FauxPas

Last night I saw "Swan Lake" again for the first time in three years.  Kevin McKenzie's production has some good things in it - I like the solos for Siegfried in Act I and the pas de deux in Act IV.  The one intermission and the shortened final act make it a rather fast and sometimes dramatically flattened narrative.  Dancers like Nina Ananiashvili or Veronika Part  have been able to fill in the blanks and give Odette/Odile emotional space and richness - probably due to their experience with the longer authentic Russian versions.

Last night, Gillian Murphy came back, now in her early forties, and really filled out the role.  Technically she is still on top of the assignment despite a few tiny signs of age - she cannot balance like she used to.  As Odile in Act III (to cut to the chase), the fouettés in the coda started high tight and interspersed with regular multiples - I think she did a solid quad early on - while traveling in a straight line downstage.  Then just a measure or two before the end she tired and dropped out of maybe the last three turns or so and sort of did a lovely set of turns to fill out the music.  No biggie.  Her back is still supple and flexible and her turns and multiple pirouettes are stunning.  The use of the arms, although not comparable to the Russians, is fluid and expressive.  I think that being older, she has mellowed and settled into the role (Act II Odette) and isn't pushing for virtuosity but more for expression and storytelling.  She brought real sorrow and dramatic weight to Odette in Act II and had good chemistry with Thomas Forster, her Prince Siegfried.

Forster really made one regret he wasn't promoted (or at least cast in solo roles) much earlier - like ten years ago.  Tall handsome presence, involved acting, excellent partnering with high secure lifts and also did secure clean turns in his solos.  Excellent jump too.  He also had a strong dramatic presence and filled out the story.  Only bobble was that he finished his solo facing the back of the stage which he quickly fixed by swirling front with an arm flourish.

Jarod Curley was Purple Pimp Daddy Von Rothbart and Duncan Lyle was Swamp Thing Von Rothbart.  Curley again had authority and stage presence to burn and made something of his third act "Russian Dance" solo.  For example the tricky balance was very solid.  Not Marcelo, but damn good.

First act pas de trois trio was very strong - Chloe Misseldine, SunMi Park (a pairing familiar from their flower girls in Don Q) partnered by a newcomer to me Sung Woo Han as Benno.  Han is another new face to watch out for - high clean jumps and turns, secure  landings and confident classical style.  All three looked very finished and experienced which is unusual since they are fairly new young corps dancers.  Misseldine's long limbs did not impede speed or form and she again shone.  Park had a sunny smile and radiated joy.  All three look like they are headed for bigger things.  

In Act III, the Neapolitan male duo was Cameron McCune and Jonathan Klein (replacing Luigi Crispino).  Klein we know and he danced as well as we expected him to.  However, Cameron McCune really is a very good dancer who has been languishing in the corps for far too long.   His name had been mentioned when discussing men who could be promoted to soloist but I hadn't seen him in anything where he could stand out from the crowd.  McCune easily kept up with Klein and even outshone him in a few places.  He really had technique and energy to burn and danced very strongly and cleanly - more solos please for this young man.

It was a lovely evening and the audience was very demonstrative in its affection for prima ballerina Gillian Murphy throughout and at the curtain calls.

I am seeing Gillian and Thomas Forster tonight. 

Let me rush in to defend Irina Dvorovenko's acting - I actually saw her act onstage in an adaptation of Henry James' "The Beast in the Jungle".  She also was wildly funny and childishly temperamental in Encores' "On Your Toes".  There's a lot going on behind those eyes onstage and onscreen these days. 

I found Irina particularly delicious in comedy.  She was fabulous as "The Merry Widow" in Ronald Hynd's ballet version and a charmer as the Operetta Star in Antony Tudor's derivative "Offenbach in the Underworld".  Irina did period style very well.  She also was a delicious Kitri in "Don Q" opening and closing her fan over her head while knocking out fouettes.  I didn't see it but her comedy in Le Grand Pas de Deux by Christian Spuck as a bespectacled ballerina klutz was evidently priceless.

I had less luck with her big classical roles where I often got her on a bad night where she had onstage bobbles.  Her Gamzatti however was always spot on and there was lots of evil going on behind those eyes.

Mixed bills rarely sell at the Metropolitan Opera.  If ABT has a shortened Met season just do the big story ballets there and maybe two bigger one-act story ballets.  Keep it focused on the classics.

I wouldn't mind if ABT did short seasons of mixed modern or 20th century bills at the Joyce, City Center and TfkaS.

There are many shorter ballets that ABT did that I loved and haven't seen for years.  Namely, "Undertow" by Antony Tudor is an interesting dramatic ballet that was revived 30 years ago and is still relevant about poverty and dehumanization/alienation.  I adore "Birthday Offering" by Ashton (Sarasota Ballet is bringing that one to NY in August at the Joyce).  I personally recommended to Kevin McKenzie that they revive Ailey's "The River" - the original ABT version had pointe work and it is performed by the Alvin Ailey Company but with the ballet footwork removed and danced on flat feet in modern dance style.  Eleanor D'Antuono and Cynthia Gregory who danced in the original version are around to restore it.

I wish that Ratmansky would put together a big "Paquita Grand Pas" for ABT or do his full-length version after Petipa.

Many of the current new commissions besides those by Ratmansky are given to female choreographers and/or choreographers of color (Pam Tamowitz/Jessica Lang/Michelle Dorrance/Sonya Tayeh et al.), often using more vernacular hip hop vocabulary in order to get that elusive youth audience.  The same choreographers are being sought by NYCB and every other dance presenter these days.  

I saw two casts in "Of Love and Rage".  It is the nature of early Greek novels that they have far-flung plots with all sorts of coincidences and melodramatic plot turns.  But Ratmansky keeps up pretty fast paced action which is both a good thing in terms of theatrical pacing and interest and a bad thing in terms of character development.  The beginning of Act II where King Mithridates and the King of Babylon both fall in love with Callirhoe in fast succession borders on the ridiculous and is repetitive. The pantomime can only convey so much - I needed to memorize the synopsis in the program to figure out that the hand on top of the head meant that the King of Babylon needed to adjudicate the dispute between Dionysius and Mithridates over who gets Callirhoe.  I never saw that Dionysius knew that Callirhoe's baby was not his and he was raising another man's baby (as in Tudor's "Pillar of Fire").  

I felt that Shevchenko and Forster had more warmth and dramatic weight than Hurlin and Bell though both pairs danced the choreography brilliantly.  Camargo as Dionysius has impressive dramatic authority onstage and a fascinating stage presence.  Hoven is a much more elegant classical dancer which had its own benefits since I think Dionysius has more interesting, if less virtuosic, choreography than Chaereas.  Both were enormously sympathetic in the part, especially the exit without the son at the end of the ballet.  I ended up feeling more sorrow about Dionysius than joy at the reunion of the lovers and their child.

Ratmansky has always promoted young, untried dancers.  I enjoyed Courtney Shealy as Plangon, the interestingly in control servant of Dionysius.  Eric Tamm was a very up and coming soloist ten years ago who disappeared to do real estate and came back to the company to languish in the corps.  It was nice to see him back doing a soloist role.  I thought he was on his way to principal dancer back then.  Michael de la Nuez busted some wild Bolshoi dance moves in the dance of the Babylonian Soldiers  in Act II.  Agree about Jarod Curley - strong stage presence.  Patrick Frenette, a corps dancer who has had no soloist opportunities shone as one of the conniving suitors and is over the moon about his first principal role as Mithridates in tonight's cast (Seo/Royal III).  https://www.instagram.com/p/CfH4h5IPEGx/

I think a certain taste for Soviet kitsch is necessary to enjoy this ballet.  I grew up on those old Russian ballet films and really enjoy seeing the tropes performed live onstage.  For example I ADORED "The Flames of Paris" when the Mikhailovsky toured it to New York.  I was also thrilled 20 years ago when the Mariinsky did the full-length "The Fountain of Bakhchisirai" on tour in New York at the Met.  Some of the smaller Russian companies keep old ballets by Yakobson, Lavrovsky, etc. in the rep.  Ratmansky is really dipping into that well.

Btw:  another forgotten influence on Ratmansky - Leonid Jacobson/Yakobson and his original "Spartak/Spartacus" to the Khachaturian score.  Yakobson's innovations included the use of frieze-like profile dancing though unlike Ratmansky he didn't use pointe work.  Also the free and almost modern dance use of the arms and upper body which are more flexible and relaxed.  The Yakobson version was choreographed for the Kirov Ballet in 1956 and later went to the Bolshoi in 1962 when Plisetskaya danced it and it toured to the U.S.  It was later replaced by the more virtuosic and brilliant Grigorovich choreography in 1968 which became emblematic of the Bolshoi.   

The Mariinsky revived the Yakobson version in 2012 - https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2012/12/8/1_1900/

Ratmansky would be very familiar with the 1968 Grigorovich from his years at the Bolshoi but possibly also saw the Yakobson at the Mariinsky in 2012. 

Here are some excerpts:  Spartak/Phrygia pas de deux with Danila Korsuntsev and Kondaurova:

with Plisetskaya:

I'll bite.  Hurlin was SENSATIONAL!  She has propulsive forward momentum in her dancing and incredible attack.  She is also flexible with high extensions.  Her jump is more notable for covering a lot of space than for great height but that works for me.  Act I was just as good as on Monday night.  She is a vivacious sparky actress and was very coquettish and bold as Kitri.  She can act. There were people who saw her "Don Q" at the Kennedy Center who said she had problems with the hops on pointe in her Act II "Dream" solo and struggled with the fouettés in the coda of the Act III pas de deux.  Not so last night - she rocked!  The hops on pointe started conservatively but with good form and then Hurlin got more confident and covered more ground with each hop.  The fouettés were incredible - fast, high and tight with multiples timed with the music working the fan.  She did not flag and finished with a Spanish dancer pose.  The audience screamed.  The only problem was with the Act III balances in the pas de deux.  No disaster but the first wobbled back a bit before she grabbled Ahn's hand and the second was better but very short - hardly a balance at all.  However, I have noticed that dancers who are tall, willowy and flexible are not as good at balancing as those who are shorter and more balanced and muscular in their physique/plastique.  It's a static step and the willowy flexible dancers are built for movement.  

Ahn danced really well - lots of pirouettes which he is really good at.  He hasn't a big personality onstage though he did act.  He needed both hands to hold Hurlin aloft over his head but the lifts were secure.  His partnering is good.  He is valuable and in something like "Theme and Variations" where acting/personality is not a big requirement and pure classical form is a huge requirement, he will do well.  Standard prince/danseur noble stuff with the white tights will work well for him.

Zhong-Jing Fang was Mercedes/Queen of Dryads.  Like several other beautiful dancers like Luciana Paris, Stella Abrera and possibly a few others, she was promoted too late in her career by Kevin McKenzie.  She was a sensual and flirtatious Mercedes in Acts I and III but fell off pointe once in her dance with the darts in Act I.  Her Queen of the Dryads solo began well with gorgeous port de bras but again, she fell off pointe for the last Italian fouetté but quickly got back on it.  Lively applause after.  Blaine Hoven was Espada and he is a known quantity in the role.  He was in good form but not exciting.  SunMi Park and Chloe Misseldine returned as the Flower Girls and were terrific.  Erica Lall was broadly smiling, happily leaping and gamboling across the stage as Amour.  Garegin Pogossian was an eye-catchingly bold, high flying Gypsy Boy with sassy Betsy McBride as his Gypsy Girl.  

A young new apprentice dancer called Cy Doherty was wonderful as the titular Don Quixote - he is very tall and lanky and got very dreamy around Kitri and the vision of Dulcinea and made something moving of the role.  I honestly thought he was an elderly actor or retired dancer.  Also, surprisingly, Tom Forster was recruited as a principal male dancer to do the elderly mime role of Kitri's interfering father Lorenzo.  Also, John Gardner was a very amusing Sancho Panza but looks very different from his days as a soloist with ABT - was it that long ago???

The audience stood up and cheered after the grand pas de deux in Act III for Hurlin and Ahn.  It ended up being a very exciting evening.  I say that Hurlin will be promoted to principal sooner rather than later - she seems poised to take over from Murphy as the company's lead virtuoso technician.

I agree with NYSusan regarding Herman Cornejo last night - only in comparison with his superhuman younger self did his work fall short.  Otherwise, all was beauty, charm and technical ease, command and elegance.  

Brandt was still a bit of a work in progress.  The Kitri Act I solo with the castanets and kick to the back of the head was a touch disappointing.  She lacked height in her jumps and the kicks to the back of the head barely got above her waist and nowhere near her head.  Skyler is a good turner so the diagonal chainé of pirouettes was very successful.

The Dulcinea solo in Act II Quixote's Dream sequence was wonderful with a diagonal of sautés that spanned nearly the whole stage.

The Act III pas de deux was disappointing as her balances were not terribly secure or held for long.  However the solo was charming and well danced and the 32 fouettés in the coda were a knockout with a lot of multiples.

So she had her ups and downs - high kicks front and back, balances and jumps need some work.  Turns and spins like pirouettes and fouettés and the hops on pointe are consistently impressive.

Rachel Richardson subbed as Amour and did a lovely job.  Good work from Breanne Granlund and Betsy McBride as the flower girls/bridesmaids.  

I did.  The gala opening night multi-cast "Don Quixote" was a celebration of the ABT's new bunch of home grown principals, several of whom were trained at the JKO School.  Several of whom were promoted in 2020 and then sidelined for nearly three years.

There was a lot to be thankful for and many positive things to report from the opening night.  All the various couples danced well in each act.  The corps and soloists were in fine shape and well-rehearsed - it was a cohesive ensemble.  Nothing ragged or out of shape.  Bright lights are emerging from the corps de ballet - a few new to the company.  Even the orchestra played well which was not always the case in the past - especially in the early weeks of the season when NYCB musicians were not available when the seasons overlapped in May.  There were three different (staff) conductors leading the orchestra for each act.

Andrew F. Barth, chairman of the board, made an opening speech praising Susan Fales-Hill and Kevin McKenzie.  Then corps dancer Erica Lall came out to praise Susan Fales-Hill, trustee.  Mrs. Fales-Hill then spoke movingly about her mother, the singer and actress Josephine Premice, and the need for diversity and support for minority artists in the community.  Then Skyler Brandt introduced Kevin McKenzie and spoke about how she decided at age 8 to become an ABT Principal Dancer and how her dreams came true over many years in the summer intensives, studio company, apprentice program and then joining the company and rising through the ranks.  McKenzie was aware that the audience came for dancing and not him speaking and kept his comments brief and focused with discussion of his long career at ABT, first as a dancer and then as the director thanking all the dancers past and present he worked with.

Now for the show:

Act I:  Cate Hurlin and Aran Bell as Kitri and Basilio.  The standout here was Catherine Hurlin who was a bold, spitfire Kitri with big jumps, powerful attack, speed and abandon.  She turned fast, kicked her leg to the back of her head and leapt across the stage like a gazelle.  Bell was especially good as a partner but he is tall and long-legged and I have seen faster spins and turns from shorter demi-caractère virtuosos like Bocca, Corella and Cornejo in the past.  He had a nice easy going playfulness with Hurlin and leading man charm.  He danced well in general and held Hurlin over his head while walking across the stage.  Naturally as an offstage couple, they have great rapport. 

Thomas Forster was decent as Espada but needed to rehearse more with his cape - it fell over his face and he almost tossed it into the wings at one point.  Marcelo was unbeatable as Espada and I miss him - Forster didn't have that over the top Latin machismo self-parody.  Devon Teuscher was good as Mercedes in her solo. 

The real bright lights were two recent additions to the corps as the Flower Girls - Chloe Misseldine (watch out for her!) and SunMi Park.  Roman Zhurbin was back in character mime action as Lorenzo, Kitri's grumpy father.  Clinton Luckett was Don Quixote.  The production looks exactly the same as it always did with a lot of familiar faces in their old places.  Very reassuring.

Act II:  Hee Seo and Joo Won Ahn in the leads.  Calvin Royal III as Espada and Katherine Williams as Mercedes.  Devon Teuscher as the Queen of the Dryads.  Whole act stolen by the sparkling Amour of Léa Fleytoux.  Fleytoux just dazzled with her quick turns, radiant smile while holding long balances and bounding across the stage scintillating with every step.  The audience couldn't stop applauding even during her solos.  Hee Seo was actually lovely and technically secure - she even managed a decent set of sauté hops in her solo and held some balances in arabesque.  She had a lovely graciousness as Dulcinea in Quixote's Dream.  Her Kitri in the inn scene was vivacious and endearingly spunky.  This act at least, plays to her strengths. 

Joo Won Ahn knocked out a lot of strong pirouettes and got to show off a bit with the gypsies and later in the inn scene.  He is a solid, technically proficient dancer - only lacking defined stage personality.  Teuscher was competent but dull as the Queen of the Dryads - her merely adequate arabesque and rather limited flexibility with her back meant that she didn't really create dynamic shapes.  She lacked stretch and flexibility though she has all the steps.  Luciana Paris and Jonathan Klein were the gypsy couple and he was very good and Paris is good at character dancing at this point.  No pointe work roles like this show her at her best.  Williams had not much to do in this act but did it well while Calvin Royal III shone in his tavern solo.

Act III:  Christine Shevchenko as Kitri and new Brazilian guest artist Daniel Camargo subbing for Cory as Basilio.  Chloe Misseldine knocked it out of the park with her bridesmaid's solo.  Great flexibility and huge jumps and lots of  authority.  Big applause during and after her solo.  A name to watch for the future.  SunMi Park also did very well in her solo and looked happy to be onstage.  Gabe Stone Shayer and Cassie Pearl Trenary had not much to dance as Espada and Mercedes but did it their bits well.  (Gabe darkened his bleached hair). 

Shevchenko had more charm than in her first Kitris several seasons ago with a warm smile and gracious authority.  No problems (as usual) with her dancing - solid balances, fast high pirouettes and a solid 32 fouettés in the coda with several multiples.  Not much traveling and she ended with the music striking a pose.  Very few ballerinas - even Nuñez and Osipova these days - could dance this act better from a technical standpoint. 

Camargo made a somewhat equivocal impression on me.  His hair is longish is now and he is handsome.  Strong stage presence and some charisma.  He is a strong partner - he easily held Shevchenko in an overhead lift and held it extra.  His solos had him launching into cabrioles and turns with a lot of attack and panache but his landings were a bit loose and not secure.  He also added little oddities to his turns and finishes that bordered on mannerism.  Again, I have been spoiled by a lot of the best from ABT's Basilios over 30 years.  He is good.  We'll see how Camargo does as he goes into full performances that require acting and bravura dancing.

So the bright shining lights for me were Cate Hurlin, Chloe Misseldine and Léa Fleytoux with very strong showings from Shevchenko and Joo Won Ahn.  Best news is that the whole company seems to be in good shape and that includes the orchestra and the corps de ballet.  The whole production looked pretty fresh.

Many decades ago when I was but a little ballet newbie I saw a "Raymonda" Act III in 1991 danced by Cynthia Gregory and I think Jeremy Collins (he retired early and became a lawyer).  I think some time later there was rare collaboration with Susan Jaffe and Julio Bocca in the Act III?  

Some questions - I think the biggest question right now is if Alexei Ratmansky is going to sign another contract.  I don't think he has done his best original work for ABT - his ballets for NYCB are in general superior.  But I think he has been a positive artistic force at ABT and sometimes the only shining light in a murky sad landscape.

Also another question:  when Jane Hermann took over ABT around 1990, Mikhail Baryshnikov withdrew the rights to his staging of "Don Quixote", "Nutcracker" and "Swan Lake".  The company had to revert to the old David Blair "Swan Lake" and restage "Don Quixote" with choreography by Vladimir Vasiliev?  Later Kevin McKenzie did his own restaging for the "Don Quixote" and introduced the "Swan Lake" they have been doing for two decades.  When he leaves will he withdraw the rights to his productions as Baryshnikov did?  Will the company feel the need to replace his productions?  People are hoping on other threads that Ratmansky would stage his historical "Swan Lake" for ABT or NYCB.  Ratmansky also has a "Don Quixote" he has done for the Dutch Ballet among others.  The Ratmansky "Nutcracker" replaced an earlier staging by McKenzie.  I was hoping that ABT would purchase the "Paquita" sets from the Bayerisches Staatsballett which discarded the expensive physical production Ratmansky choreographed after Petipa.  

I think it all depends on the changeover.  McKenzie is retiring voluntarily and probably would be okay with continuing to make income from his revived productions.  Baryshnikov may have left on bitter terms with ABT.  I don't know the history.  

Patrick Frenette, Cameron McCune, Jonathan Klein and Luigi Crispino are overdue for soloist opportunities.

Several however are glorious dancers - Christine Schevchenko, Skyler Brandt and Aran Bell are wonderful dancers.  I haven’t seen enough of the recently promoted principals in lead roles to judge them.  
We’ll see what happens.  
 

I love the fact that dancers are being taken into the company from the JKO school and promoted to soloist and principal dancers. However, let’s say if Olga Smirnova decided to join ABT now that she has left Russia and is settled in Europe, I would be thrilled.  

This Sunday I went to the "Visionary Voices" program which included two pieces that were company premieres.  The program was reshuffled with Law of Mosaics going first.

Anthony Huxley was out of two ballets and Mira Nadon was out of Law of Mosaics.  Naomi Corti did very well replacing Anthony Huxley in Gustave Le Gray No. 1 and Nadon in Law of Mosaics.  Victor Abreu was excellent replacing Huxley in Emanon - in Two Movements.

LAW OF MOSAICS (NEW HEARNE/TANOWITZ): Mearns, M. Miller, LaFreniere (replaces Durham), Naomi Corti (replaces Nadon),  Lister, Janzen, Danchig-Waring, Grant, Chamblee, Applebaum  [Guest Conductor: Hearne] 

NYCB World Premiere.  This frankly was boring.  The problem is that Ted Hearne's score (which he conducted in the pit) is dry and boring - just a bunch of random string chords banging away with little sustained musical development or steady rhythms.  It was not "dansante" as the old ballet masters would say.  The choreography included pointe work but used unimaginatively - the male dancers had better choreography.  It also had a false ending with everyone onstage and then more dancing by a few soloists and sort of ended with a whimper.  Sara Mearns had a rather cold distant principal role that did her no favors nor elicited the warmth or expressiveness we want from her.  It would have better suited the retired Tess Reichlen or Maria Kowroski.  Russell Janzen looked great in the body suit but Preston Chamblee has bulked up and didn't look good and some of his movements looked clumsy and not well-controlled.  Miriam Miller was striking and elegant.

Intermission

EMANON – IN TWO MOVEMENTS (Shorter/Jamar Roberts): Phelan, Woodward, Kikta, E. Von Enck, Abreu (replaces Huxley), Furlan, Walker, Fahoury

This has a bright funky jazz score by Wayne Shorter and a sense of fun with colorful costumes.  It wasn't important or weighty or particularly new but it was enjoyable and gave the dancers a chance to shine.  It seeks to entertain and does.  Jovani Furlan has a sense of the jazz style and really shone in his solos and duets.  Like a lot of Alvin Ailey (not Ailey's classics but the new stuff) or DTH choreography it is fun to watch once and the dancers really sell it but it is forgotten immediately after you see it.

Intermission

GUSTAVE LE GRAY NO. 1 (Shaw/Tamowitz): Applebaum, Naomi Corti (replaces Huxley), Hutchinson+, Santos+   [+Guest Artist, Dance Theatre of Harlem; Solo Piano: Gosling]  

NYCB premiere.  This ballet has two couples - two of the dancers were from Dance Theater of Harlem.  This was a watchable piece that doesn't use much ballet technique.  Thus Naomi Corti could replace Anthony Huxley since it was all flat feet.  You didn't need NYCB dancers to perform it but they add a lot to the choreography.  (This is a trend among the Wendy Whelan curated pieces at NYCB under this administration.)  There are very striking unisex red costumes with a draped fabric attached to the ankle.  Men and women (one of the couples was supposed to be male/male but was replaced by a woman) dance the same choreography.  Fun moment where the dancers interact with the solo pianist (no spoilers!)

I didn't love it but I didn't hate it but it made the last third of the program too long when combined with Justin Peck's Partita.

pause

PARTITA (Shaw/Peck): Kretzschmar, Bradley, Woodward, Hod, Coll, Chan, Fahoury, Stanley

This was seen last season.  I saw it back last January and liked it well enough but it made less of an impression the second time.   Another Peck sneaker ballet.  Seemed overlong but it was in combination with the Tamowitz ballet and that added to it.  Love the set design by Eva LeWitt.  Not a big fan of Caroline Shaw's music which goes in one ear and out the other without making an impression.  Filler.  Claire Kretzschmar (androgynous looking) has two striking duets with India Bradley who shines.  Chan as always looks great.  I hadn't noticed Jonathan Fahoury much before this but he shone in both the Roberts and the Peck ballets.  Harrison Coll works a wife beater well and really had the style down. 

Aran Bell's third act Basilio variation:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb59OTngDbu/

In rehearsal:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb059-lpDpl/

Cate Hurlin in Kitri’s Act 1 entrance: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cb51_w6p63K/?utm_medium=copy_link

Cate Hurlin rehearses the Act I Kitri castanets variation:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CbyD4LHpHRt/

Looks good to me.

Add on:  Chloe Misseldine in the Bridesmaid's variation:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb4A1YoArva/

On 2/28/2022 at 10:53 AM, Helene said:

A lot of people have re-evaluated their situations as a result of the pandemic. There's been a lot of change and upheaval, and simply having to adjust to and please someone else could be a reason not to wait to see whose handwriting it will be.

Generally people don't use the word "resignation" when it isn't their choice, even if their options aren't great.

I think one thing we are not thinking of is that during the pandemic, Stephanie Petersen (formerly Williams) got married and had a child in February 2021.  That child is now a  year old.  ABT is launching a winter tour which will require Petersen to be away from home for weeks and weeks.  Perhaps like many, many dancers before her, Petersen found that balancing motherhood and a peripatetic dance career is not easy.  Hence her resignation.  

No inside info, just a thought.

I found Simkin's archived bio page on the ABT website:  https://www.abt.org/people/daniil-simkin/

It says joined ABT 2008, Principal 2012-2020.  

Also, though the collaboration with Sarah Lane in "Giselle" was magical, she was not his only partner.  Simkin danced a lot with Natalia Osipova including "Coppelia", he danced "Don Q" with Isabella Boylston and I saw him dance Romeo to the Juliet of Misty Copeland.

So he's gone.  Let's hope he guests frequently.

Simkin is no longer listed as a principal dancer on the ABT website.  I wonder if COVID-19 travel restrictions have made him leave New York and remain full-time in Europe.  
 

The roster is looking quite depleted these days. I hope Daniil can return as a guest artist.  

Sorry to say that I felt both Trenary and, to a lesser extent, Royal were disappointing in their debuts.

Cassandra Trenary didn't have full technical command of the role of Giselle - her technique either let her down or didn't rise above utilitarian most of Act I.  Act II was somewhat better but still nothing to write home about.  Overall she lacked fragility and a sense of impending tragedy.  Cassie's Giselle in Act I could have been a country heroine in a comic ballet like "Fille Mal Gardée".

Trenary plays a "happy peasant girl" Giselle in Act I - normal, well-adjusted and wholesome.  She is coy and flirtatious with Albrecht and all her little hesitations and flights from his advances are coquetry.  Her heart episode in Act I was fleeting and seemed like a mild fainting spell - Trenary otherwise seemed robust and healthy.  The mad scene was surprisingly angry and dark and didn't match up with the selfless forgiving spirit in Act II.  She is a good actress and has a warm engaging stage presence - the audience was very much on her side. 

I didn't see much elevation in her jumps, her extensions are not that high but her turns were adequate.  Things fell apart in the Act I "Spessivtseva solo" where Trenary came off pointe not once but twice during the hops on one foot.  She did try to make that up with a whiplash series of tours piques but the damage was done.

Act II she just seemed rather earthbound.  When Giselle is summoned by Myrtha from her grave, her body should be stiff and lifeless like a soulless automaton - Trenary had loose limbs and relaxed torso and seemed alive before Myrtha's wand spun her to life.  There were no glaring technical fails in Act II's choreography, but Trenary's upper body wasn't hitting the right poses.  No Romantic style.  All sorts of details were missing.  Trenary just ran offstage after the coda of the grand pas de deux in Act II while Calvin Royal III did a jeté.

Royal did well enough without showing any great affinity for the role or the style.  His Albrecht started off as a carefree smiling playboy - a player who gets caught off guard in his own game.  The dancing was good but without much finish.  His landings were kind of loose.  In Act II solo, Royal performed brisé volées but again the upper body wasn't in the right position and he slipped on Giselle's lilies when landing at Myrtha's feet - both times.  He was not bad but he wasn't great.

Act II seemed lit too darkly and it was hard to see faces at times - in other productions when the Wilis and Giselle come on a "ghostly light" fills the forest and makes everything kind of luminescent.  Not here - murky.

It's a shame neither will get a second crack at their roles.  Stephanie Peterson as Myrtha had greater ease and authority in her second attempt replacing the schedule Zhong-Jing Fang.  The opening balances in arabesque were smoother, her arms were lovely and she projected much more malice against Albrecht and Hilarion.  Rachel Richardson and Isabella Loyola were Moyna and Zulma - both fine.  The Peasant Pas de Deux was danced by Katherine Williams and Blaine Hoven - she was a treat and he looked good until he tried to land from jumps where it got a little messy.  Many of the ABT men now have trouble landing cleanly in fifth after the long layoff - they need to work on it in class.  Patrick Frenette was a slighter and more boyish Hilarion than is customary - his gamekeeper seemed a troubled sullen misfit who has taken too much rejection in life and is getting his own back.  Susan Jones was Berthe and Courtney Lavine a very soigné Bathilde with superior attitude but also her own hurt feelings.

The production is looking tighter and better overall with repetition but the leads here didn't rise above adequate.  No poetry and nothing otherworldly. 

Arron Scott like Alexandre Hammoudi and Stella Abrera retired during COVID-19 lockdown last season.  

I notice that Roman Zhurbin is on the roster but not cast in anything - not even the mime roles of Hilarion and the Duke of Courland which he usually excels in.  Hopefully some actual dancing roles next week in the mixed programs?  Roman has movingly danced the Friend of the Family role in "Pillar of Fire" but that is Thomas Forster for all shows.

Catherine Hurlin has nothing this week and next week unless she is in the "Company" pieces like "Bernstein in a Bubble" or "La Follia Variations".  Hurlin's next listed dates are "Nutcracker" in Costa Mesa in December.  Injured?   

Joo Won Ahn also is absent from the "Giselle" run but is dancing in "Zig Zag" next week.

The ABT website shows no casting at all for Joseph Gorak.

FondofFouettes and Griffie really were spot on in their assessment of Brandt and everyone else.  Some notes of my own:

Skylar Brandt in Act I is a believably virginal and demure Giselle - dancers like Diana Vishneva suggested a hint of wildness or rebellion or nascent sexuality but Brandt kept her interpretation well within traditional lines.  The mad scene was restrained - no melodrama - and seemed a retreat into herself from a traumatizing reality.  I think with time Brandt will add more individual touches but there was nothing wrong with this.  Nothing she did felt false or applied from outside.

Technically she was a wonder all night - the sautés in the Spessivtseva solo took her across the stage to Giselle's front door and beyond.  Her jumps cover a lot of distance but are not especially notable for elevation - I think she may have been working to sync with Cornejo who has to be careful these days.  Brandt has a special gift for petite allegro - delicate light footwork - that really brought out the fine details in the choreography.   All the little beats with the feet were hummingbird-like in their speed and accuracy. 

I find that some ballerinas are Act I Giselles - better at acting and lyrical phrasing - while others are Act II Giselles - better at pure dancing rather than mime and/or finding virginal fragility hard to fake.  Brandt was a fully satisfying Act I Giselle - especially her solos - but really cut loose in Act II.  There all her technical strengths were focused on creating an otherworldly character and the dancing told the story.  On the other hand, her port de bras was very Romantic in style (for a petite dancer she has long arms) and she had gorgeous sustained line as well as quick footwork.

Cornejo was a dream partner who really made Brandt levitate in the air.  His solo dancing is still clean but at 40 and with two replacement knees he isn't taking big risks - no huge jetés, no bent knee spins, etc - but his form and line are gorgeously intact.  He is a true classicist and elegant partner.

Stephanie Petersen (formerly Williams) made a promising debut as Myrtha.  Yes the opening arabesques into penchée were a little rusty - debut nerves and also coming back after a long layoff.  She steadied herself and gradually gained authority.  The final jetés were impressively high.  She also has a dark, sternly beautiful appearance and long limbs - the material is there.  I hope to see her expand and be more confrontational with Giselle and Albrecht when she repeats Myrtha on Saturday afternoon with Schevchenko and Bell.

I thought Betsy McBride in the Peasant Pas de Deux was charming and dancing with vivacity and sparkle despite  a touch of brittleness probably due to nerves.  She is dancing the Peasant Pas again this week with Carlos Gonzalez and should relax and improve.  I am glad they are utilizing McBride more.  I thought Jose Sebastian did a very good job as her partner and his solos were danced with airy open phrasing.  Let me add praise for Fangqi Li as Moyna who showed more airiness and delicacy than April Giangeruso did as Zulma.  Andrii Ishchuk made Hilarion's intentions clear and showed off a big jump in his final exit in Act II being dispatched by the Wilis.  Luis Ribagorda was Wilfred, Isabella Loyola a knowingly aristocratic but not cruel Bathilde and Susan Jones was Berthe.

One note about the size of the stage:  I counted twelve of Giselle's friends in Act I - is that less than usual?  Also, we saw a great deal of the sides of Giselle's and Albrecht/Loys' cottages on stage left and stage right.  Both could be pushed back into the wings another two to three feet each and open up 4 to 6 feet of dancing space.  The stage space in Act II didn't seem as much of a problem and I think the dancers are adjusting to the set up.

The audience was very pumped and enthusiastic and Brandt and Cornejo got whooping screaming entrance applause and also cheers after their big solos and duets.

Irina and Max posted pictures of Herman and Skylar on Instagram with a mention of the hard work Brandt has been putting into the role:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVUQVzZrbO-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

"Congratulations to our dear @skylarbrandt for her breathtaking debut in NY as GISELLE. Her devotion and endless hours we spent together in studio, perfecting every little detail made her performance tonight an absolute magic. Same goes to her incredible partner and artist @hermancornejo . A night to remember!"

I attended the opening Robbins/Bigonzetti/Ratmansky program on Wednesday September 22.  

Opened with Opus 19/The Dreamer which was a lovely performance in all.  Tiler Peck seemed joyous and thrilled to be once again onstage.  She enjoyed contrasting the dreamy lyrical portions of the choreography with the more sparkling allegro sections.  Gonzalo Garcia was a wonderful partner for Tiler - attentive, engaged, supportive - and had beautiful port de bras.  However his solos were kind of underdanced with some unfinished steps and he ran out of steam a little bit.  He is retiring this season and has also been out of commission for a year and a half.

"Amaria" is the new Mauro Bigonzetti pas de deux for soon to retire principals Maria Kowroski and Amar Ramasar set to music by Scarlatti.  The title is a conflation of their two first names and it seemed an occasional piece for two veteran dancers, no more.  It was short - only about ten to thirteen minutes - and mainly was there to show off Kowroski.  If you saw Bigonzetti's "Oltremare" at NYCB this was a similar style - lots of lifting and turning of the woman who does contortions with a sort of adagio dancing sexual tension going on between the male and female dancer.  Maria was getting down on the floor a lot and being lifted up by Amar and doing wide splits, etc.  She has still got great flexibility.  Maria was in a below knee length dress and wearing ballet slippers, no pointe work required.  Amar was in a light colored linen shirt and pants.  Amar was a great partner but didn't have much to do himself.  Both looked good in a work tailored to show off their current strengths.  You have seen it before but it was very well done. 

The final piece was Ratmansky's "Russian Seasons" which I have seen before and didn't like much.  The dancers I saw on Wednesday were very engaged in the work and brought a lot of specificity and humor (typical of Ratmansky) and I liked it much better this time.  Megan Fairchild as the woman in green was very energetic and the modern choreography let her work her way into it more easily - I saw no technical limitations and lots of artistry.  Unity Phelan was radiant as the 'Spring Bride" figure and Georgina Pazcoguin was all passion and abandon as the woman in red.  Wonderful work from Adrian Danchig-Waring as the boy in orange.  Lauren King brought a lot of freshness to her dancing as usual.  Kristen Segin made a strong impression in a supporting role.  Jovani Furlan replaced Aaron Sanz and danced very well.  The folk touches in the choreography, the mixture of humor and foreboding and the variety of movement were all beautifully realized and I wasn't bored this time.  "Russian Seasons" seemed lighter and more upbeat in general.

I think we need to remember that we are only hearing Sarah's side of the story - not Herman's and not other company members. 

I hope we don't forget the really repellant social media post during the "Giselle" run in Washington about "earning" her status by hard work and citing Hope Hicks.  That is no longer up.  Clearly that post was directed at another short ballerina - the rising Skylar Brandt who just debuted as Giselle with Herman.  Creating problems with your colleagues and publicly suggesting that management is taking cash or donations in exchange for promotion within the company is not a way to endear yourself to management and your colleagues.  Ratmansky (whose character and judgment I trust) seemed to have distanced himself from her as well.  She was pulled from his ballets in a season dedicated to him and she was one of his protegees over the years.  

Sarah is extremely vague about how exactly she left ABT - it seems obvious she knew that the Spring 2020 Met season would be her last with the company.  But did she jump or was she pushed?  Sarah doesn't let on.  She makes it seem as if it was her decision to leave.

What is sad is that everyone loses here.  Sarah losing so much of her career including a farewell.  ABT losing a lovely principal ballerina capable of an exquisite Giselle.  The loss of a beautiful partnership with Herman Cornejo and a fruitful artistic collaboration with Alexei Ratmansky. 

What also seems to be a losing situation is Sarah citing the lack of rehearsal and coaching that goes on at ABT and seems to be a hallmark of Kevin McKenzie's management in this decade.  Dancers have to be in charge of their own development and training including going outside the company to learn roles with Max and Irina - as Sarah did and Sklyar and Christine S. and others.

Just to mention that Gene Marinaccio seems to be still living in Santa Barbara, California.  He is currently 89 years old and will turn 90 in July 2021.  There is no email address, phone number or social media account publicly available.

Just to mention that Gene Marinaccio seems to be still living in Santa Barbara, California.  He is currently 89 years old and will turn 90 in July 2021.  There is no email address, phone number or social media account publicly available.

We may be segueing into a new topic but any new artistic director would have to work well with Alexei Ratmansky.  Ratmansky I hope will remain at ABT a long time.  One model might be to expand Ratmansky's artistic role without giving him the administrative/financial/board duties that would interfere with his work as a choreographer.  Then hire a business administrator with a dance background to be the administrative director who handles money, fundraising, staffing, union issues, advertising, hiring and firing, season planning, dealing with the board, etc.  This person would work closely with Ratmansky.

I am wondering when Kevin McKenzie's contract as Artistic Director expires.  He celebrated his 20th anniversary with ABT in 2012.  At that time his contract was extended another 10 years.  Is 2021 the last season he is contracted for or is it 2022?  Or did the ABT board foolishly extend his contract longer?  Canceling the 2021 season might mean that there are no more Met seasons for McKenzie to plan if the ABT board wisely gets some new blood in there.

COVID-19 might be cutting McKenzie's career at ABT short.

If I remember correctly, Waterbury mentioned that she was approached by a pimp looking to employ her as an escort on account of having seen the explicit and personal videos that Finlay shared.  Unless this pimp is a NYCB employee with a dicey side gig, then Waterbury's photos were shared outside the group chat circle which consisted of at least 20 people.  So I agree with Kathleen O'Connell above.

By the way, Sarah Lane's dancer page is still archived on ABT.org.  If you look at the top under her name it says "Joined ABT 2003/Principal 2017-2020"  So she is no longer a principal and no longer a member of the company.

https://www.abt.org/people/sarah-lane/?type=performer