Roberto Dini

Many thanks for the heads up, CM.

I second the thanks. I had no idea these performances were available online.

morning!

You can purchase "Dancers" on Itunes and download it. I did--beautiful romeo/Juliet pas de deux with Ferri.

Hmm. I've been avoiding itunes like the plague, but I might have to investigate it.

again, i'm not sure how hard this may be to obtain, but f.y.i.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dancers-Mikhail-Baryshnikov-Ballet-Rare-Ross-OOP-VHS-/260818338807?pt=VHS&hash=item3cb9fc03f7

Has Dancers ever been released on dvd? I don't think so, but was wondering whether anyone knows otherwise.

I wonder whether there will be an encore presentation?

I did not see Reyes' Aurora this season, but I remember thoroughly enjoying her in the role. She seems to have an innate sense of musicality that elevates her dancing to another level.

I wish I could describe this better. I remember her dancing in Kudulka's Désir had a such a level of musicality that it was a completely different piece than when others danced the same part--one performance seemed like an incredible feat of athleticism while Reyes' was a work of art.

As much as I love Veronika Part's dancing, I have to admit that Zina's opening dance in The Bright Stream (holding the book) didn't make much sense to me when I saw her dance it. It was only when I saw Xiomara dance it at a later performance that I really got how the music and the steps were meant to go together. Someone mentioned above that they never seek out her performances but are always pleasantly surprised; that's been my experience several times this season.

I'm glad to hear that others appreciate her too. I always look forward to seeing her dance and wanted to see her this season, but I could not renew my subscriptions this season for financial reasons, so I only saw three performances.

The July 6th matinee performance of ABT’s The Sleeping Beauty is noteworthy especially for Xiomara Reyes’ wonderful performance. As Aurora, Reyes stands out for her sparkling footwork. She is not a dancer known for her balances, so Reyes’ Rose Adagio is a lovely surprise. She doesn’t hold her balances for a long time, but they are all very secure. Reyes has a very flexible upper body which she uses beautifully at the beginning of the Act III grand pas de deux. Her gorgeous port de bras enriches her solo in the same pas de deux. Reyes is also a very good actress. In Act I (“The Spell”) Reyes really seems like a glowing sixteen year old ready to face life and love. She is celestial in Act II’s vision scene and a happily confident young bride in the final act.

I did not see Reyes' Aurora this season, but I remember thoroughly enjoying her in the role. She seems to have an innate sense of musicality that elevates her dancing to another level.

I wish I could describe this better. I remember her dancing in Kudulka's Désir had a such a level of musicality that it was a completely different piece than when others danced the same part--one performance seemed like an incredible feat of athleticism while Reyes' was a work of art.

Bright Stream

La Bayadere

Onegin

Firebird mixed reps

Corsaire

Giselle

Swan Lake

R&J

The list is not my wish list, the info came from current & future company members. I expect to see Vishneva/Gomes in Onegin and pairing of O/V. So the only room left for wish list is the Firebird mixed reps program and castings. FB could be paired with a longer ballet like the Dream or Ballet Imperial or 2 shorter ones like T&V, Dumbarton, 13 Diversions or both with rotation of different pieces with FB as the closing ballet or may be an all Stravinsky program....

Thanks for clarifying your initial post. Although i'm glad that Onegin is coming back, I'm a bit disappointed that La Fille...is not in the list.

I would love to see La Fille again too.

Perhaps in the future ABT should publish other commitments of their guest stars. At least that way we the ticket buyers will be better informed about the odds we are facing.

From both a business and practical standpoint, this will never happen. What would be the financial motivation to spend money tracking and publishing guest artists schedules. An artist has an obligation to fulfill the requirements of his or her contract. Beyond that is speculation. Every company is trying to get people to buy tickets, not warn them of the possibility that an artist might not appear.

Also, how would ABT, or any company for that matter, publish and keep such information up to date? And to what end? What's in it for them?

I would have added Isaac Stappas, as I think he is amazing, but I understand he is leaving after L. A. A real loss for ABT.

why? where? and out of curiosity does this affect Kristi Boone's status with the company?

I agree Isaac Stappas' leaving is a great loss for ABT. His dancing and his acting ability always make for engaging performances.

I would like to see more of him.

I have always liked the way the camera saw Petit's choreography here:

I love this clip.

Here's a link to Petit's obit in the NY Times.

Roland Petit, Choreographer, Dies at 87

A. Macaulay just wrote a review on this year's Swan lakes.

www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/arts/dance/swan-lake-one-classic-ballet-many-interpretations.html?ref=dance

He didnt like Semionova's performance (was he at the same theater ? )

He talks nicely, for once, about Part and mentioned Wiles (including that SL was her farewell performance with ABT)

Her favorite of the week was Gilliam, and he talks about the stunning triple-pirouettes that she threw in Act II, mentioned before in this board.

I used to disagree with him 150%, lately I had started to enjoy his reviews more and more.....and here we go again to bad old times.....

Yeah, I love how he always complains that ABT audiences are suckers for athletic feats, going ga-ga over fouettes, etc. -- but this once when it serves his "argument" he decides to interpret those gasps as "not because of its virtuosity but because of its unexpected rightness." Give me a break.

I couldn't agree with you more.

[/quote]To quote someone, just hit the reply button.  Their post will appear between the quote tags.  You can edit it to include only the relevant part of the post to which you are responding.[/quote] You mean like this? (We'll see if it works when I post it)

Your opening tag had a "/" in front of it. That's why it didn't work. You can see what your post will look like by using the "Preview Post" button below the post window.

For example, when I previewed my message, it warned me that my post had an unequal number of open and close quote tags because you began your message with a close quote tag. I was able to remedy this and quote your message by notating your message as a code snippet.

Hi Everyone,

For those of you who missed the March 2010 live broadcast of Bolshoi's Don Quixote with Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev here is a chance to see an encore at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM.) (Or if you just really want to see it again!)

It will be on Thursday, July 21 and begin at 7PM.

Here is a link - let me know if you have any questions!

http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=3382

Joseph

Thank you for sharing this information.

From reading some of these posts, one might think that partnering is a one-way street. The woman shows up, dances and the man partners her. But she can help or hinder her partner in many ways--the way she arches her back or how she pushes off from the floor, for example. It is a partnership after all, and whether evident or not, the woman might be contributing to the partnering problems.

"You'd think they could find a violinist in NYC." [Could someone please explain to this computer dummy how you get the boxes around the text you want to refer to?]

How do they assemble the ABT orchestra? Is it a pickup orchestra or do they hire the same people every year? Does the orchestra tour with the company? I don't think it does, but I don't know for sure. And, IMHO, the audition for the first violinist should be the Swan Lake PdD.

To quote someone, just hit the reply button. Their post will appear between the quote tags. You can edit it to include only the relevant part of the post to which you are responding.

I'm assuming the soloist is the concertmaster and had a strict audition process.

I've often wondered but have never dug out my programs to check whether there's any overlap between the MET Opera orchestra and ABT.

I hate to say it but Part is miscast in SL.

Having seen Part and Bolle dance Swan Lake, I would hardly call her miscast. She danced a stellar performance of Swan Lake that night. I believe she will again. Before that performance, I didn't understand the adulation that people had given her; however, her dancing that evening made me see what everyone was talking about. It was a revelation compared to her early Sleeping Beauty performances. Regardless of how she performed with Stearns, I don't think she is miscast in Swan Lake.

Here's a link to the NYTimes review of Carreño's farewell:

NYTimes Review and the accompanying slide show of photos: slide show.

Sad news: David Hallberg just tweeted that he sprained his ankle last night, and won't be performing with Semionova tomorrow night. I'm crushed! I wonder who will replace him.

Full tweet (@DavidHallberg): "Sprained ankle from Von Rothbart in Carreno's farewell performance. Siegfried Sat. night canceled with Semionova. Bummed and in a boot."

Obviously, best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.

Hallberg tweeted a picture of the boot he is in. It goes from his foot to his knee. Looks like a serious sprain. I doubt he can recover in one week, for Sleeping Beauty. Very disappointed, I have tickets for Swan Lake with Semionova and Sleeping Beauty with Osipova. But Hallberg's recovery is priority.

I've seen the picture, and it looks to me like a standard boot used to isolate the ankle. I don't know whether one can judge the severity of the injury from the size of the boot.

IMHO, Part was more than lovely last night; I would go so far as to say she was sublime. However, if anything was missing, it was a sublime performance on the part of the first violinist, especially in the PdD of Act II and again in Act IV. I don't know how our Odette managed to keep her concentration and not to wince with every note that was off-pitch. The role is so dependent on the music, especially in the PdD, and in that regard Part was poorly served.

The violin solo playing has been distressing. I wonder why?

Did anyone see the advertisement in last Sunday's NYT Magazine for First Republic Bank? It pictures Michele Wiles with her husband and the quote, seemingly attributed to both of them, reads "When my business was growing, I received an Eagle Loan from First Republic. Their quick turnaround was critical to my success." Under the quote both names are printed, James McCullough and Michele Wiles, along with their occupations. I was perplexed by this and reread it a few times last Sunday. I began to wonder if they're in business together now.

Married to Normal Folk

I saw the ad you're referring to. Wiles looks really strange in the photo. She is wearing a black cape that totally hides her figure.

You can see the ad here:

Our Town NY Archives

It's in the June 23, 2011 edition, p. 7.

I didn't see Osipova either.

I admit I just saw dyed black hair and heard someone say that was Osipova, so I could very well be mistaken.

I am also feeling “priced out” of NYCB performances now. Unlike many other posters, I am relatively new to ballet watching. Over the past year, I saw about a dozen performances not because I’m a big NYCB fan, but because I was determined to learn more about NYCB and broaden my ballet horizons. And a big reason that I was willing to do that was because I could get reasonably-priced good seats in the front and center of the fourth ring (and sometimes the third ring if I had a discount). Under the new pricing scheme, however, I don’t think I’m willing to pay so much to sample ballets I’ve never seen before and am not sure I’ll like.

For comparison, a number of other cultural institutions offer great discounts for younger patrons, something NYCB might want to consider if they want to attract new, younger audience members.

ABT, for one, has a fantastic deal—if you’re under 30 and buy 3 or more performances, the tickets are $30 each and they are good seats in the Orchestra (Orchestra balance and rear). That’s like 3 for the price of 1! And you get exchange privileges too. Thanks to this program, not only have I seen a ton of performances, but I’ve also been able to convince many of my ballet-newbie friends to see a few. “Well, I don’t know if I’ll like ballet, but it’s only $30 each? Ok, why not!”

The NY Philharmonic has a similar program—if you’re under 35, buy 3 or more (selected) performances, and they are $32.50 each.

At Carnegie Hall, if you’re under 40 and join their Notables Prelude group by paying $20, you can then buy $20 tickets to selected performances in a certain month starting on the 1st of that month.

The Met opera weekend lottery and weekday rush also allowed me to see two performances for about $25 each—and I definitely would not have gone if I had to pay full price. As others have said, it would be fantastic for NYCB (or any cultural institution, for that matter), if they had a donor to fund a program like that!

I understand most of these programs require proof of age.

Unfortunately, I'm aging out of most of these deals.

So.... comments on tonight's performance?

I thought it was spectacular.

The cast was Odette - Julie Kent, Odile - Gillian Murphy, Siegfried Jose Manuel Carreño, Queen - Susan Jaffe, Wolfgang - Victor Barbee, Benno - Joaquin De Luz, von Rothbart - Isaac Stappas and David Hallberg, Pas de Trois - De Luz, Sarah Lane & Yuriko Kajiya.

Carreño's dancing was beautiful. He got a huge welcome on his entrance. I'll miss the control he has in his turns.

I won't be as harsh as Amour on Kent's performance. She had some lovely moments while Gillian Murphy had comparatively a multitude of lovely moments. She has the flexibility in her back that Kent lacks.

I still find it amusing that, in this production, Odile doesn't exit with Rothbart at the end of Act III. Where does she run off to? The kitchen?

It was nice to see De Luz dancing with ABT again. His Benno is superior to the soloists I've seen in the role lately (last year). (This is the only Swan Lake I'm seeing this season.)

Hallberg was amazing. Gomes and he own the role of Rothbart, and it was wonderful to see him.

The cygnets (Gemma Bond, Marian Butler, Misty Copeland, Maria Ricetto) were good. They even got their head movements together although I have yet to see a performance where they all seem to be using the same focal points.

The two swans were Simone Messmer and Melanie Hamrick.

The house appeared to be sold out. There was a lot of talking/shouting that I couldn't make out at the beginning of the 1st Act, followed by the requisite and repeated shushing from fellow audience members. Some of this, I think, had to do with people still being seating as the performance began.

Sadly, the women seated next to me and behind me felt compelled to sing along with the score at different points throughout the evening. The woman next to me whispered to her companion throughout the entire performance, used her phone to light up her program and checked her text messages too.

The orchestra has sounded better. There were a lot of clunkers tonight. The violin soloist had pitch problems in the 2nd act. Overall, his 3rd act solo was better, but it still wasn't at the level it should be.

The ovation at the end was very moving. Carreño turned and knelt to the company at what would have been the end of a regular evening's curtain call. Then they brought up the curtain on him alone. And then the company came out one by one to hug him and give him flowers. I didn't recognize everyone, but they included this evening's cast members, natch, De Luz and Jaffe, Xiomara Reyes, Paloma Herrera, Natalia Osipova, Julio Bocca, Marcelo Gomes, Maxim Beloserkovsky(?) and Cory Stearns. I'm not sure who the older man was, who hugged him before Kevin McKenzie.

And in the curtain call, Ricetto went under the curtain and only stopped curtseying when Messmer dragged her offstage. Really, the bows were almost a whole show in themselves!

It was a wonderful evening. Now, on to “Swan Lake”!

I remember Erica Cornejo diving under the curtain for her curtain call too. It was very funny.

I saw the Kudelka Cinderella when ABT first danced it. I think it was 2005 or 2006. One of the biggest negatives I remember was during the ball scene both the costumes and lighting were very dark. It was just about impossible to see the dancers' lines. Is this still the case?

I agree. I remember the lighting and set design made it difficult to see the dancers' lines and being disappointed in Cinderella's costumes.

One of the bright notes was Erica Cornejo's performance as one of the stepsisters. Her dancing and comedic timing were impeccable.