laurel

HOORAY FOR SARAH LANE!!!

Lane will be dancing with Cornejo again, and he knows how to support her and offer her confidence. After her fouette issue two years ago, she'll never make the same mistake again, and either will sweep through the sequence or have a graceful exit planned. I think she'll be just fine.

I wonder if it was Copeland who suggested the substitution. Maybe she was anticipating exhaustion, or had some trouble during rehearsal. Last week Lane proved to management how fantastic she can be as a manipulative seductress. Maybe this will prove to be a good thing all around. If it leads to Lane getting her own scheduled Swan Lake performance next season, it most definitely will be worth it.

OMG, so sorry to miss this, but how FABULOUS for Sarah Lane! Copeland's fans will not be happy about it, but I think we all know by now that Lane will be prepared tonight and those fouettes will be done correctly! Go girl go!!!

Yes, I did see her NY Swan Lake debut two years ago, and her Odile was impressive, but after only four rehearsals (per Daniil Simkin), it was a project in the works. In Manon, she gives a far more visceral portrayal. And it will return on Friday! As Fleurfairy noted below, Lane was weeping through much of the curtain calls - they received a standing ovation, of course. When she and Cornejo appeared for front of curtain bows, she appeared slightly awestruck, and gazed around at the audience with what seemed to be a look of gratitude.

I’ve never seen Manon live in performance before tonight and I was overwhelmed. I thought Lane and Cornejo were completely transformed tonight. Never have I seen either one dance with so much emotion and conviction – maybe because neither one has been given the chance before, at least not at ABT. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but whatever frustrations, anger and pain they may have had bottled up - the promotions missed, the roles denied – it seemed everything appeared onstage via their characters. And it’s about time, too. Cornejo often tends to be more stoic than emotive, keeping his face subdued. Not tonight. By the third act his Des Grieux was an emotional wreck, a nobleman’s son turned cheat and murderer who loses it all. His devastation was heart-rending. Cornejo had to wait years to show us this performance, until it was almost too late – more lost opportunities. This is the first time Lane has been cast in a real adult role, mature and very emotionally complex, and she pulled it off brilliantly. Lane has never danced like this before. Princess Aurora and Princess Praline have vanished, along with all of Lane’s usual mannerisms. The Act I pas de deux with Cornejo was gorgeous and Lane’s port de bras was like a rippling flag, signaling her love. It made her acceptance of G.M.’s gifts all the more amazing: trying on the coat was like falling under a spell, and Lane made sure you could the change pass across her face. Des Grieux never had a chance beside such magic. In Act II, Lane moves her character even deeper into disrepute, with her haughty promenade around the room, basking in men’s attention. In her Swan Lake performance, Lane was a natural as Odette, and here at last, in Act II’s Manon, we see her Odile. She’s always had this darkness in her and it’s just taken the right opportunity to pry it loose. By Act III, in a spiky wig, tiny costume and bare-legged, Sarah Lane has vanished completely. Her beautiful port de bras is gone, and this dying woman is no one we know. If you thought Lane’s Giselle was riveting, her Manon is astonishing. And if you watch closely, you can see Lane’s Juliet within Manon, as well as her Odile. If we never get to see her in these roles, at least we have this, and I can’t wait to see Manon again on Friday. Blaine Hoven was razor-sharp as Lescaut, a thief and cheat with the good looks of a gentleman. His drunken dance in Act II was a feat of great skill and flexibility, and his acting top-notch. He is better and better each time I see him, and I hope something good will come of it. He is a great dancer and his promotion, as we know, is long overdue.

Skylar Brandt made her debut as Medora in Le Corsaire in Spring 2017, when Maria Kotchetkova, along with several other principals, was injured during the first week of the season. Lane, Shevchenko, and Teuscher all made unplanned debuts and picked up extra performances and were promoted at season's end. Brandt had danced Medora in Studio Company and made her unplanned debut as Medora onstage at the Met as well. She was terrific, but her performance tonight was vastly improved, showing great maturity and real work on character interpretation. If you want to see a woman who can knock out speedy fouettes and pirouettes as if they were nothing at all, and whose arms and hands do not look like the broken branches of a tree flailing in the wind, then check out Skylar Brandt this season. She is a joy to watch! As long as audiences are willing to pay to see the kind of fireworks we saw on stage tonight, then this silly ballet with its 19th century attitudes towards slavery, piracy, and harem girls with exposed midriffs for the delight of men in the audience will continue to be performed. It was as if Simkin had challenged Brandt and Mack to try and top his acrobatic pyrotechnics in the pas de trios. At the end of his manage, he threw in an extra move, a kind of extra torso twist while on the ground, bent backwards from waist up. People began to scream in astonishment and delight. What a display! I enjoyed seeing Brooklyn Mack for the first time. He is an enormously powerful dancer and a great partner, but he struck me as lacking in the kind of finesse that Marcelo Gomes and Herman Cornejo possess, which help put them the virtuoso territory. But boy, would I rather see him dance again in anything if it meant I could go without seeing Whiteside or Stearns. He is a vast improvement over those two! There is no one now, nor will there ever be, another dancer in the company with a port de bras like Sarah Lane's, and her dancing was particularly gorgeous tonight. Gulnare is pretty much a thankless supporting role, but Lane always brings a lush sensuality to the character, coupled with an unending sadness. It's a beautiful and complex combination. Cheers to Blaine Hoven for his fantastic debut as Lankendem. If he and Tom Forster were promoted at season's end I'd be thrilled. Unfortunately, management has shown time and again that there will be promotions only for those who dance leading roles like Albrecht, Siegfried, Prince Desire, and neither of these two men have been cast in these roles. It makes Aran Bell's promotion inevitable following his upcoming Siegfried debut.

This ballet’s not good, but it’s not that bad, either. I’ve seen much worse at ABT. The problem, as everyone has pointed out, is the choreography. The ceaseless repetition, the lack of variation, the attempt to embody character via spare physical movement – it doesn’t work. You just keep on wishing that there were some real dancing happening. A real pas de deux, please! I thought the score was wonderful, combining modern sound with lush orchestration and themes redolent of Chopin and chamber music. If only the choreography could have matched it’s quality. I thought the costumes were rather wonderful. They appeared to have been made using historic Regency patterns, then details were stripped so that what remains is just an impression of the era. With the exception of the Rochester family, all were made in neutral shades. Mr. Rochester, in dark blues, his ward, in pink, and Bertha, in deep red tatters, appeared like bursts of color on stage – obviously, each important to Jane in some psychological way. Other than freedom from men’s control, I’m really not certain what kind of feminist interpretation of the novel this production is supposed to offer, but Skylar Brandt, who performed as Young Jane tonight (replacing Breanne Granlund), tore across the stage in an emotional fury, fighting her way to adulthood. Brandt was great, and reminded me of the way she performed in the modern pieces on the Big Ballet Russian TV show last year. This ballet is well suited to dancers like Boylston and Copeland, who are problematic in classical ballets (especially Petipa), but do well when precision, lyricism and aesthetic beauty is not the objective. Boylston’s unattractive port de bras was nowhere to be seen, and her rather plain face was perfect for a woman who appeals to a man not through looks or money, but through strength of character. I’m no fan of hers, but for the first time, her performance, such as it is, worked for me. At the same time, the choreography allows more skilled dancers to shine, especially Skylar Brandt, Duncan Lyle (as St. John Rivers), and of course, Tom Forster. With his great height, Forster physically looms over the other characters when he makes his late entrance, and dressed in a long, dark blue redingote, he visually seizes the stage from the washed-out neutral-colored dancers around him. The weird, repetitive movement can’t mask his lyricism. Forster has a natural expressiveness which makes it easy to follow Rochester’s character growth, since the choreography does not make it clear. Though they both worked hard, I thought he stole the show from Boylston. I wouldn’t recommend this ballet to anyone; it’s far too long and frustrating. Unfortunately, after all the recent publicity, I have the feeling it’s going to be a part of ABT’s annual repertoire over the next few years, so there will be many future opportunities to see it, hopefully with better casts. I much prefer the work of Ratmansky to this choreographer’s, but there are some good things to be found in it. But one viewing is enough for me.

I agree, it was an excellent debut. He has a vibrant energy, and wonderfully long legs, which looked amazing during the turns in second and the manege. He was also lucky to have partnered Cassandra Trenary, who is probably the best actress in the company and really helped push his performance way over the footlights, adding goofy bits of business to her mime and forcing him to react in turn. Hope to see him cast in some good soloist roles during the fall and next year.

FauxPas’ review of last night’s (Tuesday’s) performance was spot on. While the Met was only half-full, it was full of people who came out to see the ballet in a nonstop pouring rainstorm, and were awake, alert, and eagerly applauded at all the correct spots (unlike some Wednesday matinee audiences). Some people were there to see their children or grandchildren who were dancing in Act II (many cameras came out), and the children were really good this year. They were well rehearsed, and as each dance section ended and the dancers moved offstage, the children in the following group moved onstage to take their places quickly, very seamlessly. They made Act II fly. Calvin Royal was not very effective in the mostly mime role of Pierrot. Rather than bumbling or foolish or even a melancholy soul, Royal played him as an angry man. If Royal had the chance to dance - not mime - Pierrot as poignant, poetic figure, it would be wonderful. I enjoyed Devon Teuscher as Pierrette, but she underplayed the role, and was not the saucy soubrette that Stella Abrera was last year. This was Carlos Gonzalez’s Met debut in a leading role. It was a fine debut, but as Faux Pas noted, he is not a bravura dancer and his character portrayal was MIA. However, he was a careful and attentive partner to Sarah Lane – far more attentive than Simkin ever was when they first performed together. The many lifts last night came off splendidly, and Gonzalez did not lose his grip or drop her. Bravo! Lane seemed very comfortable with the choreography this year. During her Lark pas de deux solo – the one in which she hops on point into releve twice or three times – you could see her adding her own little interpretive flourishes to the dance, illustrating the Lark’s emotions as she moves from fearing the Hunter to caring for him. It was lovely to see, as was her beautiful, lyrical, feathery dancing. She did have a tiny bit of a mishap earlier, though, barely noticeable, as her little black bicorn hat began to fall from her head as she exited the stage to change costume for the Lark scene – chapeau malfunction!

If you are (or will be) in New York City next month, "Nureyev" the documentary has a two-week run coming up at Film Forum, from Friday, June 7 to Thursday, June 20. If there's enough audience demand, there's always a chance that Film Forum may extend the run. https://filmforum.org/film/nureyev

If you are looking forward to the upcoming Lane/Cornejo performances of "Sleeping Beauty" this spring as much as I am, hurry over to Sarah Lane's Instagram stories, where she has posted some rehearsal footage of her Rose adagio (footage should disappear sometime Sunday pm). If she remains as relaxed and technically strong in July, we will be treated to two more performances of her amazing and gorgeous Aurora.

Saturday evening. Sara Mearns posted on her Instagram stories tonight that she is saying goodbye to her role in “Pictures at an Exhibition” for a while, and that she was not happy with her performance. Frankly, I don’t think that anyone who saw her dance tonight would agree with her. She gave an intensely physical performance, literally throwing herself into the choreography, which is so difficult and complex, though she did seem to be pushing herself toward the ballet’s end - and this followed her great performance this afternoon in “Herman Schmerman.” I’m not surprised to hear she is tired and in pain, and I hope she gets some recovery time after today. You can always tell from her Instagram posts when she’s feeling better. I love how committed she is to her art. The entire cast of the ballet performed at a very high level (with Taylor Stanley replacing Gonzalo Garcia). This was my first viewing of “Oltremare,” and despite the bad things I’d heard about it I still looked forward to seeing it. It started off well, but unfortunately it was all downhill from the moment a chime sounded, and Maria Kowroski began to walk, then crawl over Tyler Angle (at one point she was upside down and standing on her head; I heard someone in the row behind me laughing). The choreography, forced and insistent on displaying suffering and loss, simply was not good. Thankfully, the evening closed with the superb choreography of Justin Peck’s wonderful “Rodeo” and tonight’s performance was great. Brittany Pollack was excellent, especially in the third episode (pas de deux) with Taylor Stanley. I love the formality and structure of the ballet; the choreography is like the music, clean and beautiful. It’s one of those ballets I could sit through every year and never tire of seeing. Spotted in the audience during the second intermission: Wendy Whelan, chatting with a young admirer. They took a photo together, then Whelan sat down and autographed a pair of pointe shoes for her. It was a kind and gracious moment, quietly done, and wonderful to see.

I was happy to be in attendance this Saturday afternoon for “21st Century Choreographers II” mostly because I’d never seen any of the pieces before and was eager to experience them. Also very happy that I did NOT read the critique of the program in the New York Times prior to the show; while the journalist and I saw a different performances, I thought it was mostly nasty piece and unnecessarily irrelevant to what was happening on stage. While “Hallelujah Junction” certainly was the weakest piece, there was no “inherent evil” emanating from the ballet simply because it was choreographed by Peter Martins. The three leads were Megan LeCrone, Aaron Sanz, and Roman Mejia. All were fine, and as someone else here has noted, it was nice to see LeCrone looking pleasant and engaged, instead of another one of her robotic turns as Coffee in Balanchine’s Nutcracker. LeCrone and Sanz also partnered in pas de deux in the second piece, “Herman Schmerman,” and here, her shortcomings in a leading role were more readily apparent. She did nothing wrong, and her technical skills are excellent, but she lacks the verve, the attack, the precision of movement that make principals like Mearns, Peck and Hyltin a cut above (especially with Mearns dancing in the first half of the ballet). Number three was “The Exchange,” and I found it crazy and enjoyable. The costumes are by Gareth Pugh, a very young and in-your-face British designer who revels in outrage and cultural and political anarchy. Interestingly, his current collection for spring-summer 2019 seems as if it had been inspired by themes from this ballet, and features face masks, full hair cauls, red and black geometric designs, and deconstructed gowns and trousers. Both Joseph Gordon and Erica Pereira were wonderful in this piece, but the real standout was Adrian Danchig-Waring, singly and while partnering Maria Kowroski. In fact, he was the real star of the final piece as well, the fantastic “Concerto DSCH,” where he partnered Sterling Hyltin (the couple in green). Even with Joseph Gordon and Harrison Ball setting the stage on fire with Brittany Pollack (the blue trio), Danchig-Waring’s charismatic presence almost made you forget them. Technically brilliant, and combining a lyrical skill coupled with athletic strength, I found myself looking only for him throughout the performance. Here’s hoping he remains healthy and uninjured for the rest of the year! He is much needed indeed. It’s a gorgeous spring double-header for me today; I’ll be returning to Lincoln Center later for this evening’s show! Hope to report at some point tomorrow. Cheers to all!

So pleased to see that Jonathan Klein has been cast as The Boy in two performances of Whipped Cream in April, one in Iowa City, the other in Chicago. I hope this means we may look forward to seeing him in one (or both) of the currently-TBA Whipped Cream performances at the Met in May. I've found him to be a wonderful and vibrant young dancer, and his presence will help make the spring season that much more exciting for me!

Well, I'd never have imagined a physician might one day concoct a review of this wonderfully light, witty ballet citing its sinister anti-medical bias and its relevance to the anti-vaccine movement, and descriptive passages featuring medical terminology including "abdominal pain," "attending physician," "medical team," and "the patient has either been kidnapped or has left the hospital against medical advice." This has to be the most surreal and hilarious ballet review I've ever read! Perfect for the Mark Ryden production! Thanks for the link, and thanks to the medical authors for the laughs (however unintentional on their part)!

I enjoyed the performance last night - I thought Sterling Hyltin was rather wonderful - but Russell Janzen appeared near collapse by Act II. He was visibly tiring through his manege around stage during the Grand Pas; he somehow dragged himself through the rest of it, but it was a distressing sight. The tempo was speedy throughout the performance but at the end of Act II, like a crazy comedy show, it suddenly picks up from double time to triple or quadruple time. I found it rather nutty; it made zero sense. It reminded me of a scene in the film version of the musical Bye Bye Birdie. The "Russian Ballet" is appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show, but their lugubrious performance runs too long and the rock star's appearance is cut from the show. Someone spikes the Russian orchestra conductor's drink with an amphetamine; his eyes begin to roll, he speeds the music's tempo to a ridiculous pace; the Russian ballet onstage begins to race around like the silent movie Keystone Kops; they speed through the ballet so quickly there's now time left for the rock star to appear on the show. That's what the NYC Ballet production seemed like to me, a ballet on benzedrine.

I agree with California's choices. I especially recommend the powerhouse cast of Le Corsaire on June 11 and 15, with Brandt, Cornejo, Lane, Gonzalez, and Simkin on the 11th. I happen love Ratmansky's gorgeous production of The Sleeping Beauty, though many people do not. Lane and Cornejo have been outstanding in this ballet the past. To help you decide, you can go to Youtube, google "Sarah Lane ballet" and some of her rehearsal videos from the 2016 tour to Paris will pop up. Including this:

Well, if Tyler Angle were not available, who would have partnered Maria Kowroski so beautifully in Mozartiana tonight, the performance I’d been waiting to see? The last time I saw this ballet was Veronika Part’s farewell performance at ABT, and though both she and her partner, Blaine Hoven, danced it wonderfully, I knew Veronika’s lyrical style could not have been what Balanchine had in mind. Maria Kowroski’s speed, her attack, her clean movement and precise phrasing (and those long legs whipping around like the wind!) allowed me to see this ballet in a very different and far more modern way. She and Angle moved together in the Theme & Variations with the smoothness and experience of long time partners, without hesitation or errors, and sometimes that's more important than a good looking but terrified novice who can't properly support an arabesque. I’m so grateful I was able to attend this performance tonight, because I feel that these dancers have given me enormous insight into this ballet. The rest of the program was not too shabby, either (!), especially the spectacular Piano Concerto No. 2 with Bouder and Gordon, but I enjoyed Mozartiana the most. Also, spotted in the audience tonight, Skylar Brandt, along with Herman Cornejo’s girlfriend Maria, chatting at the front of the orchestra during intermission with Devon Teuscher. Both Teuscher and Brandt looked like they’d just come from ABT rehearsal downtown. Preparing for next week in DC, no doubt!

I saw only one online review of ABT’s Nutcracker at the Segerstrom Center before I left for my vacation travels, and that was the OC Register’s review of opening night. The critic was unhappy with the performance, saying the professional dancers looked jet lagged while the student dancers looked like pros. He didn’t even bother identifying the leads that night (Hee Seo and Cory Stearns). He would have been far more entertained if he’d returned to see the two marvelous performances I attended, the debuts of Christine Shevchenko and Thomas Forster on Thursday, and the Lane-Gorak performance on Friday. As remarked by others, and as seen on the Instagram clip, the Shevchenko-Forster performance was pure ballet heaven. These two dancers have it all: speed, agility, and technique, and they gave their characters an emotional link which bound them together and allowed them to move with confidence through the pas de deux. Christine’s dancing has improved so much since her promotion last year that I can only describe her as dazzling. She moves with electrifying speed, but unlike a certain other speedy company principal, does not lose control of her upper body, and completes every movement of her port de bras with flowing lyricism. And she danced in character, too. Her Princess Clara was a bubbly young woman, brimming with joy at the moment of first love. This is the first time I’ve seen Tom Forster dance a traditional leading role as a “prince,” and his noble demeanor and great partnering make it clear he should have been dancing these roles for years. They performed the entire pas de deux with zero problems – zero – including the torch lift, which they executed with great skill. They were superb in every way, and I can’t say enough good things about them. If by some miracle they are teamed again this coming spring in New York, I would say you should not hesitate to buy tickets to their performances. They are enthralling! The entire cast of Thursday’s show was top-notch and danced with great liveliness and enthusiasm. They appeared to have been coached to perfection and had plenty of rehearsal and rest time. The students from the school were uniformly excellent, and included Isabella Martino as Clara, the wonderful Chase Rogers as the Nutcracker Boy (these two repeated their performances on Friday), and the very funny Andrew Dove as the Little Mouse. Duncan Lyle as Drosselmeyer raced across the stage with great speed, adding extra little flourishes here and there to his character. Arron Scott performed Harlequin opposite Rachel Richardson’s Columbine, and though both were good, I feel he was better last year opposite Cassandra Trenary, when both danced more in character, as wind-up dolls. Cameron McCune and Breanne Granlund were fine as Recruit and Canteen Keeper, but like most in these roles, were overwhelmed by the speed and unable to finish with the music. The big reveal of the party scene (for me) was Aran Bell. As he seems to be the AD’s Chosen One for the Future, I was delighted to see him finally perform in character (mime), as a party guest, smiling (!), laughing (!), and playing tipsy for his wife. Hope he extends this skill building exercise into the spring. The women of the corps seemed buoyed by the presence of the Studio Company dancers and older students from the school. As others remarked, their dancing was amazingly uniform, and seemed determined to perform in character. There was far more glaring menace to the snowflakes this last year than last, and the flowers were overjoyed at the sight of the bees! In Act 2, I noted the presence of Melanie Hamrick in the Spanish Dance, retiree Kenneth Easter as Mother Ginger (Grandfather in Act 1), and Jonathan Klein as a bee. All three were great. Klein appeared fully recovered from his injury, and I would love to see him get another chance as the Boy in Whipped Cream. Happily, Friday night’s show was just as wonderful as Thursday’s. Whatever problems Lane and Gorak may have experienced earlier in the week had vanished by the time they stepped on stage, because their performances were near flawless. Doubtless, the extra rehearsal time was crucial to them. With the glaring exception of the torch lift, which they didn’t even attempt, they performed every other part of the pas de deux, and did so with the beautiful lyricism for which they’re both known. Gorak had no trouble with the other lifts. It was wonderful to see these two dancing together again. The last time I saw Gorak perform a leading role was in 2015’s Cinderella with Stella Abrera, right after her promotion. While his dancing was fine, I recall his demeanor as wooden and somewhat bland. On Friday night, all that had changed. Here, the Prince and Princess gazed at one another with great romantic intensity, and their ardor seemed almost palpable. The beauty of their complementary styles, their flowing, flexible arms, the perfect, supported pirouettes, Gorak’s cabrioles with his gorgeous feet (he nailed every landing), blended together to create a lovely, dreamy, romantic haze, which would have been even better if capped by that torch lift. I think their personal friendship and Lane’s ability to draw her partner into the performance helped to make this nearly-complete pas de deux a success. If Gorak were able to improve his partnering skills I think he could soar to the clouds! Both Thursday’s and Friday’s shows appeared to be nearly sold out. The audiences were very, very vocal in their appreciation of the upbeat, joyful performances, especially on Friday, when there were roars of laughter for the comic antics of the Little Mouse (a young woman named Logan Cooper), the Grandmother (Gemma Bond) and her giddy dance, and even the three Russians (Duncan Lyle, Nathan Vendt and Roman Zhurbin). The Nutcracker’s Sisters (Alex Basmagy, Katie Boren, Skylar Brandt, April Giangeruso and Betsy McBride) were amazingly clean and uniform; I don’t think I’ve seen their dance performed better. Drosselmeyer was Alexei Agoudine, in a near repeat of Duncan Lyle’s performance, but with more mystery and reserve. Columbine and Harlequin were Luciana Paris and Garegin Pogossian, Recruit and Canteen Keeper were Patrick Frenette and Cate Hurlin. Frenette is tall, with long legs and an elegant, princely line. I wonder if he’ll ever be given an opportunity to show what else he can do. I also love the way Ratmansky staged the large corps numbers; the party scene, the battle with the mice, the snowstorm, and the waltz of the flowers. Action happens downstage, mid-stage and upstage; no mater where you look, there is always something interesting occurring. I loved seeing the company so engaged this year, and performing so skillfully! It allows me to hope that performances in the spring will be just as good. Happy New Year to all!

Boy, do I remember that performance. I can actually remember catching sight of Lane in the wings after she'd exited the stage following the partnering mishap (the black curtains used to cover the wings at BAM don't really do a good job of blocking performer's entrances and exits), and as she waited for her cue to return. She looked so downcast and unhappy, I really wondered how she would muster the energy to finish the pas. But she danced out on stage again as if nothing had happened. Totally a pro. I'm flying out to Costa Mesa in the morning to see the Shevchenko-Forster evening performance, and will also be there on Friday evening for Lane & Gorak. I'm extremely disappointed that Blaine Hoven will not be partnering Lane. He is one of my very favorite dancers, with great skills, energy, and enough charisma to make even Copeland look good. I'm hoping that Lane & Gorak will have had some extra rehearsal time so that their pdd will work the second time around. I'll try to post about the performances when I return to New York around Christmas eve.

Nice review of Hong Kong Ballet's gala with Lane, Cornejo, and Brooklyn Mack, as well as Lane's performance in Giselle: http://www.atimes.com/article/hong-kong-ballet-in-top-form/

Lane and Cornejo were outstanding in Other Dances last night, giving virtuosic performances and improving on what I thought was perfection when I saw them perform this at the Kennedy Center in January. They have deepened and shaded their artistic interpretations and emotional responses to the choreography, and to one another, and it struck me that this is the closest I might ever come to seeing Baryshnikov and Makarova in this piece. I was awestruck. This is why I've always loved ballet, and in particular these two dancers, together. They are the main reason I keep coming back to ABT. Hoping to see Lane's added performance with Stearns on Sunday. Did anyone see the woman seated at the back of the orchestra, holding the dog on her lap? That was not a seeing eye dog. Is there some sort of rule regarding comfort animals at Lincoln Center which I've missed??

It is locked to non-subscribers. I can only read the first paragraph and a half unfortunately. Typical of WSJ. Sorry about that. For some reason, the article is available to me, and I'm definitely not a subscriber. Consequently, I've paraphrased it below for anyone who may be interested. The article is entitled "Hungarian Opera and Ballet Take Their Show on the Road," dated Oct. 22, 2018, and the author is Charles Passy. Both the State Opera and the National Ballet will be making their U.S. debuts starting October 30, with what is described as a 13-day residency at Lincoln Center. They will be bringing 367 people to New York, including 20 opera singers, 83 ballet dancers, 10 child dancers, 87 orchestra musicians and 3 conductors. The general director of the opera, Szilveszter Ókovács, notes New York trip will cost $4 million, an expensive venture for a country whose GDP ($139 billion) is less than the net worth of Amazon chief Jeff Bezos. However, Mr. Ókovács argues that the financial cost of the trip will be offset by the nation’s strong artistic values; despite its small size, Hungary’s cultural power is enormous. In addition, Budapest’s opera house, where both companies perform, has been undergoing renovation since last year, possibly continuing for up to three years. Accordingly, the opera and ballet companies stay active by touring, and have visited Japan and Estonia in addition to New York said Mr. Ókovács. Yet some wonder if the companies’ New York visit is merely cultural propaganda for nationalist right wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, known for his anti-immigration views, as his government tries to use these two great cultural institutions to present itself in a more positive light. Hungarian writer and theater critic Andrea Tompa feels the money spent on the tour should be used to support smaller artistic institutions at home, particularly ones that produce more adventurous programming. Referring to the ballet’s choice of Swan Lake for its Lincoln Center visit, she stated, “I’m very skeptical if this is the best way to represent Hungarian culture.” Mr. Ókovács said it was strictly the companies’ own choice to visit New York and the government had no input into the decision. Máté Vincze, head of the Hungarian Cultural Center in New York, an organization overseen by Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the visit to the city has no political agenda. “The visit of the Hungarian State Opera and the Hungarian National Ballet is what it seems—a cultural program,” he said via email.

Short article in the Wall Street Journal focusing on the motivations behind the Hungarian State Opera and National Ballet's expensive visit to New York. (Article is not locked and should be free to all non-subscribers.) https://www.wsj.com/articles/hungarian-opera-and-ballet-take-their-show-on-the-road-1540248626?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1