Drew

Hope you feel better soon...

Osipova is now out of Sleeping Beauty. She is dancing in Bayadere as Nikiya--a role she has not danced a lot and that is not an obvious fit for her in some ways. (I haven't seen her dance the role. I saw her as Gamzatti in the same ballet and loved that performance). For myself, I have never found Osipova to be anything less than very interesting to watch whatever she does and so I am looking forward to her Nikiya. Cojocaru should also be lovely in Bayadere...I think her virtuosity, so to speak, is probably not what it once was, but she dances a very beautiful and spiritual Nikiya and I think she is a ballerina who is, to recall your words, not best left to youtube. I envy you seeing Nunez in Cinderella which I will not be able to see. That should be a wonderful performance. I don't know if you have seen Gillian Murphy much yet? If not, then she is someone to see if you can (in any role). Of male dancers, Cornejo would be my first recommendation.

Mazurka I do not know whom on this thread you are arguing with...no-one has called Petrushka racist (indeed I went out of my way to say otherwise), let alone claimed that Fokine's Moor would have a "destructive" impact on audience members. (I did use the word 'destructive' to refer to ongoing contemporary uses of certain stereotypes, which I think helps to explain heightened sensitivity to issues that arise, for example, in works of an earlier era.) I think you are invoking a caricature and a kind of caricature that is often invoked to stop discussions of race--including the history you bring up--dead in its tracks. These issues require nuance in part because of the historical and geographical issues you raise. As for discussions of the ballet generally--someone asked about the blackface so it is being discussed. One could of course discuss many other aspects of the ballet; no-one has suggested that is the most important thing to think about with regard to Petrushka...but it is one thing.

I attended two performances of Atlanta Ballet this past season. One was last week, the final program of the regular season, which--in recent years--has been marketed under the title "Mayhem."What brought me to the theater was a chance to see a ballet by Yuri Possokhov, "Classical Symphony." Many on this website have seen it with the San Francisco ballet I imagine. Mr. Drew's comment as soon as the curtain came down was a heartfelt "That was worth coming to see" and I agree: an enjoyable and, at times, quite ingenious classical showcase well danced by the Atlanta Ballet dancers. I especially enjoyed the leads (Christian Clark and Jackie Nash) and demi-soloists (notably Yoomi Kim and, always compulsively watchable, Alessa Rogers). Pre-publicity for the performance indicated that this was Jackie Nash's first lead for the Atlanta Ballet which she joined last season. I thought she was terrific in a very challenging and showy role. (Well, I caught one tiny bobble coming out of a turn and Clark, standing behind her at that moment, seemed to be watching her very carefully, but she immediately got back on track.) The work was very warmly received and got by far and away the loudest and most spontaneous cheers of the evening. Wish Atlanta Ballet would do more neo-classical work of this kind. The dancers CAN dance it and the audiences DO appreciate it. (Unfortunately for this performance the company used recorded music.) The first work on the program, Angels' Share, had live music--in a pre-ballet introductory video (every work on the program was introduced with a short video), the choreographer John Heginbotham mentioned that when he started working with the company, the director had mentioned the possibility of live music--as long as he used a chamber work. Heginbotham, who used to dance with Mark Morris, emphasized the beauty of his chosen score joking (in a way that recalled Balanchine) that even if you "hate" ballet, you can close your eyes and enjoy the music etc., though he added that he hoped you woudn't. Anyway, I found him very personable and found the music, (Dohnanyi), in fact, unbelievably, to-die-for beautiful. I'm afraid I found the choreography itself rather bland in a vaguely lyrical contemporary ballet vein. The final work on the program was Alexander Eckman's Cacti. He introduced it in the introductory video (and program notes) by openly describing it as the product of his ressentiment towards dance critics. One can only imagine what he thinks of fans on message boards. He wants to satirize pompous criticism and (I think) obscure experimentation, but--to put it politely--I don't think his own tone is easy to pin down. Here and there I thought an idea was taking shape that I found semi-interesting especially the very ending which I actually kind of liked (with the dancers walking towards the audience, holding their props, a voiceover asking again and again if this was coming to an end, was indeed the end, should be the end, etc.). But mostly I found the work too scattered to become genuinely interesting. The humor didn't do anything for me either, though I believe my irritation at the male dancer voiceover in which "he" calls his partner a bitch means--according to the terms of the rest of the work's voiceovers--that I am a pretentious intellectual....so I forbear further comment. The other Atlanta Ballet performance I made it to this year was the return to Atlanta Ballet of Maillot's Romeo and Juliet with Alessa Rogers and Christian Clark. I saw the season's final performance and the two of them pulled out all of the emotional stops--giving a still more powerful, moving, and beautiful performance than they had last year and that performance had been plenty powerful, moving, and beautiful. But what was just as exciting: the whole company seemed more in command of the ballet than they had when they debuted the ballet; dancers (many of whom were reappearing in the same roles they had danced last season) danced with greater power and vividness--I would say greater confidence. Dancers new to the ballet (such as Tara Lee as Lady Capulet) also brought new strength to the cast. Seeing Maillot's ballet for a second time confirmed for me, too, that it is at the very least a refreshing balletic take on Prokoviev's much staged score, though I think it's more than that actually. A wonderful performance--huge cheers for the whole company.

This may well have been in the planning for some time, before Abrera was cast...and people coming in from outside of New York meant that it had to be a Saturday performance to be practical. But in any case it means Abrera is making her debut in as high profile a context as imaginable. It is an unusual setting, but not a diluted one. (And it doesn't sound as if it will interfere with curtain calls in any case...)

I saw Othello the season ABT first did it and, at that time, thought Kent's performance as Desdemona was one of the loveliest I had seen her give.

In past seasons (recent past seasons) I have seen her look insecure in Symphony in C at the same moments described and in the same way described, including also shaking when she was supported. She is a beautiful ballerina and very beautiful in this role even when having difficulties, but it is not a brand new phenomenon for her to have them.

Loved the quote that went with it as well...

Oooh...I have a ticket for that final matinee Midsummer Night's Dream--very curious now...

I saw these circulated on Twitter. Copeland was certainly not the only dancer photographed on the red carpet.

I wondered if the lack of music from the ballets being shown was a budget issue. Then again, it was of a piece with the slow motion which tended to homogenize everything into a single look, even when the documentary was talking about a variety of styles. I, too, feel I could listen to Ratmansky all day.

Well, people are sounding off in the immediate wake of the news and of their disappointment, but I think it's selling the company short to assume that there aren't plenty of pleasures to be found in the dancing of many of their soloists and sometimes of their corps as well...and selling their fans short to think they don't realize that and take pleasure in it. I have seen ABT's corps dance "raggedy" (as mentioned by someone above) and I've seen them dance beautifully. At the same time, I don't think anyone needs to apologize for being a keen fan of this or that ballerina and wanting to see her (whether Osipova or Seo, Murphy or Copeland). Ditto for favorite male dancers. Ballet Alert is one of the few places I can express disappointment about this sort of thing to people who understand the feeling even if they think I'm delusional in my choice of favorites. Other than depth of talent one other advantage NYCB has casting-wise is that the best dancers dance very frequently. Without knowing casts, I'm almost willing to bet that when I buy tickets for three-four performances over a weekend, I will see most, if not all, of the dancers I most want to see. It's a different animal than ABT because the repertory allows for that. Comparisons to the Mariinksy or Bolshoi seem more appropriate...and if the Mariinsky (for example) were not a visiting company in the U.S. but came and performed a yearly 8 week season in NY, then people might be less easy-going about casting changes in their full-length works even with the company's often spectacular corps de ballet and superb schooling up and down the ranks. (I am not equating the overall level at ABT in full-length classics with the overall level at the Mariinsky in that rep--just saying it's easier to "enjoy" whatever a visiting company has to offer, even when one is disappointed with some casting changes, because it's on offer much more rarely.) Not saying ABT doesn't have problems, just trying to balance things out a bit in thinking about it. (Aurora weighed in with her last post just as I was typing this.)

I remember your report. The evening sounded (and sounds) like a wonderful experience. I have never watched from backstage...

You are right that she has danced in this production, though not Nikiya, at least not at ABT. I have seen some footage of her as Nikiya, not sure of production, but I assume Bolshoi. She certainly has not done the role much. At ABT, as you note, she did dance at least one Gamzatti during the season you mention. I saw that performance and thought it was fabulous. Part replaced Vishneva that evening.

With apologies to Courtney Lavine (who in photos has very lovely legs indeed) for hijacking the thread...I had never heard this expression before and I was curious. When I looked it up I found variants of the following: "A thin screen of wood or metal that is attached to the front of a desk, organ, or similar items. The panel provides privacy for the person seated at the desk or organ, as it covers the upper part of the legs and cabling, and also provides structural support for the four legs of the furniture." (From Wikipedia) Which is something a little different than showing concern someone would get (as Kaskait wrote) "sexy thoughts about a sofa leg." Of course, I'm sure the Victorians were as fetishistic as any other group of people...which is to say, pretty fetishistic. (Since this discussion began with Puss 'n Boots...it should be said the internet has exposed an underbelly of contemporary cat fetishism that future generations may find very peculiar--unless they, too, have cats . )

Edited to add: I wrote this when Helene was typing and missed her comments. I have slightly modified my language accordingly. But notably, no-one who works or will be working with the company has withdrawn. It is not like Murphy has "refused" to dance it or canceled a performance. Herrera is about to retire and Osipova is a fly in/fly out guest. She is also preparing Nikiya for the week before and that is not a role she has danced before in Makarova's production, as far as I know at least, or much at all. God knows the company needs more major ballerinas. Lopatkina supposedly refused to dance Lilac Fairy in the Mariinsky reconstructed Beauty, and perhaps there will always be some dancers who don't buy the 'return to origins' approach. I am super looking forward to seeing it, but am not at all sure what I am going to think. My NY ABT visit plans are set and, for various reasons, can't and won't be rearranged... but all the cast changes are dismaying. And of course, one fears that is not the end of it. That said, Bayadere is one of the company's better productions of a classic and I am super interested in the new Sleeping Beauty which qualifies as a genuine 'event' in the ballet world. I am looking forward to seeing multiple casts in both of them. Still... the best laid plans of mice and balletomanes...

The skirts on the legs of table business--if true (ahem)--would show the Victorians to be people of some wit. Puss 'n Boots has never struck me as one of Petipa's greatest inventions, but audiences rather like it and it seems to have inspired Ashton's goats in Sylvia which I find a genuinely terrific number. But in the meanwhile perhaps I will get to see Lavine take on the Cinderella divertissement. I have tickets for four Sleeping Beauties and am hoping to see a huge range of the company's dancers in featured parts.

I read the whole interview today in the NYTimes and thought it was worth giving a better sense of the context of that quote for those who may not have checked out the link--Ramasar certainly has thought about being a dancer of color: "I have never really thought about race, just what I could do as an artist," he said, "But I would like to be looked at as a role model for young dancers of color. I hope that I'm looked at in that way in terms of breaking boundaries and showing this is possible." The interview opens by describing his first glimpse of ballet--a video that made him want to become a ballet dancer and join New York City Ballet: Mel Tomlinson and Heather Watts in Agon. And a little later in the same interview: "...even though the African-American Mr. Tomlinson had been his first glimpse of classical dance, Mr. Ramasar said it was often hard to believe in his future as a ballet prince. "I would look around and think, there are no other dark-skinned Puerto Rican-Indian guys around. Is it really possible?"

(Edited)...but adding something on another topic: Kirkland was a slightly waif-like Caroline, as I remember the performance; don't know what Tudor specialists thought of it, but I found it very moving and beautiful.

Delighted PBS invested in a documentary on a major American Ballet Company and that Rick Burns took it on. More ballet on PBS please! On the plus side too: I appreciated the attention to the huge importance of Lucia Chase. I thought the film did convey something of the excitement around the creativity of ABT's early years and the contributions of Tudor, Robbins, and De Mille. I liked seeing archival footage of their works alongside more recent performances. Loved Ratmansky's remarks about how ballet steps/choreography give one an embodied link to past. (Can't remember his exact words)--Mckenzie said something similar though less developed in expression, at least as edited. Relieved Kirkland got a mention. Ditto Bruhn. Enjoyed seeing and hearing today's dancers and I will make special mention of the footage of Cornejo. What a great and beautiful artist. On the minus side, my other reactions were very similar to those already expressed above. I would have liked: more condensation of the early (pre ABT) ballet history; more ABT footage from all eras; a bit more footage of today's dancers that included non-slow motion shots of dancing. Actually, I would have found the slow motion more interesting with at least one or two juxtapositions of the same footage shown at normal speed. And, perhaps more imporantly, I would have liked a clearer sense of the arc of the company's history--we got the first Swan Lake and some allusions (not well explained to someone who didn't already know much about it) to Makarova's staging of Bayadere, but not a clear sense that the company increasingly became a showcase for full length ballets, both classics and 20th-century full-length ballets. (The latter I don't think were mentioned at all). And perhaps there should have been some mention of the role of "guests" in the company's history which could have been done in a relatively non-controversial, non-critical way--which did seem to be the aim tone-wise--as a tag-on to the company's "international" legacy etc.

I enjoyed reading about the performance, but these words filled me with dismay, especially as I am looking forward to seeing Cornejo later in season...any official word on this injury?

According to her ABT biography, Part has danced the other woman or "Episode in His Past"...

That's worrying...

Now if only more could have been done about the sight-lines...

I haven't read any unconditional support for lousy technique--in Copeland or anyone else. Not everyone may agree about her technical limitations or what they are--and, as I stated above, I would have to see her more than I have in the theater to feel I have a clear(er) picture of her strengths and/or weaknesses. (No--I'm not willing to write off a dancer's technique, based on a few seconds of 60 Minutes footage.) Others here have seen her much more often than I, and I take their opinions seriously, but like to judge for myself as well. Well, don't most balletomanes? I have said I think some of the criticisms of her seem unfair and I used the perhaps stronger phrase "over the top." I don't consider that language to be "demonizing" anyone who criticizes her...which has also been suggested above. But I will try to express myself more gently in future .