nysusan
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Osipova has a really charming gamine stage presence and lots of good humor. Several of the solos in Act I seemed like I had never seen them before because I had never seen that kind of elevation and attack before. I have seen Nina Ananiashvili and Sylvie Guillem as Kitri (Vishneva too) and none of them had this kind of attack. Guillem had a lot of that abandon but not the ballon. It is a kind of athletic dancing and it was nice to see the classical discipline and elegance Osipova brought to the Act II Dulcinea sequence. Ananiashvili and others like Xiomara Reyes apply the jumps and bravura over a classical format as Kitri - still a ballerina. Osipova's Bolshoi style made her kind of a character dancer Kitri much like certain bravura male dancers brought a touch of Moiseyev peasant dancer acrobatics to danseur noble roles. It is a little bit of a different style but Osipova has lots of extra things to offer - she can do more with each step. Other ballerinas can tie the steps together in beautiful patterns but Osipova makes every moment pop...
I liked Jared Matthews better than Gennadi Saveliev as Espada and have enjoyed him in several things.
I agree completely with your description of Osipova's Kitri, and I also enjoyed Matthews' Espada. He's a dancer I loved when he was in the corps and dancing small soloist roles, but I've felt that he started to flounder as soon as he was promoted to soloist. I think he's turned a corner this season, I saw great stage presence from him with Vishneva in Thais at the gala. There was some rough partnering but I put that down to limited rehearsal time since he replaced Carenno at short notice (and by the way he is now scheduled to dance with Vishneva in all her Thais performances, Carenno is partnering Ricetto). As Espada his long, elegant line served him well, his timing and flourishes were spot on and he showed just a bit of tonuge in cheek awareness along with the requisite bravado. I know this will be a minority opinion, but I much preferred him to Radetsky who danced Espada in the Wed matinee performance. Radetsky wasn't bad, he was fine, but he just doesn't have the beautiful long line & super stretch of a Hallberg or Matthews and he played the role very straight. Neither was one of the very best Espadas I've ever seen (Gomes, Hallberg, Baimuradov), but I definitely preferred Matthews to Radetsky.
On one hand, there is no question that Osipova's POWER is unlike anything i have ever seen. Its truly unbelievable, not only her jumps but her extensions, speed and energy.I could not believe my eyes, and I saw her giselle/sylphide and her opening night giselle excerpts this year as well, but this was different. She entered the stage flying from the side and landed almost in the center. After that, it was literally one OMG after the next, every single time when she came out, the audience gasped, for real, it was such a tremendous power, that again, i could not believe it. On Act two her jets were so huge..., especially here you could see the girls from the corp behind, so it was easier to get an idea of the elevation that she reaches......and I could go on and on.....
On the other hand, the technique didnt look clean to me, in general. For example, she always kicks her leg down way too much in the fouettes or keep it low too when in passe (in turns), which together with pulling her arms in, helps her to turn faster, def....... i dont know, its weird.....because the speed she reaches is also not normal, its pretty amazing, at the same time...... it just doesnt look pretty to me.....I dont see any control at all when doing pirouettes or any other turn, it always looks like she is got to do it fast otherwise she'll fall or will lose the center of her turns, as it happened last night a few times.
Her acting skills are not bad, but I just felt like she turned the whole performance into a circus/olympic competition or exhibition show. Its hard to explain, she was on one page, the company in a different one,....... is it because she is so powerful that I am not used to it ?
I also saw her too energetic, to a point of being out of control/music many times just to show her huge extensions/jumps and I did not like the fact that she changed so many things of the choreography, starting from act I, and including the balances of act III.
I am still confused, it was amazing, but also it didnt feel like ballet.....like Nina/Vishneva's Kitri, that I remember so well in my head.
It was definitely very unique.
All quite true, IMO. These comments from Classic_Ballet & FauxPas, as well as others on the board strike me as a good description of Osipova as Kitri. She does not always exhibit the pristine classisicm and perfect technique which were hallmarks of the Mariinsky style, she is a Bolshoi ballerina and reminds me more of an old style Bolshoi dancer where bravura, bold character and astounding technical feats meant that the niceties sometimes fall by the wayside. It can be kind of circusy but I have no problem with that in DQ or in gala fare. It's how she will develop in the more refined classical roles which is the question and I found her Giselle and her Dryad scene very encouraging in that regard.
I liked Kristi Boone's Mercedes, it was well danced and very earthy. I don't think she has the epaulment for Queen of the Dryads and it looked like she was really powering her way thru the Italian fouettes with her upper body.
Simkin was INSANE as the lead pirate. An Osipova/Simkin partnership is a nice fantasy but he really needs to improve his partering and work on his upper body strength before he's ready for her...
Both Misty Copeland and Simone Messmer (Wed mat) were great as the lead pirate women but its such a small role...
Renata Pavin was wonderful as Amour (Wed mat), she had all the little skimming steps down perfectly and she managed to avoid being overly cute, unlike Kajiya . My favorite flower girl so far has been Hee Seo (on Wed).
As for the Wed matinee Kitri and Basilio - this is one of my favorite roles for Irina and she pulled out all the stops. She hit all the technical feats convincingly and her 3rd act fouettees were marvelous. Hallberg is just poetry in motion, he was wonderful to watch and he killed all of his variations but he just isn't a natural Basilio. Not because of his blond hair, because of his princely personality.
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Cristian, I'm sorry I missed you last night!
I'm so used to seeing Reichlen or Krohn in M/M, Kowroski was different (of course) - much less jazzy than Krohn in Movements but with wonderful presence and a crisp, straightforward reading. Plus she & Askegard just look so good together.
Mozartiana was divine - blissful, serene, everything this ballet can be at it's best. Vipa put it perfectly, Wendy was IN the music, not of this world. I was also very impressed with Ulbricht's understatement in the gigue. I'm not sure if you'd exactly call it understatement, but he didn't overplay it which is what one might expect from him and he really let you see the shape of the phrases and the movement.
I stayed for Though Swell and it was enjoyable, but it really shouldn't be programmed after Mozartiana. I'm not sure what could follow a little slice of heaven, and although it's pleasant enough a slight piece like this just doesn't work after a masterpiece. About halfway though I realized that this would be the last time I saw Yvonne Borree dance (I'm not going to her farewell). She looked so relaxed and happy in the role of the young, impetuous girl. She has never been a favorite of mine, but it was sad to watch her for the last time. Good luck, Yvonne.
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Not sure if it was on this thread, but sometime back someone commented that Misty Copeland had been removed from ABT's online casting calendar. Indeed she was replaced in her scheduled roles during the first week or so of the season but appeared as the 1st shade at the end of the Bayadere run. She noted on her facebook page that she is scheduled for the following roles:
May 29th, June 1st/2nd - Gypsy Girl in "Don Quixote". June 3rd - Flower Girl in "Don Quixote". June 9th & 11th - "The Brahms-Haydn Variations". ... June 16th & 19th - The Valor Fairy in "The Sleeping Beauty".
This info was posted on 5/18. Here's the link:
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I caught the last 2/3 of the Thursday night program. I enjoyed the new Millipied much more the 2nd time around, I think it's settled in a bit. I found the way he dealt with plot issues interesting, I don't think I've seen him tackle a story ballet before. The whole cast was great but Suozzi and Mearns were incredible, they really tore up the stage.
Agon was thrilling. It was such a strong cast and it was almost overkill to see Reichlin and Kowroski dance opposite each other in the first movements (but in a good way - in fact, a GREAT way). I continue to have problems with Marcovici's line & technique but he is such a solid partner and allowed Kowroski the freedom she needed to really throw herself into the role. This was the second absolutely amazing performance I've seen from her this season. Her physique is exquisite, tailor made for Balanchine with those incredible extensions but she was also so focused and sharp in this performance, you really couldn't take your eyes off her. I saw her and Marcovici earlier this week in Chaconne. In terms of style it's very far from Agon, but her performance in it was just as amazing.
But back to Agon - each member of the cast was just so wonderful last night. I'm not a big fan of Veyette's but he really impressed me with his Sarabande, Krohn & Laracy were great together and Reichlin was stunning - I had to wonder when she'll get a crack at the leading role.
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OK, I'll admit it - I overreacted a bit at the thought of Stearns replacing Bolle in Bayadere. Last night's performance was nowhere near the train wreck I feared. Cory Stearns was MUCH better than he was in those first few principal roles I saw him in last year, he has developed nicely and is starting to look more comfortable in leading roles. He had real stage presence and authority in the first act of Bayadere. In fact, he was a very imperious Solor. He showed an elegant, long line and acquitted himself well in all his solos. He and Part omitted a couple of the difficult lifts in their opening pas de deux, and that was probably a good idea. They started off well and looked very comfortable together.
Part was glorious, beautiful dancing as always but she was also very engaged with Cory, giving us an extremely expressive and soulful Nikiya. I thought she was really fabulous from the start through the first third of the shades act. At that point it looked like she tightened up a bit. There were no major mishaps, she just looked a little tight and all of a sudden her dancing didn't seem quite as expansive and luxurious. She bobbled the second of the 3 pirouette sequences with the scarf but that was the only technical problem I saw and while the partnering may have been a bit rough in spots there were no obvious glitches.
Sarah Lane was lovely again as the first solo shade. Simkin took a spill going up the steps at the end of his Bronze Idol solo but the solo itself was great. Michelle Wiles has developed into a great Gamzatti. She is more than up to the technical demands of the role and seemed to have a lot of fun playing the haughty and entitled princess though she also brought a lot of nuance and shading to the character. Her confrontation with Nikiya was very vivid and dramatic.
I also attended the matinee with Kent, Carreno & Hee Seo. It was an entertaining afternoon, Julie Kent was lovely & lyrical. She acted the heck out of the role and created a very sympathetic Nikiya but her dancing was low key - really sketched compared to Vishneva & Part. It was wonderful to see Carreno but it looks like he's slowed down a step. Hee Seo danced beautifully, she has a wonderful delicacy & lightness to her dancing but she was a lightweight Gamzatti, I'd prefer to see her in more romantic roles. Leanne Underwood was a standout as the 3rd shade but the real surprise to me was the afternoon's head fakir. I hadn't checked the program and didn't know who I was watching, just that his dancing was very clear and beautifully articulated and his acting was very committed. Turns out it was Jeffrey Golladay. He was wonderful.
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I also felt that some of the tempos really dragged, especially during the first 2 scenes of the first act under Ormsby Wilkins' baton on Tuesday night- I thought Barker's tempos on Wed night were much better. Also agree that ABT's corps are no match for the Mariinksy's, but I really didn't expect them to be on the same level. I do miss the way the Mariinsky shades reach out to infinity with their epaulment and arabesques as Canbelto mentioned, but the ABT corps still looked quite good last night from my orchestra seat. The eye level perspective may be kinder than watching from above where you can really see every little detail so clearly.
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STEARNS ALERT!!!!
Since Bolle's Wed night performance was canceled due to injury I just went to ABT's website and checked on the Saturday night casting. Bolle has been replaced by Stearns. I'm going to say a little prayer for Veronika...
Just returned from tonight's Vishneva/Gomes/Murphy performance. This is not my favorite role for Vishneva and I preferred her in the Mariinsky version, I recall her having a much more "oriental" plastique in that production. But even so, she was very good tonight. In fact, technically, she was superb. I just didn't find her Nikiya very engaging in the first act. Proud & passionate, yes, but not really engaging. And in the shades act she assumes the standard Mariinsky impassionate, remote visage, which is the approach I prefer but I can see how some people might find it cold. I still found her dancing in the shades act to be superb, it was at such a high level in terms of technique and purity. In fact I have to admit that it was at a much higher technical level than what I saw from my beloved Veronika on Wed, although, over all, Veronika's performance was much more touching. Veronika's Nikiya is very much a woman in love and her extension and line were flawless expressions of her love and longing. But Vishneva's steely pointes and incredibly fast turns on the diagonal at the end of the 2nd act were really stunning.
I thought Gomes was wonderful in all 3 performances, but the chemistry between him and Veronika is really special. Wiles was a fine Gamzatti, but Murphy was incredible - this is a great role for her and Amour described it very well. I saw Simkin, Salstein and Lopes as the Bronze Idol, all 3 were excellent but Simkin was just unbelievable. The 3 shades were a bit disappointing with the memory of the Mariinsky's shades still so strongly emblazoned on my brain even after a couple of years. Lane was the best (first variation Tues & Thurs) with beautiful multiple pirouettes and lovely, lilting musicality. Unfortunately Shevchenko completely fell out of the hops on point and that's really all I remember of her performance of that same variation. Kajiya & Boylston werre both fine in the second variation, but nothing special however I thought Leanne Underwood was really beautiful in the 3rd (Kondaurova's) variation.
I usually watch ABT from either the Parterre or Grand Tier level and have noticed a few bobbles and differences in level of arabesques, arms, etc while looking down at the entrance of the shades from that vantage point. Tonight I was sitting in the orchestra and absolutely none of that was visible. Don't know if they've improved or if it just looks better from the orchestra level.
By the way, Makarova has been in the audience observing all 3 performances so far (and looking gorgeous!).
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Misty was listed in tonight's program as one of the 3 solo shades, but was replaced by Christine Shevchenko. There was a slip announcing the change but it didn't indicate the reason for the substitution. It did indicate that Roberto Bolle was unable to perform due to injury, he was replaced by Gomes. Marcelo was wonderful (as was Part), but I sure hope he has enough left in the tank for his scheduled performance tomorrow night with Vishneva - that would make 3 nights in a row for him!
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I was also at the gala and hope to post some comments later when I have time - but wanted to mention that I just saw a tweet from David Hallberg saying that he just found out that he won the Benois de la Dance. I assume this was in the best male dancer category where he was nominated for his Albrecht. Congratulations David!
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I had mixed feelings about both new ballets. I liked them both a bit, but didn't feel that either one hit a home run. The Millipied was interesting, but even though I LOVE Kathyryn Morgan I thought this really suffered from Janie Taylor's absence. She has such a thrilling, daredevil, intense quality and I can't help but feel that this would have been a different, much better ballet with her in the lead female role. I also thought that Mearns was not used well in this ballet. Suozzi, though, was fabulous. I'd like to see this again but will try to wait until later in the season in the hopes that Janie is back from injury and gets a shot at performing the role that was created on her.
The Ratmansky was interesting, but bizarre. The costuming especially was really somewhat offputting, a cross between an homage to 1920's bathing beauties and a futuristic look. Eric Taub made this observation on twitter:
Imagine if Pierre Lacotte smoked the crack pipe instead of Solor, and you'll get an idea of the Ratmanstky
What a hilarious & astute observation & I agree completely! For me, in addition to being a bit bizarre it just didn't sustain my interest for the 60 minutes that it ran. Wendy & Robbie's pdd was beautiful but it took too long for Ratmansky to use Wendy to her fullest potential. He had some great ideas, and there were some really beautiful moments, wonderful dancing from everyone but just not enough to fill the hour that this ballet ran. Another one that I'd like to see again in combination with some tried & true favorites. Oh well, there are still 5 or 6 new ballets to come!
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I just posted this in the Dancing with The Stars forum but thought it might be good to post it here as well. There have been a couple of posts about Tiler Peck's upcoming guest spot on DWTS. This just in:
NYCBallet just posted a link on twitter to a short article about Tiler Peck's appearance on DWTS. It says that she and Danny Tidwell will be on as part of the entertainment tomorrow night. They will dance with an ensemble of 12 dancers to a contemporary "number" by Travis wall. Here's the link:
http://www.bakersfield.com/entertainment/l...-with-the-Stars
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I read in today's NY Times that NYCB principal dancer Tiler Peck will be appearing on Dancing w Stars on Tuesday.
In what capacity?
NYCBallet just posted a link on twitter to a short article about Tiler Peck's appearance on DWTS. It says that she and Danny Tidwell will be on as part of the entertainment tomorrow night. They will dance with an ensemble of 12 dancers to a contemporary "number" by Travis wall. Here's the link:
http://www.bakersfield.com/entertainment/l...-with-the-Stars
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You'll have more luck finding out names of winners at the YAGP thread on Ballet Talk for Dancers. Here is a link to a post with the main winners:
Also, have you been to the YAGP site - YAGP.org? Here is the page with all the scholarship winners:
Hi Marga,
The link to BT for dancers isn't working for me and I haven't been able to find the YAGP thread. What forum is it in?
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OOOOPS sorry. Thank You NYSUSAN
Saw the topic and automatically thought they were referring to Sat. Night. Would Love to go to Both!!Completely understandable. Can't wait tor the 1st gala tonight!
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Thanks for posting your impressions of this company. I have tickets to see their Sleeping Beauty in NY next week (in a converted movie theater in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn). I'm expecting canned music and a crowded stage so its good to know that they have strong dancers and are well rehearsed..
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I attended both Friday and Saturday performances. Friday - Passion La Carmen - choreography was a bit too contemporary for me, and the interpretation of the story was unusual. But I loved the dancers, especially, Vladimir Dorokhin (who resembles Baryshnikov face in close proximity ;-)) such a passionate and fluid, plastic dancer and great partner.
I like the Saturday program much better. And i'd agree with this article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/arts/dance/22pete.html
I wish it was better advertised and received more publicity. The only scorn i have is for Usher's letting people in in the middle of dances, during the performances, slamming doors and chatting among each other
I hope to see them again in NYC and USA
I saw the program with 8 short ballets at the Sunday matinee. Found Jacobson's works to be very interesting (especially the Rodin piece), wasn't as crazy about the others. But I did like the dancers and it was fun to see a Russian company besides the Mariinsky & Bolshoi. This may not have been well publicized, but the performance I went to was PACKED with a mostly Russian speaking crowd. I'm planning to head to Brighton Beach next week for a performance by the Moscow Festival Ballet, I'm sure that will be a fun trip!
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Does anyone have the program for the Friday night Gala?
Is anyone going and is it worth while to go Friday night?
It looks like the program balletmor posted is for the Vasiliev Gala, which is on Saturday night. The Friday night Gala is their annual "Stars of Today meet Stars of Tomorrow" gala with performances by this years YAGP winners as well as professional dancers. There is a program available in PDF format on the YAGP website. Unfortunately I can't cut or paste from it, but here's the link to the page on their site. Click on the words "Gala Program" for a pdf. The lineup looks good but keep in mind that there are often last minute changes to these gala programs.
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Wow. It would be incredibly disappointing if both Obraztsova and Krysanova were out of the program.
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All the reviewers seem to agree with you, to one extent or other. (At least I think so; I haven't seen any positive reviews.)Peter Martins' "Naive and Sentimental Music," one of the biggest train wrecks ever on the stage of the New York State/David H. Koch Theater.This raises questions for me. Putting on a ballet, especially one with so many principal dancers, is a complex affair with plenty of opportunities to stand back and say: "Hey, this isn't working." So why didn't that occur? How does something widely perceived as deeply flawed survive the long creation process and still get on stage? (Especially in these times of diminished financial resources.)
(P.S. Maybe we need a new thread: "What were they thinking?!? (When talented people put awful work on stage.)
In this case the answer is surely that Peter Martins runs NYCB (albeit, now as Artistic Director only ). Who is going to say "no" to him? (no one). Plus he must have thought it was working (i.e. viable/good etc.).
I bet this ballet will fade away (thank goodness!) by 2011.
It's faded away already. They usually run a new piece for 3 seasons but this one didn't make into next season's schedule. Hooray!
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American Ballet Theatre - Bright Stream, 2 mixed bills
Jan 18 - 23, 2011
ABT bringing The Bright Stream? Wow, that should be interesting!
I'm also disappointed that the Bolshoi aren't on the schedule, but maybe they'll come to NY next year
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About the company as a whole -- including Macaulay's recent suggestion that they could take lessons on dancing Jewels from Boston and San Francisco -- what do you in New York think? It seems to me, going back to the old days, that NYCB was always prone to inconsistencies from night to night, and even within a single ballet. The "great days" of the company weren't "great" because everyone was great all the time. One learned to ignore inconsistencies because the rewards -- some great dancers, some truly stupendous performances where it all came together -- were always to be found.
Is it possible that this is a reflection of everyone's enormous work load, as compared with companies with a different system? Isn't it inevitable that there will be unevenness in a succession of Jewels performances?
Ah, remember when Balanchine insisted on casting Merrill Ashley and Karin von Aroldingen in "Emeralds" season after season - now those were the good old days of Jewels-kvetching ...
I know that I edit my own memories of NYCB performances past into a personal highlights reel that omits the less-than-awesome moments -- and I suspect I'm not the only person who does so. I've probably cobbled a dozen performances of "Jewels" together into a Platonic ideal that no single performance could ever live up to. (The fact that I don't really like "Jewels" all that much doesn't help, of course.)
Ahh, Bart and Kathleen - I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers the inconsistencies of NYCB's "glory days". I didn't see them in the 50's and I was too young to remember much from the early 60's but I remember the mid 60's to mid 70's very well and my recollection is that there were glorious, life changing performances and then there were other performances when I was bored to tears. And yes, sometimes in the same ballet.
I do think that with today's NYCB some of the Balanchine looks under rehearsed and that's a situation that I'd like to see remedied, but who knows if it's possible with their schedule. I also agree that there are many dancers who simply give small, unimaginative performances but that was the case even in Balanchine's day. Today's company is neater and sometimes that results in a loss of energy and daring, but not all the time. Dancers like Mearns, Kowroski, Bouder, Whelan and now Morgan are right up there with the best I remember of NYCB and there are several other dancers at all levels who flirt with greatness but are still a bit inconsistent (I include Reichlin in this category - I love her but she seems to be struggling just a tiny bit in the transition from soloist to principal the past season or two). Where I see big problems is with NYCB's male dancers. Since Soto, Boal & Woetzel retired the quality of their male dancers had declined precipitously. There are some men who are fine partners, but very few who are real standouts on their own.
Regarding comparisons to other companies, I haven't seen any other company do the complete Jewels live but I've seen the POB DVD (which I hated) and a bootleg of the Kirov from 1999 that I loved. The Kirov's performance was amazing. I couldn't identify the men in the first 2 sections but they had Ayupova & Part in Emeralds, Vishneva in Rubies and Lopatkina & Zelensky in Diamonds. It was just gorgeous however I agree with abatt that the Rubies we saw at City Center last year was not great, the whole cast was much too polite.
And while I haven't seen them in Jewels, I've seen the Boston Ballet, PA Ballet, SFB and MCB in Balanchine. I wasn't impressed with anything I saw from Boston or PA. SFB and MCB were both unbelievably great in 4Ts and MCB did the best Square Dance I've ever seen (with J. Delgado) but both companies disappointed me with several other Balanchine pieces (examples - from SFB the dryest, most academic Divertimento I've ever seen, from MCB very correct, earnest renditions of Western Symphony and La Source and a La Valse that looked good until I saw NYCB's the very next season. Also was unimpressed with their Rubies). So for me, today's NYCB is preferable for to any other Balanchine based company, despite their inconsistencies.
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Macaulay has his favorites (like Hallberg & Bouder) who can do no wrong and then there are the dancers who can do no right in his eyes. Wendy falls into the later category. I can see his point about her lack of classical line - it annoyed me to no end in her Swan Lake. But she doesn't dance for a "classical" company, its just not her style and that doesn't bother me in most of her rep. I think it's a shame he can't get over that point and appreciate her for the great artist she is. She always draws me deeply into the music and watching her dance is like evesdropping on a private reverie.
On the other hand, I did feel that the opening night Jewels was somewhat disjointed. Not bad, just not great despite some great individual performances. And my problem with several of their dancers is that they just don't bring much beyond the steps, and the steps are just the beginning. So it pains me to admit that I agree with part of Macaulay's analysis.
I'm happy to report that the performances improved after the first night. Abi Stafford looked as good as I've ever seen her in the Verdy role in Emeralds & she relaxed into it more with each performance. The overwhelming standouts for me were Janie Taylor in Rubies (Fri eve) and Sara Mearns in Diamonds at the Saturday matinee. Janie was unbelievable in Rubies, yet just what you'd expect from her. She really pushed it to the edge. She was a fiery, mischievous, sexy presence - just a ball of energy that exploded at all the right moments. Mearns' Diamonds has been beautiful from her first time out. She has such strong, sure technique coupled with that expansive, expressive upper body. She was breathtaking. So was Kowroski on Friday night, she just has a bit too much Odette in her Diamonds for my taste. But that's nitpicking, I actually think all 3 of NYCB's current Diamonds ballerinas are wonderful, each in their own way.
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What great news, can't wait!!!!!
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She and Vasiliev just danced Don Q in Orange County. There are some posts by Ballet Talkers with criticisms of her Kitri - here are the posts which include a link to a glowing review from the OC Register:
Saw the topic and automatically thought they were referring to Sat. Night. Would Love to go to Both!!
Alicia Alonco 90th Birthday celebration with ABT
in American Ballet Theatre
Posted
Cristian, there were SO MANY BT'ers at ABT that night! Are you talking about FauxPas? I believe he was chatting with us for awhile during the 2nd intermission when you were on the concession line with Carbro, but there were so many people there, I'm not sure who you're thinking about... Also - I don't know Abby, is she another BT poster or are you thinking of abatt? It was great to see you, Jack and Natalia (along with all the regulars) and I'm sorry I missed Patrick ,bingham, vrsfanatic and any other BT'ers who were there!
It was, however, a great night and it was so good to see you and all the regulars up in the Balcony/Family Circle. All the ABT Kitri/Basilio combinations were wonderful and Simkin & (especially) Part were just icing on the cake as the lead gypsy and Mercedes/Dryad Queen. I was so glad to see Madame Alonso in her Parterre box, and then on stage taking in the adoration of the crowd. I've seen some of the videos of her in her early days but only saw her dance live once, with ABT at one of their galas in the mid seventies when she was already in her mid fifties. My memory of the night is a bit fuzzy, but my recollection is that she performed the 2ND act Giselle pdd, and even in her fifties, she was quite something to behold. It was wonderful to be able to see her again, and to be even a small part of her 90th birthday celebration!