Amour

kfw

Here’s a quote from the post that appears to have kicked off this whole discussion. (It is still in the original thread; it didn’t get moved to this one.) In the quote as I read it, Copeland is unfavorably compared to Lane because she did the steps in a way that members of the audience found offensive. The implication seems to me to be that Copeland shouldn’t have let Whiteside touch her breasts and shouldn’t have twerked because other people, not Copeland, were offended by the gestures. (As we all know, it is easy to misread online comments, so a heartfelt apology to the original poster if I’m doing so now.)

As for Sarah's dancing, did anyone see both her and Misty dance Liam Scarlett's new work? There was a world of difference between them. Misty was vulgar; her partner jiggled her breasts and she twerked. Sarah didn't let her partner touch her breasts (he just made the motion) and a slight hip bump substituted for twerking. Several people I know were so offended by Misty's performance, they immediately walked out. Sarah made the role into a humorous affair. The NYT reviewed both performances and noted the difference.

That was my quote and I did not mean to imply Sarah had somehow raised an objection to the choreography. I meant (and should have) to say simply that Sarah's partner did not touch her breast. I was simply trying to be descriptive and my poor choice of words made it sound much more than that.

I saw the RDB principals tonight and am trying to think of what to say. I have never seen the company and am not familiar with any of the dancers. I'm also not too familiar with Bournonville except that it involves quick, crisp footwork. The latter was pleasantly in abundance here. It was nice to see the men doing mainly beats or jumps landing in attitude derrière. In the U.S. And Russia the emphasis on big jumps and multiple turns has overshadowed beats and quick footwork. There is a kind of pleasant modesty to Bournonville; the women smile and keep their upper bodies rather still. Arabesques are restrained (90 degrees maximum) and of course La Sylphide comes from the same romantic tradition as Giselle.

We saw excerpts from A Folk Tale, Flower Festival, Jockey Dance & La Sylphide Act 2 (with Sorella Englund as Madge, Gudrun Bojesen as the Sylph, and Ullrik Birkkjaer as Janes) Conservatoire Pas De Trois and Napoli Act 3. Birkkjaer was also listed as the organizer of the tour. My favorite was the jockey dance which was danced by Sebastian Haynes and Marcin Kupimski and consisted of little intricate step and then jumps I've slways called "Italians" (unlike a pas de chat, you jump on both feet and then raise them under you). The men were carrying riding crops and flicking them around and at each other. I also thought Gudrun Bojesen was quite captivating as the Sylph. And Napoli is a cheerful, sunny, work utilizing almost everyone in the company.

I'm sorry I didn't see the company a few year ago when it came to the Koch. I find the use of pre-recorded music really takes a lot a way from the dance. The Joyce stage is also too small. I would have liked to have seen more of the company, some sets (or more interesting lighting) and live music. Other than that, my pleasure certainly outweighed the $35 cost of the ticket.

Misty saying Balanchine is a weakness is the understatement of the year. I would love to hear what Merrill thought of her. Unless you are Olga Smirnova (and Misty is far from Olga) a couple of hours or even days hardly prepares you to dance Balanchine.

I have seen Tchai Pas danced by many, both live and on YT. When it is danced by non-Balanchine dancers it is usually too slow (Obraztsova, Zakharova). Still it is danced with technical command and artistry. I saw none of that in Misty's performance. I thought she was terrible and it was a disservice to McBride to have it danced by her. If this is the kind if ballerina ABT will be making principal, I guess I won't be seeing many of their performances.

The golden age of ABT of 10-15 or so years ago is over. Ananiashvilli, Ferri, Bocca, Carreno, Corella, Steifel were world class. ABT was the envy of the ballet world. These were not guest artists. They were full out members of ABT. Now the regular members are mostly mediocre, with a few exceptions. Even those who call themselves regular members of ABT like Bolle, Hallberg and Vishneva actually spend very little time with ABT. There is an increasing number of "house" principals at ABT who I have no interest in seeing.

I totally agree with you. Just wanted to add Susan Jaffe & Amanda McKerrow to the list of greats. It's sad but true; ABT is now a very mediocre company.

I saw Copeland's Kennedy Center performance. I thought it looked sluggish, especially compared to the many times I have seen it at ABT and NYCB by the likes of Tiler Peck, Ashely Bouder and other artists. I'll chalk it up to nerves at a televised performance. Just check out a youtube clip of McBride doing the same steps in a filmed version with Baryshnikov and you will see the difference in speed and elevation.

I have to say I agree with you, abatt. I thought Copeland was sluggish and sloppy. I couldn't understand why Ashley wasn't doing Tchai pas unless this was when she was injured. I also didn't like Lovette either. I thought Tiler and Tyler Angle gave the only good performances.

http://www.bam.org/media/2560090/Swan_Lake_BAMbill_Final-Prog-Only.pdf?utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=Social-BAM&utm_content=2015_01_13_MariinskyBAM_SwanLakeInContext&utm_campaign=WinterSpring

Here is a pdf re all the casting for all roles in Swan Lake.

I think they are a little mixed up. They have Parish listed in the pas de trois on the same night he dances Siegfried. Yermakov is a great Rothbart and Tkachenko a great Jester.

Mr. B's birthday extravaganza has gotten a wee bit smaller this season. For some time, an on stage demonstration was listed as part of the festivities for Jan 24. The demonstration was to take place between the matinee and evening shows at the Koch theater and was free, although a ticket was required. I had gone to these demonstrations during prior years and enjoyed them very much. Well, the on stage demonstration event has been removed from the schedule of events.

Yes, I looked for it too. I'm sorry it's been removed.

Here is Misty's performance with Mathew Prescott at Vail 2011.

Thank you for posting that. I watched it trying to be objective. I did not see a very talented dancer in the video. She look weighty and earthbound instead of light and delicate (which looks like what the choreographer was going for). Her arabesques are only 90 degrees at best (the new norm seems to be 110) and she has a pretty stiff back to where she can't look comfortable reclining in her partner's arm. Also I am bothered by her breasts and this ugly costume just accentuates them. Really I look at this video and wonder why this girl is even a soloist. But maybe that's just me.

Lauren Anderson made principal at Houston Ballet, Tapfan. (After all your opining you still haven’t bothered to inform yourself?) People much more knowledgeable than I think others should have been elevated to soloist or principal. Plenty of others, no doubt, if they'd had chances early on.

If you have knowledge of wealthy donors who expect ballet to look like the Mariinsky in 1965, or reasons to think they do, I’m all ears. Otherwise, I'm sorry, but that's just reverse prejudice. But whenever I've ask you for knowledge or viewing experience, I've come up short.

I know that Lauren Anderson and Tai Jimenez both danced as principals in major U.S. companies. But they're both retired. And Tai probably wouldn't have had her one year as principal at Boston Ballet if DTOH hadn't gone on hiatus.

I took ballet classes with Tai Jimenez in the mid -late 1980's when she was a teenager and I was an adult in my 20's. Our teacher, Madame Gabriela Taub Darvash certainly recognized Tai's talent and pushed her very,very hard. Unfortunately, Darvash was cruelest with talented dancers and Tai was sensitive. So just before she graduated high school, Tai left Darvash. The next time I bumped into Tai (a few years later) she was dancing with DTOH.

My point is that in my limited experience, talented dancers are recognized and pushed no matter what their race or ethnicity is. How a company then deals with them I have no experience with. But race does not seem to hold back dancers, at least when they are students.

ABT has not made good choices about new ballets for the past 10 years, IMO. They have also not nurtured their inhouse dancers. The last 2 really good promotions McKenzie made were Cornejo and Gomes and those were almost 15 years ago.

David Hallberg doesn't make that list? I'm also a fan of Part though I realize not everyone is. But surely Hallberg is without dispute.

No, of course Hallberg makes the list. I just forgot him (he's been injured so much lately I've hardly seen him dance) But his was also a promotion that was made about 15 years ago, I believe.

I'm on the fence about Part. I don't think she is a strong dancer so I can't really call her promotion a great thing.

Also, I don't think that Misty as really "using her minority status" to get anything. She is continuing a relevant conversation that other great dancers like Raven Wilkinson and Lauren Anderson began.

(from this thread: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/39677-with-a-chance-of-rain/page-4)

You must not own a television Pique Arabesque. Misty has been on The PBS NewsHour and NY1 talking about her problems as a black ballerina all summer, fall and winter. She always makes a point in these interviews of saying how hard it was for because she was black and that now she wants to be a principal "ABT's first black principal". I found it refreshing when the NewsHour interviewed Patty McBride,who said those sorts of comments dumbfounded her. She said in her day "people just wanted to dance"; I'm sure they also wanted roles. But the aggressiveness of saying you want to be a principal and that if you're not made one it's because the AD, the board or someone else is racist ridiculously OTP.

Misty also made an Under Armour commercial where the voiceover explicitly states her intention to become ABT's first black principal. Nothing whatsoever to do with the athletic wear she is selling.

I second it's the Mom about James. I have followed him an Twitter for years, since he was at Boston Ballet. I spoke to him once at an intermission of NYCB before he joined ABT and he was very nice.

Whether the different casts did or did not want to do the boob jiggle/twerk the responsibility lies with Scarlett. I'm just afraid he was stretched too thin this fall; a debut at NYCB (Funerailles) and this at ABT. I think he also may have done a piece for the RB.

ABT has not made good choices about new ballets for the past 10 years, IMO. They have also not nurtured their inhouse dancers. The last 2 really good promotions McKenzie made were Cornejo and Gomes and those were almost 15 years ago. As a result, last spring, every time we saw NYCB (after ABT) it was like a breath of fresh air. I simply don't see this problem remedied without a new AD. The board at ABT must either be blind or very lazy because Ethan and Angel are around and ready for the job. I once read that an AD should be able to accomplish their mission in 10 years. KM has had more than 20. He is not Peter Martins, who is both preserving a legacy while still breathing life into the company. I don't always like what Martins has done but he sure has kept NYCB and SAB alive and well. The same cannot be said of McKenzie. He needs to go. Then let's see where ABT is at.

Mariinsky's Cinderella with Vishneva has been just released on DVD in Japan, and Vishneva has confirmed on her Twitter that it would be also released in the West later on. Of course, it's not a substitute for a live performance, but something to be considered as you ponder which casting to see or even whether to see this ballet at BAM at all

HMV in Japan is selling the Vishneva/Shklylarov Cinderella so if you have a DVD/Blu-Ray player that plays international discs, you can buy it now.

I received my Cinderella DVD today. What an odd ballet! So different from Ashton's version. That being said, Kondaurova as the stepmother is spectacular! And the soloists are very, very good. Though Diana is fine, she is really outdanced by the others. This DVD helped me make my choice about BAM performances as I'm now curious to see how Matvienko does in the role.

There are numerous casting changes for week no. 1.

Pereira replaces Bouder in Serenade.(Role debut for Pereira)

Bouder replaces Tiler Peck and Abi Stafford in the first movement of Symphony in C (Role debut for Bouder)

Lovette replaces Pereira in the Third Movement in Symphony in C (role debut for Lovette)

It's rare for Pereira to be cast in lead roles in Balanchine ballets. I hope she can make the most of this opportunity.

Thanks for the heads up abatt. I agree about Pereira. She hasn't made much progress as a dancer over the years so hopefully she'll have a breakthrough. Interesting that Bouder is replacing both T. Peck and A. Stafford in Symphony in C.

Thanks abatt. Once again they haven't updated the casting sheet. You have go into the date and "buy tickets" to see the changes.

I may be the sole voice of dissent but I really like Pereira. More, I think, than Lovette. I was very disappointed in Lauren's Nut. And I really dislike her Rubies. I think she's getting all these chances because NYCB wants to have a new Chase/Lovette pairing a la Robbie/Tiler or Suzanne/Peter, etc. I also hope she does well in these roles.

Just found a couple of YT video clips of the latest Skorik/Parish performance. She is quite nice; not sure about his partnering though...

http://youtu.be/DX5MlH6Cudg

http://youtu.be/3tHLAhxlcu0

I'm glad that some videos of Skorik other than ones where she fails have made their way to YT. I agree that Skorik looks ok and that Parish seems the weak link here. It just confirms the impression I had from seeing them in London. Of course, in London Parish was treated like a returning war hero, since he is British and used to dance with the RB. His SL sold out before any others. I think the Mariinsky misunderstood U.S. audiences when they chose to bring Parish but not Kim to BAM. I tweeted them something to that effect last night.

Mirseng1 did you exchange tickets or will you see Skorik? Either way, you'll get a wonderful corps and probably a great Pas de Trois, Folk dances, and Jester.

Funérailles, his recent duet for NYCB, was a cheerfully vulgar as the cover of a Harlequin bodice-ripper, and the grappling duets in Acheron are hardly models of elegant restraint. Yes, the boob shaking and pelvis pumping in "With a Chance of Rain" looked repulsive; I'm pretty sure it was meant to. I harbor no suspicions that Scarlett wants to add twerking to ballet's vocabulary.

I guess I disagree. I found Funerailles to be a little over the top emotionally but it was hardly vulgar. It was an intense dance drama in the same vein as Manon or Mayerling, IMO. Looking over the comments from NYCB's fall season I see that Drew also found that it " looked like an outake from some unknown Macmillan ballet". That sound about right to me.

Neither did I find anything sexually suggestive or vulgar about Acheron. Creating a new dance, depending on the choreographer, can be a collaborative idea. If it was Scarlett's idea to twerk, he certainly didn't feel strong enough about it to make Sarah twerk. And both casts continued to perform the piece differently, since I saw the last show where Misty danced the piece (and twerked). Certainly, the ultimate responsibity for the work lies with Scarlett but working with 2 such different casts hopefully made him a smarter choreographer.

We are all assuming (I think) that Misty and Whiteside were Scarlett's first choice in casting. Not necessarily so. I remember in La Danse, Brigitte Lefevre laying down very exacting rules to a young choreographer about who he could or could not use in his piece. And though he liked to watch and see how dancers respond to his movement and then choose, Brigitte said no.

Scarlett is young and does not have the clout of someone like Ratmansky. We know KM is pushing Misty and I think it's possible Scarlett was told he had to use her. I've seen a few pieces by Scarlett for NYCB (and read of others for the RB). I've heard him accused of being dark but never vulgar. And having just been to London recently, with its restrained good manners, I somehow doubt breast jiggling and twerking were what Scarlett wanted. Somehow, I think he was probably not pleased with how Misty danced it, could not stop her, but made very sure the other cast did it right.

I saw a photo on Twitter of a smiling Scarlett hugging Lane and Forster after their performance so clearly he was pleased.

Does anyone know if this will be on YT or a DVD?

I should amend my post above - I enjoyed Skorik's O/O much more than several early performances I saw by Somova however the last time I saw Somova's O/O she had improved greatly and I enjoyed her very much.

Just curious, nysusan, was Skorik able to handle Odile's 32 fouettes? One of my concerns would be that she'd fall off pointe or bail early. I don't think that happened in London (I read both newspaper reviews and Twitter comments about her performance) but was curious if that was the case a few years ago.

I took a look back at what I wrote here after her Costa Mesa O/O (where she and Shklyarov danced on opening night):

"She was ok technically most of the time and there were no big, noticable mistakes but she did simplify some of the steps. They didn't do the iconic overhead lifts on the diagonal in the 1st lakeside scene and my friend pointed out that she didn't really do all the beats we're accustomed to seeing in Odette's coda. Her beats sur le cou d'pied (I think thats what they're called) at the end of the WS pdd were very weak. She made it through the BS fouettes with no problem till she fell out of them at the very end. This was not a big flub, it was hardly noticable unless you had seen Kondaurova the night before who ended under perfect control in a beautiful, solid, triumphant 5th position"

So I guess that two years later I may be remembering her performance as being better than it was - it's the beauty of her line in the White Swan acts that stuck with me . Still, I think she's a dancer with a lot of potential and I'm looking forward to seeing her again.

I bought tickets for the 21st when it was TBA thinking it would be Skorik but not to the 22nd because I don't especially like Somova and just saw her SL in August. I must say I was delighted when the 21st cast became Kondaurova. We are seeing 2 performances of Skorik in Chopiniana and in DC in Pacquita. That's plenty (really too much) of Skorik for me. But I'll really be interested in what everyone thinks of Skorik's SL.

BTW, I believe the beats at the end of the WS PDD are battus.

Frankly, I just don't see Misty performing classical works. She just doesn't have the line or the body. And as evidenced by her poor showing in Duo Concertante last spring and her failure to be cast in T&V, she also can't dance Balanchine, which does not make SFB a good option. I could see her at Houston. Also Complexions seems like a good fit. They do mainly contemporary work. And if it's good enough for Desmond Richardson, it should be good enough for Misty (who isn't half the dancer he is).

I should amend my post above - I enjoyed Skorik's O/O much more than several early performances I saw by Somova however the last time I saw Somova's O/O she had improved greatly and I enjoyed her very much.

Just curious, nysusan, was Skorik able to handle Odile's 32 fouettes? One of my concerns would be that she'd fall off pointe or bail early. I don't think that happened in London (I read both newspaper reviews and Twitter comments about her performance) but was curious if that was the case a few years ago.

Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately, this is my only SL. I will try to exchange for Kondaurova's performance (I am not in town for Tereshkina and Lopatkina's nights). I have a feeling (somewhat confirmed by YT clips) that Skorik / Parish pairing would be a disappointment.

I do not understand why does Mariinsky bring on tours performers who are not ready for the "prime time" when company has so many first rate dancers (Novikova, for one, would be a joy to behold).

Fateyev seems determined to make "new" stars who are generally not Vaganova trained. That is why we are seeing Parish, Skorik and Kim (all trained elsewhere). That is why the American Keenan Kampa was accepted into the company (she is now gone). Batoeva is the only Vaganova graduate he has promoted above the rank of coryphee in the 7 years he has been "acting" AD! That speaks worlds about him as head of the Mariinsky. It is also probably explains why Tsiskaridze (from the Bolshoi) is now rector of the Vaganova. Previously, rules specified only a Vaganova graduate could head the school. Wonderful dancers like Novikova,Osmolkina, Stepin and Sergeyev are still stuck as soloists and Andrei Batalov rarely performs at all. Sarafanov, Obraztsova, Lobukhin and most recently Yulia Stepanova, have left the the company. Top Vaganova graduates like Smirnova, Lebedev, Zhiganshina and Shapran (who has now joined) chose to go elsewhere when they graduated.

Fateyev and McKenzie (of ABT) are head to head in being terrible ADs. I'm not sure who is worse. But in the Mariinsky, there are still so many in the corps who should be soloists and they are still impeccably trained in being in unison. So someone in the Mariinsky is still doing their job adequately. I wish I could say the same about ABT.

Really - Luis is no longer at ABT? I didn't know that. That is interesting in terms of Sarah's career.

Yes, Luis and Eric Tamm both left at the end of Nutcracker. Luis will be pursuing real estate (like Chuck Askegard) and also producing films.

As for Sarah's dancing, did anyone see both her and Misty dance Liam Scarlett's new work? There was a world of difference between them. Misty was vulgar; her partner jiggled her breasts and she twerked. Sarah didn't let her partner touch her breasts (he just made the motion) and a slight hip bump substituted for twerking. Several people I know were so offended by Misty's performance, they immediately walked out. Sarah made the role into a humorous affair. The NYT reviewed both performances and noted the difference.

I think many of us realize that ABT's promotions and casting have absolutely nothing to do with merit (Christine Shevchenko, Devon Teucher & Joey Gorak excepted). The question is where does that leave this struggling company at the end of the MET season. I personally believe that until they get a new AD, ABT has nowhere to go except down.

I guess I'm a pessimist, but I don't think McKenzie has any intention of ever promoting Lane to principal. She never gets important new roles in full length ballets. She has been doing SB and T&V for a few years already.

If I were Sarah (of course I'm not) and Copeland gets promoted and but not Sarah, I'd leave. She could go to any one of another small companies and probably dance more. And now that Luis is no longer at ABT she really has nothing to tie her to NY. Same goes for Stella (btw, I've noticed Sascha is doing a lot of guesting so he didn't really retire). Then the writing is on the wall and other than making sure she has an income, there is no reason for Sarah to stay at ABT.