FauxPas

Ambonnay, I have to concur with Aurora here vis a vis Part. I saw Part dance with Hallberg in "Swan Lake" and they looked lovely together. There were no partnering glitches. If Hallberg can lift Wiles, Part should be no problem (though ballerina coordination is a big factor is smooth partnering). However, Bolle does have a bit more upper body strength and both he and Part have a dark-haired movie star glamour that complement beautifully. As for strength in upper body, I think that Stearns is actually weaker in that department than Hallberg. He actually is well over six feet but lacks the upper body muscular development that maturer dancers like Carreno and Gomes have. Hallberg I find either connects emotionally and dramatically with his partner and role, or he doesn't. "Giselle" with Osipova this past Spring was a magnificent interpretive achievement from both. Xiomara Reyes I actually think is a superb actress with a real genius for portraying seriocomic waif-like roles. Her Cowgirl in "Rodeo" was Chaplinesque. I think if miscast (which she has been at ABT i.e. Raymonda) she can come across as flat and brittle. But cast right she is charming (i.e. Swanilda in "Coppelia" or Lise in "Fille"). Part also can bring an emotional amplitude to roles like Odette. She even was rather impressive as Lady Capulet recently, a mime role. Neither Part or Reyes I would characterize as a bad actress. They are both stronger in that regard than Herrera or Murphy. Also, Part's jump has a kind of horizontal power covering great distance - it actually is one of her strengths. The weightedness actually increases the sense of power. I don't think that Murphy is a better jumper. Part's serious deficiency is in turning and petite allegro which she recently has become more consistent in though by no means a natural.

Ambonnay, Wiles is dancing Kitri with Corey Stearns on 5/31/10. Depending on as yet unlisted performances of Lilac Fairy in "Sleeping Beauty" and one of the girls in "Fancy Free" - we may be seeing quite a bit of Michele. As for taking her away from David Hallberg - they really don't ignite as a couple onstage. Despite the matching height and blond good looks they really don't bring anything special out of one another. I also question whether Julie Kent can still handle Odette/Odile at this late post second pregnancy juncture. She looked very restored in "Seven Sonatas" earlier this month but that isn't "Swan Lake" in its demands.

I notice that the "Don Quixote" has two TBA Basilios and one TBA Kitri. My suggestion would be to add Simkin/Lane and move Dvorovenko and Carreno together. Also, I am surprised that Marcelo Gomes isn't dancing Basilio - he has been a definitive Espada and he has danced Basilio before. (He does dance everything and pulls more than his own weight) I think ABT should start Stearns on Espada for a season or two and promote him up to Basilio later when he has gained some stamina. I also see that there is one TBA cast on the Saturday matinee for "Sleeping Beauty". Would be nice to get Lane/Simkin or Lane/Stearns for that matinee. Points of interest: The Bolle/Part pairings in Bayadere and Swan Lake. The return of Part as Aurora (Wiles too) after doing Lilac in the revivals. Also the perfecter than perfect casting of Simkin as Puck in "The Dream". Castings not repeated: Dvorovenko as Nikiya, Gomes as Basilio, Lane as Aurora, Vishneva in "On the Dnieper", Ethan Steifel in "The Dream" as well as several other of his usual roles like Solor, etc.

I saw two of these programs: the first on Thursday night the 8th and on Saturday the 10th. The three new ballets were included in both programs with cast changes for the Ratmansky and Barton but identical for the Millepied. The pas de deux on Thursday was "Other Dances" with Hallberg/Murphy and on Saturday it was "Some Assembly Required" with Graniero/Stappas. I guess I have bad taste in choreography because I found the Ratmansky tasteful and correct but ultimately familiar and lifeless while I enjoyed the Barton as a slick clever dance entertainment and loved the Millepied. The Ratmansky showed that he has a fluency and naturalness in neoclassical choreography but he was bringing nothing new to a template that Balanchine and Robbins have fully exploited. Six dancers, three men and three women dancing to piano sonatas by Scarlatti. I kept waiting for the piece to develop into something more interesting but it seemed merely an exercise not an inspired work. There was an interesting quirkiness in the later dances for the women (angular folky arm movements, hints of humor) but my ultimate reaction was that it was "nice". You couldn't say much against it but really couldn't say much for it as an original statement. Julie Kent looked physically refreshed as the older and more emotionally complex woman of the three couples. Her dancing had authority, complexity and flair. Hee Seo in the other cast had a creamy soulfulness and hints of refined sensuality that suggested a younger but stronger woman. David Hallberg was stronger than Jared Matthews in making a major statement of his role. Ratmansky showed his predilection for developing and encouraging young talent in the corps by giving Joseph Philips a major opportunity alternating in the role created by Herman Cornejo. Cornejo sailed through his variations but Philips didn't stint really pushing himself with vigor into a part that Cornejo sailed through. Philips was working harder and seemed at his technical limit but his energy really pulled the piece up to another level. Sarah Lane danced both nights due to yet another injury to Xiomara Reyes (get better soon and stay that way Xiomara, we miss you!) and brought a lovely freshness to the "puppy love" pair. The other couple were danced with more authority by Gennadi Saveliev and Stella Abrera - no solos for them. Yuriko Kajiya and Carlos Lopez (it looked like Alexei Agoudine to me) didn't make as strong an impression. The Barton wasn't great choreography and reminded me of Broadway dancing in places but I liked it both nights. The jazz influences in Ravel's violin sonata seemed to be reflected in the dancing which had a similar combination of classical and jazz. Sometimes I felt that she was just letting certain dancers show off - Simkin, Salstein, Carlos Lopez, Misty Copeland etc. but I thought they were up to the job. It started out with the men in jackets in an almost Hollywood production number style and then they shed the jackets and the women went from evening gown to short skirts and slacks as the tone got more jazzy and snazzy. In the "Hollywood Siren" role in the first dance, I thought that Michele Wiles brought more presence and authority than Gillian Murphy. Paloma Herrera both nights showed her continuing brilliance in contemporary ballet style. I loved Misty Copeland in the 2nd section but Luciana Paris also scored with a more sinuous less athletic style. I felt the piece had some style and new ideas and made a diverting entertainment. Unlike the Ratmansky it didn't seem too long nor did it repeat itself. The Millepied was full of so many ideas and beautiful images and revealed an original choreographic voice in a new style for me. There were hints of William Forsythe but I actually liked this better - less overextended physicality and more lyricism and musicality (I liked this music better than the electronic stuff that Forsythe often uses). I felt that Millepied's gift for structure and using mass showed an unusual maturity. There was a little bit of "look at me" virtuosity here but we can use that now and then. Both Barton and Millepied utilized the quirky virtuosity of Daniil Simkin to its limit - Simkin is an unusual talent who probably would find much of the standard classic repertory a partial or bad fit (roles like the Spectre de la Rose or the Bluebird, Basilio would work, Albrecht and Siegfried, no). Many of Simkin's solos reminded me of the pieces choreographed by Simkin's father for the "Stars of the 21st Century Gala" a few years ago - showing off unusual steps and superhuman bravura but here in a more sophisticated context. Millepied's piece was the one that got the audience on its feet - people were hooting and hollering. As for the pas de deux's: Thursday's "Other Dances" was pretty much a washout though David Hallberg showed a nobility of style as always. I think it was a first for both dancers and it must have been like a bad dress rehearsal rather than an opening night for them. Gillian Murphy actually fell onstage but not in a difficult choreographic section - a promenade or simple turns on both pointes I think. She looked mechanical where she needed to flow with the music - none of the rubato or playfulness that Makarova could make magic with. David Hallberg didn't find the wit and self-parody that came so easily to Baryshnikov (and Ethan Stiefel could have also had fun with) and looked too serious much of the time. No chemistry between them and a lack of that European or Slavic je ne sais quoi that gives style to the piece (even when danced by American or South American dancers). "Some Assembly Required" by Clark Tippet I saw danced some years ago by Amanda McKerrow with either her husband or Robert Hill (or Ethan Brown???). I remember it as tender and lyrical with playful sections. This version seemed almost as if Nicole Graniero was pushing Isaac Stappas around most of the time and he was stone-faced and unemotional. He really seemed a porteur - just there to move her around in difficult positions. Hard to see what this was about - it didn't seem to be a love duet. It was like Bejart in the trailer park or something. Again it seemed too long. So I have bad taste, but I had fun...

bingham, with all due respect but my recollection of the "Thais" pas de deux is that it has a ton of lifts and the ballerina has to look very light and ethereal. It works best with a small, compact ballerina like Xiomara Reyes, Sarah Lane, Diana Vishneva or even Julie Kent. There was a BBC documentary aired on either A&E or Bravo fifteen years ago (when they were arts channels) profiling Viviana Durante where Antoinette Sibley was coaching her in "Thais" and mentioned that her lightness and compact frame made her ideal for it. There was thrilling footage of Durante seemingly light as a hummingbird being wafted through the air in various positions. Now Part did manage to be light and ethereal in Bournonville's "La Sylphide" in a terre a terre choreographic mode. However, I think that she is wrong for "Thais" in other ways - she has a lot of arms and legs to maneuver in some tight partnering moves and there is a lot of tossing around in lifts and major acrobatics here and there. However, I am always thrilled when proved very wrong with Ms. Part and Marcelo the Magnificent would more than hold up his end as he always does.

The timing of the acquisition of the Neumeier "La Dame aux Camellias" is unfortunate. Wasn't it this version that Alessandra Ferri triumphed in at La Scala? Both Ferri and Susan Jaffe would have excelled in this ballet some 5 or 8 years ago. Imagine Ferri as Marguerite with Bocca as her Armand. Or Susan Jaffe with a younger Carreno. Ananiashvili with Guillaume Graffin or Angel Corella? How about Vishneva with Malakhov? Well at least we still have Vishneva and Corella...

I had always wished that ABT and NYCB could swap ballerinas every season. I always liked Amanda McKerrow in Balanchine and wanted to see her in a wider Balanchine repertory. I also thought that Merrill Ashley would have burned up the stage late career in "Fall River Legend" circa 1992. I have read interesting things about "Les Presages" by Massine which seems to be a plotless symphonic ballet that predates Balanchine's pioneering work in the genre. It is in the repertory of some international companies - the POB and Joffrey. That is a Massine work that might fit in well with the Balanchine/Robbins esthetic. BTW: a friend saw some Leo Staats ballets performed by the Paris Opera Ballet school in Paris. This friend saw his "Soir de Fete" performed and was blown away. Staats was admired by Balanchine and "Soir de Fete" was an early influence and a precursor to his plotless ballets - this would seem to be a good idea to revive pieces that contributed to Balanchine's artistic evolution. These ballets still survive unlike something like Fyodor Lopukhov's "Dance Symphony" to music by Beethoven that was only performed once in 1923 and probably couldn't be reconstructed. It was controversial and probably was condemned as being "formalist" and disappeared. That also was a symphonic ballet and a great influence on the very young Balanchine.

Just a note that some of these beloved senior corps ladies are voluntarily retiring - I was informed that four of these women who are being mourned were not "cut" but left to pursue other things in life. I had an e-mail from a good reliable source with all the details but it would still fall under this board's definition of unsubstantiated gossip.

I dvr-ed this when it first aired. First of all, when I met Veronika after the "Romeo and Juliet" opening night with Vishneva and Gomes I mentioned this upcoming appearance. I hinted that she would do well to chat with Letterman beforehand so she would be relaxed with him. I also suggested she joke and flirt a bit. Frankly, I was afraid she might come off as too serious and a bore. Letterman seemed to take over the segment and kept feeding her lines and comments so that she didn't ramble or have to search for words. I suspected that Veronika at times wanted to expand and go deeper into her dancing but he kept it very surface and light. For example when Veronika put on her pointe shoes and got on pointe, I suspected she wanted perhaps to execute a few steps and demonstrate ballet technique. However, before she could go on, Letterman pulled her arms up in the air in a "Ta-da!" position and sort of ended the whole thing with just her standing on pointe. However, sometimes Letterman has been somewhat dismissive and nasty to non-celebrity guests, making mocking comments about their interests or achievements. Letterman was fairly nice to Veronika but kept her on a very short leash. The scheduling of the guests and the length of the segment also is a issue here. He wanted to keep her on time. Veronika came across as a little awkward but charming with a sense of humor. And so lovely.

Just a note that the first two weeks of the ABT Spring/Summer Met season usually sell poorly. Several of the All Tchaikovsky evenings were sparsely attended - ditto the overexposed "Corsaire". The novelty of the new Ratmansky picked up the box office for the "All Prokofiev" evening. By the time "Giselle" rolled around the houses started to fill up more. At that point the NYCB season was over and ABT was the only game in town for tourists who wanted something more refined than the current state of the Broadway musical. "Swan Lake" was pretty much sold out though the "Airs"/"Sylphide" double bill didn't pack them in. "Sylvia" did surprisingly well. ABT should consider pushing its season a little further into July since they really do get a great tourist trade. I have also been told that unlike the opera, the ballet is budgeted so that they don't have to sell every seat to make a profit.

Darcey Bussell was like the other Darci, Darci Kistler, in that she was the final muse of a major choreographer - Darci for Balanchine and Darcey for Kenneth MacMillan. Though I am not sure that "Winter Dreams" and "The Prince of the Pagodas" are major ballets, I think that with his death she was left without a guiding artistic force. Also, Darcey seems to me to have at a certain point put a lot of energy into her personal life and family which many other ballerinas (many in Leonid's list) decided to forego to concentrate on their careers. I don't know how much Darcey Bussell grew as an actress but I think that the Royal Ballet repertoire favors dance actresses. A pure technician isn't going to thrive there or shine in large parts of their repertoire. I think that after her baby, Bussell lost some of her technical ability and depended on personal charm.

As for Sarah Lane not dancing Juliet - remember that even with Julie Kent on maternity leave, ABT has a glut of principals who dance Juliet. If Xiomara Reyes' ankle injury is not sufficiently healed by this Friday then Sarah may get her chance. I am so with you on this ballet "sjk" - the harlots and sword fights are interesting the first time you see the ballet and unbelievably tedious on repetition. Luckily Marcelo the Magnificent was onstage during the harlot/street brawl/prancing Veronese peasant sections and so I could just look at him and that helped I remember a NY Times critic mentioning that this is a ballet that could use some fast-forwarding. Cranko makes some needed musical cuts and his fights and street scenes are not as repetitious as MacMillan's. At a three hour length, I believe the ballet has a longer playing time than the Shakespeare play it is based on and is almost as long as the Gounod opera. I actually am interested in the other casts (Bolle/Dvorovenko, Stearns/Seo, Cornejo/Reyes) but really can't do this ballet more than once a season. Vishneva I found more lyrical and less wild than previously (I saw her dance it with Corella a few years ago). Similar to her Giselle this season, she has toned down some of the rebellious, over the top coltish quality bringing a lovely delicate femininity to the early ballroom, balcony and marriage scenes and leaving the big dramatics for Act III's bedroom and tomb scene. Marcelo Gomes as Romeo matched her intensity and gave her a foundation of strength and emotional receptiveness to work off of. He was more than a head taller than his Mercutio and Benvolio (Cornejo and Lopez) and this changed the look of their unison dances. Romeo seemed the natural leader rather than one among equals (or Mercutio's follower/butt of jokes). I think that casting him alongside Jared Matthews and Blaine Hoven would have a very different effect. I don't think the original Mercutio David Blair was that short a dancer. [bTW: I saw the Ananiashvili farewell Swan, the Part Sylphide and three casts in "Sylvia" but have been busy or on vacation and haven't posted on them yet - anon]

As for dance journalists seeking shock value: I remember one very opportunistic article when the domestic violence scandal erupted when police were called to the residence of Darci Kistler and Peter Martins in 1992 when an argument allegedly got physical and it became a domestic disturbance call. One reporter (was it the NY Times?) went to NYCB and interviewed several dancers about their reaction to the incident. Frankly, I felt the reporter had it in for Martins and was looking to publicly humiliate him by encouraging his employees to censure him in print. The dancers were clearly upset by the incident but the few who spoke with the reporter were rather circumspect about it all ("A really sad thing..." etc.). Now I didn't approve of Martins' behavior whatever really happened in that room but it was his private life. No one really knew what went on between the two and to comment publicly in a judgmental way is really wrong unless you have all the facts. No one except the two parties involved did.

Frankly, not all dancers are articulate conversationalists and Ms. Part has always seemed rather reserved and introverted in interviews. She also sometimes is frank about the negatives in her life and career which is honest but can be a downer in a TV interview. Also this can offend her current employers. My advice to Veronika: smile and joke as much as possible and be very upbeat about her life and career right now! Flirt with Letterman, maybe he will invite you back and let you dance as well!

I think Sophie Flack needs to see this firing as a door opening rather than a career in dance ending. She may have only ever wanted to dance for NYCB but at 25, she still has a lot of dancing left in her. Why throw out the pancake and the sponge? Maybe work in a modern dance or contemporary ballet company where your breasts aren't too big and heavy stage makeup isn't used? Moving on could be a great thing for her. Also don't corps dancers generally retire at a younger age than principals or soloists? I think I read somewhere that corps dancers are usually pushed out around the age of 30 or thereabouts. So it is not a forever thing. She may have faced the same situation five or eight years from now at an older age with less options open to her. I passed by the Majestic Theater - home to Phantom of the opera and took a look at the cast list up on the wall. There are some ballerina roles in the show that are often taken by former ABT and NYCB dancers - I noticed the name Amanda Edge up on the boards. It seems she has been doing Phantom for some years now both in Las Vegas and New York. There are lots of jobs for dancers with good training if you want to look beyond the two big companies in NYC. Many, many talented dancers didn't go anywhere at NYCB in the last 25 years under Peter Martins - even dancers who made principal often have had a languishing on the vine experience for both themselves and their fans. Recently the company has had an influx of really talented young dancers - Pereira, Morgan, Scheller, Peck, Hyltin and Mearns who are all under 25. Clearing out dead wood happens in all companies. I am actually more against principals and soloists having a guaranteed sinecure with the company. What is Nilas Martins dancing these days? How much is he getting paid?

Interesting connection: in the Suzanne Farrell "Elusive Muse" documentary, Isabelle Guerin is filmed during a rehearsal of Balanchine's "Mozartiana" (am I correct?) being coached by none other than Ms. Farrell herself. Farrell is very complimentary telling Guerin that she is going to steal some of her nuances.

A quick note about Vishneva and Gomes: Diana is constantly refining and adjusting her interpretations. Her Odette this year was more subtle than in the past. The grief was contained and she held a queenly reserve - definitely noble and not overtly despairing, pleading and suffering. However this was not the world unto herself that Uliana Lopatkina has evolved into - there was lots of chemistry between Diana and Marcelo and the pas de deux was not just about her. Beautiful shaping and phrasing in the arms and legs with lots of accentuation to the music. Vishneva like Makarova realizes that the swan is a "big bird" and her arms are always broad and majestic wings (she never does the boneless rippling water effect). Part and Lopatkina are by default "big birds" but Vishneva avoids the fluttering that more delicate ballerinas can fall into. The Odile has a subtle glamor - not overtly vampy but not a brittle soubrette as she sometimes has been to her detriment. In the coda of the Black Swan PDD, Vishneva seemed to start to lose steam in the fouettes about 2/3 of the way through and had to crank out some hard-pressed singles toward the end but finished. Not quite the Ananiashvili of 12 years ago or the Murphy of Tuesday night but still impressive. I thought she had some lovely pirouettes throughout the evening. Vishneva's "Swan Lake" has been plagued by the unevenness and lack of equality in her white and black acts. Odile is something she had to work into as Makarova did. Last night while not as great as some other ballerinas in each act, Vishneva struck something of a balance with the very different aspects of this most demanding of ballerina roles. I think the rapport and confidence she feels with Marcelo Gomes is a big part of this - she never reached this level with Saveliev or Carreno in "Swan Lake".

I think that Mercutio would be a perfect role for Daniil Simkin and I hope they give it to him very soon.

The problem with talented dancers like Mikhail Ilyin and Joseph Philips who were dancing soloist with Miami City Ballet and joined ABT as corps is that there are still a lot of soloists ahead of them. Meanwhile, the importation of the supertalented Daniil Simkin who is a similar demi-caractere type as a soloist (and his quick utilization) is a further blow to these boys. The male ranks at ABT has been very talent heavy for a while and only recently has there been some room at the top (the departure of Bocca and Malakhov, the injuries of Stiefel, Corella's scheduling conflicts with his own company, Carreno hitting 40, etc.). However there have been almost two decades of soloists languishing and leaving ABT to go elsewhere. I am thinking of Parrish Maynard to San Francisco, Charles Askegard and Joaquin de Luz to NYCB, Carlos Molina to Boston Ballet and Sascha Radetsky to the HET Ballet. Danny Tidwell is still wandering in the wildnerness (I think he would have made soloist but it probably would have taken another year or two.) Still this may be the first time in over 15 years where there is room at the top in the male ranks at ABT but it is still a tough climb. Frankly, I would be happy to see both Ilyin and Philips cast instead of Carlos Lopez in some of the classical pieces (Peasant PDD in Giselle) and also instead of Blaine Hoven in some instances. ABT miscast Gennadi Saveliev as the Bluebird in "Sleeping Beauty" and frankly both these boys (and Daniil) would make a better Bluebird.

Zerbinetta: that information could be found here: http://www.abt.org/insideabt/news_display.asp?News_ID=271 The "Sylphide" casting has changed a lot due to the injuries sustained by Xiomara Reyes and Maxim Belotserkovsky but the "Airs" casting has been consistent with this press release.

I attended Tuesday night's Airs/Sylphide as well. I didn't think it was awful - there were gains and losses. AIRS: Simone Messmer was lovely in the role that Kristi Boone did on opening night. Nice to see Joseph Philips who has been relegated to the corps in the jumpy role Arron Scott did on Monday night (it would be nice to see Joe do the Peasant Pas de Deux in "Giselle" - maybe Benno in "Swan Lake" too?). Otherwise there were some really shaky looking lifts and problems with ensemble. However, Sean Stewart once again had a soloist role and he looked very good. Anna Kisselgoff I believe singled him out ten years ago as a dancer with a singular sense of style and he really had the Taylor style down. I liked Roddy Doble too. However Luciana Paris wasn't as good as Misty. This one needs to settle in with repetition - all these dancers are new to the piece and the style. LA SYLPHIDE: I thought that David Hallberg was close to definitive as James - a worthy successor to Bruhn and in that line. His mime (I was sitting close) was very detailed and specific. Beautiful stylish use of the appropriate arm positions and sharp crisp leg beats and turns. Nina Ananiashvili clearly didn't have the reserves of energy and technical strength that Osipova has but a lovelier all around sense of the phrasing and the style. I am no expert on Bournonville style but her arm positions seemed more traditional and she phrased the solos beautifully linking the steps together better. Her Sylphide was delicately mischievous sprite with a sense of fun. She and Hallberg had a lovely rapport onstage. Nancy Raffa repeated her vivid Madge from Monday. Carlos Lopez had a good outing as Gurn with a nicely bumbling characterization that genuinely earned laughs and a well-danced solo in Act I. Marian Butler was a good Effie. The corps looked better last night with more cohesion and better ensemble in Act II.

I was in a side box and I thought the house looked pretty well sold - the orchestra looked well filled even on the sides and the empties were pretty scattered. I didn't see whole rows empty anywhere except in the back of the Family Circle which never sells... I think Osipova is pulling in some bodies. The dancers in "Airs" were Misty Copeland, Nicola Curry, Isaac Stappas, Blaine Hoven, Anne Milewski, Kristi Boone, Blaine Hoven and Arron Scott. I thought they were good. Kristi Boone was the statuesque calm goddess and Misty Copeland the little bacchante. Arron Scott had the jumpiest variation and stood out from the other men. Once again this modern piece was chosen by ABT because it is fairly balletic in its affect and steps, despite being done on flat feet. Another piece that would look better at City Center. (We all complain about the glut of full-lengths done for the Spring/Summer Met season but there are reasons other than box office). Though I like seeing corps kids get their day in the sun, not looking forward to multiple viewings. Just a few stray notes: Osipova again showed that her great strength could be sublimated to serve the choreography. As others have noted, she has incredible ballon in jumps and leaps and really does look like she can fly. Her attacks are light and not muscular or athletic, so the Romantic line isn't broken. However, I am not sure that she is a complete Romantic stylist yet, the real softness of phrasing is an acquired patina right now not something emanating from within. She is young and already has learned so much, I give her time. Ananiashvili and Vishneva in "Giselle" were not the interpreters and stylists they are now when they did the role at Osipova's age of 23. And Osipova is already so impressive as an artist, the sky's the limit as far as I can see. She was pretty well-matched with Herman - in flat feet she is his exact height, on pointe she is about three or four inches tall than he is. Since Bounonville has the Sylph and James dancing mostly side by side rather than have the man be the porteur in promenades and lifts, etc. the slight discrepancy wasn't noticeable. Herman was stunning in his beats but I found he was having trouble balancing after doing cabrioles, etc. I think he is just a little off of form from his knee injury. His acting was quite a good balance of the dreamer and the impetuous young man. Does James die at the end or just faint? Madge seemed to be putting spells on him and messing with him in the last scene. Daniil Simkin again made a vivid impression as Gurn - he has the Suzanne Farrell trick of doing jumps and turns off-balance rather than straight up and down vertically and landing perfectly like a cat. Nancy Raffa replaced Victor Barbee as Madge and was quite vivid and specific in her mime. The corps and orchestra made some flubs after an impressive showing last week in "Giselle". Interesting to see ballerinas of varying physical types take over the role throughout the week - I am seeing Ananiashvili tonight and Part on Saturday.

Osipova was quite different from what I expected. She is quite tiny with big eyes and a big smile and now quite thin. (She could be partnered well with both Cornejo and Corella). So her Giselle rather than being a peasant girl with a lot of energy and vivacity was rather a shy, fragile, childlike figure - both very attracted to and frightened of Albrecht's attentions. I found Osipova's acting quite remarkable throughout - her mad scene had many unique touches. However her great technical strength here was sublimated into making powerful dance images - there is an artist emerging here from the technical wiz kid. If she pirouetted not only did she do mutiples but they slowed down to finish with the music. Her jumps were all different- at her entrance she seemed to point her toe to her ankle and just rise in the air from joy. The hops on pointe in the Act I solo were perfect but she also was able to do lyrical movements with her arms and torso in opposition to the allegro footwork giving a dreamy aspect to the dance. Her spins as the revived Wili in Act II were the fastest I have ever seen - really almost a blur - yet it suggested the superhuman forces animating Giselle at that point - life charging through her. So the powerhouse technique and lack of effort wasn't used to do tour de force tricks but was totally in the service of creating the role making the steps more visually expressive and working off of the drama and the music. I see a lot of promise fulfilled here and much to look forward to in the future. David Hallberg I knew had a great Albrecht in him and though he will definitely add and refine things it is already basically all there. He is definitely high on my list of favorite Albrechts. Naturally aristocratic bearing, perfect Hamlet-like appearance but also he was both ardent and tender with Giselle in Act I. You got the idea like Malakhov that this started out as a game but he became so emotionally invested in this charade that it became more real than his real life. He wanted to be Loys and be close to this girl who has totally captured his interest and heart. So he pushes aside the warnings of Wilfred and eventually pays the price. You feel sorry for David Hallberg's Albrecht when his ruse is revealed, he seems crushed too. Veronika Part may not have Gillian Murphy's superhuman, machine-tooled bourrees, entrechats and turns but the style and phrasing were so evocative. The fluidity of the upper body and the way she phrased to the music created imagery that resonated. Gillian went for speed and sharp attack whereas Part had a more floating slow-moving menace. Also Veronika's mime was nicely specific - the hand to the ear signaling Albrecht's approach and her ordering the wilis offstage to lie in wait for him - that didn't read as clearly with Michele or Gillian. Hee Seo and Blaine Hoven danced the Peasant Pas de Deux - she was warm and bouyant while Blaine Hoven seemed in better form than previously in the season. He looked less bulky and awkward and his dancing also had tensile strength but seemed a little unfinished. Some shaky landings from jumps or assemble turns and slight passing hints of insecurity marred an otherwise impressive showing. He needs some polishing. I didn't know how anything could match or top Ananiashvili and Vishneva earlier in the week but these two did it last night.

Nina last season definitely had problems but varied from night to night. Nina ended up taking over one Giselle, Don Quixote and Swan Lake from the injured Diana with a different partner each night. The Gomes SL was problematic (Black Swan) but the Corella SL was pretty good by report. The Corella Giselle was excellent (and Angel was better last year with Nina) but the one with Carreno showed a falling off (problems with Act I solo). The Corella Don Q was not perfect but fun but the Carreno one had noticeable failings. Nina has also had seasons in the early 2000's where she was recovering from injuries and I thought she was losing it - then she would return the next year and it was the old Nina blazing away (a 2004 Don Quixote with Carreno).

I agree that Vishneva was exquisite but I felt she was working without much support from a bland Corella. Diana has toned down some of the coltish wildness for a more lyrical, traditionally maidenly, delicate Giselle. It all is very much in the central tradition of the role but consequently her second act now seems more congruous with her first. The renunciation and spiritual transfiguration of the second act spirit seemed to fit naturally with the emotionally open, impetuous yet tentative, innocent girl of the first act. Technically she has reserves of strength and stamina that Nina has to work without - the first act Spessivtseva variation was flawless with dazzling hops on pointe and whiplash turns. She also would freeze a second in the iconic poses (Wafting from lithograph to lithograph) but the line is gorgeous and the poses unforgettable with those long boneless arms. I have always been slightly disappointed with Diana's Act II but not last night. It was a classic interpretation. Angel didn't have her depth or her intensity. He danced well - particularly in his solos. His partnering was excellent in Act II and Diana seemed to totally trust him (I suspected that Nina didn't totally trust Marcelo in Act II - she didn't luxuriate in his strong lifts and would occasionally put her hand on him as if to anchor herself for a slip). Angel was boyish, sincere, just enough arrogance but the emotional projection wasn't intense enough so it seemed that Giselle was throwing herself away for someone less interesting than herself. The level of interaction seemed on a lower level than in their debut "Giselle" together three or four years ago and the even greater partnership with Vladimir Malakhov. That partnership I considered on a level with Ferri/Bocca and likely Fracci/Bruhn, Fonteyn/Nureyev and Haydee/Cragun. If "Giselle" comes back next year I hope they cast Diana with Marcelo Gomes - that would be an interesting and dramatic combination. Everyone outside of a super Sarah Lane and Daniil Simkin in the Peasant Pas and Melanie Hamrick and Stella Abrera as Moyna and Zulma were a step below yesterday. Michele Wiles has strength but looked jerky and heavy in her turns and jumps as Myrtha - too earthbound. Isaac Stappas bungled key blocking (blowing the hunting horn in Act I) and seemed unfocused in his acting. Some good dancing and less business with props saved him in Act II. Props also to Maria Bystrova as a severe but deeply loving Berthe - her acting is very grounded and sincere.