angelica

16 hours ago, Jayne said:

I don’t mind criticizing a reimagined setting.  I have seen many that I felt were unsuccessful.   I’m just not opposed to them in general.  

Fine. I found this reimagining completely "unsuccessful."

On 5/14/2024 at 1:25 PM, Jayne said:

I have yet to watch this, but the discussions have been very clear that Phil Chan has reimagined the ballet in a new setting.  If Shakespeare, Opera, etc can be placed in different settings, then why not ballet?  
 

 

Has there ever been a "reimagination" of The Merchant of Venice?

Whatever may have been the motivations and historical sources for this production, it was turned from a transcendent, spiritual audience experience into a mildly funny Broadway show. Different tastes for different folks. That's what makes horse racing.

5 hours ago, matilda said:

I haven't seen it but the cowboys theme sounds cringe... like, "let's combat offensive Asian stereotypes by throwing the ballet into the most stereotypical white-Americana hick setting."

Actually, Hollywood filmmaking. And yes, cowboys! Way, way too many cowboys! Again and again!

I will say, however, that the dancing was quite good. These dancers missed a real opportunity to learn choreography  that they might be expected to know if they were to be hired by a ballet company after graduation. 

Not to mention the amount of money that must have been allotted for this.

I watched the livestream from IU and I couldn't believe my eyes or ears. To me, it was like going to a Broadway show, which is not what I expect when I buy a ballet ticket. If this were to become the new incarnation of Bayadere, I would never go to see it again. I LOVE that ballet, and think that this new version is a travesty. Cowboys? Really?

1 hour ago, ABT Fan said:

Welcome! If you want to be wowed, catch his Mercutio - casting still to be released. I’m sure his Benno and Lensky will also be incredible. 

Lensky is a great role. I'll never forget Jared Matthews doing the long adagio. Of course, McK didn't promote him and he left the company (for Houston? I'm not sure where he went after that. I don't remember if Lensky also has the dazzle-dazzle of Mercutio, though.

6 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

I also wondered if it could be a hint to Jaffe. Yes, 2018 was the last time they did Bayadere - that was Lane’s Nikiya debut. 

Wow, that would really be something if they brought Lane back. I would actually drag my 100-year-old (rounding off to the nearest hundred) body from Westchester to the Met for that.

I agree with all the suggestions above, saraBW. Rosa Mexicano is especially fun because they make the guacamole right at your table. The Smith is, indeed, terribly noisy.

, 

3 hours ago, MoMo said:

I recently saw on Instagram that Irina and Max are rehearsing Corps. de Ballet member Luigi Crispino as Purple Von Rothbart. 

This is good to hear. Some time ago Brandt posted on Instagram some clips of rehearsals with Crispino (I think it was of Don Q) and I thought he was excellent in both technique and aplomb.

Thanks so much for posting this, vipa! I have always loved Sarah Lane's dancing, and whether rightly or wrongly, I have always blamed McKenzie for the pauses in the trajectory of her career.

46 minutes ago, matilda said:

I don't think anybody could entice me to see Like Water for Chocolate again. Even if the ticket were free. 

Same here.

1 hour ago, BalanchineFan said:

I know this post is months old. I agree, it's not great marketing, but it works in terms of creating a rehearsal schedule. Suppose you want to promote 4 dancers to soloist. You wouldn't want them to rehearse their corps parts for a month and then, BANG on opening night you throw four new corps members onstage and give the four new soloists new soloist roles. If you announce promotions at the end of a season everyone has time to rehearse and prepare.

Also, the subscription brochure arrives in the Fall, and I believe it has preliminary casting, so subscribers (and anyone who goes to the Master Calendar) will be informed about casting before they have to decide whether to renew their subscriptions or switch to other subscriptions. You can dream for months about the latest debut performance coming up.

When Joseph Gordon is on stage, I can't take my eyes off him.

20 minutes ago, Quiggin said:

Some of the Russian Formalists of the 1920s discuss artists' apprenticeships in terms of parody and irony – Dostoevsky's parodies of Gogol, Manet's of Goya and Velasquez, Proust of various 19c writers – as a way to find their own voice. It often feels there is an edge of parody humming along in Balanchine's classical works, especially Bizet.

That's so interesting, Quiggin. So what would be examples of Balanchine ballets that aren't parodies--the black and white, perhaps?

15 minutes ago, Novice123 said:

I will bet both of my legs that the health care contribution will be higher than the 3% wage increase.  Does anyone want to take my bet.  If I lose, I'll send you my legs, nice cut and frozen.  

But will they be turned out?

On 8/9/2023 at 10:51 PM, vipa said:

 I assume they know what they're doing.

Never assume that anyone knows what they'r doing.

Jake Roxander!

2 hours ago, California said:

Could I just say how sad this whole story is -- a young man who loved ballet but must have started to have a glimmer years ago that he didn't quite have what it would take to rise to the top at ABT. He could have left gracefully and quietly to join a contemporary company or perhaps a smaller one or one in Europe and thrived. 

I think that whoever titled Mr. Shayer's op-ed piece, and perhaps it was Mr. Shayer himself, got it absolutely right. ABT does not see him as he sees himself, because he has a false sense of how he appears to others as a classical dancer, i.e., he sees himself as dancing like a prince, but he doesn't have the finesse that a prince needs to have. He was hired when he was young and his high jump suggested he had promise. Either he doesn't quite have what it takes or he didn't put in the work to develop it and his jumps were no longer so high as they had been. 

3 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

I have to say that despite him not living up to the potential many of us hoped he had, his Bronze Idol was the best I’ve ever seen. Simply gorgeous.

You might want to tell him that on Instagram or elsewhere.

2 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

Between the shortened season, limited repertoire, and lack of must-see casting, this is the most blah I've ever felt about an ABT season. I'm not sure how many more times I can sit through a so-so performance of that McKenzie Swan Lake. 

I'm relieved to know it's not just me. I was afraid I had lost my love of ballet.

1 minute ago, abatt said:

Royal's technical flaws are exposed most egregiously in Petipa.  

Everyone's technical flaws are exposed most egregiously in Petipa. You're right, though, in suggesting that more contemporary ballets have more room for personality.

Just want to give a shout-out to Erica Lall for her delightful performance in last night's Act I pas de trois. Technically precise with high jumps, soft landings, and visible charm.

Just now, abatt said:

Hurlin performed SL last year.

Thank you, abatt.

Is tonight Hurlin's debut in Swan Lake or has she performed it before?

1 hour ago, NinaFan said:

 When did such a practice ever become the acceptable norm at ABT? 

Perhaps when Misty Copeland couldn't finish 32 fouettés at the end of SL?