balanchinette

Not sure what happened with unity phelan tonight. She and Mejia debuted the scherzo last Sunday with no issues. It was almost like she forgot to rosin her shoes tonight or something. She was dancing brilliantly until her first fall (those beginning turns at fast speed, with perfect accents and phrasing). Megan Fairchild also had some uncharacteristic stumbles in T & V. Gordon did better than I expected, but the double tour variation was nowhere near as good or effortless as Joaquin’s. Missing both Joaquin and Tiler Peck in t & v this season. On a side note, I am not a fan of the redone principal woman’s costume - what is with that super-hero blingy blue whatsit on the bodice??? Ugh. Love Brahms Schoenberg. Ashley Bouder was brilliant in the first movement tonight. Having seen both casts I much prefer her and Janzen to Gerrity and Gordon. She has incredible phrasing, arms and presence, and Janzen makes those lifts spectacular. I also prefer Lydia Wellington to kikta (although I like kikta a lot). Wellington is more musical and more in synch with the men. Megan much better than pereira in the andante (although Huxley worlds better than Garcia in the same), and Lovette and veyette made more of an impact in the second movement than hyltin and Jared angle (I don’t get what’s going on with jared angle’s body shape right now either - he doesn’t look fat, per se, but he has a weird barrel chest thing happening that does not look good). Sara and Tyler were fantastic in the rondo. I liked Tyler better than amar- he doesn’t ham it up to excess and his technique is better. On a final note, mira Nadon seems destined for greatness.

Went to the dec 27th perf with Maria k, Tyler angle, and unity phelan as dew (subbing for sterling). Best nut of the year for me. Maria is still the best SPF in my book - those beautiful extensions and the high back leg in arabesque during the promenade and the slide are pretty unique among nycb’s SPFs. Rock steady on the slide (in contrast to the disappointing Sara mearns a few weeks back) and great drama for the shoulder lifts. I’ve loved Maria’s spf since chuck askegard days, and she is just as good now. I also loved unity as dewdrop. I thought she was gorgeous with lots of presence. Someone upthread wasn’t happy with her jumps but I found them to be more than adequate. Certainly no worse than tiler peck, who doesn’t have a great jump either. And Phelan has beautiful extensions. I tend to prefer taller dews, as well. Sad to have missed Tess reichlen as dew this season. The other divertissement leads were all in fine form. Thought Christopher grant was a wonderful hot chocolate - huge jumps including a nice double tour to end (that the other guys I saw omitted); spartak Hoxha was a good tea with big height on the jumps; segin a strong marzipan with no issues with the tricky hops on pointe; Huxley a fine candy cane; gerrity an ok coffee (agree pazcoguin is the best among the current crop- although no one has done it quite like Tess when she used to dance the role). Best all round nut for me - so sometimes final week nuts can outshine earlier ones!

I was at opening night and also the Sara/janzen/tiler performance. Opening night was riddled with distracting errors- not sure if this is a reflection of the company at this time, or whether it was a one-off. 1) a party boy’s ballet shoe was half off his foot and flopping around for a good portion of act 1, which i found very distracting as I kept expecting the shoe to come off. He managed to hike it back on his heel when he was in a cluster of kids; 2) Devin alberda was soldier and as soon as he started his hat fell off backward so the chin strap was almost choking him, he had to rip the hat off and throw it at a parent. His dancing was great, though (best flexed foot entrechats I’ve seen); 3) Marie dragged her blanket off the couch as she got off it and a mouse had to then pick it up, smh; 4) whoever was responsible for wheeling out the cannon in the battle scene forgot, so that we had a soldier stuffing an imaginary cannon with powder, then when they finally got the cannon out for the repeat they had too much cheese ammmution bc they didn’t use it the first time (I have never seen this in many years of attending nutcracker performances); 5) the traveling bed almost hit the scenery on its exit into the wings and had to BACK UP (this totally destroyed any remaining magic for me); 6) minor but added to the whole amateur hour atmosphere- Marie’s crown fell off her head at the prince’s first attempt to put it on; 7) an angel almost fell in her face; 😎a polichinelle lost her shoe on her way back into mother ginger’s skirt, and a flower then had to pick it up and throw it into the wings (to applause). In addition, I didn’t understand why Brittany pollack was opening night dewdrop. She doesn’t have the stage charisma of tiler peck, or bouder, or Tess reichlen. Smacks of nepotism to me (Stanford being her husband). Gonzalo Garcia was also very underwhelming in his solo- is he still not 100% recovered? He looked sloppy and heavy footed throughout. On the plus side, Georgina pazcoguin was a fantastic coffee, and Danny ulbricht always brings the house down as candy cane (he is the best, bar none, at the double hoop trick). And shout out to Silas Farley’s mouse king, who has the most elegant chaine turns - amazing in that getup! At the Sara performance, I was definitely disappointed in her performance. She very obviously almost fell off the arabesque slide and teetered on it noticeably. She was not dancing at her usual level for the entire pdd. And I don’t think she pairs well with Janzen, who is too tall for her. The first leap onto the cavalier’s shoulder was awkward. Tiler peck was her usual fabulous self, though. The little prince that night was great also- I much preferred him to the opening night prince. I also liked alberda’s elegant candy cane, though he doesn’t have the ease with hoop that ulbricht does (maybe bc he’s taller). A final note about columbine’s dress - the old color was much better than the cornflower blue. Not sure what karinska specified but the blue seems very jarring.

According to Jared angle’s public Instagram page, he tripped Sara (and apologized). But there was definitely less trust after that mishap - she did look a little tense after, understandably. It’s another sign of city ballet’s dearth of men that they felt they didn’t have one good enough for the first movement and stuck tyler angle in it, when he normally would be doing the second movement. Jared doesn’t normally do that role. And maybe the company was still tired from Shanghai. Applebaum almost fell over after a double tour to the knee. I didn’t think city ballet danced at the same level as MCB the first night, or the other companies for that matter. And Kimin Kim is just otherworldly and superhuman. Loved Khoreva last night. She was stunning. She looks like a cross between a young Suzanne Farrell and vishneva. The pdd was gorgeous. Only thing lacking was the jazzy hip thrusts in her solo after. Not really a Russian thing I guess. But overall I loved seeing the Russian girls- their beautiful line and extensions, and feet, were a real treat and not something that’s so common in the us companies. Only maria k at city ballet is comparable. And she did a great Barocco! She and Janzen made a wonderful pair.

Totally agree! What a gorgeous ballet. I didn’t want it to end. And the best Balanchine dancing I’ve seen from ABT. Hoven was a wonderful surprise. I also agree with Abatt about the dorrance. I found it interminable and not pleasant to look at. I will be sitting that one out in the future.

I don’t disagree with you. I was just responding to the question of whether all Balanchine programs or mixed Balanchine/meh new works programs would sell better. From my point of view I would not want to spend money for a mixed bill over an all Balanchine one. If the company were to do away with all Balanchine nights in favor of mixed programs with only one Balanchine ballet, I would definitely attend much less frequently.

I don’t get the peck mania. None of these modem guys (including ratmansky, dsch aside) comes close to Robbins or ashton, let alone Balanchine. It’s too bad Nycb does no Ashton. I’d like to see how they would do monotones, for one. Balanchine is like the bach of ballet. Pure genius. Even today, ballets like Episodes or Porte et Soupir are much more avant- garde than anything modern I’ve seen.

I, for one, much prefer all Balanchine, or a mix of Balanchine and Robbins, to a mix of Balanchine and new. It’s so much more rewarding. I thought peck’s easy really suffered by comparison when it followed the genius allegro brillante. I find most modern works uninteresting compared to Balanchine, and I definitely avoid all new nights. One exception is DSCH, which I love, but it still wasn’t enough for me to keep my subscription ticket to that program this season, given the other works. So count me as one audience member who would go out of her way to attend an all Balanchine program, but avoid a mixed bill with meh new works. I’m less likely to want to spend money for only one banchine gem among a slew of blah new works. And I’ve never been a fan of ballets set to sung lyrics. I like when the dance speaks, rather than accompanying a song.

She replaced Ashley Hod, who appears to still be out after her injury in Mozartiana last season. Agree that she was not the best choice- too tall, and I was also distracted by her dark tan. Among the tall corps girls, I really like Christina Clark- nice to see her getting more roles. Too bad about Maria- she had no trouble with the developpe balance on Friday. Also wanted to add that Taylor Stanley was fantastic in Stravinsky violin concerto on Friday. He dances with such grace and amplitude. I hope they cast him in Agon.

I thought Maria was gorgeous throughout. Saw her on Tuesday. I found my mind wandering during Sara’s performance (which isn’t to say that I didn’t like it, I did) whereas I was captivated by Maria’s. She did lots of clean doubles from what I remember. And I like her musicality better in this than Sara’s. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I didn’t want others on the board to have a solely negative impression of Maria or anticipate a bad performance from her when I (and at least one friend of mine who also attended on Tuesday) found her to be beautiful and not at all lacking in technique. In contrast, one dancer I thought did not have the technical chops for a role was Ashley Isaacs as polyhmnia- those double pirouettes into arabesque were just not there.

I feel compelled to disagree strongly with canbelto’s review of Maria. I love Maria in Mozartiana- her long legs, neck, beautiful extension are of course a given, but she transports you in this ballet in a way that Mearns cannot. Something about the way she looks so absorbed, and her gorgeous head positions. I did not note any sloppiness or fudged footwork. As for Hyltin, I saw her once in Mozartiana and vowed never again. I feel lucky Maria is still dancing Mozartiana and I’m looking forward to seeing her in Chaconne. Seen Sara twice now and there’s something lacking in her chaconne. It doesn’t pull you in- and she doesn’t have a great rapport with Danchig-Waring. Who, by the way, was excellent in his solos last night.

Agree with what others have said about last night. Gilbert was light years better than Pujol. What a beautiful, supple back she has! I did think the lead men were a little better the first night but overall this was the pob's stronger emeralds cast. The Bolshoi Rubies was dreadful. First time I couldn't wait for Rubies to end! Costumes were awful - santa's little helpers meets the rockettes. And not really a ruby color on top of it all. The dancers just looked awkward through the whole thing. Spotted Tess Reichlen watching from the back of the first ring - wonder what she must have thought!! To be fair, the lead woman wasn't bad. But overall it was so clearly not their thing. City ballet did a great Diamonds - the contrast with the Bolshoi was so interesting. The diversity in body types and skin tones, the energy and attack (the tempi definitely sounded much faster), and the Balanchinean accents were all wonderful. It was good to see Olivia Boisson back - she was absent last season. One quibble - Emily Kikta's shoe ribbon came untucked at the end of the first sequence. Too noticeable when she was downstage center- sloppy!! Tyler and Sara danced brilliantly as usual, with Tyler upping the ante by doing some nice double tours with arms in fifth (take that Chudin!) and Sara did a fantastic scherzo solo. But after seeing Smirnova I couldn't help thinking that Sara looked like she had no neck! The Russians' beauty and grandeur really transform Diamonds into something unique.

I believe it was Angelina Karkova (not sure about the last name but def heard Angelina).

Was there for opening night of the LC Jewels. I was underwhelmed by the French, especially did not like Pujol's water nymph solo and her strange head movement affectations. As a whole the company did not dance with the musicality or cover nearly as much space as nycb. I did very much like Myriam, who reminded me of Ashley Laracey. Her walking solo was the highlight of Emeralds. And I thought all the men were great - super clean footwork and nice jumps. Overall though, I prefer city ballet's interpretation (and Karinska's costumes). Nycb did themselves proud in Rubies. Tess was fantastic as usual (those legs!) and Joaquin outdid himself. How does he keep getting better as he gets older?! Megan was fine- I think she was a little nervous/cautious, I've seen her dance the pdd better. She did not attempt to hold the balances she normally does in the pdd (where Joaquin puts her on her leg and then does a pirouette sequence). I thought I saw one of the corps girls slip and put her hand down at one point, but that was a minor mistake. But wow, the Bolshoi Diamonds blew me away. Worth the steeper pricing! All their dancers look gorgeous - impossibly long necks, arms, legs, all super tall and graceful and with sky high extensions. Diamonds just suits them to a tee. They are grandness personified! And I was pleasantly surprised how musical (in a Balanchinean sense) they were. I have never seen a more beautiful Diamonds, or a more moving pdd. Smirnova has no equal in the role. She is effortlessly regal, arms just lovely, she and semyon made time stop. You could hear a pin drop, the audience was so spellbound. At one point I thought I was going to break into sobs from the sheer beauty of it. Semyon was wonderful in his solos, too. Huge jumps and effortless technique. I've seen many great nycb Diamonds, but this Bolshoi one was truly a spiritual experience. Feel lucky to have seen it!

Just wanted to note that in Restless Creature and in the article canbelto linked to, the timing is that Wendy was not injured in nov 2011 when Martins called her in and told her he didn't think she should dance sugarplum. She says in Restless Creature that the conversation affected her so profoundly she began to doubt herself, and suffered the hip injury - her first major experience with debilitating pain in her career - after that talk. She basically blames the sugarplum conversation for her injury. And after that she was no longer the same.

From where I was sitting, the biggest distraction last night was a child on the far left of the orchestra section who kept jumping in the aisle the WHOLE performance after intermission. And talking loudly. The usher would periodically come over and try to shush her, but didn't try to stop the jumping. The constant motion in the corner of my field of vision was immensely distracting -- both from the jumping child and the usher's many trips to and fro to shush her (unsuccessfully). Maybe Tess R. got distracted by it too, she was faced that way during her slip. I get that kids attend the Nutcracker, but if every kid who did was jumping up and down in the aisle, would that be tolerated? I don't understand why the parents don't have more consideration and just remove the child if they disrupt everyone else's experience to that degree. I saw three casts - opening night (it's a tradition!); Sara Mearns's Sugarplum, which I hadn't seen before, and last night's cast (mainly for Tess R.'s Dewdrop, which I regard as the best in the company, although last night was not one of her best performances of it). I love her height and speed in the role (you don't get gorgeous, super tall, technically and musically brilliant Dews that often). I thought Sara Mearns's Sugarplum was outstanding. Her beautiful renverses and glamor in the pink variation were unmatched (Sterling, too brittle. Tiler, amazing control and pirouettes but no drama and no amazingly flexible back like Sara). And her pdd with Amor was full of drama and, yes, glamor! Those high arabesques in promenade! (Both Tiler and Sterling's back legs were a little low -- probably for increased stability -- but I loved Sara's risk taking). The audience that night, which had been a little sleepy for the performance throughout, really came alive after that! I miss Maria K so in this role, and Sara is of the same ilk. Tiler and Tyler were technically better, no question, but I preferred the Sara/Amar pdd. My other favorite performances included Laracey's Marzipan -- those port de bras and that grace! She looks like she wandered in from a Degas painting/the POB. She needed to be made principal years ago. I was also pleasantly surprised by Catazaro's brilliant Hot Chocolate (a role that usually is a throwaway). Huge leaps, where did this virtuoso version come from? Peter Walker was also a great Hot Chocolate. Another surprise was Megan Mann's Coffee -- very smooth and beautiful control and extension. It was also good to see Ana Sophia Scheller back in top form and sparkling as Dew. And, of course, the brilliant ladies of the snow scene, who never fail to thrill. Although there is one girl who doesn't quite get her leg up as high to the side as everyone else, which makes her stick out in the sequence near the end, and not in a good way. In the first act, I think the Dr. Stahlbaum role is very important in setting the mood. Both Ask la Cour and Peter Walker were great, interacted with the kids brilliantly, and looked like they were having fun. Justin Peck last night phoned it in completely. Meh. Sorely missing Gwyneth Muller as the Mom this year. If I could afford it and sit through more party scenes, I would love to catch the Sara Mearns/Tyler Angle pairing (with Tess as Dew!!!) and also to see Laracey as Dew. I love her dancing, I really can't look at others when she's on the stage. Why she hasn't been sufficiently utilized or recognized at NYCB is baffling. Happy Nutcracking everyone!

I totally agree - Sara is just wrong for the dsch lead. I felt bad for Tyler Angle who looked like he was hoisting a ton of bricks- I've never seen the swinging lifts look so effortful. With Wendy and Janie it looked like they were flying, no effort on Tyler's part. And the skimming steps in the slow movement had none of the sense of weightlessness when Wendy danced it. I was completely unmoved by the second movement, and it used to be one of my favorite magical ballet moments. They need to put Laracey in this role instead. After last night's tepid new choreography and dsch missing both a good lead ballerina and Ashley Bouder, I'm depressed about spring 2017, with 4 weeks of this stuff. I intend to stay away.

I don't get Miriam Miller, sorry. She doesn't seem to have the necessary extension for these kinds of roles, particularly in Agon, leaving aside her obvious "greenness." I didn't like her as Titania, and I thought the Agon pdd was so amateur looking that it brought down the rest of the ballet. In contrast, Tess Reichlen and Adrian Danchig-Waring were riveting in the Agon pdd. Although no-one really comes close to Maria K in that. I totally agree Unity Phelan would have been a better choice if they were looking for someone new -- she does have the extension and flexibility (and how) and is just beautiful to watch. I'm not really an Ashley Isaacs fan, either -- she has a habit of scrunching up her shoulders and looking like she has no neck. Her Choleric was disappointing -- first, I don't like short girls in that role (even the amazing Ashley Bouder). Not only do they not stand out from the rest of the dancers, but the part where the guys have to duck under their arabesque is just awkward with a shorter girl. Ask la Cour had to really try hard to scrunch down to get under Isaacs's leg, and he still managed to bang his arm into it. I understand if it was her debut but to me it just destroys the effect when the dancer has to put her hand down on the stage to steady herself -- not once, but twice -- on that whirlwind Choleric entrance. Tess was amazing as Choleric on Saturday -- AND she has the most breathtaking, flying gargouillades across the stage I've ever seen in that role. (Isaacs barely did them). I'm not a fan of Martins's recent penchant for casting shorter girls in the Balanchine tall girl roles. How about trying out LeCrone, Phelan, or Kikta in some of these as opposed to Isaacs?? And ugh, if they cast Miller in Diamonds instead of someone like Laracey then there must be something weird in the water there. Other standouts for me in the Black & White program were Veyette, Alberda and Applebaum in Agon; Ashley Laracey (such a beautiful dancer, wish I'd seen a lot more of her in the Balanchine ballets this season and a lot less Sterling Hyltin); Phelan and LeCrone in Episodes, and Sara Mearns in the Ricercata section -- gorgeous and moving (they should take Krohn out of that role, period).

I've seen Ask la Cour make the exact same mistake the last time the company did TP2 - that time he brought Tess down with him. Can't believe he did it again with another ballerina. Tess must be glad she got the superlative Tyler Angle this go around. The crash kind of broke the mood, to say the least. Sara was good and should only get better the more she does the role, but she was a little behind the music for a lot of the first movement and does not have the jump Tess does.

Tess and Tyler Angle were amazing last night in TP2. This is one of my favorite ballets and it's so good to see it again after so long out of rep. I think the last time they did this Tess was a soloist still. She has gotten even better in the role, if that's possible. I love her height in this too. She really stands out, especially in the third movement where she is surrounded by a block of dancers shifting around her, right before she starts those fouettes. Gorgeous. And Tyler Angle in the beginning of the second movement with all those beautiful women flocking and swirling around him. He was just as good as Chuck Askegard used to be! I thought Devin was also wonderful in the Demi role. I was a little disappointed in Ana Sophia. She didn't have much of a jump. I remember when Tess used to really make something of that role (although she totally belongs in the main role of course!!). Can't wait to see this ballet again. It's one of those ballets that makes one cry just at the sheer beauty of it. (Bad programming with Sylphide, which does not compare favorably).

I thought Megan was fantastic in Ballo, better than Tiler overall. She was fearless, particularly in her huge jumps landing with both feet on pointe then jumping again and landing on pointe. She made that crystal clear and so thrilling and exciting (while Tiler sort of landed on pointe then quickly transitioned to demipointe, or at least it didn't look as clear with her). Megan must have ankles of steel. Tiler is better in T&V, although Megan was very beautiful in it too. I thought there might be something off with Joaquin after Saturday's performance because he seemed to have much less energy than usual -- including omitting the very last double tour the men do in the finale (one on each side, Joaquin did one and then walked to the other side while the other men jumped). He's been so good this season that I couldn't believe all of a sudden age was catching up to him -- he really seems to be the fountain of youth. Hopefully it's not an injury but just a bug and he gets better soon. Shout-out to Gonzalo in Ballo, he really surprises me at how good he can be sometimes (he was NOT good in 1st movement Sym in C). Also on Saturday, I though Ashley Laracey was breathtaking and haunting in the usually boring waltz section of Suite No. 3. She must, must, get a chance at doing Sonnambula next time it comes around! Erica Pereira in the Scherzo had issues with her turns and fell out of the showcase fouettes. Awkward. I really liked her in Walpurgisnacht this season (I thought her delicacy worked well with the music), so that was disappointing. Finally, I was so happy to see Lydia Wellington back on stage after a long absence -- she's one of my favs and my eye is always drawn to her no matter where she is in the corps -- she made a couple of unannounced appearances last week and was finally officially listed this past weekend. And I always love Devin Alberda -- so glad to see he is getting more featured roles. Looking forward to Tchai Piano No. 2!

I'm also a huge Laracey fan. I think she should have been promoted to principal over Lovette. A recent picture on Craig Hall's instagram feed is giving me some hope that Laracey and Janzen will do the Sym in C adagio at some point (it looks like the adagio, anyway). I saw their Sugarplum/Cavalier and thought they were better than any others this past Nutcracker season. Laracey has the potential to take over the Maria K adagio roles with the same sort of transporting quality that others seem to lack in those parts (including Tess Reichlen, whom I adore in almost everything). I hope Martins doesn't wait too long to give her those chances. She languished in the corps for far, far too long. https://www.instagram.com/p/BAVuNz0MypC/?taken-by=lsweaters Re last night, I thought the corps was outstanding in Glass Pieces. Liked all the young members doing the solo roles in the first half, too.

What a shame about Veyette. It was the most painful thing seeing him gut it through his solos in Donizetti the other night. He looked fine in the pdd but as soon as he came out for his first solo it was clear there was something very wrong. But he gutted it out for the bits where he would have been the only person on stage (although he stayed away for his bits with the corps). He even (grimace) toughed out a few double tours, all of which were still better than most men in the company can do uninjured. But maybe that wasn't the smartest thing given his injury? It was definitely some problem with one of his legs, as he hopped onto the other one in the middle of toughing it through another pirouette sequence. He must be horribly disappointed at missing the Peck and maybe Harlequinade too. The company really needs more depth in those kinds of roles that require virtuosic male dancing, like Donizetti, Theme & Variations, and Oberon in MSND. Most of the time it's Veyette and De Luz alternating, because they're the only ones that can pull it off well. Sometimes the company throws in Garcia or Carmena, but those two are not in the same league as Veyette and De Luz and obviously struggle in those roles. De Luz is amazing, especially given his age, but nycb really needs some star men to fill out the bench. For some reason they refuse to use Danny Ulbricht (he's probably close to De Luz's height, so it can't be just that alone). Here's hoping Veyette has a speedy recovery. I love his dancing.

I must respectfully disagree with Amour about Chaconne. I most definitely am not a fan of the Adrian Danchig-Waring/Tess Reichlen pairing. He is just too short to partner her. They had a very visible bobble in the opening pdd when she has to duck under his arm -- because she had trouble ducking that low. He also had trouble reaching for her wrists when she was on point with arms raised. Awkward. I found Maria and Tyler's opening pdd just magical and ethereal. Maria also is just inherently regal. The Adrian/Tess version was clunky. Otoh, I thought they both excelled at the solo variations. Can't they find a taller person for Tess to dance with regularly? She's been stuck with Ask la cour amid a rotation of other men who aren't quite right, and she hasn't really had time to develop a partnership with any. What about Janzen, or Catazaro? I thought Sara Mearns was fantastic in La Valse. So much better than Sterling Hyltin (I don't much like Hyltin in anything).

It was Brittany Pollack's debut in the 4th movement of Sym in C, not Danchig-Waring's (I've definitely seen him dance it before, and always very well - he has the best line of any of the male dancers in the company and does everything with wonderful amplitude). I thought Brittany had a great debut, she had no problems with the tricky turning, making it look seamless (whereas Lauren King always has issues with that). I didn't like Lauren Lovette in the 3rd movement -- she's not really a jumper, I'm not sure why she was cast. Gonzalo had a great night, though next to his Lauren's jumps looked even more meager. Ashley Bouder danced very well, too, but I'm not so sure this is the right role for her. She is so fast that she's always a beat ahead of everyone else -- especially in the finale, with the 4 principal women doing the same steps, it becomes distracting. I miss Ana Sophia Scheller in that role. Sara Mearns's adagio has only gotten better, it was gorgeous. I don't think she's incapable of dancing with speed -- I recall her just flying through Walpurgisnacht. I think that was more of a problem with Ashley not being able to sync with the rest. Chase Finlay was disappointing, again. It always seems to me that the corps men have better double tours and technique than he does. I've never quite gotten him. He always seems gassed halfway through a ballet. Agon was the strongest ballet of the night. Maria and Amar were perfection, and Andy Veyette always brings so much personality to a tricky role. Everyone was great. They should give Laracey more role opportunities, I love her dancing. Tess Reichlen was the standout in Serenade, but Dark Angel probably has the least dancing of the 3 main roles. She has done a great Russian girl in the past, too -- wish they would give her that more often.