Rick

13 minutes ago, MJ said:

... the tap piece blew everyone away I hope they do it again....

That Tap piece, If ABT does not add it to their repetoire, Dance Theatre of Harlem should. Amazing! I want to see it again!

I really loved the tap piece too! Gillian Murphy, Arron Scott, and all the other dancers exuded so much joy. I hope ABT performs it again soon, perhaps in their fall season.

13 minutes ago, MJ said:

... the tap piece blew everyone away I hope they do it again....

That Tap piece, If ABT does not add it to their repetoire, Dance Theatre of Harlem should. Amazing! I want to see it again!

I really loved the tap piece too! Gillian Murphy, Arron Scott, and all the other dancers exuded so much joy. I hope ABT performs it again soon, perhaps in their fall season.

I attended the entire program yesterday.

The Harlequinade excerpts were delightful and made me want to see the entire ballet later in the season.

The Michelle Dorrance piece was strikingly inventive in the way it fused tap dance and ballet into a coherent and utterly engaging piece.

Afterite was a puzzle, worth seeing for Alessandra Ferri and the unusual choreography (which I thought bore the influences of William Forsythe and Pina Bausch). The narrative, however, wasn't clear to me. What did Misty Copeland, Jeffrey Cirio, and Herman Cornejo represent, and, as discussed above, what was the gas chamber all about?

Macauley writes:

"Mr. McGregor doesn’t tell his story clearly, but its ambiguities are the point. Though I’ve given away what happens at the climax, I think its element of horror leads us back to the tragic cruelty of Stravinsky’s drama — but this time we follow it from the mother’s point of view."

Probably worth seeing again, though I can understand how the symbolism would be deeply offensive to some of the audience members.

12 minutes ago, nysusan said:

Then we came back for the second act and everything changed - she was beautiful. Her arms were soft as a sigh and her epaulment was wonderfully romantic.

I agree! I thought Act 2 was incredibly beautiful. Seo and Bolle were just wonderful.

Such a glorious Square Dance yesterday afternoon. Megan Fairchild exuded joy and made everything look so effortless. Taylor Stanley was a revelation - I didn't think anyone could beat Peter Boal is that role but Taylor definitely came close with his classical line, buoyancy, and sparkling technique.

Agree with Cobweb about Oltremare and Four Seasons. Roman Mejia stole the show. Catazaro looked a bit nervous but it's always good to see him.

4 hours ago, abatt said:

I actually feel the opposite.  Sarah may have done more and better quality fouettes than Hee, but Hee never looked defeated or dejected after the fouette section.  She remained entirely in character.  In contrast, Sarah was visibly upset and distraught, which took the audience entirely out of the character and story.  I thought Sarah's reaction compounded the problem.

Yes but oh did that make the final scene so much more compelling. Like she jumped off the cliff because she couldn't complete the fouettees. 

Kidding aside I loved last night's performance. SUPERB Act 2. Daniil was surprisingly noble as Siegfried. And Lendorf's charisma was very potent. Gorack as Benno was also a joy to watch. 

A truly magnificent Giselle with Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo last night. Such dazzling technique and deeply heartfelt emotion as well. This was the first time I ever wept at the ballet. I will remember this performance forever.

9 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

 

A few folks posted their reviews earlier in this thread.

Oh yes, thank you.

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

However, Gillian is on a whole other level. I have avoided Gillian as Juliet in the past - I avoid this ballet too. However, she owns the role both in dance and dramatic terms - each moment was fully realized and captured. There was no hardness, no remoteness - every step had an emotional through line. Of course she has strong feet and a high extension but that was used for musical and expressive means, not technical display. There was a sense of emotional abandon and headstrong passion that was blandly responded to by Hammoudi but she made him better and pulled him up to her level.

I was moved by Gillian's interpretation as well. I've always admired her technique but never thought of her as an "actress" - well, she certainly delivered a complete range of expression last night, filled with nuance and free of any false notes or melodrama. Compared to Gomes, Hammoudi was a more passive Romeo, but I thought this was a valid interpretation that showcased Juliet as the ballet's central character whose actions drove the tragedy.

I believe Margot Fonteyn created the role of Juliet in her late forties, so perhaps Alessandra Ferri's return to the role will be compelling as well.

(Herman was amazing. He is not the most romantic of leading men, but he definitely had the strongest technique of all the casts I saw.) Happy to report that Kochetkova has improved a lot as O/O since 2013. I'm glad I attended. I also thought that Sterling Baca was a very wonderful purple Rothbart, and Zhang was excellent in the pas de trois.

I really liked Cornejo and Kochetkova as well. I can't wait to see Sterling Baca in lead roles at the Pennsylvania Ballet.

The night really belonged to the supporting cast, with Gomes as the ring master.

Agreed. Gomes stole the show! While I liked Part, she didn't seem to have much of a connection with Whiteside.last night.

... What dancing there was, was boring, with rare exceptions...

I agree. Given that Ratmansky was "inspired" by Fokine's original choreography, I wasn't sure what to expect, but the dancing was so different from Fokine's "Chopiniana" and "Dying Swan." I also wish that the costumes weren't so heavy as to obliterate most of the dancers' arms and legs.

That said, I enjoyed the music and vibrant sets. Veronika Part and Skylar Brandt were delightful in their comic roles. But the most interesting aspect of the evening, for me, was the opportunity to compare Cirio and Gorak, both soloists with similar builds, as the Tsar's sons, often dancing the same steps. Cirio seems to be more overtly expressive of the two, while Gorak struck me as more classical in line and deportment. Of course, Cirio's character was more playful compared to the serious nature of Gorak's character, but it affirmed my impression of both dancers after having seen them perform in separate ballets.

I think the main problem with the "Golden Cockerel" is that the "love story" (for lack of a better phrase) was flimsy and not really believable, and the choreography wasn't interesting enough to hold my attention. But I'm glad I saw it once, and kudos to ABT for the new production.

I loved the cast last night, especially Maria Kochetkova. Such graceful presence and sterling technique - she studied at Bolshoi? It's the first time I've seen her in a lead role. I'm looking forward to her Swan Lake with Cornejo.

I loved the Saturday evening and Sunday matinee performances of Bourree Fantasque, Symphony in Three Movements, and works by Peck, Tharp and others. Such remarkable dancers, not only in Balanchine but in contemporary works as well. Lourdes Lopez must be doing something right. I can only echo Alastair Macaulay's hope that MCB will visit NYC more often.

Nunez was spectacular last night, and so were Whiteside and Part. All three brought out the deep humanity in Prokofiev's score. I'll remember this performance forever.

In my opinion, Gorak is far more deserving of promotion than Hammoudi, even just one year after his promotion to soloist. But yes, I suspect that Hammoudi may well be next in line.

Indeed, Gorak's artistry is underutilized at ABT. I sometimes fantasize about Gorak defecting to the New York City Ballet to dance "Agon," "Apollo," and other Balanchine gems.

Such a moving R&J with Obraztsova and Cornejo. Both projected an almost painfully youthful innocence and innate goodness that made the final scene just heartbreaking. Many audience members were still in tears as they left the theater. A memorable performance indeed.

I thought last night's Goldberg was just breathtaking, every minute of it, especially the passages with Tiler Peck and Maria Kowroski. The pianist Cameron Grant was splendid. I plan to see at least two more performances.

While Symphony in Three Movements wasn't on the same level of NYCB I enjoyed the rest of the program last night. The Kylian piece was particularly striking. The nudity, like the complete absence of music in the prologue and epilogue, challenged my own expectations of ballet. It suited the choreography which was primal and also poetic in many segments. I hope that Boston Ballet schedules more trips to NYC. Their point of view is refreshingly progressive and courageous.

The third ring was reasonably full but there were available seats. There were a lot of young people in the audience who were obviously enjoying the modern pieces.

I enjoyed the program last night especially the Forsythe piece. I'm looking forward to second program which will feature Symphony in Three Movements and Nijinsky's Afternoon of a Faun.

Would anyone care to suggest the best cast(s) for Giselle? I'm unfamiliar with all of the dancers. Thanks.

Which is the best cast for Sylvia? I've never seen it and also don't know Ashton that well, though I liked his R&J and Month in the Country.

I'm still in the thrall of last night's performance and am thinking of seeing Swan Lake again. Which cast would you recommend? The Kochetkova posts upthread have made me curious but what about Julie Kent's performance on Saturday matinee? I last saw her over 10 years ago.