nysusan

Did anyone see the Rasta Thomas cast of Othello? I've only seen him once, guesting with the Lar Lubovich company but I found him to be a very beautiful dancer and a compelling performer. I really appreciate all the posts here - I'm trying to decide who to see in Othello when ABT does it in NY this spring. I have to admit that I've tried twice now to watch the SFB tape and was overcome by boredom both times. ABT's casting sounds wonderful but I have a feeling that I'm not going to want to sit through 4 performances, no matter how wonderful the casting is. I am very glad to hear how good the corps looked in Bayadare, I'm looking forward to the full length production this spring as well as hoping for a Lane Aurora.... Susan

My request would be for Raymonda, I would LOVE to see the Sergeyev version. I'd also like to see them do La Sylphide, and I never tire of their Swan Lake Susan

In her recent review of NYC Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty on Danceviewtimes, Mary Cargill wrote: “the Bluebird has captured Princess Florine, and is controlling her. The little hand to the ear gestures of Florine show her listening to his commands and following his lead; the choreography should not be just a series of unconnected flutters” This is the first time I’ve heard of a scenario where the Bluebird had captured Princess Florine. Any other thoughts on this interpretation, and where it may have originated?

Hi Juliet! Where did you hear that? As of the 2007 winter brochure Hall was still listed in the Corps, and he hasn't been mentioned in any of the promotion press releases that I've seen. Hard to believe, I know... Susan

Renee Robinson is a wonderful dancer – I’ve enjoyed her performances immensely over the years. Unfortuntely this year even though I went to see the Ailey company 3-4 times I managed to miss her completely. Still, there are so many wonderful dancers in this company. My 2 favorites this season have been Linda Celeste Sims and Clifton Brown. Sims is very graceful with beautiful, almost balletic limbs but with freedom of movement through her torso and a strong sense of groundedness which is very unballetic -but very Ailey. I saw her dance The Lake and Two Cities sections of The River (at different performances). They don’t dance this on point, which obviously makes no difference for the men but I found it to be a major drawback in the women’s parts. For me, she was the only one of the women who captured the fluidity of this piece while dancing on demi point. She was stunning in everything I saw her in this season.

I’m a newbie when it comes to Opera but since I live in NY and just discovered the Met’s new $15 seats I’ve gone several times already this season. While looking over their schedule I noticed “The Magic Flute” – abridged 100 minute family friendly version in English as well as Die Zauberflote – full length 3 hr and 10 minute version in German (I haven’t seen either one). So, while you may have been disappointed that they chose to simulcast the abridged version, at least they are presenting both in their repertory this season and make a clear distinction between them. There were lots of posters around town promoting the abridged Magic Flute as a new holiday family tradition in the weeks before Xmas, and Netrbko posters popped up a week or 2 before the Puritani run started. As for simulcasts of ABT or NYCB – I don’t know. I don’t think ballet translates very well onscreen. I suppose a simulcast is better than nothing but I’d hate to have people with no familiarity with ballet judge a performance by what they see on a movie screen. The 3 dimensionality and quality of live movement make a huge difference in impact. One of my pet peeves is when people form opinions of dancers or ballets based strictly on having viewed videos or, worse yet, compare a live performance to a filmed one. It’s something we all do (myself included), but it’s such a false comparison.

Casting is up for the Bolshoi's February visit to Kennedy Center. It looks like we won't get to see Krysanova's Cinderella or I. Vasiliev but at least Osipova is cast in DQ with Matvienko! Oh, and they're also bringing Zakharova, Alexandrova, Filin et al

Thank goodness it sounds like Steifel is back and V.Part has recovered from the injury that sidelined her at the end of ABT's City Center season. If the City Center casting is any indication then you can look forward to seeing either Misty Copeland or Sarah Lane in Sinatra Suite with Corella. Copeland was cast with him but was injured and replaced by Lane. Luciana Paris was cast with Gomes who was riveting in it - I look forward to hearing reports from London!

Hi SanderO – that’s exactly how some of us have met when traveling to see ballet – ie – I’m going to see the X ballet at the Y Center in Anytown, USA – anyone else going & is there a central place to meet? One of the benefits of an online community is the opportunity to express your opinions in an anonymous forum. Not everyone wants to “come out” but there are lots of BT posters in NY - I’d guess that some posters have known each other for years and look forward to meeting at the ballet while others prefer to keep to themselves – or to a small circle of friends. Next time you’re going out to see one of the local companies why don’t you post here again and those of us who are interested in meeting can pick a central place to say hello. Any plans to see the NYCB this winter, or are you strictly an ABT fan?

I would never expect anyone to defer to my viewing history of Makarova - we all have different preferences. Especially for people who never saw her live, a tape to tape comparison is the only one possible. As to a model for the opposite approach to Odette - I never saw Pliesetskaya live, but was totally enraptured by the tape of her in the Bolshoi's SL. I think her performance would be an excellent role model for a ballerina like Murphy.

I don't mean to demean Patchogue, bart, but it is not possible to get a decent latte there. Perhaps not possible to get a decent latte but possible to get surprisingly good Italian food at the restaurant right next to the theater! I love the RB so I’ve thought about trying to put together a trip to London to see them but haven’t been able to pull that off yet. However I do travel quite frequently to see ballet, sometimes combining it with family visits and sometimes not. I grew up with ballet in the late 60’s early 70’s when NY was the center of the ballet universe (or so it seemed) and I’m still not quite accustomed to the idea that great companies like the RB, Danish RB, Bolshoi & Kirov do North American tours and skip NY. So I’ve been traveling a lot recently to see them in Boston, DC, Chicago and LA. I also have family in South Florida and occasionally have been able to see the Miami City Ballet when I visit. I guess LA has been the farthest I’ve traveled to see a performance and Patchogue the closest, however the trip to LA was definitely easier than the trip to Patchogue and probably cheaper than some of my trips to DC. The longest travel to performance ratio was last month when I traveled to and from Boston the same day to catch Pavlenko/Zelensky in a Kirov Swan Lake matinee. It was appx 8 hours of travel for a 3 hour performance and I spent the whole trip out thinking how insane I was for was doing it – especially since I’d seen Pavlenko in Swan Lake the previous week (in Chicago, visiting my family). Then, when I got there I was privileged to see one of the most touching Swan Lakes I’ve ever witnessed, and immediately decided that it was well worth 8 hours of travel time. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Right now I’m planning trips to DC for Obtraztsova’s Juliet and possibly for Osipova’s DQ and Krysanova’s Cinderella (if the Kennedy center ever posts the Bolshoi’s casting so I can see if those dancers are even scheduled for the trip). So I’d say that how far to travel and how many performances to see on a trip depend solely on your budget and taste for travel. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting fellow BT posters just about everywhere I’ve gone – a lovely bonus!

Hi Becky! I found your comments very interesting…I’ve always disliked the overly bird-like approach to Odette. After all, the only time the audience (or Siegfried) sees her in swan form is in the first seconds of the first lakeside scene, when she is transforming from a swan to a woman, and the last seconds of the same scene when she changes back into her swan form. I don’t like Makhalina’s interpretation (the DVD, I’ve never seen her live) both because of her “swaniness” and because of her neoclassical line which I find inappropriate for Odette. However I’m surprised that you also consider Makarova to be one of the swanny Odettes – maybe even the progenitor of the type. Fonteyn was the first great Odette I’d ever seen, Makarova the second and I’ve always considered them both to be of the very human, womanly variety. Thinking back on Makarova/Nagy Swan Lakes of the 70’s what I remember most is the depth and the desperation of their love story, which is not the feeling I take away from many current interpreters including Murphy/Corella. Of course I also remember (with the help of the “76 video) the beautiful arc of her back and melting flow through her torso, shoulders and arms which set off the gorgeous legs in arabesque or attitude. Murphy’s poses are beautiful but they're far too vertical for me, and there’s way too much motion, too much going on. Much earlier in this thread somebody lamented the absence of repose in Murphy’s Odette and for me that’s a key point. I agree with you that her Sylvia last season was a triumph, but I always love her in strong roles. Its vulnerability and romanticism that I think she still has trouble projecting. Can you tell me a little about what makes you think of Makarova’s Odette as too bird like? It’s the opposite of what I’ve always felt.

Sorry I’m late coming to this thread, a crazy work schedule is interfering with the rest of my life yet again. My husband and I actually did take the LIRR there and back. There was more than enough time to catch the train back to the city, but though the walk to the train station was short (maybe 10 minutes) it was deserted. Fine for the 2 of us but I wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing it alone. Next time we’ll rent a car! Despite the length of the trip the excursion was very worthwhile. I agree with most of the comments by other posters – the chance to see MM was what got me out there but seeing the rest of the dancers in such an intimate setting was also a factor. Who Cares is so much fun. I always love it but often when I see it performed by other companies the phrasing & movement is all smoothed out and it can take on a very sugary sweet feeling. Not with these guys – it retained the sophistication and tartness that sets it apart for me. Everyone looked great but I was particularly fascinated by Ashley Bouder’s performance in it. Has her polish, the finish and flourish to the her use of her arms and upper body grown exponentially in the handful of times she’s been on stage since her injury, or was it just the intimate setting that allowed me to see it so clearly? I really feel like she is developing from a prodigy to an artist right in front of my eyes. Pert & efficient indeed! I enjoyed the entire program with the exception of the Ray Charles piece. It was fun to watch Joaquin de Luz cut loose in “It should have been me” but the rest of it was so banal that I can see no reason to ever sit through it again. I also found the choreographed bows within the piece to be a very strange and anti climatic way to end the evening.

I wrote the last post on the train out to Boston, heading there to see the Kirov one last time. I'm so glad I decided to make the trip. From the moment Daria Pavlenko bourreed out on stage and stopped in her tracks, terrified by Zelensky’s Prince Siegfried you knew this was a different Daria Pavlenko from the one who had danced the role just a week ago in Chicago with Sarafanov. She had been great then, but today she was in another zone entirely. The electricity coursed through her veins and out into the audience. Long story short – this had been an on again off again proposition. She was originally scheduled to dance the matinee, then I heard that she had withdrawn from the tour and hadn’t even gone to Boston with the company. The casting inserts said it would be Lopatkina & Zelensky but right before the curtain went up there was an announcement that it would be Pavlenko. This was the kind of performance that takes your breath away. In the 3rd act she stumbled out of a turn, and nobody cared. Her 32 fouettes were completed decently, but nothing more – and nobody cared because we all loved her Odile with that enchanting smile – first mischievous, then haughty and finally triumphant. Zelensky must still be nursing his injury because they skipped a lot of the big lifts – and nobody missed them. Instead of the overhead lifts in the first lakeside scene he turned her in arabesque penchee. They skipped the big climatic lift at the end – and nobody cared. I think they substituted a series of pique arabesques punctuated by desperate embraces as they made their way through the 2 lines of swans but I wouldn’t swear to it – I was so entranced by the spell they cast I couldn’t take time away from watching the action to actually analyze what they were doing. This was an incredible performance – one that sent chills down your spine and left you with goosebumps. Last week what struck me most about her performance was her beautiful legato phrasing, the softness and perfect integration of her dancing with poses stretching and changing and flowing into movement. Today what struck me was the way that this subtle, lyrical style of dancing was wed to some of the most powerful emotion I’d ever seen on a stage. Not in an over the top dramatic way, either. It’s hard to explain, because she did act – she just didn’t overact & she acted with her body, with her steps as well as with her face. It was total integration, total commitment. A couple of examples – at the end of the first lakeside scene when she turned back into a swan, her desperation not to leave Siegfried was so strong that she reached for him with her entire body and thru the tips of her fingers as the power of von Rothbarts spell was tugging the rest of her in the opposite direction. She clung to her dream and fought for it until she was absolutely forced her back into her swan body and back to the lake. I thought she was going to be torn apart by the force she was exerting in opposite directions. As the last act was approaching the finale, again, the desperation her arms expressed as she was caressing & clinging to Siegfried just broke your heart. When it was over and von Rothbart lay defeated she gave us my favorite version of the Kirov ending, the one I saw from her the last time I witnessed a Swan Lake of this caliber. Battered & defeated she lay on the floor and as Siegfried tenderly lifted her up she looked around with a tremulous, disbelieving look. First down at von Rothbart, then up at Siegfried, then down again at her hands and then this incredulous look came over her face as she realized that her nightmare was over. Her face this afternoon is the best argument I can think of in favor of the happy ending

I’m finally getting a chance to post some thoughts from the last 3 performances of the Kirov in Swan Lake that I saw in Chicago. Sorry for the long post, but there are just so many details I want to share! Although I know I’m echoing the thoughts of many others who’ve already posted here, let me say that having been privileged to see 4 performances in a row last weekend I came away again overcome by the beauty of this production and the magnificence of both their corps and the dancers who fill all those small solo & demi roles. I can’t identify most of them but they were all breathtaking, down to the last czardas dancer, the last princess and the last aristocrat way in the back of the stage practically hidden from view during all the action in the first act. Of the soloists I did recognize I believe that Kondurova really was everywhere, and the scale of her dancing drew my eye to her often. Another dancer who seemed to be everywhere is Svetlana Ivanova. This is the first time I really noticed her and she stood out for her bright personality and crisp clean dancing. The female pairs for the first act pas de trois (the Prince’s friends) were supposed to be Osmolkina/ Golub and Gonchar/ Tkachenko. Tkachenko was also listed as one of the 4 lead swans at all the performances in Chicago but if she was there I didn’t recognize her. I think Daria Sukhorukova may have taken her place (pretty brunette with small, sweet face?). I’m not familiar with her but she was listed for only 1 performance in the pdt on 11/2 so I’d bet she filled in for Tkachenko at the Saturday & Sunday matinees. At any rate – all 4 of the women I saw were wonderful. They all danced with speed, technique, ballon, wonderful phrasing & musicality. The men were both good but I preferred Korsakov to Scherbakov – he had beautiful elevation and élan. Gonchar and Golub also alternated as one of the 2 featured swans and they were both lovely and lyrical. Andrei Ivanov took the role of the jester at all the performances I saw except the Saturday matinee when we got to see Grigory Popov. He took a slightly more low key approach and had a bit more elevation than Ivanov, but the amazing thing about Ivanov was his speed in the many series of turns, and the details and command of his character. I got to see 3 different von Rothbarts – Maxim Chashchegorov, Alexander Klimov and Ilya Kuznetsov. All were good, but Kuznetsov was outstanding. The others should take a hint from Kuznetsov and wear dark gloves under their “wings’ – at least for the last scene. It’s tough enough to buy the ripping the wing off deal but it’s even worse when you see a bare hand flapping around. Despite his eventual triumph, Siegfried really is a thankless role in this production. Of the dancers I saw Korsuntsev and Kolb were probably the best partners. Zelensky seemed a little underpowered but still, what a joy to watch. Despite his boyish looks Sarafanov may have been the most convincing dramatically – he was very much engaged with his partner from the minute he set eyes on his Odette. His jumps were light and high, his line elegant & stretched (as usual) and I’m happy to report that his partnering seems to have improved. I wouldn’t swear that he and Pavlenko didn’t simplify a lift or 2 but I saw no mishaps, and she looked relaxed and happy to be dancing with him. I think my favorite Siegfried was Igor Kolb, who danced with Tereshkina at the Saturday matinee. This was a little surprising since I didn’t like him as Albrecht in Giselle recently, but this time out I noticed how beautiful his line is, what a wonderful, high arabesque he has and how elegant his dancing is in general. He really was a textbook example of the classic danseur noble, and his characterization was very engaging. As for the O/Os – for me, there is no question but that Lopatkina and Pavlenko are in a class by themselves. The surprise for me was that I liked Tereshkina less than I thought I would, and liked Somova more than I would have guessed -though still not much! With her soulful face and beautiful epaulment I thought that Tereshkina would be an Odette to remember. In a few years perhaps, but this time out I found her boring. Although her line was beautiful Canbelto said she thought she was having some problems integrating her arm and leg movements and I think she’s right. Anyway, I found both her phrasing and her characterization bland. Her white acts were fine, but very generic. I expected fireworks from her Odile, and she was more interesting here but she had some problems with the fouettees and was noticeably off the music by the time she was halfway through them. Somova was the opposite. I thought I would be ok with a flashy, heel to head Odile but expected to hate her Odette – I just pictured those screechingly high extensions in the 2nd & 4th acts like fingernails on a blackboard. While I wouldn’t call her Odette refined, I really didn’t find her extensions to be much more extreme that Lopatkina’s or Tereshkina’s, and at times she was very beautiful. The problem for me in the white acts was that there was no flow to her dancing. She hit some exquisite poses but the sum effect was very choppy. My biggest problem with Somova was with her 3rd act. It was like she decided to portray Odile as an acrobat and thus showed us some of the UGLIEST images I’ve ever seen at the ballet. In addition to the horrible line of her sky high extensions, her legs seem to be hyperextended. What I mean by this is that when her leg is extended at a 90 degree angle (or thereabout) her toe looked several inches higher than her knee. Not very pretty! I saw scary looking supported jete splits and a hideous 180 degree side developee that she held for 5-6 seconds (to thunderous applause) but her fouettees were the absolute worst. They were fast, but she traveled horizontally and they were so ugly! They looked like Rockette fouettes (no offense to the Rockettes). She kept kicking her working leg out to the side and it would hit the spot and then she’d whip around, bouncing up and down like she was on a pogo stick. The scariest part was that the crowd loved her. Ugh. In the final Chicago performance Pavlenko provided the perfect antidote to Somova. It didn’t quite reach the same level of emotional power as the last time I saw her in DC with Zelensky, but I think a performance that sublime is extremely rare. This time she was merely extraordinary. Her dancing is lyrical and fluid, her expressive back, torso, neck, head and arms creating a soft, beautiful legato flow that spoke of her longing and despair and complemented her beautiful arabesques and attitudes. Along with the pathos and poignancy of her Odette her humanity always came through. There is something very genuine about her so that even when her dancing is soft and ethereal you still feel such a direct connection to her and to what she is feeling onstage. She and Lopatkina both have very pliant backs & arms, and a similar way of moving so although I could describe them with many of the same words – soft, flowing, warm- their personalities and bodies produce completely different, almost opposite effects. Lopatkina, through all her beauty & sadness is every inch the Queen, while Pavlenko sometimes looked so achingly sad that you just wanted to reach out and comfort her. It was a wonderful performance, the end of a great run in Chicago.

After watching ABT in a great program at City Center last night, I made it to Chicago this afternoon. It seems like I’ve been looking forward to Lopatkina’s Swan Lake forever. I’ve seen her in 3 other roles and loved her, but even though the reports I’ve read about her O/O have been glowing they have also been confusing to me and I’ve been having a hard time imagining what it would be like. Most everyone agrees that she’s impressive technically, that her arms are amazing and that she’s a great Odette but almost in the same breath I’ve heard her Odette described as remote, platonic, intellectual, philosophical. I didn’t get that from her at all. I do agree that dancers like Vishneva and Ananishvilli are more dramatic, but I didn’t find Lopatkina cold or remote. In fact the 2 words that come to mind are warm and beautiful. She was certainly tragic and heartbreaking but the most outstanding feature of Lopatkina’s Odette for me was how absolutely beautiful, vulnerable and expressive she was in her every movement & pose. Her Odile may have lacked subtlety, but I didn’t mind her “all guns blazing” approach and she really did wow both her prince and the audience. Her fouttees were fast, clean and musical and she slowed the last few down so she ended perfectly in time with the music, face front and in total control. The whole company looked great. I liked Korsuntsev more than I remember liking him last time I saw him. His Siegfried isn’t too deep or melancholic but he’s not wooden either, and he’s a rock solid partner with a beautiful danseur noble line. The pas de trois was danced beautifully. I love the Kirov’s version and Osmolkina, Golub & Korsakov were great. I kept seeing Kondaurova in small roles she wasn’t listed for (one of the 2 swans & the mazurka) but maybe they just have a lot of tall redheads these days, she couldn’t possibly have danced everything I thought I saw her in! One dancer I recognized in small roles was Yulia Bolshakova. She was one of the prince’s potential brides and also one of the first line of swans. It’s nice to see that they have her dancing corps/coryphée roles again. She’s lovely but it looked like they were pushing her too fast last year, so I’m glad to see that she’s getting a chance to regroup

I will, I'm in town for the weekend. Is there a central meeting place for those of us who want to say hello? Susan

Gomes was wonderful in Sinatra Suite, truly wonderful. I hope they keep this in repertory for a few seasons, I really have to see him in it again (and again, and again)! Watching both Cornejo and Carreno previously I’d been thinking to myself that without technical tricks to wow us with, neither one was really able to make this compelling. I should have known that Gomes would do it justice. While his One For My Baby may not live up to the original (who’s could?) I thought it was very pensive and expressive. Since I was not hesitant to express my disappointment with Luciana Paris when I first saw her dance this with Carenno let me say that she was a completely different dancer here with Gomes - so passionate and engaged! The only thing that still bothers me about her performance is that her character didn’t really change for That’s Life - she seemed perfectly happy to be knocked around by her partner. I wonder if that was a conscious choice on her part or just a lack of experience. Watching Sarah Lane in a later performance with Corella (she was substituting for an injured Misty Copeland) really illustrated how important the woman’s role can be in this. She managed to be an active participant rather than just a beautiful cipher throughout the whole piece, but especially in That’s Life. Their rendition of this wasn’t about him tossing her around - this was a series of fights and reconciliations, and she gave as good as she got!

Was I seeing things last night? It sure looked to me like Herrera danced the Violin role as she had previously and that Wiles switched over to the Viola role that Part & Kent danced before. I thought Wiles did well and that she and Herrera looked good together (no surprise there). To me, Wiles was close to perfect in the first & last movements but the adagio 2nd movement was the problem. She looked like she overdid it trying to force herself into the regal lyricism of it, like a little girl in Mom's evening gown. Arms and eyes were overdone. Still, she was very good and she did do the elusive pirouette combination beautifully. I don't know if the Elo is growing on me or if it just got a monumentally fabulous performance last night. The dancers were unbelievable and this time I almost liked it. I also thought that The Green Table was done especially well - Jennifer Alexander was really beautiful but I actually felt that everyone - from Carmen Corella, Marian Bultler, Jared Mathews & Jesus Pastor to Patrick Ogle & the anonymous solders dug even deeper into their roles and turned in very affecting performances. Sidenote - Sara Lane replaced Misty Copeland in Glow-Stop last night, and she was also replaced in the Morris on Tuesday. Hope it's nothing serious...

Woo Hoo, Nina's back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I was hoping but now it's official

The Makarova/Nagy Swan Lake is wonderful, as is the Makarova/Baryshnikov/van Hamel Giselle you just bought. Enjoy!

Andre, Art - glad to hear that both of you thought so highly of Vishneva's White Swan. I did find her very dramatic and while I prefer Pavlenko in this I've had a nagging feeling that I caught Vishneva on a bad night this last time (in her most recent appearance with ABT), and that ABT's staging puts her at a big disadvantage to begin with. I find their production totally without heart or soul and that's a huge obstacle for any ballerina. I was hoping to see her in the Sergeyev staging but I couldn't get enough time off to catch her performance while I'm in Chicago. I bought a ticket for her Sunday matinee in Boston but it turns out she's dancing on Friday night instead. Barring any last minute cast changes it looks like I won't get to see her in her home company's Swan Lake at all. I guess I'll just hope that Lopatkina & Pavlenko don't cancel and I get to see both of them in Chicago as planned...

Having seen both the Wiles/Part/Gomes cast and the Herrera/Kent/Saveliev cast let me expand on Faux Pas's clarification to say that neither cast made any obvious mistakes or looked uncomfortable or tentative in this during the regular rep (I didn't go to the gala). I thought the ballet looked beautiful and am looking forward to seeing it with Murphy & Dvorovenko later in the season. Of course I'm disappointed that Veronika won't be dancing tonight (or for the rest of the engagement) but I'm still looking forward to seeing the ballet again tonight even without her. I agree that she is not a dazzling technician but I fall into the camp that is so enchanted by her musicality, line and fluidity that I don't need to see technical fireworks from her. I do, however, understand Vipa 's point about not being able to relax when watching her. After reading that post I realized that I sometimes feel that way too, especially when overhead lifts are involved. I guess I can see both sides of the argument here. I would like to bring up a couple more points about Veronika's supposed technical deficiency and then I'll move on to happier topics. I don't recall anyone posting about the fact that Kent didn't even ATTEMPT the pirouette-developee-pirouette combination or question her status as a principal due to her technical deficiencies. And looking at this from another point of view - despite their technical prowess can you even imagine Wiles, Murphy or Herrera dancing the Viola role? I can't. IMO ABT's biggest deficiency, their Achilles heel is their lack of ballerinas who combine the highest level of technique with musicality/fluidity/imagination (not counting absent guest artists!). If they perform it at the Met this spring we can keep our fingers crossed for a Vishneva/Annanishvilli cast but otherwise there is no hope these days of anything approaching the level of Gregory /van Hamel. Ok, enough about ABT's flaws & on to their strengths. I was very unenthusiastic about their first program on 10/19. I've been to several since and enjoyed all of them immensely. Loved Lane & Cornejo in Sinatra Suite. It still wasn't perfect but I thought it was much more passionate & alive this time. Also loved both casts I saw in Drink To Me...I have not been a fan of Mark Morris in the past but I really like this piece. It's quirky & off center but charming and balletic, very enjoyable. I always groan when I see Rodeo and Fancy Free on the schedule and wonder how I'm going to make it through 2-3 viewings so I can get my fill of everything else. Yet the minute the music started playing & Reyes hitched up her pants I was charmed once again. I seem to recall a similar phenomenon with Fancy Free... On second viewing I still don't like Glow-Stop, but this time I just focused on the dancers which made it tolerable for me. I thought last night was the best program yet. Drink was great & really benefited from Corella's first performance of the season. It was my first time seeing Meadow and I loved it. Julie Kent was so perfect in the lead female role that I can't envision anyone else in it. Her beauty was indescribable - celestial, otherworldly, androgenous yet also very feminine. Gomes, of course partnered her perfectly. The program ended with In the Upper Room, which never loses it's magic effect for me. The minute it ends I want to see it again, and I will soon!

I had heard that the Ottawa performances were completely sold out very early on and I'm thrilled to hear that they've added an evening performance on Sunday so that more people can go. I love this production of Swan Lake - although it's not without its flaws it's a wonderful staging and IMO the Kirov -Mariinsky performs it like no other - it really is their birthright. I was in Ottawa a couple of years ago for Winterfest - it's a lovely city. I hope you all have a great time and report back about all the different casts.

Cygnet, thank you for that wonderful description of Lopatkina's O/O - I could almost see it! I just can't wait to see her in Chicago. I fell in love with Pavlenko's O/O last time and I'm so excited at the thought of seeing both of them in a couple of weeks.