ABT Fan

Ahead of Gomes' 20th anniversary performance tonight as Albrecht, some dancers are posting tributes to him on their Instagrams.

Here's two of my favorites.

First one is of an itty bitty Skylar Brandt with Sascha Radetsky and Gomes (no idea who the little boy is). The second one is, of course, with Stella.

Just now, bingham said:

 

  Didn't she danced Swan Lake before with A. Corella'a Barcelona Ballet? 

 

My goodness, you're right! I even remember seeing a brief clip of her performance (or maybe a dress rehearsal) online somewhere. Corella was her Siegfried.

But, this would be her ABT debut, if and when she's cast.

8 minutes ago, Rick said:

Did anyone see the "Giselle" performance with Misty Copeland and Alban Lendorf?

A few folks posted their reviews earlier in this thread.

3 minutes ago, nalgille said:

And Sarah is dancing again Wednesday night with Herman-she is replacing Maria!

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.

33 minutes ago, sandik said:

I think everyone here has read Arlene Croce's review of Suzanne Farrell's fairly stealthy return to NYCB (her description of Farrell's shape as she turned as a "cone" has stuck with me all this time), and my primary thought is what a privilege it was for audiences and critics of that period to get to watch an excellent artist continue to mature. 

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!

16 minutes ago, California said:

Giselle's return to the grave: I like the way she leans back and seems to disappear into her grave in a reclining position, a chilling reminder that she is returning to eternity in that grave. But a small detail, visible from several places in the theater, mars that, namely, Hilarion's red shirt as he catches her, presumably intended to be out-of-sight. That made for an unintended plot complication, that HiIlarion is the one helping her rest in peace at the very end. Is there no one in dark clothing who could catch her and not be identifiable?

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?

8 hours ago, laurel said:

What a great, great time I had this evening at the Whipped Cream gala performance.  If you're as intensely curious about this ballet as I was, I would recommend that you try to see it at some point just to make up your own mind about it, if not this season, then next year or sometime after that, because this ballet will be performed by ABT for a long time to come.  It's like no other ballet I've ever seen.  It's wonderful, weird, creepy, and absolutely hilarious.  No one seems to mention that this ballet is filled with crazy, bizarre humor.  It is most definitely NOT the Nutcracker!  The Strauss score is gorgeous, and if haven't yet heard it, it's readily accessible on Youtube.  The choreography moves quickly and smoothly, but is dense and complex, and I wanted a rewind button so I could replay it and catch the things I'd missed.  The entire company was absolutely ON tonight, as if they were powered by an electric vibe.  No one tripped, fell, appeared to be daydreaming, or suffered any mishaps.  The corps looked well rehearsed and filled with energy.  David Hallberg just looked great.  You would never know that both he and Stella Abrera had suffered such severe physical injuries, that not only their careers were threatened but their ability to walk and move normally as well.  And Daniil Simkin and Sarah Lane were phenomenal together.  I've never seen them in such tandem before, moving and working as one, and at the speed of light!  They were ablaze.  I still get nervous just thinking about him dropping her again, but after this I think perhaps those worries may be over, and is a good sign for their upcoming Giselle this weekend.  I plan to see another two performances this week, so that finally, I can judge for myself how some of the company's dancers compare to one another in the same roles.  PS - I can't add it here, but David Hallberg posted some backstage footage on Instagram of he and Stella taking the first of their curtain calls, and it may give you a sense of the upbeat vibe that suffused the company tonight.

Here it is:

4 hours ago, LadyBubbles said:

Intense for sure, but he's not doing Giselle later that week or the week after. So he will have a nice long break before he performs Ali in Le Corsaire in June.

Interesting though, because this pretty much confirms that they did not have an understudy for the lead Boy in Whipped Cream. Seriously? They better have someone ready for next season, you never know. I'd say line up the short guys who look young and test them out to see who is a good candidate for the role and then teach them the role. I mean, they did have Skylar learn Princess Praline (and eventually replaced Misty) so it's not like they're too busy to train backups.

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:

2 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

 

They do..???

Yes they sure do.

10 minutes ago, nanushka said:

 

And face the wrath of Copeland's disappointed fans? No way. They need them to keep buying up the tickets.

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

3 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

Maybe the Turkish hackers are to blame!

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!

11 minutes ago, California said:

 

I've been very interested in the praise for Shevchenko and wish I were in NYC to see this. Others have noted Ratmansky's talent for identifying potential and he seems to have picked out another winner four years ago. She was a replacement for Gillian Murphy in second cast in 2013 in Piano Concerto #1 in his Trilogy (presumably a decision made by Ratmansky).

 

Scroll down and you can see Acocella's praise for her: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/ratmansky-and-shostakovich-together-again

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.

1 hour ago, nanushka said:

 

For the dancers' sakes I sure hope they're hiring stand-ins!

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.