Amour

Sometimes there are a few promotions that happen around November (James Whitside, Daniil). I'm hoping for a few more soloist promotions around that time for at least Royal and Brandt.

Obviously Herman as Puck stole the show - partly that is the nature of the role, and partly it is because Herman is one of the most spectacular dancers ever, anywhere.

I want to say that I watched The Dream DVD tonight (Tuesday) and Puck is NOT supposed to overshadow Oberon as Herman did to Cory last night. When Stiefel was Oberon, he was commanding and virtuosic and Herman was considerable toned down compared to him (and last night's performance). (I also saw them live, the night ABT premiered The Dream in 2002) I just think Cory (maybe even David) is not up to doing what the role of Oberon needs in terms of both acting and dancing.

Just got home from seeing The Dream and The Tempest. The Dream was really superb but Herman (Puck) completely stole the show. His jumps were so high and buoyant it seemed he would never come down. He did endless pirouettes and went whizzing across the stage. I saw Herman as Puck the night ABT premiered The Dream (Ferri was Titania, Stiefel was Oberon) and he has really just gotten so much more virtuosic. The audience erupted in applause virtually every time he came on stage.He truly stole the show.

Gillian was quite lovely as Titania. She pulled off some quadruple pirouettes and pencil turns at the beginning that were a marvel to behold. And this from a ballerina who,1 week ago, sprained her foot mid performance and had to leave the stage. She was also quite lovely in the more dramatic moments (such a flexible back). She is rather different (maybe not as dramatic) from Ferri but probably more assured technically (at this late stage in Ferri's career). She also obviously is very focused and has a strong work ethic. I'm very impressed.

Cory Stearns was not impressive as Oberon. He has all the physical gifts: tall, handsome, long legs, relative good technique. However, his dancing and acting both don't have enough confidence or authority. Oberon is also supposed to be a virtuosic role and Cory just was not able to pull that off. Also because of this lack of confidence the love/reconciliation PDD was a bit shaky at times. Part of the problem may be that he has been subbing for David Hallberg (who injured his foot) and just didn't have time to get comfortable in the role. However I read somewhat similar criticism of him on this board so the short notice may not be the real reason for his lack of confidence/stage presence. Since ABT's original Oberon (Stiefel) is in town, maybe he should have a talk with him,

I would be remiss to not give a huge shout out to Jared and Stella as the wonderful first couple, Lysander and Hermia. They were touching and funny in all the right places. This had to be a disappointing day for Stella (no promotion) but she gave a standout performance that may have been designed to show Kevin what he is missing.

The Tempest is another thing altogether. It has a rather convoluted storyline that t will not attempt to explain. Suffice it to say that the performances from all - Marcelo as the deposed Duke, Sarah Lane as he daughter Miranda and Joey Gorak (who got promoted to soloist today) who plays Ferdinand who falls in love with Miranda, were all excellent Ditto for the slaves Ariel ( danced with great virtuosity by Daniil) and Caliban (James Whitside) and Roman Zhurbin (also promoted today) as Alonso King of Naples. Despite the great performances the ballet still didn't work for me any better than last fall. Since Ratmansky was in the audience tonight, I assume he is still tinkering with it:( something about it just feels too cute (costumes with the funny headpieces)!and yet not dramatic enough. I think I need a few more times seeing it to see if I understand it any better.

Perhaps if all of us write letters (politely) advocating for Stella to finally get her chance to dance the role we're all dying to see she inhabit on the Met stage...there is no way that Kevin McKenzie can ignore us. I know it's not just us on the board but the people who have gone to watch ABT repeatedly over the years and have completely fallen in love with her and her dancing.

Does Stella have a sponsor? I'm convinced that the dancers who get promoted are those who have sponsors, so ABT doesn't pay their salaries. If she doesn't, maybe a bunch of us should get together, either to find her one or sponsor her ourselves (haha). Seriously, I've seen Wendy Whelan 3 times this week and she is constantly chatting people up (the members of the Boston Ballet Board of Directors all knew her). Stella should also think about cultivating that skill set - it can come in very handy. Were she to find a rich sponsor I think she would get promoted. (Of course that doesn't mean you will dance much; one need only look at Veronika Part to see that)

Just came back from seeing Program 2. I have to say this was a more disappointing night than Thursday probably because of the inevitable comparisons to other companies.

Symph in 3 started the evening off and it was nowhere near the level that NYCB performs it. The corps seemed sloppy and needed more energy. However, as the main female dancer, Lia Cirio was wonderful -much better than anyone else on stage.

Afternoon of a Faun was well performed but I have only seen the Joffrey do it (on TV) before. I am not a Jorma Elo fan and found the choreography of Plan to B dull. It was well performed though and, to my surprise, received a standing ovation at its conclusion.

Kylian's Bella Figura was another piece where Boston Ballet suffered in comparison to another company - here,NDT. NDT dancers always have the most lovely legs and feet. Not so here. Something was just lacking. But, again, I applaud the company for bringing the piece here.

BTW, my husband and I saw Kevin McKenzie outside the Koch tonight. We paused to chat ( we joked he was in front of the wrong theater). He looked exhausted, said he needed some fresh air and was "playing hookey" tonight by seeing BB. No excuse for the SL casting drama that has happened this week but Kevin sure looks like he needs a vacation.

Boy, these principals are doing ok for themselves. Salaries have come a long way (up) since the 1980's.

Per Schedule L of NYCB's 2011 IRS 990, Peter Martins was paid $77,450 for "Choreographic Royalties / Fees." I believe that this is on top of his base compensation of $775,000. I checked the same schedule in ABT's 2011 IRS 990 and found nothing there regarding McKenzie. His base compensation is substantially lower than Martins' by-the-by: $295,257.

Wow, that's quite a significant difference. I wonder if NYCB is just in better financial health than ABT? Also, I would bet the principal dancers at NYCB make more money than those at ABT (the NYCB corps certainly should make more because they do much more dancing).

Whoops, meant to say I didn't love the Forsythe piece, not the opposite.

I saw program 1 Thursday night (BTW, Wendy Whelan and Amar Ramasar were there). I did love The Second Detail. It seemed like just another Forsythe work but without any interesting costumes. I did love Resonance by former POB etoile Jose Martinez. It was probably the most traditional of the 3 works but IMO showed the dancers off beautifully, especially Lia Cirio. Cacti, by the Swede Alexander Ekman, seemed very gimmicky with it's spoken text and movable set pieces (including dancers bring out individual cacti).

As for the dancers, they were technically very strong. I actually thought their corps looked stronger than ABT's. Many of the female dancers are short but they all have similar body types and proportions. Don't forget Vaganova trained Keenan Kampa, currently of the Mariinsky, came from Boston Ballet. It's nice to see a company where height doesn't matter but proportions do.

I look forward to seeing how the company does Symphony in 3, especially as NYCB performs it frequently. Saturday can't come too soon!

Count me as another one who found Semionova's Odette boring. She needs to work on her expressiveness as well as her arms (Ananiashvili anyone?). However, I really did enjoy her Odile. She did that long unsupported arabesque & the fouettes were great. I was doubly impressed because the tempi tonight was the FASTEST I have ever heard from ABT's orchestra. Truly Balachineque, I also have to applaud Marcelo for not only being ABT's MVP but a fantastic partner for everyone.

I thought the cygnettes (Trenary, Paris, Lane, Kajiya) were excellent as were the big swans ((Uphoff, Curry). However the corps looked a bit ragged to me; everyone's arms were at a different height, especially during the lakeside scene. It had me wishing for the Mariinsky.

Alexandre Hammoudi was a disappointment as purple Rothbart. The one point where Marcello used to hold an arabesque on relève forever, Hammoudi came down flat and simply didn't hold the arabesque. His acting (unlike his technique) was ok I thought.

In the PDT, Teuscher, Shevchenko and Hoven were competent if not exciting. I had been hoping for Lane, Gorak (maybe Stella) so I was disappointed.

Overall, though, I thought it was a pretty good SL, especially after the intermission. Semionova may not be a world class O/O but she definitely has her strengths.

I think when the production is bad, they dump it as soon as possible (as soon as finances are available for a new production) it even if McKenzie is listed as the choreographer. Isn't McKenzie the choreographer of the ABT SB? They are dumping that for a new Ratmansky sB next season.

No Gelsey Kirkland and her husband (Michael Chernov?) have full responsibility for ABT's current SB. Apparently, Kevin has hated from the get go (me,too). Very happy to see Ratmansky will do the new one.

It seems that many on BA are familiar with Alina (really fans) and her Giselle interpretation. I am not. I just watched a YT clip obviously from some years ago and had I seen that I would have been happy. But unlike most here, I saw no stage presence or attempt to emote. Alina left out chunks of choreography, especially in Act 1. For her mad scene, to my disbelief, she didn't bother to recapitulate any of the steps she has done earlier ( not even any glissades) but simply walked rather aimlessly around the stage. My husband described her mad scene as looking like a girl who has misplaced her earrings and is wondering, are they in the bathroom, no maybe the bedroom, etc. Hardly, the demeanor of a grief stricken girl. Then very obviously she can no longer do the hops on pointe; she did only a few and they barely traveled. And what some saw as "natural" acting I saw as no drama and really phoning in your performance. I was irritated and bored beyond belief. I instantly realized why she had problems renewing her contract with the Royal.

While I may be the sole Alina detractor here, I think we should all realize ballet is an art not a sport so it is subjective. Everyone has their own opinion and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And now, as Nyankeesy01 said, on to Swan Lake.

I saw Semionova do T&V with Whiteside this spring (with Cory Stearns in the fall) and it was pretty terrible. She just isn't good at moving fast. However, this spring I returned to a performance when Andy Vyette guested in T&V. What a difference!! I think ABT should leave the Balanchine works to NYCB right now.

I also agree that ABT is looking a bit ragged right now. I, too, am tired of all the warhorses being dragged out every season. IMO, ABT needs a new AD and board of directors.

I A month or so ago I saw the Theme & Variations/Duo Concertant program (skipped Gaite Parisienne), and was disappointed.

It sounds like Gomes and Bolle both had valid, though different, dramatic interpretations of Albrecht. With David I really didn't see a clear, coherent dramatic through line. He seemed, as I mentioned before, kind of aloof so I didn't get either "cad" or "womanizer" in Act 1 followed by repentant lover in Act 2. Truthfully, all I saw was a guy doing steps basically devoid of theatrical content. Part of the problem was that neither Alina nor David emoted much. And because they look so odd together height wise that is the first strong initial impression you get (like, how did these two ever get together?). In terms of partnering, I felt Gomes made Diana seem much lighter when he lifted her overhead than David made Alina look. And since Alina barely got off the ground in either act you never had the sense that she was ethereal or fragile or floating.

I have to say, in Gillian's favor, I have seen her do Myrtha many times and she has always (except Monday) been excellent. I think she was having an off day, maybe tired from having done Cinderella the previous Saturday night.

abatt, I don't know where you were sitting tonight but we were in center orchestra row J and half the row was empty (at least before the intermission). Same with the row behind us. I also happened to be at the box office today and know they had student rush available. So my impression was the house was not completely full. Now Monday night it was packed, almost sold out, I'd say.

I also went to the Vishneva/Gomes Giselle on Monday night was so prepared that tonight (Saturday night) might be a bit of a let down. Unfortunately, I had no idea how big a let down it would be. Alina, in Act 1, was IMO pretty bad and definitely very boring. She seemed to be marking the act rather than dancing it - there is just no other way to describe virtually every step and jump (barely 6 inches off the ground). She spent the vast majority of the mad scene simply walking around the stage instead of weakly doing the steps she has done earlier in the act. She did some hops on pointe, but not too many and they were basically in place (she might have moved 1 foot forward). To add insult to injury, there was none of the drama I hoped to see from a ballerina whose physique is so perfect for this ballet. I was sitting in the center of orchestra row J and I had to look through the opera glasses to see any glimpse of expression in her face (there was none evinced in the dancing). I will say that there were no problems getting her hair down because she wore it down throughout the act.

Alina improved a bit in Act 2 but, as I kind of expected, didn't hold arabesques, developpes or penchees very long. She did beats (missing from Act 1) but I had to really look to see them. All in all, a very disappointing Giselle from her.

David Hallberg was fine technically but rather aloof and not terribly engaging as Albrecht. As I expected, he did the brises, not entrechats, and they were not impressive. He also did not seem to have great chemistry with Alina and they truly look odd together (she barely reaches his shoulder).

My favorite person tonight was Stella Abrera as Myrtha. She was just the right mixture of stern but with the Romantic epaulement and technically strong. Chrstine Shevchenko and Zhong Jing Fang were also quite good as Moyna and Zulma respectively. Jared Matthews was Hilarion (as he was on Monday) and was fine.

Finally, Yuriko and Craig Salstein did the peasant pas. They were a little mismatched height wise and not always together on the music but were ok but nowhere near as wonderful as Lane and Gorak on Monday.

But abatt every dancer in the Bolshoi (and the Mariinsky) gets their own coach, even corps dancers. I can see why David might feel he is growing more as a dancer there. However, I don't think he is a draw for Russians buying tickets. I think the Bolshoi brought him there to partner Zhakharova, because Filin felt they would be a good fit. I very well may be wrong but that's my impression from seeing him dance (unlike Lantratov, Chudin or Ovcharenko, David rarely partners anyone except Zhakharova) and hearing Filin speak at YAGP about hiring David. Bolle served the same "partner" function for Zhakharova for years when she came to the West (all those La Scala productions). He is real star in Italy, yet I felt in all those performances he was really just partnering her. Anyway, as I said, just my impression.

I saw (and have the Blu-Ray of) the Zhakharovs/Hallberg Sleeping Beauty. That was David's first performance with the Bolshoi and he was really great (especially considering he sprained his ankle at the first few jetés). I think Zhakharova also did well. Was there chemistry? She's such a self-centered ice queen it's hard to know. Judging from her Bayadere with Lantratov (horridly boring performance) I'd say their partnership works pretty well but still it's all about her, not him. I, too, will be seeing their Swan Lake in July so that will give me a better idea about that partnership. However, I do feel David has traded a situation where he was a star (ABT) for one where he is just a partner there to serve the company star (Bolshoi, Zhakharova).

I think that because Kevin has, in large part, failed to develop ABT's ballerinas (Sarah, Stella, Misty) there aren't enough good principal women in the company. As a result, ballerinas like Semionova dance roles (i.e. Giselle) to which, IMO, they are totally unsuited. She is tall, big boned and not very emotive. Hardly a dancer who should be dancing a role of a fragile peasant girl or an ethereal spirit.

How odd that David did not do the entrechats six! I just happened to have been talking about that to a friend who saw the ABT rehearsal on Monday afternoon. Apparently, David rehearsed the entrechats. Maybe at the last minute he felt fatigued, so went with the brises. But how disappointing! I, too, feel that only the entrechats six communicate the "dance to death".

Faux Pas thank you for giving so many details to this amazing transformative experience. I used to think Diana's Giselle with Corella (about 10 years ago) was the best I had seen. But no, tonight was; in Act 2 I actually felt transported to another realm - this never happens to me.

The point on which we differ a bit is Gillian. I think she was having an off night. In the beginning I found everything looked forced & too much (like her back cambre). I thought her arms were stiff not soft and there was a general lack of Romantic demeanor. I know she is supposed to be stern but this was too much. The good news is she got better and looser as the night progressed. Still, I have seen her do better Myrthas.

I also loved Joey and Sarah in the peasant pas. I think both Joey's tours and petit batterie and Sarah's jetés and pirouettes were great. Sarah in real life is sweet and that is how she dances. If she has stalled artistically, it is because ABT's idiot AD, Kevin, has not given her roles in which she can really stretch herself (not like he did with Hee Seo and now Isabella). As for Joey, if he isn't promoted within the next few months I will know that Kevin is definitely a moron.

Again, tonight's Giselle was 1 for the ages; a Giselle I will never forget.

Has anyonye seen the full Ratmansky version? I've seen bits of it (a solo for Cinderella) performed on Youtube by both Diana Vishneva and Genie Obratsova. It looks lovely from what I can see.

I think Cojocaru should be good (I'm seeing Vishneva and Cojocaru) but I don't think she can do the hops on pointe any more, even with those huge toe shoes:(

I saw them the other night (and they were great) but it sounds like this matinee was quite an event.