ABT Fan

That's my all-time favorite! The rhythms and personality make me smile every time. If I'm watching "Singing" on video, sometimes I'll rewind it after the Moses number to watch it again (and again!).

Wow. It'll be great to see her back in NY!

There's an in-depth article online at Time Out magazine from May 30 2013 with Hammoudi. In addition to talking at length about his early training, he discusses working on Ratmansky ballets and his development at ABT so far including coaching. A much more positive view of ABT than Irina Dvorovenko recently gave in the same magazine. http://www.timeout.com/newyork/dance/alexandre-hammoudi-talks-about-his-career-at-american-ballet-theatre

So, this must mean Hammoudi is injured. Anyone heard anything? Interesting choice to bring in Kochetkova from San Fran for SL (I've always wondered why ABT doesn't bring in some dancers from that co.). I've heard lovely things about her. Still, would have been nice to see ABT use one of their own dancers - I believe Boylston is the right size for Cornejo. (Lane has of course danced w/ Cornejo and she's done SL w/ Corella's ballet co. Would have been awesome to see her given the chance.) Boylston is doing SL Wednesday night; maybe one day in between isn't enough of a rest. But, as a blossoming soloist, she could benefit from the extra performance.

I was at the matinee on Saturday so I saw the second cast. Many people have already described the choreography and its symbolism to great extent, so I’ll stick to the dancing for the most part. Having seen the premiere of Symphony #9 last fall with the first cast, I can only compare casts with that section. I thought Part/Bolle were fabulous, no less than Part/Gomes from the fall. I have never seen Part/Bolle dance together before and I thought their partnership was seamless; they were really in touch with each other. Part was especially wonderful – she is a very full, luxurious dancer who coaxes every nuance out of a movement. I like the muted costumes better this time around; the white splotches didn’t bother me before, but with the added scenery and the busy choreography I think they would have been too much. Though I thought Abrera, Radetsky and Matthews (especially Abrera) did a really good job, I preferred the first cast for their parts. Matthews isn’t the quicksilver that Cornejo is. Radetsky wasn’t playful and spontaneous like Salstein. Abrera wasn’t flirty and teasing like Messmer. With the first cast, these 3 parts stand in greater contrast with their style against the main couple who are more serious and contemplative; with the second cast, all 5 of them seemed to blend together, which I didn’t like as much. (Not sure what the choreographic intent was, so disclaimer here.) I thought the added backdrop for Symphony #9 was “interesting” with its Russian motifs – if only I could have gotten a better look at it. I was sitting in row E in the orchestra and couldn’t make out some of the images that well (but didn’t want to take my eye off of the dancers too long either), so I can’t imagine how the rest of the theatre could see them. As others have said, there’s a lot going on in this piece. I really need to see more viewings. As much as I love it though, I don’t understand the little touches of humor or whimsy injected here-and-there; they seem so random to me and I don’t understand the intent, and it seems like I should. What do others think about this? Despite that, Ratmansky’s pieces are truly something wonderful. It’s so rare to see the ABT corps really dance (and partner) like they do in his pieces, and what he has the corps doing while the principals are dancing is so intriguing. I really loved Chamber Symphony, more than Piano Concerto #1 (which I did enjoy). This is the first time I’ve seen Whiteside dance live. He was powerful, elegant, a good partner and has a great stage presence. I think he’ll be promoted to principal within the year. This was the best I’ve ever seen Kajiya; she and Whiteside melted together and when he lifted her it was as if she was an extension of him. I could see them doing Romeo/Juliet together. Lane was lovely as usual. Seo was fine but honestly my eye was drawn to the others so much more. In Piano Concerto #1, as others have said, Gillian Murphy was injured so Christine Shevchenko filled in. I gather Shevchenko was an understudy only as there was no 3rd cast, and that was reinforced by the very nice applause the dancers gave Schevchenko during the bows. I thought she was brilliant (though I was sad to hear about Murphy, I was super excited to hear Shevchenko would be filling in; have loved her for several seasons and hope she’ll be promoted soon). How wonderful it was to see her and Royal, 2 corps dancers, dance principal parts on the Met stage and give a fantastic performance! I’d never guess Shevchenko was a corps understudy – she and Royal looked very well rehearsed and were very much in sync with each other. Great technique and really solid, comfortable partnering. Parts of the score really perplexed me, but when Royal and Schevchenko began their pas de deux, the music was so lovely. Reyes and Simkin are not the ideal couple; the experience level between them was noticeable and Simkin struggled through a few lifts (unfortunately, not a surprise). They did do the kiss Saturday afternoon (but, what’s the point of it?). What I found both troubling yet fascinating, were the few times Royal /Schevchenko and Reyes/Simkin were dancing the same choreography side by side and to see that the partnering was stronger and more secure with the corps couple than the principal couple! I thoroughly enjoyed the performance though and hope ABT doesn’t put this ballet away for too many seasons.

Exactly!

Most of the time ABT doesn't appear to be interested in promoting from within, as evidenced by their hiring outside guests artists and principals. But, they promoted Seo up from the corps (she started w/ the Studio Co.) and many people agree that they're grooming Boylston to be the next principal. Unfortunately, their preference for developing dancers seems not nearly as important as bringing in seasoned stars.

I'm seeing the premiere tomorrow afternoon and will post again afterwards. Last fall I saw the premiere of the section Symphony #9 with the original cast (Gomes, Semionova) and I thought they were great and that it was a wonderfully different piece; tomorrow I'm seeing it with Bolle, Part. Hope others post with their reviews on this piece also!

I've not heard any announcements, but am hoping and praying they'll do all mixed repertory and not any full-length ballets.

Stella has always been one of my favorite dancers and she should have been promoted years ago. I will never understand that. I’ve never seen a less than wonderful performance from her and have been following her for years. Whether she’s dancing Myrta (possibly my favorite role of hers), Lilac Fairy, or in any one of Alexei’s ballets, her technique is rock solid and she infuses each role with a lovely luminosity. She’s never disappointed me. However, she is now about 35 actually, and I believe her time to be promoted has passed. ABT missed a great opportunity. But, now I can understand why she wouldn’t be promoted given her age (if that is the reason). I doubt they would want to invest the additional coaching and resources (salary, etc.) to promote her when they’ll probably get only about another 5 years from her (no way to tell really, but at that age it’s undeniably limited). They’d rather put their resources towards developing a much younger dancer with principal potential (Seo, Boylston – though I agree that Seo was promoted too soon, despite how lovely she is; she needed more time to develop). And, I have to admit that that makes sense at this point. ABT also has a history of only promoting women to principal who dance all (or nearly all) of the leads in the 19th century classics or big full-length ballets. The only exception I can think of is Kathleen Moore. Stella has never carried one of these ballets, has she? Besides Cinderella? She’s always in the 2nd supporting role. I think she would have made a terrific Giselle, but I can’t see her as Odette/Odile, Kitri, Juliet, to name a few (not for lack of technique, but just not the right fit, and something in my opinion coaching wouldn’t change). I agree that a “campaign” won’t have any positive affect – I doubt McKenzie will be influenced by that and granted he may have many other reasons that we don’t know about as to why Stella hasn’t been promoted. But, until McKenzie sits me down and explains his reasoning to me (ha ha), I’ll always shake my head in disbelief. Stella is truly a beautiful and gifted dancer.

Agree! I've felt for years that Lane would make a most lovely Juliet! How about Gorak as her Romeo? Please post a review for the Gomes/Vishneva Onegin afterwards.

Absolutely!!

And double yikes: "Irina Dvorovenko: And when you know that people are helping you, and that they care about you, you have more strength and security in yourself. In the company [ABT], there are a lot of principals and the big problem that the majority of the dancers [face] is that they feel nobody cares about them. They care about the performance and to push them, go, but artists are very sensitive. Every person needs nourishment. You cannot be pushed constantly, constantly, constantly. At 20 years old, they see a psychiatrist three times a week. It’s not normal. We want to be nourished, cared for; even I sometimes see some person down at the ballet who has a role of soloist. I can talk and explain and [say], “Calm down.” You want to be hugged a little bit and feel that somebody cares about you. Then you feel you are important. Just very sensitive moments. The problem is that they throw you somewhere and then ask you to survive, but without help it’s really difficult." Great interview - thanks for posting! Irina is indeed quite funny throughout her interview. But her candor regarding ABT is not. I'm frankly quite surprised she said the things she did for a publication, and in her specific mentions of a few dancers. Every company has its problems and critics, but the lack of coaching, support and dancer development at ABT is pretty well known by now and as we see here, dancers aren't being quiet anymore. About a year ago, Sascha Radetsky wrote in DanceMagazine about his wife, Stella Abrera: "She stretched her sciatic nerve a few years ago and had to relinquish her dream role—a well-deserved opportunity that, inexplicably, has not again materialized. " See full article here: http://www.dancemagazine.com/issues/April-2012/Breaking-Free. I believe he was referring to Stella as Giselle. TimeOut is a pretty well known magazine, so this is not good publicity for ABT. (I don't mean for the general public, who might not be as concerned with her comments, but the dance world.) I believe ABT has also suffered with Susan Jaffe leaving as ballet mistress due to her new role in North Carolina. I think she still teaches classes there occassionally, but she was coaching the soloist women quite a bit (Sarah Lane, Isabella Boylston). No doubt a great loss to them.

Congratulations! Something is definitely in the water at NYCBallet.

Has anyone heard anything about the fate of these dancers yet? I've just found one news story about one of the male dancers (Gonzalez) who was hired immediately by Sarasota Ballet: http://nbclatino.com/2013/04/10/florida-ballet-company-goes-to-cuba/

Thank you for publishing the clip of Lorna Feijoo. What a glorious upper body and port de bras she has!

Osipova is still going to dance w/ ABT at the Met Season; how many performances I don't think anyone knows yet (I know some folks discussed on an early page possible conflicting seasons with ABT vs RB, but I haven't been able to find them). She never danced in ABT's fall season but did tour with them - and how her tour performances w/ them will be affected is I believe still not certain. I don't think it could ever be a black or white win-win-win - what is a "win" for another dancer getting a new opportunity isn't necessarily a "win" for ABT. If she doesn't perform that much w/ ABT starting next season, then of course that opens up opportunities for others (seasoned principals and/or soloists), but she is arguably the biggest box office draw right now for a ballerina so ABT won't necessarily "win" if her performances become very limited with them. Not sure which principals you're referring to as "many of whom are leaving or have left"? Not many have left recently - not females anyway. A lot have cut back on their performances w/ ABT as they have other company obligations now (Murphy), or due to age or impending retirement (Kent, Dvorovenko). But, promoting new talent is something that remains illusive at ABT - well, rare is probably a better way of putting it. Osipova performing less often w/ ABT certainly won't directly translate into a soloist getting promoted to principal. It might help. But, ABT can also go out and get yet another female principal guest artist (or permanently hire one) from another company to fill in for roles Osipova would normally perform, thus removing opportunities for a soloist (and one who needs that opportunity in order to get promoted).

Oh my! I love love love Gomes as a dancer (and as a partner) - he's truly gifted and one of my all time favorites. But, as a choreographer, he stinks. It's not enough to have beautiful dancers - himself, Finlay and Copeland. Not for me anyway. I couldn't even finish watching the tapes of Gomes and Copeland dancing - the choreography for them looks very similar, in the first few minutes anyway. Did Finlay have to go to the bathroom? (Why did his hands keep covering up his "parts"?) And, what was wrong with his wrist that he had to keep grabbing it? (This is what was going through my mind. Was that Gomes' intention... for us to think Finlay needed to relieve himself and that his wrist hurt?) Stupid, pretentious, trite, juvenile and appears nothing more than doing something different just for the sake of doing something different. Sorry folks, I cannot say anything nice about this choreography.

I disagree with labeling Misty "the most aggressive self-promoter". Of course, I don't know first hand what her intentions are or not, but to me I see her various activities as merely taking advantage of digital media and the growing interest in dance these days (dance on its own and using dance in media) for other reasons than getting promoted to Principal. It's a chance to make some more money which, let's face it, most dancers could use (even a soloist with ABT), plus she's spoken many times in interviews about her wanting to be a positive role-model for minority girls who want to study or pursue ballet as a career, especially African-American girls. Being in a commercial for a well-known product (with her voice-over talking about the Boys and Girls club and making ballet accessible to "everyone") certainly puts her face out there for hopeful minority girls. How often do we see images of professional minority ballerinas? I have a feeling that she's been sought out aggressively to BE this role model. The time is ripe for it. Also, she has come across to me in her interviews as not only well-spoken but very smart and self-aware. So, I don't get the impression that her media activities are an attempt to get promoted - I think she's smart enough to know that that won't do it. Though I agree that she seems to be the most visible these days, other dancers, as Helene has mentioned, have also been exploring media and other outlets over the years. Julie Kent was a print model for Coach many years back. Daniil Simkin is a prolific Twitter user, as are many other dancers. Alex Wong (from Miami City Ballet) and Danny Tidwell (from ABT) were on So You Think You Can Dance several seasons ago. That exposure arguably worked well for Alex who developed quite a following and who went on to become part of the Newsies Broadway cast. I think it's something to consider that most of us (dancers and non-dancers) realize that we live in a media-driven world, for better or for worse. It can be worth your while to jump on the bandwagon no matter what your profession is. And, for dancers who have such short careers, getting involved in different mediums/areas now while they're still at the height of their performing career, can bode well for them when it comes time to retire and they already have other "career" experience in something else, whether that be in writing books, modeling, digital media, etc. Opportunities for retired dancers have expanded vastly in the past several years. No longer is coaching and teaching the only route, especially for women. Ellen Bar, who was a soloist with NYCB, started getting involved with film-making before she retired and was able to transition immediately to NYCB's director of media projects upon leaving the stage. Perhaps all of Misty's ventures are just a way to do more now than simply performing. I don't think it makes her any less committed to her craft (not now anyway). Who knows - she may realize that her chance of being promoted are nil, so she's going to do the best with what she has now and make the most of any other opportunities that come her way.

I think Misty would make a fantastic Nikiya, Myrtha and Kitri! She has also done a recent Diet Dr. Pepper commercial: http://www.drpepper.com/video/.

I couldn't get the above link to work, so here's another link to the story on Yahoo: http://news.yahoo.com/ballet-dancer-misty-copeland-2-book-deal-174419651.html

While I'm hesitant to say that I'm happy with this announcement (because that sounds snarky and unkind and I wish only the best for Irina), I'm pleased that this means (hopefully) that there will be room for a soloist to be promoted who has labored for too long in that role (because haven't most of them?). Especially, since for whatever reason, Irina hasn't performed much in recent years. It would have been nice if Irina and Max could have done a retirement gala together - why couldn't they have waited to announce Max's retirement a little so they could have made a joint announcement at least? Max has performed even less frequently than his wife, so perhaps he's injured/out of shape/already "retired" and so a joint retirement gala wouldn't have been possible for him. A Swan Lake farewell would have been appropriate. In any case, I wonder if they'll do any teaching/coaching at ABT? I've seen them on teacher's rosters elsewhere (of course now I can't remember where).

This is truly unbelievable. I had no idea things could get so.....crazy and disgusting over there. Very interesting to read Ratmansky's comments in the NY Times article today. Perhaps this is why he really left.

I agree completely with you Plisskin.

Not too surprising to me. He's barely danced in the last couple of years, so I can understand there being no retirement gala; I can't imagine it would sell out. I imagine some patrons would be thinking "Max Who?".