angelica

I completely agree with you, and I also find this "break" in the wrists and sharp fingers very distracting - actually I found her arms generally, especially as Odile, to be stiff. She does have speed, great technique and brilliant turns, but I don't think she has any wonderful flow of movement. I found her Odette very cold and involving. She was more suited to Odile, but even here, she is aloof. It is interesting that she herself says, as quoted above, "in Mariinsky theatre, my dance would be considered as more spiritual and refined, but Bolshoi audiences sometimes might judge it as cold." Actually, I feel many Mariinsky audience members would consider her cold also: this is my main criticism of her. I look at her and never can engage with her - she is not a warm, expressive dancer and not a natural actress, and so I cannot like her. I watched Smirnova's performance again and then watched a couple of others, including Evgenia Obratzova and Ekaternia Borchenko (whom a friend of mine recently saw live at the Mikhailovsky) and they were both more fluid in their movements, their arms and hands not at all angular. Moreover, they made eye contact with their partners repeatedly. I agree, Tiara, that Smirnova is very "cold." And that it isn't a question of Mariinksy v. Bolshoi, it is a question of quality of dancing. It is interesting that the quote Buddy gives, "In ballet, épaulement denotes the dancer's ability to turn, bend and shape the placing of the trunk, shoulders, arms, neck and head to produce the subtlest contrasts and oppositions. In Italian art it is contrapposto, and this is what gives life, veracity and power to a drawn or sculpted position. In classical ballet it turns the academic pose into the beautiful, the fascinating" comes from an article praising Smirnova. In my view, artistic epaulement is something that develops over years of training, but is instinctive in some dancers and artificial in others. At the risk of repeating myself, Veronika Part gets it right--her epaulement seems inborn, natural, not affected--whereas with Smirnova I feel that she exaggerates it at the end of every pose, to achieve a purposeful effect that becomes mannered rather than fluid.

Having checked the seating availability for Monday night's Onegin (Vishneva/Hallberg), and also the Wednesday night mixed repertory (including Seo/Hallberg), it is apparent to me that you can get really good seats a day or two (or three, I guess, if it's the weekend) before the performance when ABT releases the seats in its "hold." Great Orchestra Prime seats as well as rows A and B in Grand Tier center. For anyone who wants to get a ticket, it may be worth waiting until a couple of days before the performance to get a good seat, rather than buy one in advance that isn't so good. Of course, there is some risk involved here (for example, I'll be interested in whether good seats will show up suddenly for the Semionova/Hallberg Swan Lake), but I wanted to let people know about this option.

This is just to alert Ballet Alert members that some awesomely good seats have just been released by ABT for the Vishneva/Gomes Onegin on Monday night, including some in Center Orchestra and two in Row A Grand Tier. They're not discounted but they're available, and I would suggest that you snatch them up online (or at the box office if you're near there) asap if you'd like to see that performance.

The wrists and elbows (especially) were a bit much for me too, angelica. I admire her portrayal right now, but I don't love it yet-hopefully she will grow in time though. So good to hear that I'm not alone, ksk04! Which gives me the courage to go even further and say that to me, her dancing, while technically a tour de force, was affected and mannered, an exaggeration of what true artistry, as opposed to calculated posing, is about. Admittedly, every ballet looks different on every artist, which is why we go to multiple performances of the same ballet. For me, the gold standard for Odette/Odile is Nina Ananiashvili (you can see her on the DVD that was made when she was 29 years old, dancing with the State Ballet of Perm) -- these days it's Veronika Part. I will keep an open mind on Smirnova, however, as she develops in her roles.

I'm apparently alone in my opinion that while her technique is extraordinary, I found the angularity of her arms detracting from her Odette, especially the continuous 90 degree break at the wrists, which I found more appropriate in her Odile. For me, there was no vulnerability in her Odette portrayal--less hyperextension and more fluidity would have made me love her, but I can't.

Thank you for posting, Abatt! I, too, was awaiting word on Onegin. I'm not surprised that it took Hallberg some time to find his groove. He's been out for 10 months recuperating from a foot injury, so I wouldn't be surprised at some anxiety appearing back onstage again. Perhaps his care in partnering Seo has something to do with a shoulder injury some time ago. The last thing he (and we) need is for him to be injured again. Ballet is such an unforgiving art, with no room for a do-over. One false move and you're sidelined. I saw Gorak as Lensky (was it last year or two years ago that ABT previously did Onegin?) and thought he was wonderful. I'm glad to see that you, and hopefully others, are noticing him too. I can't wait for my Vishneva/Gomes performance on Monday night!

Good choice! Sorry for the confusion. What I meant was that you keep the Part ticket, do not try to exchange it (you can't and you wouldn't want to), and attend that performance. In addition, if last-minute tickets to Semionova/Hallberg become available, you go to their performance also. Two Swan Lakes are better than one, especially if you're obsessed. And you will have seen the two best casts (IMO).

Maybe because of the execrable violinist. I remember thinking--this is New York City, they can't get a decent violinist?

That's interesting. I remember one performance a couple of years ago when the first violinist was so atrocious that it would have been impossible to dance to the violin melody. Last year I believe it was someone else playing the violin and s/he was better. But I never thought about it that way and I'm going to watch for it this year.

Another possibility is that you buy the Part/Stearns ticket and two days before the 17th start checking availability for the Semionova/Hallberg opening. If ABT releases seats for that one at the last minute, you'll see what are likely to be the two best Swan Lakes of the season (IMHO).

Definitely Part. Odette/Odile is her signature role. Row F Orchestra is fine if you're fairly tall. If not, you'll have many heads in front of you. The raking of the seats begins around Row G. Seating preferences are very individual. If it were me, I would take Orchestra L17 or Side Parterre Box 10 seat 3 if you don't mind seeing from the side as long as you're close enough to the stage--for me those are the best of what's available on my computer right now. Sometimes two days or one day before the performance ABT releases seats from their "hold," which they are holding back for press, donors, special guests. Sometimes you can get center Grand Tier that way. But you're taking a big chance doing that.

We usually start threads with the program title. I would suggest a Gala thread for tonight's performance. Dale, I hadn't remembered that, but that's perfect! Thanks.

With ABT about to begin its Spring Season 2013, would it make sense to start a new thread to discuss the performances themselves and other related events such as dress rehearsals that we're attending, and any other relevant topics that fall within the season itself, rather than append all of that to the 19 pages that have addressed the upcoming season? We could retitle "2013 Met Season" to "2013 Upcoming Season" and the new thread "2013 Met Season." Just a suggestion.

I am reminded of the remarks exchanged in "The Red Shoes" (IMO the greatest ballet movie ever made, although it can get "old" when you've seen it more than 50 times), when Victoria Page is arguing with the newly-hired conductor, Julian Craster, about the tempo of a passage in Craster's new score for Grisha's new ballet "The Red Shoes." "It's too fast!"insists Vicki. He replies to the contrary, shouting "Tia, tia!" as he bangs his baton on the conductor's stand, to indicate the tempo he wants. "Oumph," she stomps off. Then later, at the premiere of the new ballet, when everyone is nervous and excited and Vicki says she can't even remember her first entrance, Julian says to her "Vicki, dance it any tempo you like. I'll follow you." Swoon...........

That's really interesting about Oksana Skorik. I believe that she has mostly been excoriated in another thread on this list. I have never seen her live, only a few clips on YouTube.

Reading your first two sentences, angelica, I had to check to make sure I had not written them! That's precisely my answer to the topic.

When I was a child my mother took me to the ballet often. It was mostly to New York City Ballet and sometimes American Ballet Theatre. We also went to modern and international dance companies such as Martha Graham, Jose Limon, the Moiseyev troupe, and an Israeli troupe, the name of which escapes me now. However, it was my first Swan Lake with Alicia Alonso at ABT that sealed the deal. I wanted to become a ballerina. That didn't fly in the community where I grew up. So what do you do when your mother dangles a carrot in front of you but won't let you eat it?

I also attended NYCB last night and thoroughly enjoyed Thou Swell. The principal women were beyond ravishing. Watching Jennifer Ringer, I couldn't help but think "one too many sugarplums," indeed! How rude of Alastair Macaulay to insult this beautiful dancer! Every one was a marvel. In Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Maria Kowroski was magnificent, with her gorgeous long limbs making breathtaking extensions. Sorry this is so brief, but I just want to say that if you can get tickets for this program before the season moves on, I urge you to do so.

Thank you, Helene and others, for clarifying this for me. I wasn't objecting to the idea of fund-raising, but am glad to know the criteria.

I would catch Maria Kowroski this week in "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue." I saw her do it several years ago and still can't get the image of her out of my mind (but then, why would I want to?) For me, that's a "must see." I'm going again, then I, too, will be turning my attention across the plaza.

I think that Hee Seo is a graduate of the Kirov Academy. But however good the training may be, I wonder whether fund-raising is a proper use of the Ballet Alert web forum. Perhaps it is, I'm only wondering.

I found it interesting that Franco De Vita spoke of the ABT school (JKO) and national training curriculum aiming at turning out dancers who do not adhere to any specific style, so that they are like "generic" dancers who can adapt to any style that a choreographer chooses. From the demonstrations of the students, however, it seemed to me that the school is turning out a lot of boring dancers. It is training that sculpts the body into a particular style, and if you don't have the fluid port de bras of the Vaganova style, for example, schooled into your pliant body when you are young, you will never be able to achieve it later on. All the greatest ballet companies in the world, except ABT, have a school/company style, from the Mariinsky, to School of American Ballet, to Paris Opera Ballet. And the styles of the great companies are different. Veronika Part shows her Russian training in the use of the upper body and the eloquence with which she uses her legs and feet. Paris Opera Ballet is less pliant in the upper body but quicksilver fast in the legs and feet. George Balanchine is famous for the speed of the dancers he trained and some dancers trained in other styles could not adjust to dancing his ballets. At some point, with the hiring of the JKO students into ABT's corps de ballet, you will likely have a corps de ballet dancing in unison, but it won't touch your heart as the shades descend the ramp in Bayadere (for example).

I wish someone would do this sort of book for American Ballet Theatre. I'd love to know how decisions are made about whom to hire and whom to promote.

Well, Abatt, thank you for sharing it with us. I imagine we'll see that name increasingly in the future.

Osiliev. Haha. Clever.