FauxPas

My source seems to suggest that the solo was worked up by Lopukhov when Lubov Egorova took over the role of the Lilac Fairy from Marie M. Petipa. Here is an article by Doug Fullington on the Vikharev reconstruction which discusses the two variations notated in the Sergeyev collection. http://www.for-ballet-lovers-only.com/Beauty2.html

My feeling about Balanchine is that he was attempting to achieve in 20th century dance what "modern" composers were attempting to do in music and artists attempting to do in the visual arts. That is free the art form from the slavish imitation of reality and explore abstract pure forms and compositions. America with its embrace of new technology and speed and its openness to new ideas was a good place to do this. Europe, particularly France (Paris Opera Ballet) had too much invested in its history and traditions to fully embrace his aesthetic in its purest forms. "Symphony in C" was no problem but "Agon" or the other leotard ballets? However, this is a simplification of what Balanchine was about - he was haunted by his Imperial Russian past, 19th century European art and also affected by popular media in the U.S.A. Compare and contrast "The Four Temperments", "La Sonnambula", "Ballet Imperial", "Square Dance", "Raymonda Pas de Six", "Agon" and "Western Symphony". The interest in pure form and mirroring the music almost mathematically in movement is omnipresent but expressed and achieved in different ways. This eclecticism is also something that is very American. The drawback with the U.S. as opposed to Russia and Europe was the lack of established schools and consistent training which he and Kirstein corrected by starting the School of American Ballet. But it took a generation or two of using dancers with differing backgrounds and training and molding them to his style. By the time the American dancers were all trained by him (mid-50's), he started to reach his pinnacle as a choreographer. In America it was easy to be "the boss" and "Mr. B" because the field was open. In Europe and as previously stated in France he would have had to deal with bureaucracy and official approval. The situation would have been twice as bad in Russia with the Communists and KGB filtering of the Arts. He definitely would have been purged as a "formalist" in the Stalin era and might have ended up tragically or with an aborted career like so many.

Highs: 1) Marcelo Gomes as Albrecht in "Giselle", Lescaut in "Manon", the Prince in "Cinderella" and everything else. 2) Erica Cornejo and Martine Van Hamel as the Goofy Stepsister and the Stepmother in "Cinderella" 3) Guillaume Coté and Xiomara Reyes in "Cinderella" - they brought great youth and heart to a ballet that needed it. Kudelka's busy ballet improved on acquaintance and is full of interesting and creative ideas. The Ashton is the best choreography of this music and the most suitable for ABT (think of Julie Kent and Gillian dancing Ashton's choreography) but this was better than the previous Stevenson version. If the Joffrey can acquire the Ashton, why not ABT? 4) Diana Vishneva and Vladimir Malakhov mesmerizing in their partnership in "Giselle" and "Manon" - they seemed to create a rare symbiosis - you didn't dare look at one because you would miss something fascinating the other was doing. 5) ABT's "Noche Latina" "Le Corsaire" spectacular: it was flashy, superficial, pure showboating and simply heaven! Bocca with all the old fire heating up Herrera, Reyes, Corella, H. Cornejo and Carreno. 6) The already impressive and still developing partnership between Angel Corella and Diana Vishneva - he has found a partner who matches him physically and is a prima ballerina on his level but also demands more from him as an artist. More please. 7) Buoyant and fresher than ever dancing from Jose Manuel Carreno - one of his best seasons at ABT. 8) Julio Bocca's Joker in Cranko's "Jeu de Cartes": a bravura vaudeville turn with such comic force that it made worthwhile a ballet that lacks choreographic distinction and relies too much on slapstick. 9) The corps enlivening the filler surrounding the magical pas de deux in MacMillan's "Manon" - I sat through it for three nights in a row and didn't get bored. Bravo to Monica Parker for making this ballet so fresh and theatrical with her restaging. Bravo to the three sets of lovers Ferri/Bocca, Vishneva/Malakhov and Kent/Carreno - each brought something unique and special to the ballet. 10) Carlos Acosta as Apollo - raw power being refined by art into pure form and beauty. A God being formed before our eyes as he learns from and then inspires his Muses. 11) David Hallberg smoothly ascending to the principal rank his elegance and form deserves. High and Low The end of the Julio Bocca/Alessandra Ferri partnership in their final "Manon" - a night to remember all that Julio has given, all it has cost him and how much he will take with him as he leaves. You felt very full and very bereft at the same time. Julio was determined to leave ABT on the same high level that he brought to it when he came. He danced better than he has in years. There is too much fire and too much artistic drive in that man to just drift away on a boat or coach in a studio. Julio, this may be just the rest time before starting another new adventure. Invite us along wherever you go, Julio. Lows 1) The only soloists who made progress this season were Sascha Radetsky and Stella Abrera. Arron Scott, Simone Messmer, Jared Mathews and Craig Salstein in the corps took advantage of those tiny opportunities they were given. Those amazingly talented soloists and corps members whose careers remain stalled or in limbo include: Anna Liceica - totally underused, undervalued, forgotten about - ABT's loss Sarah Lane - a goat in "Sylvia", a teen hooker in "Manon", not much for a shining classical talent. She is very young but no more seasons like this for her in the future, Kevin. Misty Copeland - where were the second leads she used to get? Both she and Lane and Zhong-Jing Fang spent too much time as Giselle's friends or Swans. Maria Bystrova showed real stage presence in walk-ons like Bathilde in "Giselle" and Rosaline in "R&J" - when are Kevin and his staff going to wake up and see the light they have hidden under a bushel? Veronika Part - how much longer can she be pushed aside and dancing Nurse Maids in "Petrouchka" and Terpsichore in "Sylvia"? - yes she also got Terpsichore in "Apollo" and repeated her Myrtha but her one and only Wednesday matinee "Swan Lake" shows what ABT feels it can waste on the sidelines and plan nothing for. The full-length repertory and the way it was cast didn't have opportunities for much of the emerging talent that is trying to break through. Ultimately some of the starry principals who do the same roles each season will drop away and then these people will be needed. They may not be there. 2) "Jeu de Cartes" - very minor Cranko that a less starry regional company or the Joffrey might do better adding to their rep in a smaller house. This besides the Kudelka "Cinderella" was the only novelty and new acquisition the company made this season. How about Cranko's "Romeo and Juliet" to give us a rest from MacMillan's tedious harlots and street brawls? 3) Erica Cornejo leaving for Boston Ballet - it is probably better for her personally and professionally but she will be missed. At least 10 dancers are leaving at the end of this season - (per Matthew Murphy's blog) - including some valuable and promising talent (Laura Hidalgo). How about inviting Danny Tidwell back as a soloist to reverse some of the damage? 4) A lot of deja vu in the repertory casting and revivals - shake things up! The new premieres weren't for the ages. Only individual star turns (Vishneva, Bocca, Gomes, Ferri, Part, Malakhov) and excellent staging (e.g. the "Manon" revival) livened things up.

Vishneva's physical attributes make her effective in a wide variety of roles that sometimes are thought of as separate emploi. She seems to be both tiny and large at the same time and in different ways in each ballet. She also blends the sensuous and the austere in her movements. Her lower body is very strong and virtuosic with a strong level of technical ability but her upper body is very flexible and expressive. Her long arms, flexible back and long strong legs make her a very good romantic dancer in "Giselle". However, she is also an excellent Kitri in "Don Quixote" and not in the soubrette tradition either. Except for Ekaterina Maximova not many ballerinas excel in both roles. She also has the radiance and technical control to be a great Aurora in "The Sleeping Beauty". I have seen her dance Balanchine's "Rubies", "Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux" and "Ballet Imperial" to fine effect. Her "Manon" and Juliet in "R&J" in the MacMillan ballets shows her to be expert at detailed theatrical portraiture with minimal virtuoso brilliance in three act story ballets. The revelation of her recent ABT appearances is her dramatic ability which is seen at its best with Vladimir Malakhov. When they are together onstage every moment is a fascinating revelation and you don't know where to look. If you look at Diana realizing a moment or creating a fascinating dramatic gambit you miss a heartbreaking reaction or revealing gesture from Vladimir. I saw her "Giselle" and "Don Quixote" with the Kirov on tour in New York - her ABT performances were vastly more fascinating and brilliant. The difference was her dramatic portraiture and artistic interpretation - I always loved her dancing but the acting is really something now. The only great classical role she hasn't as of yet completely synthesized all the elements of is Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake" which is a recent addition to her repertoire. I think that in two or three years probably with Malakhov she will conquer the role. Oddly, as I see her as naturally an allegro dancer, her Odette is currently better than her Odile. Her performance at ABT in 2005 showed a fascinatingly willowy vulnerable Odette but a brittle small-scale Odile. This year her Odette wasn't as fragile and more staccato but her Odile was more of a ballerina and siren and generally more effective despite tiny technical glitches. She is still exploring "Swan Lake" but I am confident of her eventual triumph. Her first Giselle in NY with the Kirov was nothing in comparison with what she achieved with Malakhov this year.

The Corella/Vishneva pairing is fortuitous since Angel hasn't really developed a partnership with a ballerina who is on his level who is a physical match. The Angel/Paloma pairing didn't really develop and Paloma has actually looked better with Bocca, Gomes and Carreno. Xiomara Reyes is a charming partner in things like "La Fille Mal Gardee" but really doesn't have the star wattage that Diana has in the great ballerina roles like Giselle. I found Ananiashvili too mature for him and Gillian Murphy kind of overwhelmed him physically. Ferri and Corella were a good match physically but not on the same emotional or interpretive level and their pairing dimmed in comparison with the Bocca/Ferri symbiosis. Vishneva, similar to her Giselle this season, brought a kind of willful abandon and restless rebellious spirit to her Juliet. She seemed a young girl who could not be contained by her family's hatred or society's dictums - a true free spirit. Angel also began to suggest a young man addicted to danger and easily bored. He seemed to stir up trouble if things were going too smoothly. His reckless pursuit of Juliet at the Capulet ball suggested someone who also had a disregard for public attitudes. The seamlessness of his dancing with endless chainés of pirouettes and turns never showed strain or pushing for effect. Your eye was drawn to Angel in the trio dances with Benvolio and Mercutio though his partners Radetsky and Cornejo are excellent technicians. Both Angel and Diana had dangerous moments of abandon together and solo. Her wild run offstage with her cape flowing behind her seems to have sent her into collision with a light bar or leg drop. Angel tore into the duel with Tybalt so fiercely that he bent his foil. This is the kind of electricity that makes for a memorable evening and redeems the ballet from its cumbersome padding and unwieldy length. Of course this is the first time they have danced this ballet together and I hope they will continue to dance it - I thought the partnering was for the most part successful and tempermentally they worked off of each other very well. Give them a few more performances and the magic will deepen. The cast surrounding them was very much the "A Team" at ABT. Veronika Part suggested the uneasy emotions of a woman asking her daughter to make the same compromises that marked her life - but why should Juliet be exempt from every woman's lot in marriage? Part's regal glamorous presence fixed the eyes and I was struck by her emotional force during the grief over Tybalt's body. Gennadi Saveliev has the Tybalt 'tude down - his death was in the good Bolshoi chew the scenery tradition. Freddie Franklin brought a spiritual center to Friar Lawrence, Victor Barbee was forceful as Capulet, Maria Bystrova a Rosaline preening with self regard and David Hallberg coolly suspicious under a noble exterior as Paris. Herman Cornejo was a lively, impish Mercutio who appropriated the Mandolin solo to great effect and rapturous audience response. A special word for Sascha Radetsky who held his own onstage with Corella and Cornejo, strong competition for even the greatest male dancer. He has really matured this season and can be given greater responsibilities in the future. I find that MacMillan's choreography is exciting during the male classical variations and pas de deux's but really feels flat and padded in the corps choreography. I needn't reiterate that the endless horseplay with the harlots and lengthy swordfights and processions seem to get longer with each viewing. You kind of know that the Balcony scene pas de deux or some exciting solo is coming up, so you just hold on but I know why I avoided MacMillan's version of this ballet for ten years.

The box office may be to blame for this set up. McKenzie started out with a balance of Mixed Programs and Full-Lengths in the Spring Season. There was no Encore season in September that I remember in NYC - that started about ten years ago at City Center. From about 1991 when I moved to New York to the late nineties, there was no Fall season, ABT just had the Summer season at the Met which was longer. However, Kevin started to notice that the box office for the mixed programs was disappointing in comparison with the full-length shows. So naturally, ABT started shopping around for more full-length shows. The problem with this programming is that it limits the number of leading roles to go around. In a mixed bill you might see well over half the principals in one evening plus many of the soloists. Maybe the corps doesn't have as much to do in these smaller ballets but such is life. The other thing is that full-length ballets are star driven where as short ballets tend to show off a company or choreographer. The Boccas and Ferris and Ananiashvili's need the big story ballets to work their full magic and ABT acquired a roster of stars who needed vehicles. The soloists and corps have started to suffer from this since they get cast similarly year after year without opportunities to show their potential or follow up those star-making turns. It might have been nice to have Danny Tidwell and Misty Copeland do "Coppelia" rather than Max and Irina or Ethan and Gillian. Or the much talked about Fang "Giselle" rather than a Paloma or Irina retread. Another problem with the mixed bills was a certain tiredness in the programming. Year after year we got a "Tchaikovsky Triple Bill" or "Tchaikovsky Spectacular" with bits of Balanchine, Swan Lake, Nutcracker or Sleeping Beauty mixed in together. The programming got repetitive. I didn't need to see "Petrouchka" or "Apollo" again but at least I was spared "Theme and Variations" yet again. I have a friend who I take to ABT (she takes me to NYCB) and I usually take her to the new full-length and one mixed bill. This year she just saw "Manon" because the Mixed Bill had too many repetitions from prior seasons. Kevin might do well to shop around for a really interesting and innovative mixed bill for next season - preferably two. He should also cast Fang, Part, Liceica, Copeland, Radetsky, Lane and Bystrova in leading parts in these short ballets. He might then find his next generation of stars when Julie, Irina, Paloma et al. eventually move on in ten years or so.

The lack of dancing children is a casualty of ABT not having a school until very recently. NYCB has always had troupes of well-drilled balletic tykes from SAB in "Coppelia" and "Nutcracker" (and their annoying picture-snapping parents in the audience). Petipa always used children in his big ballets. I was surprised when I viewed the video of the Kirov's "Don Quixote" with Terekhova and Ruzimatov that there are some little nymphets or pixies or elfs or somethings trailing around the Dryades in Don Quixote's dream sequence following the scene you mention. The restored 1900 "La Bayadere" had a "Lotus Dance" for children in the last act and in the Betrothal Scene divertissements there was a "Crooked Dance" of black-faced children that was dropped on the U.S. tour due to the lack of kiddies trained to perform it. The original "Swan Lake" Act II had little baby swans trailing after Odette and her big Swans (not the four Cygnets). The Notations in the Harvard archives confirm this. I wonder if we would be happy if they were restored - the "Swan Lake" act II looks better without all that clutter... Anyway, when Sergeyev restaged these ballets in the West, notably the Sadlers Wells, there were no troupes of trained children to perform these dances so they were dropped from the examples above and the Garland Dance and Waltz in "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty" where they worked in and out of the adult corps.

Actually, I rather enjoyed Herrera in Act I, I thought she had bounce, enthusiasm, athleticism and verve as the Amazon maiden. I thought that the role of Sylvia let Herrera combine her technical bravura with Ashton's musicality and elegance making a perfect mix. Her mime when she got struck with Cupid's dart and haltingly returned to Aminta was rather touching. In Act II, she got to be voluptuous and sinuous and she did a good job but I think she would have done even better with Marcelo Gomes as her Orion, Jesus Pastor is a focused actor but not tall enough to make the lifts exciting. Sometimes Paloma seemed to be too much for him to handle. Act III I felt showed Paloma's weaknesses. Her pizzicato solo didn't sparkle and her movements seemed studied where they should be light and delicate and spontaneous. All those little flicks of the wrist and sudden arm movements looked jerky. She didn't show much musicality and the steps seemed fussy and off the beat. Another audience member thought Paloma almost fell at one point. By the end I understood what Beck_Hen was telling me about her lower half and her upper half being disjointed. Paloma was the company's resident virtuosa ballerina in the nineties (outside of Ananiashvili) but today Murphy and Dvorovenko actually are all-around better technicians. Gillian Murphy is still growing as an artist and I am curious to know how she had improved this season as Sylvia as I didn't go on Monday. Angel brought deep romantic yearning and vulnerability to Aminta though the choreography doesn't exploit all his technical abilities and power. He was working hard to be smooth and work with the music which made him more Ashtonian in style. His joyfulness in the last act lit up the stage and engaged the audience in the story. Craig Salstein did have some wit and mischief as Eros and seemed to enjoy his various transformations. His dancing was light and bouyant. Sarah Lane was delicious as the Goat-Girl but seeing her and Veronika together doing little bits after having leading roles in the City Center season was a little depressing. I wish that ABT would put together a gorgeous new Desmond Heeley production of "The Sleeping Beauty" so that Veronika could have a go at Lilac Fairy and Florine and Sarah Lane could be Canari qui Chante, the White Cat and Florine as well. Kristi Boone, Liceica, Fang, Bystrova, Misti Copeland and all these little girls we have been seeing in the background could go front and center in all the solo opportunities that "Beauty" gives soloists and principals. It is time we saw Gillian and Irina as Aurora. The parallels between "Sylvia" and "Sleeping Beauty" made me connect the two in my mind. There are inspirations from "Beauty" that Ashton has taken and transformed for "Sylvia" - clearly this was intended as Ashton's "Beauty" for Fonteyn. Kevin spends a lot of money and energy finding vehicles to keep his superstar men happy, he needs to start paying equal time and attention to his junior women. Also, I think Veronika might make a stronger Sylvia than Julie Kent who was wobbly in it last season. As for the corps, they improved after a messy nymphs and satyrs dance at the top of Act I. Oddly the sets seem to impinge on the dancer's space though this is the Metropolitan Opera stage which is football field in size. Maybe they need to move the sets a little further upstage to give a bit more space in front? I hope we get to see this ballet again soon but I think this production has to go back to the Royal (are the sets copies that ABT owns or are the RB's sets?).

I am seeing Herrera in a matter of hours and will report tomorrow. It is disappointing to read that Newton or his assistants haven't cleaned up the corps work. It is hard to praise his work if he can't get basic patterns, consistency and ensemble from the corps. My problem with "Sylvia" is actually dramaturgical. I think there isn't enough conflict in the storyline. It has to be made clear that Sylvia believes that she has killed Aminta and only realized that she loved him after she killed him. A lovely pas de deux with her supporting his prostrate body a la "La Sonnambula" would be a good touch in Act I. She has to go through all of Orion act believing Aminta dead but faithful to his memory. Sylvia shouldn't know that he is alive until Act III. I have this image of Eros taking a long white scarf and wrapping it around her eyes like a blindfold ("love makes you blind"). When she is carried on in Aminta's arms in the final pas de deux entrance she still has the long scarf tied around her head with Eros holding the flowing ends billowing behind her. Eros would then pull the scarf away (it would be tied in a bow) and Sylvia would discover with wonder and ecstasy that she is in the arms of her beloved who is alive and restored to her.

I wonder if Wednesday night was Erica Cornejo's last appearance with ABT. The bows after the pas de trois seemed to be different. Herman's special attention to his sister bringing her forward for her solo bow after the pas de trois made me wonder if this was actually her swan song. I rarely saw her dance better. She isn't doing any more Gulnare's in "Corsaire" and the pirate maiden in that ballet is minor. She has no solo roles that I know of in "Sylvia" or "Romeo and Juliet". Was Wednesday her goodbye?

I don't know... I really thought that this year's "Swan Lake" showed some improvement over Vishneva's 2005 effort with Saveliev. First of all, she did have a more appropriate partner in Carreno with whom she has danced in "Don Quixote". Now I am sure that she hasn't danced "Swan Lake" with José before and how much rehearsal they did together in this ballet where teamwork and chemistry is essential is seriously in question given how much time ABT allots to such things. If Vishneva had been given a second performance with Carreno we might have seen greater rapport and it may happen in a future season where we will get the performance and not the dress rehearsal. I am sure she has danced it more often with Malakhov and that partnership has been honed in Berlin, so that would have immediately clicked and Vladimir would have brought out the best in her Odette. Admittedly her 2005 Odette was a bit slower and more soulful but those gorgeous arms and delicate febrile quality still reminded me powerfully of Makarova. She danced everything a bit faster this time with some suggestions of brittleness - frankly she can handle the slower tempos gorgeously but that may have been the conductor's fault. José has had over the years serious upper back pains and shoulder muscle injuries from lifting but I thought he did very well with his partnering last night. However, these are gorgeous dancers (in movement and in repose) and I couldn't keep my eyes off of them. The biggest change was in her Odile which was much better in general despite some technical bobbles of the overreaching sort. She had a minor slide when finishing her Odile solo due to the speed and force of her piques and pirouettes before. She began the fouettes in the coda at incredible speed like a demon but after a while they started to travel and get looser until she misjudged a double or triple and ended up facing downstage. Better to start them slowly and crank them up. The pirouettes and technical level in general was still virtuosic and exciting. However, last year her Odile was a brittle soubrettish flirt, small-scale and mischievous rather than threatening. This year she was more of a ballerina and a siren. The smile glittered with knowledge of her glamour and her secret betrayal. Much greater authority and sense of power emanating from this Black Swan this year. I still prefer Vishneva's Odette to her Odile which I thought would be the other way around. I still think she is finding her way into every aspect of the role and in a year or two with Malakhov (if ABT bothers to book him for more than one or two performances a season) she will knock us dead with a complete portrayal of both roles.

It actually is really necessary to document the reconstructed 1900 Vikharev "La Bayadere" so that would be first on my wish list. Once you have seen that version, the Makarova/Lanchbery last act just doesn't cut it any more. There would have to be "Sleeping Beauty" as well in the Vikharev reconstruction and that should be Vishneva as well with Fadeev and Lopatkina as the Lilac Fairy. I wish they had used Elena Evteeva as the Giselle in that 1980's filming, she was older than Mezentseva but had more pathos and delicacy. This just may happen but we may need to have a Western backer who would demand certain things from what seems to be an unwilling Mariinsky administration. How was Alla Sizova's Giselle? Was it one of her great roles like Aurora?

I caught the final "Manon" on Saturday night with Julie Kent, Jose Manuel Carreno and Marcelo the Magnificent Gomes. This was my third in a row and I was frankly shocked since I didn't think that I would make it through two. However, this was a very good remounting that minimized the longeurs and padding and maximized the talent of the principals, soloists and corps. This cast though less idiosyncratic than Bocca/Ferri and Vishneva/Malakhov was gorgeously danced, sensitively acted and warmly human. Each of the stars was seen at his or her best. As for the three: Bocca/Ferri won on passion, Vishneva/Malakhov on complex dramatic portraiture worthy of Dostoyevsky or Tolstoy and this cast on lyrical warmth and romance. Julie Kent's Manon was not the most calculating or minx-like - she was a fallible and easily corrupted girl who had she lived to maturity would have repented of her ways. (Diana Vishneva was the least innocent and most sensual of the three and this is a very valid interpretation and supported by the Prevost novel) I have always sensed an "English" quality in the refined lyricism and understated graciousness of Julie's dancing and this role, created on Antoinette Sibley, suited her phrasing and line beautifully. I have only seen Sibley on film but suspect that in build and style there are similarities. With her hair in a high chignon with curls cascading down and wide set eyes in a lovely face, Julie was beautiful to behold. Her innocence and beauty as she came from the convent to the Inn in the first scene didn't conceal great curiousity and eagerness to experience life and love. The scene in the second half of Act I where Manon flashes her legs to Msr. G.M. on the bed to entice him showed a sensuality startling in its combination of boldness and refinement. The sensuality was understated but implied strongly. She was an aristocratic lady in the gambling scene but her willowy body did make the solo where she is carried through the air by the men effective. Her fragility and despair at her degradation in the last act had tragic pathos and depth. The choreography played to Julie's best qualities and there were gorgeous moments in each pas de deux. A fine new role for her. José has this ability to phrase turns by slowing them down and speeding them up and this added tensiveness and texture to his solos. All of his dancing was beautifully sustained with the athleticism bound into a long line with soft beginnings and finishes. Malakhov was tempermentally and dramatically the best Des Grieux in that you could believe how this naive vulnerable young man could become the passive, self-destructive victim of his passion for a wayward young woman and let himself be degraded and brought down by her mistakes. Jose and Julio are both latin and you just can't believe they wouldn't tell Manon off or slug Lescaut when he throws money in his face and pushes him to the floor. However, Jose did seem deeply in love and truly hurt yet devoted to Manon. One critic described Tanaquil le Clerc as having had witty legs (this was pre-polio of course), it is a shame that she couldn't dance a comic ballet with Marcelo Gomes because he also has witty legs. His long legs also look great in shiny black tights. He added little hesitations and flourishes to his first act solo that created the image of a humorous but self-regarding rake. He seemed irresistable. His first and second acts had great humor and Carmen Corella was a warmly amused and womanly Mistress. Marcelo's attempts at being a classy drunk in Act II paid off though I still think Herman was even funnier in the stumbling pas de deux. You were sad when he got shot. Roman Zhurbin had an unpleasantly saturnine quality to his Msr. G.M. that made up for his youth. Jesus Pastor did not have enough height or physical aggression to be effective as the Jailer. Olga Dvorovenko (former dancer and ballet teacher mother of Irina) was elegantly louche as Madame. The orchestra played well and the audience enjoyed the show enthusiastically. Critics seem to love to hate this ballet but this revival made the best case for it.

I've seen Part in many of the roles described above but also Raymonda with ABT and Maria in "The Fountain at Bakchisirai", "Emeralds", "Symphony in C" and the Lilac Fairy in "Sleeping Beauty" with the Kirov. She is an old school dancer of a highly individualistic type that is out of sync with todays streamlined, fast and virtuosic ideal. Her upper body and arms weave spells. In "Raymonda" she seemed to be summoning Glazunov's gorgeous melodies out of the orchestra with her epaulement and port de bras. However, she also tipped off balance in multiple pirouettes and had trouble holding position when being lifted by Marcelo Gomes. It was not Gomes' fault. Quick changes in direction and allegro work can faze her and glitches will happen. I sometimes have suspected some weakness in the ankles. However, she also has very strong legs and is a good jumper. As the Queen of the Dryads in "Don Quixote" she had excellent Italian fouettes, strong developees and a huge leap. She is a dancer who thrives on adagio and likes to stretch out the steps and elongate the line. She also slows down tempos. People think that this always makes things easier but it also requires strength to sustain the physical movements. She does sustain them and almost always seamlessly. As a dancer she is always interesting even when or especially when she is miscast. In "Ballet Imperial" her lush sad Russian presence turned a glittery showpiece into a tragic romance - Anna Karenina's last dance in the Imperial ballroom. Maybe she didn't do a few steps quick enough, blurred some transitions and slowed down the tempo but you never saw the ballet look like that before and it was gorgeous. I don't know anything first hand or in print about her relationship with the ABT staff and coaches but her casting suggests that there may be areas where support is lacking. Kolpakova as a coach brings a Kirov sensibility to ABT and might have taken Veronika under her wing (she is a taskmaster) as she did with Susan Jaffe, who had weaknesses in her early ABT career and emerged stronger. That may not have happened between them. Part had a weight gain when she joined ABT but she is in fighting shape now. However she spent almost all of her first two years slinging herself around in blue jeans in the "Harrison Tribute" because someone didn't want to put her in tights and toe shoes. The Balanchine people seem to have a lot of faith in her because she is always used in Balanchine (Mozartiana, Apollo, Ballet Imperial) revivals at ABT even though she is not an obvious Balanchine dancer. Peter Quanz used her in "Kaleidoscope" which wasn't a big success but was a high profile premiere. What is distressing is that she made big strides in the Spring and Fall 2005 seasons at ABT in casting. Nina Ananiashvili's absence opened up opportunities for her (Ballet Imperial, Raymonda) that she took on with striking results. The Fall season at City Center saw her used in premieres (Kaleidoscope) and important revivals (Apollo, Les Sylphides). However, after those advances she is now stuck with two Terpsichores, two Myrthas, one Wednesday matinee Odette/Odile and parts like Twig in "Cinderella"and the 3rd Odalisque in "Le Corsaire". There was talk that she would be Lescaut's mistress in "Manon" but that didn't happen. She is 28 and should be working into her greatest period. ABT has to decide whether they are going to mold her into a star or let her go and become one elsewhere. But they have to have faith in her. I don't think she has let them down despite her flaws. I remember vividly Susan Jaffe stepping off pointe as a young ballerina and Julie Kent stumbling in turns as well. They were gorgeous dancers and the company gave them roles to grow on. Part deserves the same.

It seems that Rudi and Margot danced the "Swan Lake" Act II PDD for Ed Sullivan and the BBC. However, Margot was dancing for the BBC way back in 1937 - here is a 40 minute "Swan Lake" with an 18 year old Margot: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406920/ Some of this ancient BBC stuff has been retrieved, so if it hasn't been wiped it may be somewhere. FauxPas

Just an off the cuff jotting down of reactions to a lovely, moving, satifying goodbye: ABT without Julio is hard to imagine. I missed Baryshnikov live in classical ballet, so he was my first male superstar. Let us not forget that ABT wasn't always a constellation of male virtuosity. Circa 1987 to 1994, NYCB actually had the better roster of men, some thought the best in the world. ABT had Julio. A Julio night was a special night that was full of electricity and excitement - you had to be there. Bocca also danced every performance like it was his last with a kind of abandon - a pirouette or turn a la seconde was like he was a helicopter trying to lift off into the air or a power drill trying to bore into the center of the earth. His powers as an actor - whether tragic or comic - was a revelation that emerged into greater detail and wonder with each season. In the beginning his amazing gifts as a dancer blinded me to his theatrical power. He sometimes had seasons that were not as brilliant as others - especially in the last decade. He had his share of injuries with the inevitable surgeries and I felt that the pressure to compete with all the new talent was hard on him. There were a few seasons when you wondered if his heart was in it completely. However, he usually seemed to be giving all he had at an enormous cost to himself. That is why I was somewhat apprehensive last night - I was afraid that the emotion might be too much and that he and Ferri would go over the top or over the edge. Instead it was a lovely, controlled, deeply felt and firmly disciplined reading - each moment fully wrought and savored and then let go. They were the complete professionals putting aside their emotions and putting on a smooth and harmonious performance in complete solidarity and mutual support. One person I spoke to felt that Monday's night had more abandon and intensity. I could not be there. Due to the sadness of Thursday night's occasion maybe this was a more elegiac reading. There certainly was great passion but also a measured dignity and grace. A note on "Manon" - I have never liked the ballet more than what I saw last night. (I saw it first with the Royal Ballet with Durante and Mukhamedhov and at ABT with Ferri/Bocca and later with Nina A.) This was due to a really superb job of staging - it looked fresh, moved well and was remarkably cohesive. Monica Parker did a fine job with the entire company. The problem with many MacMillan ballets is that there are great pas de deux's and miles of dull filler in between in a long and sometimes cumbersome framework. The corps de ballet were engaged and acting up a storm whether portraying roués, gamblers, sailors, officers, beggars, whores of various varieties or nobles. Dancers we know mainly for dance fireworks rather than dramatic acuity like Herman Cornejo and Gillian Murphy gave stylish, witty and assured dramatic performances. And their solos and teamwork were anything but "filler" with their powerhouse dance technique and projection. Herman was even funnier as a drunk because of all the virtuosity of his stumbling and reeling. The house was full and pumped to show Julio how much they loved him. Surprise bouquet presenters at the end included Damian Woetzel, Cynthia Gregory, Cheryl Yeager, was that Ashley Tuttle??, Susan Jaffe, Diana Vishneva, Kathleen Moore, Christine Dunham, Robert Hill, Joaquin de Luz, Ethan Stiefel, Vladimir Malakhov and all the ABT men, Martine van Hamel and many more. Celebrities like Isabella Rossellini were in the audience. Bravo Julio for all those years of intensity and passion in your artistry

Did anyone go to see Xiomara/Angel last night? Considering Xiomara's successes as MacMillan's Juliet, I think her Manon might be worth seeing. Also, was Julie Kent sexy and naughty enough as Manon with José Manuel Carreno her errant suitor on Tuesday night? I am going tonight and tomorrow and two "Manon" performances are enough for this boy. Is anyone interested in going with me tomorrow night (Visheva/Malakhov), I have one balcony ticket in Row E to sell. PM me if you are interested.

I watched this once on VHS and was underwhelmed. First of all, Nureyev is done up like Ziggy Stardust which is enhanced by constant closeups. However, Dame Margot is hardly ever seen in closeup - she is strictly photographed in medium or panoramic shots. Maybe this is to de-emphasize her age at the time of the filming. It distances us from Odette/Odile and makes the whole film about the rather fabulous Prince Sieggy Stardust. As for a record of Nureyev and Fonteyn dancing the original Petipa "Black Swan PDD" - they performed it on a television variety show called "Hollywood Palace" in 1965. Dame Margot is in fine form and nails the 32 fouettés. The episode was available at the Museum of Television and Radio in NYC and could be watched at a monitor in the museum's viewing room. Here is the full information on the episode: http://www.tv.com/host-fred-astaire---we-f...57/summary.html At the end of the PDD Rudi had to hoist Margot on his shoulder and you see him rather ungallantly flinch and toss her off abruptly before taking a bow. Margot looks a little perturbed by this. It seems that Rudi and Margot also did a "Swan Lake" excerpt on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1965 http://www.rudolfnureyevdancefoundation.or...reer_pg%205.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmWCNoZuuc0&feature=player_embedded It seems that the BBC and Ed Sullivan Show have several Rudi/Margot appearances in their archives. Hopefully, Sofa Entertainment will put out a ballet compilation tape similar to the one they did for opera singers... The BBC has licensed opera stuff from their archives from the fifties and sixties to EMI. Also, the Paul Czinner film entitled "The Royal Ballet" has a second act "Swan Lake" filmed in 1958 with a prime-time Margot with Michael Somes.

Some questions for Ballet Alert: I looked on Julio's "sito official" (Spanish only) and saw that he is not entirely dropping classical roles after his ABT farewell on June 22nd. He is dancing "Swan Lake" or a portion of it in Cuba at the Havana Festival. There is the "Don Quixote PDD" with Ballet Argentino in Barcelona. He is also dancing a "Manon" in October of 2006 - I don't know who his ballerina is but it might be Alessandra Ferri. If it is, then this coming Thursday won't be their final collaboration. He is totally retiring on December 22, 2007 - but is that really it? One of the benefits of "Boccatango" and "Ballet Argentino" was that it gave him another genre to make the transition away from being a classical ballet virtuoso. He could go on as long as Baryshnikov has in modern dance and tango. It is odd to imagine him taking himself off of the stage completely.

Just a few notes and responses to Tomatonose: Stella Abrera is an excellent actress. Her tiny, fearsome Myrtha was scarier than Gillian, Michele or Veronika's. She has done the leads in some miniature one-act story ballets by Fokine, Tudor, Ashton etc. and is always spot on in her mime. Stella is a very good dramatic interpreter and also gives evocative performances in plotless ballets. She creates an atmosphere which is good in any ballet especially Balanchine. Michele Wiles actually would make a great NYCB dancer as she has the Balanchine body (she does an excellent T&V) and a perky All-American personality that would fit in with their aesthetic. Michele actually is very enjoyable as a sunny Medora in "Le Corsaire" and may eventually be a fun Kitri in "Don Quixote". I have seen her do Myrtha in previous seasons and she mimed and interpreted the role better before. It isn't a natural fit for her despite her height. I actually thought that Angel's "Giselle" last year with Vishneva showed some interpretive changes. With Ashley Tuttle's passionate Giselle he was a young, impetuous thoughtless boy who made a big mistake. His Albrecht last year was more of a cad and more calculating (the truly unforgiveable sin in betrayal) than previously. Also, if you remember last Spring many male dancers were injured or on the sick list including Malakhov, Stiefel (up to the last two weeks of the season) and others I forget (Marcelo was injured after the Spring season). The Corella/Vishneva pairing was a very last minute substitution and they had very few rehearsals together. Considering how well they did and how good they looked together, I consider that a great achievement. Naturally, Malakhov and Vishneva have danced together in "Giselle' in Germany and Japan and who knows where else many times, their partnership is honed to perfection. One more note on Wednesday night - did anyone else notice that Vladimir forgot to reach for his scabbard in the fight with Hilarion (the sword that isn't there and tips Hilarion off about "Loys" actual social status)? Sascha had to kind of improvise a funny reaction. Faux Pas

The BBC showed a very good "Macbeth" with Eric Porter and Janet Suzman that would be a worthy addition to the DVD market. Also, the RSC had on videotape the "Antony and Cleopatra" with Richard Johnson and Janet Suzman. Suzman is a magnificent Cleopatra who must been seen even if the production clearly was done without the budget for spectacular scenery and pageantry a TV version would need. It clearly is a bare bones stage production filmed for TV without sphinxes, armies, palaces and horses. If we only had Suzman and Shakespeare in the Mankiewicz "Cleopatra" with those sets and costumes.

I am mystified by the comment above about Radetsky not upstaging the "non-acting leads" - HUH?!?!? If anything Vishneva and Malakhov in the first act were a little over the top dramatically by our rather ascetic current standards. The emotion they created was indeed "real" but highly theatrical as well. Of course, "Giselle" is a Romantic ballet about very young people and the emotions should be big and intense. In fact the emotional juices were running high all evening and you could see the energy feeding into the supporting players, the corps and the orchestra and out into the audience. The whole energy from top to bottom was higher. The audience was also larger and strikingly chic. As for Vishneva and Malakhov - every second was fascinating, every moment rich and full with surprising revelations and magical interactions that you couldn't take your eyes off them for a split second. The second act was pure poetry with incredible images from Malakhov's deep backbends and inconsolable loss at the end to Vishneva's upward gaze when she realizes she has saved Albrecht and her slow retreat back to the grave. The handling of the lilies by both dancers was indelible. Vishneva also has those Kirov arms that breathe with the music in an organic way. My friend mentioned that she had forgotten how much she missed Vladimir and one quality his Albrecht has is that it brings out the best in his Giselle. Amanda McKerrow and Julie Kent were never better than when they were dancing the role with him.

TUESDAY NIGHT JUNE 13th: Paloma and Marcelo This was a fine performance due to the corps being in fine shape and a predictably superb performance by Marcelo Gomes, from now on I dub him Marcelo the Magnificent. I have avoided Paloma in this role for various reasons - mainly that I have been more interested in seeing other ballerinas dance this signature Romantic role. To my surprise she did better in the more theatrical first act than in the more pure dance oriented second act. In the first act Paloma was very believably and touchingly girlish, coltish, happily in love and innocent. Her happy smile lit up the stage. She danced very well particularly in her solo when she is named harvest queen - the hops on pointe were excellent, the arms okay. Her interpretation was fine until the mad scene. Here you could see that she has been very thoroughly coached and it was broken down into different sections with individual dramatic effects. However, it was all applied from the outside and rather studied. We didn't see where the madness came from - it seemed out of character for this happy, sensible girl to lose her wits so quickly. Marcelo had a nicely impulsive quality that made you forgive Albrecht's arrogance and selfishness. You felt that he couldn't help himself - he had to do what he had to do. His grief over Giselle's lifeless body was uninhibited and convincing, not over the top. (Note to Albrecht: stop ignoring and dismissing Wilfred's advice - he is always right!) However, in the second act Paloma didn't seem to care about creating physical images and movements to suggest a supernatural wraith - just a generalized and slow Romantic affect. When summoned from the grave by Myrtha's wand, Paloma just walked slowly from the wings onto the burial plot behind the cross. Most Giselles dart in so fast they seem to have materialized from the mist. Paloma then walked slowly bent over to Myrtha without that stiffness that suggests a lifeless empty body being moved by an external force. The backward spin in arabesque should suggest Giselle being reanimated and casting off a deathly sleep but Paloma did it too slowly and without dramatic abandon, so it suggested just a dance step. When Marcelo made his entrance, so darkly handsome and into the moment, Paloma improved. Marcelo's partnering skills made Paloma seem to weigh nothing, to be composed of air. Gomes carried her across the stage so that she just had to flex her toe to skim the ground. He lifted her high over his six foot plus head in an easy sweeping motion, held her for a long time without visible effort and then put her down so slowly she felt no impact. He did everything to project Albrecht's emotions but was completely there for her every moment. In his coda, Marcelo did a series of very high upward jumps with foot beats (there is a technical term for this but I don't know it). Paloma's work in the big pas de deux was fine technically but the arms and the musical phrasing weren't quite magical. Jesus Pastor made Hilarion a very clearly motivated and engaged figure at all times and danced his limited choreography excellently. Ilona McHugh was a very loving, concerned and protective Berthe. Anna Liceica did Bathilde with just the right mix of aristocratic hauteur and reserve and feminine sympathy. Carlos Lopez and Maria Riccetto danced the Peasant Pas de Deux with nice detail and brio. I wondered if Stella Abrera would be too delicate, petite and feminine for the fearsome Myrtha but I was wrong. She had a porcelain quality but intensely cold and forbidding and danced with great authority and control. The corps looked in good shape but the sets are beginning to look a little faded and the second act drops look musty and wrinkled. A little repainting and repair seem in order. The lighting could be reworked too for greater effect.

If you want slashed beyond recognition - look no further than the Welles "Othello". Orson actually gets the play down to less than 2 hours - a whopping 91 minutes. Orson also had a tendency like Donald Wolfit and other 19th century actor/managers to cast non-entities around him - look at the "Macbeth" with Jeanette Nolan. This crew isn't so bad but done in by the production style and cutting. Michael McLliamoir isn't charismatic enough on screen as Iago but the Emilia of Fay Compton is fine. This film was done in bits and pieces with no budget over several years. The skimpy sets are offset by clever chiaroscuro lighting but there is a lack of supernumeries and props as well. Continuity is weird and I think the whole thing was post-dubbed. The Desdemona is a beautiful French actress, Suzanne Cloutier who has no clue with Shakespearean dialogue. She is dubbed but I can't tell if she does her own voice or if it is someone else.

Côté is indeed wonderful - beautiful long line and pointed feet. However, at ABT he would be one among many star male dancers whereas in Canada he is primo ballerino assoluto. I would say invite him again to guest in something and let's have some regular visits by the National Ballet of Canada! I went on Saturday night for a second viewing having seen Julie Kent and Gomes on Wednesday night. My companion on Wednesday was seeing it for a second time and she told me it was much better on the second viewing. That was my reaction last night. First of all, I think you need Xiomara to liven up the first act. Xiomara brought great personal investment to all the mundane tasks she was performing in the first act. She made us see a whole life of drudgery. Julie is not only more mature but has a swan-like beauty and serenity that made us see she will be a princess. With Xiomara, that was not the case - we saw a beleaguered and oppressed young girl with huge dreams that might not come true without a lot of help. Julie actually danced much of the choreography more beautifully given her wonderful long limbs and musicality but Xiomara broke your heart with every step. I also preferred Georgina Parkinson as the Fairy Godmother to Susan Jones. Parkinson actually performs the same role in the Royal Ballet video of the Ashton ballet filmed in 1967 with Sibley and Dowell - in the Ashton it is a ballerina role on pointe. Whereas Susan Jones was a comfy, benevolent nanny figure, Parkinson was much more mysterious and eerily out of place - a visitor from some other world. Also there was a real connection between her and Xiomara. Erica Cornejo is a comic powerhouse as the Other Stepsister due to her astonishing dance power and technique. Erica could go the comic mile with total physical abandon yet total control. Maria Riccetto was very nearly as funny in her characterization but her solo showed that she couldn't make the choreography as funny (the "shuffle off to Buffalo" on pointe section wasn't nearly as dazzling/ridiculous because she could only dance it very small without kicking up the legs as high or fast). I was very impressed with Simone Messmer as the bitchy vampy tall stepsister - a dancer I hadn't noticed before. Very strong stage presence and technique. Martine van Hamel definitely reminded me of Joanna Lumley as Patsy in "Absolutely Fabulous". She was more subtle yet just as funny as Sasha Dmochowski who needed more age makeup to establish her seniority to her daughters. Marcelo Gomes was dazzling as the Prince - his faultless partnering during the tricky and intricate pas de deuxs with Julie was only part of the equation. The choreography fit his body very well from the long line, the jumps to the little rhumba moves in the second act social dances. He has a more imposing stage presence than the very youthful and boyish Côté though they are both superb dancers. I must mention that Julie danced gorgeously on Wednesday night and was lovely to watch and expressive. But Xiomara really connected me to her character in every moment in a way that Kent did not. This is a very intricate and sometimes busy ballet and the second viewing helped me see many details I had missed the first time around. I love many of Kudelka's ideas like Cinderella gaining shoes with her ascension and in the last act having her dance on only one shoe showing her torn between two worlds and identities and in an awkward state. I also think that the sets and costumes are lovely and now I would definitely see this version again which I wasn't sure of after Wednesday night.