FauxPas

What is coming across as a theme in the "off-type" Giselles (re: P. Herrera, C. Gregory, M. Van Hamel, I. Dvorovenko) is that they generally do better in the second act. I think Susan Jaffe was another "off-type" Giselle. Susan Jaffe did Giselle all throughout her ABT career but like the ladies above (with the exception of Herrera), she also did Myrtha early in her career quite often. I saw her as Myrtha with Ferri and Bocca circa 1991 and she was wonderful. I didn't see Susan's Giselle early (say in the eighties or early nineties) but did see her with Ethan Stiefel circa 1998. Her first act was indeed rather calculated and lacking innocence but her second act was excellent. I always found Susan too sophisticated and knowing for something like Giselle Act I. I concluded that Myrtha was her natural role. Interestingly, Susan Jaffe grew as an interpretive artist as an older dancer and was more convincingly virginal, unsophisticated and innocent in her farewell performance as Giselle. Like her Tatiana in "Onegin" her acting had grown to a point where she could transcend her own personality and present a finished portrait of a character totally unlike herself. She had to simplify some of the choreography but the two halves of the ballet were balanced. I think that that is the challenge of "Giselle" in that the character in Act I is presented largely in mime and the dancing needs to be superimposed on an essentially theatrical framework whereas in Act II Giselle is an abstract figure who expresses herself totally in pure dance. The emotions and byplay are rather passive emotional states in Act II, (sadness, forgiveness, renunciation and regret, etc.) whereas in Act I Giselle is reacting to specific dramatic actions with realistic give and take, action and reaction. I don't know if Paloma or Irina can transcend their own stage personas and styles and create a convincing Act I Giselle. Certainly when I saw Paloma a season or two ago, all her lightness in Act II was a byproduct of Marcelo Gomes' superb partnering which made her seem to float and levitate rather than any intrinsic ballon in her dancing. Similar to what Clark Tippet achieved with Van Hamel who seems to have been a much more artistic and musical dancer than Herrera.

Nina I vs. Nina II Act I was overall better on Monday, however, Act II was slightly better last night. I found Nina's acting more calculated and theatrical in Act I last night while missing some of the touches she did on Monday. For example, missing last night was the hollow, haunted stare Nina did as Berthe mimed the Wili tale. There was a touch more mischievous playfulness with Angel and greater spontaneity. However, José's taller build and maturity matched up better with Nina - with him she didn't need to work so hard at the girlishness. As for the truncated hops on pointe in the Spessivtseva solo, they were stunning until she lost momentum and the inserted pirouette was impressive. The mad scene may have been even better. Overall, still wonderful. Act II started off strongly with Murphy's sovereign Myrtha. Totally agree with above posters re: the Giselle's initial spinning after her resurrection - much faster and the jetés were so high! Much better also was the exposed solo opening to the grand pas de deux with the ecartés to each side - much smoother and more balanced. José has some nice individual touches. On the overhead lifts he is able to rotate Giselle making her seem to levitate in a circle in the air. Angel just held Nina aloft. José also tossed in some of his "speed-up/slow-down" pirouettes and the brisés were good if less light and quick than Angel's. Oddly in their exit before the coda, Nina sailed through a high jump offstage but José didn't jump, he just ran after her. Spur of the moment choice or sparing himself after an earlier injury a few weeks ago? He looked fine elsewhere. Also, José did more business with the lilies than either Angel or Ethan. In the first entrance one of the lilies fell on the floor - ever the pro he worked the moment - he stooped on one knee and picked up the fallen lily and pressed it tenderly to his cheek. I forgave him right there. At the final curtain, earlier in the week Angel and Ethan dropped the bouquet on the grave and walked downstage broken-hearted. José following the grand Russian drama queen tradition currently exemplified by Vladimir Malakhov, did the clutching the lilies to his chest, stagger backwards in a daze letting the lilies slowly drop the ground one by one and finally crumple to his knees in tears. YES! Give me the drama my Cuban guapo!!! Lots of flowers again at the curtain but no confetti shower. Nina and José both caught flying bouquets from the audience to the audience's and their own delight.

Thanks to the generosity of a friend, I too saw the all-American home team "Giselle" on Tuesday night. I was glad I went because the last time I saw Julie Kent dance Giselle it was as a replacement for Ferri with Bocca as her Albrecht. Julie and Julio had little chemistry and I found her Giselle flat and predictable that night. Overly calculated and recessive personality-wise. Last night, Julie was completely wonderful. Beautiful, beautiful port de bras and epaulement. Very truthful emotion at all times. Just the right amount of shyness, flirtation and joy in the first act. The dancing was very solid, not spectacular but lovingly shaped and phrased. Julie has that increasingly elusive quality of grace in movement in all that she does. Ethan in the second act was dancing like it was ten years ago. Very clean jumps, turns and landings, precise but exciting technique. His brisés volés (sp?) in the coda in the second act got gasps from the audience. It was the only time I saw him this season, so I was glad I saw him at his best. Michele Wiles had very cleanly articulated footwork as Myrtha and strong jumps. Gillian is now a forceful dramatic presence in the part (Gamzatti too) and Michele doesn't have that kind of authority. A friend on Monday night said she thought Gillian Murphy is definitely the best Myrtha since Martine Van Hamel. In the Peasant PDD, Misty Copeland was charming if a little shaky in a few pirouettes. Carlos Lopez indeed had some excitingly high, daring leaps and aerial turns but I found his landings sloppy and perilous. He had beautiful form when aloft but I cringed every time he hit the floor, the feet were all over the place. He was very on the music however, striking a pose with every climactic "da-dum!". Lovely conducting by David LaMarche and you have an equally lovely evening as the more glitzy prima. Not as many flowers though - Julie got three bouquets at her call but no flowers tossed from the house, Ethan got no flowers at all! (Nina got the ultimate accolade of a confetti shower from the upper side boxes house right on Monday).

I am going to throw in a film that is often thought of as campy Hollywood soap opera but is really a searing portrait of a marriage and a woman trying to play a role she isn't emotionally suited for: "Harriet Craig" (1950) with Joan Crawford and Wendell Corey. It's based on a play called "Craig's Wife" about a selfish woman more in love with her home and possessions than her husband. There was an earlier version with Rosalind Russell that I am DVR-ing this week. The Crawford movie is a fascinating domestic tragedy that is about a control freak who loves the house and possessions because she can arrange and manipulate them completely according to her needs. She tries the same with her husband until she goes way too far. Crawford is both repellent and in the final scene really heartbreaking as you realize that in her sick, selfish way, she really did love her husband in her fashion. The film has camp value because of Crawford and the "Mommie Dearest" image (No more wire hangers, ever!!!, etc.). But the movie isn't campy at all and the acting is first-rate and Crawford has never been better. I would call it a suburban domestic film noir. TCM is showing it in September.

What I liked about Nina Ananiashvili's Act I was that she was joyous Giselle who balanced an overriding eagerness for life with fragility, shyness and foreboding. She even had a sense of humor playfully teasing her mother and being coy with Albrecht. Nina has lots of nice touches that are traditional but well-realized and honest. Like the haunted look she gets when Berthe describes the Wilis to her. Also, Nina definitely died of a weak (and broken) heart - some Giselles are now discarding the business about Giselle's heart condition. One thing this performance pointed out to me is that until the revelation that "Loys" is not who he claims to be, this is the happiest day of Giselle's life. She goes from one wonderful happy surprise (cavorting with Loys, receiving praise and gifts from the nobility and being proclaimed the Harvest Queen) to another. Then the rug is pulled out from underneath her. I thought Nina's technique was pretty flawless. Only slight cavils, the spins on her Act II Wili "reawakening" could have been faster and wilder. They were a little careful which is the last thing they should be. Also her left side seems weaker than her right. Some of the ecartés in that cruelly exposed opening solo of the Grand Pas de Deux in Act II showed her working harder on her left side with less flexibility. On the other hand the hopping solo variation in Act I, the entrechats in Act II, the lifts and jumps were spectacular and very much the Nina of old. Add to this the boneless arms, the weightless lifts (bravo Angel who was a major factor in this) and the passionate commitment and you have a memorable Giselle. The woman next to me was seeing her first "Giselle", she was in tears at the end. I think it was Angel's real, simple grief at the end that got to her. His acting is much more the character rather than Angel (adorable as Angel as himself is), he has more gravitas onstage and his partnering was on the Marcelo Gomes level.

The schedule has been changed and Friday night's Giselle is---wait for it---Nina Ananiashvili! Very nice substitution, predictable but nice since we won't see her after 2009.

Hmm...the ABT and Metropolitan Opera websites still list Diana Vishneva and Jose Manuel Carreno in "Giselle" this coming Friday. Clearly, the ABT management hasn't come up with a solution. I would say best possible scenario: Nina Ananiashvili/Hallberg or Ananiashvili/Carreno. Or fly in a mystery superstar like Cojocaru, Lunkina, Obraztsova, Lopatkina or Zakharova to make a splashy surprise replacement. ABT isn't doing that anymore but maybe...

I haven't seen this production yet this season though I am going on Saturday night and probably will go on Thursday since I haven't seen Kent at all this season. However, the piece is a beautifully designed vehicle for stars who have a certain flair and gift for presenting light material. It needs big personalities. I remember when it was done over 10 years ago with Bocca & Dunham, Jaffe & Carreno, Kent and Hill, Ananiashvili & Graffin, etc. was that Ronald Hynd (who supervised that staging) managed to get really stylish acting out of dancers who could be stiff elsewhere. Case in point: Paloma Herrera doing the secondary role of Valencienne. Suddenly we had a sexy, decadent spoiled darling who was funny, sophisticated and charming and who knew that Paloma could do that? Ashley Tuttle yes, but Paloma no. But there she was. I wonder if Hynd has a hand in this revival. He has a real flair for helping dancers create characterizations.

Just a note about last night. Irina Dvorovenko is indeed a great Nikiya. Often Irina is a strong but rather brittle and flat dancer I think because she has a tendency to push the steps if you know what I mean. In "Raymonda" she was breaking up the choreography into little pieces. Last night Irina had this plush and flexible upper body with lovely "Russian" arms but grounded on firm, classical footwork. It really pulled the diverse demands of the part of Nikiya together. She had much more flow and legato than usual but grounded with a lot of technical strength. Her mime was excellent too. David Hallberg was much further along on finding Solor last night than what reports from his debut Tuesday would lead you to believe. He had many technical strengths including very light batterie on jumps in his "Shades" solo and stunningly fast turns that reminded me of Angel. Of course, David's usual gorgeous feet and line. He also had a nicely complicated characterization starting out an authoritarian and confident warrior who breaks down when caught in the romantic and political intrigue. He did some bravura turns to suggest a strong man being torn apart by his emotional conflict. A partnering glitch in the "Shades" pas de deux and some uneasy moments here or there suggest that more rehearsal and a few more performances are needed to fully achieve his potential. However wait until next season, he will really cook in this ballet. Gillian Murphy now owns the role of Gamzatti which she powerfully dances and acts with total authority. Projecting a kind of diamantine glamor which dazzles but doesn't warm, she really did stunning Italian and regular fouettes (including multiples with three or four revolutions) in the betrothal scene pas de deux. I also felt that her performance of the solo in the Makarova/Lanchbery last act was really on a whole new level. Lots of interest in the smaller role casting - some underutilized and new faces from the corps are getting chances. Mikhail Ilyin indeed did impress as the Golden Idol, not effacing memories of de Luz, young Corella or Cornejo but definitely impressing the audience and holding his own. The three shades were Renata Pavam, Melanie Hamrick and Leann Underwood. Underwood was the real revelation in the difficult last shade solo with the ecartés - she has strong clear technique and is very confident and poised. Pavam as the "happy, hopping shade" had crisp sparkling footwork and charmed. Melanie Hamrick looked stronger than she was a few seasons ago with smoother transitions and stronger feet and legs. I also was impressed with the powerful acting and towering stage presence of Roman Zhurbin as the High Brahmin reminding me of Victor Barbee of fifteen years ago when he used to tear up the stage in that part. This combination had all the right ingredients and if they weren't quite perfectly meshed and polished in every detail, there was more than enough to create a great evening of dancing.

Very often in the past principal ballerinas alternated as Nikiya and Gamzatti i.e. Susan Jaffe, Amanda McKerrow and Paloma Herrera eight or nine years ago. This season only Gillian Murphy is doing both roles. Dvorovenko is a great candidate to alternate the two roles but she was given only Gamzatti for years and years, so I guess this season is a redress of sorts. Maria Bystrova I think is a potential Gamzatti given her potent acting as Carabosse and strong technique. BTW: where is Irina's husband Max and why isn't he dancing Solor tonight? Husbands should know their place and fulfill their balletic conjugal duties. Really, this was a bad evening to schedule a poker night or whatever. I hope Irina hits him with a rolling pin when she gets home tonight! Concerning Part and the NY Times review: clearly Claudia LaRocco has been reading BalletTalk as her comments seem to reference this message board ("Veronika Part - Divided Opinions"). I think many of us have done a better job here analyzing her strengths and weaknesses than Ms. LaRocco in the Times. The review told us very little as to specifics of her Monday night performance except that the role is suitable to her style and physique. I think Part has so far had a very strong season and I agree that she does seem like a principal even if that isn't her actual status with the company. With Julie Kent losing stamina for some of the more demanding classical roles, Vishneva busy all over the world and Nina Ananiashvili retiring next year, Veronika will be needed even more to handle leading roles in the classics. Perhaps when Nina retires, ABT will see that they need Veronika to give luster to the principal roster. I just hope and pray she avoids injury and that Kevin keeps her busy in assignments that are worthy of her talent. I think several ballerinas have been promoted to principal at age thirty and beyond - some Paris Opera Ballet ladies had to wait decades before being named étoile - Delphine Moussin comes to mind. Although she looks like she is barely past puberty, Xiomara Reyes was 30 or approaching 30 when she was promoted to principal dancer. I think the other principal ballerinas Murphy, Wiles, Herrera and Reyes also divide opinion in various ways, so Part shouldn't have that held against her. As for "Sleeping Beauty" harming Part - I think the negative reception of the production rubbed off on her. Veronika, though miscast as Aurora, wasn't the disaster that evening - in fact her elegance, class and calm dignity elevated the production. However, the short solo with violin accompaniment after the Rose Adagio with the little hops on one foot found her at sea. Her Rose Adagio, Vision Scene and Wedding Grand PDD were lovely in many ways. She is too tall and womanly for the part and is a natural Lilac Fairy. I wouldn't mind seeing her go back to the role - other tall ballerinas like Martine Van Hamel and Cynthia Gregory danced it. But it will never be a signature role for her unlike Odette/Odile or Nikiya. BTW: neither Susan Jaffe or Julie Kent were perfect technicians when they started their careers as principal ballerinas at ABT. Both got stronger under Kolpakova's guidance. But several times I saw Jaffe flub fouttés in the Black Swan PDD or go off pointe in "Birthday Offering". I saw Kent stumble out of pirouettes in "Symphonie Concertante". Irina Dvorovenko though a strong technician has been weirdly accident prone in every performance I have seen (am I a bad luck charm for her?). I have seen Irina skid on landing from jumps and stumble off point in undemanding passages where she had nailed bravura steps seconds before. I can forgive Veronika much for the overall beauty and poetry of her dancing.

I was there last night for Sarah and Herman for my first "Beauty" of the season. Some notes on the production changes: Prologue: Shower curtain gone, set pushed upstage to give more room. Both good things. The grand pas for the entrance of the fairies is now Petipa with some McKenzie additions from what I can tell. The fairy knights do some lifts and partnering in the grand pas that I don't remember from the Kirov or Royal Ballet version. However, now it is pretty canonical. Correct me if I am wrong. The King's costume has been toned down. The baby is handled properly like an actual infant. All to the good. Very good fairly solos by Simone Messmer, Renata Pavam and Kristi Boone. Jennifer Reyes, cast for her radiant big smile as the Fairy of Joy underplayed the quick finger work so that it made no effect. It shouldn't look like a frenetic seizure but like the fluttering of a joyous bird. She didn't have the precision or speed. Melanie Hamrick was pleasing. Maria Riccetto as the Lilac Fairy was doing more traditional choreography that was less step heavy than last year. She lacks a certain amplitude and creaminess in the epaulement but was technically solid. Maria Bystrova was a glamorous, imposing Carabosse with tons of stage presence and lots of detail. Give this girl Myrtha, Kevin, everyone will think you're genius for doing it. Act I: New costumes for the Garland Waltz dancers. Gone are the shorts with suspenders decorated with little daisies. Really the eight couples and two children look dinky compared with the stage filling waltz put on by the Royal and Kirov. The work with the garlands was out of sync. The Princes have new costumes that are supremely tasteful (I missed that rather naff Celtic Prince with his fabulous purple boa accent) but are all beige and brown and look too much alike. On bounds a tiny, radiant Sarah Lane with a smile that lights up the stage. Her balances in the Rose Adagio are spot-on with the arms en couronne and held for some time. Though petite she has an amplitude in the upper body that makes her dancing look not small but full and expressive. Quick light footwork and nice details. It will only get better as she does the part more but she has this part nailed down right now. Very good pantomime during the pricked finger episode. The King and Queen no longer abandon Aurora and die during her 300 year sleep. Hunting Scene/Vision Scene: Good traditional hunt choreography with appropriate use of the male corps. Herman looks very handsome and is dancing with elegance and charm. Convincing Prince. No more "Desiré Dream Ballet" with the smoke and bounding "elvadors". The Lilac Fairy comes on with the first act fairies in a decent rendition of the Vision Scene. Sarah Lane works at an otherworldly, slightly melancholic air and does beautifully with her solo. Herman's partnering is pretty flawless here and all night. Journey to Castle/The Battle with Carabosse: the stage fog rolls on the stage as Lilac re-enters in the Swan boat, no tackier or sillier than what I have seen in other productions. Various scrims and sets pieces drop and roll on to suggest change of location. The castle set from Act I appears behind a scrim piece. The spider's web now stand upstage where the arch of the castle is. The Prince is captured by Carabosse's minions and placed in the web. Lilac appears and breaks the spell and the Prince frees himself. He draws his sword to kill Carabosse but she seems to be impervious to his blade and immortal and laughs at him and goes offstage. Stage left and above, a light illuminates the Sleeping Aurora in her bedroom. The kiss, jubilation. All in all pretty good. Aurora's Wedding: the set is less skimpy and stylized with less puffy white drapes. The stage within a stage is further upstage and there are chairs and benches set around. There is a throne at the left where the still-alive King and Queen watch the celebration. It looks less nowhereland and more in tune with what went before. The Gold, Silver, Sapphire (?), Diamond pas de quatre has been reworked as a dance for the fairies. For example: the "Diamond" solo I think now is done by the Fairy of Joy (Canari qui Chante). The male part has been excised. Its inoffensive and not the worst treatment that music has been subjected to. I still think they have room for the White Cats and the little itty bitty throwaway numbers for Cinderella and her Prince and Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. The Bluebirds also have new costumes and no cage. Gennadi Saveliev is okay as the Bluebird but lacks some lightness and elevation. His fluttering arms look somewhat applied to a strong solid lower body. I am glad that Herman is doing only lead roles but his Bluebird was almost definitive. Let him dance it again next year. Yuriko Kajiya was a delight as Princess Florine, truly enchanting (I want to see Zhong Jing Fang in that part too). Herman and Sarah were paragons of classical purity in the Grand Pas de Deux and had sparkle and virtuosity for the coda. Very successful fish dives and perfect unity in phrasing and style. The drops look somewhat repainted or more likely better lit. There is still an overuse of smoke that creates a haze in the auditorium that makes it seem later like you are watching the ballet in an enormous smoke-filled back room of a bar. All in all, they have gone back to the canonical Sergeyev version with some Royal Ballet alternative readings with the McKenzie/Kirkland/Chernov accretions pruned away. I would say that 50% of the costumes are new and are fine. This is an acceptable but not distinguished "Sleeping Beauty". However, the dancing last night would have graced any theater in the world.

It basically is an 18 minute film from Canadian TV. Maule and Jasinsky play a father and son vying for the same irresistible Parisian coquette, Mlle. Fifi, played by the 50-something Danilova. The men discover that they both have been partnering Fifi and get into a competition. The men mostly do partnering and steps that could be performed by any ballet student. Danilova is of a certain age but still has charm and shapely legs and her dancing has "perfume". The whole thing seems to be a condensed budget rehash of "Gaité Parisienne" with just three dancers and a basic boudoir set. This was available on a VAI VHS release that is out of print. I found a copy at the New York Public Library. It is very slight as choreography but gives a nice little snapshot of Danilova at the end of her career.

I broke my resolution not to see Nina Ananiashvili in "Don Quixote" this season as the combination of Nina and Angel seems to have an age-defying magic. Saturday night indeed was a wonderful performance. First of all, Angel's maturity and greater authority onstage matches him up better with Nina. Before it seemed like a boy and a woman dancing together, now they seem to be more equals. Angel also is a much better actor now relying less on the smile and boyish charm and really revealing all sorts of character details as Basilio. His byplay and reactions are much more specific and not just Angel being cute or funny. I was always frustrated by the Nina/Julio combination in "Don Quixote" which I always had hoped would be the greatest ever. Timing and injuries frustrated my hopes. Unfortunately, the premiere of the new staging, Nina was injured and replaced by the young, and at that time full of infinite promise, Paloma Herrera. Nina the next year was good but not up to top form yet. Then Julio started having his knees replaced. I kept going and one time he was better than she was and then she would be competing with Julio but he wasn't up to that anymore. They never had the kind of virtuoso duel in dance that I remembered from Julio and Nina's Black Swan Pas de Deux. Angel and Nina had a very friendly mellow rapport and each seemed to spark the other in lovely ways. There were technical tour de force moments galore but also a few tiny disappointments. Often if a step didn't quite dazzle on the first try, Nina or Angel would drive themselves to the utmost on the second try and they succeeded gaining applause for their efforts. Case in point, the one-handed lifts in Act I. The first was short and wobbly but on the second Angel practically held her aloft for a minute and would have walked around with her if he wanted to. Same with Nina's balances in the last act Wedding Pas, the first was short but the second she held forever. Nina's back doesn't seem as strong as it was so her arabesques and kicks to the back of the head were not has high as they were once. She still has good pirouettes and piqué turns. The fouettes were solid singles with just a little tiring at the end. Still stunning. It also seemed to me that Angel was not taking all the risks he used to such as jumping up on one foot and bending the knee during spins a la seconde. Still his leaps and turns still stun and his generosity with the audience is so winning. Sometimes he would kind of wink at the audience before performing a variation which you'd think would be obnoxious but was very charming and fun. Nina and Angel were beautiful and joyous together with finely honed interpretations. Only in comparison with themselves 6 to 10 years ago do they seem anything less than perfection. Sascha Radetsky was Espada and Kristi Boone was Mercedes - she had strong stage presence and fire, his long legs and strong attack made the most of his choreography. Marcelo the Magnificent has the best characterization for Espada hands down, the perfect send-up of over the top Latin machismo. Veronika Part and Sarah Lane were a dream pair as the Dryad Queen and Amour. Nina was beautifully classical in the Dream Sequence with chiseled steps and formal perfection. I enjoyed the flower girls of Isabella Boylston and particularly Renata Pavam. Simone Messmer had the total fire and commitment of the wildest Bolshoi character dancer as the Gypsy Girl and Joseph Philips showed that he is a dancer to watch as the Gypsy Boy. Craig Salstein made a major character out of Gamache. Very, very fine evening of dancing and I was so glad I went.

Adam, Veronika is dancing Nikiya twice, including the opening performance of this season's revival on Monday, June 23rd. Therefore to leave out her picture would be wrong since she is dancing the lead twice. I wonder if her getting this plum is partial reparation for pulling her out of the role of Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty" in which she opened the new production last year. Nice to think that it is a preview of things to come but I think it just reflects that she is leading the opening night cast. I would so LOVE to be very, very wrong about this, however...

What is intriguing here is that all previous reports said that Gergiev wanted Vaziyev out but that Vaziyev was determined to stay. Here Gergiev is indicating that the desire to leave came from Vaziyev but that he started waffling and wavering putting off a final decision. Gergiev also is suggesting that Vaziyev was derelict from his professional responsibilities with the company. The earlier reports were that he was removed from the tour and Fateev put in charge. Clearly we have Rashomon here. Gergiev doesn't want to be charged with pushing Vaziyev out. Clearly Fateev is a transitional figure who will clean house getting all the ducks in a row until a real artistic director such as say, Ratmansky (who clearly Gergiev wants but who doesn't want that job again) comes in to lead the Mariinsky. Very interesting spin on the events. I suspect Vaziyev has a very different take on the situation. Meanwhile, I think getting rid of Vaziyev is defensible and even more so, his wife Chenchikova as coach who is responsible for Alina Somova among other things. Hopefully some of the old guard will be invited back like Osipenko, Kolpakova and Terekhova to bring back the old style to the company. Hopefully the corps will get a proper coach to raise them back to their former glory.

I remember a production - was it Bolshoi? In this production, Siegfried was killed in the duel with Von Rothbart. The Swans ganged up and offed Von Rothbart. Then Odette paid a tender final farewell to Siegfried's prostrate body and then bourreed offstage, doomed to swanhood forever. Princes come and go but Swans are eternal! We had a discussion of this here in the "Swan Lake" forum: http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=19998 Gelsey Kirkland discussed in one of her books (probably "Dancing on my Grave") how when she did "Swan Lake" at ABT in the old David Blair production she hated the traditional ending. This is where Odette jumps first and then Siegfried follows her. She felt it should be a joint suicide kind of like Mayerling - they decide their fate together. So she and Ivan Nagy joined hands and jumped together! Lots of choices!

Well, I think we have all seen a bunch of pas de deux's where the man throws the woman around, hoists her over his head, drags her on the floor and twists her around in pretzel shapes to show that love is war, or the eternal battle of the sexes or that men are pigs even when they are wearing tights and have nice butts... or something...

I saw this last night and though both ballets are kind of hyperactive and step-intensive and thus extremely similar to one another I enjoyed the evening very much. Frankly, I wonder if they had programmed maybe a cooler Balanchine piece or something by Tudor with the Tharp as a closer, perhaps people wouldn't be so exhausted by the Tharp. Basically, Tharp in "Rabbit and Rogue" is building on things she has done before in earlier ballets. Kind of "When Push Comes to Shove in The Upper Room". So you have Baryshnikov's "Ballet Clown Prince" from "When Push Comes to Shove" times two with Rabbit and Rogue spinning and pirouetting and pratfalling on their chiseled ballet boy butts as two knockabout virtuoso danseur/comedian rivals. These two balletic buffoons come up against a legion of kicky, swiveling dancers grinding out a mix of ballet and modern dance steps in a murky twilight zone lit by hazy pools of light against the darkness. Instead of Stiefel and Cornejo last night was Marcelo Gomes and Sascha Radetsky in the title roles. Marcelo always surprises me with his energy and commitment though that is the hallmark of his performing. Here he threw himself into the slinky hip grinds, constant leaping and turning, Warner Brothers cartoon tussling with Sascha with an incredible combination of control and abandon. He looked hot and goofy at the same time. Sascha Radetsky continues to be ABT's secret weapon - I never would have thought that he would ever alternate in a role created by Herman Cornejo. He is constantly turning and jumping in twisty, fast variations and Sascha's technique was totally up to the challenge. He matched Marcelo in energy and technique and brought his own smart-alecky edge to the part with his tattoos and spiky hair. While the percussive and energetic score rattles on with exotic gamelan accents, other more serious couples emerge. There are a group of demi-soloists including a puckish Craig Salstein and feline Jared Matthews with Misty Copeland and another girl. The "Rag Couple" here a showgirl confident Kristi Boone and a smooth Corey Stearns wearing tight black costumes do a ballroom adagio number with extra kicks and spins. The "Gamelan Couple" are in white and are more classical - an ageless and gallant Jose Manuel Carreno and Maria Riccetto looking better than I have ever seen her with flawless pirouettes and sparkling footwork and a spontaneity I have never, ever seen from her. In and out the groups come interacting with and interrupting solos and competitive duets by Rabbit and Rogue. Then at the final curtain the two ballet goofballs make up and decide to be friends... We don't know why but we are happy for them! "Etudes" had a scintillating Irina Dvorovenko with Maxim Belotserkovsky as the Cavalier Boy and Jared Matthews as the Turning Boy. Matthews is probably more naturally suited to Max's role but was given this part to stretch his technique - as when Kevin gave Basilio in "Don Quixote" to Max for a similar purpose. Matthews was very good but you could feel a little bit of effort and uncertainty (ending in success) that wouldn't be an issue if Herman Cornejo or Angel Corella were dancing the part. Still an A+ for effort and a solid B with the result, making an A or A- performance overall. Corps was looking good and I didn't see any mistakes or lack of ensemble that pulled me out of the piece. Clearly they have improved their game since opening night.

**please note first time in a role in New York: Tues. Eve., 6/17 – Kent (Aurora) and Hoven (Bluebird) in The Sleeping Beauty Strange but I somehow remember with striking vividness a lovely young Julie Kent performing Aurora with ABT in the old MacMillan/Georgiadis production. Isn't this her New York debut in this production? She was gorgeous as Aurora about 10 or 12 years ago.

That clip is taken from the "A Portrait of Giselle" video which also used extracts from the 1932 film. BTW: those Camargo Society sets and costumes seemed to have resurfaced when the early Sadlers Wells did "Giselle" - I have seen clips circa 1938 of a very young Fonteyn and Helpmann in the first act of "Giselle" and its the same set and duds. I was told that the short cloth skirt was due to the fact that there was no tulle available due to budget constrictions. Weird that Spessivtseva didn't have her own personal costume - hell, Ananiashvili and Guillem always bring their own tutus even today! What is missing is the clip of the Mad Scene - that has the most haunting empty black eyes you have ever seen. Like twin black holes sucking you into a dark world of confusion and heartbreak despite the grainy old film. In pictures of Spessivtseva she looks rather frail and spectral but here she looks healthy and robust and her dancing has strength and attack. Lots of strong pointwork and holding balancing arabesques before doing jetés. It would be interesting to see her Act II to see if she does different things with the Wili Giselle.

Comparing Part with the technically diminished Ananiashvili was quite interesting. Part has a long-limbed, statuesque, sculptural quality to her Odette that sets her apart as their Queen even if she didn't have the little feathered tiara headpiece. Ananiashvili was smaller-scaled and more delicate, a haunted and fragile creature. Part had a certain stoicism in her suffering and more grandeur. Ananiashvili really stressed the swan arms throughout whereas Part became more human in the Pas de Deux. Part had higher arabesques, better balances and deeper backbends. Ananiashvili is still a better turner with more fluid and accurate pirouettes and revolving piques. The smaller footwork was handled better by Ananiashvili who is smaller and quicker. Part has long legs and feet and quick petite batterie doesn't come easily with that physique. Part definitely did do the swan arms at her exit, I was watching carefully with binoculars, but they were more swan wings and less rippling water in effect. More subtle. I really have to agree with Susan about the Odile, there were impressive technical feats in there. First of all, she has high extensions in her developpées and she struck some stunning balances as both Odette and Odile. I felt the variation in the Black Swan PDD was beautifully spacious and precise with lovely rounded pirouettes. I guess some people wanted greater speed - ditto with the fouettes. However, the fouettes were all clean singles with the working leg just above the knee and sustained well with minimal traveling and in time with the music. Of course then there are those arms, the epaulement and the musical phrasing, peerless. As for David's chemistry with Veronika. I saw him last year with Michele and thought this was a more dramatic pairing and it improved his overall performance. Sometimes being too comfortable with a partner makes you coast through a role. First of all, David handled Veronika beautifully showing real care and concern in his partnering. Marcelo has more temperment onstage than David and his passion always brings out the best in Veronika. Also, Marcelo really seems to consider it a great thing to dance with Part despite her insecurities. He is very giving with her onstage and she needs that. David is cooler and more cerebral in his performing with an Apollonian quality. These factors, the greater electricity with Marcelo and David's more reserved approach might make one think there is a bad rapport. I thought it only suffered by comparison with the partnership with Marcelo. What I did feel is that there was a balance between the White and Black Acts this time. There was not really that much "yes, but..." concerning the Odile on Saturday afternoon. It was interpretively strong, not subtle, but commanding and she looked confident of herself and her dancing. Where she might improve her Odile is adding the "woman of mystery" approach that Makarova developed later in her career. Aloof, glamorous, not too vampy - sort of "you come to me, I don't come to you" approach. Make her a Garbo-like sphinx and siren who doesn't do much and has men falling over themselves. I think that would be her best approach. This was a gloating, smiling seductress who was very open and exultant in her allure and rather brazen. I would like the cool but alluring interpretation better.

SanderO, injuries like torn ligaments can take over a month to heal. One of the visitors backstage last night was Alexandra Ansanelli (who is exquisitely beautiful and incredibly sweet to talk to). Her right foot was in a full cast/brace. She is in New York for at least another three months because she has a serious injury and is taking the time away from the Royal Ballet to spend extended time with her family in New York. However, she won't be dancing for some time. Then there is the real tragedy of Julio Bragado-Young who is walking with a cane, will require another surgery and may never dance again after losing his beautiful wife. After thinking about that, be glad it is only a ligament and that Diana will probably be dancing by the end of June if not July. The "Dying Swan" is only four minutes long and consists of one step, the bourree. I saw a seventy year-old Maya Plisetskaya perform that ballet. Of course it is difficult requiring sustained footwork but nothing on the level of a complete "Swan Lake" with every step and difficulty imaginable including jumps, fouettés, balances, turning on point in chainés over three long acts. Vishneva may be healing but still in pain when performing pirouettes or balances and in great danger of permanently damaging her ligaments or having her foot fail her precipitating another injury. Diana may not have all her stamina back and can't risk another injury dancing a virtuoso ballerina role. Ms. Vishneva has been a generous and reliable performer and this is the first injury that has seriously impacted a New York season. In last year's Spring season Diana had some infection-type illness that took her out of "Sleeping Beauty" and "Manon" but she returned promptly for the end of the season when recovered. This business of her cancellation and the hand-wringing is ridiculous and tiresome. This is a fact of life in the dance world and happens every season even to our absolute favorites. In past years I have been deeply disappointed to miss Vladimir Malakhov and Alessandra Ferri's Spring seasons at the Met after waiting a year to see them again. Ethan Stiefel's fans have probably suffered with him when he has missed many seasons recently. I am sure that when Vishneva feels restored and recovered enough to give of her best in a complete virtuoso classical role, and I feel she has the integrity and sense of responsibility to sense that if she cannot do justice to the role she will disappoint herself and her audience, she will dance again with ABT within a few weeks. Give her some credit for having integrity and professionalism, it was generous of her to dance at the opening night Gala which is a major fund-raising and social event and needs all the star-power it can get to pull in press and big donor money.

First of all, I was there last night. I was not disappointed to see Nina Ananiashvili, she is one of the great ballerinas of the last century and one of the great ones for much of the first decade of this one too! Diana is INJURED, ABT has no reason to be angry with her whatsoever, if they are which they aren't. IT HAPPENS. How long have you been going to the ballet? Dancing on an injured foot has many times seriously aggravated an injury and caused permanent damage. We have many seasons in the future to enjoy Diana but not that many to enjoy Nina even with a few concessions to age. Get over your disappointment over missing your favorite and notice how wonderful some of the choreography, music and other performers are. Yes, you could see that Nina has lost some power and strength in the lower body. Arabesques weren't as high and balances were at a minimum. The Act II adagio had an understated lyricism and delicacy I hadn't noticed before and was very moving. I thought I saw a kind of "English" quality in this style that was new and delightful and unusual for Nina. NYSusan found Nina's arms "over the top", I just found them ultra-Russian and typical of Nina Ballerina's romantic style. I judged her still a lovely Odette but the Odile is on borrowed time. The Black Swan PDD had a number of glitches. Marcelo and Nina have danced "Swan Lake" before but not for several years. I think that in the intervening years, Nina has developed a need for more support from her partner that Marcelo didn't know about due to the last-minute substitution without much rehearsal. His partnering was not as flawless and intuitive as it always is. Nina clearly needed to be lifted rather than jump into her supported arabesque backwards leap upward in the pas de deux section of the Black Swan and one of them was botched and she came down hard. Nina's solo as Odile was absolutely gorgeous. In the coda, Nina was trying to slam out some multiples in her old style and really overreached herself. She fell out of the fouette more than a few times and settled for clean singles until she ran out of steam. On Monday, I would suggest she stick to clean, sustained singles all the way through. Plisetskaya and others substituted a tour of piqué turns for the fouettés. Considering that Nina's piqués are still some of the greatest I have ever seen, there would be no dishonor at this point at taking that option if her fouettés aren't what they were. Her last scene was gorgeous and heartbreaking though she doesn't do the big swan dive Marcelo does at the end. Still the loss of power and virtuosity makes me glad I decided to forego seeing Nina in "Don Quixote" this year though the pairing with Angel intrigued me. I saw a glorious, exuberant performance four years ago with José Manuel Carreno and want to keep that joyous memory unclouded. BTW: Nina's arms were bare and I thought her face, body and arms looked lovely and in fine mature but athletic shape. She by no means looks out of shape, middle-aged and certainly not geriatric. I could see no wrinkles and no sagging flesh. Some loss of power and virtuosity yes, but she still has a lovely message to deliver and the means to deliver it. I look forward to her Giselle. The other heroine of the evening was Simone Messmer, buoyant and fresh in her pas de trois solo, a super big swan jumping in for Part mid-scene and lovely as the Princess in the ball scene. David Hallberg went from the ultimate danseur noble prince (per Alastair Macauley in the NY Times who seems smitten) to the ultimate sexy devil as the noble Von Rothbart incarnation. He has his trademark beautifully pointed feet and stretched out legs but a feline grace and attack that were new to him and very effective. BTW: I spoke to several dancers backstage after the performance and received first-hand confirmation from several sources that Veronika Part was suffering from some kind of stomach ailment or bug. She is not injured and is determined not give up Saturday afternoon's "Swan Lake".

When I saw Wiles last year in "Swan Lake" I found her interpretation of Odette rather imposed from outside and artificial. She looked overcoached with carefully placed positions and studied affect. I don't remember any problems with her arms per se. However with dancers like Vishneva and Veronika Part doing Odette, the others do seem to lack something. That Kirov upper body training... However, her Odile was exciting especially after she slipped during a series of tours and then pulled out all the stops during the coda to show her stuff to the crowd. Also having seen Veronika and Diana with Marcelo and Angel with Nina A., the rapport between Michele and David H. seemed lacklustre. They look good together but don't strike any sparks or pull out the best in each other. I think maybe next year with Veronika gone, Michele should dance with Marcelo. Then her Odette/Odile might pop with some excitement.

Another oddity is that only Dvorovenko, Xiomara Reyes and Michele Wiles seem to be doing "Etudes". I was hoping for Gillian Murphy since I don't think I have ever seen her do that ballet. Paloma also danced "Etudes" in the past but I never found her interesting in it. Just a note. Vishneva finished her "Beauty in Motion" tour physically unscathed. (The Pendleton ballet required no classical technique - I could have performed the pieces but would not have looked as pretty in the costumes) Her injury occurred at the last week of her Kirov engagement at City Center. The Kirov/Mariinsky is her primary theater and should have the most say about where and when she tours, not ABT. What I did notice about her dancing at City Center with the Kirov (especially in "Le Corsaire" excerpts) was that she was pushing very hard for extra brilliance and losing form. That may have precipitated her injury. I wish Vishneva a speedy and successful recovery. As for ballet seasons and injuries and substitutions - welcome to reality, kids. I mean there are dancers like Ethan Stiefel, former soloist Giuseppe Picone, Irina Dvorovenko and Vladimir Malakhov (former principal? nobody's telling...) who have missed entire seasons due to injury. Nina missed a season or two (or three when she had her baby). Julie Kent and Irina have had seasons off for maternity leave. Hopefully Stella Abrera and Diana Vishneva will be back and in form for their "Giselle" performances. What is annoying is that this usually happens at the end of a season when they are lucky to have a two lead dancers with two good feet each night. At the beginning of a season it is disappointing because we have been waiting for months to re-encounter our favorites.