drb

Who could play him today?

An actor with a Russian accent who is also a dancer that worked with him. Baryshnikov.

The Met is now accepting web ticket orders for ABT:

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/season/ABT.aspx/

As a test, I checked out Vishneva's Saturday Giselle, and found quite good tix were on offer (when you choose a price and section they offer specific seats) for Grand Tier, Dress Circle, and Balcony ($37 for row D center, for example). A warning: the computer seems to think 'the closer, the better', usually true, but be wary for the most expensive orchestra seats, where many people are not happy in the first few rows (unless you are tall enough, you won't see feet). The second price level in Orch seems to give you row AA center, about five rows from back, and a nice panoramic view.

You can read the New Yorker article on Mark Morris here:

http://www.newyorker.com/critics/dancing/

My favorite classical ballerina (in America) is Veronika Part, the ballet context is Swan Lake. I've been lucky to see her three NYC performances as O/O, and each has been very different (long ago she performed the Mariinsky version of the ballet here as well). The growing of her interpretation has been multidimensional:

Artistically, growth definitely in the latter two ways. For me she is a dancer who creates epiphanies, and each performance her Odette achieves this at a different point (one time, a moment of supreme terror at first sight of Siegfried; another, back to him, she brushes his upper leg--sealing his devotion). Perhaps more reinventing than unpeeling, in that the prior performance's epiphany-point is toned down to better highlight the new performance's peak.

Technically, growth is more in the way of refining and polishing. Being a terribly underused dancer, I think it has been a matter of rebuilding strength and stamina, especially for Odile. Her sheer beauty (physical and in movement) can pretty well make Odile seductive, but the turns are easily the weakest of (almost all) ABT O/O's. Turns, and the stamina, have improved. For Odette, the technical refining has enabled her to uncover more layers of depth in the variations after the adagio.

Yes Bart, you've found two OT (since they could apply to any dancers, not just the PNB stars) threads here which perhaps you or some clever moderator might be able to start up as individual topics:

A. Dancers who grow roles by 1. refining and polishing (I'd site McKerrow and Kirkland as examples), 2. reinventing (Bouder), and 3. onion-peeling (revealing new layers of depth --as you say, Farrell). Perhaps these last two are facets of some more encompassing way of describing what they do.

B. Two ways of handling mixed rep programs, that also may relate to how dancers perform (concentration of focus vs. dialectic of variety) : 1. replicated programming (variety via casting changes, typical of PNB, ABT and many more) vs. 2. heterogeneous programming, in which the ballets are presented in varying combinations (NYCB paradigm).

By all accounts PNB has loads of talent at the top, so it makes sense to have a variety of casts and to want to see more than one cast. At the moment in NYC we have the peculiar situation of Ashley Bouder, who blows you away with her first performances, then delivers second performances that are totally different and better! Hence, the need to see the same "first" cast twice. Are any of the PNB stars like this? ( Long ago, Makarova was known for always changing interpretations, and Farrell rewarded repeat performance watchers. But I've never seen anything as extreme as Bouder.) Great dancers seem to fall into two camps: those who polish and refine a role, and those who reinvent it each time. How would the various PNB stars place in this dichotomy?

Not being one who "travels well", PLEASE Mr. Boal, and PLEASE imbiciles who decide who gets to play in NYC, bring this wonderful company to NYC!

ABT's site has posted casting, including a Hallberg/Part Apollo on May 4. Full casting (click "view full calendar"):

http://abt.org/

All I can do is second NYSusan's opinions. Great Balanchines, and all in very good condition at this time. Recent casts of Symphony in C and Divertimento 15 have been loaded with the next generation of stars. Also, last season's performances of Robbins' In the Night were especially good. After the Rain is the most wondrous ballet I have seen post Mr. B, and the cast is star-studded. The other two are fun and have great energy.

Wonderful post, Solor! If only ABT, NYCB, PNB, SFB,.... could read posts like this and get it.

Thank you, thank you! It is great to see Lopatkina confirmed for Jewels.

This week subscribers get to exchange tickets before performances go on general sale next week. Ethan Stiefel's relacements, generally A+ grade, are now reflected on ABT's site. This has, inevitably, affected some other partnerings as well. In particular, Vladimir Malakhov will now partner Diana Vishneva in both of her Manons. I made my exchanges today. Good orchestra seats are hard to come by for some performances, but, heads up, got some very nice seats in the Dress Circle. Including row A's for Vishneva: a Manon and a Swan Lake.

I can't understand why he [Hall] wasn't promoted to soloist with the recent Group of Nine.

It could just be that his breakthrough performances were too late in the season to make the promotions list.

Scheller, Hyltin, Peck

Very nicely matched "small" trio of Apollo Muses, NYSusan. But do you think the Terpsichore of this trio might be Sterling Hyltin? Perhaps I'm being overly influenced by her lyrical performance in Divertimento 15, and that arabesque:

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/arts/...-arts-headlines

Apollo was originally a demi-caractere role, and remained one through the 1960s. Balanchine at one time made a big point about this, saying that his Apollo "was NOT the Apollo Belvedere."

Peter Martins played Apollo during the period when the ballet became Terpsichore; Suzanne was better served by Apollo Belvedere.

Getting back to casting the triple bill, I really like Leigh's idea of stretching Bouder, and pairing her with Hendrickson, in Orpheus. I've never liked that ballet, except to admire Noguchi's set and lyre. But such adventurous casting would make it worth another look.

For Prodigal there's still Woetzel, but they'd better hurry. He will be a virtually impossible act to follow. Let Maria Kowroski seduce him

Sticking with a young Apollo, the Muses I'd pick for Hall would be Reichlen/Hyltin/Scheller. {Being a Bouder addict, I could have also cast her in any part. Actually, any. Perhaps they could invite Bejart (well, Mr. B. did like him) to stage one of his gender-benders, with her as Apollo. Why not a Goddess? Then who for the three male Muses?}

One reason that triple bills work so well at NYCB is that each work gets around five performances, but not the same three together: you can choose the combo you like the best. Most other companies seem to only offer multiple replications of the same thing.

I rather liked the review of Stars and Stripes, my main complaint being that if the triple bill was so wonderful, why wasn't the third ballet even mentioned? And, that Mr. B. was called a Russian. But they've been making that mistake since Nijinsky, all the way up to the present with Zakharova, and ABT's Irina, Max, and Vladimir...

Even if it got its stairway back, Apollo might be something of a gamble for NYCB, given what the competition (ABT) is offering this Spring: Acosta, Beloserkovsky, Carreno, Hallberg, and Stiefel. Since NYCB can't deliver this level of mature talent, I might gamble young with Craig Hall, who showed the requisite intensity and ability to sustain a portrayal late last season in After the Rain.

I wouldn't worry about not getting DV on the dvd of Ondine, it would be glorious to get Obraztsova! Евгения Образцова, sigh!

I think it is wonderful that there are so many terrific ballerinas around America these days. Since the magic needed to sustain the art is no longer, for the most part, coming from choreographers, it is up to dancers to save their art. Ansanelli going to the Royal, and Korbes to PNB (and I note the significance of her recent remark--re NYCB's terrible record of major dancer injuries--of how "healthy" dancers are at PNB) are "our" losses, but the world's gains. I hope their moves are great successes, and send a message to dancers at NYCB whose careers aren't fulfilling, that there is life away from the nest.

Still, I really do believe that NYCB is stronger now in its ballerina ranks than at any time since the Golden Age. Bouder(a once-in-a-lifetime miracle), Whelan(simply much better than ever, no doubt the Wheeldon Muse effect, but still most credit must go to her) and Sylve(an "import" who brought with her some of that longed-for coaching) head a fabulous group. I'm sad that we missed the "post-Lopatkina" O/O of Kowroski. SAB is on a roll: so many glorious newbies!

Whatever the cause, I attended more performances this last season than I had in any other post-Suzanne season.

Their male dancer situation is not nearly as favorable, especially with those recent retirements. But even there, things improved, surprisingly but very significantly, this season.

While I have treasured great dancers who have "grown" great performances in their maturity (a recent example being the late Giselles of Amanda McKerrow), I don't buy the necessity of life-experience. Consider Alina Cojocaru's triumphant first Manons. Brit reviewers, who can get much more personal than those in America, expressed amazement that a ballerina with "NO experience" could be so convincing in that role.

More recently at NYCB we had the by now famous Swan Lakes of Sara Mearns. Youth showed only in a lack of stamina that resulted, e.g., in only a dozen or so fouettees for Odile. But what stood out was what appeared to be an extraordinarly mature gestural purity as Odette. Whether the "fame" will transform into "legend' will, of course, depend on where she takes O/O during the course of her career. One might also take note of instant Swan maturity in the cases of Maya Plisetskaya and Sylvie Guillem. Maybe some dancers are born to certain roles....

Interesting how age is so well served in Juliet. How much greater Makarova became, and the depth from maturity that Ferri still gives, and McKerrow gave. And above all, Ulanova.

While one or two of the promotions may appear fast-tracking (but when a dancer creates a sensation as Odette/Odile and becomes one of the company's "hot tickets" how could there not be a promotion?), most appear very naturally sequenced. And sometimes promotions are to compensate for long and meritorious service: the lowest soloist salary is (as per the contract now in force) $207 greater per performance week than the highest possible corps salary.

You can add Suzanne Farrell bringing a strong Polish accent to Diamonds...

Having loved Suzanne above all others in Diamonds (but you could replace Diamonds by the name of anything else she ever did and the statement would remain true...), I wonder if you could explain exactly what the Polish accent was.

Just received single tickets ordered when renewing subscriptions about three months ago. No casting surprises in the single tickets brochure that was included. But seats were way off center for the two Vishnevas that I requested: Weds eve June 14 Giselle with Malakhov and Weds eve June 28 Swan Lake with Carreno. So, if you want to see her it might be wise to order as soon as possible. According to the brochure "order tickets now by mail... Box office, telephone and online sales begin April 9, 2006. Call 212.362.6000."

Nina offers her support to a Georgian newspaper, in appreciation of their support for her ballet company, but also as a political statement (she is a significant political figure in the country, as a member of the television governing board, and as a descendant of the pre-revolutionary Royal family). A nice photo of Nina (Nino in Georgian) included:

http://www.georgiatoday.ge/article_details.php?id=1079#

Here is an interesting illustrated piece on Georgian art history, which may help place her dedication to the arts in Georgia in historic context:

http://www.georgiatoday.ge/articles.php?ca...ure&version=298

A four performance run of Giselle is currently in progress. The ballet was set on the company by Alexei Fadeyechev and Tatyana Rastorgueva. An interview, primarily with Mr. Fadeyechev, follows:

http://www.georgiatoday.ge/article_details.php?id=1058#

The photo of Nina with the two affords a look at the ballerina about one month after giving birth. It can be enlarged (if the "click" to enlarge doesn't work, it can be copied and reviewed in your computer's picture system): amazing how ballerinas can look like this so quickly after! I wonder if her promised return to dancing will be back at ABT or with her company (her site does promise a tour)?

An excerpt from Mr. Fadeyechev's interview:

It comes as no surprise that all artists are very moody and their primadonna behavior can be difficult to stomach. “They can be very temperamental and as a group leader it falls under your responsibility to maintain a decent level of communication between the group members. It is difficult and can be really draining.” Alexei admits that while in Russia this is relatively controlled, the local dancers are more difficult to temper. “At the Bolshoi there are deep-rooted traditions of dance. Here the traditions are also present, and ballet-wise they’re related to Vakhtang Chabukiani, founder of the Georgian ballet group.” Alexei laughingly stresses he was a legend of the Soviet, not Georgian ballet.

In that same photo set, one can't tell whether Ansanelli's hair is long or short in the Tchai PdD, but who cares, it's the dancer beneath the hair that really matters. Also, regarding the earlier reference to Kate Johnson's short hair in Barber Violin Concerto, what made her performance unmatchable wasn't the hair, but the fact that one of the century's greatest dancers was under it (although I'm sure it was a sly reference to the composer's name).

Still, I vote for long...

... I remember we had the discussion a few months ago about taping of performances..NYCB tapes every performance, so they DO have them somewhere. I say, seriously, that we inquire about them....

Sorry, but they will NEVER be released. It is required by contract with the dancers that when they record a full performance the sound must be flawed with "beeps" and running visual flaws must "be inserted to further prevent commercial usage." NYPL for the Performing Arts is permitted Archival videos, but "never" to be commercially distributed. The contract covers these matters on pp. 23-26 below:

http://www.musicalartists.org/ContractsDan...B_2005-2009.pdf