oberon

It's good to read of Andrew Veyette's success, bobbi...I think he is one of the most interesting dancers now stepping out from the corps ranks. He has a clean technique, and manages to combine elegance with an all-American naturalness. Hope he gets lots more opportunities.

Review in today's NY TIMES of the Abi/Adrian D-W and the Ashley/Amar performances with a striking photo of the latter couple. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/24/arts/dance/24ball.html I read the review of Ashley & Amar with a certain satisfaction; it's almost as if the reviewer came to Ballet Talk last night and paraphrased what I wrote about the performance. On the other hand, it could simply be that their performance was every bit as satisfying as I thought it was.

I dunno...what would that job entail, actually?

During the Autumn I kept seeing Deanna McBrearty in the Lincoln Center area (she looks great!) and was thinking maybe she was going to dance with the Company again. Today, while scanning the NYCB Personnel page in Playbill during the NUTCRACKER intermission, I noticed that she IS working there - not as a dancer but as Manager of External Affairs.

December 23 @ 2:00 Good to see Amanda Hankes onstage among the party guests; Lauren King & Rachel Piskin were charming dolls and Kyle Froman always nails the soldier doll's solo. Andre Kramarevsky is a flamboyant, old-school Drosselmeier and I liked his interpretation very much. Austin Bachman is a teriffic Nutcracker prince; the snow scene was beautifully danced this afternoon with Elizabeth Walker in the opening solo passage setting the tone. Ashley Bouder was just a delight in the opening SPF solo, her dancing light & brilliant and with much eye contact and benevolent smiles to the angel-attendants who frame the dance. Austin B's mime passage was beautifully delivered. Saskia Beskow & Henry Seth were a bravura Spanish couple and Teresa Reichlin a cool & self-contained Arabian with her endless legs and supple upper body. Austin Laurent (Tea) and Aaron Severini (Candy Cane) both danced well, and Alina Dronova was a lithe and fluent Marzipan. Adrian Danchig-Waring was a low-key Mother Ginger. Sterling Hyltin took a spill early in the Waltz of the Flowers; dancers falling is not a big deal, in my view; it happens to the best of dancers. For a moment I thought she might be seriously hurt but she went on and her dancing thereafter had the luminous quality I have noticed from her in other roles. Bouder and Amar Ramasar then delivered a very exciting adagio; they seem to have worked out all the partnering "hot spots" (to me, this is a VERY tricky pas de deux) but also to have coordinated their interpretation which had a sort of courtly elegance in the opening passages and then proceeded to such unabashed shoulder lifts and supported turns that had the audience cheering them on. Their gestures were beautifully meshed, adding a sort of polish to the performance that was quite exciting. Bouder - young dancer that she is - knows that the ballerina in the tutu has to deliver something special; she's got the technique (and then some!) but also the sheer daring to capitalize on it. Amar - handsome devil that he is - managed to both show Bouder off and also make you look at him. As he brought her down to the footlights for the final promenade there was a surge of excitement building and Bouder capped the whole thing off with a superb balance. In the coda, Amar showed that he's not really a virtuoso; he had a go at the turns and travelling jetees but they aren't his forte. Bouder polished off the piece with a stunning diagonal of whiplash turns and they whirled unabashedly into Amar's arms. Bouder struck me today as both the most modern and the most old-fashioned of ballerinas. She is young, fresh & fast but she also gives the feeling that she knows she must give that extra something to crown the performance that only a great ballerina can give. And she does it. Her work with Amar today, the obvious time they had put into working on the adagio to give it that added dimension, as well as all of Bouder's solo dancing, left me in a state of exhilirated admiration.

I have talked to many, many dancers about their teachers and coaches. One of the common threads is that some of the best teachers never danced, or at least not professionally. I recall a message posted here a couple years ago from an ex-SAB student talking about how the NYCB Company dancers used to come to the school for class when Farrell taught Company class. In her book, Farrell talks about being somewhat removed from the other Company members because of her personal relationship with Balanchine. Also, I seem to recall there was quite a bit of resentment among the other ballerinas, esp. when Farrell returned after her Bejart years. Perhaps this atmosphere was not conducive to her working there after she stopped dancing. My own feeling is that Farrell had to get away from NYCB to find herself as a teacher and coach. NYCB currently has many wonderful Balanchine dancers on staff or hovering nearby (Karin, J-P Frohlich, Hendl, the divine Sara Leland, Christine Redpath, Merrill Ashley, Sean Lavery, Kay Mazzo, and Peter Martins himself) but people who hate Peter don't seem to acknowledge this fact. To my mind, Karin, Leland & Ashley were among the very greatest Balanchine dancers ever, in very different ways, of course..

From looking at the NUTCRACKER ticket availability board in the lobby, it looks to me like there might have been a drop-off in sales as the strike loomed. NYCB may feel now that they can offer some replacement tickets to the available performances in the final week to people who cannot attend on their scheduled night this week - that of course being tangent upon the strike being settled soon, which begins to look less probable with each passing day. This will most likely be snipped, but I got a kick out if it: Mayor Giuliani was shopping at the store where I work yesterday and a colleague of mine asked him, "Mr. Mayor, what do you think of the transit strike?" and he said "Toussaint should be negotiating from a jail cell!"

I always preferred Mrs. Diamond.

Does Sterling Hyltin remind anyone - besides me - of Darci Kistler?

Our loss is Dutch National's gain...Sofiane & Marcelo...what a pair!

Thursday 12/15 @ 6:00 Tonight's party scene was a bit more lively than last week's. Abergel & Jon Stafford made a handsome Stahlbaum couple and Dena was wonderful in the mimed sequence with her hair down. I always like seeing Nicholas Fokine among the children: a link to NYCB's past. Maybe next year he will be cast as the Prince. It was good to see Ellen Ostrom back among the guests; I looked in vain for Amanda Hankes but she was replaced by the very pretty Katie Bergstrom. Sarah Mearns and Ashley Laracey also graced the party, and William Lin-Yee has embarked on the traditional first-year corps boy's gig: PMS (parents/mice/Spanish). Sterling Hyltin was a very appealing Columbine. Even after dozens of NUTCRACKERs, the cat in the window and the adorable kid with the bunny ears continue to be endearing. I trained my opera glasses perfectly to see Elizabeth Walker come on as 1st snowflake, but Sterling Hyltin popped out instead. Walker was absent, but Sterling did a lovely job. Among the Snowflakes, and later as a Flower, Kaitlyn Gilliland struck me as quite Farrellesque. The snow scene was very well danced tonight. Ellen Bar & Ask LaCour made an impressive Spanish couple - LaCour really covers a lot of space with his dancing. Melissa Barak gave an interestingly dark version of Arabian; she has the technique in spades and played it not as a sultry nightclub act but with a slightly predatory edge...she really drew me in. Adam Hendrickson is always a sheer joy to watch and he was again tonight in Tea, and Tom Gold had a grand time jumping through his hoop. Alina Dronova was a vivacious Marzipan. I was dazzled by Ana Sophia Scheller's Dewdrop. What a smile, and what a jewel-like little dancer! Each solo passage was beautifully articulated, all the turns and jumps and fancy footwork spun off with multi-faceted brilliance. And did she ever have fun doing it! I don't often use "smilies" but here's one for Scheller: :blush: Her presence might ease some of the regret over Ansanelli's departure; Swanhilda & Columbine belong in Scheller's future as does BALLO and - eventually - Aurora. It's been almost two years since we saw Abi Stafford in a major role; her performances with Benjamin Millepied in TWILIGHT COURANTE and VALSE-FANTAISIE prior to her injury showed her developing a very interesting stage personality as well as a very sturdy technique. Then the long layoff; she danced a few times in smaller roles but mostly she has been absent. Tonight she was back as Sugar Plum Fairy and her opening solo made me realize how much I've missed watching her. If a girl was coming back after an absence in a very tricky pas de deux, she couldn't ask for a better cavalier than Charles Askegard. If Abi was the least bit nervous, Chuck must have immediately put her at ease because her dancing was expansive and secure, and she took risks. He was calmly there for her at every moment, and the hurtling flights of the ballerina onto the man's shoulder were fearlessly handled, esp. the second one. The adagio was really beautiful tonight and both dancers made it happen. Welcome back, Abi!

Thank you, Michael, for the superb report...be sure to see Reichlen as Dewdrop! I keep clicking on that SPF photo of her from the TIMES, I can't get over how lovely she looks...and then sz tells us her earlier jetee was even lovelier! Massive star quality!

I'm totally unqualified to write a ballet review, but anyone is qualified to share their impressions of a ballet performance, so go ahead and write about what you saw & heard at the performance and how it moved you...or didn't, as the case may be.

I agree, zerbinetta...in both EMERALDS & B-S Q Bouder showed she has a lovely romantic/poetic aspect; I think Peter is casting her in those types of roles to bring out different facets of her dance personality. In Albert Evans BROKEN PROMISE she was something else yet again, darker & deadly serious. Actually, a Dewdrop full of "rubato and witty musicality" sounds like fun to me...

Kowroski was listed for 12/15 but has since been replaced by Abi Stafford. Also Janie Taylor was originally down for a Dewdrop and 2 SPFs but she was replaced. Injuries to favorite dancers are the bane of ballet-going. If you are wanting to see a specific dancer it's best to wait & get tickets the day of - but that runs the risk of not getting the seats you want (or any seat, in some cases). Of course, cast changes sometimes occur very late in the day and you don't know til you get inside and a slip of paper is included in your programme, or an announcement is made as the house lights are dimmed.

The televised NYCB SWAN LAKE does include one of my all-time favorite ballet moments. In the Black Swan coda, Miranda Weese (who replaced Darci on short notice) is doing a combination: 3 hops backwards and pulling up into arabesque; 3 more hops and then she attains this unbelievable balance. Every time I watch it I think my tape has jammed and stuck there because she is so still for so long. Then her left hand moves ever so slightly, like the involuntary fluttering of a swan's wing, and she continues. I always rewind and watch this segment 5 or 6 times. One could assume that the four women who discussed the role in the Playbill will be doing it in the coming series though it isn't unrealistic to think that another one or two ballerinas might get a shot at it. I think if Ansanelli had stayed, she would have been cast this time around, and I would imagine Sylve might be doing it. No reason why Bouder shouldn't be given an opportunity, and I wouldn't mind seeing a Teresa Reichlen/Ask LaCour performance.

The first time I saw NYCB's full-length SWAN LAKE, I thought it was about the ugliest thing I ever laid eyes on. The costumes, especially in the opening scene, were of hideous colours and very unbecoming; the sets - drizzled paint for the lakeside scenes and dreary brown wood paneling for the court - were an eyesore. Kyra Nichols, dancing what I think was her only performance ever in this production, was extremely moving as Odette and quite sinister as Odile, but I just thought: I never want to see this again. But of course, I did see it again because Wendy, Miranda, Maria K and Jennie Somogyi are dancers I love and of course I had to see each of them in this huge & complex role. I learned to simply tune out the sets; after repeated viewings the Act I costumes became less jarring. The ballet is strengthened in my opinion by only have one intermission; I like having the Prince go right out on his hunting expedition after the party; and his rushing out of the ballroom scene directly to the lake to find Odette makes sense. The production is dance, dance, dance. There is no boring old tutor and very little mime. The Jester is not annoying, as he can be in some productions, but lively and ironic with some complex combinations. The choreography for the swans is beautiful and in my opinion beautifully executed, as is the would-be-brides scene. And this production has what I think is the most powerful ending I have seen; there is no redemption and no apotheosis. Rotbart is defeated but Odette remains a swan because Siegfried betrayed his pledge to her. He is left alone and in mortal anguish at the end. Damian's portrayal at this point (on the video) is heart-wrenching. Obviously it is not a SWAN LAKE for everyone, but I'm planning to see it 2 or 3 times this year, depending on who is dancing. Some may deem it a failure but from a practical point of view it is one of the few things at NYCB in recent years where I have seen a Sold Out sign. It was also one of the very few things I have seen there that received a full-house standing ovation (after a particularly memorable Wendy/Damian evening).

I think you have zee two French boys confused, cherie...c'est Sebastian on the 17th...

Craig Salstein was one of the Russian boys...

December 4 @ 5:00 Great to see Jennie Somogyi after her long injury layoff giving a wonderfully fluent and technically assured Sugar Plum. Stephen Hanna might be a bit too tall for her but they got on well for the most part; I would expect that after they've done this together a few more times they'll bring a bit more flash to it; still, it was quite a beautiful pas de deux. In Act I, Saskia Beskow was a particularly attractive Frau Stahlbaum and Kyle Froman a very good Soldier. Austin Bachman, profiled in the NY TIMES, was a notably balletic Prince, already showing a very nice line; his mime sequence at the beginning of Act II was impressive. In Act II, the procession of treats was kicked off by Glenn Keenan (she of the dazzling smile) and Jon Stafford in a lively Spanish Dance; Ellen Bar then seemed to totally captivate the audience with her lithe, exotic Arabian. Antonio Carmena (Tea) had to deal with a slightly fast tempo but he pulled it off. Daniel Ulbricht was splendid in Candy Cane, Amar Ramasar is the funniest Mother Ginger, and Amanda Edge a luscious & charming Marzipan. Sarah Ricard & Kristen Sloan (leading Flowers) were both so pretty and dancing so nicely that my opera glasses were swinging wildly from one side of the stage to the other to try to watch them both...and among the Flowers, Kaitlyn Gilliland made a vivid impression. Teresa Reichlin was an electrifying Dewdrop; her mesmerizing legs and astonishingly stretched out jumps alternated with spot-on attitude turns of gyroscopic precision. Then to cap it all off, she took this balance near the end of the Waltz and stayed there, not just rock-steady but displaying a gorgeous line into the bargain, for an eternity. Amazing.

I cannot recall Ansanelli ever having danced LA VALSE at NYCB...since 1998, the role has been the property of Rachel Rutherford & Janie Taylor. Did Alex dance it earlier, while still in corps, or were the DC performances her first? Did Farrell ever dance the Girl in LA VALSE? In her book she mentions dancing one of the "glove girls" (the Fates, as she calls them) but did she ever dance the principal role? Jennifer Dunning covered NYCB's opening for the NY TIMES while Rockwell took the DC gig.

Peter has done his before at galas..."one & only performance..." then he brings it back the following season. I cannot think of any ballet that has literally been performed only once. Most likely it will be seen again.

Yes, Wendy reclines on a very large version of the Sugar Plum Fairy's gliding plate.

Teresa Reichlin & Savannah Lowery have been doing the seconda donna role in RUBIES lately; I don't believe Hyltin has done it.

Albert's ballet, to music for violin & piano by John Cage, lasts about ten minutes. It is well worth seeing, especially if you admire Wendy Whelan, and I hope it will be given during the Spring season.