vipa

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

So true Helene. I remember ABT having rep shows that offered several short narrative or dramatic works, like the ones you named. Ailey's The River, and Feld's Intermezzo are other examples. Sometimes they threw in a flashy pas de deux like Black Swan or Grand Pas Classique. They actually had a pretty deep rep. in their history.

Filling seats might be a topic unto itself. The Met is huge. Back in the day, the Royal Ballet came to the Met and was often standing room only for Fonteyn and Nureyev and even Sibley and Dowell. Everyone knew who Nureyev was. He was in the news, in gossip columns etc. Over at State Theater, there was an audience eager to see what Balanchine had up his sleeve. At the same time ballet dancers were on magazine covers, and on TV variety shows. Twyla Tharp was part of the fashion scene. Now, the media landscape has changed significantly. Filling the Met seems daunting, and NYCB rarely opens the fourth ring, and sometimes even has the 3rd ring closed. It's a complicated issue with a lot of factors. The world has changed.

The thing about BAM is that it regularly draws a somewhat different crowd than the Met. The BAM audience is younger and more diverse in general. It's an audience that's used to going to see new works, Mark Morris, music and dance from different cultures, etc. When I saw Giselle at BAM, I was surrounded by people who had never seen a production of the traditional ballet. It was a BAM audience. ENB may have done a good marketing job, but the BAM audience is ever ready for something new.

Just bought my ticket for the Brandt/Cornejo T&V. The ballet is a tricky beast, DuLuz pulled it off in fine fashion in his retirement show, but I've seen it defeat some younger dancers over the years, I'm not naming names. I have confidence that Cornejo can pull it off. I'm not much of a full-length, story ballet person, so I won't be seeing ABT much. I greatly appreciate everyone's reports on individual dancers! I hope, under Susan Jaffe, there will be fewer war horses and (IMO) bad productions. If so I'll attend more performances.

I keep thinking about this performance/production (a good sign). Today a thought about Hilarion came to me. In the traditional Giselle, Hilarion gets it in the end at the hands of the Wilis, and I always thought - poor guy, he loved Giselle but ended up dying because she didn't love him enough to try and save him. He didn't really betray her. In the Khan version Hilarion is a much more complex character. He may be doing it for his own good and that of his community, but he is complicit in keeping the system going. He encourages his fellow outcasts to lower their heads to the wealthy, and plays both sides in a way. The Willis killing him takes on a different tone. He was complicit in oppression with, perhaps, complicated motives. Just a thought.

Just got back from the Sat. Mat and loved it. I'd like to see it again. I've seen the film, which I would recommend. First off great dancing all around (I didn't see the Roja cast). I know Giselle putting the bamboo cane in her mouth has been mentioned. I saw it as part of her initiation into a group of creatures who were primal, ferocious, no longer human. The Queen of the Wilis held the cane in her mouth at one point. I found it visceral almost animalistic. I thought the use of those canes effective through-out. I was also struck that with this very feral portrayal of the Wilis, Giselle is very different from them in expression, stance, movement quality. It's as if she's too close to life and love, to be one of them. In the first act, a couple of things stood out to me as important dramatic differences between this version and the traditional. Here the peasants are the "Outcasts," displaced factory workers put out of work by rich, greedy land owners. The Outcasts are kept behind a wall and treated callously even cruelly by the rich landowners. When Albrecht dresses like an outcast to visit Giselle, he is aware of their lives and oppression at the hands of his people. In the traditional version we have happy peasants and basically benign royalty. There is no hint of one class oppressing another. I'm not saying there should be, just that it adds a layer of drama, and an additional dimension to Albrecht. Also, in this version Hilarion (who gets some great dancing), is describe as a "shape shifter" and "fixer." He mimics the landowners but knows how to trade with them to benefit himself and his community. He's an interesting character. The music works. There are snippets from the original score repeated and developed, sounds that I wouldn't call music, and original themes. As I've said I'd love to see it again. 2 other things about the experience. No programs. A card with a QR code I don't care, but the two people next to me complained bitterly. Also, I had a mezzanine tkt. As we entered, an usher offered mezzanine tkt holders, orchestra seats. i stuck with what i had, since I prefer front of mez to back of orchestra. I don't know if this ticket swap thing is something BAM does or specific to this show. Anyone know?

I'm sure budgets/funding for new productions is a big factor. New productions cost a lot of money in sets, costumes, and rehearsal time. Tossing aside a production that seems to be working OK, and is selling tickets is a big decision.

I remember seeing that production. I remember Cynthia Gregory as being wonderful, and the ballet as being very, very long!

I don't think it has to be an either/or situation. ABT has a lot of weeks of non-employment. NYCB has more work weeks than ABT but a number of their dancers have other projects, both choreographically and as performers.

Is casting for Theme out. I'd like to know before I buy a ticket.

I'd go see Trenary in SL for sure. For my money she is one of ABT's most interesting dancers. I'd be interested in seeing her choices.

Well deserved, Chun Wei Chan is a fabulous addition to the company. I admit I'm surprised his promotion came before Roman Mejia's.