nysusan

The Mariinsky is bringing Swan Lake to Denmark 2 weeks before the Kennedy Center engagement. Their casting is making me very jealous!

http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/news1/news2/06_231jan/

I saw it on Thursday and I'm sad to report that, as a theater or dance piece I found it really boring. It didn't move me at all. Its only an hour long (which in this case is a blessing). Ferri is not on pointe and Cornejo mostly dances in shoes and a suit. He has one solo at the very end where he really dances but the rest is a series of pas de deux that, to me, seemed very repetitive.

Fortunately, I could spend an hour in rapt fascination watching Ferri point her toes (those arches!) so all was not lost. Also I was happy to see how well they both acted (silently), as I have never found Cornejo to be a convincing actor. And although there were really no overhead lifts he partnered her very well and they had great chemistry. So hopefully this experience will contribute to his growth and it will make him a better ballet dancer.

There was one speaking actor, Amy Irving, who was very good. I'm not sorry I went as there are so few opportunities to see Ferri these days, but I don't know that I'd pay $75 to see it...

Sad to hear about the retirements, especially about Janie Taylor's. I'm really not prepared for that one...

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/four-principal-dancers-at-city-ballet-to-retire/?ref=arts

I just noticed that the casting in DC has changed slightly. The Kennedy Center website now lists Esina....Tereshkina is no longer listed.....

PRINCIPAL CASTING (subject to change)

Tue., Jan. 28, Fri., Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. & Sun., Feb. 2 at 1:30 p.m.

Alina Somova, Vladimir Shklyarov

Wed., Jan 29 at 7:30 p.m. & Sat., Feb. 1 at 1:30 p.m.

Anastasia Kolegova, Maxim Zyuzin

Thu., Jan. 30, Sat., Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Olga Esina, Timur Askerov

Slightly? Tereshkina out and Somova now opening & closing the engagement? Perhaps, as Buddy says, any of them can deliver a great performance but I've seen them all in Swan Lake and I haven't seen anything close to a great performance from any of them. Except Esina - she was very good when I saw her 7 or 8 years ago and I'm looking forward to seeing her again.

But truthfully, I wish I could gt a refund on my tickets. Its going to be an expensive weekend and I would never EVER have spent the money on this casting. The Mariinsky has so many great O/Os - Lopatkina, Tereshkina, Kondaurova, Pavlenko. And wouldn't we all love to see Osmolkina or Novikova. It was one thing when Tereshkina was leading it off and then maybe you sat through 1 Somova and 1 Kolegova performance to see if they've improved - but switching Somova for Tereshkina really makes this "D" level casting

I opened the program for yesterday's matinee to find a big, unwelcome surprise. Instead of Veronika Part dancing the Pas de Deux and Prelude with Semionova doing the Mazurka they had Semionova listed for the Pas de Deux and Mazurka with Part only dancing the Prelude. Bad choice.

Semionova danced beautifully but just didn't have the right style for this. To me she looked anti-romantic at the beginning, making very angular shapes instead of showing romantic epaulmamant. She was lovely in the pas de deux, very light and airy but I just didn't like her approach. She was bright and coquettish, like a russian La Sylphide and I prefer a mysterious romanticism here. She was wonderful in the mazurka, as expected - it really showed off her huge jetes. Part was gorgeous in the Prelude and got a loud, prolonged ovation. Hamrick & Sterns were fine but not exceptional . I would love to see Abrera and Kajiya in this. They are both beautiful romantic dancers, Abrera was gorgeous in it last time they did it and this is just the type of role Kajiya excels at.

Clear is a guilty pleasure, I agree that its not a great ballet and I find parts of it to be actually annoying but wow, is it a great vehicle for ABT's men. The matinee had Gomes with Royal & Hoven and it was a pleasure watching them. Marcelo can simply do no wrong and Royal continues to impress. At the evening performance I saw Forster and Mantei with Radetsky and again, you couldn't take your eyes off of any of them. All the men in the corps had their chance to shine, too. At the matinee Eric Tamm, Louis Ribagorda, Jared Matthews and Aaron Scott were all great and in the evening performance Craig Salstein, Jose Sebastian, Gabe Stone Shayer and Alexei Agoudine each made a great impression. What depth there is among the men in this company! Paloma was good as the lone woman in the evening performance but Julie Kent was so very lovely in the afternoon. What gorgeous lines, she could dance for another 10 years if she stuck to these types of roles, just no more Petipa or McMillan, please!

I was very excited to see Boylston & Simkin cast in T&V, I thought it would suit them. It started off well, and Simkin looked great in the arabesque sequence that leads into the double tour/pirouette variation however he soon came to grief. The double tour/pirouettes were looking good but about halfway through the variation he lost his footing after which he literally stumbled through the rest of them. It was like watching a train wreck. I saw no obvious mistakes from Boylston but the steps just didn't look right on her, I can't say why.

In the evening's T&V I can agree that Semionova didn't cover space the way she should but I still liked her, in fact I think this was her best outing so far with ABT. And I did like the pas de deux. I also give Cory full credit. He was certainly not the best I've seen in this, but he's been the best so far with ABT. In fact he's the only one of the 3 men who was able to get through all of the steps (Whiteside got thru them on opening night but it looked like he simplified the tour/pirouette variation).

This was the 2nd time I've seen the Tempest and this time I could barely stay awake through it despite all the wonderful dancing. Its just so unfocused and the music isn't exactly exciting.

I know that she sold out the Met Opera house when she danced SB with ABT. From my experience, some of her performances at ABT have been wonderful, while others were mediocre. In particular, I recall a Don Q that wasn't very good. Her SB w. Carreno and her Giselle w. Corella were very memorable, although she did make some surprising alterations to the Giselle Act II choreography. In addition to the roles she is already scheduled for at ABT during the spring season, I wouldn't be at all surprised if her name also ended up in some of the TBA slots for the ABT spring season.

I agree that the Don Q she did with ABT was disappointing, there were several noticeable technical lapses. I think its worth noting that she was dancing through an injury that season. Perhaps she should have canceled rather than risk the damage to her reputation, but then look at all the flack she took for canceling her performances due to injury this past season.

She has given some amazing performances over the years - her Aurora is absolutely breathtaking and considered by many to be the gold standard of our generation. Her artistry is at least as important to me as her technique, but her technique has always been very, very strong. I haven't seen her since that injury season so I can't say if her technique has suffered permanent erosion or if she's now back to her usual technical standard, but I certainly intend to see all of her ABT performances this spring! The Royal Ballet was crazy to let her go but I'm glad she's found a company where she is happy.

I went last night and saw the Zahorian/Karapetyan/Yamamoto/De Sola/ Blanco cast. I thoroughly enjoyed the production - this has now officially become my favorite version of a ballet that I don't generally like very much. I thought it was inventive and entertaining. One of my problems with Cinderella in general is that I just don't think the music allows for much grand dancing but I loved the big 2nd act pas de deux and the 3rd act pas de deux. I loved how Wheeldon handled the narrative and that in this version the stepsisters were still funny but more than just annoying caricatures (in the Ashton I'm really sick of them by the 1st intermission).

I regret not being able to see the Van Patten/Helimets cast, but I enjoyed this one. Everyone did well and I especially enjoyed Zahorian. Her dancing was lyrical and expansive with great phrasing. I like the way she varied the dynamics of her dancing. She was also a very engaging Cinderella, she gave her lot of depth - sometimes Cinderella can become very one note (sad & downtrodden). I liked her much better here than in the mixed bills I saw last week.

How is Kolegova?

Yes! Tereshkina! Happiness

I saw Kolegova in Swan Lake last year in California. These are the thoughts I posted back then:

"I also saw the Kolegova/Askerov Sunday matinee, and I agree with ksk04 about Kolegova. She is a beautiful woman and she danced well, she was traditional, a very soft Odette. She did all the steps but I found her boring, unemotional and unfocused."

I got tickets for Friday, both Saturday performances and the Sunday matinee. I, too, am thrilled at the prospect of seeing 2 Tereshkina/Shklyarov Swan Lakes. I'm also looking forward to seeing Maxim Zyuzin and hope that Ms. Somova and Kolegova will have grown in their interpretations.

Well, I really should know by now. If Bouder is doing something twice in a run, especially something outside of her comfort zone, go see the second performance. Tonight she was wonderful. Much calmer in the opening and those emphatic accents were nowhere to be seen in the white acts, she saved them for the black swan.

Cobweb, I agree pretty much with your opinion except that I thought Bouder was lovely in the actual White Swan pas de deux and the 4th act (or scene in this case). I also didn't have a real problem with her Odile, though its not my favorite interpretation

Thanks for your report Cobweb. I have to say that I hated Bouder's interpretation of SL during the last revival. It was the worst performance of Odette I had ever seen, anywhere. All the problems you mention above were the same issues I saw in her last attempt at the role. Based on what you say, it appears that despite her efforts to improve, it has not occurred. Choppy phrasing, blasting out the steps with no hint of musicality. So sad she is so wonderful in so many things, but not this balllet. I was actually pretty surprised that she was cast in the role again this year after the scathing NY Times review from her last performance in the role (where A. Macauley referred to her as a hornet!).

I completely forgot about that Macauley review where he referred to her as a hornet but it perfectly described what I saw from the moment her Odette took the stage until she exited and the swan corps came on. She reminded me of that annoying modern dancer in Barber Violin Concerto. And she kept flapping those arms! But then she came back on for the pas de deux with Veyette and I thought she was lovely in it. When the pas de deux ended and her solo & coda started she was back to dancing Odette as if it was an allegro role. This made for a totally disjointed interpretation, I flet like her Odette had a triple split personality (and thats not even counting Odile!)

I wouldn't consider it a total disaster but it certainly wasn't a great performance. Then again, I was chatting with 3 of my friends at intermission and they all loved her. In fact they had all seen Mearns on Tuesday and they preferred Ashley. I think one of them said her simple, hearfelt approach rang true and was very affecting.

Belatedly, I also saw mearns on Tuesday and thought she was absolutely ravishing. I love the way she uses her back and arms and expresses her emotion through the actual steps. Her plunges into arabesque penchee were thrilling and she brought me to tears.

I'll sign a letter to Gergiev, but lets add Pavlenko as well as Lopatkina!

My wishlist for DC casting (not going to happen, I know) would be Lopatkina, Pavlenko, Vishneva (does she even still tour with Mariinsky?), Tereshkina & Kondaurova. Osmolkina & Novikova would be fine, too - but thats not going to happen. I wouldn't even mind seeing Skorik again once to see how/if she's developed in the role. I'd go to see Olga Esina. I saw her O/O with the Vienna Opera Ballet 7 or 8 years ago & she was very good. Not Lopatkina/Pavelenko level back then, but I'd be curious to see what she looks like now. But my fear is that we're going to get Skorik, Somova, Kolegova, Matvienko with either Tereshkina or Kondaurova thrown into the mix.

And what about our Siegfrieds? Schlyarov, of course, but I'd much rather see Korsuntsev, Kolb, Yermakov or Sergeev instead of Ivanchenko & Askerov who we are probably going to get.

Certainly Myrtha counts, and its a step in the right direction but its still a disappointment to see her cast as Myrtha when she's danced such a brilliant Giselle. I keep hoping that she'll regain her old rep - Nikya, O/O etc.

Mearns, without a doubt. But all of NYCB's Swan Lake performances are pretty close to sold out, so I hope you are able to get tickets!

Glad to hear that she's dancing a bit more these days but when will they let her return to the classical canon?

Just want to mention that an encore presentation of the film will be shown in NYC this Sunday at Big Cinemas on 59th Street. 11 am, of course

Season starts a week from tomorrow, I'm excited!!!!!

I'm disappointed that Hyltin was not cast in SL. I skipped her last time & was hoping to catch her this season. Its a good lesson - buy your tickets when you can cause you never know when they'll be cast again!

That these corps dancers have left the company is substantiated: they were removed from the roster. It's where they're going that needs to be in official news.

So if a principal dancer, like Osipova, is removed from the roster as she was in early August is that confirmation that she has left the company? The "official" word I recall when she announced that she was joining the Royal was that she would continue her relationship with ABT, but perhaps appear with them less often. That doesn't jive with her removal from the roster, unless she is reverting to 'guest principal" status.

WOW, he will be missed. His photo is still on the ABT site, although now I can see a post on his facebook page from back in July saying that he left his job at ABT. Wonderful to hear that he is rehearsing Spartacus. Merde to him!!!

Its also disapointing to see that Abrera hasn't been given a Sylphides, she was breathtaking the last time they did it

Woo Hoo!!! Misty Copeland just tweeted that she will be dancing Florine tonight:

https://twitter.com/mistyonpointe

Can't wait!!!!

The options for these casting changes might be more complicated than we realize. Gomes, e.g., is scheduled to do Onegin with Vishneva in Moscow on July 19, just 6 days after his Corsaire with Murphy in LA. He might not have been eager to delay his departure from LA by adding yet another performance.

Excellent point.

Yes, good point. I'd forgotten that Gomes was doing Onegin in London. Still its a shame Part has to lose the performance.

Casting changes due to Stearns' injury. Forster is replacing Stearns in Symphony in C. Due to a lack of a tall partner (apparently), they have removed Part from the Corsaire casting. Herrera and Vasileiv move into the July 13 evening and Reyes Cornejo move into the July 14 cast as Medora and Conrad. Joe Phillips replaces Cornejo as Ali.

It's interesting that ABT went out of its way to find a short partner for Cornejo for his SL and SB performances, but instead of finding a tall partner for Part in Corsaire, they dropped her from Corsaire and gave her performance to someone else.

I think the circumstances might have differences. Cornejo was at the Met. I don't think they bring in guests much, if at all for out of NYC performances. Also they were trying to replace Cojocaru who was a guest star, so I think they wanted another guest. This is not a comment on Part's dancing or value, just that there are differences in the situation.

True, they don't often bring guests in for out of town performances, but that wasn't their only option. There is this guy named Gomes...not to mention Tamm, Forster - or even Whiteside who could have subbed for Stearns.

Its very disappointing to see Part pulled from Corsaire but at least there is some good news in the Symphony in C casting. I'm THRILLED to see Forster being given a chance here. Merde to him and I'm hoping for some reports from LA!!!

I would not prefer to give up a meaningful work of art (e.g., "workhorses") so more people get a chance to dance (e.g., like "across the plaza".) I don't think the emotional impact is the same.

Its bad enough that we sometimes have to go a couple of years without Giselle and Bayadere, I wish ABT would do them and Swan Lake each year and then alternate Beauty and Raymonda (please please please Raymonda!!!!) along with the Ashton, McMillan and other full lengths. The 2 rep programs they've been doing at the Met the last few years rounds it out nicely, but the Met isn't the place for a rep heavy season. Story ballets are the heart & soul of ABT - its the "T" part and that's what their audience wants. I guess its lucky for me that the taste of the 3,000 or so people who flock to the Met for 6 weeks every summer coincide with mine. I know that if ABT decided to give us only 2 or 3 full lengths each season I'd drop my subscriptions in a NY minute.

Meanwhile, I've been to 3 Sleeping Beauties so far. Hererra and Gomes were wonderful, he is just great in everything he does and this is my favorite role for her when it comes to the classics. Her technique is strong, her legs are beautiful, her balances were great and she was a lovely, demure, charming princess.

Lane & Simkin really wowed me, especially Lane. Like everyone else who posted about her performance I was totally captivated. Its kind of amazing to me how she has grown in the role after performing it once 5 years ago with no coaching in the intervening years. This time she really had it all. Beautiful, crystalline technique, lovely, long, secure balances and that je ne sais quoi that separates a ballerina from just another talented dancer. Her dancing had breath and beauty, her phrasing and musicality could rival Cojocaru's and her acting was pitch perfect. My only quibble was with the fish dives - they seemed pretty conservative, but who could blame her?

Watching Kochetkova and Cornejo was a very frustrating experience. Yes, he is an amazing dancer but Desire is such a small role, this is really Aurora's ballet and I found Kochetkova to be no more than adequate. Her technique was strong, she made no mistakes but she did nothing really right, either. Honestly, if she has so little experience dancing the classics why bring her here in the first place? The answer is clear - because they needed a partner for Cornejo and truth be told, even Lane & Reyes are a bit tall for him. She is not the answer, her Swan Lake was not great but at least she caught the basic essence of Odette/Odile. In Sleeping Beauty she really showed no feel for Petipa, the style or the musicality. And since she never danced with the Russian companies why should she do the Russian style Rose Adagio balances? The Royal & ENB both bring the arms en couronne in the 2nd set of balances, and aren't those the companies she danced with before SFB? Certainly, anyone who saw Hererra & Lane hold beautiful, confident, radiant balances while interacting charmingly with the suitors had to be disappointed in her performance. And it wasn't just the Rose Adagio, she really didn't bring much nuance to her acting or dancing in the whole first act. There was no "perfume". She was better in the next 2 acts but still nothing to write home about.

My Lilac Fairies were Part, Abrera and Kajiya. Part & Abrera were great, Part was was magical & majestic, you just knew that she had everything under control. Abrera was beautiful with gorgeous line and lovely technique. Both radiated grace and authority. Kajiya's dancing was fine but simply did not command the stage. She is really a light, romantic type of dancer with a tendency towards small scale movement. Not a good choice for Lilac. I wish they had given Hee Seo more Lilac performances, I think it would be a great role for her and I'm sorry I won't be able to see her only performance tonight.

ABT's dancers perform the fairy variations very well and its such a relief to see their versions after having seen NYCB's earlier this year. Especially the "Valor" variation (also known as the finger variation). With NYCB I could swear I was watching the Anger Fairy. Here both Misty Copeland and Devon Teuscher gave us all the strength and determination inherent in the steps without stabbing their fingers like daggers. Sincerity and Charity are my two favorites and they were both beautifully done. Katherine Williams & Melanie Hamrick did Sincerity and Gemma Bond did all 3 performance of Charity that I saw (she subbed for Leann Underwood in one). Kristi Boone and Yuriko Kajiya did Ferver and Luciana Paris and Christine Shevchenko did Joy.

Despite the many flaws of ABT's production there is much to love in the performances - so many wonderful roles for so many talented dancers.

Hi Christian! I wasn't planing to go to the Sat night performance, but now it looks like I'll be there. Would love to meet for a drink after. Where?

Weeell..YOU are the NYer, so I'm open to suggestions..! Is there a low key joint around the LC to have a couple of drinks..? (Nothing fancy...you know...)

The only low key place I can think of is PJ Clark's. They're usually packed pre-performance, dont know what they're like after. Why don't we meet at intermission and figure it out. If you're up in the balcony we can meet there.