fondoffouettes

Hammoudi has injured his back:

Wow! Had Hammoudi been scheduled for any additional Rothbarts, as well? Or just the one on Tuesday?

They've had up to eight swan queens before. Why not? It could be Copeland (there's no getting around her being cast), Boylston, Teuscher, Murphy, Seo, Lane, Shevchenko and a debut (Trenary, I hope!).

I think McKenzie realized overuse of guest artists was killing company morale and hindering homegrown talent. So, he’s basically swung to the other extreme and invited virtually no guest artists. Who knows? Maybe we wouldn’t have seen Shevchenko’s O/O if there had been an imported artist. Also, the Swan Lake run is selling extremely well, so why spend the extra money to hire guest artists? Does anyone know if ABT is still doing its artist exchange program? It was nice getting the opportunity to occasionally see guests like Xander Parish, and I’m sure the ABT dancers got a lot out of dancing with other companies. Also, the idea of cultural exchange was probably a lot less harmful to company morale.

Right. I remember when the fouette went viral, we discussed how the fouette music in Don Q doesn't really suit a manege of turns the way the SL music does. So I wonder what she'll come up with for that. Maybe she'll attempt the fouettes in Don Q, if she feels less scrutiny/pressure in that role. I also wonder if the ballerina has more gas in the tank, for lack of a better phrase, at that point in Don Q (not that that pas de deux is any walk in the park).

It’s odd it took them so long to come to that decision, if that’s the case. He posted this just four days ago on Instagram, and he’s a very infrequent poster. I’m not especially looking forward to seeing Scott in this. I just don’t see him having the boyish charm of someone like Simkin, Shayer or Cirio, but I’ll reserve further judgment till I see him.

I’ve never seen the house so full for a Wednesday matinee. I think Family Circle may have been closed but it otherwise felt like a packed house,

Best case scenario would be for her to pull out and have Brandt fill in, as with Harlequinade.

This makes me really wonder what happened to his Whipped Cream. In today's matinee, in Act I, right at the end of the Danse de Coupes, he did a huge leap in the air with his legs tucked under him, spun in the air for two revolutions, and landed it beautifully. Is he injured, or what's up?

So it was a manege entirely of chaine turns? Did she throw in pique turns periodically? Any overhead arms to give it flair?

Shevchenko didn't just deliver an astounding debut; she delivered one of the best O/Os I've seen at ABT in recent years. While I enjoyed Teuscher very much on Monday, and thought she'd perhaps be the one to take on Murphy's mantle as a leading O/O of the company, I have to say Shevchenko eclipsed her performance in many ways. In a debut, I'm used to a ballerina simply making her way through the technical requirements, but Schevchenko's interpretation was so particular; there were so many unique flourishes and musical choices. Both her Odette and Odile were fully fleshed-out and compelling interpretations, backed up by incredible finesse, technique and lyricism. Her Odile was a total stunner. In the adagio, some of the supported pirouettes at first looked a bit mechanical and not entirely comfortable. But then she and Whiteside started doing these turbo-pirouettes, with many revolutions, which reminded me of how Cornejo and Brandt executed supported pirouettes in last year's Corsaire. She was spinning so quickly I thought they were going to lose control, but they pulled it off perfectly. Her variation was incredible. She did her pirouette into attitude turns as double-doubles. She also did at least one of her a la seconde turns as a double, which I can't recall ever seeing. The fouettes were so fast, and most importantly, musical. I lost track of what extras she threw in. I actually didn't care for the raised arms. She held them in a sort of weak V shape, whereas I think something like this may be what she's going for, with the wrists pulled in closer to each other. If that's not possible, could she just hold her arms in fifth position above her head? I think that -- or no overhead arms -- would look better. I wasn't very impressed with Royal as Rothbart on Monday or in today's pas de trois. I know he has the princely look, but his dancing was somewhat low-impact. Giangeruso looked leaden in her jumps. Fang had a lovely light, musical quality to her dancing, her turns got away from her at several points. I agree that Aran Bell did very well, and a fuller characterization will hopefully come in time.

What a debut (so far) for Shevchenko. Aside for a few little off moments in her variation, I thought she was fantastic. It felt like a fully realized interpretation, and she’s so wonderfully musical. Her back is much more flexible than Teuscher’s and she’s able to hit those beautiful iconic arabesque poses. Her arms are also gorgeous, and the swan arms she did for her final exit were a lovely mix of ripples and soft flapping. I think this could become one of her signature roles. Can’t wait for Act III with Bell!

Right -- I can't really call myself a Cirio fan, but that's not because I find fault in his dancing. I just haven't seen him in enough leading roles to really get to know him as a dancer, but everyone who saw him up in Boston seems to only have raves. I would have loved to have seen him dance with some of the shorter ladies in Giselle, Swan Lake, etc. That said, his departure does deserve a notice in the NYT. Maybe it will just be folded into one of Macaulay's reviews. "Cirio, who has announced he's leaving after the Met season for ENB at the end of the season, etc." I think as long as there are young dancers who dream of being Aurora, O/O and Kitri, ABT will be an attractive company (even if it's lost a bit of its sheen in recent years). I think ABT should be more concerned about whether it can attract soloist- and principal-level dancers from other companies. I guess they've never had issues before, but the track record of dancers leaving in less than happy circumstances would make one concerned. And the company's financial situation has never been super rosy.

I do really like how Act III runs right into Act IV without an intermission. I just wish there were some way they could handle the scenery changeover so that the swans wouldn't have to dance in front of a curtain. But maybe that's just not possible. I'd almost rather have them treat the music as an interlude, with no dancing, rather than have the swans do that blah choreography in front of the curtain. (They cut most of that section fom the Murphy/Corella DVD, which says something.) On the upside, I'm glad ABT doesn't include the interpolated music that I think Petipa added to Act IV (I seem to remember it being in the Ratmansky reconstruction). That music doesn't sound like it belongs in the score, and the addition of extra music and dances really defuses the tension for me. I prefer the ballet to be brought to a swift and dramatic conclusion. But I guess the problem is that if you do take an intermission before Act IV, the act would feel really skimpy without those extra dances. I wouldn't even mind if the forgiveness pas de deux, or whatever you would call it, were cut from Act IV. But at least that music comes from somewhere in the original score (I forget exactly where). For me, Act IV as composed by Tchaikovsky is sheer perfection and could work so well dramatically without any interpolations. Does anyone know if Act III ran right into Act IV, without pause, in the 1877 version? I know the 1877 version is irrelevant for staging the Petipa, but I'm just curious whether the composer originally intended the acts to be experienced together.

Well, short women don't necessarily need to be partnered by short men, but there's definitely going to be shortage of male principals in general, with Bolle seemingly saying goodbye to ABT this season, Lendorf constantly injured and Hallberg dancing a much-reduced load. I don't really see anyone in the soloist rank who is likely to be promoted this year. It would be a real sign of desperation if they promoted Hammoudi. I wonder if ABT's interest in grooming Gorak for principal roles will be renewed.

It’s a nicely worded explanation, but does ENB present a lot of new rep each season? Four-fifths of their 2018-2019 season is dedicated to full-lengths that are also done at ABT in some form. The mixed program of new works is a repeat from a previous season. Maybe ABT’s taste in choreographers has been questionable at times, but they have definitely been trying to premiere more new works. Maybe Rojo has told him they have lots of new works planned for the future.

But if Cirio is looking to dance more leading roles, he could potentially do Albrecht, Des Grieux, Siegfried and the Nutcracker cavalier with ENB in its upcoming season. That's a bit better than he has fared at ABT, especially if it's the princely roles he's looking for.

I'm not as knowledgeable as others on here when it comes to various companies, but I wouldn't consider ENB a step up. They're not nearly as prolific as ABT when it comes to the number of productions per year, though that's of course only one metric for judging a company. I've never seen them perform, so I can't speak to their artistry. And I'm not sure how their annual operating budgets compare.

The fact that ABT didn't put out a "he's still dancing with us, too" press release, as they did for Simkin, makes me wonder if this is a true departure for Cirio. Or maybe they just felt more of a need to do that for Simkin, since he's been with ABT longer and probably has more of a fan base among ABT performance-goers. Edited to add: I just noticed that ENB does mention that these new dancers are staying with their current company: "From The National Ballet of Canada, Francesco Gabriele Frola and Emma Hawes join the Company as Principal and First Soloist respectively, while remaining dancers of The National Ballet of Canada." The fact that they don't specify for Cirio makes me think it's either still up in the air or that he's in fact leaving ABT.

Yup. I'm not super familiar with ENB's traditional performing schedule, but it doesn't seem to present too much of conflict if Cirio were to continue dancing with ABT for its Met season, and perhaps for some tours. https://www.ballet.org.uk/whats-on/ But given the fact that he's not cast in many leading roles during the Met season, I wonder if ABT would think worthwhile for him continue with the company in a reduced capacity.

I almost wonder if he couldn't let himself be present dramatically until he had gotten through the ballet's most taxing technical requirements. I also found the way he climbed up on the rockface upon Odette's entrance to be very moving. It's hard for me to say how exactly it was different from other Siegfrieds, but I loved how he did it. Yes, I don't mind a Siegfried who fades into the background a bit and really lets O/O shine. There were just some basic elements that seemed to be missing. I can't even remember if he seemed excited to receive the crossbow from his mother. I guess he was; it just wasn't a moment that registered for me. Also, I realized the best solution for McKenzie's weirdo interlude between the ball scene and the final lakeside scene is to simply keep my eyes closed and enjoy Tchaikovsky's glorious music. It was more effective for me than watching the swans do that filler choreography in front of the curtain. And yes -- Duncan Lyle was really giving his all in the Spanish Dance and looked like he was having a great time!

Teuscher has really grown a lot in this role from last year. I'll start with Odile, since I actually think it is her strong suit, not Odette. Her interpretation was great -- firey and bold with a glint of evil in her eye. She really threw herself into the choreography and took a lot of risks, I thought. This was possible, in part, because Sterns was such a rock-solid partner in this section. Her variation was great; she tossed off triple pirouettes with ease. Her approach to the fouettes was to do all doubles up until around the point when there's the shift in in the music, and then she did (fast) singles. The doubles almost seemed to get away from her before transitioning to singles. All her fouettes were very fast, so I wouldn't mind a set of crisp, single, fast fouettes. She did travel forward a lot, especially during the doubles. I was less keen on her Odette, though she's grown tremendously since last year. Her lovely arms and range of expression were great. I think she mentioned in an interview last year that Odette's arabesques aren't completely comfortable for her, and it shows. For many of them, she didn't fully get into the iconic positions, and some of them had a sort of clipped quality, not really held for long. Her extensions are odd in that one side of her body is quite good, whereas on the other side, she can sometimes barely get her leg above 90 degrees. I know dancers always have a better side, but I've rarely seen such a stark contrast. I do think her back lacks flexibility, but she sort of masks this with her gorgeous arm movements. I was disappointed that we got barely any swan arm motions for her exit at the end of the act. She started quite far stage left and the curtain quickly covered her up. They weren't particularly striking, so perhaps this was intentional. Stearns' partnering was great, as was his solo dancing, but he did nothing for me emotionally (big surprise). A friend of mine who only goes to the ballet once or twice a year said it looked like he was wearing a mask for much of the performance. He hardly even seemed entranced with Odile. He finally came to life in Act III, when his regret and love were palpable. Royal was improved from his debut last year, but a few parts looked sloppy and he seemed to be holding back a bit. Last year, he didn't hold the arabesque balance on demipointe at all, and this year he only did marginally better. He hesitated a lot in setting it up and only held it briefly. It still didn't read at all like a moment, as it should. His characterization is getting there, but his dancing was a bit underwhelming. I wish he had danced more all-out. April Giangeruso was a beautiful big swan. I hope we get to see a Swan Queen from her someday. Teusher is definitely still a work in progress in this role, at least in my opinion. I wasn't moved at all by this performance, which could in part be due to Stearns' inert stage presence, despite some great dancing throughout. I'll be seeing Shevchenko's debut, despite my reservations about Whiteside. I miss Siegfrieds that truly felt present, and full engaged dramatically, onstage, like Corella, Gomes, Bocca and Carreno. I bet Cornejo is quite good, but I can't stomach seeing him with Copeland.

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I didn't see any R&J performances, but I agree with what much of Macaulay has said in the piece below about ABT's somewhat unfocused dancing this season. And he puts into words what I've been feeling: that many of the dancers aren't really projecting well enough into that big house. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/arts/dance/romeo-and-juliet-american-ballet-theater.html His critique of Stearns aligns exactly with my experiences of his performances.

I completely agree. The most I'll go to an ABT production in a week is three times, but that's pretty rare: only for Sleeping Beauty, which is three hours filled with great dancing, or Swan Lake if there is must-see casting. I think I over-bought for this season, simply repeating my buying patterns from previous years. I plan to scale back next year unless they are presenting a drastically more interesting season in terms of repertoire and casting. Also, I've had such great experiences at NYCB this past year that I'd rather spend more of my money there (plus the seats are cheaper and I feel so much closer to the dancers, sitting in orchestra).