vipa

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?

5 hours ago, FauxPas said:

Many decades ago when I was but a little ballet newbie I saw a "Raymonda" Act III in 1991 danced by Cynthia Gregory and I think Jeremy Collins (he retired early and became a lawyer).  I think some time later there was rare collaboration with Susan Jaffe and Julio Bocca in the Act III?  

Some questions - I think the biggest question right now is if Alexei Ratmansky is going to sign another contract.  I don't think he has done his best original work for ABT - his ballets for NYCB are in general superior.  But I think he has been a positive artistic force at ABT and sometimes the only shining light in a murky sad landscape.

Also another question:  when Jane Hermann took over ABT around 1990, Mikhail Baryshnikov withdrew the rights to his staging of "Don Quixote", "Nutcracker" and "Swan Lake".  The company had to revert to the old David Blair "Swan Lake" and restage "Don Quixote" with choreography by Vladimir Vasiliev?  Later Kevin McKenzie did his own restaging for the "Don Quixote" and introduced the "Swan Lake" they have been doing for two decades.  When he leaves will he withdraw the rights to his productions as Baryshnikov did?  Will the company feel the need to replace his productions?  People are hoping on other threads that Ratmansky would stage his historical "Swan Lake" for ABT or NYCB.  Ratmansky also has a "Don Quixote" he has done for the Dutch Ballet among others.  The Ratmansky "Nutcracker" replaced an earlier staging by McKenzie.  I was hoping that ABT would purchase the "Paquita" sets from the Bayerisches Staatsballett which discarded the expensive physical production Ratmansky choreographed after Petipa.  

I think it all depends on the changeover.  McKenzie is retiring voluntarily and probably would be okay with continuing to make income from his revived productions.  Baryshnikov may have left on bitter terms with ABT.  I don't know the history.  

 

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.

4 hours ago, bingham said:

Actually, ABT did Nureyev’s version in the Mid -seventies. I remembered, C Gregory, MV Hamel and G Kirkland danced the leading role.

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

4 hours ago, Drew said:

I don't know what goes on behind the scenes at ABT but there may be a chicken-egg question to ask about any dancer's extra curricular activities. If Trenary was being cast in more principal parts, then maybe she would not be arranging as many other gigs. And, yes, maybe she would.  But I don't know how one can be sure, especially in the context of the pandemic which has probably made many dancers hungrier. And I believe ABT in normal times still dances less than some of the other major companies.

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.

6 hours ago, Jacqueline said:

According to several dancers' Instagram stories, Chun Wei Chan has been promoted to Principal.  I imagine there will be a special "Spring" in his step tonight and I am excited to be there to see it!   Edited to add:  just saw that Abatt already posted about this (sorry) and I agree Emilie G. belongs in those ranks as well.

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

I'm really excited about seeing PNB at the Koch. Especially for choreographers Cerrudo and Pite. Just wanted to say reasonably priced tickets are available. I just got a couple of tickets - 2nd ring, row A, centerish for $40 each. 

3 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

I'd like to wish you a warm welcome, @springnemesia and congrats on not being a lurker. 

Adding my welcome, @springnemesia, hope to read your opinions of the performances you see. 

I decided to try see the Sat. Matinee, tomorrow, but frankly want a ticket on the lower price end. They haven't opened the third ring, never mind the fourth. What's the point of having that theater, if you can only open orchestra, 1st, and 2nd ring? I understand the pricing strategy and wanting the audience somewhat consolidated, but it can be  bit frustrating.

6 hours ago, cobweb said:

 

Like others, I have been attending fewer performances than I used to. Partly that's because although I might want to see an individual ballet (Stravinsky Violin Concerto, most recently), I'm not keen on the overall program. Also, the subway ride home has become dicey enough to be a factor I have to consider. I am at my office in midtown, near Lincoln Center, every day, but most days I decide I just want to get on home while it's still light. I wonder if they've considered an earlier curtain time, like 7:00pm. I liked the intermission-less programs during the fall season, but I know not everyone was a fan and also intermissions are needed for set and costume changes. But maybe an earlier curtain could be an option. 

It would seem that overall, programming is a problem for many of us, in terms of attending. Interesting question about start times and intermissions. There was a time when all evening shows began at 8pm, and at some point, the weekday shows were changed to a 7:30 start time. I wonder if TPTB would consider 7pm. I think it's a good idea, but there may be issues I'm not thinking of. I also liked the no intermission shows, but fully recognize the limitations it imposes on programing because of needing time to put in a set etc. That said, I've seen programs in which a 20 minute intermission was inserted for no reason that I could see except for tradition and perhaps concession sales. Maybe management can rethink the whole intermission thing and use them as needed. Perhaps this is already happening. I was pleasantly surprised last Sunday, when the only intermission was after Pulchinella Variations, and after that just pauses.

3 hours ago, nanushka said:

The main problem I've had with programming under the new administration isn't well captured by the list of works, because it's more about the combinations. Quite frequently, I've found that numerous programs have one or (occasionally) two works I'm really excited to see but are much less appealing as full programs. This is the case with much of next year's calendar too. And in the past year (somewhat understandably, due to COVID), it's been exacerbated by the return, in consecutive seasons, of ballets I'm unenthusiastic about (or ones I don't feel a strong desire to see more than occasionally).

I don't necessarily blame the administration for what may be just a bad fit with the idiosyncrasies of my tastes — e.g. I love Balanchine, generally, but there are certain of his pieces that just do not do it for me — but it's been annoying and disappointing, as I find myself getting excited for far fewer programs overall.

I wouldn't rush to idiosyncrasies of taste. I find the programing mysterious. I can't figure out who the programming is designed to please. A few examples from the coming fall season. - An all Balanchine program that ends with La Sonnambula. A program that opens with Symphony in  C and then moves on to new works. There are many other examples of what I think of as bad programing. For my spring season experience so far, the only well sold house I've been in was for: Divert 15, Afternoon of a Faun, Allegro B, ad 4 T's. Again I ask, what audience are these programs designed to attract and please?

I was at the Sunday show. A few impressions. My third viewing of Pulchinella Variations and I like it less every time I see it. I'm going to start avoiding it. I really hate the costumes, which I find distracting and unflattering. I find the choreography musical in the most shallow way. I'm not sure how to express this, but the steps line up with the music note by note by note without bigger phrases. Maybe some musician out there will know what I mean and express it better. Occasionally an individual performer (Tiler Peck, Indiana Woodward, Chun Wei Chan) will shape the choreography  better with super clarity of movement, and musical phrasing, but in the end even Tiler Peck looks less than her usual glorious self. 

Scherzo a la Russe is pleasant, and a lesson in floor patterns and moving groups around. I truly don't see the need to program it.

Architects of Time - After reading the NYTimes review, I was expecting the worst, but I liked it. I found the opening section exhilarating. The references to numerous ballets not too heavy handed, and fun (I'm sure I missed plenty of them), and the dancers looked great. Emma Von Enck and Claire Krezschmar were outstanding. I'd like to see it again.

Violin Concerto was my reason for going, and I wasn't disappointed. This piece should never be out of the rep IMO. Joseph Gordon was wonderful throughout technically and musically. He's having an amazing season. He did Aria ll with Ashley Laracey, and I found the vulnerability she projected touching. I've long admired her dancing, it's nice to see her getting opportunities. Aria l with Ramasar and Phelan was well done. Management seems to have decided that in his retirement year, Ramasar gets to take extra bows. Both pas were given long, appreciative applause, but only Ramasar and Phelan took a 2nd bow. Not a complaint, just noted!

All in all the dancing was excellent - what a great company!

3 hours ago, nanran3 said:

This has often been a question of mine: Why do some male dancers continue to get roles when they are clearly "out of shape" or not slim or lithe looking?

This happens in corps, soloist and principal ranks. It seems like a real double standard.

That said, I agree that the article, at least in my reading, does not give a favorable impression of Ms. Lillo. 

Sometimes this occurs when a man is needed for his excellent partnering abilities. Particularly if he is tall and strong, and therefore a good match for the taller women. 

7 hours ago, cobweb said:

I was wondering about this from the article: 

"She asked for three years of severance pay, a release from her contract so she could dance elsewhere, and a solo curtain call at her final performance."

It's not clear whether she got what she asked for here. (Has she in fact danced elsewhere?) Later in the article it said she was now demanding $200K "in addition to the typical exit pay she had already received." It says that NYCB was NOT giving her this $200K, but that leaves unclear whether she got the earlier request for three years of severance pay. Surely three years' pay is not "the typical exit pay." 

Also unclear is whether there is a current lawsuit. The article kind of reads like there is, but the only thing I can find is the demand from her lawyer for $200K for the distress caused by being removed from the opening-night cast. I guess that means an implicit threat of a lawsuit?

Agree that much is left unsaid and is very confusing. Abi Stafford ended up getting way more than a solo curtain call at her last performance. What is meant by "could dance elsewhere"? Lot's of dancers get guest gigs, which they do with permission. Given how little she was dancing at NYCB, it seems she would have been given permission to guest elsewhere. Did she want to join another company? That seems unlikely. And given the fact that she was asking to be released from a contract, why does it make sense for her to get a large amount of severance pay?

It's a patched together piece with the purpose, I suppose, of creating a good vs bad narrative. 

I am very ignorant about how these things work, but I don't understand how the Abi Stafford thing even got on a NYTimes writer's radar. I felt the same way a while back when there was a NYT story about Ashley Bouder not getting opening night of Sleeping Beauty. The slant of the stories are something of a critique, perhaps, of how women are treated in the ballet world, and in the Abi Stafford case, a body shaming accusation is thrown in. There are serious things to be said on the topic of the culture of ballet companies, but these pieces left me with the feeling that I was getting half told stories and petty grievances. Maybe click bait?

I enjoyed the piece about the Silas Farley work, but I don't expect to read a review. I think writing on dance in the NYTimes is veering away from actual reviews. Frankly I think dance reviewers are shying away from being critical of individual dancers. I believe this is a fairly recent trend is not true of theater critics.

1 hour ago, FayBallet said:

Week Five casting is up along with Week 3 changes, but it doesn't look like there's an update on Week Four changes yet.

Sorry to see Hylin out so much. Hope she's OK. On the other hand it's nice to see Laracey get some opportunities. I've been a fan of hers for a while. 

5 hours ago, Helene said:

Dancers do a lot with their core and their plie into a jump to help their partners.  A very light weightwise partner might help not at all, turning into dead weight, and expecting the partner to do all of the work. The timing and co-ordination is also critical.

So true. It's why I didn't assume Ratmansky was necessarily talking about weight. A thin dancer who is not in in good shape in terms of core strength and a decent jump is going to be harder to partner than someone who weighs more. 

Abi Stafford was always one of my favorites in Kammermusic 2 and Concerto Barocco, but unless my memory fails, it's been quite sometime since she was cast with any frequency. I too think the article didn't do her any favors, particularly airing family dynamic issues such as a brother taking the attention from his sister on her 31st birthday! 

it's hard o get a full picture from an article like this, with space limitations, quotes out of context and people who don't comment (probably wisely). It hard for me to see what horrible injustice was done to her. Dancers are taken out of ballets, other dancers are put in. Each of those dancers has a story. I'm in no way discounting her feelings or the unhappiness she felt and feels. I wish her well.

Saw Sat. Mat. and went away with a smile on my face. What a great company!

I believe it was cobweb who expressed the idea that Divertimento 15 should be a company staple. I agree. It is a gem of a ballet and a showpiece for every cast member. Outstanding in the performance IMO were- Joseph Gordon (love the clarity of movement, and carriage), Unity Phelan who brought style and glamor to the 3rd variation and Indiana Woodward who showed her true ballerina stuff!. Really, the entire cast was excellent.

Afternoon of a Faun was all that it can be with expressive, intelligent, beautiful performances by Sterling Hylin and Adrian Danching-Waring. It's a delicate piece, in that, it relies on sensitive performers to bring it to life. A bad performance can deaden it. I made me sad that Hyltin is retiring next winter. She is in command of her powers.

Allegro Brillante with Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia - all I can say is wow. Peck kept me on the edge of my seat and super alert, because I don't want to miss one word she was saying. Mejia's is a special dancer with a joyful presence. I was particularly delighted by the quality of his partnering. 

2 T's - Olivia Boisson once again so beautiful in the Theme section. I loved Kikta's attack in Choleric. I have to admit I still miss Savannah Lowery in Sanguinic. She projected a free "go for it" style that I always loved. Hod is excellent but I feel like I can see her thinking hard about technique. Of course I can't know what she's thinking, but it reads that way to me.

Start to finish the show was a joy.

19 minutes ago, cobweb said:

If it were Maxwell in Rubies, I would be there come hell or high water. With Hyltin leaving, they have room for another petite promotion, and I vote for Maxwell. 

I too have been a Maxwell fan since she joined. I believe she was out with an injury for a while and that may have stalled things for her, but I always found her outstanding both in presence and technique.

38 minutes ago, cobweb said:

Week 4 casting is up. Many interesting debuts. I look forward to Apollo with debuts by Ashley Laracey and Sara Adams. Erica Pereira in Rubies, hmmmm. We shall see. 

Erica Pereira has leads in Baiser de la Fee and Rubies. She's been a soloist since 2009, but cast infrequently. Could be her do or die time. Glad to see Alexa Maxwell get a shot a the Cage.

1 hour ago, volcanohunter said:

It does seems like an awfully big box-office gamble.

I agree. Usually full lengths at NYCB generate great ticket sales with works like Midsummer, Coppelia or Swan Lake (which seems to sell tickets regardless of the version). Maybe Justin Peck will use a lot of SAB children, to get parents and relatives in the seats!!!

3 hours ago, canbelto said:

So sad to read about Sterling Hyltin's retirement. What a lovely dancer.

I'm sorry too. I feel like I "discovered" her late in her career! I only started seeking her out a couple of years pre-pandemic. 

What a strange piece. Has Copeland done anything that shows any interest in being an artistic director? Formed a touring group, organized performances, anything? 

What a strange article. Seems to me there are a lot of candidates out there with a lot to bring to the table. Lazy writing IMO.