aurora

You mean not acceptable by our standards. They are apparently acceptable by 21st century Russian standards. It's one thing for Womack to complain about improper sexual advances made to her. But it's not our place as outsiders to protest their system. It's only our place to support Russians who do. I wasn't aware we were governed by the prime directive. By this reasoning, it is not our place as outsiders to criticize such practices as female genital mutilation. While I agree it is much more productive for such criticism to come from within a culture, that doesn't mean we have to say or feel that practices that we find morally objectionable are fine because we are outsiders.

That would be a borough in London.

Thank you, abatt, but does that landing make the entire variation "complete hash"? My ballet teacher says that things go wrong all the time in ballet, and that dancers have to learn to "save" those moments. If we excoriate dancers for every fall, misstep, or poor landing, then we're in danger of creating an atmosphere of unforgiving criticism. Of course we want perfection, but perfection in ballet is elusive. I think we would do better to "savor" the good moments. That was the main disaster of that variation. But that is a very "simple" (not to be confused with easy) variation meant to illustrate poetry. I saw little elegance or poetry in it. Rather, desperate clutching and grasping to not fall over, combined with mediocre lines and no musicality or poetry. On the other hand I thought he was excellent in the moor's pavane on saturday.

He did seem to enjoy dancing with semionova and did quite well with her. I thought she was lovely. I assumed he, however was just happy not to be doing his solo, given the complete hash he made of it. It was perhaps the worst thing I've ever seen an ABT performer do, on any level.

Natalia, I haven't yet seen this season, but I agree with you on both dancers. They have made major strides in the last few seasons. It would also be lovely if they are promoted together as they have been a couple for years. Can't wait to see some performances this weekend, the great divergence of opinions on the works on offer is actually building my anticipation...

There are a couple of tall( over 6 ft ) and strong- looking members of the corp, Gray Davis and Thomas Forster,who could partner Veronika if given a chance. Thomas partnered her in S in C in LA last July. I thought she looked quite good with Whiteside last year, and he seemed to have little difficulty partnering her.

I don't think it is fair to say that it is necessarily an aesthetic preference on the part of McKenzie for tall dancers, but rather (at least in part) a necessity. If you look at the female principals, many of them are tall, they require tall partners. They also require strong partners. Cornejo certainly deserves his principal status, but he was for a long time hampered by his height (not "right" for all roles) and more importantly, by his poor partnering skills (which are still not a strong suit for him, but have recently improved). I also think Tamm is tall. I was impressed by James Whiteside last season and am very happy for him.

I wouldn't actually. I am sure they would be beautiful but I think they would have the same icy coldness he does with semionova. I find him much more interesting with Osipova. She brings out his emotions, and he's a good stylistic influence on her. I actually like Semionova a great deal, but agree that Hallberg is not an ideal partner for her and wouldn't be for Smirnova either. I would be curious to see Smirnova pair with Ruslan Skvortsov: I loved his Siegfried in London and think that he could be the dancer to draw more emotion out of her. I like Semionova too. They just don't seem to bring much out of each other emotionally when paired.

I wouldn't actually. I am sure they would be beautiful but I think they would have the same icy coldness he does with semionova. I find him much more interesting with Osipova. She brings out his emotions, and he's a good stylistic influence on her.

Thanks Helene! As a heads up, a NYTimes obit is forthcoming.

You can see some more of the same attitude in this: http://tinyurl.com/mh9lh99

I thought other people might enjoy this, from when he retired: http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/classic-wqxr-voice-signs-53-yrs-article-1.566128

I haven't seen an obituary yet, but it was announced on the radio and by other announcers on WQXR on twitter that Lloyd Moss, who worked at WQXR from 1953-2006 has died. He was funny and a true wit, who quoted the 2000 year old man on his (now defunct) wqxr page, and responded in answer to "what is the one thing people should know about you but don't" "That I'm devestatingly handsome." I've missed him since he went off the air and miss him even more now. RIP

actually something very much like this happened last fall in one of the performances of the Ratmansky shostakovich piece. Cornejo was injured on stage and for his next (?) entrance Jared Matthews was in costume and in place.

I intrepreted this to mean a principal who doesn't dance all that often. I don't know Macauley's intent, but that was how I read it. I think that was not how he meant it, because while perhaps your reading could be accurate with regards to Wendy Whelan at this point in her career, Bouder would certainly not qualify.

I think people enjoy complaining about swamp thing and the purple pimp, but the real criticism (with more validity) of SL is its truncated final act. Personally I'd rather see SB be overhauled. Despite Macaulay's assertion, I think it is by far the weaker by far of the two. I just wonder if ABT will be willing to toss such a considerable expense so soon.

I forgot about the Corsaire, which is a fantastic production. Thanks for responding re: the Don Q! That was my impression from what was said about it previously, but I wasn't sure if I was remembering properly.

Agree w. you Waelsung. When Ratmansky gets his hands on a classic that he tries to revamp to make his own unique stamp, things go off the rails. I could not stand his Nutcracker or his Firebird. He is at his best when he is creating something from scratch, rather than making a new version of a well known classic. I actually like both those ballets very much (especially his Nutcracker). That said, i don't have the investment in either of those ballets that I do in SL and really think that in a company such as ABT the SL has to cleave closely to the original dance text (ok we know it has changed a lot over the years and I don't want Benno in the Act II pdd, but a fairly "traditional" approach is warranted). What about his DQ? I know some people on this board have seen it...where does that fall in terms of originality v tradition

Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty? If it's one of those two I'd guess SL, as it is the older production (no matter how flawed the SB is). SL actually is a fairly handsome production physically--Von Rothbart costumes notwithstanding. SB is not, but both have problems with the dance text. SL thus seems a more appealing revamp project (financially), as hopefully some of the sets/costumes could be retained. NB: I think this maybe should be in the 2014 prediction thread not the 2013 gen info one?

Thank you Plisskin for posting this. Boylston looks fabulous! Vasiliev? Bent knees, feet not pointed, legs turned in. I don't understand. So what if he can jump as high as a skyscraper and turn like a tasmanian devil. He looks awful doing it. I would love to be a fly on the wall during his rehearsals. I wonder if KM and the rehearsal directors correct him for these persistent and unprofessional mistakes? Ratmansky, when he was director at the Bolshoi, plucked Vasiliev and Osipova out of some crowd (was it a school or a regional company?) and hired them at the Bolshoi. I wonder if/how he gives corrections when he choreographs, as he used both of them in the Trilogy. And I wonder if he pushed Vasiliev along as a way to get Osipova into the Bolshoi. I haven't noticed anything along these lines in his interviews to date. I believe you are mistaken. Osipova came into the company from the Bolshoi school. Sorry for saying something already made clear by someone else earlier in the thread!

Like the numerous (more than Osipova) recent cancellations of ABT home-team dancers Cory Stearns, Hallburg or hammoudi? It is disappointing when someone is injured but there is no reason to criticize a dancer for it. I really doubt that she learned this new role only in order to blow it off. Also it is clearly not true that to get her you need to take him. This is evidenced by the fact that she has been hired at the Royal and he has not.

I agree that the rose adagio was not the highlight. She didn't so much have difficulty with the balances as not attempt them (she looked secure enough so it seemed a choice, but a disappointing one as far as I was concerned). Not only did she grow through the acts, but my admiration for her grew. She is a rather quiet dancer, and of course very petite, but she really had drawn me in by the end. She and Cornejo make a beautiful pair. Well matched in height and with very complementary lines. He had no difficulties with the partnering. I have to say that in contrast to abatt I thought Kajiya was wonderful. She did not look short (especially not with these principals!). She was gracious, serene, warm and her technique was secure. I found her a much more convincing orchestrator of action than i've ever found Abrerra, but I have not seen her in the role this year.

Acid attacks and blindness are also unpleasant. I'm sorry if my analogy disturbed your sensibilities (or those of anyone else), but rape provides the quintessential example of "blaming the victim," which I believe we can all agree is a horrible thing, whatever the circumstances. As for Vorontsova, I do pity her, whether or not she was forced to resign, she is in an unpleasant situation, largely not of her own making. I don't see why this should be the end of the road for her, and i hope it is not.

Nothing at all indicates Dmitricenko's being in jail/losing his career is in any way Filin's fault. Let's try this again. A woman is raped. Her attacker (who confessed) is jailed and his career is ruined. Is it the rape victim's fault? Assuming (which I doubt) that Dmitrichenko is innocent. It is STILL not the victim's fault that he is in this situation. He was not in any way set up by Filin.

The part is smallish. This version tries to give it a bit more heft but I'd always choose my sb based on the female lead. Plus Part is dancing with Gomes, so not too shabby on the prince either