fondoffouettes

Lane just posted this to her Instagram stories two hours ago. Is this her in Wolf Trap or just a reference back to her surprise Odile performance at the Met?

At least ABT's Apollo gives us the somewhat rare opportunity to see a company in NYC perform the birthing prologue and the mountain-ascension ending (if I remember correctly). I don't mind ABT doing some pieces like Prodigal Son and Apollo, but I agree that they should probably stay away from works like Symphony in C, which are all about speed, musicality and uniformity in the corps. I can't begrudge them performing Theme and Variations; it's one of the most famous pieces from their choreographic heritage, and certainly some principal dancers have turned in great performances of it over the years. I also appreciate that they perform it as a standalone work. While I don't hate Tchaikovsky Suite No. 3, I think those added movements really do so little for Theme and Variations. T&V is a perfect standalone ballet that contains everything I love about the art form; it needs nothing added to it. I agree with others that ABT looked fantastic in Symphonie Concertante.

My sense is that NYCB can more easily cast younger dancers in true dance roles (e.g., the four little girls in Mozartiana), given the pool of talent at SAB. I think the girls in NYCB's Mozartiana may be too young to have already gone up on point, though I'm really not sure. On the other hand, when ABT last danced Mozartiana, they cast older girls who I think must already be dancing on point, but the company adhered to the choreography and put them in slippers. See this photo of Part with the girls, some of whom are already above her shoulders. I think it's possible that ABT is also casting older for things like the Garland Waltz and Corsaire, as well. The JKO School may not have enough very young dancers who are ready for these pure dance roles. But I somewhat agree with you about the aesthetics. I sometimes think young dancers look gawky on point, but I know they also need the stage experience.

I’m guessing only his Nutcracker and Firebird, as she is a significant audience draw in both. I’ve never seen the latter, but I gather it suits her strengths as a dancer. The fact that she was absent from Whipped Cream, Harlequinade, Four Seasons and Sleeping Beauty — all ballets requiring strong classical technique — seems to indicate that Ratmansky no longer sees these as a good fit for Copeland. If that’s the case, he has far more sense than McKenzie.

I agree @abatt's assessment of Gorak's solo tonight. I was worried that perhaps my back-to-back Cornejo performances had set the bar too high, but Gorak's lack of both elevation and well-articulated footwork would have been apparent even if Cornejo weren't fresh in my mind. On the plus side, his partnering was solid throughout, and he and Trenary were able to pull off super fast, one-armed supported pirouettes. (If Cornejo attempted one-armed pirouettes, they weren't very apparent; Gorak's were flashy). There was one turn that almost got away from them but they righted it and ended with a flourish. In some parts of the adagio and coda, I felt Gorak and Trenary brought more dynamism than Cornejo and Lane (Trenary's angular pose with her upper body to the side, at the end of the coda, comes to mind.) Trenary is very much an ideal Aurora, like Lane. In her role debut, I remember her being so at ease in the Rose Adagio, so it was a bit of surprising when her first set of balances were short and tense. There was also a supported turn with one of the suitors that was a bit wonky. But Trenary danced beautifully throughout the rest of the adagio and her second set of balances was just as I'd remembered them from her debut -- she was so calm and secure, and she gently nodded at each suitor as she took his hand. She was also lovely in the vision scene, though I wish she hadn't tried to hold on to the clam shell balance so long, as she was wobbling quite a bit. Abrera was just as wonderful she was last night. I can't say who is better as Carabosse -- Salstein or Roberts. Both are beyond fabulous, and I think it was wise for ABT to pull Raffa and have the two of them alternate in the role. I was pretty unimpressed with Shayer's Bluebird. He didn't have great elevation and his brisé volés seemed low and not well-articulated. Brandt, on the other hand, was fantastic. The divertissements following the bluebird PDD are pretty much of no interest to me, but I so impressed by how expressive Zimmi Coker was as Red Riding Hood. BTW, could the costume department have designed a red hood that doesn't require tons of bobby pins to be applied, at all sorts of angles, along the front edge. They are visible even from mid-orchestra. It looks pretty amateurish. There were some super impressive examples of demi-pointe chaine turns this evening (Brandt comes to mind), so I really don't mind them.

Melanie Hamrick will be retiring this fall. A few of these departures usually come to light at the end of the Met season, but I haven’t heard of any others yet. I’d expect maybe Gemma Bond, who is focused on choreography these days? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen her dance.

I don't have a whole lot to add about tonight's performance beyond what I wrote about Tuesday evening's performance. (Lane and Cornejo were so stunning on Tuesday that I had to get tickets to see them again.) Once place where they may have surpassed their Tuesday performance was in Cornejo's variation; he seemed to dance it with even greater verve, with incredible elevation. I also felt the fish dive was executed with more fluidity; it was a beautiful flourish at the end of a stunning adagio. Another highlight for me was Hurlin's Florine. Her phrasing and musicality was outstanding. It was just about perfect; I can't think of a more ideal Florine for this particular production. Ahn had a couple shaky moments but was otherwise a very strong Bluebird. Abrera's characterization as Lilac Fairy is the gold standard for me. She exudes benevolence through her expressive face, gorgeous port de bras and perfectly executed mime. And she absolutely nailed her variation, which was great to see, as I recall it caused her some issues in a previous revival of the production. It was just as good as the rehearsal video, but unlike the video, I think she did a double rather than single for the second pirouette.

Stella in for Shevchenko tonight and she’s beyond divine! Knocked the variation out of the park (and had to dance it at a faster tempo than in the rehearsal clip). Lane just as gorgeous as Tuesday. More to come later.

Yes, it's quite a schedule, but I imagine it's a much less exhausting role than Siegfried. Desiree has just one variation (albeit a doozy) but the rest is mostly partnering, with very few lifts (and none overhead). Was anyone at today's matinee? I'm very curious to hear how Trenary did after her stunning debut a couple years ago.

Reports on here also seemed to indicate that her Odette had also gone downhill. The fact that management had initially scheduled her for just one O/O, before Murphy went on maternity leave, seemed a wise decision to me. Who knows what will happen next year, after the weirdness of her pulling out of the black swan PDD in the first performance, and her not even attempting the fouettes in the second. Assuming they bring back R&J next year, they can make that a big Copeland vehicle and perhaps allow her to bid goodbye to O/O. While I could see her staying with ABT for another 5+ years, I think there's going to come a point before that when she physically won't be able to dance O/O any longer. Her private training and skipping company class seem to have done nothing for her technique.

And regarding the fairies in Act III, if you consider them fairies, I was really surprised by the degree of sloppiness in spacing, synchronization, and uniformity in how high legs were raised (which is a big focus in this reconstruction) among the sapphire, silver and gold fairies. They were Melanie Hamrick, Courtney Lavine, and I forget the third and unfortunately don't have my program with me. Lavine particularly seemed to lag behind and seem a bit sloppy in her poses. I've always seen this section danced so cleanly and sharply, but it was really off last night. Teuscher, however, was stellar as Diamond. It's true luxury casting to have dancers like her and Shevchenko cast in the role. Yes, it really starts to drag when you have the blah Cinderella choreography followed by the ogre running around with the children. The Cinderella section could be retained but with the music cut a bit; it goes on far too long. And the part where she uses the bellows on the prince just seems idiotic; she's running around looking for her shoe and then when the prince presents it to her, she fends him off with bellows? I believe that bellows could be an erotic symbol in the 18th century ("stoking the flames of love") but that's not how it is used here. And yes, the peasant dance at the beginning of Act II is probably some of the weakest ensemble choreography in the whole work. But I guess if it's truly a reconstruction, you have to sit through all of it; and it does give you a sense of the full fabric of the work.

And regarding the fairies in Act III, if you consider them fairies, I was really surprised by the degree of sloppiness in spacing, synchronization, and uniformity in how high legs were raised (which is a big focus in this reconstruction) among the sapphire, silver and gold fairies. They were Melanie Hamrick, Courtney Lavine, and I forget the third and unfortunately don't have my program with me. Lavine particularly seemed to lag behind and seem a bit sloppy in her poses. I've always seen this section danced so cleanly and sharply, but it was really off last night. Teuscher, however, was stellar as Diamond. It's true luxury casting to have dancers like her and Shevchenko cast in the role.

I think Lane perhaps gave her most beautiful and self-assured Aurora to date, which isn't surprising given the new level of artistic authority she has demonstrated this season. Her dancing was incisive, graceful and incredibly musical. As @nanushka has noted, she and Cornejo perhaps made the best case I've seen for the Ratmansky choreography. Lane's Rose Adagio was very good, and even though she wasn't able to hold the final balance as long as I'm sure she'd hoped, the nod to Ribagorda and her ability to just roll with it was lovely (she used to let things like that throw her a bit). Her variation that followed was perhaps the best I've seen. Shevchenko was a fantastic Lilac Fairy. She made her variation look like a piece of cake, and her mime was wonderfully articulated. Perhaps no one can quite radiate warmth and benevolence like Abera does in this role, but Shevchenko came pretty close. Cornejo and Lane were simply a dream in the vision scene, and I'd forgotten how attractive the scenery and costumes are for that section, from the beautifully painted landscape backdrop, to the ornate boat, to the not at all heavy-looking white costumes adorned with gold leaves. Lane pulled off the clam shell balance just as it is supposed to be done. The wedding pas de deux was fantastic (I'm running out of superlatives). The backbend was even more pronounced than in the rehearsal video (I almost gasped). Regarding the replacements to the fish dives, I quite liked them, especially the first two instances. But, the third one is held much longer than the previous two and I feel like there should be something else going on to better fill out the music. Perhaps there could be some sort of shift in the ballerina's position and change in port de bras. It just felt too static, for too long. The final fish dive at the end of the adagio has been retained. Since we only get that one, it does make it seem more special and makes for a very satisfying end. Cornejo blew me away in his variation. It was a true virtuoso tour de force, and I feel as if he's set the gold standard for this variation. I'm curious what other changes have been made to the vision and wedding pas de deux based on the new sketches that have been found. I'ts been too long since I've seen the full ballet for me to determine what has been changed. Perhaps others will be able to detect the changes.

I still look forward to seeing this new (old) choreography, but there's no denying it's not as climactic as the fish dives. The final pose doesn't seem to have enough amplitude -- or something like that -- to justify it being held in place so long for the third iteration. I was hoping the video would show whether they still do the fish dive at the end, but no!

Abrera has posted a lovely rehearsal video of her executing that tricky arabesque-turn sequence from the Lilac variation. It’s nice to finally have a visual record of this.

Yes, ABT has always done that part in the reconstruction. It's interesting that Ratmansky acknowledges "when done well," since ballerinas seemed to have about a 50% success rate with the balancing device. But yes, when done well, it appears as if she's balancing for a preternaturally long time. Interestingly, I seem to recall that Seo, who can struggle with balances, did very well in the balancing device.

After reading the initial reactions to the premiere in Costa Mesa, I expected the reconstruction to diverge quite a bit from modern-day versions of the ballet, but overall, I found it to be not that radically different. Yes, details may have been different, but the satisfying dance moments were all there. What I appreciate about the reconstruction is the perfect fit of the music with the dancing, action, mime, and scene transitions. The music is allowed to serve its purpose, and choreography isn't shoehorned into music that doesn't quite work. If I were a ballet newbie, and didn't read the program notes, I truly don't think I'd find this particular production to be much different from any other 19th-century full-length presented by ABT. Perhaps it would seem less acrobatic and athletic than some of the other works, and certainly you can see that legs are held in lower positions. My main criticisms of the reconstruction are more about the physical production itself. While I like the overall aesthetic of the production, there are some costumes I'm not so fond of (while not offensive, I find Aurora's Act I costume to be a bit of a letdown). Also, I think it's a real missed opportunity that the panorama was not reconstructed. I'm sure it came down to $$$, and perhaps moving backdrops wouldn't be exciting to modern-day audiences, but I think it could have been so magical. Perhaps it would have been an opportunity to use a modern-day technology -- projections -- to recreate 19th-century stagecraft.

I do love the fish dives, but I'm also very curious to see how these new sources inform the vision and wedding pas de deux. Also, the move that Lane and Cornejo did in lieu of the fish dives was beautiful in its own right, so if this new (old) move is anything like that, I don't imagine I'll be disappointed. For what it's worth, Trenary and Gorak do the final fish dive in this recently posted video, but they are also just playing around, so who knows. (I can't wait to see these two!) I adore the moment in the reconstructed vision pas de deux in which the ballerina faces away from the audience and does a deep backbend, with the prince in front of her. I hadn't been familiar with that move from other versions of Sleeping Beauty, so I hope it remains in the revised reconstructed version we'll see this season.

Stella Abera's Instagram stories show that Copeland danced the black swan pas de deux with Hallberg.

Whiteside has danced T&V with ABT before. I think it was opposite Murphy. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/arts/dance/a-fall-season-of-grand-revival-for-american-ballet-theater.amp.html

If she truly has the flu and was so ill she needed Cornejo to hold her up (as she states in her Instagram post), then she shouldn't have been onstage potentially getting Cornejo, Lane and her other colleagues sick.

I've never thought the Black Swan comments would have negatively impacted Lane's career in the long term. It's interesting that Xiomara Reyes, another very short dancer, was never cast as O/O (at least I don't think she was; correct me if I'm mistaken), and certainly she had technique to spare. I think for a long time, Lane was sort of pigeonholed as a soubrette type, but I think her Giselle was a breakthrough moment for her, showing her profound acting ability. That has only further been cemented by this year's Manon. While opportunities were slow to come to Lane, she is making her way through many of the Petipa roles. I hope she gets her own scheduled Swan Lake next year. Regarding the balance in Von Rothbart's variation...I think they need to come up with a substitution, as almost no one seems to be able to do it, and certainly no one does it as well as Gomes used to. As @mille-feuille says, why not just start flat and maybe go up to demi-pointe. Or put something else there entirely.

The only somewhat analogous situation I can think of is when Julie Kent pulled out of the Odette but not Odile, which seemed like the exact opposite of what you'd expect based on her late-career strengths. I believe Dvorovenko danced Odette that night. I don't believe there was any announcement of injury that time. In retrospect, I wondered if it might have had something to do with Kent's second pregnancy and what she felt comfortable dancing if that was the case (I truly don't remember if the timing lined up, though).

Looks like it may be! Simkin just posted this:

There have been several clips of Cornejo rehearsing SL on Instagram in the past couple days and he looks to be in great form. I’ve seen absolutely no info on Simkin. He has continued to post (non-current content) on Instagram but has not mentioned his injury or responded to well wishes, as far as I’ve noticed. And ABT's Instagram account has a clip of Hallberg rehearsing the leap into the lake, so presumably he's doing well at the moment.