Pepino23

The podcast Conversations on Dance recently had Susan Jaffe on where she talks a little about programming and future performances including the Fall. You can listen directly on their website or go to Spotify or Apple Podcast and search Conversations on Dance episode 395. Based on this episode, it seems like she hasnt been able to really put herself 100% into her role. Hopefully with the new Executive Director thing can start moving. https://www.conversationsondancepod.com/episodes-transcripts/395-susan-jaffe-american-ballet-theatre I really appreciate ABT for what it was and what it could be again. I’m rooting for them to get it together. I think there is a combination of factors going on here including terrible fundraising and marketing. I get harassed (and I actually mean to use that word) multiple times a year from ABT to donate. However it seems like it is just a volunteer who doesn’t know how to professionally navigate someone saying no or how to navigate different options for the potential donor. It really has turned me off to donating and I have ended up giving to NYCB instead in the past. Get in some boots on the ground who actually know how to appropriately handle givings and donations. Additionally there are some principals who have got to go. And I don’t mean because they can’t do 10 pirouettes. Yeah doing a billion fouette turns is impressive, but that doesn’t carry the whole ballet. I feel like artistry is being lost more and more for tricks. Additionally there are some promotions that I found unnecessary such as Roman Zhurbin. I am eager for the next generation to start leaving more of their mark. As much as I enjoy NYCB, and go to their shows weekly, my true love is for the classics and what ABT used to bring. I’ll be here for it as soon as it is back!

Olivia Boisson last night was quite lovely to watch. So much so that my husband asked me who she was when watching the Garner piece. The piece overall fell short for me. It started out well, I appreciated the lighting, the set, and I really enjoyed the music. The last section where the costume change occurs just didn’t do it. It seemed like the piece was doing a nice build and then she ran out of time to finish it. It was a shame because I appreciated her not being a modern choreographer who knows nothing about ballet. You could tell she has ballet training and it didn’t give to me (at the beginning) the desperate-trying-too-hard feel I often get with new works lately. I agree though what was said that this piece wasn’t necessarily a “Woodward exclusive” piece and her not dancing wasn’t drastically noticed. I do wonder why she pulled out of a lot this season. Olivia Boisson and Olivia Bell both stood out to me as having really lovely solid and consistent technique. I would love to see more of them!! Underutilized in my book. There was an apprentice in the new piece named Mia. To me honest I didn’t notice her, but good for her to be cast in a new piece! In Creases I had originally seen Houston Ballet dancers do it, and I have to admit I preferred it with NYCB dancers. There was just a sharper quality to the dancing. It will never be my favorite piece, but I can appreciate that it is a marathon to dance and can also say that it really shows impressive abilities for up and coming corps dancers. Preston as others said was looking great! A new assurance in his dancing. Maybe it was always there and he was being miscast before? Regardless I very much enjoyed seeing him! I find that the pianos onstage don’t have as loud of a sound as I would like. I feel like the dancing would be magnified if the sound quality was too Dig the Say to me had no depth. Only showing off what Mejia and Peck can do, which don’t get me wrong was amazing! But I wish you could have put all those bells and whistles into a piece with more meat to it. I did enjoy the guest quartet though! Mejia is superhuman to me. I desperately wish for him to have a lead in one of the classics that isn’t Nutcracker. Maybe Franz in Coppelia this fall? He is more than ready to carry a full length ballet. I wish he could almost guest at ABT for a show In Rubies, Megan looked great and Mira did as well. I was surprised by Anthony. I don’t particularly love him in Rubies, but it was really nice to see him actually smiling on stage and looking like he was having fun! I still prefer any section of Jewels to be done as a whole rather than an individual piece. I feel like it loses some of its wow factor because part of the fun is the contrast between it and Emeralds/Diamonds. I continue to be less than impressed with India Bradley. And boy do I try to really watch her to see if I’m missing what everybody else sees. Even as a corps in Rubies, she has no depth to her dancing, she is little more than long limbs. Yes she has a beautiful line because of the length that she has. But she is unable to control it and to me it just looks like awkward flailing. I’m not at all pleased that she has been cast in Red Angels. I did enjoy the See the Music beforehand, anything to help explain even a little insight into Stravinsky. (I’m sure it’s a very unpopular opinion but, with the exception of Firebird, I find Stravinsky to just be a cacophony of sounds that is really hard to get into.)

In tonight’s performance I found Rotunda to be just as “blah” as I had found it the first time I saw it. There are of course individual moments that are lovely to watch such as Daniel Ulbricht’s solo; but overall not something I need to see again. Tiler’s piece was a refreshing return to a more “ballet-ey” new work. I have been less than impressed in the last few years with the new works trying too hard and leaving little to no lasting imprint in my mind. Was this piece a genius work? No. But it was entertaining and you can certainly see her style of dancing within the choreography. She showcases Roman well. Crazy jumps, spinning top turns, and a charm that only he has onstage. He honestly looked like more of an ABT male dancer tonight than a NYCB male lead hiding in the female shadow. Mira and Chun make for a lovely partnering match. Very flowy and calm amidst commotion. Emma is spunky and sparkly and every role I see her in I love her more and more. India I truly do not understand the recent spolighting of her. She is stiff, she has no stage presence and I just do not see the appeal. She has of course long legs and long lines, but I don’t see the control within all of that flexibility that I see in other dancers. I was eager going into the piece after reading the NYTimes Tiler Peck interview. I wanted this to be the chance for India to wow me since Tiler mentions how people think she isn’t as technical as other dancers. Unfortunately, I was not convinced. There is getting through a piece and then there is actually dancing and allowing the audience to feel something with the dancing. India just doesn’t have that spark for me. I enjoyed the corps dancers selected for this piece. I thought they did well and it was nice to see some faces I feel like I don’t get to see as often such as Kennard Henson. Odessa was a lovely surprise for me having never seen it. Megan and Unity did well. Megan talks about how she is rarely is new works or more contemporary works. I think that she did fine here. The one who really shone for me though was Indiana. Precise turns, fast footwork, made it all look like just a ton of fun instead of an asthma attack waiting to happen for all that dancing. Daniel Ulbricht was great in this. He is very underutilized in my opinion. I did enjoy his pairing with Megan and I wonder why they aren’t paired more often. Stop pairing him with Erica Pereira please! Give this guy better partners!