MarzipanShepherdess

Next season wishes: I echo the calls for more evening performances for Veronika, and for appearances by Tereshkina, Shklyarov, and Kondaurova. I'd love to see Vishneva dance O/O again, and to see her in Ratmansky's new SB. And I fervently pray we get to see Stella as Giselle or Odette (though I know, to my chagrin, that this is unlikely). I hope to see more opportunities given to some of the corps dancers who have shone this season: Skylar Brandt, Calvin Royal, Zhiyao Zang, and Joseph Gorak especially. As for ballets, would be thrilled to see more Ashton: Cinderella again, and an all-Ashton mixed bill (A Month in the Country!). Would like Manon back just to see Diana and Marcelo dance it again. I'd love to see ABT do a kind of Russian-themed Ratmansky double bill with On the Dnieper and Russian Seasons, too.

Attended Saturday night’s performance with Seo and Bolle. All in all, a lovely evening. Seo’s Odette was absolutely gorgeous. This is a wonderful role for her particular gifts as a ballerina, and she made glorious use of her fluid, expressive back and arms. Exquisite penchees and balances. Though her dramatic interpretation of the role was not as individual or nuanced as that of other ABT O/O’s I’ve loved (Nina A, Veronika Part, Diana Vishneva), I think that will come in time. Nothing out-of-the-box or especially unique in her portrayal as yet: Odette is tremulous at first, then achingly tender and loving. But those aspects of Odette were articulated very vividly and with great artistry. Seo’s Odile was weak. She traveled like crazy during the fouettes, but for me that’s forgivable if other aspects of the performance are strong. Not so here. Though her dancing was beautiful, there was not enough distinction between how she performed Odile and how she performed Odette. Her Odile wasn’t seductive, or wicked, or incestuously cozy with Von Rothbart, or anything in particular, really. Disappointing, but she was immediately back to peak form as soon as she appeared on stage in Act IV. She was so exquisite it seemed especially cruel that this act is so short! Though I’ve written at length about Seo, I have no doubt that Bolle deserves some of the credit for her strong performance. He was an exceptional partner and a wonderful Siegfried in all respects. I really like his partnership with Seo. They played off of each other very well, and seemed to bring out the best in each other. And such lifts! The corps deserves some laurels, too: I thought they looked really strong Saturday night. Some impressive work from the soloists as well, with Misty and Isabella giving particularly stand-out performances in the ppdd. Thanks to fellow posters for their remarks; I wasn’t planning on attending a Swan Lake this season, but the favorable comments on Seo’s impromptu Monday night performance convinced me to grab a ticket for Saturday night. Very glad I did!

Agree with abatt that last night’s Cinderella was a truly enchanting evening! This was my first time seeing Ashton’s Cinderella and I really enjoyed it.While there were aspects of the Kudelka production I liked (the lovely sets and costumes, the clever way the choreography incorporated Cinderella’s shoeless and then one-shoe plight, the fun sequence of the Prince searching the world for Cinderella), I’m very glad ABT has adopted this one. I found the choreography to be really unique and engaging: all the dynamic changes in the dancing, the pointing, stabbing fingers and feet, the extensive use of props, all the hops.It really held my attention all throughout.None of the choreography felt like filler in between the “big” dances for the principals (as is the case in too many of ABT’s productions!).Some of the choreography was evidently extremely difficult, but I also appreciated that some of it was very under-stated.Particularly the final pas de deux. It was really (and appropriately!) all about the partnership and tender rapport between the two leads, rather than splashy pyrotechnics showing off their individual dancing. This production is nothing special in terms of sets and costumes, but it does use a really simple stage effect I found quite beautiful: at the beginning of the final scene, the stage is dark and then one by one little lights come on and form a circle.When the stage lights come up you see that the lights are the tips of the Stars’ wands.Lovely! I didn’t feel like all the dancers really “got” the Ashton style, but those who did (fortunately including the lead dancers) shone.Gillian and David were both wonderful; especially Gillian, who executed all the tricky footwork with aplomb.Veronika (as the Fairy Godmother) could have handled some of the tempo changes in her first act solo better, I think, but had some beautiful jumps and of course did all the sweeping arm movements to absolutely gorgeous effect.No one waves a wand like Veronika!;)I love how she uses her arms when she is doing choreography that signals her character is conjuring something (as in the Lilac Fairy role at the end of Act I of Sleeping Beauty): she gives the impression that the air has weight and that she’s shaping it, like she’s building the spell in a way that appears both effortful and completely graceful. Two corps dancers who really stood out to me were Skylar Brandt and Luis Rigoborda.Skylar’s Spring fairy solo was just stunning. She really got the Ashton style (as the other three season soloists who followed definitely did not).Luis, who I can’t recall ever noticing in a featured role before, was excellent in the very tricky Jester role. From a drama perspective, there are certain aspects of this production that aren’t well-done.I (and my companion) both found the bit in Act II where the Prince shares an orange with Cinderella to be confusing.It seems like it’s set up as a significant event, but instead I guess it’s just to provide the stepsisters with a prop to toss around?I also disliked Cinderella’s Act II entrance with a massive cape, which really distracts the focus from the ballerina. One of the aspects of the fairytale that I think is so charming is the transformation of ordinary things like mice and pumpkins and lizards and the ragged dress into extraordinary ones, and this production doesn’t really make much of that at all.Since the transformation scene takes place in some kind of heavenly realm, the pumpkin’s appearance at the end of the scene feels pretty random.I think it was also an odd choice to have the third act open with the Prince and his guests leaving the ball; that part of the story feels like it’s over by that point. Despite some of the dramatic aspects of the production not working so well, I really enjoyed the performance and definitely look forward to seeing this ballet again in future seasons.Very happy this is now part of ABT’s rep.