Amour

I agree that Raymonda seems a potentially good temperamental fit for Somova. I would be happy to see her.

But...casting zen as I say. (Well, not as regards Lopatkina dancing opening night...I would have to be the Buddha reincarnate to pull that off.)

For all those who love the 'Vaganova' upper body in Petipa, a short video I enjoy a lot -- Lezhnina in Pacquita. For all those who don't, at any rate it will give you a very good idea of what I would be sad to see lost to ballet tradition. In fact, my problem with the Mariinsky is not that they still dance like this, but they don't--at least not as much as they used to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGAo0yTgmLo

I love Larissa. It's a shame she left the Mariinsky. Dutch National Ballet gained a gem of a dancer.

I think in one of the Somova threads there were citations of demotions of first soloists to lower ranks in the Mariinsky - two instances where dancers were lowered in rank. One or two got the hint and left the company.

Fateyev demoted a blond girl who was a corpheé (I think her name is Elena Androsova) back to corps status.

Lopatkina is only dancing the Dying Swan.

Mariinsky casting, when it does come out, is notorious for changing, When I went to London in August 2014 they kept changing the casting until the day of performance, But at a minimum, it would be nice to know what dancers are coming on the tour.

Does ABT do a choose your own subscription like NYCB? .

Yes, it is called a Trios subscription because you have to select at least 3 performances (but can choose many more). They go on sale just after the regular series subscriptions have ended. You still get all the benefits of being a subscriber (free exchanges). This year because I REALLY wanted to see Ferri do R&J, I just decided to subscribe to that series and figure out whether I want to see the other 3 performances in that series later.

I was rather shocked to see candy allowed in the Koch Theatre in NYC!

There is a sign in the Koch, going from the orchestra to the promenade, saying food and drink are not allowed in the auditorium.

The beginning of the livestream had terrible quality. Very jerky, went off transmission at one point (this was during the showing of a film about Lopatkina). Once they reached the Q&A part transmission was fine.

Yesterday I saw both the matinee and evening (same casts for both) performances of the Balanchine black and white leotard ballets: Concerto Barocco, Monumentum pro Gesualdo, Movements for Piano and Orchestra, Episodes and the 4Ts. I have to say these were all impeccably performed! I think they were danced as well or better than in Balanchine's day. Because I sat in 2 different seats, (first row of First Ring afternoon, row F orchestra evening) they looked slightly different. In the afternoon, the program had seemed like a little too much of the same thing; in the evening, all the differences in the ballets became much more apparent.

I have seen Sara Mearns and Tess Reichlen do the leads in Barocco several times and previously thought they were not well matched. Not so yesterday. I thought Tess' long limbed grandeur worked well with Sara's somewhat more compact frame. And Russell Janzen was terrific: musical and very strong, lifting Tess way overhead so many times.

Ask (who has never been a favorite of mine) and Rebecca Krohn gave life and dimension to Monumentum and Movements. I prefer Monumentum because of the music and the aspects of court dancing. I think Movements is a little less accessible. The Stravinsky score is very atonal and, along with the flexed feet and turned in positions, it is, even today, very modern looking.

As for Episodes, although I liked the Ricerta with Adrian DW and Sara the best (because of the use of a big corps and the music). I'm reserving my comments to the first movement, Opus 21 with Megan LeCtone and Andrew Scordato. I've seen Megan a lot; her spiky angularity suits the ballet. But Andrew was a revelation! Still in the corps, I've gotten used to seeing him in small roles. To see him front and center was a rare treat. Highly musical, a great partner, beautiful line and gorgeous, gorgeous feet. I really hope this is the beginning of more featured roles for him.

Finally, 4Ts, I thought Anthony Huxley was a marvel in Melancholic. Those deep backbends, the sense of quiet. As for Ana Sophie and Tyler Angle in Sanguinic, they were a marvel! I had just watched Merrill Ashley and Daniel Duell do this variation the previous night and to my amazement, Ana Sophia and Tyler were better. The technique, the musicality, everything. Now I love Amar and thought he did a great job in Phlegmatic, but he is just not Adam Ludders. He is just not quite quirky enough, a bit too all American. Still, he got the most applause; people loved him. And Ashley Bouder in Choleric. I've seen her many times here and despite being pregnant, she danced in her usual stellar way. In fact, it's hard for me to picture anyone else in this role. When I go next Sunday, it will probably be a shock to see Megan LeCrone.

BTW, coming after 2 nights of all new ballets, the difference between new ballet choreography and Balanchine (at least his leotard ballets) was stark. All this new choreography is fast, fast, fast and very athletic. There is much less sense of how to use the corps and what shapes look like from elevation. While some things have been gained (energy, excitement), a lot has been lost, particularly, how to pattern the corps into interesting shapes. I certainly think ballet is very much alive, but new ballet choreography bears little resemblance to the choreography of even 25 years ago (we probably have William Forsythe to thank for that). But whatever type of choreography it is, if it's well danced it's a pleasure!

I guess I am an outlier in kind of liking the new ballet night (except for Brandstrup's Jeux). In fact I saw the evening 3 times. I did feel the Thatcher work Polaris was dull and a real waste of Tilet Peck's talents. But Binet's The Blue of Distance was well danced (everyone was a principal except Harrison Ball). And it really showcased Harrison Ball as the outsider in this group. Sporting a new, very blond crew cut, I didn't even recognize him the first time I saw the piece. But boy can he dance! Jumps and turns galore. So good for him.

I believe I'm probably alone in liking Troy Schumacher's Common Ground but I loved it! Yes, the costumes are a little too colorful and someone should take a scissors to the long strings attached, but I loved the choreography. It almost entirely made up of jumps and has very high energy. Russell Janzen, Amar, Anthony Huxley and Tess Reichlen were fantastic, IMO. The Justin Peck piece I liked less well that Rōdē,ō, but it was serviceable. It did take me 3 viewings to figure out the structure, partly because everyone is so bizarrely made up (and hair slicked back) they are unrecognizable. But then I realized there are a series of PDDs; each person dances 2 but has a different partner for each one, as 1 member of the group peels off and another arrives. With her blond hair, black lipstick and white makeup, Ashley Bouder was almost unrecognizable (and, yes, she is not showing at all).

As for Brandstrup's Jeux, I couldn't agree more with what abatt said. What in the world was going on in this ballet??? Not only did I wonder why Adrian is bouncing a ball but why, when all the other men are wearing suits and jazz shoes, is he dressed in jeans, a muscle t shirt and sneakers? It was though he missed the rehearsal for NY Export Jazz next week and wandered into this ballet that mistake. Equally horrifying (to me) were the drab gray costumes for the women were wearing.outfits that looked like type that prison guards would wear ar concentration camps.

In conclusion, I guess I'm alone in basically enjoying the evening but we'll see which works (if any) enter the repertory.

Yulia Stepanova has joined the Bolshoi as a soloist.

http://www.bolshoi.ru/persons/ballet/2881/

I must be blind because I scoured the website and did not see Yulia. There was one girl's picture without a name attached but it wasn't Yulia. BTW, to my surprise, David Hallberg is still listed as a principal.

Better than Veronika Part?

I don't see Veronika much but IMO Skorik is, at this point, technically stronger (I never thought I'd be saying that) and definitely has a much nicer line. Skorik still needs to build up her confidence, though, and begin to learn how to act. Still her improvement over the past years is remarkable. And because of these things and her training, yes, I think she's probably better than Veronika.

Absolutely agree MadameP, awful news. It doesn't make any sense. To your list of three I would also add Matvienko; all four deserve to be promoted way before Skorik. Maybe I am wrong, but who ever goes to see a ballet just because Skorik is in it if they have a choice? As oppose to Osmolkina for example, I would go to a great length to rearrange my schedule to get a chance to see her performing. Oh well...

It's a shame. Not that Skorik is bad. Now that she's gained some confidence, she's really improved and I would say she's better than any ABT ballerina except Gillian. Still Osmolkina, Novikova and Kolegova are much stronger, more compelling dancers. It's clear that, for some reason, Fataeyev just hates Vaganova trained dancers. He is doing everything to keep them in the corps (except for Shapran and Batoeva). I'm hoping hard working Ermakov gets promoted soon.

I have the Works and Process pamphlet and I don't believe they are streaming anything this fall/winter season.

I purchased the DVD from Arte France. It's called Les Graines D'Etoiles.

I have a question. Why do people love to bring up and give credit to Paris Opera for David's training when he only studied there for 1 year? Shouldn't Ballet Arizona School, and most specifically his teacher Kee Juan Han, receive most of the credit?

I agree. My understanding is that David only studied 1 summer at the POB.

I learned that Symphony Space in NYC will be showing it Wednesday Oct. 28 at 1 pm.

I had doubts when I saw her Odette in the 2014 workshop but she was much better this year.

I'm hoping Cornejo is healthy and can dance Romeo. He has been a bit injury prone the last few years. And if he is injured, Ferri might pull out. But I'm not going to worry in advance. Let's hope both are fine and give the performance of a lifetime.

After the ROH streaming of the R&J rehearsal I took out my DVDs of Ferri doing the role. She moved me to tears. I saw Ferri and Bocca do R&J many times and she is the ultimate Juliet for me. Even though I'm a little bit apprehensive about how she will dance it at 53 (especially with a much younger Romeo) I'm going to be there for her. No matter what her age, whenever Ferri takes the stage, I'll be there if at all possible. I'm just sorry I had to miss Woolf Works because I'm in NYC.

I found watching the rehearsal fascinating. All the detail that go into a few bars of music. Of course, after watching it I immediately took out my DVDs of Ferri dancing Juliet with the Royal Balllet and a second one of her dancing it with La Scala. (I also took out my Rojo/Acosta blu-Ray but unfortunately my blu-Ray player is broken)

Ferri did the first PDD at the ballroom pretty much as Christopher Saunders rehearsed it. But the second PDD in the bedroom was significantly different. The biggest difference (especially in the RB version) was that Ferri goes limp in Paris' arms several times. Even when Paris (Julian Hosking) lifts her up, Ferri looks weightless. I know that MacMillan coached Ferri, and assume that she is doing the more "authentic" version. However, I'm trying to remember if anyone at ABT dances the role as Ferri does. Anyway, I loved it. It so effectively conveys her utter despair and desperation at having to marry Paris. My main question is why Christopher Saunders didnt teach that to Sarah Lamb? Perhaps, he simply doesn't remember.

I also loved watching Saunders coach Alexander Campbell as Mercutio. That solo in the ballroom is impressively danced. And we desperately need Mr. Saunders here to coach Daniil Simkin (and other ABT cast members playing Mercutio) in the death scene. They all played it for comedy now, which I hated. I was thrilled when Herman Cornejo reprised the role the night of Julie zkent's retirement. He danced it naturally and as a tragedy.

In any case, it was a fascinating 1.5 hours and the type of thing ABT should be doing to attract a new audience. In fact, the ROH channel is filled with rehearsals, demonstrations, etc. a very effect use of social media. I believe ABT has a channel but it's a dud. If I were not going to NYCB's opening night (Sara Mearns in Martins' SL) I would go to the RB R&J. My husband, who is not going to SL is, thanks to this demonstration, probably going to see the ROH R&J. So, take notice ABT, there are ways other than stunt casting, to attract a new audience.

How about her husband, Kamil? Did he join the Bolshoi as well? At this point, a good percentage of Bolshoi dancers are Vaganova trained and fleeing the Mariinsky:(

What a great interview! And I never knew Albert was Sara's coach. So nice to hear about how they remember him)

I don't know how often Martins or McKenzie watch their companies from in front of the curtain, but most of the artistic directors I see on a regular basis are in the house for performances, and often do a bit of politic-ing during the intervals.

I go to both NYCB and ABT performances a lot. There are times I attend every night in a week. Martins is always there, sitting in row R of the orchestra every night. McKenzie also watches regularly. At the Koch he sits in the first ring, at the Met in the parterre. However, there was one night this spring, when Osipova performed with the Royal Ballet. I was very surprised to see McKenzie there, instead of at the Met (ABT was performing SL). But, in general, I believe both ADs see all the performances.

I only realized the live stream was happening around the time of the 3rd act and I had no problems seeing it, using Chrome. I thought the leads and Diana were quite lovely. Susan Jones set this, right?

Not trying to argue, but why is it an "utterly unfair" comparison? I think it's a fair comparison to see the very best (or close to the very best) as a benchmark of what CAN be done with a role. Also, Bouder and Peck are dancing NOW, and audiences can walk across the plaza to see them. So I don't think it's unfair to say that if you can see the very best just by walking across the plaza, that ABT ballerinas must measure up to those standards that are being set by their contemporaries.

I have to say I hate that when Semionova dances T&V she omits the gargouillades. And then, she just can't dance fast. As for Gelsey, I don't think anyone today can dance T&V like she did. I saw Tiler do it recently and it was nowhere as good as Gelsey's.