Natalia

Less than an hour to go before curtain up...in about two hours Sarah jetes onto the stage! Sending happy thoughts from US Naval Base Norfolk. Anchors Away, my swans!!! 

1 hour ago, Natalia said:

 

Speaking of Murphy...Last night, I rewatched her as O/O in that wondrous 2005 DVD of ABT's SWAN LAKE, opposite Corrella's Siegfried. During the bows, a little swan stands just behind & to the left (audience view) of Murphy. It is Sarah Lane. Toi, toi, toi, Sarah!

Adding to the above: in that 2005 film, Sarah Lane can be spotted among the "aristocratic ladies" in A1(blue gown), then among the swan corps during bows, just behind Murphy. Dreams come true tonight, as she becomes the star of this very production! Please report, lucky attendees.  

Speaking of Murphy...Last night, I rewatched her as O/O in that wondrous 2005 DVD of ABT's SWAN LAKE, opposite Corrella's Siegfried. During the bows, a little swan stands just behind & to the left (audience view) of Murphy. It is Sarah Lane. Toi, toi, toi, Sarah!

15 minutes ago, Helene said:

Russell and Stowell came to Seattle in 1977, and they spent their time building a school.  17 years later, there were some home-grown top dancers, like Barker and Lallone, who came up the ranks, dancers in the corps who were mainly from the school, but prominent in the Principal and Soloist ranks were dancers who were hired from the outside.   While they hired the occasional male dancer direct to Principal (Milov, Le), they hired many dancers as Soloists, often promoting them the next season to Principal, once they had proven themselves, but every one was a full-time member of the company, whose season ran September-June minimally, although they made guest appearances.   

Miranda Weese is the only dancer that Peter Boal brought in directly to Principal; even among the NYCB dancers he's brought in who were/are long-term members, only Korbes was brought in at Soloist level, and each one has worked up through the corps.  Similarly for all of the other dancers he's hired into the company from the outside, although a few, like Joshua Grant, Taylor, Pertl, and Ryan, were in the company before and/or were PDs before dancing elsewhere.  Among the Principals and Soloists today, every one came through the ranks, and half of them through the School.  

 

But, per the Balanchine principle, "But first, a school", it took a long time and a lot of patience, commitment, and resources to get there, and it took two decades of transition before "home-grown" -- or, at least "home-finished," since many, although not all, PD's are in the school for two years -- was the norm, not the exception.

 

How long as ABT had the most recent incarnation of the school?  The Studio program has born fruit among the current roster.  

 

And, like many things, "America"'s understanding is based on a misconception: the definition of "meritocracy" per Wikipedia:

 

So it has zero to do with the dancers, and all to do with the Powers That Be, in this case, at ABT.   

 

No. Abatt is correct. In meritocracy the power resides in the most able & talented individuals. Hence, the able and talented dancers. Not the oft-corrupt (e.g., paid-off, crooked) Powers That Be.

Don't forget the tour to Brisbane, Australia, in Oct 2014. Misty had her O/O "trial" then. 

Wow, Cubanmiamiboy. Sorry that, during your stay in NY, you "hit" only 1-out-of-4 Odiles with the 32 fouettés! That's pathetic. Well, you saw some great Medoras last week (Schevchenko, Brandt). Have a safe trip home this morning!

Looking forward to others' reports on Sarah Lane's big debut with Simkin, tonight!

So will Sarah make it TWO-out-of-five successful Odiles for ABT Met 2017? I'll be there in spirit.

4 hours ago, aurora said:

I believe he has been recovering from a prior back injury, rather than that he injured his back in rescuing the man on the tracks.

Good news. Thank you.

36 minutes ago, Mazurka said:

Seo is wonderful tonight, very lyrical, fragile, vulnerable,  beautiful.

So happy to be reading these reports on Seo. That's precisely what I loved about her debut in 2013...her gorgeous line.  Good news on Teuscher & Royal too. Next: Sarah Lane!

28 minutes ago, clrtt said:

I think that there is a corps member who is quite suited to partner Part... Gray Davis. I understand that she rehearses with him quite often by request, and in fact has performed with him outside of ABT. He was injured a couple of years back and hasn't seemed to gain momentum yet again, but given the chance I think he would more than rise to the occasion.

Isn't Gray Davis the "hero" who jumped last week onto the NY Subway tracks to rescue a man who had been pushed in? I seem to recall reading that his back had been hurt in that incident but maybe not too seriously?

30 minutes ago, Balanchinomane said:

Most of us don't like to see performance standards lowered

for financial gain. It fits with the dumbing down of culture in

arts and letters, so prevalent today. When an art form crosses

the line to pop culture, everybody loses.

Absolutely!  Exhibit A: the latest version of the Kennedy Center so-called "Ballet Across America" with heavy PC focus. Exhibit B: NYCB's The Times Are Racing by Justin Peck...one of two "Ballet Across America's" curators...Misty being the other.

3 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

Misty Copeland should had never been promoted to Principal. She is not technically qualified to be a Principal, and it is a disgrace that so much of this promotion has to do with the politically correctness path. She might be a symbol and example for young African American girls...but she is NOT ABT Principal material.

You are 100% spot on, Cubanmiamiboy. As someone who began to follow Copeland during her early soloist years, with great hope for what she could become, I feel as if I've been scammed by the hype. I've enjoyed her Juliet but little else. Since she's now in her mid-30s, I wouldn't be surprised if she forms her own modern touring group and/or takes over the KennedyCenter  dance series after Farrell leaves next year? They seem to be grooming her for that sort of thing.

For a beautiful ballerina of color with great technique and musicality, worthy of principal status, keep an eye on Francesca Hayward of the Royal Ballet.

42 minutes ago, Fleurfairy said:

Was Misty able to do them in Don Quixote? If not, what did she do in their place? 

No. Tried the 32 and stopped  a bit past halfway, switching to piques....the usual.

The very best effort that I saw from her was the first of her two SLs with Washington Ballet in April 2015, when she made it to fouetté #24 before switching to the piques...so she made it 3/4 of the way through in DC. The 2nd WB Perf was weaker. Then her ABT NY debut was weakest.

I enjoyed her White Swan adagio w/ Brooklyn Mack, in DC. She shines in lyrical-dramatic roles, esp Juliet. It's no coincidence that her 1st full-length live telecast was R&J at LaScala, opposite Bolle. She should stitch to those sorts of roles, as did Ferri. No shame in that. There's room at ABT for  principals who specialize in dramatic roles & not the dancey 19th-C classics or neoclassical ballets. Think Ferri, Nora Kaye, Sallie Wilson.

Gorgeous!!! I still can't believe the richness of the designs for a "ballet academy" show but then this is not just any "Dollie Dinkle" school. Thanks for the vid links, Tutu.

7 hours ago, Fleurfairy said:

.......doesn't matter to an uneducated audience. 

Unfortunately (or fortunately), the guards who check bags as we enter the Met don't ask for patrons to show "Ballet IQ" cards. So 16 single fouettés garner the loudest screams of the season. ABT's coffers grow. We knowledgeable fans can choose to see our favorite ballerinas in the traditional 19th-C classics. (Remember Copeland's recent problems with another signature classical moment, Giselle's hops-on-point diagonal...so it's not just a problem with fouettés.)

38 minutes ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

Now I can quite see the meaning of "dumbing down" a choreographic sequence, vs. getting creative due to injury. Because that is what Copeland did tonight. She totally dumbed down her fouettes sequence. She did only 19 singles...travelling extensively...and making up the rest of the music with her own fillers. Her is probsbly the worst Black Swan coda I have ever seen, only second to an even bigger disaster I saw via Skorik many years ago.

A really sad spectacle to witness that was.

I also enjoyed her Odette. And Cornejo totally showed her through.

Thanks for the candid report! I, too, prefer Copeland's  Odette, having witnessed her debuts in DC (w/ Brooklyn Mack) & NY (James W). And what about the audience's cheers, Cubanmiamiboy? Reminded you of Cuban enthusiasm?

23 minutes ago, DeCoster said:

 

Thank you for the information, Natalia.

 

I wish ABT would perform the reconstruction, although I know I am in the minority in this opinion and it is also very unlikely.

One of the stronger regional US companies might perform the Ratmansky reconstruction version in 2019 or 2020? My hope.

Somebody above mentioned that ABT may be abandoning its current production of SL after this season but I haven't heard that...has anyone? The poster may be mixing ABT & the Royal Ballet, which will debut a brand-new production by Liam Scarlett next year. ABT's production isn't going away anytime soon. SL is one of the newest set of designs that ABT owns for a classic (compared to their ancient sets/costumes for Don Q, Bayadere & Corsaire).

55 minutes ago, DeCoster said:

 

Agreed, FauxPas, Boylston's lack of lyricism and sometimes jerky upper body is much more of an issue for me than whether she performs 32 fouettes.  I'm disappointed she has not progressed in working on this.  

And fouettes don't come easy to Boylston without injury.  I recall her travelling all over the stage and not being able to finish all 32 a couple years ago in Don Q.  (Different ballet, same trick.)  IMO, the menage, done with speed, power, and perfect musicality, can be a better choice for some dancers.  I recall someone here stating that Sara Mearns chose this option (a more recent example), and she was nowhere near the twilight of her career.  I also recall learning, perhaps here, that the original Ivanov staging did not have the fouettes, but they were added later for a specific virtuoso ballerina.  (Kind of sounds like what we were talking now--modifying choreography to suit a particular dancer--doesn't it?)  Anyone know if Ratmansky's reconstruction includes the 32 fouettes?

Yes, both of the Zurich Odiles (Kapitanova & Khamsina) who I saw at the Feb 2016 premiere performed the 32 fouettés, securely & beautifully. The originator, Legnani, did them in 1895 and they're in the notes.

Isabella Boylston performed them magnificently at her ABT O/O debut in 2012. She must have altered them this year due to her injury. Even Hee Seo performed the 32 fouettés at her own debut, a year later. Misty Copeland did about 19 or 20 fouettés at her Met debut in 2015...but got the loudest, wildest applause I've ever heard for fouettés at a Met debut. 

Yippee Ca-Yey !!!!!! 

Lighten up. Keep Corsaire!

Dump The Times Are Racing!!! OK, that one is NYCB but you get my point. 

25 minutes ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

I am at the dress rehearsal right now. Lane and Teuscher are in.

Holy smokes! Who are the Siegfrieds?

Courtesy of the Vaganova Acad FB, pics of the June 10 performance of one of the gems of the traditional (Pugni music) version of LITTLE HUMPBACKED HORSE...the luxurious Imperial Tsarist edition: the Hungarian Rhapsody from Act IV. Will somebody please consult the Harvard notes to restore the full ballet, so that we may be rid of the Ratmansky-Schedrin "El Cheapo" edition? This Rhapsody was restored by Prof. Irina Gensler according to her recollections.

https://m.facebook.com/academyvaganova/photos/pcb.1290310447734904/1290309721068310/?type=3&source=48

A 2-minute Russian TV report of yesterday's opening concert, during which the USA's Oscar Frame (late of DC's Kirov Academy, at the Vaganova since Feb 2016) is interviewed.

http://www.vesti.ru/videos/show/vid/719558/

Re. The Times Are Racing costumes: I'd love to know how much designer Humberto Leon *and* "costume supervisor" Marc Happel were paid? According to the playbill, funds for the full work (assuming costumes) came from "...a leadership gift from the Geoffrey C. Hughes Foundation, with additional support from the New Combinations Fund." Hopefully my tax dollars (via NEA) aren't included in either of these, anybody know?

I know that the New Comb Fund covers most new work (including the great ones) but wondering if any Fedl public funds are in the mix.

The contestants, both Jrs & Srs, are listed via this link:

http://moscowballetcompetition.com/en/uchastniki (Engl version)

I see that the Srs include the top two female medalists from the most recent Varna IBC, Amanda Gomes (Brazil) and Joy Womack (USA). Also   well know are the Mariinsky's Ekaterina Chebykina & Ernest Latypov! Also a number of very prominent Koreans, including the (then) young boy who won top honors at YAGP in 2009, Ohm.

More pics of the dress rehearsal from the Vaganova's own FB:

https://m.facebook.com/academyvaganova/posts/1289136341185648