht following WC so he has a good break. And, he's only taking one extra performance albeit back-to-back. Intense but not unmanageable. If they have Cirio fill in for all of Cornejo's WC performances later in the run, then that would be another matter. The critics will no doubt review multiple casts this week since it's a major new production so I highly doubt ABT would want an understudy who didn't dance it on tour for the world premiere and who is also either a soloist or corps dancer (there are no other principal men who could play a boy). And, they're counting on good reviews to help sell the rest of the WC run. I'm not saying the understudy would do a poor job, but given the high stakes and the fact it's only one additional performance, it makes sense to go with Cirio.

Gorgeous photo on Shevchenko's Instagram during bows: And, another one on Lendorf's:

Yes they sure do.

Agree. Especially since they charge more for Copeland's performances.

HAHA! Good one.

Also, I just noticed that on their new front page where they list upcoming performances, the performance start times are all screwy. Today's is (was) at 3:30pm and same for tomorrow. Saturday's matinee is at 10am. (It's like they uploaded a test page.) I don't think a regular ballet/theatre goer would believe that's right, but hope no one thinks the time was actually changed or at least calls the box office to confirm. Or else they'll spend a long time at Bar Boulud waiting for the curtain to rise!

The website says Shevchenko, Lendorf, Seo, Whiteside. Sorry to hear Murphy isn't well. Hope she recovers quickly. But, I'm glad Shevchenko gets another performance. I imagine they passed over Copeland/Cirio because they have two shows already scheduled.

And, the headshots are too large - you can see their pores! (Except for Lendorf's which is much smaller than the rest, and that looks strange.) They should have worked out the kinks before uploading this. It's looks unprofessional.

Wow. That wasn't up this morning. Looks very "NYCB". If you go to a different section on this site (the "1998" section - haha) and then click on "Home" again, it takes you to the old front page. At least they're making progress!

I saw Shevchenko in Piano Concerto #1 and she was outstanding. She danced like a seasoned soloist (still in the corps at the time), very confident and commanding with stellar technique. I'm so happy to hear the reports of her Kitri debut (along w/ Teuscher and the others). I didn't doubt she'd be great, but it's wonderful to hear just how amazing she was. ABT has a handful of female soloists who are rising stars.

I imagine they'd use students from their JKO school and maybe some apprentices as opposed to full-fledged company members.

Italian fouettés are definitely more difficult than regular fouettés. Regular ones are a continuous turn which is why I found them easier. Italian ones force you to stop and change direction, which is harder to coordinate without them looking laborious. Edited: I see some of us disagree here, which is fine of course. But, based on my own experience I'd much rather do regular fouettés. However, I agree with those that say that a principal at ABT must be able to do both (and really well), otherwise have them do something else if they're going to continue to be cast in that part.

NYC-ARTS has put out this 9 minute spotlight on Whipped Cream featuring some nice dance clips I hadn't seen before and interviews with Ratmansky, Sarah Lane and Daniil Simkin. Simkin's comment about how Ratmansky has given opportunities to overlooked dancers since he started working with the company was striking. Can't help but think he was referring to Lane (and others of course), his partner and the only other dancer interviewed. Though I was taken aback at his earlier comments regarding female choreographers, I agree that Ratmansky has absolutely invested in several corps and soloist dancers who seemed fairly neglected otherwise, and whose bigger and bigger roles in non-Ratmansky pieces I think can be attributed to the growth and visibility they've achieved performing in his dances. (Think Lane and Royal to name just two, both of whom I'm hoping for promotions after the Met season.) http://watch.thirteen.org/video/3000817171/

David Hallberg has started posting to his Instagram account again under a slightly different handle. He picked it up about a week ago with a message to his fans and readers and is laying out his very difficult rehabilitation that started 2 1/2 years ago. I look forward to seeing his regular posts now and learning about his road to recovery. I'm so glad he's returned, and according to him, better than before.