vipa

I saw Lane do the old version with Cornejo. They definitely did the fish dives. Personally I found seeing the old version quite interesting so I'm glad someone did it. I don't know why Lane & Cornejo were the ones, but I can attest to the fact that they can do the fish dives.

I think it is difficult for ABT principals. Many ABT dancers in interviews, have spoken about the challenges of doing just 2 Swan Lakes a year. As a principal wouldn't be cast as much in the soloist roles you used to do. Yes, guesting may be possible. Interestingly in NYCB the dances look at soloist as the time when you perform less. You don't have the corp parts. You get soloist roles and a few principal roles. In ABT I feel the dancing less thing happens at the principal level. I may be wrong.

I think Copeland will be promoted but won't be alone. My prediction is Copeland, Abrera and someone from outside will be brought in. Long, long, long shot would be Copeland, Abrera, Lane promotion. I don't see KM promoting others but not Copeland because that would cause a flap. I don't see him promoting only Copeland especially since the Times critic said she's had an uneven season (thus far) and has been out shined by others in classical roles. My other thought is to wonder how long she'll dance once she's been promoted. She's 32 and a beautiful, poised woman with an amazing PR machine. Staying in shape to do principal roles is a hard, hard thing. Just saying.

Here's my issue with replacements. A few years about I bought a ticket for Cojocaru in SL. She was replaced be Kochetkova. I thought OK, I've never seen her, it's an opportunity. I went It was fine, not great but I got a to see a new dancer. Next year I bought a ticket to Cojocaru in SL she was replaced by Hee Seo. I was bummed because if I had wanted to see Hee Seo I would have bought a ticket to see her. I would have preferred a first timer (Reyes, Lane, anybody who doesn't usually do the role). That would have given me a reason to go. I went and left after the 2nd act. Seo wasn't awful but I'd seen her before. She was dancing it exactly as I expected and I was bored. I don't think people are dumping on Hee Seo as much as the idea of being given a dancer you could have bought a ticket for in the first place.

I love this idea. Back in the day ABT did so much touring dancers could have a shot at principal roles and therefore be ready to go in for injured dancers.

At least with Broadway shows covers and understudies are listed in the program.

This is all very interesting but I believe that we have to keep in mind that Petipa had dancers that were very different from today's dancers. Also, if you are talking about different degrees of bending the knee in turns we only have to look at Balanchine. His choreography sometimes has a dancer turn with a foot low, a foot in back etc. It's not as if this vocabulary has been lost. To me this SB is a period piece which I'm glad I saw but won't spend money on again.

Thank you som much kbarber. I didn't know the NYPL had podcasts. Along with Suzanne there's a treasure trove of interviews.

I agree that Lane couldn't step in now. However, she did say in an interview that she was taught the role on tour because it looked like Hee Seo wouldn't be able to perform. I ended up that Seo could so Lane never did it. Perhaps Lane and others should get to do these roles a couple of times on tour. That may give the AD more options when things happen. I'm not even saying that Lane could of gone on tonight, just that she could be in the mix of options.

Thank you for your well articulated response ABT Fan. I have to wonder if Perron applies the same standard to every book she reads, every play or movie she sees, or every music concert she goes to.

I've seen video of Sarah Lane guesting in the role. Totally delightful. I sure don't think of Copeland as soubrette.

Kaysta I'm glad you also find this interesting. Maybe as a history buff (notice I didn't say nerd) you might know if people in Petipa's day were allowed to change choreography to suit their strengths. I'm thinking of Tchaikovsky pas de deus. Balanchine was still alive when there were many different versions of the man's variation, all were done with his suggestions and blessing.

I find thinking about and discussing this sort of thing fascinating. Take a Bach as an example. Unless we go to a concert in which period instruments are used and players have made a study of baroque playing, we hear the notes that Bach wrote played on modern instruments with a wide variety of interpretations that differ greatly in terms of tempo, dynamics, phrasing etc. Another thing is audience. We can never see Petipa's choreography the way the audience he was trying to entertain did. It is an interesting idea to mull over. One thing I thought of recently was that Ratmansky let the dancers wear modern pointe shoes. They look very different from the ones worn in Petipa's day. The demi-pointe chaines may have worked better in oid style shoes but the rest I strongly suspect wouldn't have worked.

I know what you mean canbelto but really SB is about Aurora. That's the way it is with full length story ballets. Swan Lake is about O/O. No matter how good the corps or the pas de trois is, if the lead isn't good it isn't satisfying. If I go to see Giselle, having the greatest peasant pas on earth isn't enough.

After seeing this production once I've crossed it off my list to see again regardless of who Aurora is. As much as I disliked the last version, that wasn't the case. Also, I really don't know anyone I'd recommend this to, where as in the last version I would say - if you can see so-and-so go buy a ticket. This isn't really a star turn. What I am wondering is if this will be modified, changed etc. I hate to say this but it makes me favor the NYCB version.

I'd love more interesting rep nights. As others have said Tudor's Romeo & Juliet (I know dream on). I'd love Push Comes to Shove. Maybe Ailey's River, Billy the Kid with the right lead. I agree with the idea of throwing a flashy pas in here and there. It would give some of the younger principals and maybe even soloists practice in black swan or Don Q pas without the pressure of carrying the whole ballet. Especially since they don't have a lot of chances to perform them. If you only do 2 or 3 Swan Lakes a year it would be nice to at least have the chance to get more comfortable performing Black Swan pas. No more Theme and Variations, they do it better across the plaza.

Thank you canbelto. I find this line of thought so interesting. 4 T's and Pillar of Fire are different IMO in that they have to be part of a rep night. Throw Fancy Free in there and everyone is happy, and hopefully some are taken with the other ballets. My experience has been that a lot of first timers go for full length story ballets, thinking it will be easier to understand. Truthfully I'd warn most people away from this production.

I guess my question is - What audience is this aimed at? People who have seen other versions? People who are interested in dance history? First timers who think Sleeping Beauty sounds nice to take their kids to? In my inarticulate way I'm wondering who will come to see this production and come back for more. I just don't see this as a winner for ABT. BTW I never recommend Nutcracker to first timers. A lot of people find the first act really boring.

Interesting Amour. I agree with this. I'm not sure who I would recommend this version to and perhaps that is a problem. When people I encounter find out that I had been a professional ballet dancer they often ask if I have suggestions for a first timer. If they are looking for a story ballet, and it's available, I suggest NYCB Midsummer Night's Dream, and am invariably thanked for that suggestion. I would never suggest this version of SB. I don't think someone new to ballet would become a fan of ballet after seeing it. I don't thing moving backwards in time is useful for audience building.

To me this version of Blue Bird serves neither dancer. Neither gets to really show off and flaws are really exposed. I'll be interested to see how well this version of SB sells after the premier season. Personally I don't think it serves the dancers well and it is so differently stylistically from every thing else it will always eat up a lot of rehearsal time. Re Sarah Lane. I wish she'd get out of there before it's too late. She isn't going to be promoted to principal and others will be promoted to soloist. She'll get less ad less to do. I saw her Aurora in 2008 and thought it a stunning debut for a first timer in her early 20's. The only complaint I heard about her performance was that she smiled too much. It took 6 years for her to be cast in it again. To me that is talent abuse.

That's a wonderful film clip. I wonder how many times Fonteyn did the role before arriving at that? ABT dancers have a strong disadvantage in that area. Lane didn't even have a shot at performing Aurora, in this production, before hitting the Met stage. I was actually surprised (but pleased) that she was cast. I guess bottom line for me it that I enjoyed her performance and characterization and others found her very lacking.

I have to say that is an unfair comparison which is often a problem with youtube. Cojocaru, who is one of my favorite dancers of all time, has done that pas many times and it was filmed under great conditions. The Lane/Gorak one was not only their first time out but (according to their face book pages) was done on a bad stage, after driving many miles and barely having time to warm up. However, the biggest problem for me is that you are comparing one of the greatest dancers of all time to a fine dancer. Most dancers would compare poorly to Cojocaru.

I just want to second this. I've thought about the idea put forth by some, that Lane dances small. I don't agree so I tried to think about what I personally think of as dancing small. For me Lane covers space well, has elegant line and her port de bras has fullness and amplitude in spades. She never has a problem filling out a legato musical phrase the way dancers who dance small do (in my way of looking at dancing small). Someone mentioned Copeland as an example of a short dancer who doesn't dance small. I agree, but it is by virtue of an extroverted, high energy performance style. Lane's performance style is different. I found her performance detailed, beautiful and captivating. For me she is one of the few high quality female dancers at ABT. The idea of dancing small is an interesting one. Many on stage Thursday night were guilty of it, By that I mean dancing under themselves, barely moving, having no musical concepts, not filling out the musical phrase. For my personal taste Lane did not dance small.

I think a lot of the audience thought so too. There wasn't the usual gasp on hears when a dancer falls. I think she slipped on the queens cape. It was during the prick a finger acting scene, not mid dance so I could easily see how one could think is was part of the show. I was in Dress Circle and didn't think Lane danced small. Her port de bras so generous and open that it makes me love her.

I know it's been said before but one problem at ABT is rep. A lot of full length story ballets have very little for the corps to do or very little that's challenging for them to do. Contrast that with NYCB which has a lot of ballets that are wickedly hard for the corps, but enables them to get on stage doing challenging stuff, showing TPTB what they can do, and motivating them to stay in top shape. It's tough for everyone at ABT