angelica

6 minutes ago, California said:

 

I don't know why this happened.

6 minutes ago, California said:

Side orchestra, on the aisle, is one of my favorite places to sit, even farther back, but it's difficult to get, as many seem to be reserved for critics and VIPs. Still, in an unfamiliar theater, it's safest. You're at a slight angle, so you don't have the tall person's head problem. At the Met, second choice is side parterre, in the front row, as Angelica says. But you also have to be careful about the ballet. To see the balcony in R&J, you have to be theater left. To see Giselle's grave, theater right. etc. Third choice is Grand Tier, Row A or B, even if it's over to the side - unobstructed view, but very far from the stage.

You're so  right, California, it absolutely depends on the ballet!

5 minutes ago, California said:

 

5 minutes ago, California said:

Side orchestra, on the aisle, is one of my favorite places to sit, even farther back, but it's difficult to get, as many seem to be reserved for critics and VIPs. Still, in an unfamiliar theater, it's safest. You're at a slight angle, so you don't have the tall person's head problem. At the Met, second choice is side parterre, in the front row, as Angelica says. But you also have to be careful about the ballet. To see the balcony in R&J, you have to be theater left. To see Giselle's grave, theater right. etc. Third choice is Grand Tier, Row A or B, even if it's over to the side - unobstructed view, but very far from the stage.

6 minutes ago, LadyBubbles said:

Thank you nanushka and angelica, and good point about the back of the grand tier. I'll keep that in mind. I'll definitely go for grand tier for the shows I definitely want to watch and are in my schedule, and maybe dress circle for those last minute "why not? I'm already here" unplanned shows (they seem to always happen). You know, just so I know how much I can still see from up there for any future lengthier season. Thanks again to both.

FWIW, I experimented one year and sat in many sections of the Met. The overall problem is that the opera house was built for opera, not for ballet, and the horseshoe is very deep, so even if you're in the most expensive seat, center parterre, you're very far away from the stage. This is unlike the State Theatre, which has a much shallower horseshoe (and also has enough ladies rooms, so there is never an impossible line at intermission). But I digress.

Now I always sit in the Orchestra, although that has its own problems, depending on where you're seated and how tall the person in front of you is. But before I could afford Orchestra seats I used to sit in the Side Parterre, boxes 5, 6, 7, or 8. That way you're closer to the stage, even though a small portion is cut off. If you sit in the Side Parterre, it's essential to sit in the first row of the box. One must make this very explicit when ordering Side Parterre tickets.

Seating preferences are so much a matter of personal taste.

Yes, ITA, LadyBubbles, spring for Grand Tier, Row A or as close to Row A as you can get. At the back of the Grand Tier, you're almost as high as the front of the Dress Circle.

5 minutes ago, California said:

Waiting list? Do you mean that the house is completely sold out for that night just with subscribers?

I can only guess that when people ordered their subscription tickets and were able to order extra single tickets at the same time, many ordered an extra ticket to 5/18. A couple of years ago tickets were held back until the last minute for one of the Ferri/Bolle Onegin performances because the demand was so high, and I'm guessing that they may be doing the same thing with 5/18.

9 minutes ago, California said:

Waiting list? Do you mean that the house is completely sold out for that night just with subscribers?

Please see above.

11 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

This must be their "insurance" for the 5/21 performance in case Osipova or Hallberg (or both) withdraw they'll still have a sold-out audience.

I think what ABT is saying is that you can't exchange a ticket FOR 5/18 or 5/21. For 5/18 there's already a waiting list. And 5/21 is the Gala. I think they'd be tickled pink if someone changed a ticket OUT OF 5/18 to another date.

5 hours ago, YouOverThere said:

Hmm, I wonder if Ratmansky could choreograph a ballet about breakfast.

Okay, YouOverThere and theo, this was definitely my LAUGH OF THE DAY! (And not so very far-fetched.)

I would love to see Thomas Forster getting more opportunities in principal roles. I've seen him do wonderfully in roles that require acting skills, e.g., in Onegin. He has a beautiful line. I don't know how he is technically (turns, jumps, etc.) because HE ISN'T BEING GIVEN A CHANCE. I would vote for him in a heartbeat over Gabe Stone Shayer, who has an awesome jump but seems to be simpering to the audience, at least in my eyes.

10 hours ago, Fraildove said:

Poor Veronika. That partner was too small for her and I think caused her to dance with so much hesitation in her movement. She also looks not in the greatest of shape that I’ve seen, although that costume was doing her no favors. For such a gorgeous woman and gracious performer to have been so undervalued and misstreated... well it’s beyond sad. Her variation looked much closer to the real ballerina that Part is. But the adagio was not a true representation of what she is normally on the stage. Heartbreaking and such a loss for ABT. I hope beyond hope she finds somewhere to dance that will appreciate and use her gifts in the way they should have been used for years.

ITA, Fraildove. She definitely should not use this as an audition video. Looks like she needs to go back to class on a regular basis. She is such a gorgeous dancer and unfortunately never found the right partner for a true ongoing partnership.

23 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

Haha -- yes! He was the most impressive male guest artist I've ever seen at ABT, but he made sure it was always Abrera's night. Just fantasizing here, but maybe they could reassign Whiteside to Murphy's Giselle and Romeo and Juliet, and bring in Shklyarov to partner Abrera in one (or both) of those ballets. (I think Whiteside has said in an interview that Murphy is his favorite partner, and they certainly have a good rapport, it seems). 

I would love to see Shklyarov partnering Abrera again, and especially instead of Whiteside.

Thank you, canbelto. That will be fun to do on Christmas day.

18 hours ago, cobweb said:

... still eager for reports. Did anyone see Miriam Miller’s debut as Dewdrop?

Miriam Miller was delightful as Dewdrop. This was my first time seeing the variation. so I can't name the actual steps, but there was one part right in the middle where she seemed to get in trouble (involving a sequence of releve turns into attitude?), but recovered nicely. I'm definitely going to follow her development.

Maria Kowroski knocked it out of the park as SPF. Her supported promenade a la seconde alone was worth the price of the ticket. Everything she did was perfection. And those legs.... the most gorgeous arabesques on the planet.

Harrison Coll nailed the double hoop jumps.

The stereotypical hand and head movements were absent from the Tea variation, but I don't think it was a good idea to have the women wear yellow tights.

And does anyone know what Veronika will be doing next?

1 hour ago, canbelto said:

I was at the performance last night and I agree that there were some mishaps (perhaps most shocking was Tiler slipping and actually falling off pointe). 

I recall that Balanchine never minded when dancers fell off point or fell generally. To him it meant that they were giving their all (and then some) to the performance.

37 minutes ago, Buddy said:

Along with Ulyana Lopatkina, I'd say perhaps "the reigning Swan Queen" in the entire world, and that span covered her entire career at ABT.

Yes, quite so. It was with Lopatkina in mind that I added the words "at ABT." But you're quite right, along with Lopatkina, in the entire world.

12 minutes ago, nanushka said:

I completely agree. I found the YAGP video of the White Swan PDD, from a gala performance, ultimately unsatisfying. Though I own it, and though Part is among my very favorite dancers, and though I already miss her (and never felt she got to dance enough even when she was with the company), I rarely watch it. It's a good performance, but it doesn't move me in at all the way her live performances so often did.

I, too, totally agree. There was a moment in time (several years, actually) when she was the reigning Swan Queen at ABT, and it's a terrible shame that we don't have a record of her iconic performance. (I would have said it's criminal, but given the state of the world at this time that seemed a bit excessive.)

IMHO, she was splendid as Odette and uncharacteristically seductive as Odile (i.e., she's a wonderful actress), and with some more experience doing those turns, and without the extenuating circumstances, would have pulled them off. She's a true ballerina.

39 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

As Angelica has pointed out, the angle at which something has been shot can make it look worse (or in some cases better) than it looked in the theater. The music could be out of sync. The lighting could be funky. Makeup that looks terrific from halfway back in the theater looks like a Halloween fright mask in a close shot, and you can't unsee it.  Etc etc etc. 

To give credit where credit is due, it was onxmyxtoes who pointed out that the video was taken at an angle from the wings, which I thought was an important observation.

Leaving aside the matter of substitutions and alternate approaches, Lane has posted some wonderful videos of herself rehearsing in the studio and dancing on stage in various ballets that show her at her stellar best. Given the side angle of the videographer and the hypothesized tiredness of Lane, why not simply take this video down so that people see her at her best, rather than her second best? If I were Lane and the camera caught me like that, I wouldn't want it all over the internet. 

39 minutes ago, onxmyxtoes said:

I read your comment before watching the video and expected much worse than what I saw.

There was little traveling, every fouette was executed completely and cleanly and she finished without a stumble. Not a disaster, in my opinion, but we're all allowed our own.

Some of the disadvantage might be how close the camera is and the angle from the wings. I bet from the audience perspective, it looked quite different.

Expectations are, of course, of the utmost importance. Had I said that she was stunning, you might have had a different take.

True, the camera angle may have a lot to do with it. But Lane is a dancer with a gorgeous port de bras, and here her upper body looks stiff and unattractive. The whole effect for me was that she was gritting her teeth as she was grinding out each turn.

I am, however, planning to see each and every ballet in which she is dancing the leading role during the spring season.

16 hours ago, vipa said:

I'm a huge Sarah Lane fan but I wish she was a little calmer about those fouettes. It's like she'd using determination instead of technique

I, too, am a huge fan of Sarah Lane, but I agree that those fouettes are (well, I'll go further than you) a disaster. Maybe she was out celebrating something the night before. This clip should be removed because it shows her at her worst. And her best is transcendent. 

She's so sweet (I've never met him). Wishing them every happiness.

35 minutes ago, alexL said:

I got the same impression about Teuscher as well. I thought she did well as a "soloist" but as a principal she still has long way to go. I hope she doesn't end up becoming like Michele Wiles. Wiles had the techniques but she never fully matured as an artist. 

ITA about Wiles. And Teuscher.

5 hours ago, nysusan said:

Last year I really liked Her Notes, this year I found it pretty dull, although Forster looked great in the Gomes role. Teuscher faded away totally partnered with S. Williams, if that girl is going to dance principal roles lets hope she develops some presence & style.

Last season, when Teuscher debuted in Swan Lake in New York, I felt that she showed no individuality, nothing that would have made her performance distinctive. I didn't say anything at that time because it seemed everyone was applauding her technique, especially her ability to execute turns, and everyone was excited by her promotion. So I'm especially thankful that you posted about her this season, an opinion that validates my own. To me, the great dancers are completely different from one another; a ballet danced by someone one night will be a completely different ballet to my eyes with a different cast the next.

I wonder whether individuality is inborn, or something that can be developed with coaching. 

Yes, see ya in the Spring. Am also going to see The Red Shoes.