lafemme

Carmen Suite corpse was not from Mariinsky (it was told). Yakobson and they just learned the piece

The BAM press office seemed collecting the leads' names at least

Ah, this makes perfect sense. I was pretty baffled! I may be brand new to ballet, but even I could see it wasn't up to Mariinsky's standard

I can't believe I booked tickets for the Oslo X GAMES instead of this (But if i had decided to go to NYC then i'm sure the program wouldn't be half as good as it is) Lopatkina and Ermakov in Scheherazade/Legend/Swan Lake/Firebird/La Rose/Carmen...... SOMEONE HOLD ME! THIS IS TOO MUCH! My favorite partnership performing my favorite ballets in one weekend! I'm sure i'd be able to catch them in Bayadere and Legend in Saint Petersburg but I'm not sure if i'd be lucky enough to see them in Scheherazade and Swan Lake....at least I didn't lose the chance to see Ermakov's life-affirming and jaw dropping Spartacus performance two weeks ago (a performance overwhelming in its magnificence) but still, I can't enjoy Oslo because I can't stop thinking about all I'm going to miss, I'll never get over this, I'm waiting for your reviews on programs B and C you guys! *looks out of the window wistfully*

Believe me, I'm sad I didn't buy tickets for tonight and Sunday's performance. I'm glad I saw Vishneva, but opportunities to see the other dancers and in such a variety of roles are far more limited. They are all sold out now! I'm hoping to hear what I've missed and see if I can wrangle something for Sunday.

The ballet portion of this run opens tonight with Program A, with both Lopatkina & Vishneva. I hope that someone goes & reports! Programs B (Fri), C (Sat) and D (Sun) promise the most ballet.

Yes, the entire performance tonight was less than an hour and a half, including a 20 min intermission. Quite frankly, the video of Plisetskaya was more rousing and compelling than the live performance of Carmen. The corps lacked precision and unity, and I'm not sure whether it was a lack of energy, or the choreography, or the fact that I've just spent 20 hours on planes/ traveling, but while I enjoyed the piece, it just didn't do much for me. I was rather surprised, to me, Russians are the ultimate upper echelon of ballet, and while I'm quite new at this, I've never seen the Mariinsky corps so lackluster. Even the stagehands seemed confused (that's on BAM, I know, but added to the feel of being not entirely up to par). Perhaps these dancers shine more with the classics? The Dying Swan was beautiful albeit brief, and while the Plisetskaya video was amazing, larger than life, and perfectly accompanied, I can watch it on youtube. I am very glad I saw Diana performing a different sort of choreography than I have before, and it was all enjoyable, but rather forgettable (I cannot say the same of Zakharova's Giselle or Lopatkina's Swan Lake or Obratzova's R&J. I will remember them for the rest of my life and would attend them a hundred times), sort of ballet lite. The audience was excited to see the stars but were nowhere near as awed, moved, and appreciative as I have seen at other performances (and there were a lot of Russians in attendance, so that tells you something. If I can afford it after a month of travel, and there are any tickets, I might go back on Sunday to see classical ballet dancers dance classical ballet live, especially after missing Raymonda at the KC!

I was thinking this was a typo because Lopatkina usually dances Russian Dance from Swan Lake for galas. Hopefully it's a typo from Bam or Mariinsky....

I was hoping to see something other than Woman in a Room for program B but oh well. At least I haven't seen Vishneva's Carmen Suite yet!

Yes, in the program tonight it says Swan Lake.

Interesting, on the BAM site, it says Woman in A Room

http://www.bam.org/dance/2016/a-tribute-to-maya-plisetskaya-program-a

I see it says Carmen on her website and I'd much prefer it! I would love to see the last day, I wonder what is the lowest I can pay and still see something!

Has anyone had luck with the exchange policy here? $15, really? I purchased a ticket for Program A, the first performance because it features both Vishneva and Lopatkina, and as someone who only discovered ballet a year or so ago, I want to see both dancers as much as possible. However, I'll probably see Vishneva this summer at ABT, and did not realize I would be watching her throw around lemons in Woman in a Room. I'm young (ish) and have to budget and would prefer to invest in the most enjoyable ballet experiences possible, and have no desire to waste $175 on watching anyone handle fruit. Plus, I'm missing the Mariinsky in KC as I'll probably still be in Brazil, and would really like to see some actual ballet! Hoping I can find decent seats in Programs B or D.

I'm in NYC but would absolutely take off part of the day to see Lopatkina- however I wonder if others in the area may have a similar plan and it will be impossible to get tickets unless you arrive to wait very early. I would hate to go up and it's sold out!

Selling my Vishneva/ Gomes ticket if anyone is interested.

So sorry I missed Cojucaru- I missed out as I was feeling under the weather. Looking forward to reading more about her performance and hoping to see tonight's show if possible

One orchestra seat, row X in the center. Can leave at the box office or meet up.

I'm not too keen to see this and have tickets to Vishneva's performance. Oh, dear. Perhaps I will see Gillian Murphy in Swan Lake instead.

Any word on whether or not Cojucaru will come through?

I don't like the line of demi pointe at all, but I decided to go to expose myself to something different and be a part of an ABT historical moment. Should I watch the current production of Sleeping Beauty that most ballet companies perform today first or wait until after? Or does it matter? I have some reading to do on the history of the ballet. I've only seen a few clips so far.

Well, I suppose it's Cojucaru's Bayadere I will see- if she makes it.

On the tail end of an absolutely breathtaking second act tonight, Osipova took a nasty, nasty fall. Limped back up and powered through the rest of the performance, but it was clear during curtain calls that she was in pain.

Oh dear! I find her such a unique ballerina and her athleticism and power are unparalled. But the higher you climb (jump?), the harder you fall- I really hope she's not out the rest of the season and not injured badly. Surprising, she seems so unshakeable on stage.

Just got back home (I was naughty and stayed out late), and am curious to see how everyone enjoyed tonight. I'm largely here to listen and learn! Lots of thoughts, but tonight I will just say this pretty much confirms that I prefer Russian companies/ dancers/ aethetics/ epaulement/ acting overall- I preferred the Bolshoi's Giselle (although I think I prefer Gomes to David Hall- first time seeing Gomes live, and wow! I enjoyed both Zakharova's- blasphemy, I know- and Vishneva's performances very much for different reasons, and their interpretations varied quite a bit), and found it much more moving and haunting, and yet somehow exhilarating. I mean, I even prefer Maria Allash's arm movements to Devon Teuscher's when she does a particular hand whirling over head movement, it's that specific. I also think I like to see a dancer dance with "their" company, whether on tour or at home, over the whole guest starring, absolutely. I realize that Vishneva is listed as an ABT principal, and has been for many years, but she is Mariinsky, much more so than ABT, to me. Her partnership with Gomes is stellar, regardless.

Of course, now that I've gone, I've decided I must go to more shows this season than I've bought tickets for, even though I already have plans, have earmarked the money for other things, am supposed to be elsewhere/ traveling, can't leave the dog, etc. Oh, dear.

I'm very new to this forum and ballet, but I will be attending the 5/26, and would love to say hello! I am returning for Sleeping Beauty and R&J, and possibly La Bayadere and/or Cinderella/ Swan Lake.

Noted, thank you! I just realized I have been to the New York State (ugh, Koch) Theatre many times, but to the opera house only a few times, so I really am grateful.

Does anyone have a particular ballet or cast they recommend? In addition to my subscription, I was thinking I should get a few cheaper seats or one more good seat. I am considering Cinderella with Marianela Nunez, mostly to see Nunuz; Swan Lake, to see the ABT version (I have seen the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, NYCB, and a guest company or two at the Kennedy Center when I was younger and barely remember), and La Bayadere, as I have never seen it, and would like to see Cojucaru's interpretation if possible. Any other dancer/ ballet recs? I loved Osipova in Don Quixote, I don't know whether her style is as suited to a Sleeping Beauty, but open to suggestions. Thoughts?

I enjoyed the gala performances, although I wasn't keen on the western themed scenes/ choreography. I wonder if it's generational- I'm not a fan of western movies, cowboy anything, musicals like Oklahoma, etc (for various reasons), but I understand they played a significant role in American culture, mythos, and media, particularly at the time those ballets were choreographed. Yikes at Don Quixote. Otherwise, it was wonderful to see such a melange of performances. As a ballet neophyte (and a product of the ADD/ internet generation, to be honest), I immensely appreciated being able to take in just a smidgen from many eras and styles, although I know purists are rarely fans of taking in complete works in bits and pieces. It was good for me to note what I want to see more of first and what is better left to youtube.

My friend was in the AT&T store and a stranger randomly gave her an orchestra seat for last nights Giselle, completely free! Her first time at the ballet was a total surprise and she got to see Abrera and Shklyarov, how fun. I've don't know anything about Abrera, but this board seems to love her, so I am looking forward to seeing her Myrtha. I'm a huge fan of the Russians (unpopular, I know. although I should mention, not the Russians of the Somova and Skorik variety), and very much hoping to see impressive talent based here at home.

correct! left side of the audience!

S isn't too bad. I'm sitting in row R (center) for Giselle, and I'll let you know how the seats were. I actually see some recent left-orchestra seats in row M for Obratzova's Juliet... and I have a similar ticket for another Giselle show this weekend. After I sit in both I'll give you my assessment!

Thank you so much! Very much appreciated. Enjoy! I've seen Giselle before, but only at the Kennedy Center. I'm fine with those seats, it's SB and R&J I want to change. But R&J is much more important to me. For SB, I am fine to see the corps, they patterns, to take in the tableau in it's entirety. For R&J, the acting and the detail of Obratzova's expressions and movement matter more. My seats for the opening/ 75th Gala weren't great, but I bought them only several days before on a whim, so it was to be expected. I bought these the day they went on sale and invested- it's important!

So can you exchange with trio/ build your own? Does it count as a subscription or not? I don't want to go all the way to UWS to be refused, but I wonder if I would have better luck in person than I would over the phone.

Waiting until the last minute would be a perfectly sensible strategy. ABT almost never sells out, and it's often possible to snag a very nice seat the day before.

I think that's going to be my strategy in the future if I want to see something for the dancer, and not the overall ballet or corps, if they continue on with change after change. This is my first spring season at a ballet fan, (I essentially developed more than a passing interest in the art last June after seeing the Bolshoi) and at least I can say it's full of surprises! My concern is the "best" seats selling out when it's a particularly well loved artist, but perhaps it's better to have a decent seat and see my artist of choice rather than to have an excellent, expensive seat and be disappointed. Also, once I have seen the classics and most of the dancers I love, I imagine I'll be much less rigid. I will wait on Alina. If she is not performing that day, I can purchase a very cheap seat or see another La Bayadere, thank you.

Oh goodness, I was considering buying a ticket last minute just to see her live for the first time. I'm already sad to have missed the chance to see Vishneva in Manon (even if it was just the one scene) and Polina S in Swan Lake. Of course injuries happen, but buying ballet tickets shouldn't feel like a game of luck and chance.

I'm in Row S! And it's Eugenia Obratzova. If they don't let me switch, I might sell them and buy closer ones on the left. They put me in row G for Giselle, which I'm happy about, row X for Sleeping Beauty, which is very far back, but I'm less concerned as I really want to see Obratzova's Juliet up close, whereas I'm ok to take in the whole scene for Sleeping Beauty from a distance. Very silly of me not to check until now, of course, but there you have it. For $125, I didn't think it was possible to go as far back as X. It's less than I usually pay for orchestra prime, but not by much.

Thank you for the advise re: the balcony scene. So I want to sit on the left side of the audience and the right side of the dancers?