vipa

Aww - I am a big Federer fan too. Closest thing we'll ever see to ballet on the tennis court!

I was at this afternoon's performance. It was great seeing cobweb at intermission! The blazing highlight of the day was Tiler Peck/Joseph Gordon Tchaikovsky pas. Peck's musical imagination is unmatched. I've seen the pas many, many times, yet she played with the musical phrasing in ways I'd never seen before, but always with taste and without distortion. Joseph Gordon's partnering was stellar and allowed Peck total freedom. His variation and coda were beautiful and thrilling. Raymonda Variations was led by Isabella La Freniere and Chun Wei Chan (replacing Peter Walker). Chan had some difficulties in his variations here and there, so IMO didn't fully pull off the virtuoso aspects of the piece. That said he has great stage presence and his dancing has a joyful buoyancy. It could be that the slight mishaps were due to being a replacement. For all I know he could have just learned the piece. La Freniere is a principal in the making. She has technique, presence and musicality. I look forward to seeing her develop. The variations were all good, I'll comment on two. Mira Nadon is exceptional in every way. I feel that way whenever she sets foot on the stage. Olivia MacKinnon did the first variation, which ends with hops on pointe that cross the stage. She got stuck in place, instead of traveling, but she didn't come off pointe. I hope next time she's able to cover space, which is fun to see! My first viewing of Piano Pieces. I am probably in the minority here, but I don't care for it. It seemed disjoined. There's ballet with a folk dance flavor, "funny" folk dance-sections, ballet duets and solos, some of which add a folk dance gesture. The order of the sections seemed random. Anthony Huxley is a fine dancer with exceptional technique, line, clarity of movement. He is not served well by this cutesy, choreography. All in all, the company looks great. The next generation is coming and will be ready!

Wow a lot going on. Thank you for the update. I'm sorry to hear of anyone's illness or injury (hope another round of COVID hasn't hit the company), but I admit I look forward to seeing Chan in Raymonda on Sat. Sorry for Hyltin. She's retiring in a few months, and it's sad to see her miss shows.

I agree that at this point in his career Ulbricht's rep is unlikely to expand. As far as I know he never did Allegro Brillante. I think he would have been great in Donizetti Variations. As far as partnering goes, it can be worked on and improved. Mejia didn't walk into NYCB a great partner, and over at ABT Simkin took a while to become a decent partner. In comparing Ulbricht's height to others, sometimes with shorter men, it isn't a matter of exact height, it's a matter of proportions. My best guess is that Ulbricht's overall look and proportions were deemed wrong for certain roles, by TPTB. I've always been a Ulbricht fan, I think we've all been cheated!

I have thought this about Ulbricht for a number years now. When he was finally given Oberon, after a century as Puck, he was spectacular in the role. I fear it is too late in his career for him to be cast better than he is, but I look forward to seeing him in the Oct. Tharp show at City Center.

I agree that Lane made a very un-savvy remark about being a small, light dancer who was therefore paired with small men. Shorter men who are virtuoso dancers tend to focus on their own variations and "tricks" and not so much on partnering in a company like ABT that does lot of full lengths. I saw many shows in which Lane was not served well by Simkin or Cornejo, but they both became better partners as time went on. On the other hand she was sometimes given opportunities because a short dancer like Simkin or Cornejo needed a small partner. Unfortunately there were times when, IMO, she didn't seize the moment.

Megan Fairchild did an interesting interview with Lajeromeny Brown that left me with the feeling that ballet was not Brown's main focus or field, so I'm not surprised. Great interview!

On instagram, Bouder posted a picture of herself in Scotch from years ago, with a statement about her past year https://www.instagram.com/p/CidkhdEPQfB/ Bouder's rep tends to be very technical, so maybe she's doing what she can handle as she returns. That said, I'd love to see Laracey get a chance. Nadon too, but she does have a lot of time.

Funny you should mention it cobweb. I was just making similar observations about the website. I've found it easiest to click on "view full calendar" and then the date I'm interested in. A list of the ballets being performed pops up. Awkward, at best. The overall look and layout of the site makes we wonder who it is aimed at.

I enjoyed the New Yorker excerpt very much. I'd read much of the information before from other sources, but some details were new to me and Homans pulled things together nicely. Quite a stark reminder of the state of the Cold War at the time. The end of the piece was disappointing to me. It seemed like a lot of speculation and psyche diving on the part of Homans. There is no way to know what she states as fact. "...a mirror broke in his mind. He could no long hold a nostalgic reflection of himself....." I don't care how many people she spoke to, these are conclusions that she can't be certain of. To me it comes off as pretentious.

I agree. This campaign is a miss, IMO, and I usually like the NYCB advertising.

I'll miss her. Even in the corps she was always a stand out. She's been the co-host of City Ballet the podcast and done some interesting work there. I wonder if she'll continue in that capacity. She also put on a small scale, fun production of Nutcracker during the pandemic. Whatever direction she chooses to go in, I wish her well.

Lane is a dancer with special qualities. When she's on and it all comes together she's transcendent. I wish her well in these performances.

I've found Cassandra Trenary to be very versatile stylistically. Not only great in Tharp, but wonderful in Jessica Lang's Zig Zag (a piece many on this board hate!), and fabulous in the Michelle Dorrance piece done for Tyler Peck's show in City Center.

I never saw Part as Aurora, but I really liked Cynthia Gregory in the role. I thought there was a real sweetness to it. Plus, there was a delicacy to her appearance as opposed to Martine Van Hamel (a contemporary of Gregory's), who was maybe an inch taller but had a much sturdier look (IMO). Aurora is usually on the short side but I don't think height should be the single element that rules people in or out of the role.

So true, but at that time, ballets that required dramatic ballerinas, and male principals who could act, were a bigger and more regular part of the ABT rep - Fall River Legend, Lilac Garden, 3 Virgins and a Devil, Dark Elegies, Green Table etc. are examples. Sallie Wilson was known as a strong interpreter of Tudor works.

Interesting to see so many promotions so close to a change in artistic leadership.

I was at the matinee today. Something of a mixed bag in many ways, IMO. T&V with Cornejo and Brandt was good but far from great. Cornejo's partnering was beautiful in elegance and presentation. In his solos he made accommodations, particularly in the 2nd one. He come out with beautiful, big sissone/rond de jambes. Then he cut the repeat of another step and did a bit of walking around to set up for the double tours/pirouette sequence. He took this at a super fast tempo (easier on the legs). I thought the fast tempo took some of the grandeur and nobility from the step, but as a wise and seasoned professional, Cornejo was a man with a plan, and he made the variation work. I enjoyed it. Brandt went for everything, technically, and mostly accomplished it with a few very slight mis-steps. Yet, I didn't find her performance compelling. To me, it was lacking in musical imagination and individualism. It was oddly generic. The four demi-soloists seemed to be working to get through. Zimmi Coker was the most on top of the situation. I don't have much to say about Alonzo King's Single Eye, other than there were several points at which it could have ended, and that would have been fine with me. I know Zig Zag isn't a popular work, on this board, but this is my second viewing and I enjoyed it even more that the first. I find it joyfully goofy. This time around I noticed even more subtle jokes, gentle gender bending and nuances than I did the first. And seeing Cassandra Trenary having a blast on stage is a treat. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

I'm really looking forward to Sat. mat and Cornejo. I think T&V is hard for any dancer, but for all Baryshnilov's amazing technique, I don't think he was at his best in that ballet. He was wonderful, of course, but to me he looked like his was in a straight jacket. I've seen other men perform it better.

So agree that DeLuz was fabulous in Theme in his retirement performance. I've also seen Deluz, Veyette and Peter Martins alternate single and double pirouettes in the double tours/pirouette sequence. Baryshnikov didn't end with a double tour like most do, he added another pirouette. I don't think the two companies have different requirements, but sometimes make accommodations. I've seen two men at NYCB, over the years, take a longer walk around to get into place for the first double tours, and therefore do fewer jumps and turns.

The thing is, way back in the day, when ABT went on long tours, soloists had opportunities to dance principal roles. A former soloist with ABT told me she did O/O on tour but never in NYC, however, she was ready. If you don't have this type of back up, your options are, young, healthy principals picking up the slack (as abatt described) or quick imports from other companies.

Anyone else read Toni Bentley's, Serenade? I just finished it, and enjoyed it very much. There are times when Bentley can veer to the sensationalistic (although other dancer books I've read recently, do more so). Still, I could have done without the hints as to the identity of her first lover, and accounts of Petipa as wife abuser. These things, however, are a very small part of the work. Bentley carefully takes us through the ballet, Serenade, from start to finish while telling us about learning it at SAB, performing it under Balanchine, its history and evolution, Lincoln Kirstein's thoughts as demonstrated in his letters, and Tchaikovsky's feelings about the music, as opposed to a commissioned work he was creating at the same time. There's also a good dose of Balanchine's biography, where he fits into ballet history, Bentley's memories of his company class, and other dancers' recollections of his rehearsals. Some things were not new to me, but others were and Bentley made connections I hadn't thought of. It also made me very hungry to see the ballet again. There are sections that I know I'll watch with fresh eyes. BTW - I borrowed it as an ebook from the NY Public Library! Many recent publications, written by dancers, are available there.

Amen to that. Plot Point is ingenious. Wish a New York company would do some of her works. I've been watching what I can on youtube!

I saw the PNB Sat. Mat and enjoyed it very much. It's rare for me to watch a program of three different contemporary choreographers and enjoy them all! I believe my favorite was Chrystal Pite's Plot Point. I'd love to see it again, and really wish that New York companies did her choreography, I'd love to see more of it. She presented, summed up, and captured, every cliche, common plot devise, emotion, and tone found in film noir and did it in a sometimes sweet, often funny, always entertaining way. I found the choreography ingenious. Tharp's, Waiting at the Station, IMO, shows Twyla at her best. Great structure, moving groups around fantastically, interesting choreography, and fun music. The Three Fates got the best roles! The locomotive coming in at the end was way over he top, but if you have the budget, why not! The program opened with Cerrudo's, Little mortal jump. I've seen a bit of his work at the Joyce, but he's another choreographer I wish we'd see more of in New York. I love the movement quality that he creates. I don't dare mention individual dancers. I'm not very familiar with the company and the list of replacements read by the stage manager, both at the start of the show and before the last piece, was mind blowing. My guess is that COVID hit the company. Two dancers in the Tharp work danced wearing medical face masks. Comment on the rep. I know Diamonds was done on opening night, but after that there was no "standard" rep familiar to NYC audiences. On one hand, I'm had I got to see the pieces and choreographers I saw. On the other, I love seeing companies do standard rep, be it Balanchine or Petipa, because it's interesting to see the tone another company can bring to a piece, and it's nice to see how dancers measure up in classical or neoclassical ballets. One can't have everything. I had an enjoyable afternoon!

I think it's also about what donors will support and what the board of directors will raise money for. Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty restoration must have cost a ton of money. The demands of the style make it pretty "guest artist" proof. After viewing it once, I won't go back