nysusan

p.s. I should have mentioned the 'fishdives' in the Act III Grand pdd. It was notable that the only couple to receive the instant-applause upon performing the fishdives -- indeed, after each and every dive on Thursday -- was the Cojo/Kobo pair. That's because they alone could 'snap' into the dive position in a split second & not waver. The others were OK - no dive was aborted - but the Cojo/Kobo pairing must be commended for their incredibly snappy execution and flair. ALSO - the execution of the final 'swan pose' in the adagio belonged to Cojo/Kobo...I shall never forget how he literally threw her up like a feather & caught her at the hips, then instantly snapped her down into the 'no-hands' swan dive. Breathtaking! The audience went absolutely bonkers.

I’ve seen so many unfamiliar dancers in the past 2 weeks that some details of the various SB casts are a little jumbled in my mind at the moment, but I recall that one pairing did the fish dives so deliberately that it felt like I was watching them in slow motion (I’m pretty sure it was either Marquez/Bonelli or Lamb/Samodurov) and, in any case, the only couple who did them with that “snap” was Cojocaru/Kobborg- at both performances.

I really liked Lamb, even though she looked a little academic at times. She was very much a princess “to the manor born”, rather than young & coltish. Her dancing was beautiful - crisp & authoritative but she hasn’t quite learned how to connect all the movements with that heavenly fluidity that Cojocaru displays. Let’s give her a little time, the pressure must have been huge.

None of the Auroras really nailed the Rose Adagio. Cojocaru’s balances on Sunday were unbelievable - she really took her time and lowered her arm to take each prince’s hand with great flourish - but she overdid it with the pirouettes and came off point in all but the last series. Still, she brings so much to the role that this was inconsequential.

I loved Ansanelli as the Crystal Fairy but as the Lilac Fairy I thought it was very obvious that she did not blend into the RB style. Her solo was beautiful but too showy (compared to the company style) and she doesn’t have that very open upper torso or the flow to her port de bras that the rest of the comany has. Among Lilac Faries I agree that Nunez was outstanding.

By the way - I don’t have a long history of seeing different SB productions but when the Kirov brought the Sergeyev version to the West Coast last year I remember a lot of talk here about how all their Lilac Fairy did was bourre around the stage. While I love all the mime in this production I was surprised that the only real dancing this Lilac fairy did was the 1st act solo. She is certainly integral to the plot, but in this production it really is a mime role, as opposed to a dancing role.

Among the Bluebirds the Maloney/Morera pairing was the clear winner for me. I also liked Kenta Kura on Saturday afternoon. Though his elevation was not outstanding the stretch in his upper body during his solos was beautiful. I liked his Florine, too -Yuhui Choe. Her movements were a little birdlike for me in the beginning but her solos were beautiful, very light & delicate.

The only Florestan that I really liked was Makhatelli but from my barely legible scribblings I think I liked a couple of the sisters a lot - Deirdre Chapmen, Samantha Raines and Natasha Outred. And I loved Laura Morera in everything she did - over the course of the engagement I saw her in 2 of the prologue fairy variations (Golden Vine & Enchanted Garden), in the Florestan pas de trois and as Princess Florine - I thought she was really outstanding in all her roles. On Saturday night I particularly liked Victoria Hewitt’s Crystal Faity and Sian Murphy’s Woodland Glade.

I sat in 4 different locations for this run and it really made a big difference. Many of the effects were not visible from the orchestra but read perfectly from the 1st & 2nd tiers - the initial vision of Aurora in the 2nd act, Carabosse in the mirror above Aurora’s bed in the 3rd, even just the way the scenes became visible through the scrims worked really well from the balconies and really badly from the orchestra.

Hi Buddy,

Thanks for your kind remarks. That definitely was Kondaurova as Myrtha at the last matinee. I've been meaning to post some thoughts about that last performance, and especially about Pavlenko's Giselle but I've been in DC at the RB Sleeping Beautys. I'll post some more when I'm back in NY

Susan

I am a huge fan of Veronika Part and I try to go see all of her performances but it is obvious that despite her greatness, she is working against certain handicaps. Her size is definitely an issue. A couple of years ago she had put on some weight, and if you saw her then you might have been taken aback by it. She has lost all the excess weight and is now quite svelte, but she’s still very tall and I can see how that can be a problem for some people in terms of their perception of a role ( for instance, some people could never accept Cynthia Gregory as Giselle – and I’m not sure I’d want to see Part as Giselle, either!).

For me, her height is only problematic in terms of partnering. It’s tough to find a partner for her, and even with her best partner (Gomes) the partnering can be kind of rough sometimes.

In terms of her dancing, much of Part’s brilliance is in her upper body – it’s so flexible and expressive. Yet so are her developees and arabesques – her line is awesome. Her technique is more than adequate but she does struggle sometimes with the most demanding footwork (she is not particularly an allegro dancer) and sometimes stamina has been a problem. One of the most impressive things about Part is how hard she works to remedy her technical shortcomings. She struggled some with Ballet Imperial and Mozartianna a couple of seasons ago, but as kfw said - she won and the audience was the better for it - she gave absolutely beautiful, magical performances

But, Part’s most impressive characteristics are the intangibles – I’m paraphrasing here - she has that ability to “draw you into a universe created out of her own imagination, a universe of which she is the center”.

If you love allegro dancers Part will not impress you. If you love adagio dancers she is a dream come true. If your preference in ballerinas tends to the delicate and small then Part is not your girl. She is a big, lush, beautiful woman.

Since I am 'stuck' here in NY, I did not get to see this performance that you all describe so enthusiastically. But, as I read your reviews the above thought occurs to me. I suspect 'Chauffeur' is correct when she predicts 5 to 10 years maturity. With this in mind, I was surprised by those who said she was the best Aurora they have seen.

Some eras, like ours, have a number of very great ballerinas, yet one of them stands in a class apart. Ulanova, Farrell, Cojocaru. They could be the greatest before they were their greatest.

Hi drb& atm711, and a big shout out right back to chauffer! I absolutely LOVE Cojocaru but IMO only time will tell if she joins the pantheon of Ulanova, Fonteyn, Makarova and Farrell. She may be “the greatest” in a specific role but as a ballerina for now I would group her with Vishneva, Pavlenko and Lopatkina . Certainly I think these dancers stand out above all of their contemporaries but they are very different dancers, and I think that whether one really stands out above the others depends upon the role, the specific performance and, above all – the viewer’s taste. Vishneva’s Aurora was every bit as good as Cojocarus in many ways. She was a high voltage Aurora, a 1000 watt light bulb that lit up the stage but she was also a very athletic Aurora, and her huge personality dominated the evening. Cojocaru was a much gentler Aurora. Her endless line, beautiful flow and classical epaulment perfectly expressed the classical virtues that Aurora is supposed to embody. And I do feel that she developed the character, both in her acting and most especially, through her dancing. For me, hers was the ultimate interpretation but we all have different opinions and that’s what keeps things interesting!

I like this production in general, it has a very British sense of gentility but it really ambles along. Pastel colors and lovely backdrops made it the set look like a beautiful water color painting come to life. It looked like a peaceful, bucolic kingdom. But some of the costume choices were baffling. A group of girls in Act 1 were wearing green dresses that looked like they could have been modern day picnic dresses. And I have to say that I prefer the Kirov’s fairy variations and Puss-in-Boots (Sergeyev version, I haven’t seen the reconstruction). But, I love the vision scene, and the grand pas de deux, especially the coda.

Marquez was fine, she acted the part very well and the audience loved her but I didn’t really see Aurora’s character expressed through her DANCING. Also, she didn’t have that endless line and her phrasing was kind of sharp for my taste. I’m not talking about her musical phrasing, and maybe I’m using the wrong word here. I mean the way she actually executed the steps. She’d hit a pose on the beat and then go on to the next, she didn’t linger in her poses. Her leg seemed to move from the hip in her developees and go directly up to it’s final height, there was no resistance, no development. Bonelli looked very good and I much preferred David Makhateli as Florestan and Brian Maloney as the Bluebird to the 2 who danced on Thursday. Maloney especially had beautiful line.

Londoners may think that Ansanelli still looks like a Balanchine dancer, but I was amazed at how far she has come in terms of developing the use of her upper body. At the State Theater her shoulders always looked tight to me, and her upper body kind of stiff but not anymore! The carriage of her shoulders, neck and head were beautiful, and she gave us a lovely Crystal Fountain Fairy. I was also very impressed with Laura Morera’s Florine.

… But last night, we saw the best Aurora of all, but I will leave her for last.

…She has everything - beauty, presence, technique, artistry, gracefulness, and command of the stage. I could not take my eyes off of her the whole entire night. And when Johann Kobborg came on stage to join her - they make such a beautiful pair. And all of their dances together had that "meltingly lovely" quality. They had a beautiful Act II dance in the forest and their Act III Pas de Deux was spectacular, (especially the part where Johann dips her and she lets go and has her legs wrapped around him backwards).

Here is my only negative. I thought Johann Kobborg was great. (He is much better looking on stage than his mugshot of a picture in the Royal Ballet Souvenir Book). But, I was unimpressed with the rest of the male dancers. For example, Martin Harvey, who danced Florestan, and Yohei Sasaki, who danced the Bluebird are both adequate dancers. But, in NY, we are spoiled by Cornejo, Bocca (no more!) , Corella, Carreno, and Gomes. Kobborg has a lot of the qualities of our New York friends, but the rest of the male dancers were just OK.

Other than that, it was a beautiful evening. I came to see Alina and she was incredible. She was worth the drive. But please - can we ever get her back to NY?

Ceeszi – you hit it right on the head for me with those comments. Cojocaru was the ultimate Aurora for me, possessing all the qualities you described. I was a little surprised by the height of her extensions (I know that she can do them, but thought she’d be a little more circumspect) but her dancing embodied a joyful, gentle radiance. Early on she brought to mind the Homeric image of “rosey fingered dawn” gently bringing the morning light. She was lovely, and Kobborg was her perfect partner. The prince can be a really lackluster role – I remember a few of them looking pretty stupid – but Kobborg brought a kind of regal naturalness to the role, and his dancing was elegant and effortless.

Usually my favorite part of this ballet is the Rose Adagio. Hers was good, outstanding even, but not a Rose to make me forget all others. But she just kept getting stronger with each appearance – her 2nd act vision scene was one of the loveliest moments I have ever seen in many years of ballet going, and her final act was brilliant.

Like you I was totally unimpressed by the 2 male soloists who danced Florestan and the Bluebird – so much so that I wondered why they were cast.

Absolutely loved Sarah Lamb and am looking forward to her Aurora at tomorrow’s matinee.

I will reserve comment on the production itself till I’ve seen a couple more casts except to say how much I loved the mime, and Genesia Rosato’s Carabosse. I thought the mime was one of the best things about this production, it was clear and confidently presented.

For Ansanelli watchers – she is scheduled to dance the Fairy of the Crystal Fountain tonight (Friday), Saturday night and Sunday matinee in addition to dancing the Lilac Fairy at the Saturday matinee.

Susan

Congratulations to Erica! We'll miss her here, though...

I'll be up for meeting at any of the 3 shows this weekend. Is there a landmark we congregate at?

--Andre

On the "Royal Ballet - U.S. Tour?" thread people have posted about meeting during intermissions at the bust of JFK - which is right in front of the entrance to the Opera House. You can't miss it - see you there!

Susan

nysusan,

Yana Serebryakova is a blonde, and she did dance Sheherazade pas de deux w/ Zelensky at YAGP gala. But she wears a brunette wig for the Sheherazade piece.

Thanks pj. When I took a good look at her photo on the Mariinsky website I realized that it was the same face. It's confusing sometimes since dancers often wear wigs, or just look different with different hairdos and the Kirov so rarely announce casting changes.

I guess Zelensky must be very tall, cause she looked really petite with him, and really tall in the Forsythe!

I fell in love with Alina the first time I saw her in that ABT Bayadere with Angel. Since then I’ve seen her and Johann at 2 galas ( the Giselle & Don Q pdd’s at the Stars gala that Ceeszi mentions and the Black Swan pdd at another gala the year before), and in Scenes de Ballet, Cinderella and the Voices of Spring pas de deux with the Royal at the Lincoln Center Ashton celebration.

So I’m off on the Vamoose bus tomorrow morning to catch the Thursday night performance but I’m going to stay for the weekend, and my husband will join me for the Sunday matinee (he loves her, too!). I’m sure she will meet all of our expectations, especially after Natalia raved about her recent Aurora in St. Petersburg. Can’t wait!

Awesome. What amazing dancers Bocca and Ferri both are, it’s so hard to accept that their partnership is ending. This was the first time I’d seen Manon – though I’ve seen clips and several pas de deux. I hated it, as I thought I would but Ferri and Bocca poured their hearts & souls into it, it was such a privilege to witness their performance. I wish I could see them again on Thursday! Ferri has such an affinity for MacMillan, too. For me the 2 overwhelmingly moving scenes were the first love scene in Des Grieux’s apartment, and of course the final scene – it gave me goosebumps. At the end I was so drained I felt like I had been up there dancing myself

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

… Diana's amazing "full-body" dancing: which I feel has a lot to do with how she creates the character complexity--she dances it in rather than acting it

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!

I HATE the ABT production. I hate how Giselle just walks on and offstage in Act 2, with no descent into the ground. That is one of my favorite moments of the ballet, because to me its a sign that Giselle has fought and won against the Wilis. She descends into the grave, haiving saved Albrecht. She is at peace. With the ABT production, I'd like to ask Kevin McKenize: where does Giselle go? Ugh. I also dislike Act 1 intensely, with two huge brown mud slabs that frame and crowd the stage needlessly.

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!

-- but one of the three men was incredible! I have no idea who he is -- he has sort of shaggy dark hair and performed a solo about 2/3 of the way through -- but his landings were so quiet and his connection of each individual movement was amazing. I could watch him for hours.

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.

I HATE the ABT production. I hate how Giselle just walks on and offstage in Act 2, with no descent into the ground. That is one of my favorite moments of the ballet, because to me its a sign that Giselle has fought and won against the Wilis. She descends into the grave, haiving saved Albrecht. She is at peace. With the ABT production, I'd like to ask Kevin McKenize: where does Giselle go? Ugh. I also dislike Act 1 intensely, with two huge brown mud slabs that frame and crowd the stage needlessly.

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!

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...

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...

Now for a bit of "name that dancer": in the second-to-last piece (green leotards, black tights), there was a blond dancer who, relative to the others, was downright zaftig (meaning, of course, that she is likely a size 2 rather than a size 0) with fantastic presence. Who was she?

For that matter, who was the tall redhead?

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!

How strange. After a performance of Concerto Barocco last week, I was thinking of starting a thread about The Perfect Ballet.

For me, Concerto Barocco is just that. A healing ballet. ...

On a given night, without first class performances, it might not be my favorite ballet but it tends to be almost performance proof.

When it ends, I sigh deeply & just feel better about life.

.... And watching Concerto Barocco makes me feel like my soul has been purified. How perfect is that?

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.