Amour

In order to collect my thoughts about tonight, I went back and reviewed Ferri and Bocca's balcony scene from 1999 in the ABT DVD Variety and Virtuosity (it's also on YT); there's also an earlier one from 1992 in Frederick Wiseman's documentary Ballet) They are the gold standard and really no dances R&J like they did (I was especially looking at Bocca's renversées, the press lifts and Ferri's lightning fast pirouettes). Their performances were especially on my mind as Ferri was sitting somewhat near me and I said a few words to her (I actually gushed) as she entered. However, that does not diminish what was a fantastic portrayal of Juliet by Obraztsova, (especially as I believe it was her debut in the Macmillan version of R&J) or Romeo by Herman Cornejo. So here are some of my highlights. I'll start with Herman, since he enters first, along with Daniil (Mercutio) and Joey (Benvolio). I thought the chemistry (or camaraderie) between the 3 of them was great. Each man is superb technically and a joy to watch. Cornejo, with his beautifully elegant upper body and dynamic jump is perhaps the most pleasing on the eye because he has the dance/drama combined so seamlessly. I was sitting in row J orchestra and as I watched through the binoculars I saw an array of emotions constantly coming over his face and in his eyes. He went from mischievous to trying to play peacemaker to fighting all within a few minutes. When he fell in love, first with Rosaline, then Juliet, he was truly smitten. Obraztsova played Juliet rather more shyly and inward than Ferri. I think the delicacy of her features helps contribute to this portrayal. During Act 1 I thought she was just finding her way into the role. But nevertheless she was totally committed. And despite being shy, is as smitten with Romeo as he is with her. Her love grew and, as it did, so did her abandonment and impetuosness. They had great chemistry and, as Angelica says, it was electrifying. My only complaint about the Act was really the press lifts. Romeo should lift Juliet at the hips. She has one leg outstretched, the other slightly bent and her arms are outstretched almost over her head. As Romeo lowers her, she looks deeply into his eyes. For this to happen the man must be strong enough to lift the woman but she must be strong enough in her center to hold herself in this almost horizontal position. She should not put her arm down for balance (as Misty did) nor should she be too upright (the problem tonight, caused I think because Herman put his hands too high on her). Nevertheless Obraztsova's very quick bourrees, the flexibility of her back, and the innocence so apparent (she's a great actress) transcended technique. I really enjoyed how her portrayal deepened as the relationship with Romeo did. Her bedroom scene was far more full of abandonment and impetuosness. Next, Daniil performed a great mandolin dance, full of virtuosity and tricks. No feigning a bad back like Craig did on Tuesday. The audience went wild with applause. Daniil was also very successful at portraying Mercutio as both fun loving and a bit of a hothead. His dying scene, though, was a little too histrionic for my taste (it was almost campy) but still a lot of fun. Joey was again perfect, with his long, elegant lines and refined manners. He was also very good at playing the most rational of the 3 men. And their PDT before going into the ball was so excellent in its musicality and symmetry. I also loved how, after killing Tybalt, remorse immediately came over Herman's face and clutching at Lady Capulet's skirts, to beg forgiveness, was a nice touch. (To be continued tomorrow)

Yes, what an unbelievably wonderful performance!!! I actually teared up at the end, which is a first for me (and I'm a veteran of the Ferri/Bocca performances). BTW, Ferri was in the house (she coached Obraztsova) as was David Hallberg. It was a packed house. More details later.

I think the RB has done a terrible job of advertising themselves. As for me, now that Semionova is out there is no ABT SL I'm interested in seeing so I'm going to the RB every night. I guess I'm an outlier, though.

There is also a Japanese Amazon. I believe the url is Amazon.co.jp. Then use the icons to get pages in English. They, too, sell a lot of DVDs unavailable in the U.S. They also have a pretty large range of Mariinsky performances you can't see elsewhere. There's a large shipping charge but I've found it worthwhile.

Food for thought, indeed. I casually know Wendy and like and respect her. I disagree that SB is the least complex of Petipa's ballets.and that it is not a ballet" that stirs complex emotions. For me, SB is about a young girl's (well, a teenager`s) growth into adulthood. It's also, like SL, about the search for love on the part of both genders. So I disagree with her on that. I think that's partly why I go and why the ballet remains so popular. On the Saturday evening performance with Vishneva/Gomes there was scarcely an empty seat. I do agree with Wendy about the style of the ballet. I, too, miss dance "that extends into space." And that "dance evolves for a reason. It adjusts to how cultures and bodies change" . I, too, question the wisdom of spending so much money on wigs and costumes, when ABT's lower ranked dancers aren't paid enough and there are way too few coaches for the company. So, I think there is lots of good food for thought in the article. Which makes it very interesting . Wendy genuinely loves all forms of dance and all dancers. She emphatically dislikes (often expressed in her tweets) the kind of gratuitous negativism that informs many of Macauley's articles. For her to criticize a work is unusual. So I take the article as real food for thought about ballet, the privileged classes, etc. I certainly will be thinking about it the next time (probably) I see SB,

Wow, Igor Kolb! It's been ages since I've seen him dance:( He's a true Mariinsky dancer with such gorgeous epaulement and such refinement. But Bravo to all 3 men: Korsuntsev, Kolb and Ivanchenko!!!

All I can say is I wish her well but hope Kevin is the next to go. To leave in the middle of the 75th Anniversary season I think it's clear the heads of ABT are under pressure.

Just letting people know that the NYC RB performances are now being sold at a discount on Goldstar. However, you can only pick your price range, not your seat.

The live stream is still up in archived form until June 18.

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Well, tonight I'm going to talk about a performance I never thought I'd see and to which I did not buy a ticket: Misty's R&J debut. I missed Act 1 so can only speak to Acts 2 & 3. What happened was my husband and I got out of a movie (The Wolfpack) at the Walter Reade and decided to walk across the plaza. R& J was just having their 1st intermission and I asked someone how he liked it. He did but was leaving for dinner and gave me his ticket! Row L orchestra:) Wow! And I ended up sitting next to a dance critic whose review should be up in Dance Tabs. First, the few good things I have to say. Misty was not as bad as I expected. Not great but not bad. She has stage presence. The dancing isn't up to snuff and she overacts like crazy but overall not that bad. And the long skirts cover all that extreme musculature. But really Joey Gorak! He was PERFECTION as Benvolio. Gorgeous lines, perfect pirouettes. If he's not named a principal by 2016 I'll be very surprised. Now the rest. First this was probably the first R&J that left me totally unmoved. Granted, I was brought up on Ferri & Bocca but still Vishneva and Osipova have turned in quite good Juliet performances since then. Misty and Hammoudi (Romeo) had zero chemistry and I mean ZERO. They barely looked at each other and he, in particular was a terrible actor. For that matter his dancing wasn't good either. It looked sloppy and bland. Really, when he was with Mercutio (Craig Salstein) and Benvolio (Joey) all I could watch was Joey. Misty, due to her very womanly body does not look in any way like 14 years old. Really, it's a stretch to even imagine her as 21. And unlike Ferri, who at 44 years old could still act like a girl, Misty acts like a woman. Then there was the partnering, which was labored and really awkward looking. Hammoudi looked like he could barely lift Misty. Given what RUKen and nanushka have posted about Misty's dress rehearsal with Joey I think the partnering issues are her fault. The crypt scene was especially terrible. Misty did not look dead at all; you could see her lifting her legs up to get in position. I think she still needs to drop some weight and learn how to better lift up her weight. And she seemed terrified of the flying lifts. She ran up to Hammoudi, then would stop dead in her tracks and he would pick her up (or try to). I'm used to Ferri, Vishneva and Osipova who really go for it. They would run and jump and their partners (Bocca, Marcelo and David) were always there to catch them. And those really fast pirouettes that Ferri could do, playing with the music. Well, tonight Misty did about half as many and they looked very unmusical. The bedroom scene was just blah and the crypt scene was pretty bad and totally emotionally uninvolving. Finally, Craig Salstein was Mercutio. The mandolin dance left a lot to be desired. Craig bailed on the last jump over the final man (where he does a series) feigning a bad back. C'mon Craig. I remember when Herman and Joaquin De Luz used to alternate as Mercutio. Those were the days:) The corps girls who play Juliet's friends (tonight Skylar, Gabrielle Johnson, Jamie Kopit, Isadora Loyola, Katherine Williams and Stephanie Williams) were out of sync with each other and their spacing was off. More rehearsal needed there. On the other hand, the 3 harlots (Luciana Paris, Zhong-Jing Fang and Alexandra Basmagy) were very good. Finally, there were lots of empty seats in the orchestra tonight. In fact, the whole house was simply not crowded. That was a surprise, given how Misty clearly has a top drawer PR person working overtime for her. So, tonight was not a total dud but definitely not a performance I would have paid to see. Thank you to the total stranger who gave me his ticket, though!

Yes, if you buy any additional tickets, you get them at the subscription price. And you can do exchanges over the phone:)

[quote name="Waelsung" post="357147" timestamp="1434437863" For instance, a Raymonda with Lopatkina would be a major season event. Unfotunately, I don't think Lopatkina ever guests (at least I've never heard of her guesting). But one can dream, I suppose. My prime wish is that we get a new AD NOW. The sooner, the better. Then all the ballets and, hopefully promotions, will work themselves out.

Having just re watched the DVDs of the Bolshoi (Zakharova/Hallberg) and Mariinsky (Lezhnina/Ruzimatov) SBs, The Diamond Fairy variation is one Ratmansky pretty much left alone. Also, the Wedding PDD is pretty much untouched. So there's that. Frankly, he didn't really mess too much with Bluebird either. But I saw both Daniil (twice) and Gabe Stone Shayer as Bluebird. Sorry, but Gabe was NOT up to it. At all, IMO. So saying every corps member looked good is certainly not my opinion. Some looked good, some didn't. And one of the three nights I went, the corps lines were VERY sloppy. Even with this new SB, because of the tremendous amount of batterie, I think everyone could still use more rehearsal time. But, again, that does solve my gripe. If I want to see Bournonville, well.........I saw them at the Joyce in February. If I want to see more (I don't), I'll travel to Denmark. Or go to see NYCB perform Sylphide again next year. But, really, that's my limit to Bournonville or Bournonville like ballets.

I'm not sure that's what people are complaining about, canbelto. Certainly, not me. What I don't like are the low legs, the chainees on releve, no big jumps, etc. it's like we got the Bournonville version of SB. And I just hated how he changed the Lilac Fairy role. The "traditional" prologue Lilac Fairy variation is so gorgeous with those slow développes to second. While my complaints primarily have nothing to do with "star" roles or who was dancing, frankly, not everyone at ABT could do justice to all the footwork and small beats. It took NYCB 9 months (since September) to prepare for La Sylphide. Clearly, ABT didn't get 9 months to prepare for this new SB. I would have loved to have seen a version more approximate to what the Mariinsky or Bolshoi dance.

I completely agree. Unlike hIs R&J and, from what I hear, his SL, Peter's SB isn't bad. At this point, I far prefer it to Ratmansky's.

Here's Macauley's round up review. Clearly, Boylston is his favorite new female dancer. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/arts/dance/review-the-sleeping-beauty-spurs-american-ballet-theater-to-work-on-the-details.html?ref=dance&_r=0

I certainly wasn't proposing we stick with Gelsey's awful, Disney production ; if you thought that you read my post incorrectly. I just would have preferred something more modern. I'm not sure I'm on board with the sudden trend of reconstruction. They tried it at the Mariinsky in the early 2000's and it ultimately failed (I saw the reconstructed Bayadere they brought with them in 2002. It was the first time I ever saw Diana, who was Nikiya). I don't think even one of those ballets is in the current Mariinsky rep.

YES!! Really, I know Ratmansky did all this research, etc but who wants to dance like it's 1890? Or, for that matter 1990? Dancers now have greater technical facility than ever before.. I say, use it. Don't be vulgar; we don't need to always see 120 degree arabesques. But all these really low legs and demi pointe chainees? I don't care for them and they are NOT flattering to a small dancer like Sarah Lane. I agree with you about your recommendation. Midsummer is a perfect recommendation for those who want a full length ballet. Also, Peter's SB isn't too bad (I like it better than this Ratmsnsky). Do, I'm with you, vipa.PS. I don't think there was one jump in Ratmansky's SB. Yet not even 20 years later the Mariinsky/Vaganova (for a brief period of time) produced one of the greatest jumpers ever: Vaslav Nijinsky. Do you think the Vaganova taught jumping just for the heck of it, so no one would see it in a ballet (and yes, a Petipa ballet). I don't buy it. I think there must have been jumping in Petipa ballets. Remember these notes Ratmansky worked from were done years after the ballet was created. Maybe Doug Fullington can speak to this because something doesn't totally add up for me.

For me, I saw the new SB 3 times, twice with Vishneva/Gomes and once with Lane/Cornejo. I agree that it's a great vehicle for ABT but I really much prefer the more "traditional" version danced by companies like the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi. In fact, I took out my blu-ray of the Zakharova/Hallberg SB to watch this week as a refresher. I liked it SO much better! Maybe I'm crass but I far prefer the traditional prologue fairy variations and especially mourn the loss of the Lilac fairy variation. And I loved the "traditional" Prince Désiré role and the jumps. In this new/old version, this role is reduced to almost nothing. Would I see this SB again (unlike Ratmansky's Nut)? Probably, yes, but just once. That's enough for me.

That's such a great article from Faye. Thanks, canbelto, for the link!

Thanks so much, canbelto, for all these great YTs. I definitely agree that Vishneva is stronger and more confident now than 15 years ago. Now she really knows how to luxuriate in the music. And she just generally looks more secure. I guess that comes from experience and repeatedly doing the same ballets (despite their differences) for years.

Ok, tonight was my 3rd SB and my 2nd viewing of Vishneva/Gomes. Again, I thought they were spectacular, particularly Diana. Nobody else (sorry) at ABT has such a pliable torso and gorgeous epaulement. It is like a totally different ballet from what I saw on Thursday from Sarah/Herman. Not just them but all the other roles (like Bluebird) had their best cast. On Thursday (the Sarah/Herman show) my husband didn't understand why I had raved about the ballet (I had seen it Monday with Diana/Marcelo). He was bored and frankly so was I. Not tonight, though. It was again wonderful. For those counting pirouettes, Diana did some triples (which she fell out of tonight) in the Vision Scene. Also some triples in the Wedding Pas before the fish dives. But who's counting? (Haha) Before I go on about tonight's show I do want to say that in the Wedding Pas, primarily in his solo, Herman did exceed Marcelo in the crispness of his batterie and the height of his jumps and entrechats. But Marcelo is a better partner and actor. On Thursday, the Vision Scene seemed drained of drama. Tonight Marcelo urgently searching for Diana made it come alive. Back to tonight, I said much of what I had to say about the 2 leads on Monday. So again they were exquisite. In the prologue Sarah was beautiful and classical looking as the Breadcrumb Fairy. This isn't an easy fairy variation; it has lots of hops on pointe. But Sarah danced it the wonderfully. I'm still trying to process why it didn't work for her as Aurora. Poor Stella is stuck with that new, rather hideous version of the finger pointing fairy (Violente). She does as best she can with the variation but it's just ugly choreography. Veronika was back again as the Lilac Fairy. She may have a slightly easier version of the variation than Devon or Stella but is terrific in her firm, guiding presence. Much better, I thought, than Devon though I'll bet Stella could pull it off. Daniil was bluebird and tonight was tremendous! All that clean, crisp batterie with no hint of strain in his upper body. And his ability to twist his torso back and front, in parallel with his legs. Fantastic!! Please don't give Gabe Stone Shayer a role (this one) he can't do well. Everybody (ABT, the dancer, the coaches) don't look good, then. Gabe is really good but he's just not good enough at this (as opposed to jumping as the head fakir in Bayadere) for the Bluebird role. And Cassandra Trenary was very musical and light as Florine. A very nice contrast to Misty. I wonder if she might get promoted? Another standout dancer is Isadora Loyola, who did the White Cat (to Sean Stewart's Puss in Boots) at each performance I attended. She is technically quite secure; she held all her attitudes derrière for a long time. But she is also a great actress, very feline, good at getting the humor in the two roles across. As for the jewel fairies I've seen Bella, Skylar and tonight Christine Shevchenko do the role. My favorite was Skylar. Beautifully proportioned body with elegant upper body, I thought she made the most of the three. And Zhong-Jing Fang (otherwise known as ZJ) did a great job as a last minute sub for the sapphire fairy. Well it's late now and I'm going to finish this off now before I fall asleep on the keyboard:) Maybe more thoughts tomorrow:))

The way they do that cambré is that Aurora sticks her stomach out and then falls against the Prince. A bit of a cheat, but who cares. It WAS outstanding. The entire performance. More later.

About Devin's YT, it is VERY CLEAR on YT, whose channel you are watching (i.e., who posted the YT). Depending on what device you're watching it on, it's either at the top right of the screen or just under the video. NYCB has their own YT channel with lots of videos but none like this (usually it's dancers talking about a ballet and then you see a bit of the ballet). It's impossible not to see Devin's name near this video (which, BTW, was directed by Lydia Wellington) as the poster of the YT and mistake it for an official NYCB one.