Siren

I love it, Thelma and Louise on point! Great!

Also, the Nuryeve version: all Giselle variations are taken out and replaced with Albrecht versions... Albrecht gets the bouquet during the village festival.

Giselle choreographed by David Bintley a la Edward II!

Now that gives me the wilis....

Giselle choreographed by David Bintley a la Edward II!

Now that gives me the wilis....

Alexandra and Giannina,

Thanks for all the encouragement. I had a great time at all the ABT performances and it was fun to share my thoughts.

Hi all! I've been inspired by everyone that has posted so far-- they have been fun and enjoyable to read! So I've finally decided to take the plunge and start posting myself!

I also went to opening night of ABT and the Sun mat. (10/29) and here were my highlights:

Opening Night

Sleeping Beauty PPD - I thought Susan was lovely and it was nice to see her again onstage having recovered from her injury during the spring. I think she's among the ballerinas that seem to be "complete" ballerinas; she's classical and precise with a beautiful line. She's not flashy and does not posses a Sylvie Guillem extension, but, IMO, these do not a great ballerina make! No one brings such detailed attention to the arms. I find so many times that I just watch her arms with my opera glasses and become mesmerized; they're so liquid. I have also read interviews with her where she says that she spent a long time with Irina Kolpakova trying to create that affect. Well, it seems to have paid off. During her variation, when she goes from one foot to the other (I don't know the technical term here) and follows her hands upwards, I got the feeling that this was a girl discovering that she was a young woman-- perfectly in tune with her wedding ceremony!

I also think this PPD works best when seen within the full production.

Tch. PPD - Marcelo looked good with Paloma.

Theme - I enjoyed Gillian and Picone. It was nice to see him back. Gillian was the essence of precise technique and I liked Giuseppe's energy and charisma. His leaps were good, his beats were clear, and his partnering was smooth. I think they dance very well together and would like to see more of them in pieces.

I think Stiefel and Kent gave a creditable performance. Considering my screen name, I feel I have to comment on Kent's portrayal of Siren. I found her steely persona a Siren to be reckoned with-- she was quite scary. She also made the most of the part when she and the Prodigal are "getting to know each other" and sitting on the table when the Prodigal friends fight (Sean Stewart, incorrectly listed as Kalinin, was especially good here). In this section, her glances could have bore a hole through Stiefel! All in all, a good performance, but a kind of strange choice for a gala evening.

On Sun, 10/29

Michelle made a stunning debut as Siren. She had the right air of mystery and completely surprised me. Her long line also worked best; her tallness gave the choreographic shapes the right kind of drama. She nailed the subtleties of the character and was the best ABT Siren, IMO.

I'm beginning to feel like I'm the only one, but I think "Lilac Garden" is one of my favorite ballets. It is so subtle and filled with so many compelling details. It's such a specific Tudor way of dancing that I think many times goes underappreciated. All the emotions lie underneath and the acting, for me at least, seems to work best when it is small and genuine. I really liked Julie Kent in this. I think this piece suits her very well and she was the only one that I saw that pulled off the inner torment of Caroline. Caroline is facing a life of a loveless marriage and seems to convey a sense of an impending doom. With Kent, she conveyed the underneath emotion without subjecting to histrionics. There were flashes of passion there, most especially when she touches her Lover's hand to her mouth and looks skyward. Also, during the "freeze" when she looks longingly at her Lover and resigns back to her place in society. This, to me, seems to be what Tudor was trying to represent-- a world where everything looks pretty, there are currents of deep emotion buried deep, and flashes where this emotion emerges to the surface. I felt that Julie Kent, Robert Hill, and Erica Fishbach conveyed this. I've seen Kent be very passionate in the past (Juliet-- where you could tell she was physically crying because her mascara was running!, Manon, Odette/Odile, etc.) and saw a different, contained emotionalism from her this time around.

Alas, I never had the good fortune of seeing Kirkland nor Fracci in this. I'm terribly jealous of anyone who has! I think if I had seen either of them, I would not have been able to see anyone else in that role.

"Black Swan" was wonderful drama and presented a different interpretation that I've seen in the past. It brought down the house and for good reason. First of all, Picone and Murphy danced so smoothly together. Part of it was that Picone's partnering was good (and gallant, I'd like to add) and the other was that the two of them seemed to be comfortable with each other. This resulted in genuine rapport. They received a tumultuous reaction and it was well deserved.

Gillian was an ice princess who tempted her Prince through sheer technical wizardry. Her variation was the best I saw all season. She did a triple pirouette and then a double attitude turn-- all of which with such precise smoothness. She made the variation more exciting than it usually is. Her fouettes were amazing! I seemed to have seen a few quads there right to the beat of the music! I've never seen anyone else do that and it was way more impressive than the standard 32. Her technique is so crystal clear and she deserves recognition for that.

Picone was a different artist than I had seen before. His partnering seems to have improved and he was one of the few to hoist his swan into the air that gave her attitude line such soaring beauty. I've seen some of the men just let the swan jump herself or lift her in that position, but nothing replaces the thrill of seeing the movement high in the air. I saw a maturer Picone from before. Sometimes I find that this PPD becomes too much of a contest between two great dancers, but Picone pulled off the acting of being seduced. Afterwards, I had the picture of him clutching Gillian's hand indelibly imprinted in my mind. He held onto that hand with such won-over urgency that you knew this black swan had triumphed!

"Etudes", as usual, was a good time of classical technique. Corella snapped his fingers with such energy and enthusiasm! This role really is his and it's always a pleasure to watch him in this.

All in all, a fun day at the ballet and wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Sorry if this is a book, it's my first time posting, and I got a little excited!

[This message has been edited by Siren (edited November 06, 2000).]