BalletFan

While I love Sarah and thought she was wonderful in Sleeping Beauty, I think Cassandra Trenary is the best Aurora. She has a lightness and a youthfulness that just lights up the stage. I didn't notice any balance problems from where I was sitting (in the cheap seats). Perhaps Sarah was more technically proficient. I really can’t say, but in my opinion, Cassandra is simply radiant in this role. I'd love to see her as Juliet.

As for Prince Desire, Herman was by far the best. I'm so happy that I got to see Aran Bell dance this role twice. In some ways, he makes me think of a young Marcelo Gomes. However, there's currently no other man who can compare with Herman.

I'm very surprised to hear that Paulina is leaving. She was one of the corps members that I always noticed on stage. But I wish her the best of luck. She's still very young. If she has been yearning for new challenges, then now is the time to go for it. 

30 minutes ago, laurel said:

What troubles me is the nonstop critical reportage, both from fans and alleged professional writers, of this beautiful production, which has continued nonstop since its premiere four years ago.  No one likes the reconstruction, it’s too old fashioned, it isn’t exciting, the costumes are bulky, the costumes are ugly, etc. etc.  I adore this production; I love the pageantry, the grandeur, the attempt to place you and your mind in a time capsule and give you a view of a different way of dance and life.  Possibly that’s too much to ask of people these days, when imagination is a scarce commodity.  I’m also sorry people do not understand the language of clothes, as the costumes contain information regarding character which, alas, is of no concern to audiences.  By the way, many if not most of the wigs appear to be new, made of natural colors, and cut in styles more pleasing to the modern eye.  I guess no one noticed this either.  My concern is that the AD will use all the criticism for this production to return to the old one, the one with his name on it, or even a more modern one, but I hope Ratmansky’s reputation will negate this idea.  I could attend another week’s worth of performances of this production and never be bored. 

Laurel,

Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I, too, love this production of Sleeping Beauty. Honestly, I never cared that much for any Sleeping Beauty ballet... until Ratmansky's reconstruction. I really appreciate all the care and thoughtfulness that has gone into this production. I like some of Ratmansky's ballets, but certainly not everything he’s done. But this version of Sleeping Beauty is so unique… in my opinion, it's a masterpiece in many ways. I’ve seen it about 10 times since it premiered in 2015. And the more I see it, the more there is for me to appreciate. Oh my goodness… I really hope that ABT doesn't return to another version of SB anytime soon.

On 6/30/2019 at 10:05 AM, nysusan said:

Last night Misty didn't even attempt the fouettes, she just did a menage. I found last night boring, boring, boring. David still has beautiful line and while he did impress in his second 3rd act solo, watching him through most of the ballet I thought he's really lost a step. And he no longer finishes his jumps in a clean, tight fifth.

 

Let me start off by saying that Misty is very good in some roles, such as Juliet and Manon. However, I was shocked when she didn't make any attempt at the fouettes on Saturday evening. I know that Misty has a huge fan base and the house is basically sold out when she's in Swan Lake. So, I understand why management gave her two Swan Lakes. But IMHO, if a dancer can't do the steps, then maybe he/she shouldn't get the starring role. Plus, she had already bowed out of Act III on Wednesday evening. Call me old-fashioned, or naive, or whatever... but I for one was very disappointed.

Sarah, on the other hand, was truly a revelation. For me, Sarah’s performance as the Black Swan was the highlight of Swan Lake week.

I was there last night, too. What a surprise to have Sarah in Act III!! There's not much more that I can add to the conversation. She was absolutely amazing. I'm very happy for Sarah and wish she would get a shot at both Odette and Odile.

Any news on the Wednesday matinee performance? Did anyone see Aran Bell and Jose Sebastian in their debuts? I would love to hear something.

I just got home from seeing Misty Copeland as Manon. I have to say that she was surprisingly good… pretty amazing, in fact. I'm not always a big fan of hers, but Manon is a very good role for her... maybe even her best. Unfortunately, though, she was paired with Cory Stearns. Cory is a good dancer and a very handsome man. Yet I never feel anything when he is on stage. He just lacks that certain “spark” and always comes across as bland. He is another dancer (like Hee Seo) who, in my opinion, was promoted too fast. Maybe Kevin McK. hoped that Cory would turn out to be another leading man type, à la Marcelo Gomes, but that didn't turn out to be the case. 

Misty, however, was sublime tonight. I would love to see her again in this role. I think it's really too bad that she wasn't paired with Roberto Bolle this week. She really would have elevated his farewell performance.

Yes, Sarah and Herman were breathtaking last night... especially Sarah. Manon is the role for her. What a magnificent performance!! Blaine Hoven has never been one of my favorites. In my opinion, he's competent but blah. Last night, though, he was surprisingly good. And Herman was everything I had hoped he would be. His partnership with Sarah just continues to grow and get even better. The final scene was heartbreaking. But the night belonged to Sarah.

The contrast between Sarah's performance on Friday night and Hee Seo's on Thursday was like night and day. Hee Seo has everything going for her as a ballerina, yet she's another one who just comes across as blah. I remember seeing her debut as Juliet in Detroit back in 2009. It truly was a mesmerizing performance. Hers was probably the best Juliet I have ever seen, both before or since (and I've seen R&J many, many times). Juliet is still a good role for her, but that's about it. I think she was promoted to principal too soon based upon her Juliet debut. Since then, she has been a letdown.

But back to Sarah:  I've always liked Sarah. She’s always been an elegant and beautiful dancer, but I can't say that I loved her...  until last night. Something changed with this role, and she crossed the line and went to an even higher level. I absolutely agree with Inge's husband (see comment above): yes, Sarah is now a prima ballerina. I think we’ll look back and say that Manon was a pivotal moment in Sarah's career.

Yes, I agree Aurora. I was also at the talk last week and Herman gave every indication that he will perform in Manon as planned. And yes, he seemed very excited about it. So let's keep our fingers crossed....

I'm sooo sorry that Herman (my favorite ABT male dance) is injured. But at the same time, I'm really looking forward to seeing guest artist Brooklyn Mack. I saw him dance about five years ago in Washington, DC. Wow… “electrifying” is a good word to describe Brooklyn's dancing. I’m very anxious to see how he does at the Met.

I attended the Saturday evening performance with Devon Teuscher as Jane Eyre and James Whiteside as Mr. Rochester. I wanted to like this ballet, but it was just too dark and depressing for my tastes. And when I say “dark,” I mean two things: A very dark story, yes... but also a very dark stage with very little lighting. It was literally hard to see what was happening on stage. Both the music and dance steps are very monotone. At least with a tragic love story like Romeo and Juliet there are highs and lows. Jane Eyre, however, is mainly one big low. I also thought here was too much rolling around on the floor and too many sharp angles, and it seemed like the same movements were repeated over and over again.

As for the dancers themselves: Devon was fine in a reserved sort of way. Sarah Lane didn’t have much to do as Mrs. Fairfax. I loved Cassandra Trenary as Bertha, the crazy wife, and Zimmi Coker almost stole the show as young Adele. But for me, James Whiteside was the best part of the evening. When he first joined ABT, I didn’t care much for James, but I’ve really grown to appreciate his versatility and acting/dancing skills. He really made me feel for Mr. Rochester, especially during the final scene. In my opinion, he saved the show.

Unlike me, most of the people around me seemed to love the ballet. While the performance wasn’t sold out, there were a lot of people in the audience. The dancers, too, seemed like they had a really good time on stage. Yes, Jane triumphs in the end, but overall, I found the ballet too downbeat and grim. I think it’s good that ABT is branching out with new ballets, but I have no desire to see this again, even if it is brought back again next year. Once was enough for me.

Barbara,

An evening of Ratmansky stand-alones in the fall... that's a fabulous idea!! I would run to get tickets.

I attended the final performance of Harlequinade last night. I think I saw it twice last year. This year, I only chose to go once because I couldn't bear the thought of sitting through Act I again. But I had forgotten how beautiful Act II is--particularly the lark section. I, too, would very much like to see it as a stand alone. Such beautiful dancing and unique choreography! Parts of it are absolutely gorgeous. I also thought Cassie Trenary was lovely as Columbine. And, some of the costumes in Act II are stunning.

If ABT ever does Act II as a stand alone, I’d go see it in a heartbeat.

I saw the first and only performance of Swan Lake. It was one of the oddest--and at nearly four hours, most definitely the longest-- Swan Lake that I have ever seen. The performance started a little after 7 pm and didn't end until 10:45 pm (with two intermissions). Then there were the curtain calls. By the time I left the theater, it was around 11 pm. I’d characterize the dancing as a little rough around the edges. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Even though I've seen Swan Lake many, many times before, some of this was new to me--particularly some of the music and dancing in Act III. I know the New York Times gave this production a bad review, but I thought of it as a somewhat different take on an old classic—still very traditional and certainly not far out there like the Australian Ballet’s version (which isn’t really Swan Lake, in my opinion). There was a lot of energy in the theater, especially in the second half of the show. I enjoyed it so much that I'm going back to see the triple bill: Trois Gnossiennes / 5 Tangos / Black Cake. These three ballets are rarely seen in the U.S. and I don't want to miss them.

It's a shame that the performances sold so poorly. I would have gone to see Swan Lake a second time if it hadn’t been cancelled.

I think this is very sad news. I always look forward to ABT's spring season at the Met. I've been going for 20+ years. Eight weeks of ballet at the beautiful Metropolitan Opera House--absolutely nothing can top this! It's the highlight of the dance year for me. It seems that most people on this board prefer the Koch Theater over the Met for dance. But not me. I'm not sure what ABT should do, but I truly hope that the company doesn't completely abandon the Met and decamp to the Koch (State) Theater. Others may not agree, but I think that something special will be lost.

22 hours ago, NinaFan said:

I had trouble seeing Part dance Swan Lake with anyone other than Gomes, so I do understand.  But Whiteside did an excellent job in Swan Lake with Shevchenko this year.  You may want to give him another try rather than missing out of on some pretty exciting debuts/performances.

Yes, NinaFan, I agree with you. As you say, I can't imagine missing out on "some pretty exciting debut/performances" just because someone doesn't like Whiteside. Last Friday, I was very disappointed by Hee Seo's performance in Don Q. Not that she was bad or anything, but I just don't think Kitri is the right role for her. Whiteside, on the other hand, really saved the evening for me (and Christine Shevchenko, too, as Mercedes). I thought he was excellent in Don Q. I never saw Whiteside's appeal... until this year. I've seen him in a lot of performances this season (yes, he was excellent in Swan Lake, too) and I now have a newfound respect for his versatility.

13 hours ago, cobweb said:

I am always glad to hear promotions, and these ladies are all talented. If there was ever a case of a dancer performing beyond her rank, it was Fang as Mercedes in Don Q on Tuesday night, ablaze with passion, technique, and stage presence in spades. And I love to see long-term corps who have basically been acting as soloists, finally get the promotion (as with Luciana Paris and Roman Zhurbin). Williams was also quite grand on Tuesday. Hurlin is a beautiful dancer, and no doubt tremendous potential, I am hoping to see artistic development and commitment to her roles. Still, in some ways I'm a little baffled by these choices. Given that Fang and Williams must both be about 30, give or take a few years, can we consider them to be on the principal track?  It seems very poor talent management to be promoting people to principal when they're 35, and it would also be a shame to see soloist spots taken by dancers seemingly not on an upward trajectory.

I agree with you, Cobweb. While I'm happy for these ladies, I, too, am a little baffled by these choices. I'm not familiar enough with Fang or Williams to have a real opinion about either of them. It just seems to me that both women kind of came out of nowhere this season. But perhaps that's not the case. Hopefully, they'll both have a chance of being promoted to principal one day and not be stalled at the soloist rank. Catherine Hurlin, on the other hand, has been dancing soloist roles in every single ballet I've seen this season. It was obvious to me that she would be promoted sooner rather than later. Catherine Hurlin is not one of my favorites. She doesn't really stand out to my eyes; however, I'm sure she must have lots of fans. She's still very young and is probably on track to become a principal one day, which is nice to see at ABT.

I thought that Christine Shevchenko was absolutely phenomenal today in her Odette/Odile debut. I've always liked Christine. Even when she was in the corps, I couldn't help but notice her. Her technique has always been top-notch. But in addition, she also has that indescribable “something” that made her stand out from the rest of the corps women. She is now my favorite female principal. I’d go to see her in anything.

Aran Bell was also quite impressive this afternoon as von Rothbart. Yes, Marcelo is the gold standard (oh, how I miss him!!). But Aran was really, really good. While he may be young and perhaps a little green, he definitely wowed me. What a debut! I am so, so glad that I didn't miss today's matinee. So far, I'd call it the highlight of the Met season, at least for me. 

While Cirio is certainly very talented, he doesn't strike me as being the leading man type. Others may not agree, but I could definitely see Calvin Royal (with some coaching) becoming a principal sooner rather than later. Calvin has a very elegant and sophisticated quality about him. And after seeing Aran Bell as von Rothbart today, I'd say that he's got the "it factor," too. I really hope to see Aran in more lead roles next season. Hopefully, he won’t stall as some of the other promising young men have.

Classic Ballet: I agree with everything you wrote. Wow, what a night it was last night!! I've never been a fan of Isabella, but now I am. Yes, as you said, she "completely knocked the ball out of the park." I, too, would rank this as one of my top Juliet performances of all time. Isabella and David were absolutely fabulous together, much better than David and Natalia were last month. I'm so glad I saw this performance, and I hope this partnership continues to grow.

Is this why there were no open curtain bows? I was there on Tuesday evening, too, and it was puzzling to me. I don't think I've ever seen this happen before.

Yes, Juliet is a good role for Misty (and for Hee Seo, too, by the way). I thought Misty, and Herman, were great last night.

I attended the Friday evening performance with Sarah Lane, Jeffrey Cirio, Stella Abrera and David Hallberg, and was quite pleasantly surprised! I had seen the excerpts of Harlequinade at the Spring Gala and wasn't all that impressed, and I exchanged one of my subscription tickets for something else. I almost exchanged the other one... but so I'm glad I didn't. I liked everything about this ballet: the dancing, the costumes and the sets. Based on the early reviews, I was expecting a lot of empty seats, but that was not the case at all. While it wasn't a sell-out, the house seemed to be well sold. This is a lighthearted ballet. You can’t go in expecting Swan Lake or Romeo & Juliet. Some comedic ballets just don't work for me, but this one did. It is steeped in history, which I appreciate, and you can tell that a lot of thought, effort and work went into this production. If you can, try to attend the final performance tonight... or catch it at the Kennedy Center next year.

I guess no one else attended the gala, but I couldn't resist. While I'm definitely more of a story ballet kind of gal, I really enjoyed the program on Wednesday evening. I'd say that Ratmansky's Songs of Bukovina is certainly worth seeing. I also liked Thirteen Diversions. The Gift was great fun, too, but unfortunately, it was a one-shot deal and won't be performed again this season (if at all). A very nice evening, in my opinion. I was pleasantly surprised.

This is very sad. I wish them both the best. Unfortunately, though, I'm not surprised by this news. I remember reading an article in the NY Times two years ago about the state of their marriage. Tiler and Robbie were just newlyweds at the time. They had only been married for one year, but according to the article, were hardly ever together. It didn't sound very promising at all. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/style/for-robert-fairchild-and-tiler-peck-a-partnership-that-stays-in-step.html

Hmmm... maybe she was intending to come back to Colorado Ballet after her L.A. Magazine internship ended, but at the last minute, decided not to?? I don't know. I started following Alexandra on Instagram because she used to dance with ABT. (Her mother also danced with ABT.) But I never thought that Alexandra sounded happy with her dance career. I remember one post where she talked about "pointing to a random city on a map and moving there to start in a completely different profession." According to her social media postings, she sounded much happier after moving to Los Angeles.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCEzu1aOCxt/?taken-by=aepullen14&hl=en

Alexandra Pullen, corps de ballet dancer, is no longer on the roster. She was interning at L.A. Magazine this summer. Apparently, she's decided to stay L.A., and is now working as a freelance writer, social media specialist and copywriter. After two years with ABT and two years with Colorado Ballet, it looks like she's leaving her dance career behind.