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Marta

Senior Member
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Everything posted by Marta

  1. Yes, 1000% agree. Also this: matilda said: ABT has the disadvantage of competing with a larger, better funded, and better-known ballet company in the same city. better funded, better-known and better. Some [all?] NYCB corps dancers dance at the level of ABT soloists.
  2. One of the hallmarks of the McKenzie era was the casting of great ballerinas with mediocre partners, e.g.. Veronika Part and Cory Stearns. I hardly ever was happy with both leading dancers in a Petipa ballet. Calvin Royal is 35 and Stearns is 37. Stearns has frequent injuries and personally, I don't find Royal's technique what it should be. New blood needed!
  3. Thanks for your reviews, vipa. They're so inspiring me to go next year! I'm particularly enchanted by the all Balanchine, but every program you've seen would thrill me.
  4. I saw that performance of Le Corsaire at the Met in 1989. Thrilling! All the dancers were stupendous!
  5. Marta

    Sarah Lane

    Wikipedia says Sarah Lane is 38.
  6. Makarova was the first I thought of too. I wasn't 100% sure though. She was unforgettable!
  7. Marta

    Sarah Lane

    Interesting and unexpected! Kathleen Breen Combes and Yuri Yanowsky were two of Boston Ballet's finest dancers, and also personal favorites. Still, I wish she had more opportunities to dance as a guest at various companies.
  8. abatt said: Skylar has made excellent progress as Odette. A terrific performance. And Herman was full of energy and dancing magnificently. Her Odile last season was very good, and it was so again tonight. She did an unsupported balance for a very long time. Wonderful mixture of single and double fouettes. I saw Brandt in this Thursday night performance for the first time in SL. She was excellent, and I have no doubt that her interpretation will grow. I didn't have any sensation that her performance was overcoached. I have to say though that I was not fond of her prolonged unsupported balance. It's supposed to be a snapshot ... I was surprised and so happy that Cornejo was dancing brilliantly. I did not expect this. Especially in Acts I and II, the decline in technique from a few years ago was evident although not glaring. As already reported here, Erica Lall was just wonderful. I would love to see Aran Bell and Shevchenko dance together.
  9. I also much prefer the brisés, which Baryshnikov did so brilliantly. I think dramatically the brisés communicate compulsion and desperation while the entrechats being essentially in one plane are more static. Hallberg about 10 years ago performed 32 [I think] entrechats beautifully, but I confess they did not move me.
  10. I also agree with the opinions here. One of my first reactions as I began to read the article was "I wonder why the NYT is publishing this." It's very unfortunate and I doubt that it will help him at ABT. He clearly wants to be Siegfried, Albrecht, Solor, Prince Desire.
  11. I have also been thinking of Lane's [last at ABT?] Giselle, with Simkin. She was so wonderful; nothing was lacking. People have been mentioning Part as a possible coach for Myrtha. It's also a crying shame that Part was let go in such a cavalier way.
  12. I agree enthusiastically with your point of view. Reading these reviews is very stimulating, especially since I can't see any performance of Giselle. Hurlin would have been my first choice. Comparing dancers/performances is absolutely one of the pleasures of "talking" to other dance lovers. Just reading your mention of Vishneva and Osipova brings back powerful reminders of their Giselles. I thought Vishneva's Act II was ethereal and magnificent, especially including how her eyes were cast down throughout all [or most] Act II.
  13. Yes, absolutely sickening and horrible. I suppose we'll never know if some dancers/staff of the Bolshoi are donating voluntarily.
  14. Yes! I also think nothing should follow Agon.
  15. I've spent so much time "studying" the programs just over the last two years, and not once have I found a completely satisfying combo for a 4 performance subscription. I dislike the themed approach, and although I love the black and white Balanchines, I agree with Cargill that contrast is important. Many of the fall 2023 choices are particularly strange.
  16. I agree with all your comments. "Plain-faced" Diana Adams made me wonder if we were talking about the same Adams. I found a lot of Homans' writing gossipy, and she seemed positively hostile toward some dancers, e.g., van Aroldingen. Mindy Aloff has also written a critique of the Homans book: https://blog.bestamericanpoetry.com/the_best_american_poetry/2023/02/george-balanchine-mindy-aloff.html
  17. Mearns was absolutely thrilling in Swan Lake on Friday night. I hadn't seen the one act SL in many years and it's not a favorite. Mearns was unforgettable! Angle performed better than I thought he would, and Megan LeCrone leading the Valse Bluette was excellent. It was my first time seeing Pictures at an Exhibition and I loved it. I look forward to seeing it again. I thought the brief superimposition of the Ukrainian "flag" was beautiful. It reminded me of a painting by Rothko and was more subtle and evocative than if it had been a physical flag.
  18. I agree with all who are hoping Simkin will return to ABT. He's a great dancer. If Jaffe offered him repertoire beyond what it had been, maybe he'd come back.
  19. I agree. I love Giselle, but Giselle at NYCB seems like heresy. More than one book on Balanchine has quoted him as saying something to the effect of, "Dear, if you want to dance Giselle you can step across the plaza."
  20. I agree. And if the choreography is not good to begin with, no amount of energy would matter. I thought some of Stafford's comments were not convincing, as if somebody had said "Here are the keywords ; let's construct the goals around them."
  21. Drew said: That Bayadere in D.C. was stunning. I felt the same about Kim's Ali in Corsaire which I also saw live. I've seen video of him in Legend of Love that I find pretty jaw dropping too.... I saw Kim in Bayadere in N.Y. and he was absolutely thrilling. There is a lot of video of Kim on YouTube which I enjoy frequently. Legend of Love, DQ, Talisman, and short clips of contemporary ballets.
  22. Nice to hear that Oga was promoted to principal. I saw her and Derek Dunn yesterday. He at times was spectacular while she was very good but not at the same level of virtuosity. I wish I had seen either Kapitonova or Fentroy. Has anyone seen either of them?
  23. Marta

    Sarah Lane

    True, abatt, Simkin as occasional guest shouldn't be on any list. Bell certainly looks promising. I have not seen him.
  24. Marta

    Sarah Lane

    Just the dearth of stellar principal males casts a mediocre aspect on ABT. Aside from Cornejo and Simkin, maybe Camargo, most of the males are lackluster. The loss of Ratmansky is significant. What is ABT going to do to become more attractive?
  25. Marta

    Sarah Lane

    I also agree with both Drew and Vipa. I'm a long time fan of Lane's even though I didn't see her that many times at ABT. I especially loved her Giselle with Simkin and her SB with Cornejo. Veronika Part, another great dancer badly treated by ABT,, didn't continue to dance after she left ABT. At least it's encouraging that Lane is still dancing, although it doesn't look as though her career is going to flourish again.
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