nysusan

I agree. This was the same cast I saw on opening night (this time there was a casting update slip in the program) and they all brought at least 10x more energy to it on Friday night. Especially Brandt. She was kind of meh on Wed but she was fantastic last night. I also agree about Gorak. I don't think I've ever seen him look more relaxed and joyous. Even through all the smoke he was so easy to pick out due to his lyricism, gorgeous line and those beautiful feet. I'd also like to add a big shout out to Aron Bell. This was my first time seeing him in a soloist role and boy, was he fantastic! I did not love Garden Blue, but I liked it a bit more than Laurel did. Rather than athletic, I thought it was very lyrical and that it played to the cast's strengths. There were no technical demands made on Seo and Copeland and they both looked lovely. It was great to see Abrera and Forster and I thought Katie Williams was a real standout. The Ratmansky I just found dull.

I'll jump in here - considering that the first cast didn't exactly knock it out of the park on Wed I'm happy that with only 4 performances scheduled they are getting all of them. Hopefully they will improve with the extra stage time and give us great performances for the rest of the run. We all want to see corps and soloists get chances, and I'm sorry that it looks like the ones scheduled for the second cast won't get their chance with this, however second casts usually get much less rehearsal time than the first. In a piece like this which is so foreign to classical ballet DNA, and without proper rehearsal time I think we have a better chance of getting a good performance from the first cast. And I'm not paying to watch rehearsals. On the other hand, the casting on the ABT and Koch calendars has changed completely from the initial casting (see chart upthread), and my gala program does not match up with the old casting or the ABT and Koch calendars - so who knows who we'll get. I double checked my gala program and it lists Zhurbin, Hoven and Cornejo as the trio of male stompers. The ABT and Koch calendars do not show Zhurbin listed at all, and I think it was Bell who danced. Also, the program listed Granlund and Hanson as the 2 secondary dancers in the red pointe shoes, where the calendars list Lall and Katsnelson. I don't know what any of these dancers look like, but one of the pair I saw on the stage was black, and neither Granlund and Hanson look black on their ABT headshots. Lall definitely does, so they may have switched them

I was there last night. ABT's fall gala started out with a lovely, short introductory speech by the ever elegant Caroline Kennedy. It was followed by Lauren Lovette's work "Le Jeune" performed by ABT's Studio Company. If not a great work, it was charming, enjoyable and well danced. During the "pause" between Le Jeune and the new Dorrance piece we were treated to what felt like at least 20 minutes of speeches by Lauren Post, Misty Copeland and 2 women from among ABT's patrons or board. I guess I should be grateful that McKenzie didn't decide to speak. I was really rooting for the Dorrance piece, but I was disappointed. It was set to Duke Ellington and while the women were on point, the choreography was basically lindy-hop inspired movement mixed with tapping with some ballet tricks thrown in - a triple pirouette here, a grand jete there. In between she had the women tapping out rhythms with their pointes and looking like somewhat spastic holdovers from another era. I love In the Upper Room, and its the main reason why I decided to go to any of ABT's fall performances. It was enjoyable, but not nearly as good as it had been in the past. It still built to that exhilarating finale, and it started ok, but the middle kind of dragged. Somehow, it seemed slower (although I know it couldn't have been, because its danced to a tape and those speeds don't change) and the 2 main stompers - Teuscher and Brandt - didn't dominate anywhere near the degree I remember from past casts (I think it was Murphy/Boone and Wiles/Abrera most recently). The printed program doesn't jive with the online casting so I'm not 100% sure who some of the corps dances were. Most of the cast was new and at soloist & corps level so hopefully they will improve.

Casting has been posted for this: https://www.nycitycenter.org/pdps/2018-2019/Balanchine/ Scroll down to Cast & Credits to see the casting I'm most excited about seeing Jeanette Delgado in Serenade, Mathilde Froustey in Scotch, Tereshkina and Kim in Tschai Pas. Also the 2018 top Vaganova grad Maria Horeva as Terpischore. I don't know the POB dancers very well at all, but I'm wondering if Hugo Marchand and Sae-Eun Park are versatile enough to do justice to both the heavenly Midsummer's Divert and the bold, bracing Agon Pas.

Hyltin's height wasn't a major problem for me. Even though she is short she is very long-limbed and when I saw that she was cast I thought that might serve her well. I think that in general taller dancers look better in this but she looked ok. It was more her temperament that was the problem. Symphony in C's second movements is one of those magical Balanchine Goddess roles. I remember Whelan in an interview (paraphrasing) saying that when she danced it she felt as if she was talking to God. Others have brought great mystery, or spirituality or transcendence to it. Hyltin was just pretty, she didn't really project any inner life and for me that is a killer in this role. I have enjoyed her very much in other roles, but not this one. I think LaFreniere, Gerrity, Phelan and Laracey are all promising candidates for this, but I don't think any of them are ready for it with the exception of Laracey, and I don't think they'll cast her in it. She doesn't seen to be a favorite.

When I saw the casting for the recent tour - Reichlin did all the Bizet and Kowroski only the After the Rain PDD - I held my breath for NY casting hoping I'd get to see Kowroski in Diamonds and the Bizet one last time. I expect that her technique will not be what it was 5 years ago, but I'm sure its still strong enough, and there's no one I'd rather see in those roles. I can wait for new interpreters, especially remembering the last new ballerina to be given 2nd movement Bizet- Sterling Hyltin who was totally miscast.

I think LaFreniere & Kretzschmar will both make great Rubies tall girls - this is very exciting casting!

So happy to hear about this! Now I want to see Farrell here coaching her roles.

I have 2 subscriptions. I received one about a week ago, still haven't received the other.

it is usually done with a full orchestra, which gives the music a more lush feeling. But the solo piano version seemed just right at the Joyce. The first time I saw it was during the Ashton festival at the Met maybe 10 years ago. The Joffrey did it and I fell in love with it instantly! I agree that ABT did it poorly, in fact I think they were OKish in Monotones II, but really terrible in Monotones I. I think all of their Ashton has suffered since they lost Georgina Parkinson.

I went to ABT often in the Seventies and have vivid memories of Bujones in it Les Patineurs. I believe it was the same role as the boy in blue. Meanwhile, it was such a pleasure to see multiple performances of Monotones danced so well in a small, intimate theater. My only quibble was that on opening night Ryoko Sadoshima was extremely wobbly in Monotones 1. She was better at subsequent performances but to me she was always the weak link. I can imagine how difficult those long sustained balances are but the rest of her M1 cast - Samantha Benoit and Thomas Giugovaz as well as the entire second cast - Kate Honea, Katelyn May and Nicolas Moreno - performed them beautifully. I especially liked the 2nd cast and wish they had performed it more often. I thought both of the Monotones 2 casts were wonderful. I was convinced that I preferred the Amy Wood cast till I saw the Hulland cast again on Saturday night and they just blew me away. My other quibble was with the choice of rep. Program A started with Monotones followed by the Graziano Symphony of Sorrows and then Wheeldon's There Where She Loved. The last 2 pieces were much too similar for me. Both were to music that included sung lyrics (in Polish & German) and both were episodic. While the Wheeldon had some lightness in the Chopin sections they were both pretty gloomy. The program would have benefited greatly from the inclusion of something lighter and of different structure in place of one of them. Something like the full length Les Patineurs, or Rodeo, or some Bournonoville, all of which are in their rep. Program B was so much better, starting with the Wheeldon, followed by Monotones and ending with the Ashton Diverts. It really made a difference having something upbeat on the program. I was disappointed that the extract from Les Patineurs was so short, but Thais and Two Pigeons were divine. And it so wonderful to see Marcelo on stage again! Back to the rep. Over 7 performances they performed only 4 ballets (counting the diverts as one ballet). They performed Monotones and the Wheeldon on EVERY PROGRAM. Even granting that Monotones is a masterpiece and I can see it every night for a month without being bored, I wish they had brought just one more piece. I'm sure they had their reasons - cost, stage size etc. but having the Wheeldon on one program and the Graziano on the other with a different ballet rounding out Program A would have made for a much more rewarding experience.

I've seen both casts of this first program and have been enjoying it, albeit with some reservations that I'll try to go into later. Amy Wood has been my favorite dancer so far, but I miss Danielle Brown. I really liked her last time they were here. Anyone know if she is still dancing with them?

They seem to be comfortable casting him as the lead in more modern full length pieces like Whipped Cream or in the second fiddle character roles like Hilarion, but I agree - they need to cast him as the lead in a full length classical role like Albrecht or Siegfried or Solor.

Please, please no Matthew Golding. I didn't like him when he was with ABT and seeing him in the RB cinema SL a few years ago did nothing to change my opinion. I would LOVE to see Sarafanov or Shklyarov guest with ABT but based on their family situations I don't think either of them are likely. Maybe as 1 offs here or there but not even for a full Met season. Osiel Gouneo would be interesting, as would Alejandro Virelles, formerly of ENB and Bayerische Staatsoper. I love Fabrice Calmels, but if he hasn't guested with ABT in all of these years I don't think its gonna happen now. My number 1 pick would be Friedmann Vogel - tall and an absolutely gorgeous dancer! Within the company,I wish they would give Forster and Gorak more opportunities but management doesn't seem to favor them. Its clear that ABT has to import some male dancers while simultaneously developing their own. I'm sure there are lots of talented men around besides the few we've been discussing - the question is whether ABT has the will & the money to do some real top shelf shopping.

Yipee!

Its true, I always go to the box office to buy tickets and they do close for vacation every year in August. They re-open about a week before fall for dance tickets go on sale.

Too bad, Parish is my least favorite of the Mariinsky men. I'd much rather see Sergeev as Apollo. Now it all depends on who his Muses are...

Much as I love Abrera I'd be surprised if she was cast in it this time around. Several posters noticed a decline in her technique during the Met season, and this is a notoriously difficult ballet. Murphy might still be up to it, but I'm more expecting Teuscher/Shevchenko

Thank you, Madame P, for sharing this news. It breaks my heart to think that I'll never see her dance again. I was hoping the "powers that be" at the Mariinsky would let her dance the tutu roles again, and let her tour again, but I guess it is not to be. I fell in love with her the first time I saw her - dancing in Swan Lake at the Kennedy Center. I was lucky enough to see her O/O again in another KC tour, as well as her Giselle, her Cinderella (and Cindy's mother), her Zobeide, Chopiniana, and in Forsythe. Her combination of great technique, musicality and beautiful epaulment was wonderful, but what I loved most about her was that whatever role she was dancing, she always let her humanity shine through. She will be missed.

I'd love to see his Albrecht. And, if they revive Manon he'd make an amazing des Grieux - opposite Stella, of course. They've shown such great rapport both as Mercedes/Espada and Teaflower/Coffee.

I just got a sponsored facebook post from ABT with the ABTJuly promo code. This is the same one I used several weeks ago, I think it was a 25% discount, but only good for orchestra tickets.

I saw Teuscher/Stearns on Thursday night and those were my impressions, too. Watching her as Odette I could not get over how stiff her back was, and how low her extensions were. Plus there was something I really didn't like about the way she held her shoulders and head. I thought her Odile was much better. While it does bother me when someone travels that far forward doing the fouettees there's no denying that quadruple at the end was very impressive. Stearns was a non entity, Williams & Hurley were both lovely with Hoven in the pas de trois. Forster was FABULOUS as Von R, so commanding and those jetes were fierce. He's done a lot of second lead roles like Von R, Hilarion etc, I really hope they give him a leading role in a full length next season. Just one - Albrecht or Siegfried or Solor or Romeo - its time to let him show us what he can do.

Based on how ENB worded the press release I'd suspect that he is leaving ABT. They said this about 2 dancers from NBC: From The National Ballet of Canada, Francesco Gabriele Frola and Emma Hawes join the Company as Principal and First Soloist respectively, while remaining dancers of The National Ballet of Canada. and this about Cirio: Following his recent guest performances with the Company in Song of the Earth, La Sylphide, and Akram Khan’s Giselle, Jeffrey Cirio, currently Principal at American Ballet Theatre, joins English National Ballet as Lead Principal. I guess we'll see if we hear anything from Cirio or ABT, but I suspect he is leaving.

I was there for the first act on Wed and the entire ballet on Saturday night. My impressions pretty much mirror ABT Fan's. I was there to see Hallberg because these were his last performances of the season and I wonder how often he'll be dancing with ABT in the future. He was wonderful, his dancing was so beautiful and free and I loved his characterization of Romeo as a hopelessly romantic dreamer. Boylston's Juliet was very well danced, but I didn't feel any chemistry between her and Hallberg . She acted the part well, but I was always aware of her ACTING. The best R&J pairs - the ones we have become used to seeing at ABT like Ferri/Bocca, Ferri/Corella, Vishneva/Gomes and the one time we were privileged to see an absolutely heartstopping performance by Osipova & Hallberg - they lived the roles onstage, totally in the moment. Now of course I know that they were acting but you never felt it, you only felt their raw vivid emotions and total immersion in the story. I didn't see anything like that with Boylston and Hallberg and for me, R&J is pretty boring without it. And, yes, I too always think of Franklin the minute Friar Lawrence comes onstage. Even into his late eighties, he was such a presence. I usually go to ABT 3-4 times for most productions, but I see R&J as a 3 hour ballet that contains about 45 minutes of amazing dancing. It really lives or dies depending on who is cast in the 2 lead roles, and without great performances I find it pretty boring. In my book, this was not a great performance. On any given night I see 8-10 or more of my friends during intermissions, but each night this week I only saw 2 people I know, so I guess most of my friends felt the same way I did.

As reported in the Sarasota Ballet thread, Marcelo will be performing the final pdd from The Two Pigeons with Victoria Hulland during the company's August engagement at the Joyce Theater in NY. This will be presented at the Saturday matinee and evening performances. Program 2 Starts with Wheeldon's There Where She Loved and then to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Ashton's passing the program will include Monotones I & II and four Ashton diverts/extracts (La Chatte Métamorphosée en Femme; the pas de trois from Les Patineurs; Méditation from Thaïs; and the final pas de deux from The Two Pigeons, performed by Victoria Hulland and guest artist Marcelo Gomes).