nysusan

I saw Cavello in Etudes at the Kennedy Center a few weeks ago. She was fine, but I thought her upper body was quite stiff and she looked like she was concentrating REALLY HARD to get through all the tough parts . But get through them she did. Should be an interesting SL, I look forward to reading about it.

There is about 15 minutes of footage from Marguerite & Armand on "Fonteyn & Nureyev: The Perfect Partnership". I watched it again a few nights ago, it is so beautiful. I believe it is still available through Amazon. It also includes footage of them in Les Sylphides, Romeo & Juliet and Le Corsaire Pas de deux

I went to the Sat eve & Sun matinee performances. This was the first time I’d seen the RDB, and I really enjoyed them. I grew up on Erik Bruhn’s staging of La Sylphide for ABT, which supposedly was based on Bournonville’s choreography. It’s been many years since I’ve seen it, yet I feel sure that I’ve never seen it danced this way before. I loved those beautiful arms, so soft and low, as well as the buoyancy & lightness of their lateral movement. There were many other lovely stylistic details that really added to the atmosphere and the look of this production. I regret not being able to see the first cast, but I really enjoyed both of the casts that I saw. Mads Blangstrup was my James in both performances, and I liked his dancing and his characterization. A little of the arrogant lord of the manor, but just a touch. Still likeable, actuallly he was quite impetuous & romantic. I preferred Amy Watson’s Effy to Maria Bernholdt’s. Both danced beautifully but Bernholdt was too coquettish for me - her personality was almost too similar to the Sylph’s. Watson was a lovely Effy but definitely more earthbound. I liked both Madges, but preferred Mette Bodtcher. I never cared for ABT’s practice of casting men as Madge - I always found it too campy. I thought Bodtcher’s performance was very naturalistic, and just chilling. I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite between Bojesen and Schandorff as the Sylphide. Both were beautiful and ethereal, and both portrayed her as a playful, innocent creature - which is the only way I can imagine the role. To my mind, though, I found Schandorff’s Sylph somewhat flirtatious with perhaps even a hint of seduction. As if her innocence was more a lack of understanding of the human world, not a child vs. woman type of innocence. Even if she couldn’t understand the gulf between her world and James’s, she did seem aware that the gulf existed. I definitely felt an undercurrent of mischievousness to her character. Not scheming or manipulation, but somehow an awareness, a sense of knowing. Maybe a sylph who was both innocent and yet slightly sophisticated at the same time? It really doesn’t make sense, but that’s the best I can do at explaining my take on Schandorff’s sylph! Bojesen’s Sylphide seemed much more innocent and childlike, which is the approach I tend to prefer. Both of them danced the role beautifully, I marveled at the lightness of their dancing. Bojesen’s Sylph seemed particularly windswept, yet when I look back it’s Shandorff that I remember. Her slow turns in arabesque, her amazingly pliant feet. That’s a detail that I really noticed in her performance. A lot of the sylph’s footwork was not on point, and she still looked like she was gently flying or hovering above the ground. Her feet were just so soft, the way she worked through that footwork it looked like she didn’t have a bone in them. I really liked the production as a whole, the decor, scenery, all the little details. If I have any complaint at all, I think it was a little bit static. I couldn’t put my finger on anything in particular, but looking back I agree with Ari’s comment about James lacking a sense of joy or awe at the sylph’s world. I remember being very moved, and much more struck by the tragedy in past performances (Baryshnikov/Kirkland comes to mind), but then that was a very long time ago.... I like Etudes, and it was good seeing it again but coming after La Sylphide the difference in style was very jarring. Napoli (act 3) was like a burst of sunshine, I’ll have to add missing the full length production to my list of regrets... hopefully the RDB will return soon, and maybe even add a stop in Manhattan to their tour plans.

Alexandra, I know! The Lund/Jeppeson/Bojesen cast is the one I originally wanted to see. I did say I might go if there were different casts, and I may. I would LOVE nothing more than to go to all three performances (and squeeze in your Bournonville seminar between Saturday's matinee & evening performances). I plan on trying to talk my husband into it but I'm going to let him make the call. I think that's going to be a little too much ballet for him so I will probably opt to do something of his choosing on Saturday afternoon.

Ouch I hope he doesn't read this thread! :mondieu: Hockeyfan, it's kind of funny cause his screen name is very similar to yours - are you guys ganging up to try to trick me into chasing a fantasy over my nice, happy bourgeois existance? But seriously, everyone I know thinks I'm insane for going to see 4 performances in a row of the same ballet, which I often do. I think most of the posters here share my enthusiasm, but I realize that most of the ballet going world is more in tune with my husband's point of view. And he's such good company that I will have to make do with just 2 performances of La Sylphide if he prefers to spend Saturday afternoon at the Smithsonian. Hopefully the RDB will come to NY soon and then I will go to as many performances as I can! :jump:

Alexandra, thanks so much for the casting info. I would LOVE to see Lis Jeppesen as Madge, but I think 3 performances of La Sylphide over 2 days may be pushing it for my husband. He's a fan, but a bit less obsessive than me...one performance would be more his style. I'll have to see how it goes!

Any idea who is dancing the Sylph at the Sat & Sunday matinees? I have tickets for Saturday night and Sunday matinee. I might have to add the Sat matinee if reduced price tickets are available & if I will get to see 3 different casts...

On tape - Plisetskaya and Ninella Kurgapkina, the excerpts I've seen of them are amazing! Live, my favorite so far is Irina Dvorovenko. Guess I just like those russians!

I really loved this production of Swan Lake. This was the first live production I've seen that included a jester. On tape I found him distracting (specifically in the Plisetskaya tape - is this the Grigorovich version?). Here, I thought he was entertaining and he helped move the plot along. I suppose it helped that Ivanov’s dancing was so spectacular. I also thought I would hate the happy ending, and I didn't. I agree that the music calls for a tragic ending, and dramatically it would make more sense. However, IMO, this "happy ending" was more dramatic and more tragic than most of the "double suicide, happy apotheosis" ending's I've seen in the past 10 or 15 years. I also prefer it to the Nureyev ending. Why? Because the choreography for the corps fit the music instead of fighting it, Odette had enough time & the proper choreography to express her sorrow and resignation, and then forgive Siegfried, only to be battered and pretty much defeated by Von Rothbart. It’s only at the very last moment that Siegfried saves the day. Even then, Odette looked stunned & drained as the curtain came down, almost as if she couldn’t really believe that the spell had been broken. I thought Gumerova & Solugob each had their strengths & weaknesses. Solugob had a beautiful sculptural quality to her dancing and Gumerova was very dramatic in act 4. Both were better than most ballerinas I’ve seen recently in the role, but neither was totally satisfying. Pavlenko was a different story - I absolutely LOVED her interpretation, from beginning to end. So much depends on your taste, and she is exactly the type of Odette that I like - her dancing is very expressive, her physique is small & delicate with a well proportioned body, an unbelievably pliant back & soft arms. I saw her twice. I loved her on Friday night but I thought her performance at Sunday’s matinee was even better. Her dancing in the second act was seamless. Of course her footwork was wonderful but it was the way she used her torso, arms, shoulders,neck and head that really created the effect of one continuous flowing motion, a deep, long, desperate sigh. I have never seen a more fully realized expression of sorrow & despair in the second act adagio. I can't believe the Washington Times reviewer found her "cool & remote" - those are the last words I'd use to describe her! I thought her transformation as Odile was remarkable - her posture and facial expressions changed completely! I also had a different take on Sarafanov from most of the other posters. I loved his "boy prince" portrayal and I thought he displayed a real commitment to the character. All three of the leading men were wonderful, but Sarafanov was the only one who I felt behaved like a Prince in terms of his deportment and interactions with his friends and courtiers. All in all it was a great weekend for me, and I'm really glad I decided to make the trip!

My fondest memories are of Amanda McKerrow’s exquisite “Leaves are Fading” pas de deux with John Gardner at the Met, and her impassioned Hagar. Ferri & Bocca in Romeo & Juliet- they were truly heartbreaking. Dvorovenko’s Kitri - the perfect role for her. Also Beloserkovsky in Symphonic Variations. I thought he caught just the right tone of elegance, joyfulness and golden serenity for this work. I know this is a ballet site but I have to include Ailey’s “Revelations”. I see it every few years and last year it seemed very low energy to me,I thought it had lost a lot of it’s impact. This year it was back to it’s usual glory. I also loved Fang Yi Sheu in Graham’s “Chronicle”. I thought the company as a whole looked rather weak (understandable considering what they’ve been through recently) but she was as powerful & moving as any Graham heroine I can remember...

I have to second Carbro’s nomination of Marcelo Gomes - he seemed to partner almost all of ABT’s ballerina’s this past year and he made all of them better with his solid presence (especially Herrera). My list would also include Amanka McKerrow for hanging in there! She dances so rarely these days, I remember an exquisite “Leaves are Fading” pas de deux with John Gardner at the Met, and her Hagar was wonderful. I only saw one performance of NYCB this year (ok, in the last 10 years!!), but what I saw was Swan Lake with Whelan and Woetzel. Didn’t care for the production, but I thought Whelan’s performance was beautiful.

Thanks so much for the feedback. It’s dissapointing to hear that Part didn’t do well as Sugar Plum. She was barely cast at all in ABT’s City Center season and I’ve been hoping that this would be the start of some bigger roles for her. It is nice to hear that Milewski is coming along well. I’ve never seen ABT’s Nutcracker, but she rarely gets featured roles in NY so I assumed that this was her first Clara.

My Christmas present to myself was a weekend trip to DC and 4 performances of Swan Lake (I’m so sick of McKenzie’s version, such a shame that there’s no decent version in NY anymore). The first perfomance I’m going to is Friday night and I have an extra ticket - First tier, row D in the 200’s, $80. I figured I’d try to sell it before the performance but if any Ballet Alertnicks are interested, let me know by tomorrow night - I’m catching the bus Friday morning & won’t have access to email while I’m away. Susan

Ok, I can't be the only one who noticed that Jennifer Dunning included Monique in her list of the best Dances and Dancers of the year...

ABT's website listed Veronika Part and Marcello Gomes in the Sugar Plum pas de deux on Sunday evening. There were also a lot of new Claras listed - Erica Cornejo, Renata Pavam, Maria Riccetto and Anne Milewski. Did anyone see any of them? Any info would be appreciated!

Fortunately I only had to walk around the corner to see this performance - I caught them on Saturday night. I’ve been on a crazy business/holiday travel schedule since & many details have slipped away but I want to add a few of my observations to the very detailed description Miss has provided. When the curtain went up on "Continuo", the sight of those young dancers nearly took my breath away. They were so beautiful, so pure, so totally without artifice or pretension. I literally felt a lump in my throat. In addition to Caitlin Seither, Melanie Hamrick was also a standout in this piece ( my husband and I were playing “pick your favorite dancer” - Caitlin was mine, he chose Melanie). Her line was lovely, and she showed quite a lot of versatility, shifting gears from a lyrical vision in the Tudor to a broom in the very modern "The Sorcerer’s Apprentice". I loved the Forsythe. This was only the second time I’ve seen his work and this was very much lighter and wittier than "workwithinwork", which I saw ABT do at their City Center season. The 2 blond women in “Vertiginous” knocked me out. I think their names are Lara Bossen and Jacquelyn Reyes. The smaller one did some amazing multiple pirouettes that I couldn’t possibly describe, and the taller one had the most beautiful arms I’ve seen in a long time. Her dancing had wonderful amplitude and her personality absolutely radiated out from the stage. Everyone always talks about ABT’s male dancers. The men in this young company were very good, but as you can tell it was the ladies who really impressed me! :dizzy: I’m looking forward to seeing them at the Joyce in the spring.

I was just typing this up when I saw Petite Arabesque’s post in the “Met Season” thread. Finally, the season brochure! :yes: Here are some casting highlights. First the bad news - no sign of Meunier or Part. Of course, there are numerous TBA's and the casting only includes the 2-3 top principal roles. :shrug: Now the good news - Wiles & Hallberg not only get a Raymonda (6/5 mat), they also get a Swan Lake - the June 16th matinee :bouncing: Judging by their City Center debuts in Raymonda & T&V, IMO they are a little raw for Swan Lake but - still well worth taking a day off work to see their first attempt!!! Also for Wiles/Hallberg watchers: Wiles is cast as Gamzetti In Bayadere on 5/17 Wiles /Hallberg in Tchaikovsky PDD on 5/29 mat Wiles /Hallberg in Theme & Variations 5/29 eve Murphy/Hallberg in Theme & Variations 5/26 eve Here is some additional casting: Romeo & Juliet: McKerrow/ Stiefel 6/30 eve :party: Ferri/Corella 6/28,Ferri/Carreno 6/29 :party: :party: Dvorovenko/Beloserkovsky 6/22, Reyes/Cornejo 6/23 mat & 6/25, Murphy/Gomes 6/23 & 6/26 Raymonda: Ananiashvili/Carreno/Saveliev 5/22 &6/3, Dvorovenko/Beloserkovsky/Molina 6/1 Murphy/Corella/Radetsky 6/4 & 6/2 mat Reyes/Stiefel/Cornejo 5/22 mat Herrera/Gomes/Bocca 6/2 & 6/5 No casting has been announced yet for Repertory Program 1 - Pillar & Harrison tribute or for Motzartiana in the Balanchine tribute program (Rep Program 2) Murphy/Molina are doing 3 performances of Ballet Imperial, , Ananiashvili/Carreno and Herrera/Saveliev et 2 erformances each. Nice that their mixing up the pairings.

I am pinning my hopes on Murphy. I had very mixed feelings about her when I first saw her during the 2002 Met season (all technique, no artistry) but she seems to improve each time I see her - literally. I thought McKerrow’s Hagar was the best by far, but Murphy’s was also quite moving, and a giant step in her development as a dramatic ballerina. Isn’t she only around 21-22? When I think back to the truly great ballerina’s I’ve seen like Fonteyn & Makarova I realize that neither of them were ingenues when I first saw them perform. Each had years to hone their craft and develop their unique stage personas. I’m not saying that Murphy will ever be in their league, but her stage presence and understanding of a role seems to grow so enormously with each performance that with coaching, the right partners and the right roles made on her I think she’s our best hope. I also think that Dvorovenko is the most complete ballerina of the current crop (not counting Nina & Ferri). I know that she has her problems, and I’m sure that there will be people reading this who disagree vehemently, but to me, despite her shortcomings, she is the only one of the current crop of female principals with any mystery, any perfume. IMO, Dvorovenko’s biggest problem is that she has too much perfume, but I’d rather too much than too little. I agree completely with Aloff and with Dale’s assessment of the current situation with the ABT women. And I love Dale’s quote from Farrell - I think she puts it perfectly. Wiles is certainly promising and Fang was beautiful in Symphonic Variations, but I think it’s way too soon to tell whether either of them will fulfill their promise. Not being familiar with Meunier and Part before they joined ABT I ‘m not prepared to anoint them as the next ones - I’ve been very impressed with what little I’ve seen from them but they haven’t been given nearly enough to do at ABT. Unfortunately it seems clear that management isn’t ready to give them the opportunities they need at this time...

I was very happy with this season, both in terms of repertory and performances. After “growing up” watching ABT through about 1976 or 77 I then took a long hiatus from the world of ballet. It’s only in the past 2 or 3 years that I started going to the ballet regularly again. I went to quite a few performances at the Met last summer and I decided to take advantage of the (relatively) inexpensive seats at City Center this season to really try to get to know the company again. I don’t have a sense of continuity in terms of how this season differs from past City Center seasons, or how some of the dancers have developed over the years, but I'm pretty happy with what I see now. I saw 3 performances of each of the 4 programs. My favorites pieces were Pillar, Symphonic Variations (despite what in my view was weak casting), Diversion of Angels, workwithinwork and Fancy Free. I liked the Kylians, but I didn’t love them, and I liked them less each time I saw them. In contrast, I started off thinking the Duato piece was forgettable, but liked it more each time I saw it. It’s not a masterpiece, but it was very evocative. For me the best part of the season was the way ABT gave so many of the soloists and corps members a chance to grow. Many people on this board have bemoaned the fact that Part & Meunier were so underused, myself included. I think some kind of internal politics must be at work there, otherwise it’s incomprehensible. Still, this season I was impressed by Sandra Brown and Kristi Boone. What a pleasure to see Kristi in Petite Mort and again with Misty Copeland in the Forsythe work. Six members of the corps got a major chance to take the spotlight in the 2 casts of Three Virgins. I thought Erica Cornejo was adorable in Sechs Tanze, like a little rag doll! Xiomara Reyes was also given a great range of roles this season. There has been much written here about her little sister and GPDD but she was also cast against her usual type in Without Words and workwithinwork. I really enjoyed her performances in those 2 works (and I don’t think she cracked a smile once in either one of them!). The only real disappointments for me were Dorian, Theme & Variations and Raymonda. Dorian was dull & plodding. The first time I saw it Gomes & Hallberg were enough to hold my attention, they are both such beautiful dancers, and were perfectly cast (despite Hallbergs wig or dyed hair). Despite their wonderful dancing the second time I saw Dorian I had to force myself to keep my eyes open starting around midway through. I had tickets to see it a third time but just couldn’t stand the thought of sitting thru it again. I thought Raymonda was very thin, and didn’t think any of the ballerinas really captured the essence of the role. I thought Wiles was promising, but she needs more experience. Dvorovenko was my favorite, but I will concede that she overplayed it. Theme never looked quite right to me. Maybe it was crowded on the stage or maybe it was the lack of speed or attack in most performances. I can’t really put my finger on the problem but it just seemed to be missing something. I hope they keep this in the repertory and keep working on it.

Time to reflect on the Forsythe work. I liked this piece the first time I saw it, and kept liking it more with subsequent viewings. I liked Forsythe’s sense of musicality, the edgy way the movement burst forth from the music. Sometimes the dancers seemed like electrons circling a nucleus, sometimes like meteors whirling thru space, sometimes like the energizer bunny when it’s battery has run down. The feeling I got from this piece was dynamic, kinetic. It was so vibrant and filled with bursts of energy. It brought me back to physics class and made me think of potential energy in a ballerina’s slowly unfolding developee that suddenly springs out to it’s final position, and of kinetic energy in Stiefel’s manic solos. It was filled with abrupt beginnings & endings, and constant changes in speed & direction. Sometimes the dancers movements seemed to be aimless & random, sometimes they developed into patterns, sometimes they wound down and sometimes they ended abruptly. These abrupt stops and starts, the redirections and emergence of patterns (or not) and the dead ends gave the piece a very metaphysical feel to me, like form emerging from chaos. I thought the ABT dancers all took to the choreography wonderfully (though I’m not familiar with Forsythe, so I don’t know if it looks different on his own company). I especially liked Stiefel & Herrera. Herrera seemed more free and relaxed than she ever looks to me in the classical repertory. It’s like she was able to really come into her own once the weight of having to be a “classical ballerina” was lifted from her shoulders. At the very least, this piece captured my attention, drew me into it and made me think about it. A very welcome addition to the repertory.

Interesting. I saw 2 other casts this season, Corella, Radetsky, Carreno and Salstein, Steifel, Carreno (Salstein was a last minute sub for Corella). The second sailor danced the pas de deux in both of those performances and it fit so well with his "dreamy" personality that I assumed that was the intent of the choreographer. Well, you know what happens when you assume!

I saw Pillar many times in the 70’s - all with Sallie Wilson as Hagar. Without even thinking about it I have always assumed that Hagar was homely. That’s why I wondered whether I would like Murphy,Kent or McKerrow in the role. After seeing them I have to agree that Hagar’s looks aren’t important, what matters is that she is portrayed as an outsider, a misfit, and that the dancer be able to express & project her inner emotions through Tudor’s choreography.

I thought Theme & Variations was very sluggish at yesterday’s matinee. Not just Tuttle, the whole cast seemed to lack energy. Although I have to admit that I was watching Tuttle intently and expecting her to crash and burn at any second. :sweating: Leigh - you make an interesting point about the effect of a long hiatus on Tuttle’s technique - perhaps they should have thought about that before casting her in T&V. I also thought that Flames of Paris was very forgettable. Leigh, in answer to your question about Three Virgins & a Devil - I didn't see it until the 70’s (with Nahat & Wilson). I remember it being pretty much the same as this version, only funnier. There is one thing I’m curious about in Fancy Free. I’m sure I remember the dreamy sailor (the one who does the soft shoe & the second variation) dancing the pas de deux and yesterday Gomes danced it even though he was doing the rhumba sailor. Is it customary to “blend” the roles like that? And yes, Herrerra’s pocketbook girl was very sweet. I’ve seen 3 casts of Fancy Free this season & I liked her the best, although I also liked Sandra Brown. Abrera was the first one I saw this season and with her that scene really took on a rough edge.

Carbro, I',m so sorry, but IMO - Yes!!! My opinion could have been colored somewhat by a change in seating area. Wed night I was very close up, with every detail popping out at me (except that I didn't notice McKerrow's ankle bleeding till the very end!). Tonight I was back in rear mezz with a better perspective of the whole. But I don't really think it was me, I think tonight's performance was special. My husband was with me tonight - he'd never seen Pillar before and he loved it. Didn't find it dated at all. And I don't think it's unreasonable to expect it to take more than one performance to really find your way in a role as complex as Hagar. As I said, I hope it isn't McKerrow's last time...

I'm going to continue off topic here for a moment. Victoria, I just went through my collection of programs and the first Pillar I saw was in'73, with Bonnie Mathis as the older sister and Everett as the younger sister. Mathis is the prototype of the older sister in my mind. Were you still dancing with ABT then? Also, ATM, if the tape of Pillar you have referred to is the one in "ABT - a Close-up in Time" then that is Elllen Everett as the younger sister and Bonnie Mathis as the older one. Already at this point, I think Everett's portrayal has a malicious component to it - so I've never seen this role done any other way. I do think that Reyes has taken it a step further, her flirtatiousness bordered on the psychotic in my mind, and she definitely appeared to be deliberately taunting Hagar. Tuttle's portrayal probably wasn't much less malevolent, but after Reyes it seemed much more benign to me!