bingham

Saviliev is replacing Max B. in SB on Thurs, July 7.

Gomes is now replacing Saviliev in this chain of replacements. Looks like whatever happened to him as the Purple Pimp was serious enough.

I'm a little surprised at Seo being given Lilac Fairy...doesn't seem like her type of role at all.

Did anyone see H Seo 's LIlac Fairy?

Osipova/Vaseliev and Lane/Cornejo in La fille..

Vishneva,Hallberg in A Month in the country

Totally agree. Kevin is out of energy and ideas. No new star dancers are being cultivated, perhaps because of his reliance on international superstars. If only Ratmansky would take over (wishful thinking) but his schedule is so full that seems unlikely.

I'm not sure how you can say no new star dancers have been cultivated from within ABT in recent years. Gomes, Hallberg and Murphy each came up through the ABT ranks in recent years. Although Herman Cornejo came in as a soloist, I regard him as having been primarily cultivated at ABT. Each of the above listed dancers is a star, in my opinion. There are also several promising soloists. This has occurred under McKenzie's tenure.

Herman joined ABT in 1999 as a member of the corps de ballet. Paloma Herrera and Michele Wiles started as members of the Corps de Ballet .

The NYT review of Sleeping Beauty is out. Surprise,surprise!! AM almost gives it a favorable review.

If i'm not mistaken Vadim graduated from the Royal Ballet School. It was a big surprise that Royal Ballet did not hire him.

E But like I said I wouldn't be surprised if Mason and the RB are avidly trying to poach him.

Then Kevin Mc should fly to London as soon as the season is over to sign him...

If i'm not mistaken Vadim graduated from the Royal Ballet School. It was a big surprise that Royal Ballet did not hire him.

Throwing some names out there to prompt discussion. Most (if not all) may not be available for a whole host of reasons:

Stephane Bullion at the Paris Opera

Chase Finlay at City Ballet

Iain Mackay at the Birmingham Royal

Vadim Muntagirov at the English National (If not him, then someone else -- Wayne Eagling has a lot of male talent at ENB.)

Leonid Sarafanov at the Mikhailovsky

Just thinking out loud . . .

Vadim Muntagirov? He is tall and had received very good reviews from the British critics and bloggers.

as an aside....

All sorts of young fans, the usual old crazies and some riff-raff were crushing into the stage door and barely letting the dancers pass.

I also saw Saturday evening's Swan Lake and agree with all the posters about what an unbelievable performance it was. As always, I am still trying to get my thoughts together and will post further either today or tomorrow. I did want to say to MRR you may be only 18 but you are incredibly knowledgeable about ballet and write about it beautifully. Please keep posting. Also, I forget who said that Swan Lake is not Veronika Part's role, but I definitely disagree with that. In my opinion, Veronika's best roles are Odette/Odile and Nikiya in La Bayadere. I also agree with Atm711 that a ballerina of Veronika' stature and abilities should have a better partner than Corey Stearns. I think Corey is a very promising dancer, but Veronika deserves a partner like Marcelo Gomes or David Hallberg. I've never seen them dance together, but isn't Corey a little short to partner Veronika? Also, please put me on the list for hoping Polina joins ABT on a regular basis.

I agree that MRR has made an impressive debut in reporting in BA,very knowledgeable and thorough.Welcome to BA and we hope to read more of your reports.Too bad the ABT season is almost over.

Veronika is in a tough situation.Since Marcelo is the favored partner of Diana,Julie and Paloma( and if Polina joins the company...) she would have to fall in line to be his partner.I'm not sure David would be good for her either.Kevin must get Roberto to commit for more performances in the future.

I actually admire McKenzie's production of Swan Lake. I enjoy the touches of innovations he brought to the ballet: the prologue in which we see Von Rothbart seducing and capturing Odette; in the ballroom scene I loved how he made it very clear that each divertissement actually presented the nationality of each princess; I love how he split the role of Von Rothbart in half, giving us a highly suave and menacing one in the ballroom scene as he danced with the princessess {you understood very clearly how those ladies could easily fall underneath his seductive spell}, although I have to admit I wish they would re-costume the Von Rothbart we see at the lakeside. He's too much the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Granted, Von Rothbart is an evil sorcerer and he isn't often seen in productions as human but that costume makes him look like a camp cartoon character, that you can't possibly take seriously.

My problem with the production - AND IT'S A HUGE ONE - is the absence of a full third act. I have no problem with McKenzie combning the first two acts. But the last two acts should remain separate. We need to have that final act at the lake. We need to see in full detail, Odette's heartache at realizing that she will forever be a swan. We need to see her go through the pain at being betrayed by Siegfried. We should see Odette's fellow swams helping her through this pain as she tries, for the first time, to kill herself. We need to see Von Rothbart tormenting her over his momentary victory at destroying true love. We need to see Siegfried rushing to Odette, begging for forgiveness, with her forgiving him, but realizing her time in this world is over as both she and Siegfried make the pack to kill themselves. We need to see Von Rothbart fighting against it because he knows if they die, he in turn would die himself and his spell would be broken. We need to see love triumph over evil. We get all of that in this production...but can you say "Rush Job??"

Everything is speed up. We don't get any of the beauty, any the detail characterization through dance; the corp is barely used with any significance. We don't feel any real depth of emotions happening between Odette and Siegfried; you don't feel the struggle of Odette at forgiving Siegfried, nor do you feel the true depth of Siegfried's sorrow at condemning Odette at being a swam for life. We get none of this with McKenzie's production and we should. This is a tragic romance...but with this production...we don't get any of the tragedy nor romance. The final act should be highly emotional and powerful. With McKenzie's you feel as if you're at an auto race, timing at how fast the race would finish. McKenzie needs to give us a third act and he should pattern it after the wonderful third act production Frederick Ashton created for the Royal Ballet as shown in the 1982 video of Swan Lake as danced by Natalia Makarove and Anthony Dowell. Now that's an awesome third act!!!

La Fille Mal Gardee - At this point I'm thinking there must be a legal reason why McKenzie hasn't brought this joyous ballet back to the Met. What a fantastic crowd-pleaser and the company did a marvelous job performing it. The critics loved it, the audience loved it and you got the strong sense the dancers adored performing it. The ballet has four terrific roles in which McKenzie could probably cast from Prinicpal down to Corp de Ballet and not make a bad mistake in the casting. It needs to come back ASAP!

The Sleeping Beauty - It's a joke - YUCK!!!!!!!!

La Fille...was a critical success and was loved by the people who saw it but somehow it was not a box office hit. Maybe, with well-known"stars" and better marketing it will attract more people. I think that's reason why it has not been revived lately.

Sascha and Stella would be good candidates for promotion but they have been given practically no principal roles to dance. Give Stella a Giselle and Juliet and give Sascha parts like Franz in "Coppelia", Basilio and Albrecht and see how they do. Then promote them. Stella may be holding herself back due to her back injury and its possible recurrence. Let me also add the comment that the majority of the current principal roster is over 35. Corey Stearns is likely the youngest with Wiles, Gomes. Cornejo and Hallberg probably just around 30. Where are the twenty somethings that are the heirs apparent? Other than Simkin and possibly Lane, not much out there.

Did Stella have a back injury? I was only aware of her really serious leg injury that kept her out for almost 2 years (both of those Giselle debuts)

as for the lack of up and coming stars in the company in their 20s, i think most of the dancers how would have had the potential have moved on when the realized how crowded it was at the top, but now many dancers who are with the company are either older and ok with their position in the company or too young to promote this soon.

Kevin's reluctance to promote (with the exception of Stearns...which I'm still trying to figure out why - at least as quickly as he did) makes me wonder if that's the reason he's lost many good dancers in the past 2 years...specifically C Lopez this year...

also, b/c I'm a huge fan of Danny Tidwell, why did he have to leave??? He made it into the corps at the same time as hallberg.

Danny was on his way up when he decided to leave ABT. i understood from his interviews that he was not too happy with classical ballet and wanted to try other things. He is presently with the Norwegian Ballet in Oslo.

There is only one word why ABT should continue to invite guest stars..............POLINA!!! i hope permanently.

Years ago, when Fernando Bujones did one of his early Swan Lakes, he covered his legs with what looked like a blanket/cape while sitting w/ the Queen.It looked like Lucia Chase was giving him a disapproving look.

I saw the Part-Stearns performance on Friday evening. Stearns is improving every season. However, he still has quite a bit of work to do. He started out strong in Act I. I thought he did a fine job in his solo late in Act I. Yes, he could improve his line somewhat, but overall his Act I was strong. His partnering of Veronika is not as strong as it should be. When he was supporting her in her spins, she was frequently tilted. That's a partnering issue that needs to improvement and correction. Part gave a good performance, but not a great performance. I think this may have been due, in part, to the lack of chemistry between Part and Stearns. It also may be due to the problem that she does not have complete confidence in Stearns as a partner. I used to love the way Part used her "Russian Back" so expressively. However, Part's Russian Back was not in evidence much last night, in my opinion. I was happy that she did her fouettes in Act III cleanly and without incident. These used to give her trouble, but she seems to have conquered those demons. My facorite Part SL was several years ago with Roberto Bolle. It seems like we will not be seeing that partnership again.

Hammoudi has some problems in his debut as Purple Rothbart. He wasn't menacing. He just looked like a guy who was trying to get through a new role. He botched an overhead lift of Fang. He held her awkwardly in front of him to try and cover the mistake as best he could. In the section where he is supposed to hold an arabesque on demi point, he could barely sustain the position for more than a few seconds before he lowered his leg. To his credit, he executed the rest of the choreography well.

Jared Mathews did very well as Benno.

Debuts are almost always a problem. One must consider nervousness and, probably, lack of enough preparation and rehearsals. The debutants in Russian companies are always prepared by their ballet masters and coaches way ahead of the initial performances . Hammoudi will do well with more coaching(from the Marcelo,if possible ) and performances.

That's a shocker!! But then, she had very few performances scheduled this season and she has not been cast in any of the new big productions(except Dumbarton). Good luck with whatever her future plans would be.

Discounted Sleeping Beauty performances(July 5 and July 6,matinee) are available at the TDF website.

Hmm, interesting!!

An interview with Vishneva that came out last week seems to have her saying that she "plans to dance Tatiana in 'Onegin' next year," at least that's what Google Translate suggests. (Any Russian speakers can verify?)

I can only hope that this means she'll be doing it at ABT next year, and hopefully with Gomes! If the two of them get to dance "Onegin" and maybe "Manon" together next year, I might die of happiness (after seeing them, of course. )!

Diana confirmed, in the contact section of her website, that she will dance "Tatiana" in Onegin with ABT next year. She is also hoping for Marcelo.

Now, if ABT will revive La Fille... next season,it will make me (and probably AM-NYT) very ,very happy

Unlike the two women I overheard in the restroom state how they saw it years ago at ABT--Did they ever do it?

ABT did it often in the late 60's-mid seventies. I recall Fracci, Kirkland and Makarova as The Sylph, though I'm sure I also saw others. And they revived it just a couple of years ago.

Martine Van Hamel also did the role.I did not see her but it was much admired

La Fille.... With Vasiliev and Osipova orCornejo/Simkin and Lane/Boylston. That's something to look forward to.

I know with the current season just a barely over halfway, I hope it's not too early to start this thread.

Bright Stream will be back,

La Bayadere (no surprise as ABT will be doing it in DC in March, 2012)

Onegin

A mixed program that includes Ratmansky's new Fire Bird

Corsaire

Giselle (I hope ABT will schedule the run early in the season as POB will bring Giselle to NYC in July)

So there are still 2-3 programs to be filled, Swan Lake will almost definitely be back as it's a license to print money. I wonder what ballets ABT will pair with Fire Bird.

P.S. Oh, I almost forgot, Ivan Vasiliev will dance Giselle, Corsaire, Bayadere and mixed program.

Is this for real or just a wish list?

Has anyone ever gone from Corps De Ballet straight to Principal?

I think that may have happened under Baryshnikov (Susan Jaffee?) but never under Kevin. IMO his slowness to promote dancers to principal (especially women) is terrible & may prompt some worthy dancers to leave ABT. What's the point of being promoted to principal when you're past your prime? At NYCB principals are generally around 20 yrs.old. At ABT it's more like 30 yrs old. The quick promotion of Boylston is a step in the right direction. Hope Simkin named principal soon!

I don't recall of anyone who was promoted to principal from the corps de ballet at ABT.Susan J. was a soloist for a season or two before being promoted to principal dancer.

Thanks to all for these fascinating reviews and comments. Several reviewers here, plus Macaulay's review in the NYTimes today, mention how much they enjoyed the music, and I love to hear that, at least, since we on the West Coast probably won't get to see the ballet any time soon.

I've searched everywhere (i.e., iTunes and Amazon, which constitute 'everywhere' these days, I suppose) and can't find it. Bright Sheng, but no Bright Stream. Does anyone know if there is a recording available?

ABT is taking the production to Los Angeles in July right after the MET season.

I guess ,Mr. Puppytreats will be returning to the Met especially if the gorgeous Ms. Underwood is dancing.

Jose Manuel is leaving at the end of the ABT 2010-11 season.

ABT seems to put up with a lot of absences by Stiefel related to his other job, but at the same time Angel Corella has been frozen out of ABT because of his other responsibilities with his own company. The audience goes nuts when Corella performs, and he puts butts in seats at the MET. He is only scheduled for one performance. I don't understand the logic here. I have to agree with the post above that notes that management would not do anything to piss off Ethan because the company needs Gillian. I also think that Stiefel's best years, in terms of the quality of his dancing, were actually at NYCB, not at ABT. I didn't plan any of my ABT performances around Stiefel, so I don't have a strong feeling either way about his cancellation, other than that it is inconsiderate. In fact, I'm looking forward to seeing Gomes as Herrera's partner in SL and SB. The biggest disappointment is that Cory is now doing the Don Q with Murphy. I can't even imagine him in that role. He is more the princely type, and certainly not a bravura technician, in my opinion. Let's just hope neither Hallberg nor Gomes get injured.

Changing topics slightly, I think its callous for ABT to schedule Stella as Myrta in the performance where Hee Seo will be dancing Giselle w. Hallberg. Of course, Stella was scheduled to do Giselle for 2 years with Hallberg, but it never happened due to Stella's injuries. From all appearances, Hee Seo seems to be prone to injuries herself. Why not give Stella the chance she has earned and let her do Giselle? If not, why rub her nose in it by casting her as Myrta in the Hee Seo Giselle?

I do hope that Hee Seo will be well enough to dance in early June. This" Giselle with David H. slot" seemed unlucky for debutants.Sarah should be ready ,just in case.