nysusan

Hi Everyone! I thought I remembered a ticket exchange forum but I can’t find it, so I’m posting this here. In case anyone is still thinking about catching the Sunday matinee Sleeping Beauty with Cojocaru/Kobborg cast I have an extra ticket to sell. It’s in the 1st row of the first tier, $82. Please PM me in the next couple of days if interested, I’m headed back to DC Thursday morning and not sure if I will have internet access. Susan

Absolutely, I love how Diana creates the character and expresses emotion through her dancing, which is critical. Dancers who try to Act It miss the point. But I think she also acts it, and beautifully. Sounds like I missed a great one! canbelto – FYI – In the 2nd act of the Kirov version Giselle comes & goes by walking offstage the same way she does in ABT’s version (at least on this tour – they may do something different at the Mariinsky). I’ve never seen a live Giselle where she rises up thru a trap door or descends into the grave, though I’ve seen it on filmed versions and agree that it’s very effective. On the other hand the Kirov’s act 1 is much less cluttered and brighter than ABT’s. The dancing is more classical ( the patterns for the corps) yet I miss some of the dramatic touches of ABT’s version – like Giselle being crowned queen of the harvest or the peasant pas being danced as a diversion for the visiting Royals – in the Kirov version it is danced after the hunting party leaves Susan

Thank you again for all of these reports, reading them is almost as good as being there! I'm going to see Slice to Sharp on Tuesday, and these raves have me really excited! I'm very sorry to have missed Wendy in In Memory of and also wanted to see Klavier again but I guess one can't see everything all the time...

Ok, I'll start. I’ve been to the first 3 Giselles (so far), but I’ve also been trying to cram in a few of the DC sights between performances! The production - There are some things I like very much about this production, other things I prefer the ABT way (that’s the only other production I’m particularly familiar with). Most notably, Myrtha’s role is MUCH better in this production, it’s a much bigger role and Tereshkina danced it divinely at all 3 performances so far. I don’t know where to start describing her – the beautiful romantic epaulment, the soaring leaps, the long, articulate feet. And what a contrast in style from ABT’s approach, where Myrtha tends to be danced in a hard, brittle fashion. Tereshkina had the most gorgeous romantic flow to her movement, and especially her opening solo was tinged with sadness & regret. Yet she commanded both the stage and the Wilis unquestionably. I will never forget it. The choreography in the second act looked more classical than what I’m used to (more Petipa maybe) – more flowing patterns for the corps and really beautiful visually but somehow I haven’t found it as moving as ABT’s version. Peasant pas de deux – I will refer to the ballerina who danced this as Osmolkina since she was listed in the program and no replacements were announced at any of the 3 performances ( judging from her photo on the Mariinsky website it could have been her - if anyone knows who is was, do tell). There were several flubs the first night – Shklyarov failed to get her up into a shoulder lift at the start of the pas de deux, and she stumbled a couple times before getting her confidence back. Their partnering continued to improve, the 2nd performance was much better and the 3rd was really lovely. Her dancing was strong, and she was very charming. He was great – really beautiful with high, soft jumps – something in his amplitude reminded me of Gomes, though his looks and demeanor were very different. Definitely a dancer to watch. The principals – Pavlenko and Kolb were very, very good but not great IMO. Perhaps it was too much to ask coming a day after I’d just seen a great Vishneva/Malakhov performance, or maybe it was because I didn’t love Kolb and Pavlenko might have been just a tad off her game. Her technique was awesome, her characterization fine but it just didn’t all come together for me. I’m not giving up on her yet, though. The first time I saw her in Swan Lake after a very good opening night performance she completely blew me away with one of the greatest Swan Lakes I’d ever seen at the Sunday matinee, so I’m reserving any further comments till after tomorrow’s performance! Golub/Fadeyev – this was an interesting combination. He was wonderful, a really beautiful dancer with perfect danseur noble proportions. He looked a little short (next to Bathilde, anyway) but had a long, elegant line. Golub’s technique was nowhere near Pavlenko’s – her dancing wasn’t as fluid or as secure but it was more than good enough. Her 1st act Giselle was a sweet, flirtatious, gullible girl. Not the deepest interpretation, but perfectly valid. My problem with Golub was that I didn’t see much change in her personality or her dancing in the 2nd act. Her’s was the most flesh and blood 2nd act Giselle I’ve ever seen. She really did not convey a sense of weightlessness or the spirituality that you would hope for, nor did I really see that beautiful curved romantic line. Novikova/Sarafanov - they absolutely triumphed tonight. Just when I was starting to think that maybe watching 6 performances of Giselle in 5 days might be overkill and it was making me a bit too critical I sat back in my chair and saw magic performed right before my eyes. I’ve had mixed feelings before about Sarafanov – tonight he was brilliant. For starters, partnering must always be addressed with Sarafanov and tonight there were no obvious partnering problems. His leaps soared, his grand jetes were high and light. He did some turns in attitude and the height of his back leg was just incredible, as was the ease with which he tossed everything off. But it wasn’t just technique, his acting was really good, he and Novikova looked great together and had great chemistry. They also really had the details of the story worked out well, and were the most dramatic and moving of the 3 casts I saw. She came on in the 1st act young, fresh, simple & childlike. Not childlike in a foolish way but in an innocent way, and when she realized Albrecht’s duplicity it just destroyed her. In the second act that innocence was gone and she was pure forgiveness. Her dancing was very strong and her 2nd act was beautifully ethereal and romantic but really, this was the kind of performance that robs you of your senses, where you have to stop analyzing and just give yourself up to it. I hope someone else can describe it in more detail – that’s all I can manage. One other note - DC audiences can be strange. They really went crazy for tonight's performance, but they kept applauding at the most innapropriate places - all night long!

Yes, from someone else who was there your post was very descriptive, please keep posting! I think the dancer you admired was Anton Pimonov - he caught my eye, too! My identification is tentative - I've never seen him before but he also danced in Appx Sonata (3rd pdd with Selina), so that's his name if the program listings can be trusted!

All these reports sound wonderful, I’m sorry I missed both Bocca/Reyes Giselles. The only ABT Giselle I caught this season was the Vishneva/Malakhov and I loved it. canbelto - Please, please, please don’t give McKenzie any ideas about staging a new Giselle! This one may not be perfect but it’s pretty good and I shudder to think what he’d have in store for us if he got to stage a new one! nysusan Wow is right, I was pretty surprised too. "Her shoulders often looked clenched, and in Act II, her movement was sometimes thick where it should have been diaphanous". I didn't see it that way at all. But I guess that's what makes horse races. Richard That is certainly true, but I didn’t see anything like what he saw. I’m not quite sure I saw what Rockwell saw last year, either. I don’t think I agree 100% with Rockwell’s assessment last year that Vishneva’s Giselle was “so incontestably great that all whining about past golden ages can happily be laid to rest” but those golden ages were so long ago and this was certainly the finest Giselle I’ve seen since those days. I’ve been meaning to post a few thoughts about that performance, and this seems like a good time to do it. Let’s start with Malakhov, because he really surprised me. I was hoping to go to the Vishneva/Corella Giselle and was disappointed when I realized that I’d be seeing her with Malakhov. I’d forgotten how often they dance together, and how well they know each other. His dancing was beautiful, as I expected, but I didn’t expect him to present so fine a characterization. The most striking thing to me about the performance was how in sync they were with each other, as others have pointed out. Physically their timing, line, the coordinated height of their jumps – those are details that we just don’t see anymore, they are rare even in long time partnerships. I also loved the fact that he & Vishneva had such great chemistry together and really played off each other dramatically. They didn’t seem studied or over thought to me, the drama flowed and I thought it seemed very spontaneous. One touch I loved was how, in the 2nd act he often stared straight ahead instead of looking at Vishneva. It’s a small detail but an important one, it makes dramatic sense because she’s a spirit now and though he can feel her presence he really can’t see much but fleeting glimpses of her. I thought it was very effective. I think I may see where Lobenthal got the idea about ‘Vishneva’s personal desire to encapsulate the combined impact of every interpreter of the role since Carlotta Grisi…”, but I had a completely different take on it. Usually, in the first act each ballerina emphasizes one aspect of Giselles personality. She’s either the robust peasant girl, or she’s painfully shy, or demure or flirtatious. Early in the first act I was startled to realize that Vishneva’s Giselle combines all of those traits! I felt that she presented a fully integrated portrait of Giselle as a complex and rich character. Her Giselle was painfully shy at first, but also joyous and bursting with love for Albrecht. At times she was defiant, at times passionate. I thought she was totally believable & absolutely fabulous. I saw a multidimensional character, not stagy effects. The other thing that really struck me about Vishneva’s interpretation is something I remember someone else mentioning last year – just how much her Giselle loves to dance. Of course, all Giselles love to dance, but Vishneva really emphasized it in her early 1st act solos and went back to it in her mad scene. About 2/3 of the way through she started dancing wildly, throwing herself into it and then was suddenly exhausted and clutching her heart. This Giselle actually danced herself to death! She carried the theme through to her 2nd act, too. I don’t remember exactly where, but at some point in the pas de deux she started to really dance wildly, with total abandon for a moment. She was wonderfull in her own right but together she and Malakhov were just amazing, and heartbreaking. re: Michelle Wiles as Myrtha - I thought she was doing a pretty good job early on in her variation, I liked the way she finished a phrase with a sharp ending and I thought those jerky head movements fit in well here. But then during the grand jetes she had that big grin on her face that peite arabesque mentioned - it completely undermined her performance, I don't know what she could have been thinking. I thought Abrera and Saveliev were great in the peasant pas de deux, but while I loved her phrasing and romantic epaulment it kind of disturbed me that she was so...aristocratic. I guess i"m used to a more earthy approach. I just saw Pavlenko & Kolb in the Kirov’s Giselle tonight and Pavlenko was almost the opposite of Vishneva. While also gorgeous & with amazing technique hers was a very traditional Giselle, modest & demure. None of the fiery passion of Vishneva!

Wow, I just read Joel Lobenthal's review of the Vishneva/Malakhov Giselle in the Sun (from today's links). I usually agree with his reviews but this time I disagree with just about everything except his praise of Radetsky! Like most of the posters here, I thought they were wonderful...

I'm not sure which blonde you're referring to. The Vertiginous Thrill (3rd piece, after Sonata and before the last intermission) had 5 dancers including 3 women with flat, "platter" type tutus. The tiny blond with the big personality was Obraztsova (who, by the way, was fabulous) , the taller blondish woman was Tkachenko, and the third was a mystery brunette. Tkachenko also danced in the last piece. There were 2 redheads in the last piece, I’m assuming that the taller one with the lighter red hair who danced one of the leading roles was Kondaurova and the shorter one with the darker red hair was Yana Selina. I also noticed another shortish, blondish,heavyish female dancer – first as part of the 1st couple in Sonata and then again in the last (4th) piece. By comparing casts I’m deducing the shortish one is Elena Sheshina. This is fun, I feel like Sherlock Holmes… BTW did anyone notice that they listed 1 less dancer for Thursday night’s In the Middle than for the other 2 performances? You notice things like that when you pour over the program trying to figure out who’s who! Yana Serebryakova was listed as part of the 2nd couple in Sonata (tall blond, neon green pants). Is this the same dancer who did the Sheherazade pdd with Zelensky at the YAGP gala? The name sounds the same but she sure looked like a petite brunette in Sheherazade.

I saw the Forsythe program Thursday night and the house was far from full. I haven’t seen much Forsythe and this was my first time seeing this program so I can’t comment on whether or not the dancers “got” his style – but they are such gorgeous dancers! I was not that impressed with Stepext or Approximate Sonata and completely missed the joke/scenario that Natalia described (wish I’d read her post before the performance!). For me the program took a major turn for the better starting after Sonata – I loved both Vertiginous and In the Middle. The Kirov casting mysteries continue, the only substitution they announced was Tkachenko replacing Golub in Vertiginous and Gumerova in In the Middle. But surely that small, pretty brunette in Vertiginous wasn’t Osmolkina? I don’t know the Kirov dancers well enough to recognize most of them, especially not the men. I’m not even sure it was Pavlenko in the last piece last night - she didn’t look the way I remember her but I could be wrong. Anyway, whoever the lead brunette was in In the Middle was wonderful, but the real star of the night for me was Kondaurova. What a standout! If she does Somova’s Myrthas as rumored this will be a very interesting weekend! Susan

Thank you Bobbi! I am also out of town and going through withdrawls. I caught Divert last week and was so dissapointed to miss Scheller. She is a gem. Wasn't Hyltin in that cast as well?

Hi Art, glad to hear you’re coming east. DC’s practically in my backyard, so I will be there on Thursday. Let’s definitely plan to meet by the Kennedy bust during the 1st intermission – it will be nice to see you again! Susan

I went to the Saturday night performance, and I'm glad I decided to go. It's clear that ABT has a huge hit on their hands, and good for them. It's an attractive production, the sets are great and most of the individual costumes are beautiful thought I don't think they work well together a lot of the time. Based on this production I'd have to say that Kudelka is a much better storyteller than a choreographer. It was a pleasant, entertaining evening but aside from the last pas de deux there wasn't much in the way of great dancing. I mean, a lot of it was inventive (like Cinderella dancing in one point shoe, or even the concept of turning the glass slipper into a point shoe) but although his concepts were interesting in retrospect it feels like they were expressed through great stagecraft rather than great choreography. Still, it was fun and I'm sure it will entertain many little girls and their families for years to come. Carbo and FauxPas described the cast I saw very well, and I agree with fandeballet about Reyes & Cote. He is a wonderful & very appealing dancer, but what I like best about him is what he brought out in Reyes - they have great chemistry together. They also look really good together, they are a good match in terms of size and line. Her artistic growth over the past year or so has been remarkable. From a talented soloist with a one note stage presence she is maturing into a versatile and appealing artist. We do have more than our share of remarkable male dancers at ABT but I would love to see Cote brought in as a kind of permanent guest artist like Acosta or Malakhov for a few appearances with Reyes each season. A Reyes/Cote Romeo & Juliet or Giselle would definitely make it onto my calendar - strange but true!

Those are my feelings too when I see a great performance of Concerto Barocco. I wouldn’t quite say that it’s dancer proof, because a poor performance doesn’t have the same effect. However - since I’ve seen some poor performances in the past few years I can say that it still a very good ballet even when performed by a sub par cast. But good just doesn’t cut it when you’ve seen great. Ditto for Swan Lake. A great production, a great cast = perfect ballet. I agree 100% about Monotones II, but I like to see both parts together. I don’t think I rises to the same level as II, but I think it sets it off well, and makes it even more perfect. Also agree about Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Symphony in C and Apollo and would add Symphonic Variations to the list. I've just indulged in multiple performances of Apollo, Barroco & C, and each time the ballet was ending I couldn't wait for the next performance. The Giselle fest starts next week!

Advice anyone? I’m going to try to see Cinderella this coming Saturday. I’m leaning towards the evening performance with Reyes/Cote. I don’t really care which set of principals I see but I would love to catch van Hamel as the stepmother and the E Cornejo /C Corella set of stepsisters. Has anyone noticed if they’ve been keeping the first cast together or if the secondary roles have been independent of the principal casting (i.e. would I be more likely to see them at the Kent/Gomes matinee?) I could go to the matinee but there’s a Weese/Rutherford/Hubbe Concerto Barocco across the plaza. Decisions, decisions.

Yes BW, everyone danced so well Saturday night that I felt a little bad not mentioning them all & skipping over Episodes entirely, but time just didn’t permit me to go into it any further. Reichlen especially is amazing, and her development over the past couple of years has been meteoric. Having stayed away from NYCB for so long I tread lightly now when I talk about them. Part of me agrees that Martins is strangling the life out of the company, but another part of me likes what I see there a lot of the time. This season, watching dancers like Reichlen and Rebecca Krohn come into their own I can’t help but feel that Balanchine’s legacy is safe at NYCB.

Thanks for all the reports, I guess I will have to go!

I absolutely loved tonight’s performance of Concerto Barocco - the best I’ve seen in the past few years. The corps was on from start to finish, Evans partnering was sure and steady and Weese and Rutherford complimented each other perfectly. I’ve seen both Whelan and Kowroski in this recently, and though each turned in a beautiful and distinctive individual performance tonight I saw a Barocco where everything came together just right. The second female role here can be tricky, I’ve seen it danced with a very strong staccato propulsion and with the shapes of the poses stretched a little too far - like a string that’s about to pop. Rutherford’s dancing was crisp but she took a much more measured approach to the role which meshed perfectly with Weese’s. Weese is a dancer I rarely love - but tonight was one of those nights when I saw why other people love her so much. She wasn’t cold or distant - at times the look on her face was almost ecstatic but her dancing was so sure & strong and unembellished that the music and choreography seemed to flow out of her. The adagio seemed slower than usual, or maybe Weese just made time slow down as great adagio dancers seem to be able to do. The rest of the program kept up the high standard - Episodes & Symphony in C were both very well done. The 2nd movement Bizet sounded faster than usual to me - too fast - but Kowroski dealt with it well, she is so lovely in this. No forehead to knee but a beautiful, beautiful 6 o’clock penchee , wonderful stretch and luxurious phrasing throughout. Askegard is a great partner for her. Hyltin brought effervescent lyricism and joy to the 3rd movement, but she seemed to tire in the finale. She and Carmena looked good together, and he tossed off the virtuoso solo with panache. Tiler Peck looked like she was born to dance the 4th movement - she had the timing down perfectly.

No opinions on the new Cinderella yet? After indulging in several performances of the Stravinsky program I was planning to skip Cinders - unless my fellow posters absolutely love it. I was hoping for some first night feedback before I buy my 4th ring tickets for next week. Do I need to keep 1 night free for ABT?

Last night's Apollo was much better all around (despite the continual problems with the Starburst). Part toned down the flirtatiousness, especially at the beginning. She still smiled a lot in the pas de deux but on Thursday her smile seemed to radiate the pure joy of dancing, rather than the overkill I felt the first time. And her dancing is glorious! Wiles danced with much more energy and attack & Hallberg continues to grow in the role. I think I liked his emphasis of the staccato phrasing, but agree with Carbro that he should rethink his makeup. I do hope they keep this in the rep for awhile. A friend of mine caught the Beloserkovsky/Dvorovenko cast and said that he really enjoyed it, he said she was quite restrained. Did anyone here see it? Also thought Dvorovenko & Sarah Lane were both wonderful in Jeu. Dvorovenko was lovably zany, Lane's dancing was so pure it was breathtaking. I do think that ABT is doing the right thing by bringing her along slowly. As others have mentioned there are many outstanding young women in the corps who have been given chances at soloist roles in the past few seasons, I'll add Kristi Boone & Misty Copeland to those already mentioned. I hope they will all continue to get chances and look forward to seeing them this season in roles like Giselle's peasant pas de deux, Moyna, Zulma , Swan Lake pas de trois, ect. The temptation to fast track Lane must be especially fierce because a tiny, perfectly classical ballerina would be a great partner for Cornejo, but I really hope they don't rush her. It's different at NYCB where a talented kid like Scheller can get a crack at Tchai Pas or Peck and Hyltin in Bizet or Friandises. These may be principal roles but the whole evening doesn't depend on them (Mearns SL being the exception). Full length ballets make up the bulk of ABT's schedule, and lead parts in them can lay very heavy on the shoulders of an inexperienced dancer, no matter how talented. They only do 1 or 2 mixed rep programs in the summer and most of the soloist roles will naturally go to soloists! By the way - sz - don't the 7 months between Sarah's appearances in Upper Room and Jeu conform to the time lag between ABT's two annual NY seasons? Ditto for the 5 months between her T&V at the beginning of last year's summer season and Upper Room at the end of their October City Center season. It's not like ABT performs continuously - though I don't know if she had any featured roles on their tours. We all want to see more of our favorites and it's fun to root for them (I know I gripe enough about Part) but let's give management a break once in awhile. I think they're bringing Lane along nicely!

I forgot to mention one strange thing that occurred to me about all of the ABT Apollos I just saw. One of my favorite moments is the starburst image and I don’t think they did it well. I was sitting in the side arms for all 3 performances so it could have been due to the seats, but I doubt it. I was on the right (odd numbered ) side the first 2 times and I know that’s not the best angle for a good view of the starburst but I sat on the left side for the last performance and the visual still didn’t cut it. I have a center seat for Thursday so if they’re doing it properly I should be able to see the full effect. Did anyone else notice this, or was it just my angle that distorted the image?

I agree that Hallberg”s Apollo has room to grow, in time I’m sure he’ll show the transitions more clearly. Still, I thought it was an auspicious debut, already better than many current interpreters. I loved the sense of wonder he conveyed during his early interactions with the muses, his growing sense of his own power. And his line is so gorgeous, he shows the choreography really well. Some of his dances with the muses had a very archaic look, he emphasized the 2 dimensionality more than I’m used to seeing. Let me say up front that I have a problem with ABT’s approach to the muses - with the exception of the Herrera/Wiles/Ricetto cast they are way too smiley/flirty/simpery for me. Since this is obvious with most of the casts I have to believe that they were coached this way, or at least not discouraged from it. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that she was morphing into Dvorovenko (or even Kent), Part was too effusive for my taste. However, if you could tear your eyes away from her beautiful smile & flirty eyes, her dancing was gorgeous. She has thinned down noticeably, but her dancing is still so plush & expansive. That first developee when they start the pdd is stunning. FYI, she was head to head with Wiles a lot in this and it seems to me that they are the same exact height, and at this point Part looks a little thinner than Wiles. I can see no reason anymore why she isn’t cast in all the ballerina roles & promoted to principal already. It is ridiculous that she is still kept at the soloist level... I also caught the Carreno/Kent/Murphy/Ricetto cast on Friday night. I think Carreno is another dancer who’s perfectly suited to the role of Apollo, so it bothers me that I don’t think he’s particularly good at it. There’s nothing obviously wrong with his interpretation, I just don’t find it particularly engaging or revealing. I do love Murphy’s Polyhymnia, I wish she had been cast with Hallberg in place of Wiles, who danced in both Saturday performances and seemed a bit subdued. Like Richard53dog, I was lured to the Saturday night Apollo by Acosta & Herrera’s pdd on opening night. Acosta showed much more of a wild man approach in the full length work. One moment in particular when he was driving the muses in the chariot he seemed almost intoxicated by power. His maturation process was learning to rein it in, and while I felt his characterization in the full length Apollo wasn’t quite as complete as his pdd I found it very satisfying and dramatically coherent. He was a charismatic and commanding god, and he showed the transitions very well. I liked Hererra so much, I think I have to say that she is my favorite ABT Terpischore. Jeu de Cartes was fun, but it is definitely a novelty. One that I could see a few times, but nothing that’s going to draw me to the opera house. It’s so slapstick that this is one case where I think the broader interpretations are the best. In the Queen of Hearts on Friday night Irina finally found a role that suits her as well as Kitri. Bocca was the most over-the-top joker, but Salstein & Cornejo were great, too. Truly, all the casts did well in this - it lends itself to many interpretations. Petrushka has really grown on me, I could barely tolerate it last season but I’ve stayed for it at all 3 performances this weekend, and I enjoyed each one. I was very lucky to get Freddy Franklin’s malevolent charlatan and Part’s glowing chief nursemaid twice (though Bystrova was also charming at the matinee). I think I’ve seen ABT’s complete roster of male principals in the title role, and am very surprised that I found Radetsky the most touching. He was the one that really brought the pathos out for me. I think beck_hen hit it on the head with her observation that Radetsky emphasized the emotion and the contrast between his humanity and the uncomprehending superficiality of the other puppets. He really etched all the details very finely. I felt Petrushka’s thought process and motivations much more clearly in his performance than in any of the others. I think it was a milestone performance for him.

Me too on the Pavlenko/Kolb/Tereshkina cast. I always think of Pavlenko as one of my 2 or 3 favorite dancers but, in truth - I've only seen her dance once. I saw her O/O in DC a couple years ago and I was amazed. She has wonderful technque but it was her artistry that blew me away. She is the real deal and I can't wait for her Giselle!

I thought Gomes & Sylve looked really good together in the YAGP gala.

Good point, I hadn't thought of it that way

drb, you and I are on exactly the same wavelength regarding last night's performances of Other Dances and Apollo... Kent & Corella each took their own approach to Other Dances - which, of course is the only way they could approach it. I guess they both succeeded on their own terms, but not for me. As you and others have said, she was ethereal & dreamlike, he technically brilliant and charming. But it all seemed so wrong to me. In fact, the only moment that struck me right was the last image, as he lifted her up onto his shoulder and her skirt covered his face. She laughed, and deliberately removed it. That was the one and only instant in Kent's performance that looked spontaneous to me. II agree that this piece is so dancer specific that it just doesn't look right to me without the "Russianness" & personality quirks of it's original interpreters. I remember having the same feeling when Ferri & Corella danced it at a gala a few years ago, too. Ever since ABT announced their intention to revive Apollo I've been so focused on seeing Hallberg in the role that I didn't even think about the possibilities in an Acosta Apollo. WOW. He was nothing like what I thought he'd be. I would have expected much more of a wild child approach from him, but I thought there was just the right edge of wildness coupled with the kind of weight and dramatic development one would hope for. I saw exactly the qualities that drb described - refinement & subtlety combined with power and charisma. And while Hererra is no Farrell, I think this is one of her better roles. Yes, she has gorgeous legs and she presents the choreography complete & anadorned, letting it speak for itself. I will also second Faux Pas' appreciation of Dvorovenko's fouettes. It is a pet peeve of mine - when ballerinas throw in triples but travel all over the stage. Dvorovenko ended with a triple but the rest were clean,fast singles executed on a dime. My only complaint about the programming is that they should have switched the placement of the Sylvia & Corsaire suites. Sylvia is a lovely ballet but the excerpt was pretty anti climatic. Corsaire, on the other hand was what the audience came for!