alexL

Plus there was no intermission, which I appreciated. Jeu de Cartes bored me to death as always though. 

33 minutes ago, canbelto said:

FWIW, I've found Stella's performances this season to be below her usual standard. She is still a lovely, lyrical dancer but her performances last season were technically much more assured. I was surprised to see her struggling visibly with some parts of the Giselle choreography.

She also struggled as Mercedes in DonQ where she almost fell on the ground in 1st act solo. I was so surprised since she has been technically secure even until last year. 

Now I'm so glad that I saw her Swan Lake despite my busy schedule. She was definitely losing flexibily on her back lately. It's going to be disappointing to see her dance less in the classics.... 

I was there yesterday and Thursday. While I was very sad to see Vishneva retire, I preferred Ferri/Bolle in the last act. Vishneva's Tatiana is softer and more youthful while Ferri's was more determined and mature. At the end of the act 3 Ferri's Tatiana grieves for her love but then puts on a "mask", like Onegin did in the earlier acts. It shows her character's transformation since the previous acts and this portrayal was more affective to me. Diana's Tatiana definitely suffered more and one could tell that her Tatiana could never be happy again. I preferred Vishneva in act 1 and 2 as she still has the technique to pull it off (not that it's a difficult choreography). Also, on Thursday the supported jetes were spot on and everyone was in sync with the music and each other! It made it look way more thrilling than Friday night where the corp were very out of sync. Were Friday's corp dancers taller than Thursday's corp cast? I can imagine the taller dancers having trouble with the lighting fast tempo. 

Onegin is not my all time favorite ballets (but two of my all time favorite music by Tchaikovsky are featured in the ballet) however I still enjoyed it more than Manon. Despite the lovely music I don't think I can ever bear to see Manon again without the artists like Diana and Marcelo in it. 

9 hours ago, canbelto said:

It looks like they've quietly lowered the prices in some second and third ring seats to $80.

It's funny because they actually have increased the price for the cheapest ticket in Jewels from $55 to $75!! All other sections' pricing seems to be the same. Thank God I snagged those cheaper seats early on :/

7 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

If they were doing Spartacus or La Bayadere (or even SL), I'd probably cough up the money. 

Or even Flames of Paris. That ballet doesn't require a fancy set anyway and the usual cast for Flames of Paris and Taming are pretty much identical. 

I'm excited to see Taming of the Shrew but at the same time I want more variety. 

I'm actually going to multiple Jewels performances because I rarely get to see POB live. However, I'd much prefer a standalone performance by POB in a more classical rep. 

This is really out of nowhere.... I wish each of them the best. 

Luckily for the management, they actually don't dance together that frequently. Tiler's usual partners are Amar Ramasar and T Angle and Robbie usually dances with Sterling Hyltin. 

There is still some time until the fall season so I will hold my speculations regarding casting....

58 minutes ago, nanushka said:

 

Not to sound overly harsh, but Boylston had the ugliest arms I've ever seen on a turning dancer during her Don Q fouettés –– they looked like crab claws!

Now that you mention it, I too remember her claws. I thought it was weird too because her arms didn't look like that during her fouettes last year. 

I think my standard for ABT SL became so low that I'm ok as long as the dancers don't make any jarring mistakes on stage. Long time ago, I used to avoid Murphy in SL because her acting is one note and her arms and legs aren't long enough for the role. Now I'd see her over any other ABT principals for Odette with the exception of Part.... 

20 minutes ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

 

I think your numbers are lower, at least per performances-(I don't visualize any different situation for.Copeland or Seo on their second takes). The meter should had started running from DQ on.?

For DonQ everyone hit their 32 fouettes except Misty. Same thing for Le Corsaire-everyone hit 32 except Seo. Usually Boylston does it without a problem(she travels a bit on stage but she does finish all 32) when she isn't injured and she was fine in DonQ so I cut her some slack for saving her ankle in SL. Unlike Seo and Copeland I know she will do 32 fouettes in next year's SL. She better fix her jerky port de bras though. 

1 minute ago, fondoffouettes said:

Also, they tried to be cheap with the curtain calls, as they've done with matinees all season. The audience wouldn't leave and kept applauding, banging and hollering -- after the house lights came up -- until they gave Veronika a solo curtain call. Also what a class act Whiteside was. He let her bask in the initial curtain call all by herself and then joined her later. I'm too overwhelmed with emotion to write much more at the moment but will give a complete report later.

I was one of those people who kept clapping!! 

I'm happy to report you all that Veronika did all 32 fouettes including 2 doubles without traveling too much. She receieved 3 bouquets+1 thrown by an audience. Brava!!

I gotta admit that I kind of of enjoyed Spartacus. In fact, I'm ashamed to admit that I ended up going to every show. It looked quite spectacular from upclose!

I equally enjoyed all three DonQs especially Krysanova's. I'm looking forward to seeing her again in Taming of the Shrew. 

I forgot to mention that Lendorf is the only Rothbart who really nailed his arabesque balance. Just love how he excecutes each steps with his strong legs. Now that I remember, after Simkin's impressive solo variation Lendorf momentarily broke his character and genuinely smiled. I don't blame him since pretty much everyone in the theater was smiling with him.

Anyway, Lendorf not performing in Sleeping Beauty last year was a huge loss for me and some of my friends. Now that we have him as a principal maybe ABT can stage La Sylphide again... although I read from his interview that he came to the City to expand his repertoire and dance in different ballets than Bournonville. Also, I can picture Blaine as James and Sarah as the Sylph!

Sorry about going off topic! 

26 minutes ago, Natalia said:

 

Another zippy-singles, perfectly-centered fouetté queen: Olga Chenchikova!!! She was a "turning beast" even more so than Tatyana Terekhova, who was also spot-on. Saw them both in the Kirov's '86 Wolf Trap tour - Olga in SL, Tatyana as Paquita. Those were THE days!

Wish I could've seen them live. I only saw them through Youtube!

And how come I forgot about Nina! I'm not qualified to call myself her fan anymore

I think I'm diverting from the main topic but I know a dancer who might be able to do all 32 in singles= Bolshoi's Krysanova! She usually does doubles and triples combined with singles but her single pirouettes were the fastest ones I've ever seen in my life. That didn't make her look like the greatest o/o though.

I thought Sarah was going to make it until she fell out. It was going pretty well until the mistake happened. I don't really count the fouettes anymore so I'm not sure how many she did. She did way more fouettes than Seo but that's not a complement. I just hope that she doesn't become too self conscious when she performs 32 fouettes next time.

The bigger problem for me was the shaky supported pirouette at the very end of the grand pas de deux. It was just very anti climatic.

I think all of the problems/mistakes could've been prevented with more rehersal time.

So out of all female dancers I've seen during this season, the dancers who completed 32 fouettes have been all soloists except Masha: Teuscher in SL, Brandt in Le Corsaire, and Shevchenko in DonQ AND Le Corsaire! I hope to see Shevchenko as O/O one day! 

Sarah has such a lively swan arms. Her extension is a bit lacking compared to Seo and Teuscher but I liked Sarah's port de bra the best out of 4 swans I saw this week. 

Sorry about the negatives but their pas de deux was kind of weak compared to Monday, Wednesday mat and evening couples. Well, Lendorf and Gomes are the best partners in abt so this comparison is kind of unfair!

Theor acting was good individually but as a couple they were a little bit out of sync sometimes. Then they were wonderful in some moments. It just means that they didn't have enough rehersal so I'm ok with that. I know that they can be wonderful together! 

Did I talk about Sarah's arms? She didn't have the extension that I look for in Odette but gosh her arms were to die for. It's a great debut already! 

Wow what a surprise!

I think I have said that Lane might not be the best fit for O/O but who cares. A debut is always exciting and I've been rooting for her to become a principal for years! If Masha's injury is a serious one I wish her a speedy recovery. 

Regarding yesterday's performance, Lendorf really shines in the prince roles and he showed it yesterday. This is just me but I think he might be the most well rounded Siegfried ABT has at the moment. Clean solo variation, great partnering skill, compassionate acting, and strong stage presence- he has it all! The only negative of yesterday's performance was that he ended his variation after the music was finished (he was about a half second behind but in a ballet world that feels like forever). Once again, I've been his fan for a while so I might be just seeing the positives. 

Bella not doing 32 fouettes didn't bother me since I know that she is still recovering from an injury. She forgot about her wrist several times in the 2nd act but I think she's made some improvements since past years- only when she's excecuting the slow movements. Whenever she has to move her swan arms fast, she often becomes frantic instead of being elegant. 

Their white pas de deux was quite magnificent. Both Lendorf and Bella are such strong partners to each other that they both didn't look labored at all throwout the pas de deux.

Absolutely agree with Jayne. Veronika deserves better! Stearns' partnering has improved tons since he first became a principal but he is such a naturally wooden actor. As someone has pointed out, he doesn't have that "it" factor and I doubt that will ever change. Besides, he still makes some partnering mistakes here and there. Partnering wise, I think Whiteside is stronger but he is also not best suited for the prince roles... (I do however like him in DonQ or Le Corsaire)I really miss the time when Gomes was able to partner up with Part. 

Now that Bolle is limiting his performances at Met, maybe ABT can find a tall male dancer from outside for Part. I know there are some soloists or corps members who are tallish and talented but I don't think any one of them can match Part- at least not yet. I do see some promising talents but they need more experience to develop while Part doesn't have a lot of time left... I wouldn't be surprised if she retires within a few years. 

Honestly I'd rather see Nina in SL than any other ABT principals maybe except Part.

So as I have suspected Seo will fill in for Murphy. Sigh.

2 hours ago, Kaysta said:

  I do like Hee Seo (I think her Juliet is quite stunning), but it was frustrating for us (and probably her as well) last year when she was made to cover for multiple injured dancers. 

Exactly my sentiment. I didn't realize that she is prone to mistakes until I was forced to see her in all the shows that she subbed in last 2 seasons.

Seems like she might sub for Murphy in SL next week... Oh well. Hopefully she can bring it since I bought the ticket for the show! 

I'm so happy for Shevchenko and Brandt! I was actually secretly disappointed because Brandt didn't get her Kitri this season. Shevchenko was very impressive in DonQ and Giselle. Just hoping that her partnering with Lendorf goes smoothly this time. 

Oh my. I feel sorry for Masha but excited for Brandt at the same time. I think she has the skill set and presentation for Medora. Let's hope the last minute partnership goes smoothly!

Maybe Kochetkova is resting up for her SL. I honestly hope that she can pull it off since Simkin looks most relaxed when he is partnering her. If they were to change his partner in last minute.... I will be too nervous to watch it. Boylston sounds like the most realistic sub if you ignore her injury. 

Whatever the scenario is, I hope that ABT can notify us asap because I might have to exchange my tickets. 

I agree with Natalia about Lane's repertory. I just can't imagine her as O/O (will be seeing her anyway because I'm curious), Medora, or Nikiya. Whereas in Giselle I was actually looking at her alot more often and forgot of Simkin and I am normally a die hard Simkin fangirl. 

I think Sarah will be promoted eventually. I just hope that it's this year. Stella also got her promotion after her Giselle so let's hope that Sarah's is coming. 

I know others are not fond of Kochetkova but I think she is a reliable partner for most male dancers. Like Boylston, she is technically sound and strong enough to support herself. Plus she has the stage experience as a principal dancer that many female dancers don't have. Look at the number of galas and tours she does in a year! I bet she can handle any emmergency partner switcheroo. I can't say that she is one of my favorite dancers but I still enjoy her performances in certain roles. 

Hallberg's characterization of Albrecht has improved so much since I saw him last time back in 2014. I liked the fact that his Albrecht had remorse on his face when everything is revealed in 1st Act. His Albrecht used to look impenetrable and somewhat heartless but now he is showing more vulnerable side. Overall his acting felt way more sincere than before. I got teary eyed after thead scene not because of Gillian's acting but because of Hallberg's reaction. I hope he stays healthy throughout the season.

For the matinee I think everyone has already said everything. I hope to see Simkin and Lane partnership more often... hopefully in R&J!