fondoffouettes

Does anyone know if there was a casting change tonight? Veronika Part posted a picture on Instagram that's captioned "First performance. Met 2017," but she's not scheduled to dance anything until next week. She was always amazing as Mercedes/Queen of the Dryads, so I would rush for the chance to see her in that role again. I just can't tell whose headpiece from Act II she may be wearing.

What's the deal with Andrew Veyette? I've happened to see him quite a bit over the past few seasons, and in every instance his dancing has seemed underpowered and rather uninspired. His performance in Allegro Brillante this season was probably the real low point; as stated in comments earlier in this thread, it almost looked like he was marking the steps. I'm not as frequent a NYCB-goer as many on here, but I've gotten the sense that some of the principal men are exceptional partners, but kind of underwhelming when dancing on their own. Veyette would be the most extreme example of this, based on the performances I've seen. However, I seem to recall very positive reports of his dancing toward the end of last season (I think in Stars and Stripes?).

Hopefully reviews will help ABT fill seats because sales look pretty dismal at the moment. Each performance has somewhere between 600 to 1,400 unsold seats, and the balcony has only been opened for the Sunday matinee. This isn't super surprising for a work doesn't really have name recognition, but it must still be distressing for the company. Perhaps families that had just bought Nutcracker tickets three months ago simply weren't willing to shell out money on another ballet so soon. Or maybe the subject matter of Whipped Cream seemed too similar to The Nutcracker. I'm guessing ABT was hoping to convert those Nutcracker attendees into ticket-buyers for Whipped Cream, but perhaps the market in Southern California can't support so many family-friendly productions from ABT within the span of a few months. I'm still very much looking forward to seeing this work at the Met. I just hope for the sake of the company it isn't another Golden Cockrel that leaves the Met half-empty.

I hope I'm not completely misremembering, but I could have sworn that Abrera was listed in the second slot for the May 22 opening night of Whipped Cream, as well as perhaps performances in the second run of the ballet. It's now listed as TBA. Does anyone recall?

For anyone who still hasn't gotten quite enough of these torch lifts, I came across some really lovely ones in this clip of Ashton's Voices of Spring. There are two -- one right at the beginning of the ballet and another immediately at the end. They are the dead lift version, but they look very buoyant. It of course helps that Eagling is already behind Park when they to do the lift, unlike in the Ratmansky Nutcracker.

This is very instructive! In The Pharaoh's Daughter, the fact that the man already happens to be behind the woman before the lift makes it seem more natural, more integrated into the choreography that comes before it. In Ratmansky's Nutcracker, the adult Clara's running approach only really makes sense when she goes for the leap. Otherwise, she runs toward the man, slows down, pauses, turns around, and then the lift happens. All momentum is killed in what should be a climactic moment. This convinces me that Ratmansky should modify the choreography leading up to lift when the couple opts for the deadlift version. However, Ratmanksy doesn't seem to be big on revising after a premiere (call me out of I'm overlooking something!). The only change I could detect over the years is that the Rat King, when he enters, no longer walks directly on the backs of the other mice, who are bowing down to him. Now he's held higher above them and doesn't come into physical contact with them. I feel like several of the Act-II divertissements could use some improvement, but I realize, at the same time, that time and resources may not allow it. And the company/Ratmansky may be perfectly happy with them.

I went back and found what I had written in 2013. My memory played tricks on me. It was a lift in the Act I pdd that was aborted, not the torch lift. As far as I can remember, the torch lift just looked super shaky and he didn't get her completely above his head and properly into position. This is what I had written at the time: "During the first pas de deux, one of the big lifts was aborted before Lane got off the ground. Lane and Gorak then had to waltz around the stage for a while to kill time. In the second pas de deux, the lifts looked very uncomfortable, especially the one in which Lane is supported on one leg above her partner's head. Gorak managed to get Lane partway above his shoulders, but she teetered so much that he had to wrap his arms around her entire leg to keep her from falling."

This was posted in last year's Nutcracker thread, I recall: Stella leaps into her partner's arms and then they sort of pop her up into position. It's more akin to the Bolshoi versions that have been posted here. It seems to me that each couple must have decided in rehearsals whether to do the running leap or the deadlift approach. The deadlift can't just be a spur-of-the-moment substitution, I don't think. I also don't think the deadlift version has to look terrible. The Baca/Copeland one does look terribly clunky, but I didn't seem to mind it the several times I saw Part and Gomes do it. I'm guessing Hallberg and Murphy probably did it as a deadlift too? I'm curious to know whether the lifts that have completely failed to launch, so to speak, were the running leap versions or the deadlift versions. I've only seen one go really wrong (a Lane/Gorak one a few years ago), but I can't recall if it was because they attempted the leap or not. I wish I had been attuned to the nuances of the lift when ABT was back at BAM, but the pas always made me so nervous that I couldn't really focus on details like that.

Luckily it seems as if Mearns is already on the mend. Her most recent Instagram post indicates that she's going ahead with her Nutcracker performances with Eastern Connecticut Ballet today and tomorrow.

I'm considering making the trip from NYC to D.C. for Teuscher's debut (and possibly Part, though Whiteside is dissuading me) and have never seen anything at the Kennedy Center. Does anyone have recommendations for seating? The prices are much more reasonable than the Met season, so I was thinking of going with a seat in the first row, which is Row G (I'm guessing rows A-F are taken up by the orchestra?). At the Met, the first row provides a really good view, as long as you aren't behind the conductor, the only problem being that you sometimes can't see the dancers' complete feet. Is this the same case at the Kennedy Center's Opera House? Or does the first row present any other issues? Also, does anyone know if the Kennedy Center allows patrons to throw flowers onstage? (I've gotten in the habit of doing this occasionally at the Met in recent seasons, as it's a lovely tradition I don't want to see die out!). I've heard that Koch Theater doesn't allow it.

Looks like Seo is going on tonight, according to her Instagram.

Holy cow! I somehow missed that there was an early, short run of Whipped Cream in addition to the later, longer run. That's putting a lot of faith in a title that's unknown to most people, even dance fans.

And as her Siegfied while we're at it??? Odd that Stearns and Whiteside haven't been assigned any Swan Lakes, though. I know they've been critiqued for their inadequate dramatic abilities as Siegfried, but still surprising. The Russian dancer (I forget his name) who was brought in to dance with Part in La Bayadere was also a VERY secure partner.

I wish they'd perform the Waltz of the Snowflakes instead. For me, that's the real takeaway masterpiece from the Ratmansky Nutcracker, and I miss seeing it every year. I understand, of course, why it wouldn't make sense for a mixed program, though. It looks like they've really put the brakes on Hammoudi and Gorak, unless they get cast in some TBA slots. I'm particularly sad about the latter. I guess Cirio has taken up the roles that might have gone to Gorak. It will be interesting to see if there will still be the "Copeland effect" on ticket sales now that she's been cast in so many performances. It's hard to think of a dancer at ABT more ill-suited for Giselle.

Some reactions from this evening's performance. Very much enjoyed the Ratmansky, though I feel like I need to see it again to truly take in all the details. The nearly all-male cast was stellar. Standouts for me were Hoven, Royal and Simkin (doing his virtuosic Simkin thing). The low point of the ballet for me was the pas de deux between Gomes and Teuscher. The choreography for that section was just a bit dull and generic, though Gomes and Teuscher made the most of it. The Ashton was the masterpiece of the evening, and no surprise there. Royal and Shevchenko were stellar as the central couple. Royal was dancing like a principal. Such presence, and the partnering was spot-on, and Shevchenko was gorgeous as well. I wish their pas de deux could have been a bit more airy and effortless, but everything else was spot-on. The weak link in the cast for me, surprisingly, was Trenary. There was nothing wrong with her dancing, per se, but she just didn't seem to be inhabiting the same world as the other dancers. Her arm and leg positions were all slightly off compared to the rest of the cast. The Millepied. A second-rate choreographer managed to fill an hour of music with pleasant, repetitive, somewhat atmospheric dancing. This was a real disappointment for me. I lost count of how many pas de deux Gomes and Boylston danced. Maybe 5 or 6? They all looked so similar and had no striking, memorable images, so it's hard to say. Lots of swoony schlock. It was clear to me that this is a choreographer with a limited vocabulary and very little sense of how to construct a narrative. The costumes and scenery. Oy! Translucent colored shapes moved around above the dancers and really didn't add much at all. The men were all in PJs -- white ones for the good folks, black ones for the villains. All in all, this piece lacked drama and choreographic inventiveness. The finale was just kind of embarrassing in how it tried to sell itself through bright costumes and the entire cast executing uninspired steps in unison. It was kind of depressing to listen to such an incredible score accompanied by such pedestrian choreography. I can't imagine ABT bringing this piece back anytime soon.

I'm surprised she's not saying farewell in one of her most celebrated roles -- Juliet, Manon or Giselle. I assumed she'd want to go out with a ballet that allows for a Gomes/Vishneva love fest. I don't think I can bear to sit through Onegin again, even for Vishneva's farewell... Also, what's the difference between one-off guest appearances and her current performance schedule?

It's Isabella Boylston. She's been the only principal cast in this role, I believe.

It would seem he is in Australia, based on a post last month by Yuriko Kajiya. https://instagram.com/p/BH2I9ALgNZt/ And the photographer credited in Hallberg's most recent Instagram post has taken several pictures of the Australian Ballet, including a shot of their full-length "Nijinsky" ballet that is stylistically very similar to the b&w shot of Hallberg. https://instagram.com/p/BIrurWvh0L4/ So my bet is on him guesting with the Australian Ballet. It would seem a good way to ease back into ballet world, away from European and American critics.

Okay -- I'm more than happy to retract that. Perhaps what I should have said is that this premature (in my opinion) promotion may be due to ABT's fear of more talent drain, after seeing so many talented soloists and corps members slip through their hands in recent years. I don't see how Colas is one of the more difficult leading roles. It seems lightweight to me...

Hoven is so deserving. Cirio -- really? After only a year with the company? Sure, his rep. at Boston included leading roles, but -- correct me if I'm wrong -- his only true leading role this season was Colas. And his shortcomings in terms of refinement and line were so utterly apparent when he danced side by side with Gorak in Cockerel... I can't think of any other male principal who has been promoted without dancing at least one of the following with the company: Siegfried, Romeo, Albrecht, Basilio, Solor, Prince Desire. I wonder if this was a "promote me or I'm walking" sort of situation. When Whiteside was hired, it was trial by fire -- he was given a brutally demanding schedule and thrown into every principal role in ABT's rep. And he had to prove himself as a partner.

I agree with others that Giselle, and perhaps Juliet, are the next logical roles for Trenary, based on today's performance. The heavy Petipa roles of O/O and Nikiya can wait. Would love to see the youthful verve and warmth of Trenary in Giselle. And the Ratmansky Nutcracker would seem an obvious choice, as well.

Just got out of Act III and feel like I'm walking on air. Who goes to a Wednesday matinee expecting to see an A cast in all regards? The pas de deux was spectacular and drew applause for each of the three fish dives (the first one was particularly swift and impressive). There were some speed issues and tentativeness in some of the supported pirouettes, maybe caused by the fact that Whiteside would switch between using only one hand and to then using two. I wasn't expecting Whiteside to be so impressive in his variation, as it usually seems to go over better with short dancers, but he probably delivered the best interpretation I've seen of it. Trenary's variation was as good as it gets, and those super fast chaine turns at the end were stunning. I also can't praise her interpretation of Aurora enough. She seems made for the role. Lane and Zhang delivered a blue bird pas de deux that was flawless. Lane was so poised and spot-on in all regards (with her characteristic grace and warmth, of course). Loved her control in holding all the poses. Zhang's leaps were so bouyant and and his entrechats six were wonderful. His elevation throughout was so impressive; it truly looked like he was flying. They were a dream duo. An electric afternoon at the ballet. I usually go into a debut performance expecting to make a lot of allowances for the ballerina, but Trenary is the most satisfying Aurora all around that I've ever seen in the Ratmansky version. Brava to her!

Second intermission update: the lovely dancing continues. Wonderful speed and bouyancy from Trenary and great lifts and partnering from Whiteside, who pulls off the red coat very well, by the way. My only criticism is that while Trenary managed to stay in the shell longer than others, it was slightly wobbly. It seems like that device is really hit or miss. It was wonderful to watch Trenary's warm, sensitive expressions throughout act two. She managed to seem sylph-like but never remote. Loving the freshness and freedom of her dancing.

Intermission update on Trenary. If there was ever a star is born moment at ABT, this is it. She IS Aurora. Spectacular Rose Adagio. Incredibly warm stage presence and nuanced acting. The best I've ever seen the variations look in the Ratmansky version. Huge response from the audience, though many appear to be newbies. More to come later!

They do what is apparently in the original dance notation. It's not the "fall backward" thing and it's not exactly like anything I've seen on various DVDs. Aurora stays upright, I believe, and I think there may have been some turning and changes of arm positions. I'm sorry my memory is failing me! This is when it would be nice to have a DVD of the Ratmansky SB with the various alternative choreography included as "extras" (as I think Macaulay once suggested in one of his reviews). The alternative to the fish dives was really lovely, though, and I definitely preferred it to fish dives that are not well-executed. P.S. The one thing I love about the Ratmansky Act III pas de deux is that, in the part where Aurora sits down and then rises into an arabesque, she puts all of her weight on her supporting foot, which stays on pointe the entire time (rather than rolling up onto pointe, which is presumably much easier). This is the moment I mean, with Moira Shearer executing it beautifully: https://youtu.be/m3yxaoIxwk0?t=4m22s In ABT's old production of Sleeping Beauty, it was left up to the ballerina's discretion if she wanted to do this (I remember Part would usually elect to do so). In all the casts I've seen in the Ratmansky version, the ballerina has put all of her weight on the foot, on pointe. It's a small detail, but an exquisite one in my opinion. A kind of ultimate "ballerina moment."