fondoffouettes

Hammoudi was fine. I was somewhat disappointed in his Act II variation; he seemed a tad sloppy and under-powered in the leaps, but it was still a respectable effort. His partnering of Murphy was very good. The big overhead lift in Act III was very high and super secure as Hammoudi walked down the steps. They held it for a long time and he was able to bring her down very slowly. In fact, he seemed super strong in all of the lifts. The upside-down lift looked beautiful, though Hammoudi needed to readjust one of his feet just slightly as he was holding Murphy (a much more minor foot adjustment then we often see in such tricky lifts). I think Murphy's supported pirouettes have looked crisper and faster with other partners, but they were still perfectly clean. Hammoudi really seemed to have the upper-body strength that a lot of the ABT men are still working on... I was a bit disappointed in his characterization of the Prince, which is perhaps unfair since it's a barely sketched character to begin with. However, I have vivid memories of Gorak seeming so enchanted with Reyes during Acts II and III in last year's performance. Even when Gorak was just standing at the back of the stage during Act II, he seemed so engaged and delighted with everything happening onstage. Murphy was SUPERB in Acts II and III. When she walked down the stairs on pointe, she truly made it a magical moment. I had recently watched the Dowell/Sibley recording of Cinderella, and in that performance, Sibley only walked down the second set of steps on pointe. Last night, Murphy walked down both on point, boureeing on the landing between the two sets of steps. I can't recall how Reyes did it last year. I found it remarkable last night just how much time Cinderella has to stay on pointe during Acts II and III. So often when she is brought down from a lift, she is placed down on pointe (not on flat foot to then pop up into pointe). Murphy had all the strength and then some needed to accomplish this. Murphy's characterization of Cinderella in Act I was a bit two-dimensional and didn't have much pathos or longing to it. But she more than made up for that in the next two acts. Her super-fast variation in Act II was a jaw-dropper. So musical and detailed, with each bit of the choreography crisply articulated. I think she's truly the company's supreme interpreter of Ashton at this point. She can handle all of the tricky footwork and elaborate upper-body choreography so well. Boylston was pretty great as the Fairy Godmother. Very buoyant leaps. Trenary stood out as the Spring Fairy. Gosh, it's hard to sit through a lot of the stepsister shtick, especially in the first act. Forster and Easter (I'm pretty sure he was the second sister -- correct me if not!) were great in the roles, but there's only so much unfunny physical comedy I can take in one evening. Even when I was watching the Dowell/Sibley recording recently, I was struck by how no one in the audience seemed to be laughing at Ashton as the stepsister. Have the stepsisters ever been funny? Did mid-century British audiences find them a hoot?

Can anyone identify the dancer who is hugging Misty? I'm just curious. Looks like it may be Seo, but it's really hard to tell.

I think he's on the Hallberg track. I.e., he'll spend approximately two years as a soloist to refine partnering, acting, etc., before being promoted to principal. I looked back at Gorak's bio and he was only promoted to soloist last August. Hallberg spent a little over two years as a soloist before being promoted.

Wow! Congrats to all! I feel like this is a win-win. Misty's promotion will make her many fans happy, and will be a very, very good for ABT and for the art form. Stella's promotion makes most longtime ABT-watchers happy. Very happy to see the soloists ranks enriched by so many new additions.

Just to put things in perspective ... one of the world's foremost museums and research institutions falsely claimed that a famous painting was appearing in NYC for the first time ever, and they then had to back peddle. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/18/paintings-first-time-in-new-york-no-way-no-how-says-brooklyn-man/?_r=0 They had no intention to deceive, and they did their due diligence in checking facts; these things just happen sometimes. It's really easy to get "first" claims wrong, even when you do all your homework. I can't imagine Hallberg, Copeland and their respective PR people dove into the archives to do their research. Today's PR firms probably think a five-minute Google search is all that is needed.

Also -- we should differentiate between the Rose Adagio Part performed at ABT's opening night gala in 2007 and the Rose Adagio she performed at the premiere of the complete ballet. The Rose Adagio that went south was the one at the gala (for which I was not present). I believe all of the negative reviews posted above come from the gala performance, and the positive reviews come from the premiere of the full ballet. I was at the premiere of the full ballet, and, as far as I can remember, it was a clean Rose Adagio. I believe I've seen every Part Sleeping Beauty since that time, and she never again fell off pointe in the Rose Adagio. She definitely became a lot more technically secure between 2007 and 2010 or so, and her final few Sleeping Beauty performances with Gomes were really radiant. As someone who has closely watched her career, I would say that she didn't reach her technical peak until after her promotion. Also, her nerves/tentativeness seemed to become much less apparent following her promotion. And she learned how to roll with the punches when she did have a technical glitch, not letting it negatively impact the rest of the performance. I think Part's career arc is very unique, and it perhaps illustrates how you can work out technical kinks even when you're already mid-career. In that respect, I think she can be a useful analogy for Copeland. A lot of people take issue with Copeland's lines, and there's really no changing those at this point, I believe; however, it's certainly possible that Copeland could grow in technique and expressiveness following a promotion. She'll certainly be given more resources (coaching) to do so. I do think Seo's dancing is much, much closer to early Part's than Misty's is. I remember Part falling off pointe and struggling to get back up when Gomes was holding her in an arabesque in Swan Lake (sometime in the mid 2000s?). Seo also seems to fall off pointe at random moments that don't seem particularly difficult. Early Part and current Seo aren't exactly spinning tops, and Seo's fouettes can be a hold-your-breath moment for the audience, just as early Part's were. Seo and Part both have lovely lines and beautiful faces that are well-suited for the stage. If Seo were more expressive in classical roles, then I think people might be more forgiving of her, as they were of early Part.

I just came across this touching gesture in Hee Seo's curtain calls: She lays down her bouquet in honor of the corps. I've never seen someone do that before. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqs7hyhcBlw&feature=youtu.be&t=2m56s Corps members have always said lovely things about Seo in interviews, and I imagine that they think of her as one of their own (a homegrown talent who has risen through the ranks).

I'm curious if she might be paired with Whiteside again. He did a superb job partnering her in their second outing of Don Q, a ballet that couldn't be more against type for Veronika. They seemed to have a great rapport. While I'm not a huge proponent of importing talent, there aren't exactly a lot of up-and-coming tall male dancers in ABT's corps or soloist ranks, except perhaps Thomas Forster. I don't really consider Hammoudi a compelling option in the tall dancer department any longer. I'd like to see more of Nedak at ABT. He reminded me a lot of Marcelo, and ABT could use another all-around strong partner.

Even if Gorak needs to grow in the acting department, I found that he looked so much more engaged and present than Cornejo in their Swan Lake earlier this week. Cornejo just went through the motions, but it was an incredibly two-dimensional portrayal. He doesn't do much with his face -- at all. I would much rather have seen Gorak as Siegfried and Cornejo as Benno, though I realize, of course, that Cornejo has moved beyond that role. Regarding the subject of nicknames, the ballet world has nothing on opera. Flicka, Bubbles, La Divina. Okay, well, I guess we sometimes say "Marcelo the Magnificent."

I suspect the next black ballerina who rises through the ranks at ABT will probably have to do it in a very different way. Misty's rise has been so closely tied to her very unique narrative and the way she has portrayed herself publicly. The press won't be so interested the second time around. So, I actually think the next up-and-coming black ballerina will be expected to prove herself more on pure dance terms.

Okay -- I thought I was perhaps witnessing a mistake when Luciana Paris did exactly the same thing in Wednesday evening's performance. I had never seen that variation without the entrechat six. I remember Stella always making that a particularly exciting moment. If she's dancing the role this year, I'd be curious to know whether she preserves the entrechat six. Varying the choreography in variations is something I can understand, though this particular choice was a little disappointing. However, tampering with something as iconic as the 32 fouettes (despite their debatable artistic value) is a little harder to swallow. Edited to add: I believe Veronika modified the white swan variation, replacing some unsupported pirouettes with arabesques penchees in which the supporting foot is flat on the stage (it's during this passage). I've definitely seen her do this before, but perhaps not last year. I think she has alternated over the years between this modified version and the traditional ABT version. If this is what she needs to do to perform at her peak in all other sections, as she did on Wednesday, then I'm very happy with the substitution!

I don't have much to add to nanushka's very thorough review, but I agree that last night's Swan Lake surely ranks among Part's most wonderful portrayals of Odette/Odile. I don't ever think I've seen such a range of emotions expressed in her face and arms -- and so subtly. There was no overacting (to compensate for others' deficiencies) and no relying on the same old stock gestures as some ballerinas might. She seemed to strike just the right balance between being a creature and being a human -- gorgeously indicating her animal side with micro-twitches of the head and her incredibly fluid arms, and clearly showing her more human emotions through her eyes, mouth and well-articulated mime. An area in which she has grown, I believe, is in her ability to create "swan arms." Yes, her arms have always been one of her biggest assets, but last night, she was able to flap and undulate them in way that was much more swan-like than ever before, at least to my eyes. I only wish she would have stayed on stage longer during her big exit at the end of Act II. I would have liked to have seen those arms for just a few more seconds. Bravo to Cory! He is a ROCK SOLID partner for Part. He was supportive in every way possible -- from the lifts to the supported pirouettes to the way he seemed to embrace her much more warmly than in past seasons. Last night, he was clearly much more engaged with his character and was making a greater effort to emote. His stage makeup still seems almost non-existent, but that's just a small quibble. I, too, was impressed with Cory and Veronika in the last act. The reconciliation pas de deux was pretty wonderful, and the gesture in which Veronika indicates that her heart is broken was beautiful. I also agree with nanushka that Cory's final leap was just about perfect -- it read as desperation and heartbreak, not just a bravura move that might make the audience cheer. Odile has become such a highlight of a Veronika's Swan Lake. She is 100 percent seductress, enjoying every minute of it. I love how she seems filled with evil glee from the time she finished the fouettes to when she seals the deal with Siegfried. Surprisingly, Odile's variation now seems to suit her abilities better than the Odette's, and all the turns were very secure. Her series of 32 single fouettes traveled a bit downstage but didn't veer to the side at all; and she didn't seem to lose steam as she used to in her early years with the company. I was totally overwhelmed by Marcelo's Rothbart. He was pure evil and I couldn't stop watching his eyes and facial expressions. I felt his Rothbart was somewhat more serious -- less tongue-in-cheek, less campy -- than it has been in the past. Shevchenko did a fantastic job as the princess who walks across the stage en pointe and into Rothbart's arms. Renata Pavam used to do that part so well, and Shevchenko has the same ability to do those quick little tip-toe steps. What a night! I only wish this cast were repeated again this week. I'd go again in a heartbeat because I feel as if all three leads -- especially Gomes and Part -- created such detailed portrayals of their characters.

Breaking News: Misty Copeland Has Curves http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/11675707/Misty-Copeland-ballerina-interview.html

Plisskin -- My post was based on the assumption that ABT of course wouldn't promote homegrown talent and would instead like the easy, instantly attainable option. I would so love to see talent emerge form the corps. It's one of the great joys of being a consistent ballet-goer.

Does anyone know just how old the website design is? It has essentially looked the same since I first started following the company in 2003 -- which is eons ago in the digital world. What was it like before that? It's truly remarkable that ABT's website has remained such an absolute relic of primitive website design -- and I can think of no equivalent in the arts world, even among small regional companies. I almost don't want it to change; it's like a well-worn, slightly uncomfortable beige couch that's too much trouble to drag to the curb.

I wouldn't be surprised. With Reyes' retirement, ABT is in need of a pint-sized ballerina who can be lifted by Simkin, Cornejo and Gorak. (Even Sarah Lane, if she were treated more favorably by the AD, couldn't do this alone.) I'd love to see Gorak take on Solor and Siegfried, but I can't really imagine him doing so with a ballerina of Boylston's or Copeland's proportions. Kochetkova makes Gelsey Kirkland look downright womanly by comparison. I don't think the Misty fervor can last forever, but maybe it makes sense for ABT to promote her at this point. Her fame can perhaps sustain good ticket sales for the eight years or so of dancing she still has left in her (based on the career length of most dancers). ABT won't be left with several awkward years of less-than-stellar sales and waning interest, as they were with Herrera, a brilliant dancer whose star shone most brightly in her early years. I think many of us believe that ABT is going to go through a fallow period over the next few years until the new generation of dancers takes the reigns (and perhaps new management redirects the company's course). Maybe Misty is just a natural part of that slump and will do her part to bolster the company financially and help it weather questionable artistic times. I think I can actually come to terms with that scenario.

While most dancers' promotions receive barely any coverage in the mainstream press, the potential of Copeland getting promoted to principal gets an entire article in The Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/misty-copelands-possible-promotion-at-american-ballet-theatre-is-talk-of-dance-world-1434924908 In case we weren't already aware, Copeland's promotion would be groundbreaking from a racial standpoint.

How much credibility will ABT lose if it promotes Copeland to principal? Her promotion, in my mind, will not signal a renewal, but rather a real low point for the company. If a company known for it's storytelling ability and 19th-century rep promotes someone who is a hack actress and lacks basic, classical ballet technique, then what does that say about ABT's future? For me, the renewal of the company will largely be determined by who it chooses to promote in the next couple years. If Copeland is promoted, it will signal the beginning of the end for me. There have always been principals who are not my favorites (Irina comes to mind), but I've always thought that they deserve the rank.

I tend to think physical/mental exhaustion had to play a factor in Seo's underwhelming performance last night. What else could explain why she sat there during the ballroom scene and forgot to "play" her mandolin until the very last strain of mandolin music? And when she did so, she just half-heartedly touched the strings a bit. She just sat there looking rather disengaged from what was going on. I think it was just a mental lapse, probably caused by all she's had to go through recently. Also, I'm not sure a more junior principal can really say no when the AD tells her that she's dancing on a particular night. I've assumed that when a dancer is told she's on, then she's on unless there is a major physical problem preventing it.

A handful of people got up and let midway through the first act. I'm not sure if they didn't bother to read the slip and were surprised to not see Vishneva in the lead role. Many left early on, so I can't imagine that they were simply running to the restroom. Tepid applause during most sections of the first act. Clearly this crowd was not eating it up.

I do feel for you -- 3 Hee Seo performances, when not a single one was originally scheduled to be her. This whole week has been an ABT disaster.

Just got home after leaving tonight's performance after the first act. Seo's dancing was fine, sometimes lovely, but there wasn't much of an emotional connection between her and Gomes. The balcony scene was well-executed, but it didn't haven't the passionate, go-for-broke quality that characterizes the very greatest balcony scenes. Seo was good at exuding girlish innocence (and is not guilty of the overacting some have described in Copeland's performance), but it was all just a little too prim for my taste. It's hard sitting through endless courtly dances and crowd scenes without the hope of truly transcendent dancing in the big moments. Also, I miss seeing a Juliet with a more pliable back and arabesques that really "bloom," if that makes any sense. Some of her pirouettes in the ball scene seemed a bit tentative, too. Gomes' partnering and solo dancing was very, very strong, but I never felt as if he was really dancing for Juliet. His boyish eagerness seemed pretty subdued in comparison to when he dances this role with Vishneva. He's still head and shoulders above nearly all other Romeos, but it felt more restrained than what we're used to seeing from him.

Is there any evidence that their compensation is on the same level with the true year-round principals? I always assumed that dancers like Vishneva or Bolle were essentially treated as guest stars in terms of their contracts and pay, even though ABT calls them "principals."

I'm devastated, though I agree that Seo was probably the only logical option given all the tricky partnering. It could be a disaster without proper rehearsal time.

There were plenty of tickets available for Herrera and Reyes. I think it's a combination of Kent and the ballet she is retiring in. Perhaps a Herrera Don Q would have been a huge seller; who knows. I imagine any hardcore Kent fans would have bought their tickets months ago when they were affordable, so I don't know who would drop hundreds on a terrible side seat in Family Circle at this point.