cubanmiamiboy

I don't know...I hear all this about "not every Principal needs to master all roles", and I really can't fathom the idea. There they are... all the way go the top, and dancing with OBVIOUS and very exposed limitations. It can be that I got so used to the ultra harsh Cuban ranking system of: 1-Corps B 2-Corps A 3-Coryphee 4-Soloist 5-Principal 6-Primera ballerina ...that one knew that every single one of those #6's was completely capable to dance absolutely everything. I don't think I want to settle for less. Copeland and Seo's were mediocre performances.

All I say...I hope McKenzie has enough reasoning not to take Copeland or Seo in any international tour if Giselle, SL or DQ are in the menu. People out there are not that politically correct, you know. Up until when I left, there was still booing in Havana.

Abbat...you have made a great point about the possibility of the problem not being the ballerinas themselves but McKenzie' judgement at casting. But I can't still pass the point of...how did Seo and Copeland even got promoted if they did something like this in their debuts...? In fact...does anybody remember Copeland's and Seo's debut in either Giselle, SL or DQ...? Did both Giselles completed the sautes...? Did both Kitries/Odiles completed the fouettes...? And if not...then how the hell they still got promoted..?!?

Here goes my ranting. I came to NYC...from down south...with big expectations.... to the MET...to this temple of the grand art in this side of the Atlantic,..and out of four Swan Lakes I get to see only ONE Odile performing her fouettes sequence as it should be...and that THAT dancer is not a Principal, but a Soloist..?!...and that THREE Primas were not able to pull the role properly, technically speaking...?! I'm sorry...but that it totally unacceptable in my book. I watched ballet for a good 12 years in Havana, to then move to watch more ballet for 15 years in US, mostly in Miami and here in NYC, and never...NEVER had I seen such an embarrassment to have three consecutively Primas give such poor face to their company. Is there any precedent to this...in a single run that you all might remember...? I spoke about Copeland already, so here it goes to Seo. Her Odette was beautiful, given. BUT...let's not forget that what Odette basically does in the whole ballet is much about striking languid, hyper extended poses and keep carried and spinned by her partner. And yes...I believe that having Marcelo at her hand made the whole white acts as beautiful as they were. Entrechats in her variations were fine. Now...her Odile was a complete disaster as we all saw tonight. She did 20 fouettes...fell off pointe two times and right there she stopped, running awkwardly to downstage left. At least Copeland made up for the rest of the music with her own inventions,,to her credit. And then there was the star of the night. Marcelo. Who cares that his double cabrioles are not as open as they used to be...or that his grand jetes are a bit lower...? His artistry has matured with a big M. He does little details that are truly wonderful. For instance...when Odette comes running to protect her sisters from Siegfried's crossbow, all danseurs usually also do an encircling run intertwined with Odette's. Gomes instead stayed and lowered himself in a bow by the time Odette was running pass him. And his face...the way he has made a forever eye contact with his adoring NY fans is a hard gained triumph for him. He is truly wonderful to watch. and to end his note with a huge high...let's praise that SPECTACULAR suicide jump. When he was going up I though..."OK...I guess he will try to be contained to protect his working instrument...now that he has reached an age when extra measures need to be taken to prolong his career" Well...was I completely WRONG, boy!! He SPECTACULARLY JUMPED UPWARD, just to arch his body in a full uber-dramatic cambre midair with the force of a broken heart lower!! On my way out I overheard a conversation: "You know....I'm here for Marcelo..." "Oh, I know...aren't we all...?"

I need to get to the apartment to the computer. My fingers are noy fast enough on the cell to voice all I want to say...both anger and praise.

Major...major..MAJOR disaster that of Seo's deplorable Odile. Major..major....MAJOR triumph for Marcelo's ever crescent artistry.

Intermezzo. I must say I am truly enjoying Seo's lyrical, delicate Odette. And of course...handsome Marcelo is always a plus !?

Since the beginning of my ballet viewing career I tend to watch everything....the good, the bad and the in between. Being able to see how bad a dancer performs-(as with Copeland yeasterday, which I had only seen one time before...quite some years ago in a Miami Gala)- really helps me appreciate the good ones.

Well...then they might come with the bright idea of rising the tickets price of her performances as she learns how to throw another fouette in her SL and DQ. Who knows...if she ever completes the 32 at some point of her career ABT might be out of debt, just thanks to her..!

I am not arguing ABT's marketing strategies, for which Copeland is obviously a much appreciated item. I am talking about grand ABT ballet...and proficient ABT classical ballerinas, in which case Copeland would then be indeed a laughable matter-(or a shameful one...).

I just can't believe that such a respectable company as ABT has agreed to capitalizing by offering such a technically deficient ballerina just because they know she will be good for the sake of marketing. I have never seen such a disastrous spectacle as last night's in such a packed with screaming fans sold out house. Listening to people going crazy with her botched 19 fouettes was laughable. Is this what ABT is aimed at present itself...a laughable item...?

Misty Copeland should had never been promoted to Principal. She is not technically qualified to be a Principal, and it is a disgrace that so much of this promotion has to do with the politically correctness path. She might be a symbol and example for young African American girls...but she is NOT ABT Principal material.

Edited: double post

A plan B would be to suppress them altogether and do something else-(just as spectacular...which would be hard, given that fouettes are probably the most challenging step for a ballerina). Now...in that case she would then be publicly recognizing that she is the one ABT principal that CAN'T perform 32 fouettes. I haven't done too much of an investigation to make comparissons...but as far as you guys remember...have you ever seen a principal that being given the role decided to substitute the fouettes every-single -time, to the point of never having left a memory of performing them...?

It is.

They reminded me at me and my own peers back in Havana when Charin used to do the 32 changing spots three times to address the Queen first, Siegfried second and finally the audience. The audience there-(and here tonight)- went crazy with screams.

Now I can quite see the meaning of "dumbing down" a choreographic sequence, vs. getting creative due to injury. Because that is what Copeland did tonight. She totally dumbed down her fouettes sequence. She did only 19 singles...travelling extensively...and making up the rest of the music with her own fillers. Her is probably the worst Black Swan coda I have ever seen, only second to an even bigger disaster I saw via Skorik many years ago. A really sad spectacle to witness that was. I also enjoyed her Odette. And Cornejo totally showed her through.

Edited: deleted.

I am at the MET. This is pandemonium here. The house is just FULL TO CAPACITY!!???

In any case. Years later...when people will reminisce about this particular performance, the "no fouettes" picture is the only thing we will all probably remember.

In any case. Years later...when people will reminisce about this particular performance, the "no fouettes" picture is the only thing we will all probably remember.

My "solution" implies the idea coming from the ballerina herself...not forced upon her.

????

There are indeed many instances in changes of choreographic standard steps in ballet, just as there is a lowering of standard key tones or shift from an ascending to a descending octave in a final note of certain opera arias, due to the soprano's inability to perform them. And then there will always be the comments about "so and so who couldn't sing said aria in its original tone", or about a ballerina who avoided fouettes for which "it was not her cup of tea"-(N. Khrassovska on A. Danilova, BRdMC dcumentary). Now...there is one of the many wonderful books by Markova in which she directly addresses the problem. She was a technician, and even in a soft, educated way, she firmly believed in the idea of only getting a certain role if the ballerina was completely capable of dancing all its required steps. We might not know the exact reasons for which Boylston omitted the fouettes-(given that she has performed it before), but...in the ideal world of hardcore balletomannes, the right solution would had been to get someone right there-(eg. Sarah Lane)-to perform the sequence. The MET is a world class temple of grand art. Many of us come from out of the city to see things that we wouldnt' otherwise. Odile's fouettes is one of them-(MCB only has Balanchine's white abridgment). It could had been the case that she decided to substitute the steps right on stage...although I am willing to bet it was not the case, for which she came out right from upstage left at the very moment of the timpani sounds, which in the music is usually preceded by some bars of music that goes with Odile's walking entrance from upstage right while Siegfried finishes his pirouettes. For what I could sense, she was already waiting in the wings to do her substitution. Having another dancer who COULD do the fouettes as established by Legnani would had been the proper way to show respect for fans who pay hard money to be on the MET.

No fouettes tonight for Odile. Sequence of pique turns/ jete menages instead. Bummer.