canbelto

Tsiskaridze recently danced Albrecht in Kazan with Anzhelina Vorontsova:

Went again tonight. There was a last minute replacement -- The Infernal Machine replaced Purple, and Somogyi didn't dance. Hope she's not injured -- I saw her last night. Barber Violin Concerto is one of the few Martins pieces that gets better upon repeated vieing. Sara Mearns was an effective, if very different Allegro Brillante than Tiler Peck. Tiler Peck was all about dizzying accelerating pirouettes and lightning fast footwork. Mearns made the ballet more dramatic, heavier. The 8 demi-soloists that have accompanied Peck and Mearns deserve a huge round of applause. Tiler Peck was absolutely magnificent in T&V. de Luz struggled with his variation and got kind of sloppy but he made it through the end of the ballet without dying. Peck however? It was like child's play for her.

I went to the Corsaire this afternoon. I hated the new costumes -- all the bikini-tops made the whole thing look Vegas-like. I enjoyed the super-duper-power-house-jumping cast of Osipova/Vasiliev/Simkin/Cornejo/Boylston/Salstein. This ballet (especially the ABT production) is so silly that it was fun seeing the different dancers just sort of do their own thing. Cornejo was absolutely dynamite as Lankedem. He was the shortest dancer in the cast but had the most imposing presence. I enjoyed Osipova/Vasiliev more in Corsaire than Don Q, where I found their routine sort of stale and hard-boiled. Here they seemed to be having a lot of fun and their technique is as always awe-inspiring. Boylston was lovely and Simkin isn't my idea of the slave but he certainly was super exciting. After the show since I had time as I was headed to the NYCB in the evening I went to the stage door. It was a fun experience.

I agree that Lauren King always shines. Even when she's in the corps I watch her. So glad she's now a soloist and she was lovely in "Oh Lay Be Good."

Braved the rain and Tiler Peck's Allegro Brillante was every bit as fabulous as everyone says. She manages to be so majestic and commanding and her pirouettes were so fast it was dizzying. Veyette and the wonderful Demi-soloists were all completely on tonight. The new costumes continue to ruin Who Cares? for me but Sterling Hyltin was lovely in the Man I Love duet with Robert Fairchild. Scheller has learned to relax her shoulders and gave a wonderful performance. Great evening.

A video of their final performance curtain calls is on youtube. Alina looks very emotional.

Did anyone attend their final Mayerling performance?

Bringing the topic back to Ratmansky: for better or worse, he's really done a lot to revive the dram-ballet. His revival of Flames of Paris was a huge hit, as were Bright Stream and The Bolt. The Shostakovich Trilogy I view as another take on the dram-ballet. Interesting that a lot of the criticisms of Ratmansky choreography (choosing rather heavy, "ponderous" music, choreography based on a lot of folk-dance and not really "classical" or "neoclassical" ballet, lack of "elegance") were the criticisms Western critics had when they saw dram-ballets.

Speaking of gloom and doom I would love a ballet based on Battleship Potemkin.

I'd make the argument that ABT will never be a high quality company as long as it eschews new choreography and dances watered down, shortened versions of the "classics." The Ratmansky trilogy was a step in the right direction.

I'm not saying the accused aren't innocent. I'm saying that the implication that Filin must be faking the injuries is taking "blame the victim" to a new level.

Burns take on different "looks." From what I understand Filin was doused in the eyes, not his face. It makes sense actually that his skin looks better than his eyes, which from all accounts are as of now unable to see. In other news it's disturbing how happy people seem to be that this happened: two wrongs don't make a right. Whatever Filin may or may not have done as AD doesn't justify physical violence.

Well with Cojocaru when Polunin (whom they were grooming to be the next major star) suddenly left, the Royal let it be known to the presses that the preceding event was a disastrous rehearsal with Cojocaru. Tense rehearsals are part of the business, but the fact that the Royal Ballet talked about it openly was a sign to me that they blamed Cojocaru or she no longer had the support of the management. The times I've seen Cojocaru she's been exquisite, but the last time I saw her (in Giselle) she seemed racked by injuries. She's said many times that in Kiev she sustained a bad foot injury but over-danced through the injury that never really healed and accumulated more injuries. I don't blame her if she just wants to give her body a break and choose a less demanding schedule.

Cojocaru had several major injuries that coincided with Big Event premieres. One I believe was Chroma. During rehearsal she injured her neck and back. Then there was the blowout with Polunin during rehearsal that preceded Polunin leaving the company. Her partner Johan Kobborg also accumulated injuries. This seems to be a familiar story of a dancer losing favor with management because of chronic injuries and her well-known (and acknowledged) "perfectionism".

Unfortunately both dancers have had well publicized severe injuries throughout their careers. I hope they take time off and let their bodies recover.

I went to this afternoon's performance. The absolute highlight was a totally kick-ass rendition of the Stravinsky Violin Concerto. Sterling Hyltin and Robert Fairchild were absolutely adorable in the second pas de deux, Maria Kowroski and Adrian Danchig-Waring sexy and provocative in the first pas de deux. The finale was a completely joyful folk dance. The corps de ballet was completely on, and that was a joy to watch. Another highlight was the lovely Andantino with Tiler Peck and Gonzalo Garcia.

I think Stella's a beautiful dancer and agree that she deserves to be promoted to principal, but I'm wary of any kind of "campaign" like this because ... well, there's obviously a lot of politics backstage. We don't know what goes on behind closed doors, and such a "campaign" could even backfire if Kevin McKenzie thought Stella was in any way involved or if she was even paying for such a campaign. Her husband also works there. I would hate to think that I made a tense situation even worse or if McKenzie reacted badly and Stella and her husband were punished for it. ABT seems from the outside to be a rather autocratically run organization, with a rigid hierarchy. I just don't know how much any campaign, no matter how well-meaning, would help.

The signature move of the Natalia Osipova/Ivan Vasiliev super-duper Don Quixote occurs late in the first act -- the move is a one-handed lift, with a ballerina holding a striking pose in the air for effect. But Vasiliev takes it a step further -- in the middle of holding his left, he raises a free leg in arabesque and even raises his foot to demi-pointe. It's a trick that I first saw when I saw their HD cinemacast with the Bolshoi more than two years ago. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this kind of showboating in a ballet likeDon Quixote. The choreography (a mix of Petipa and Alexander Gorsky) has long been a staple of ballet galas for its bravura requirements. Gorsky's choreography was designed to be a mix of folk dance and classical ballet at its most flamboyant. But (and here's the key): the performers have to look like they are having fun when doing these tricks and playing to the crowd. Last night's performance had this weird mix of every gala trick in the book along with a grimness that made the evening strangely joyless. Maybe the issue is they've done this ballet too many times. It's been their calling card for years, and one can see why -- Osipova has the most buoyant jump, the greatest ability to squeeze as many revolutions as humanly possible within one rotational push, of any ballerina in her generation. Vasiliev's body type (short, stocky, with bulging, "juiced" thighs) precludes him from roles like Siegfried or Desire but does allow for him to barrel through vast spaces with Usain-Bolt-like speed and power. But even the greatest interpretations can turn stale and routine, and last night I felt like I was watching two performers who no longer had much interest in what they were presenting to the audience. It started with Kitri's entrance. I last saw Osipova do this role live in New York in 2010, and I'll never forget the way she bounced onstage, waving her fan with a huge megawatt smile. When she jumped, she had a way of hanging in the air for a moment, as if suspended by invisible strings. Last night she entered through the same grande jete, but her face was sour and hard. This unhappy countenance persisted throughout the evening. Forget about "Kitri's friends" described in the program -- Osipova barely looked at anyone throughout the evening, including Basilio (Vasiliev). She jumped, she turned, she balanced, and in the fouette sequence she cranked out multiple doubles and ended with a quadruple pirouette. The technique is all there. But the joy (one of those intangible things that can really be transmitted from the performer to the audience) was totally absent. Another thing: Osipova's most special ability is her ballon and elevation. This was best shown in the Dream Sequence, when she didn't jump across the stage, she floated. As I said, she seems to be suspended on invisible strings when she's in the air. But last night I noticed that more and more she foregoes the airy, lovely jumps for turns, turns, and more turns. Every variation now must end with a dizzying series of revolutions. She didn't try the head-grazing "Plisetskaya leap" that I've seen her try in every other Don Quixoteperformance. Vasiliev doesn't have the extraordinary technique of Osipova. He's a sort of sloppy dancer, the sort who belongs in one of those "Stars of Russian Ballet" pickup tours, who changes the choreography to show off what he can do (huge Soviet-style barrel turns and split-leap jumps). His posture is poor. He dances with slumped shoulders, bent knees, little turnout, and he doesn't have the stamina of Osipova, who I suspect could quite realistically dance back to back Kitris. After a big trick he will stop, pause for a long time, and then move onto the next big "variation." When he's turning Osipova during the supported pirouettes he squats his knees in a rather ugly way. He's not really musical either -- in the Act Three pas de deux variation he did a big split leap before the conductor started the music. Oops. He simply went back to his original place, the orchestra began playing, and he repeated the same big split leap. But Vasiliev did have a kind of boyish fun that was more endearing than Osipova's peevish SuperwomanDancer. He had some good comic timing with various props -- a guitar, Kitri's fan, and in the key moment when he's pretending to be dead from a stab wound, he did a funny bit of grabbing Kitri while mimicking rigor mortis. But really, I think both dancers need to take a break from this ballet. The rest of the company put on an above-average performance. Simone Messmer gave a beautiful, elegant, stylish reading of Mercedes. Why this dynamic dancer hasn't been given more roles is a mystery. Misty Copeland (Queen of the Dryads) I heard flubbed her variation of Italian fouettes on Saturday, but tonight the Italian fouettes were fine. She still has a rather leaden, heavy way of dancing that I dislike. Sarah Lane really has outgrown the role of Amour -- this is a role best given to an up-and-coming soloist. Their eagerness to sparkle in the brief variation is usually a joy to watch. Lane's Amour has become like Osipova and Vasiliev's portrayals -- ossified from repetition. Alexander Hammoudi really doesn't have enough over-the-top panache for Espada, and his arms and shoulders also get sloppy when he's tired. The corps de ballet as usual has no feel for the character/folk dancing that add the spice and charm to the paper-thin storyline and B-grade Minkus score. For all the bravura dancing, my overall reaction was a big "meh."

I'll write more tomorrow but I think tonight is the night Osipova and Vasiliev "jumped the shark" so to speak.

Sight lines at the NYCB are much better than at the Met, so a similarly priced ticket at the NYCB compared to the Met is usually closer to the stage, with a much better sightline. Last time I checked $57 and $29 tickets were available for all performances on 6/7 and 6/8 and I only know this because I ordered last-minute tickets for $29 in the second ring yesterday. On 6/7, you get to see Tiler Peck in one of her signature roles, Allegro Brillante, and you get to see Who Cares? Robert Fairchild and Sterling Hyltin are both fantastic in this ballet. On 6/8 afternoon, Ashley Bouder in Theme and Variations!!! Again, that's become to dance lovers a sort of touchstone role for her, you can't go wrong there. Evening again it's Theme and Variations that's worth the price of the ticket alone, and Tiler Peck and de Luz are also excellent in this ballet. It's a mixed bill, you might like some of the ballets more than others, but I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't like Theme and Variations or Who Cares? This sounds like a paid advertisement for the NYCB, but it's not. But Le Corsaire is a VERY weak ballet. More of a pastiche than anything else -- 5 different composers, barebones plot. R&J is definitely worth seeing but it's LONG and heavy on mime. I don't know if you like that. Of all the casts I'd pick Vishneva/Gomes or Osipova/Hallberg. Sylvia is worth seeing. All the casts look okay to me except I'd avoid Paloma Herrera.

I know this sounds weird but for 6/7 or 6/8 I would go across the plaza to see the NYCB. Tiler Peck or Ashley Bouder in Theme and Variations is something worth seeing for sure. Or Who Cares? Is another favorite ballet of mine. Tickets are cheaper at the NYCB. I find Corsaire to be a rather weak ballet, no matter who is dancing.

Polina Semionova dances Kitri and she has long legs. As does Ananiashvili. And don't underestimate Maria Kowroski--had she been trained at the Bolshoi Ballet School she would have knocked Kitri right out of the ball park. Personally, I never liked Plisetskaya. Maximova and Bessmertnova were my cup of tea. Yes but the role has been associated with shorter dancers without long legs. At the NYCB I'd pick Tiler Peck or Ashley Bouder to dance Kitri, neither of whom have short torsos and long legs, over Maria Kowroski.

Maria Kowroski would look absurd dancing Kitri .... The role is made for shorter, more compact ballerinas with great terre a terre technique. I've seen Osipova as Kitri and I don't think she overacts, she's just very "Bolshoi" in her style. She resembles Maya Plisetskaya a lot ... In Giselle she certainly turned out her legs and feet. I see them tomorrow.

You guys have obviously not been to enough NYCB performances where incredible performances get no curtain call. Or, they do but the house is mostly empty. This happened during a Sleeping Beauty with Tiler Peck where she took a curtain call to a mostly empty house. I was horrified. No flowers, no applause, after an absolutely stunning Aurora.

I'm confused ,.. Who is Mickey Mouse?