angelica

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?

3 hours ago, MarzipanShepherdess said:

 We talk on this board all the time about how there are many (mostly white) men in ABT's principals ranks who are pretty mediocre. And yet, they made it to principal. 

Timing is everything.

I saw last night's performance of Giselle and think that Shevchenko was sublime, exquisite in every way. I believe she is, certainly in this ballet, in the same league as  Vishneva, Ferri, and Ananiashvilli. What distinguishes her from those dancers, alas, is that she doesn't have a partner in the same league. Although Royal has improved greatly over the years, he is not on a par with Gomes, Hallberg, or Bocca. I saw Jake Roxander in the Peasant Pas in a dress rehearsal, and he looks to be a Principal straight out of the gate, but my crystal ball is only that, and not a determinant for the future. I would so love for Shevchenko to have a partnership deserving of her potential greatness.

Last year I saw three performances of R&J and I posted on this web site that of the three Mercutios I saw (I don't remember the other two), Shayer was the only one whose dancing was sloppy, definitely not up to par. Others on this board agreed with me.

Does anyone know what the shout was in the middle of the performance?

Exciting things are happening at ABT these days. For one thing, I saw Jake Roxander at the dress rehearsal on Monday and, as ABT Fan noted above, he was phenomenal in the Peasant Pas in all the ways she/he described. I'm ready to buy a ticket to see him in a principal role.

Another exciting thing was Hurlin's debut in Giselle this afternoon. In Act I she was light as a feather, with high, seemingly effortless jumps and soundless landings. In fact, throughout the entire ballet, nary a click, a squeak, nor a clop was made by her pointe shoes. I was very impressed by her acting as well, especially her mad scene, where she did her own interpretation pushing through the crowd, rather than picking up the sword and sliding it menacingly  in semi-circles. However it was in Act II that she really shone, combining both an ethereal vision with stellar technique. Her high extensions, low penchees, high jumps, quick entrechats, and oh, those grand jetes from back stage left to front stage right were to die for. And I can only swoon over the quickness and lightness of her bourrees backwards to the grave. I've seen great Giselles for decades, since the 1940s, and Hurlin is going to be one of the greats. She had a wonderful partner in Daniel Camargo, although like some others, I'd like to see a bit more refinement in his dancing. Maybe it's simply his carriage, which perhaps could be pulled up more to make him a half-inch taller. Or get him a coach. He's a beautiful dancer and a fine actor, and I'm expecting to see a lot more of him, so please can someone tweak this little thing?

I really enjoyed Fanqi Li as Myrta, and was surprised to learn that this was a debut on relatively short notice. What a beautiful dancer!

26 minutes ago, bingham said:

Crime and Punishment? Please hold that production until ABT is back on its feet. 

What an opportunity for a male principal dancer! Would love to see this when the time is right.

16 minutes ago, abatt said:

Did these "circumstances" exist before her abrupt withdrawal from the performance.  This is no way to treat your fans.

Sarah may not be injured, but from her post on Instagram, I have no doubt that she is ill.

4 hours ago, Belka said:

 

Is there a more exquisite dancer than Taylor Stanley? I don’t think I have ever gotten to see him dance before, and I was spellbound. I did not take my eyes off him the entire time he was on stage. No one else could come close. I loved the ending. I will be on a train to NYC to see more of Taylor S.

 

I totally agree about Taylor Stanley. He is one of a kind. Unique. He moves like no one else.