Marta

Thanks, I've seen that one and it's fabulous. What I meant is I'm looking for a clip of Villella as the Prodigal, any part of it with any company. 

I should have made that clear.

In discussing a performance of Villella's  in Prodigal Son, 1964 or 1965 with Boston Ballet, I went in search of a video clip of the ballet or any part of it.  Came up with absolutely nothing.  Has anyone seen such a cliip?

1 hour ago, abatt said:

ABT didn't have trouble filling the Met when they had Vishneva, Corella and their ilk as mainstays in the company.  They were permanent company members.  I won't even begin to list the remarkable guest artists that we got to see at the Met.     The real explanation here, in my opinion, is that the majority of the current roster of principals   does not generate excitement and is  not at the same high level as yesteryear, with a few exceptions.  So the dancers won the fight for homegrown talent to perform instead of imports, but now they have about half the number of performance weeks at the Met.  Is that a victory for them and for us in the audience?  I'm not so sure. 

If ABT was still competing with NYCB due to overlapping seasons, ABT would lose a certain number of balletomanes.   The dancers at NYCB are far more interesting than most of ABT's principal roster now.  In July ABT is the only game in town for ballet, so the extension of the opera season is, in my opinion, a blessing for ABT.

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.

On 8/10/2023 at 2:19 PM, matilda said:

One big issue at ABT right now is that the company's primary rep is too demanding for many of the male principals, who are either declining due to age and/or injury, or they never had amazing technique or performance ability to begin with. There are not enough Albrechts, Siegfrieds, and Basilios who are on the same level as the company's Giselles, O/Os, and Kitris. So then as an audience member you have the problem of struggling to pick a cast where you actually want to see both leads (of course, sometimes the ballerina is the mediocre one).  

At NYCB, at least there are more ballets where older male principals only have to partner. ABT depends much more on the virtuoso Petipa/classical ballets and unfortunately they barely have the roster right now to pull off those ballets for a week each. 

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!

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.

I saw that performance of Le Corsaire  at the Met in 1989.   Thrilling! All the dancers were stupendous! 

Wikipedia says Sarah Lane is 38.

1 hour ago, Fraildove said:

I think most of the Soviet ere ballerinas did them. Plisetskaya’s were also notable. Makarova was the first that I thought of.

Makarova was the first I thought of too. I wasn't 100% sure though.  She was unforgettable!

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.

abatt said: 

55 minutes ago, California said:

Maybe I'm part of a small minority, but I much prefer the brises, which we saw with Baryshnikov. They work best with shorter men. Dramatically, Albrecht is looking at Myrtha as he progresses, under her command. For the entrechats, he has to turn away from her and look forward to the audience. 

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.  

3 hours ago, vipa said:

I agree with everyone's statements that the piece is highly flawed, and there is no need for me to restate what others have said so well. The interesting thing is that the New York Times chose to print it. Many people in many fields feel misunderstood but they don't get published in the Times. Clearly someone at the Times thought this point of view would draw interest.

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.

3 minutes ago, abatt said:

This week I have been thinking back to Sarah Lane's heartbreaking Giselle, and what a shame that she is no longer in the company.

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.

10 hours ago, nysusan said:

 

I don't see how you can watch a performance, any performance, and not compare it to other performances you've seen of the same role. And I don't see why you wouldn't want to. Its a natural part of the mental process. And when you're discussing performances on a board like this one comparing the current one to one that many people have seen is a good way to describe or contrast it.

 

I always compare in my mind as I'm watching. Compare it to the best I remember, or the worst or the most recent.

 

Ohh, Vishneva's second act Giselle was so spirit-like she was barely there. Now Osipova's seems freshly dead, like there's still a lot of human in there - opposite interpretations but both fantastic. Cojocaru's 1st act hops on point are so delicate, Ferri's cover so much ground and I love the way Vishneva turns to look at Albrecht during her hops, etc etc. And certainly when you see a dancer who disappoints, you refer to one that you loved, and what is lacking in what you're watching.

 

Whenever I watch Giselle's 1st act variation, before the hops on pointe I still see Kirkland in my head and how she rolls down from pointe and looks adoringly at her Albrecht when she does those arabesques and really, throughout the variation. Doesn't mean that I can't enjoy different performances but what I have seen in the past naturally informs what I'm watching now.

 

Now on to this afternoon's Hurlin/Camargo and then tonights Brandt/Cornejo!

 

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.

3 hours ago, California said:

3 hours ago, California said:

Ratmansky posted a picture of that bomb with the inscription in Russian on his Instagram account - sickening:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtS7vksNkF5/

Yes, absolutely sickening and horrible.  I suppose we'll never know if some dancers/staff of the Bolshoi are donating voluntarily.

10 minutes ago, canbelto said:

One puzzling program was the program with Fancy Free/Agon/Brandenburg.

Fancy Free was Jerome Robbins' first ballet, Brandenburg his last, so you'd think they could program something by Robbins in the middle years to see the growth. Agon being dropped in the middle was very puzzling.

Yes!  I also think nothing should follow Agon.

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.

8 hours ago, dirac said:

I got a copy of the book from the library and am dipping into it now. Given the many minor errors that reveal themselves even in a casual reading, I’m glad I didn’t buy it and will wait for another, cleaned-up edition. Along with the errors pointed out by others, I would add that it’s Barbara Milberg, not Barbara Millberg, and before Homans’ book I only ever saw the diminutive of Patricia McBride’s first name spelled as “Patty” not “Patti.” Minor, but distracting. Preliminary comments:

• Even allowing for the fact that Balanchine’s sex life and eroticism were central to his life and art, the sex gossip became tedious, especially in the latter part of the book. TMI.
• When Balanchine saw Seligmann’s costumes for The Four Ts, he asked Seligmann, “Where is Mary Ellen? I can’t see Mary Ellen.” I ask the same question. While I realize that Homans couldn’t possibly mention every dancer who featured in Balanchine’s life, it seems to me that to omit any comment on Mary Ellen Moylan’s career with Balanchine leaves an important gap. I was also sorry to see no mention at all of Marnee Morris, although it’s a lesser omission.
• I am more familiar with some periods of Balanchine’s life than others, and unfortunately Homans’ descriptions of ballets and interpretations of events are sufficiently puzzling to me for the parts of his life that I know better that they make me untrusting of her account of matters that I don’t know as well.
• “Plain-faced” Diana Adams? I should be so plain as Diana Adams. Yeesh.

I echo the thanks of AnthonyNYC for this book, however. I’m finding out a lot I didn’t know and a major comprehensive biography of Balanchine is long overdue. I would like for this book not to be the last one, but it’s probably the only one we will get for a long tme to come, so thanks to Homans for undertaking the project and staying with it.

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

1 hour ago, abatt said:

Sara Mearns was spectacular on Friday night in Swan Lake.  Glad I had the opportunity to see it.  Phelan was not in the same league  in the role.

Another season completed.

For me the All Stars were Nadon, Fairchild, Gordon & Chan.

On to the 75th Anniversary season ....

Reports of the runs in Saratoga and the KC are appreciated. 

 

 

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.

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.

45 minutes ago, Drew said:

Completely on board with the Balanchine/Danilova Coppelia, but the idea of a traditional NYCB Giselle just depresses me.   Too much like a final nail in the Balanchine coffin. Maybe the Akram Khan Giselle could be an interesting option.

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."

56 minutes ago, abatt said:

I think that management needed to make sure that Maxwell would not get re-injured before promoting her.  

To me the phrase "energy" used by J. Stafford is meaningless.  If you cannot execute the choreography properly, I don't care how much energy you may have.  It's all about technique. I can't stand seeing sloppy dancing where people try and fudge landings or other aspects of the choreography.  

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."

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.

On 3/18/2023 at 7:55 AM, its the mom said:

I just saw this. They have five Kitris. Ji Young Chae, Lia Cirio, Vika Kapitonova, Chyrstyn Fentroy and Chisako Oga. 

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?

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