SanderO

I am completely unqualified to critique dance or choreography but I want to get the ball rolling and read what others had to say about Twyla's Rabbit and Rogue and the opening performance of Etudes. So here follows my impressions. One thing that comes through in Twyla choreography is an abiding love and understand of dance and movement. Sitting through this work is an exhilarating experience for the audience and must be an exhausting one for the performers. In the Upper Room had this same physically draining feeling to watch. The only emotion she managedto get from me last night, is some laughter because she has her dancers do some... to my eyes, completely ridiculous movements.. goofy awkward and so "anti-ballet." I can almost imagine that something I, completely with no dance training might do and of course be laughed at! I simply don't get why one would have such brilliant artists do such silly, graceless and awkward looking things. But not all the choreography is like that, and some of it is more in the vain of the first piece Etude, although it uses more modern vernacular of movement. I found the costumes largely unappealing except the more classical looking ones. Again I looked for meaning here and could find none and visually alone they did nothing for me but made me think "why?". Perhaps I am just not getting it. in last nights performance the dancers who were thrilling were Stiefel (though I didn't care for much of the choreography she has him do), Herman Cornejo who was once again a dynamo of energy and control, and Paloma Herrera who surprised me with how much fun she seemed to have with this non classical role. But Maria Ricetto was perfect for this piece, especially her long body which cut space like a knife (and she wasn't wearing that plastered smile on her face which distracted me in my last viewing of her work. Maria, you nailed it. A beautiful performance. Brava! For me, the big disappointment was Gillian Murphy who looked completely out of place in that role (and a bit heavier to my eye). My impression was she was there because it was her job, not because of her love of dance. The two works being performed in one evening, were both very much about movement and ensemble, with Etudes being derived from classic ballet and no attempt to give meaning to the pure aesthetic of classic movements dancers do in class. The work brilliantly allows us to see how the basic ballet movements are stunning in themselves and woven together into what we see as ballet. Ms Twarp's work seems to take off where the Lander choreography ends and continues to de construct familiar ballet (and movement). Michelle Wiles had the lead in Etude and she seemed to be a bit stiff while being perfect. She has a gorgeous long neck but at times it makes me think it forces her to be a bit stiff in the upper body from her shoulders up.. appearing like a marble statue and not a flesh and bones ballerina. Paloma does does not give this impression, however. Regardless of my apparent lack of understanding of Rabbit and Rougue I am astounded at how the these movement geniuses manage to learn and perform this intricate works with such precision and at times virtuosity and make it look they been dancing the piece for ages. And for the life of me I cannot even fathom the mental process involved in creating such a complex work. It all inspires awe in me. Having seen Etudes performed recently by Kirov at CC, I thought the ABT did the piece beautifully but lacked a bit of the precision that Kirov's corps managed. I also realized how much more intimate the CC is for ballet and you feel so engaged over there. I am really liking the CC experience more and more and the Met Opera seems like a huge stadium compared with a cozy club. I am looking forward to Don Q and a return to some classic repertoire next week. There were two conductors last night. Charles Barker for Etude and Ormsby for the Rabbit. I prefer the way Barker gets music out of the orchestra. Interesting contrast that was too. Please finish the construction. The experience outside the hall is painful.

I made a bet with the ABT people in the MetOpera lobby that DV would be pulled from DonQ on the 11th. That would make 3 out of 4 casting changes for my tix and there's tonight too. Who knows. This makes it sound like a serious injury. How awful. Let's hope she recovers completely.

I know they read this site because I discuss it with some managment there! In fact I told them I learn information about cast changes here before I read it elsewhere. BT is where it's at! I hope that Ms Part is promoted to Principal. Now that would be interesting!

Just a point here about "news sources".. what constitutes a news source? Are blogs, such as Huffington Post a news source? Is James Wolcott's blog a new source? I am not disputing your policy of not linking to other discussions boards, but can you explain the wisdom of that policy?

Hagland your explanation may very well be spot on and I certainly am not qualified to figure out a schedule with appropriate partnering and on. They may have done the best they could under the circumstances. Let's hope that the rest of the season runs smoothly and everyone recovers.

There may be an unofficial policy and a different one in practice which they won't actually state. Of course, as noted this may not allow an out of towner to make the exchange and this too discriminates against those who don't live close enough and avail themselves of the walk up to the box office and make the exchange non written policy. I suppose my position is that the no exchange policy should be abandoned and all purchasers should be allowed to make exchanges when program changes are announced if the exchange is requested 48 hrs before curtain (or some reasonable time). Since the exchange policy does not "harm" the company for subscription sales, why should it harm it for individual ticket purchase sales? Obviously it doesn't and this policy is wrong headed and discriminatory. And those who bear the brunt of this are those who come from out of town at great expense who expect to see a particular performance. Robert, I am not second guessing the ABT, but I am confused about how they handled this injury and the cast changes which ensued. At the very least they need to limit the cascading impact of an injury through the season. in the case of the Corsaire last Wednesday none of the scheduled performers was injured, but the two principals were changed and a corps member danced the lead. Ha????

To answer your questions, I am not a dancer but an architect who has been attending ballet for years but only regularly for the last 6 or 7. I am aware that injuries when not treated or left to heal can become worse or permanent. No one wants that to happen. Nor am I saying that Ms Vishneva is not injured. But to your point, the injury happened more than a month ago supposedly and she went on to perform the dying swan at the Gala WITH an injury. Now this appears on the face to be imprudent and risky as you point out. And it would seem that she should have rested and not appeared in the Gala. But she did and why she did I have no idea nor whose decision this was. But even after the gala ABT did not announce the recent cast change (for last night and did so 72 hours before the performance) because apparently the injury is worse than they thought at first, but they hope to get her on stage for Don Q on the 11th. I hope Ms Vishneva has a full recovery. She has a lot more to give. Ms Annaniashvili was wonderful and I am thrilled and feel privileged to see her perform and I thought her arms and hands were extraordinary.

I suspect in the case of this most recent series of casting changes you have a number of "issues" at play. One is that one injury can cascade through the entire schedule. In the case of last Wednesday's Corsaire, the scheduled dancers were not injured and conceivably could have performed, except some of them had to substitute for other performers who may have stood in for someone injured. It's one thing to cut some slack when the SCHEDULED performed is injured, but not so easy when they are not. Second. You had an ABT star who also is a Kirov principal and has her own production going on (Beauty). So obviously, it is clear that neither Kirov nor ABT has lots of control over Ms Vishneva. She's a hot commodity so I suspect she can "wield" more power as to what she does and when and subject herself to injury from overwork etc. I am not saying she is not sensible and doesn't want to perform. I think she does. But I also think she is "milking" her career for everything she can at her age and these careers can be short and even short when some injuries tragically end them way too early. I think there is a sense of time there and a sense of infallibility at work and the ABT and Kirov are kind of along for the ride with some of these "hot dancers". Third, It appears that the injury was not properly evaluated. I know nothing about "sports medicine", but these artists have the best tuned bodies in the world and presumably the best trainers and doctors to care for them. This may not be an exact "science" but there seemed to be a "let's see how she feels approach" and that sounds more like a mommy than the professionals that should be attending to this matter. Forth, There is little accountability here. The company simply changes the schedule, announces an injury (no real explanation is ever offered) and no refunds or real economic consequences. Fans will huff and puff and sit through the substitution or see some new star born, but they will be back for more. There's just not that many games in town or teams to support. Fifth, This recent incident has exposed the bizarre nature of the ABT refund exchange policy. Subscribers are offered percs for their support. Fine. While they get first dibs on seating they also get exchange privileges that others don't. ABT maintains they need to have percs or they couldn't get subscribers. Fine. Give then a pass to the Belmont room or a x% discount on their tickets. Why make individual ticket purchasers have NO refund or exchange rights. Why PUNISH those who purchase individual tickets with no privileges so subscribers have more? I am looking at a 15" stack of programs, mostly from the ABT performances I attended with my wife over the past several years. That represents thousands of dollars in individual tickets and subscription sales and support...and hundreds of hours of wonderful performances and experiences at the ballet. But jeez louise why must I be treated like I bought a ticket to the bleachers and they changed the starting pitcher and just shut up and watch the game. We understand and feel miserable when these dancers are injured and can't perform. This must be a terrible thing for them, more than we can imagine. We just want, as consumers to be treated fairly (at least this one does). ABT if you are reading. Think about it.

I largely agree with drb's review, but would add a few comments. I was disappointed to not see Vishneva perform, but Nina was wonderful as were David and Marcelo. I sense ABT is actually quite upset with Vishneva. The corps performed both well and poorly. The good work was at the end when they were swans and the weak work was in the scenes such as the May pole. Two of them dropped the ribbons as they danced around it. They also couldn't work as one at times. I was not thrilled with Ormsby's "interpertation" of some of the more lyrical passages and it felt that he wasn't getting the sweetness from them I expected. I'm not a musician but a few passages just sounded terrible to my ears and the performers seemed to struggle a bit to look lyrical. I did get the impression that perhaps some more rehearsals could have solved all of the kinks I observed as some of this choreography looks quite intricate to get so much working with precision. Question to historians here: Are the headdresses the women wear (not the swan muffs) but the other ones at the court... are these examples of actual items worn at some time in the past in history or are the the creation / design of the costume designer? They looked like gold wire ear muffs with a headband or something. I don't care about perfect historical accuracy in a fairy tale, but was curious about some of these ""styling choices". Anyone know about these items? On another note: Rose tossing A man got himself all the way down to the front of the left aisle (facing the stage) with a supply of stemmed roses which he tossed onto the stage. What struck me is his throwing accuracy and Ms Annaniashvili even managed to catch one bouquet. I would think that rose tossing at a "target" is rather difficult. He was rather good at this.

is this structure because the dancers want more freedom to perform with other companies and the companies can't foster a collection of principal and soloist dancers who only work with one company? Opera singers free lance and I have no real sense than the power of the Met is to organize and mount elaborate productions from lots of "free lance" talent. Is ballet following this path?

I read about the casting change here at Ballet Talk. I called up ABT and was connected with Kelly Ryan who is the their PR person. I explain that I been attending many performances of ABT for the last 5 or 6 years both as a subscriber and as a individual ticker purchaser to see specific dancers/performaces... such as a string of Manons a few years back. I then went on to explain that I also donate a small sum each year and that I was getting killed by their cast changes and each year as many as half the castings I purchased have been substituted. This happened last Wednesday and now this week and I suspect will on the 11th. I happened to be at work and it is not convenient to even go to the box office and exchange them even if I had the tix one me. I didn't. And I was busy all day today and tomorrow so exchanging them in person was almost impossible. But Ms Ryan disappeared to talk to "someone" and returned to tell me that exchanges are ONLY accommodated to subscriptions purchases and so there was nothing they could or world do. That is there written policy. It's not that I don't like seeing the ABT perform, but I like to select the performances/castings to see and I don't see why after forking over thousands to these people over the last few years they were unable to accommodate me when they pulled a switcheroo and announced it 72 hours or so before the performance. I further explained that they KNEW Diana was injured, allowed her to perform injured at their Gala for "4 minutes" as the dying swan but failed to even put up a notice that she was injured and might not perform on the 29th. That would have given some us time to mail in or go to the BO and finagle an exchange. Am I to believe that her injury caused all the cast changes lately? Of course last Wednesday there was nothing physically the matter with Ms Herrera or Mr Gomes, but they were taken out and Dvorovenko and a corps member Cory Stearns danced the roles. I don't think they were well matched and I thought that both of their performances left lots to be desired. But what do I know? Ryan told me that Stearns was well reviewed. Perhaps, but that is not the point and I will bet that he will not be partnering with Irina again. The ABT did bad. And they need to understand that they can't be doing this type of stuff and expect loyal support. Carbro, I am sorry, but I beg to differ about waiting till the last minute to announce something that I suspect they already knew. Ryan so much as told me that Diana was injured when she was allowed to do the Dying Swan. And the reason she was (in my opinion)... because it was their gala and all their big money people were there and they wanted their "Russian Ballerina" who got all the press recently to do the dying swan a la Anna Pavlova. The ABT and the Met Opera may be non profit, but they are big businesses and they need to act a bit better to the public. Please stop sending all that garbage mail and requests for support and wasting your money. I've begged the Met Opera BO to stop sending me all the fillers with my tickets, it's wasteful. I don't need the paper/info and they don't get it. THEY WASTE. I am going to the performance tomorrow and if Ms Ryan is there she's going to have to hear once again from the horse's mouth. I am not buying their "story".

I think the exchange policy offered only to subscribers is offensive to ballet fans who pick and choose the performance they wish to see based on casting. I do understand the these companies view subscribers an economic force that needs to be offered some percs. I suppose that they might get first pick at seats and be offered the same season after season and subscribers might very well be serious balletomanes with even multiple subscriptions. So it makes sense to offer them "some value added" for their "bulk purchases". But why not cut the others a little slack especially for late announced casting changes? If an exchange is offered there is no financial loss assuming that they will sell the unused returned tickets. And further... musical comedy can be no less demanding on a performer, they have smaller theaters and they offer exchanges. I do know if this policy is a Met Opera one and or and ABT one, but I just don't see the wisdom of it. It's surely not making me feel I am cared about as an audience member who has forked over thousands of dollars over the last few years alone.

The ABT responded to my "complaint" with some blather about every bit of marketing literature about ticket sales explains that there are no refunds and that they reserve the right to make cast changes. She also stated that exchanges are possible for subscription tickets something like a week before tickets go on sale to the general public. In this case, where a dancer is removed after the season starts there are no exchange possibilities. Of course, it doesn't matter if you are a subscriber, and a individual ticket purchaser and a supporting member. Tough nuggies I feel I am about the get a series of casting switcheroos Thursday, then the 4th and again for Don Q on the 11th. If this happens to use the word "disappointed" is hardly what comes to mind. I fully plan to protest in any way I can. The issue for me is that these performances were chosen specifically for the casting and this almost feels like I am being gamed. While I understand that an injury would prevent someone from performing, when they make a cast change they should offer a full refund if the purchaser wants it. This doesn't mean that I won't attend another ballet, but it does mean that I want to attend those of MY choosing and that includes the casting in the case of the ABT. Maybe they should not even publish casting and turn it into you see the cast that they stand up for that performance. Somehow I don't think ballet (or opera fans) would bite at that approach, though it's coming down to it by "default". This is the third or fourth ABT season where they have made cast changes for the performance I selected specifically for the casting - lots of them. Is this the ABT or are all ballet companies doing this? I don't think opera fans would cotton to so many principal cast changes as the ABT seems to do. I want to say it's my choices, but I think this must happen to others. What gives?

I am rather annoyed about how these cast changes are announced. We are told that they make them because a dancer is injured or ill and cannot perform. If this occures just before the performance a quickie substitution is understandable. In the case of Ms Vishneva, I was told by an ABT spokesperson that she was injured BEFORE the gala and only had to do 4 minutes and so she soldiered on and was hoping to do Thursday's performance. I learned of this cast change this afternoon when I surfed into Ballet Talk. When I attended Corsaire last week they substituted Cory Steans and Dvorovenko for Herrera and Gomez which I personally was not thrilled with, as I thought they were miss matched for many reasons. I spoke to the ABT person there and noted that something half of the performances I buy tickets for they do a switcheroo and it seems as if it's always too late to change my tickets or plans. I noted to them that they "allowed" Ms Vishneva to do her whirlwind Beauty tour which was more dancing than a full length ballet night after night and take it around the world, only to return to ABT and get injured (but well enough) to reprise her "dying swan". Frankly I feel a bit jerked around (I don't know the nature of her injury and I most certainly hope she has a speedy recovery). But if she is not up to it. PLEASE let is know at the earliest possible date so we can make plans. I know casts can be changed at the last minute and they make a point of noting that. I am very disappointed. Am I totally or just partially crazy?

I hardly go to the "movies" anymore because I find most of them are using stereotypes to such an extent that the movies are more like cartoons. This is especially true of American made movies which seem to be completely driven by casting agents who have given us all these icons or character types. But perhaps this is more a reflection of who Americans are - we copy and want to be like the Jones so we wear the same clothes, drive the same cars, have the same interest in pop culture and so on. Bernays and Madison Avenue has fashioned us into consumers of mass culture and image and it makes money for the corporations and it now makes "use' feel like we belong. Movies are just part of this process. Foreign made films some times escape this trap of dealing in stereotypes, regardless of the story being told, but this is hard to escape because using such well established and recognized "motifs" is a form of non verbal communication - short hand. Advertising is the epitome of this, ain't it? Ballet is not immune from this either, with their casting and cartoon like roles and tragic comic story lines. We see them at home on the small screen for a fraction of the cost when we have nothing better to do. And when you shut them off or fall asleep you don't feel bad or have to get home.

Big Red, Ekaterina Kondaurova, is an incredible dancer. WOW Please come back to NYC soon.

I like his dancing.

Last night's performance of Le Corsair was perhaps only the second or third time I have seen this work. I had been expecting to see the wonderful Marcelo Gomez and Paloma Herrera, but there was some cast changes. Dvorovenko does little for me on stage. Her dancing seems fine but she has a smile plastered on her face and she looks plastic and I can't find anything special about her performance. On the other hand Angel Corella was magnificent. He totally embraced the role and was a dynamo on stage. The audience applause for him and not for her tells it all. Cory Stearns did nothing for me and I thought he looked nervous and too focus on the spinning ballerina Irena when he was assisting her. Perhaps all males play these parts like this...I was watching him intently because he is a new face to me and I was trying to see what was special about his work. I was not impressed at all. He's a handsome lad with a boylike appearance. Maria Recetto, for me also has a smile or face problem or something about her head and neck. Her work looks precise but stiff. Watching her made me think that the best ballerinas manage to execute precise moves and poses without looking wooden and the others move like "robots". This is a gross exaggeration, but this woodeness to me appears to all reside in the upper body, chest shoulders, neck and so forth. When I observe someone with "good posture", I want it to look natural to their body (and movement), not like they are forcing themselves to stand,sit and move like that. I don't know how some dancers manage to appear as they do without looking wooden and still and others look like they are forcing their bodies to conform to some ideal or standard. Of course this is the deal is it? Dancers are supposed to execute moves and positions with precision. To manage to pull lots of this off and appear fluid, relaxed is the challenge. Ballet is "unnatural" in many ways and one of the most curious aspects is the facial expressions dancers assume when performing. Acting roles allows them to use the facial expressions in meaningful ways, but much of the roles, like the corps work in Corsaire you see the beauties with smiles plastered on their faces and it looks very odd. But what would be the appropriate facial expression. I need to observe more faces to understand this. Ferri seemed to "get it" on all levels.. I miss her. I thought that some of the dancers were not with the music. Maybe this is the choreography, itself, or my inability to see the connection between movement and music. But at times my impression is that the dancer is doing all the steps (beautifully even) but not as musical as I would like it to be. Some, of course nail it, as Corella does. he was so there with the music. Recetto is with the music but seems trapped in it not breaking free as Corella did. Dvorovenko has star power, but her performance was not exceptional. It was Corella's night. Thanks Angel! My uneducated impressions.

Speaking of photos, there is an exhibit of Nancy Ellison's photos in the lower level of the Met Opera House, presumably from her new ABT book. I also noticed that in the supporter/ donor section of the ABT playbill Ms Ellison is listed as having given between $500,000 and $1,000,000 to the ABT. And then I found this quote online about a show she had a gallery: "... She and her husband’s support of the Metropolitan Opera Company have allowed her a privileged access to create an extensive photographic essay of the company’s performances during the last several years." Without comment on the quality of her work, the thing which pops out at me about it is the word; privileged. It just goes to show what money can buy you.

Speaking of the height of dancers. Are female dancers shorter than the "average" female, the same or taller? How about males? My sense is that ballet dancers might be shorter than the average person out there, but I have no reason why I think this. It's very hard to get a sense of "scale" on a stage for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is the sets which are often distorted for visual effect. The Kirov seems to stamp their corps out of a cookie cutter mold (almost)... does anyone know how tall they are?

How much is a good hand, Mel? Seriously, that is a measurement... but how are you using this?

What's a ballet mom?

When you have done your exploring would you kindly report some of your findings. I am curious as to how ballet would have been incorporated into an opera at its inception. Did Verdi, for example work with a choreographer or more less note that there should be ballet at some point in the staging to be determined by the AD and chosen choreographer who staged the opera. I have seen some lovely dance segments in some of his operas, but do not recall seeing actual ballet. Ballet, in my mind is a performance in itself and so for there to be ballet within an opera, it would seem to require that the opera characters attend a ballet or a ballet studio as part of the libretto. Dance, however is a whole other ball of wax and is evidenced at party scenes, balls and so on such as in La Traviata. Some passages/sections of opera music scores sound very balletic to my untrained ears. Do other BalletTalkers have a similar response to some opera passages? Which ones? I am going to begin a list and perhaps post it in this thread.

From a physics standpoint I think smaller more compact dancers are able to execute some moves with greater success, other moves like long high leaps work with taller bodies. And then there is illusion. Without a frame of reference it is often hard to gauge someone's height. But it seems that smaller, rather than larger make better dancers. Proportion is key and the human form does not scale up and down with all parts of the body remaining in the same size relationship. And of course what is the most ideal shape/proportion is also a variable depending on individual taste. And of course since ballet is an ensemble experience, all the dancers need to appear harmonious to the others. This is taken to the extreme in the corps where we often see dancers which appear to be stamped out of a mold. I don't especially find tall and lean more attractive in a dancer male, or female.

Bart, I will agree that culture when considered as high culture and pop culture are not points but represent a continuum. But I suppose this too is hard to pin down. Some people consider Frank Gehry a brilliant architect and would place his buildings on the high culture side the same way they would Richard Serra or Andy Warhol. Others would consider there work rubbish, silly, campy self indulgent, you name it - even art for art sake and dismiss it as "pop culture" rubbish. Ballet might be analogous to early music or baroque music which represent a body of work from the past. Choreographers can use the classical "language" and create new work and if they are good at their craft it might be indistinguishable from the quality of work of Petipa for example. But it will for all intent and purpose be esoteric and appeal to a very narrow segment of the population. Vishneva recently did her Beauty in Motion "show" parts of which looked more like Cirque du Soleil than ballet. It wasn't meant to be ballet, though Vishneva is one of the finest ballerinas today. Was this an effort at reaching across the culture divide? I thought FLOW was just that in fact. But who did it appeal to? Ballet fans were disappointed I would think. Did it or would it appeal to the Cirque du Soleil crowd and bring them in to see the ballet. Or was this just "artistic" expression for a ballerina who feels constrained by the bounds of classicism?