nysusan

Could you describe what was changed in the passé/releve/entrechat series from the traditional version? The coda music is repeated twice. In the traditional versions, four swans (the big ones?) start a diagonal from upstage left in plie arabesque, while Odette does the passé/releve/entrechat series in the second repeat. In the Balanchine version, if I'm remembering this correctly, Odette does a jumping entrance from upstage left on the first repeat and the passé/releve/entrechat series in the second, and I don't remember anything different about this series. (But my memory could be very faulty.) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Your memory sounds anything but faulty! It may be just the change from the swans plie arabesque entrance at the beginning of the coda to Odette's jumping entrance that changed the mood too much for me, but I also felt as if Odette didn't repeat the passe/releve/entrechat series as often as usual, and it didn't have the intensity I'm used to. Could that be because it followed Odette's jumps instead of the plie arabesques and didn't provide the same degree of contrast? This is one of the images that I consider iconic and it just didn't have the same effect here for me. I'm going again on Friday and I'll pay special attention so I can try to be more specific about the changes.

I also love her website, and I love the open interview section. What a wonderful way to stay in touch with your fan base! I posted a question there a couple of weeks ago and she (or someone) posted a reply in that charming Dianglish within a day or 2. By the way, great name for her “dialect” canbelto. I don’t consider her to be a dancer that I can’t be objective about, but I do consider her to be one of the top dancers in the world today, and certainly a great ballerina by any standard. Even thought I love her dancing, IMO her physique is a little too neoclassical (those long arms and legs) and her style can come dangerously close to gymnastic at times - a little too modern for my taste in classical ballet. But still – she is a beautiful ballerina and a wonderful artist. I have seen her on tape – the same tape that Richard refers to and I also have a tape of her dancing the 3rd act pas de deux from La Bayadere at the St. Petersburg 300th Anniversary Celebration. I’ve seen her live several times now, all in the past year. I saw her dance Rubies twice (at the 21st century gala in NY and at the Kirov Spectacular in DC), Romeo & Juliet Pas at 21st Century, Ballet Imperial & Swan Lake with ABT (I missed DQ & Giselle) and Aurora with the Kirov in LA. Her Swan Lake was very dramatic and her Aurora was truly spectacular, technically perfect and so full of joi d’vivre I am DYING to see her Giselle, but I would also like to plan a trip to DC in June to see some of her Mariinsky colleagues in Giselle (they have a few other dancers who are also not too shabby) and the Royal Ballet in Sleeping Beauty. So I really wish she & ABT would get together and finalize the dates of her appearances. That would make it a little easier for me to plan my trip…

I decided to go on Friday night, and thought I’d share my newfound tips for surviving Peter Martin’s Swan Lake: 1) abandon all thought of Petipa or Ivanov, of deep layers of meaning, metaphor or philosophical underpinnings and just view it as an evening of pure dance pinned to a bare bones story 2) Sit high enough up so that most of the scenery & backdrop is obscured 3) Close your eyes when the overture starts to play and do not open them again until the start of Scene 2. I hope NYCB loyalists aren’t offended by my attitude here, but seriously folks - after seeing this for the first time in 2003 I never intended to sit through it again. However, I love Swan Lake and since we don’t have a good one here in NY anyway and NYCB has such interesting ballerinas assaying Odette/Odile this season I figured why not give it another try. I still find that first scene to be the most ugly, jarring, cringe inducing half hour imaginable. The only redeeming feature are the dances for the children. To answer Helene’s question about the first act pas de trois - yes, it is a version of the standard Petipa pas de trois, danced to the same music and retaining some of the classic steps, but danced very differently, as you can imagine. If you can get past that first scene, and just view this production as dance - there are some good things in it. Although very different in geometry & “tone” from traditional versions of Swan Lake some of the patterns for the corps in scene 2 (1st lakeside scene) are stunning. Some of the changes still make me crazy (like eliminating Odette’s petite battement or going right into that up tempo & cheery music at the end of the pas de deux - talk about destroying the mood! Also I didn’t like the way the series of passé/releve/entrechat were changed in the coda of Odette’s solo, and of course I miss the 2nd act mime). I don’t know the history of this production very well, but I remember hearing that most of the second scene was taken from Balanchine’s one act version, which I saw twice in the 70’s and remember liking. So it may be the Balanchine choreography I liked rather than Martins'. I also liked the 3rd act pas de quatre divertissement (Scheller, Peck Millipied were good, but IMO Bouder once again stole the show with her speed, clarity and even lyricism, for goodness sake!), and the Hungarian dance (danced brilliantly by Rutherfeld & Liang). I thought the Russian Dance was kind of bizarre (what’s Russian about that choreography?) but it was interesting, and I thought Borree and Evans looked good in it. I do miss the Mazurka ,though. Leaving aside questions about how you like the story to end (i.e. happy ending, double suicide etc.), at least this version has an Act 4, and even though I miss the “I will die” mime I really like the choreography for this ending with Odette disappearing behind waves of swans & Sigfried left alone & desolate. Very chilling. Whalen & Woetzel were the principals, which is the same cast I saw the first time out. If I were watching a traditional version I might take issue with their approach, but here the white act choreography for the corps strikes me as being crystalline & turbulent rather than poetic and melancholic and I thought their portrayals were a good fit. Whelan’s long, lean physique, her distinctive line and her unique plasticity lent itself to a very dramatic and very well conceptualized interpretation. Hers was not a particularly queenly Odette, nor was she a particularly helpless Odette. She stopped short of histrionics but was still a very dramatic Odette, vulnerable yet tightly wound and caught on an emotional roller coaster. She captured the tension of being torn in two directions (hope/doom) very well. At times she flung herself headlong into her prince’s arms like a missile - a projectile of desperation. She was actually a very reactive Odette, very much in tune with Woetzel’s Sigfried - no lack of chemistry there! Her Odile was dazzling, my only quibble was that she really showed no physical resemblance to her Odette, no vulnerability at all. Sigfried would have to have been a blind fool for confusing them but again, with less emphasis on the emotional clarity in the story line, who really cares? Also her fouettes traveled a bit and she didn’t do all 32. I find it hard to believe that she can’t knock out 32 fouettes, is this standard in the Martins/Balanchine version? A big complaint I sometimes have with a ballerina’s performance in SL is that even if they are up to the technical challenge often they are unable to convey Odette’s emotional state and it's changes through their dancing. No problem there for Whelan, she was spellbinding throughout. Woetzel’ personality might be a little too “gee whiz” for me in a traditional production but I just love his exuberance, the way he wears his heart on his sleeve and he and Whelan compliment each other beautifully. The bottom line for me is that there is some gorgeous choreography & wonderful dancing scattered among the ruins here, so even though it barely scratches the surface of Swan Lake for me, I find parts of it interesting enough that I’m going to try to sit through it at least twice more to catch some of the debuts. I’m curious to see if familiarity will make the lack of some of the traditional steps less jarring, or if repetition will make it unbearable...We’ll see how I feel at the end of the run!

ABT's website shows Acosta listed for Corsair (5/25) and Apollo (5/27 and 5/31,both evenings). Diana Vishneva's website says that she is tentatively scheduled to appear in Apollo on 5/27 & 31(in addition to the performances she is already listed for on the ABT schedule)

I really enjoyed most of the Jan 3 performance. I also didn't think Concerto Barocco was all it could be - I remember it taking my breath away the first time I saw it but it hasn't had the same impact the last couple of times. I found myself thinking that Borree seemed technically secure but not very musical or sculptural in her approach. Balanchine is such a musical choreographer and Bach's composition has such heavenly counterpart that I find the lack of musicality and balance in the lead dancers detracts from the whole. I'll also admit to being skeptical when I saw Rutherford cast in this (even though I praised her in another forum!) but I thought she acquitted herself very well. I especially like her upper body phrasing. I am fantasizing about a Whelan/Reichlin/Evans cast later in the season - do you think there is any hope of that? Sometimes a gut reaction can be very enlightening - 5 minutes into Fearful Symmetries I realized that it was much more riveting for me than Concerto Barocco had been. Certainly not because of the choreography but because despite the breakneck speed every one of the dancers was 100% engaged and brought their own unique interpretations to their roles - no bland homogeneity here, no marking, they all danced full out. Symphony in C was gorgeous - everyone was great but esp Ringer & Whalen. Is there anything more exhilarating than that last movement?

Dachnitsa, it’s too bad Matvienko was so disappointing. I saw 2 casts in Spartacus when the Bolshoi were in NY last summer, and I was also more impressed with the women than the men - especially Antonicheva’s Phrygia and Shipulina’s Aegina. There was something about Shipulina that made me think of Gracheva, I think it was those creamy, voluptuous developees. Anyway, it made me long to see Gracheva’s Aegina. Maybe someday I will get the chance.

In Marcelo's absence I will nominate David Hallberg at ABT. Also Stella Abrera, who seemed to be cast in everything at City Center. At NYCB - Rachel Rutherford really seemed to grow into her roles last year, but Tess Reichlin still gets my vote. Among the men all eyes were on Jock Soto and Peter Boal last season, and deservedly so. They will be missed. But thank goodness we still have Damian Woetzel, Albert Evans and Philip Neal.

Highs: #1 by a mile – Hallberg & Abrerra in Faun. I’ve never particularly liked this ballet but they really showed me how spellbinding it can be. Other highs - Lopatkina & Vishneva started the year off on a high note in the Kirov Spectacular in DC in January. I loved Lopatkina in La Valse, she managed to combine sophistication and innocence. Who says the girl has to be a wide eyed ingénue? ABT’s production of Sylvia at the Met and their entire City Center season, especially Hallberg as Death in Green Table & Part in Les Sylphides. Lots of opportunities for talented soloists & corps members – E. Cornejo, C. Corella, Jared Matthews, Kristi Boone, Stappas, Salstein, Abrera, Ricetto, the list goes on and on. Kaleidoscope – not great, but not bad. An interesting, new classical/neoclassical ballet. Tess Reichlin in 4Ts and Rubies, Whelan with Boal in Apollo. Tchai Suite # 3 was spectacular every time I saw it. After the Rain was deeply moving and eerily beautiful Cojacaru & Kobborg in the Giselle Pas de Deux and Lacarra and Pierre in La Prisonnierre Pas de Deux at the Stars gala Lunkina in the underwater scene in Pharaoh’s Daughter, she was the definition of ethereal. The Bright Stream was the big question mark in the Bolshoi’s NY season, and it was a sleeper hit. Especially with Marie Alexandrova & Tsiskaridze in the leads. It was great to see the Met sold out night after night, with long lines for standing room & cancellations Vishneva, Lopatkina & Co in Sleeping Beauty. I seem to be in the minority but I really enjoyed the Sergeyev staging. Of course, I’m not really familiar with any other stagings except the Martins version… Rasta Thomas with Lar Lubavitch’s company. Everything else about the evening was totally forgettable but he burst out on the stage like a shooting star. First time I’d seen him but I will seek him out in the future… Lows: Somova & Sarafanov in The Kirov Spectacular in DC in January. Spectacularly awful. An American in Paris. Danny Tidwell leaving ABT, Ansanelli leaving NYCB, Boal & Soto’s retirements

I think Mr. Witchel and Mr. Johnson have both summed it up nicely for us! Susan

Hmm.. I agree with canbelto’s definition of cold - a lack of emotional empathy or perhaps the inability to project emotional empathy. Detachment is a quality I associate with cold dancers, and in those terms I don’t think of some of the dancers mentioned here as cold. I’ve seen great, impassioned performances from Kowroski, Gregory & Pavlenko. All 3 of them are dancers that I think tend to forge a real connection with their roles & the audience and I really don't think of them as cold. If you take Cygnet’s definition of cold as technical brilliance than Gregory certainly fits the bill. My shortlist of cold dancers that I like are Zakharova, Michelle Wiles and Gillian Murphy. Going down memory lane - Eric Bruhn and Peter Martins. I loved Bruhn but I'm not sure Martins fits the bill here since I never really liked him as a dancer. But he was the textbook definition of deep freeze cold!

Giselle05 - Nina would also be a great choice but she is on maternity leave and won't be appearing with ABT this year. GeorgeB Fan - you have hit the nail exactly on the head in your description of the ABT staging’s shortcomings. Even though it’s basically a good version you really don’t get the emotional catharsis that you do with a great version, so it’s kind of like kissing your sister...I suspect that in addition to the reasons you cited for ABT’s tendency to “streamline” Petipa, financial considerations may also be at play. Whatever the reasons, I hate that attitude. It’s really disrespectful of both the audience’s intelligence & Petipa’s genius. Leigh’s point that the SL you prefer depends on which company you prefer is a good one, but I still feel that regardless of which style you favor - Swan Lake is a classical ballet with Petipa/Ivanov at it’s core - not a Balanchine (or in this case a Martins) ballet. Balanchine understood that and avoided the issue completely since the version he created is just the lakeside “white” act, which can be presented as wholly abstract rather than narrative. By extracting that one act he differentiated it from the full “story” version and gave us something beautiful with a different focus & intent than the full length ballet. Martin’s version is just wrongheaded. Even though I don’t think ABT’s is a great staging, at least it doesn’t distort it to the degree where you lose all the romantic/period/character overtones like NYCB’s does. IMO Swan Lake is not, and should not be a 21st century ballet. You want post modern? Then create something new, or extract just the portion that speaks to you and refine it the way Balanchine did. Otherwise, don’t meddle with a masterpiece!

Balanchine's Act 2 distilation is interesting, unfortunately that's not what NYCB is presenting this season - they're doing Martins' restaging of the full length ballet. Let me add my voice to those advising caution if you decide to go to NYCB's Swan Lake. Calling it an abomination is being kind. Picture this - streamline the choreography, keeping just the iconic moments, strip all reference to period or culture from the costumes & scenery - and there you have NYCB's SL. I saw it once with Whalen & Woetzel. The dancers were great, I especially loved Whalen but hated the production so much it was really hard to sit through it. I plan to go once this season because I really want to see Kowroski, but I know I will leave the theater muttering like a madwoman. If you are only going to see one Swan Lake this season go to ABT & try to see Part or Vishneva. Their Swan Lake is not 100% traditional either, as everyone here has pointed out, but it is MUCH better than NYCB's. Depending on where you live, you might skip both NYCB & ABT's Swan Lake and go see the Perm Ballet's Swan Lake. It's a new production, staged by Makarova and billed as "a spectacular,traditional production". It will be at the NJPAC on March 17th, and somewhere in Princeton around the same time. Unfortunately I will be traveling on business that week, but if I was home in NY I would definitely go out of my way to see it - we're really starved for a good Swan Lake here!

I saw them, and I thought they looked perfect together. I'm not usually a huge fan of Kent's but she's winning me over a bit this season. I really liked her in Dark Elegies and then when I saw her and Hallberg together in Kaleidoscope it really struck me how much their looks & styles complimented one another. Their styles are both very elegant, their line worked together nicely and they had some great chemistry going between them, they seemed to really enjoy dancing together. When I first saw K. with Part dancing the second movement I loved her, but thought she might be over dramatizing. Not so, Kent was even more of a drama queen at the start of the movement so I guess it must have been the choreographer's intention, and it does make for a stark contrast between the 2 ballerinas. Kent really emphasized the playfulness in the role, and she & Hallberg had a very light feeling to their dancing (and I don't mean that in a bad way!). Unfortunately I missed Z-J Fang when she danced the 2nd movement ballerina role in Kaleidoscope, to my great regret. And on another thread someone mentioned that Sarah Lane danced a principal role in In the Upper Room - geez, I'm sorry I missed that - can anyone tell me which role she danced? Was it the Hererra/Dvorovenko role?

That's what I was hoping! Susan

Yes, I saw it over the weekend and it was wonderful. And the theater was packed! I only live a few blocks away and I planned to come at the last minute figuring that there would be plenty of seats available. Wrong! I got there half an hour before the start of the 1:30 show on Sunday and there were only about 60 seats left. By the time the movie started there was nothing left except the first couple of rows. It's very gratifying to see so much interest in this film.

The first is the Guadalquivir, second is the Congo and the third is the Neva Susan

Tsiskaridze partnered Zakharova. Lunkina danced with Vladamir Neporozhny and Alexandrova was partnered by Dmitry Gudanov.

Thanks for the info. Whew, I was panicked there for a moment! Now I can turn my attention to the happy prospect of a Hallberg/Part Apollo.

I just got home after this evening’s performance & couldn’t agree more with Michael’s impression. Hallberg & Abrera were stunning. The sexual tension bubbling beneath their calm exteriors was unmistakable. I agree there was a great immediacy to their performance, but I also felt a very strong existential dimension in their inability to connect. There was a beautiful moment when he almost broke through to her, an instant when she almost seemed ready to entertain the possibility of another reality and then the moment passed. I was never more aware of the connection to Nijinsky’s faun - the raw, primitive energy I imagine must have been present in that original faun was very much present onstage tonight - barely contained behind a very civilized 21st century exterior. This amazing performance was preceded by Les Sylphides. I know that Veronika Part was not the only dancer onstage, but she was the only one I could see. Her prelude was magical, a true invocation. This may be the the 7th or 8th time I’ve seen this production, and though I’ve seen some pretty good performances I think she and Erica Cornejo are the only ones who really capture the magic of this ballet. Corella and Herrera brought the house down in Corsaire immediately after Faun, and the evening closed with In the Upper Room. Tonight I saw the second cast, and they were phenomenal. Sometimes with ABT I tend to focus on the stars, it’s easy to do and they encourage it. A night like tonight makes me realize just how deep the talent level is in the ranks. Michele Wiles ,Kristi Boone, Sascha Radetsky, Blaine Hoven, Patrick Ogle, Misty Copeland, Yuriko Kajiya, Aaron Scott, Luciana Paris, Carlos Lopez, Irina Dvorovenko and Gennadi Saveliev were all fabulous, but the real surprise of the evening for me was Marian Butler as the ‘4th” girl in points. I know what she looks like & I was sitting pretty close, but I had to whip out my opera glasses a couple of times to figure out who she was. Her dancing was beautifully phrased & incredibly musical. I’ve seen her in a few demi soloist roles & she’s always solid, but tonight she was gorgeous. It was a very good night at City Center.

I haven't gotten my brochure yet but - no Ferri?

That's funny, after the Bolshoi's visit to NY I was thinking that I'd love to see him as Crassus (with Marcelo Gomes as Spartacus for some dream casting) Meanwhile I'm looking forward to seeing him in the Four Kings program in NY in February. The website doesn't say who will dance in Jeune Homme, but I think he'd be very interesting in it. Does anyone know if he has performed this role previously?

I was so happy to hear her good news, best wishes to Nina!

It will actually premiere 2/16 -19 in Orange County, CA before it plays in New York. Here's the link: http://www.ocpac.org/onstage/Event.asp?Eve...entCategoryID=2 The City Center site indicates that Vishneva will join them for Jeune Homme, although I'd seen Lucia Lacarra listed elsewhere. I don't know which info is more current, I think either one of them would be wonderful. Unfortunately tickets in NY are very pricey, which may hold attendance down...

The Kirov's disdain for providing correct casting information is exasperating and inexplicable. At the second performance in L.A. an announcement before the curtain informed us that " Maxim Russinsky & Igor Meskevitch will dance the roles of the bridegrooms in this evening's performance" (paraphrasing & inserting fake Russian names here). Never mind that Aurora has 4 cavaliers in the Sleeping Beauty, but why the choice to announce such a minor casting change and not address major changes to the casting in the program by informing us that Vostrotina was replacing Nioradze as the Lilac Fairy? And there was no announcement at all on opening night when Bolshakova replaced Pavlenko as Florina. Of course, I'm not even 100% sure that I saw Vostrotina or Bolshakova - I'm relying on Marc Haegemen's post here that it was Vostratina on 10/6 and on a member of the Kirov's entourage that it was Bolshakova as Florina on opening night. The casting in L.A. also listed Obratsova as Little Red Riding Hood for all 5 performances. I've never seen her, but I've seen photos of her Juliet & now that I think of it - it didn't look like her. The dancer was small & blondish with a very sweet face and since I'd never seen Obtratsova I never questioned it! I didn't love Bolshakova's Florina when I first saw it, but there were things I liked about it and I keep getting a really vivid positive image of her when I think back on the L.A. performances. I was expecting Pavlenko so it's possible that I was just too taken aback when I realized that it wasn't her to really focus 100% on Bolshakova, but I definitely did feel that her extensions were too extreme. I hope to see more of her in the future, I think she has great potential and it will be interesting to see how she develops. I was also glad to hear all the positive reports on Somova. It's important to keep an open mind! I also didn't realize that the Kirov doesn't perform Sleeping Beauty regularly anymore. I really do feel privileged to have seen it, I just wish I could have seen all the casts and every one of Lopatkina's Lilac Faries. I can nitpick all day, but I love the Kirov and the performances were wonderful. I just hope they do a season in NY soon. I would so love to see their Bayadere & Raymonda...

Hi Ostrich, I'd never seen Tsiskaridze before the Met engagement, and neither Pharaoh's Daughter nor Bright Stream really provided a good basis to judge his technical abilities, esp with regard to grand leaps. He was impressive in his stage presence & the expansive nature of his dancing, but I would love to have seen him in DonQ or in Spartacus. Perhaps the fact that he wasn't cast in either of those productions indicates that he's not 100% recovered, or perhaps they're just not in his repertoire. I don't know. In any case he was my favorite among the men the Bolshoi brought to NY and I look forward to seeing him in the Ardani "Kings of Dance" program in February. And I agree, I loved the underwater scene in Pharaohs daughter - all 3 "lake" variations were wonderful & Lunkina was luminous in it. I really enjoyed the whole ballet on it's own terms. Not a classic for the ages but a wonderful spectacle & an enjoyable evening's entertainment. Susan