FauxPas

What would have made sense would have been to move Hee Seo from the opening night "Giselle" to the Wednesday matinee. Then Herrera's farewell would have been on the Friday opening night.

The sad thing is that Aurora was a very good role for Paloma while her Giselle when I saw it was really a poor interpretation. According to what I have read about her SC performance, Paloma can still dance Aurora technically well despite the complaints about lack of interpretation and artistry. Lack of artistry and interpretation is more damning in "Giselle" than in "Sleeping Beauty" and she is making her Farewell at a Wednesday matinee. Really bad.

I probably read this in Roland John Wiley's "Tchaikovsky's Ballets" where the direction that Aurora flirts with each suitor may come from the detailed libretto by Petipa and Vsevolozhsky.

Just a note that the Sergeyev notation does specifically note that Aurora flirts with each of the suitors during the Rose Adagio - so it really is a dramatic scene and not just a technical feat. So Vishneva's kittenish winks and girlish exuberance while she acted up a storm are probably how she was coached. How that manner may look on a dancer who is approaching 40 is a matter of conjecture - I wasn't there. Vishneva now has a certain sophistication that doesn't lend itself to ingenue roles. I agree that most Auroras have that deer in the headlights "please don't let me fall off pointe...or on my butt" look of anxiety and/or terror during that scene. Also, re: La Scala and Zakharova in "Sleeping Beauty" - Zakharova already filmed "Beauty" in 2011 with David Hallberg at the Bolshoi - it is readily available on blu-ray and dvd. Would La Scala want to replicate the Bolshoi's casting and have two commercial documentations of Hallberg and Zakharova in the same ballet? BTW: I saw both Zakharova and Vishneva dance Aurora with the Mariinsky in the 1890 reconstruction. Certainly Zakharova was doing 6 o'clock penchées and developpees back then...

Just a personal note: I saw the 1890 Vikharev reconstruction at the Metropolitan Opera back in 1999 during a Kirov-Mariinsky tour. I was fascinated but not convinced that it was the greatest most definitive statement of the work. First of all, the sets and costumes were a hodgepodge - all sorts of colors and styles all over the place. There were several different designers working on the original 1890 Mariinsky Imperial Ballet production and the different scenic designers for each act and the costume designer were not working together. The color palette of the scenery and costumes were very jarring and uncoordinated - too many colors and shapes and styles going on at once. The scenery looked like it was borrowed from different productions and no set looked in the same style as another. The corps de ballet were in tutus of various designs and lengths with tons of heavy appliqué. They looked awkward and busy - each group of dancers had radically different designs of costumes segregating them into discrete groups rather than part of a homogeneous group. These clumps of dancers in different outfits made the group dances - grand ballabili - look different - individual groups rather than one large group. A friend said that the heavy scenery and busy costumes reminded her of a children's panto in her native England. The one thing that I hope ABT can recreate is the panorama in Act II with the complete music. The Bakst designs are much more sophisticated and elegant in style. Also, my reaction to the Vikharev "Sleeping Beauty" and "Bayadere" was that it was better for Western choreographers to modify and cut down from the Petipa original from the Harvard notes rather than edit from an already condensed edited version dating from 1952 by Konstantin Sergeyev (the traditional Soviet "Beauty") or the 1930's Sadlers Wells staging. Reproducing the 1952 Konstantin Sergeyev or the old Royal Ballet version done by Nicolas Sergeyev is already two or three generations from the original. I am glad for the cuts and I am glad for the new/old designs. The NY Times article links a review by Anna Kisselgoff of the 1890 reconstruction - she is not totally convinced and notes later choreography interpolated into the recreated Petipa original - notably for Prince Desiré added to the original 1890 version. I would guess that the 50ish Pavel Gerdt danced rather simple solos that a Marcelo Gomes or Herman Cornejo would not want to dance... http://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/30/arts/dance-review-a-4-hour-kirov-sleeping-beauty-for-the-90-s-that-is-1890-s.html

To add another word of praise for Ashley Bouder last night - she had wit and style and a certain "le chic" to her phrasing. Ashley really enjoyed the jazzy touches in "Square Dance" thrusting out a hip here, pointing out her knee or cocking her arm on her side with insouciance. She would do a combination and then the corps girls would echo it but Ashley's had a certain style that the other girls did not have. I also loved Huxley's precision and lightness. He is actually rather small and slight next to Ashley (or anybody) and is a little short to partner her. But he lifted and promenaded her with great confidence. As for "Harlequinade" - I think it is just what it wants to be and what it wants to be is charming and delightful. I loved the color, the sense of fun, the innocence and the delicious Drigo music. I loved the children in Act II and the cast was delightful. Joaquin de Luz must be pushing 40 but he looked in top shape and the audience gasped at his tours and spins (he has been dancing professionally since 1992). I noticed that Daniel Ulbricht is almost exactly the same height as Joaquin and I think he should dance Harlequin and not Pierrot, where indeed he was wasted. Pierrot wakes up and does some bravura dancing in Act II with Pierrette but frankly, someone like Sean Suozzi or Antonio Carmena would do just as well in the part and Ulbricht would be in his element as Harlequin who is sassier and more extroverted and playful. They could pair him with Megan Fairchild as Columbine when she is done with "On the Town".

Here is Androsova: http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet_mt_women/androsova1/ She is blonde with a heart-shaped face and strong pointed chin. The picture on the Maryinsky site makes her look uncharacteristically dumpy and mature. She is neither in person - piquant and tiny. You know how in every company there is one ballerina in the corps who you always notice and look for? For me it is Androsova - she joined the company in 1996 after training in Perm, so she is a veteran.

1/21 - Ekaterina Kondaurova and Timur Askerov Re: Kondaurova on 1/21 - all in all this was a ravishing performance but probably not one up to her highest standards and potential. In Act II, Kondaurova's Odette expressed emotion abstractly through the body - swooning into her prince's arms and unfurling her long arms into infinity. She was more a creature of mystery and somewhat remote but not cold - there was inner life there. Kondaurova has strong attack but in her solos danced everything with a soft touch, very delicately and never breaking the flow. I thought she was ravishing and extremely elegant with a lot of beautiful handling of the arms, neck and hand positions. As for the Black Swan PDD - it was not perfect but I would not call it a disaster - Hee Seo last Spring at ABT that is a disaster. The spill during the pas de deux definitely I would place the blame on Timur Askerov and it only lasted about 2 seconds before she recovered. Perhaps the Odile solo that followed was less poised than usual but she didn't fall out of the pirouettes - I didn't notice she was off the music but I didn't see any lapses in technique. As for the fouettes, they traveled downstage but she completed them and they were fast and high with multiples synched to the music. Again, I have seen Osipova travel on fouettes - these were good. The fourth act was beautiful. Kondaurova has recently resumed dancing classical roles on pointe after taking some time off after a foot injury. She has a better "Swan Lake" in her but this was quite beautiful and showed limitless potential - with Marcelo Gomes as her partner she could do better. Askerov though tall, dark and handsome is a bland actor, not the best possible partner and is a good upper level soloist in technique. The whole production seemed more cohesive - the corps had adjusted to the small stage better, the soloists were more relaxed and confident and everyone seemed to have shaken off the jet lag and thrown together hesitations of last week. 1/22 - Oxana Skorik and Xander Parish Skorik is a very good dancer with a flexible upper body and strong footwork - despite some of the criticisms on this board, I found her technique within the bounds of good taste and worthy of a leading soloist at the Mariinsky. This definitely is not Somova II. The negatives - yes she can do 180 degree extensions but she limited the ear-whacking developpées to the Odile solo where they weren't really inappropriate. Otherwise she was maybe just above 90 degrees in her arabesques. The bigger problems were in interpretation and phrasing. She is a fairly cold actress and didn't bring a lot of inner life to her Odette, the Odile was generalized schemer-seductress who lacked the confidence and charm of Kondaurova. There wasn't a lot of expression and emotional intensity and barely adequate rapport with her Siegfried in either Act II or III. Skorik is not extremely musical and has a tendency to snap into final positions - sharply finishing in a posed high arabesque balance that gives a staccato beat to her Act II solos. Skorik has the fluid arms and deeply flexible back and the strength to sustain long dance phrases - so this is a choice that could be corrected through coaching. The interpretation is a matter of immaturity and inexperience - the Sergeyev staging eliminates mime and focuses on pure dance - except for the very experienced Lopatkina, every Mariinsky O/O has been on the cool, abstract side. Final note: the audience loved Skorik and she got a huge warm response after each act. Xander Parish has a beautiful long legs and feet, decent flow in the upper body and handled his solos with some elegance. Here or there a few landings were a bit more luck than control. The big thing is that he wasn't very ardent and was more a nice boy next door than a Prince. The Act I pas de trois was excellently danced by Ivannikova, Batoeva (replacing the injured Nikitina) and the unbilled in the program and program update insert Ernest Latypov (http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet_mt_men/latypov/). The printed program indicated that Parish was dancing both the Prince and the pas de trois - shades of Grigorovich!!! Thanks to the informed YID for the identification - she also informed me that he is a recent Vaganova graduate. Latypov who looks about 14 years old added precise feather light batterie to his solo and very airy jumps. Latypov he will eventually dance the Bluebird in "Sleeping Beauty" - he has the ballon. Baybordin was in much better form as the Jester/Joker than last Friday where he had a bunch of bad landings - he was an audience favorite. Batoeva also looked like a rising star and Yana Selina even in the tiny role of one of the Two Swans in Act IV stood out for crystalline footwork and charm. Gergiev was not missed in the pit at all.

Some notes about last night's "Swan Lake": First act was a bit of a mess. Everyone seemed a bit off - and Anastasia Nikitina's spill (possible injury) didn't help. Though I felt that Xander Parish and Yana Selina (that was not Ivannikova last night though there was no notice in the program) covered well for her sudden absence. The corps formations looked smushed together and blurred. The Jester Yaroslav Baybordin was cute but had a number of bad landings and slips - Vladislav Shumakov was better on opening night. Act II was a revelation - the star entered and the whole evening was transformed. Lopatkina was very different from the video filmed in 2006 with Danila Korsuntsev. On the video from 2006, Lopatkina's Odette is an ice queen - an impregnable ivory tower who barely looks at Korsuntsev. More of a symbol than a suffering loving woman. Last night's Odette kissed her prince twice with ardor, looked searchingly into his face and fell rapturously in his arms. Ivanchenko was also not as wooden as his detractors here have suggested. Ivanchenko is solid, not exciting in solos but evidently Lopatkina is very comfortable with him, he is a strong reliable partner and they have great rapport. Lopatkina seemed physically in top shape - footwork was strong and crisp. But the real revelation was her emotional rapport and even seductiveness with Ivanchenko. Lopatkina at 41 is in top physical shape - her frame is lean, tapered but also quite defined and muscular. Perhaps one or two arabesques were not as high and sustained as Tereshkina's. The Odile despite one wobbly ending to a pirouette in her solo was strongly danced. The pas de deux was full of beguiling phrasing and bewitching nuances. The fouettes were strong, high and tight singles that did not travel - maybe they actually traveled a few inches towards the back of the stage. Again, everyone was struggling with certain obstacles - the foreshortened stage space (they need at least 1/3 more stage depth) and Gergiev's conducting - erratic is the word though it was better than the opening night. Anyway, if you were alienated by Lopatkina's Swan Lake video and thought she probably was getting mannered and technically weaker - this was a big surprise. Lopatkina looked stronger than ever with several years of top quality dancing ahead of her. The interpretation was warm, interactive with surprising and welcome touches of sensuality even in the Odette. The magic of her arms and port de bras were all that they ever were. This "Swan Lake" indeed was all about the Swan Queen and it is wonderful to see a famous interpretation not only live up to its reputation but surpass and develop on it in positive ways. Brava!

The Wednesday matinee of "Giselle" did not sell well and by report was a superb performance by Soboleva and Lebedev. The Osiliev shows did well and the "Don Quixote" performances were particularly popular. I did notice that as the run progressed the attendance improved. I hope the company returns - in particular I would love to see their "Laurencia" and their "Swan Lake" sounds as if it has been well-received. The mixed bill in particular showed the strength of the company outside of the acquired stars - Osiliev and Sarafanov et al. The home team dancers are very appealing in and of themselves, though of course the stars sell tickets. As for the "Don Quixote" production - I like it, it moved well with the right mix of classical and character dancing. I went to two performances - Friday night and Saturday afternoon (I have seen the Osiliev show a few times before). Lebedev is not one of nature's Basilio's - more of a prince type. He lacked a certain bravura edge being too delicate and soft in places. His lines and technique are beautiful and I wished I had been available to see his Albrecht. Vorontsova is a lovely dancer who has a broad, airy style of dancing underpinned with solid technical strength. I think the heavier workload at the Mikhailovsky, in comparison with her relative inactivity at the Bolshoi, has helped her dancing. However there is a lack of refinement - little petite allegro and footwork details are skimmed over or omitted. That suggests she would benefit from a female coach and one perhaps with a Mariinsky/Kirov pedigree. For example the kicks to the back of the head were weak and her fouettes had a fairly low working leg - she managed to push them through to completion. There is more potential there. I thought that Sarafanov danced like a god at the Saturday matinee. Bondareva started rather weakly with a shaky entrance, weak leaps and passing technical slips in Act I. In Act II she came into her own as the dream Dulcinea and shone in Act III despite the wardrobe malfunction. I also really liked the bearded Andrey Kasyanenko as Espada who danced with impudent macho flair. As for the discounting - there were discounted tickets available on Goldstar and on TDF (for those who are members). The fourth ring seats for the Osiliev "Don Q" shows were $129 and $89. Not cheap.

Actually my reaction is somewhat in the middle of the two extremes. This was an extremely excitingly danced performance - there were so many remarkable moments from both leads and also from the supporting cast. Sarafanov has a callow, underpowered presence onstage which combines poorly with Osipova's intensity and strength. So Act I was strangely lopsided but my god, how Osipova danced. Agreed that she is more mature and less innocent than before - also more calculated. In Act II, she actually had the floating arms and pliant back unlike Vorontsova the night before. Sarafanov also has magnificent line and control. Agreed that he should have only done one extra set of entrechats and ended them cleanly - that pumping his arms mime was clearly intended to keep him up for a few extra sets which he plopped down from clumsily. I also found Osipova a bit staccato in the beginning with her jerky jumps but to my eyes she got lighter and smoother as the act progressed. She is a physical dance marvel - the height of the entrechats en derriere and the big jump. At the end I was very impressed though not as moved as I was by Vishneva/Malakhov or Ferri/Bocca. Again, the connection between the two lovers was not quite there. But Osipova did suggest Giselle's need to forgive, protect and save the man who betrayed her. Sarafanov's boyishness wasn't as damaging in this act and he gave a little more. Borchenko was also in good form and despite the bad staging of Myrta's solo she showed her Vaganova Academy pedigree. Wednesday was an off night for her I guess - she is really good. The company for me has a lot of good things in it which evidently need stronger direction to reach consistent distinction. Also, Cory Stearns has very clean if not powerful technique and actually was consistently excellent in ABT's Fall season at the Koch - he delighted me in "Raymonda Variations", "After the Rain", "Fancy Free" and "Jardin aux Lilas". He can do well both as actor and dancer (as in an Albrecht I saw a few years ago with Hee Seo), it has just taken him a while.

Angelina Vorontsova was much better in Act I as the sweet peasant maiden than she was in Act II as the ghost. I thought she looked better than her Youtube clips in Act I and I didn't see any heaviness or technical problems. In Act II, I did. Let's get to the production. Nikita Dolgushin is using as his blueprint the Kirov production from the 1950's that he danced in as a young man. However in Act I he fools around with the order of the Peasant PDD and the pas seul for Giselle. Yuri Grigorovich also does this at the Bolshoi. He evidently found it awkward having Bathilde, the Duke of Courland and their hunting party enter, exit and re-enter with squires and dogs and ladies-in-waiting, etc.. So basically the nobles come on, we have the bit with Bathilde and the dress, the gift of the necklace and then they go into Berthe's cottage for refreshments. Hilarion comes back, breaks into Loys' hut and finds the sword and cape, hides them behind a bush and goes offstage to wait. A bunch of peasant boys and girls enter but they are not crowning the harvest queen and nominating Giselle as harvest queen - they are just inviting her to join in their revels. Albrecht decides it is safe to rejoin them as Loys even though his noble pals are just inside the cottage instead of offstage hunting. Giselle dances the pas seul and then invites her two friends to dance the peasant pas de deux one after the other. The choreography for the Peasant PDD is pretty much the same as the one Kolpakova set in the ABT production so I guess it derives from the 50's Kirov as well. Andrei Vakhnyuk did well with the male peasant part but Yulia Tikka tottered in pirouettes and looked not ready for prime time. After the peasant pas de deux, Hilarion enters and confronts Giselle and Albrecht, reveals the hidden sword and cape and then blows his horn to bring the hunting party not from the woods nearby but from inside the house. Mad scene, death, yadda yadda yadda. Curtain. Act II gets stranger - some of the introduction music for Hilarion is played with the curtain down. The lighting is brilliant light blue - seems to be early morning or late afternoon - not midnight. There are weird leafy branches drops upstage center and over Giselle's cross downstage left that rise and drop arbitrarily. Hilarion has to mime seeing flying spectres or weird lights when nothing is really happening and his mime is pointless and ineffective. The lighting and flying branches look like technical blunders but aren't. There is an unfamiliar musical section to Giselle's reawakening solo - a moody transitional slow section that I never heard before. Also when the Wilis exit after their scene there is different music for them and new choreography. Nothing better, just different. Some different details concerning the flowers (Albrecht brings white roses not lilies to Giselle's grave) and Giselle doesn't disappear at the end behind the cross over her grave but goes upstage center and is obscured by the falling leafy branch drop. Albrecht prostrates himself over Giselle's grave down left at the end even though she exited down center. Again, different but not better. I liked Vorontsova a lot in Act I as I said - she is very pretty: blonde with a heart-shaped sweet wistful face, big doe-like eyes with long lashes and a shy smile. Nothing calculated about her - young, innocent, sweet. Vorontsova's mad scene was low-key not melodramatic - she was a lost creature, wounded, innocent. Very strong pirouettes, hops on pointe and piques in the pas seul. She has lovely long arms and high extensions and a big buoyant jump. In Act II, she lacked all sense of Romantic style - no stretching out of the limbs and the back seemed a bit stiff and vertical at all times. She had to push with her shoulders when she raised herself into arabesque penchée. No lingering on pointe, she just rushed through everything. Here and there her footwork got muddy. She lacked lightness and an ethereal quality. This was due to the stiff back but also a lack of elongation and stretch in her movements - the signature forward tilt of the torso and reaching arms weren't there. There was no dramatic arc where you sensed Giselle trying to save Albrecht from the Wilis - just generalized mournful and sad affect. Ivan Vasiliev is also not a Romantic dancer or danseur noble but he is a strong, giving actor and bravura technician. He can't help having those short, over muscled legs and roguish face. However in Act I he added little extra jumps and acted with detail and passion. He had excellent rapport with Vorontsova and was reacting every moment. He was an ardent, impulsive Albrecht - not a cad but a spoiled boy who was going to do what he wanted. Wilful but not malicious. In Act II, he overacted - a robotic stiff walk as he entered with the white roses and black cape. Major eye-rolling when he saw Giselle's ghost. He added extra sets of entrechats sixes and the orchestra vamped extra bars but he conked out at the beginning of the musical bar and had to sit it out upstage right until Giselle could enter and "save" him on the next phrase. The entrechats were impressive and high though as were his beats and jumps. The big problem was that his muscular athletic showoffy style precluded any sense that Albrecht was exhausted and desperate and in extremis at the end of Act II. I have liked other short, bravura Albrechts like Julio Bocca but they had better sense of the style and were more disciplined in Act II. Vasiliev wasn't quite as miscast and bad as I thought he would be - but he isn't in my top league of Albrechts either. Ekaterina Borchenko had all the physical qualities and most of the technique for Myrtha but again lacked style. Her petite allegro lacked polish and sometimes she failed to register certain poses and gestures clearly. She could have used coaching from Tatyana Terekhova (and Vorontsova coaching from Makarova). No one seemed to know that in "Giselle" that there are little moments where the dancer lingers in arabesque or holds a pose to create an iconic image - everything was plowed through energetically without nuance. Vorontsova, Vasiliev and Borchenko and the decent Wili corps all had loud landings from jumps with shoes hitting the floor with a thud. The orchestration seemed brassier and not what I have heard in other productions and the conducting was pretty brash and fast. The orchestra had a few bad moments in the horns and lacked refinement but is still better than the pick-up orchestra ABT gets. The sets look like pretty much what you would expect but a little provincial with poorly realized details. The late medieval costumes can look goofy too especially those for the men. I really enjoyed Act I where the leads convinced and the production despite a few eccentricities didn't get in the way. In Act II, the deficiencies of the lead dancers and the eccentricities of the production let things down quite a bit.

Sometimes talking about a promotion can jinx things. Take this interview with Giuseppe Picone from 2000: http://www.criticaldance.com/interviews/2000/gpicone001005.html Quote: "At the ABT I only do principal roles, it's been two years now that I have been doing principal roles. Last year, just when I was going to get to get promoted, the worst happened. I had an injury, and missed my promotion to a principal. But it's OK, I am now fully recovered and I'm coming back." Well not too long after this, ABT did not renew his contract. I don't think he ever made principal. However, I must mention again that Misty Copeland has been dancing at ABT since 2001 - for thirteen years. She was appointed a soloist in 2007 - however during all this time she has almost never danced leading classical roles. There was a Gamzatti recently but it was a Gypsy Girl or the Flower Girl in "Don Quixote" etc. for many, many years. No problem putting her in modern ballets. Her injury a few years ago after getting very good reviews for the lead role in Ratmansky's "Firebird" definitely slowed down her momentum. So Misty was for many years as neglected and pushed aside as Sarah and Stella. Sarah joined the company in 2004 and was dancing leads in "Theme and Variations" and important soloist roles almost immediately before she was promoted to soloist in 2007. So it took six years for Misty to get promoted but Sarah only three. I think, love her or hate her, Misty has paid her dues and deserves a shot at leading classical roles. So does Sarah and it is a shame that Kevin couldn't have made one principal sit out Juliet this year and give Sarah one performance. I don't think Kevin is going to do anything for Stella at this point, so it's not Sarah or Misty that is in her way, it is Kevin. I also don't get the Misty hate.

Semionova also doesn't have a lot of new roles - repeating her less than universally praised Giselle and Juliet as well as Swan Lake, Bayadere and T&V. Veronika dances mostly evening shows which is a relief but her major new role is the Emilia/His Wife role in "Othello" - she has done the same part in "The Moor's Pavane". It isn't a major repertory acquisition for her. Sarah Lane and Stella Abrera have leading roles in "Les Sylphides" as well - I think Stella has the main lead who dances the pas de deux. Sarah Lane gets an evening T&V as well. That in addition to the Nutcrackers they are dancing this winter and the two Cinderellas for Stella and two Sleeping Beauty Auroras for Sarah gives them much more to do next Spring. Stella had done beautiful work in the Kudelka "Cinderella" and the Ashton has much better choreography. Best of luck to Misty who deserves all the opportunities she gets - she also was overdue for some major roles. Major season for Joseph Gorak - hope he started lifting some weights to get some upper body strength to do the lifts in R&J. Isabella Boylston naturally got an Aurora - she will hopefully be carefully coached by Kolpakova to get the upper body fluidity and port de bras required. All it will take is another injury for Hallberg or Stearns and the whole male casting will be thrown into disarray. I hope Eric Tamm gets some "Les Sylphides" Poet performances and hopefully gets taught Albrecht, Romeo, Desiré and Siegfried. He may be needed in a pinch. Forster and Sterling Baca got some Purple Rothbarts but Tamm isn't listed for anything new.

That is a beautiful idea but unfortunately, Carla herself does not think she is at the top of her game. Here is a quote from her in the Seattle Times: "My body is ready to move on, so I need to respect that. Ballet has been my life, so I hope to continue to explore the art form in new ways and try new artistic endeavors.” This statement from the NY Times perhaps leaves a little room for hope: “I go back and forth between feeling like this is the end of my dancing career and just feeling: No, it’s not the end, I just need a change,” Ms. Körbes said. “I have done the company lifestyle for 16 years, and ballet has changed. It is evolving, and we’re being pushed in ways that just doesn’t feel like it’s working for me right now.” As for ending up in the NY Metro area, she has been there, done that. If she goes anywhere it will be to the left coast with her husband-to-be: "Where she will end up after June 7, however, is a secret. Ms. Körbes is engaged to the photographer Patrick Fraser, who lives in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles. She said she doubts she will remain in Seattle, but said that Mr. Fraser was planning a move, too. “It’s going to be a change,” she said cryptically." New York City would not be a change for her, but a return to her past. Sadly, ABT did well by acquiring Ethan Stiefel when he left NYCB but Monique Meunier, for reasons that may not be Kevin's fault, did not do well. Alexandra Ansanelli was interested in joining ABT but was offered a soloist contract and decided to go to the Royal Ballet before her early retirement. Kathryn Morgan really isn't in the best shape to even go into the corps right now though we all hope the best for her future as a dancer. Joy Womack has received excellent training at the Bolshoi and seems like a good acquisition unless there were other problems we don't know about that were blocking her advancement at the Bolshoi (other than failing to pay bribes). There may be personality issues there as her interviews suggested a flighty, not entirely stable individual (getting into a marriage of convenience to retain her Russian visa, etc.). Womack also seems determined to stay in Russia. She is currently at the Kremlin Ballet Theater getting valuable experience.

Certain ballets will have to be extensively recast due to the series of retirements during the Spring season. Reyes is leaving in the first weeks of the season taking her out of Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella. Julie Kent would also be out of the Cinderella and Swan Lake as well since her retirement is in Romeo and Juliet the week before. Herrera would be out of Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet. So ABT would need two new Cinderellas to replace Kent and Reyes (Xiomara could still dance it well), a new Aurora to replace Reyes (Kent dropped the role years ago though it was a lovely role for her in the 1990s), and two new Juliets to replace Herrera and Reyes. Now Alina Cojocaru dances Cinderella and Juliet and could partner Herman and Joseph Gorak in those ballets. I think Misty Copeland is a possible Cinderella and could be charming in it and Sarah Lane is a no-brainer choice for Cinderella too. Sarah Lane would make a lovely Juliet based on her Miranda in the Tempest. Cojocaru is hanging on by the skin of her teeth as Aurora so probably Stella should add Aurora to her ABT repertoire. However, Kevin probably would want Isabella Boylston to add Aurora to her repertory and she would be preferred though Abrera has danced it before. As I said before Sarah Lane and Joseph Gorak should be paired in Sleeping Beauty - I wouldn't mind an opening night for them. For Swan Lake - well Misty Copeland can unveil her Odette-Odile in NYC, divided opinions notwithstanding I would be there to cheer her on.

If we are back to the star stopgap situation then there is Svetlana Lunkina out there in Canada. Some kind of guest artist situation could be worked out with her. She has worked with Ratmansky - though I can't say whether he had a good working relationship with her or not - Ratmansky worked with Tsiskaridze when he ran the Bolshoi as well... I remember him announcing her promotion to prima ballerina at the Bolshoi from the Met stage before a performance of "The Bright Stream". Maybe lure back Erica Cornejo? Simone Messmer?

This is from Carmen de Lavallade's public Facebook page - From My Son Leo Holder - A True Story Geoffrey Holder dances offstage to a new choreographic composition. https://www.facebook.com/notes/819776418056452/ "Geoffrey started to dance again. In his bed. Purest of spirits. Still Geoffrey Holder. Then he summoned me to take his hands, and this most unique dancer / choreographer pulled himself up from his bed as if to reach the sky. It was then I broke the code: he was telling me he was going to dance his way out. Still a Geoffrey Holder production. If it had been up to him, this evening’s solo would have been it."

I would have agreed with you Abatt, as I also thought Misty technically too weak for Odile and too contemporary and not lyrical enough for Odette. I said so in print right here on this site. But evidently Misty managed something convincing in Australia. http://deborahjones.me/2014/09/04/you-saw-it-here-first/ http://deborahjones.me/2014/09/08/odette-to-the-power-of-four/ I wish we had more reports from Australia from people who attended and also how the telecast of "Swan Lake" went with Part and Whiteside. However, if Misty had ostensibly failed as Odette/Odile, we could say "perhaps there might have been something else between the relatively easy Coppelia and the killer demands of Swan Lake." But all indications are that she had a personal success. If she is a strong Odile then Kitri in "Don Quixote" seems a logical next step. Especially with Herrera on her way out and Xiomara Reyes on borrowed time.

Compared to Sarah Lane or Stella Abrera, prior to this season Misty has danced almost no leads in a classical ballet - period. Abrera had Gamzatti, Cinderella and other major parts like Myrtha. Lane had T&V, Coppelia, Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. For Misty Copeland it was only the Ratmansky "Firebird" (where many preferred her to Osipova) and Gamzatti, then came that major injury and a long hiatus and recovery. Only this season did Misty get Duo Concertant, Coppelia and now one matinee of Swan Lake on tour. So I think trying out Misty in a major full-length classical ballet is long overdue. And if the critical praise is accurate and deserved, more should come.

Well, if there are so few opportunities for soloists to take on principal roles, isn't that the fault of Kevin McKenzie and ABT management? Therefore the blame goes on them rather than on Misty? Was Misty not supposed to accept this opportunity/challenge? I agree that Sarah and Stella deserve the opportunity to dance Giselle and Swan Lake at ABT, but denying them that opportunity in favor of Misty is Kevin McKenzie's doing. Also a dancer's career is short and Misty has already been dancing for over 10 years and is 32 years old. Her time is now or never (as it is for Sarah Lane who is the same age and Stella who is a few years older). The fact is, Misty took on the challenge and in the view of the critics, succeeded. Again, if ABT had taught Stella and Sarah Odette/Odile in the McKenzie ABT production then they would not have been forced to put on Hee Seo on for two consecutive performances this past June 27 and 28th. Even given the fragmentary nature of the video it clearly shows that Misty Copeland is a superior Odette/Odile to Hee Seo who was granted the first cast opening night performance in Australia.

Thank you for posting this video. From the small fragments that are shown of Misty dancing Odette/Odile I see that she is more of a natural Odile. However the Odette is strong, womanly but vulnerable and probably is still developing. There is considerable achievement, more than I had predicted, as well as great potential. Definitely she seems to have the technique and the positive reviews from Australia didn't note any technical shortcomings. There is a kind of authority in her performing that I don't see in Hammoudi who in the little transitional bits we see looks like he is just trying to keep it all together without mishap. Misty has been at ABT for over ten years and certainly has paid her dues. Whatever thinking was behind her casting (which we are not privy to and any theories are just supposition), she seems to have delivered the goods on the stage. May I also mention that Stella Abrera is also a non-Caucasian dancer? (though Asian and Filipino dancers may fit more easily into the conventional traditional ballet image and aesthetic of the classical ballerina than African-Americans). Also Misty's interview did not make direct accusations of racism but talked about racial profiling. The idea that African-American dancers can dance Tharp, Paul Taylor or Ailey pieces but aren't "right" for the Petipa classics. Also that African-American dancers have internalized this stereotyping by avoiding classical ballet. I need to see Misty's entire "Swan Lake" in the theater to make a final critical judgment. But I would say that these clips make me very eager to see her dance Odette/Odile in New York. Also may I mention that any publicity given to classical art forms such as classical ballet, now very much marginalized in today's media and absent from television, is beneficial to the art form. So Misty bringing her story and her persona to the public generates interest and is beneficial to the art form. In the interview, Misty was articulate and not bitter and mentioned that everything that she is, opportunities that came to her and successes she has achieved have all come through ballet. Racism was not stressed but overcoming racial stereotypes and promoting diversity were the main theme. I don't see how any of this is bad.

Re: Gorak being missing from the announcement. He is still in the corps de ballet until 8/1/14, so he wouldn't be one of the leading soloists they would be announcing. However he is listed for roles in "Seven Sonatas" and "Bach Partita". April Giangeruso has also landed a solo role in "Bach Partita" Interesting note: Gomes is not dancing in "Swan Lake".

However, if we are taking a psychological track then I think the happy ending could be even more valid. In the Grigorovich version, the Evil Genius appears before Odette. He dances behind Siegfried, shadowing his steps or perhaps even controlling his movements. It is almost like the Evil Genius is Siegfried's evil twin or doppelganger. So if it is all in Siegfried's mind, if he kills the evil doppelganger who is blocking him from achieving love and happiness, then that ending works too. Really it probably is a better ending - subduing your inner demons and finding yourself, freeing yourself to find love and happiness. BTW: I have seen this production on video and haven't hated it as much as when I saw it live on Wednesday night. (It was filmed with Bessmertnova, Plisetskaya, Alla Mikhalchenko and Maria Alexandrova - partial list probably). Close-ups give Odette more presence and authority and make her less of a puppet controlled by or a vision conjured up by the Evil Genius. Certainly Plisetskaya was nobody's puppet or passive object.

When this production was shown in HD a few years ago with Maria Alexandrova as O/O, Nikolai Tsiskaridze danced the "Evil Genius". Tsiskaridze also was interviewed during the intermissions and gave the history of the production. He explained that Grigorovich in 1969 wished to reinstate the tragic ending. However, Soviet authorities demanded the positive, happy ending where Siegfried rips off Von Rothbart's wing and decks him and the two bourrée off into the sunset. Grigorovich, always politically compliant, kept the traditional Soviet happy ending intact. (Some Russians are confused when they see the tragic denouement at ABT and other international companies perform "Swan Lake".) After glasnost and perestroika, Grigorovich was invited back to restage his production and he finally got to put in the tragic ending he always wanted. However, I don't find this ending tragic, just kind of pointless. It seems to be part of a massive rethinking to turn Odette/Odile into a passive, static character with no personal identity or stake in the story. Evil Genius just body slams her on the floor, Prince Sieggy wanders downstage confused, hero and audience say "What the f**k was that about?" and story over. Odette doesn't even have the individual will or strength to commit suicide and there is no lake for her to throw herself into. No Swan, no Lake...no Swan Lake.