angelica

I've been following this thread and would like some feedback as to how fellow members might look upon this idea: How would you feel about giving soloists major roles in certain ballets without initially promoting them to principals? This would take care of the idea expressed somewhere that MacKenzie (I think?) feels that in order for a dancer to become a principal, he/she must be able to dance principal roles in most, although not necessarily all, of the repertoire. There is precedence for this in Kajiya's DQ and Seo's R&J. For example, I would love to see Sarah Lane dance Swanilda. She participated in a program at the Guggenheim Museum in which Susan Jaffe, speaking of her new role as coach subsequent to her dancing career, demonstrated how she coaches dancers, with Lane in Coppelia as the example. Lane was delightful. This is generally how soloists become principals, is it not--by dancing at those Wednesday matinees? It does seem unfair to deny dancers in their prime an opportunity to dance major roles because all the principals have to have their turn. Could not a principal defer to a rising potential? This could be done on the male side of the equation also, not necessarily in the same performance. As for Stella Abrera, I think she should definitely be promoted. And thank you to those who enlightened me about how to "box" text.

Semionova did not move me either. I still prefer Part. I jumped for joy to see Macauley's praise of Part. On the other hand, what he gives with the right hand he takes away with the left. "Monotony," indeed. I could watch her forever.

To quote someone, just hit the reply button. Their post will appear between the quote tags. You can edit it to include only the relevant part of the post to which you are responding. I'm assuming the soloist is the concertmaster and had a strict audition process. I've often wondered but have never dug out my programs to check whether there's any overlap between the MET Opera orchestra and ABT. Thanks! That did seem to work. We know someone who has been a member of the MET Opera orchestra for over 50 years, and no, they don't overlap with ABT--unless on an individual basis.

To quote someone, just hit the reply button. Their post will appear between the quote tags. You can edit it to include only the relevant part of the post to which you are responding. You mean like this? (We'll see if it works when I post it)

"You'd think they could find a violinist in NYC." [Could someone please explain to this computer dummy how you get the boxes around the text you want to refer to?] How do they assemble the ABT orchestra? Is it a pickup orchestra or do they hire the same people every year? Does the orchestra tour with the company? I don't think it does, but I don't know for sure. And, IMHO, the audition for the first violinist should be the Swan Lake PdD.

"Tchaikovsky’s transcendent score is well performed, except for the violin solo during the Act II pas de deux. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a professional musician perform so badly." I'm sorry to say it was even worse on Friday night.

I didn't know about Hallberg's shoulder problems, so thank you for that information. I can now (almost) forgive him for almost dropping Hee Seo twice in her debut performance of Giselle. Pushkin called ballet "the cruel art." I would have to google that to find the context, but it does take a huge toll on the body. This season so many of the male dancers were injured. I used to take the lifts in stride, but I'm much more mindful now of how difficult they are, especially in ballets like Swan Lake.

I believe it was last year that Part-Hallberg replaced Dvorovenko-Beloserkovsky in Swan Lake at the last minute, and IMHO it was a partnership made in heaven.

IMHO, Part was more than lovely last night; I would go so far as to say she was sublime. However, if anything was missing, it was a sublime performance on the part of the first violinist, especially in the PdD of Act II and again in Act IV. I don't know how our Odette managed to keep her concentration and not to wince with every note that was off-pitch. The role is so dependent on the music, especially in the PdD, and in that regard Part was poorly served.

Does anyone know if Cory Stearns is actually dancing with Veronika Part on Friday night? Has he recovered from his injury?

Oh I absolutely agree about Abrera in Lilac Fairy! I had never even heard her name the first time I saw her dance that role. At intermission I raced up to the Grand Tier and bought a pair of her autographed pointe shoes, telling my husband, "She's going to be a principal next year." Sure enough, the next year she was scheduled to dance her first Giselle on the Wednesday matinee, suggesting that she was being viewed as principal potential. Then she got injured, alas. Thankfully, she is back. The role of Lilac Fairy is essential to this ballet and I'm going to check out the web site for the casting as soon as I send this post. Thanks for letting us know.

You're right. I saw the ballet again on Friday evening and IMHO it didn't hold up on second viewing, even with Murphy and Hallberg in the leading roles. My overall feeling was: too much stepsisters! They were fun, but enough was enough. Also, although I always love Hallberg and his beautiful line, it's shown to much better effect in classical garb rather than a suit! So the ballet was fun and inventive the first time round, but I don't think I'll go again in succeeding years unless Stella is dancing the lead. I'll go to see anything in which Stella dances the leading role. After Coppelia and Cinderella, I'm more than ready for Swan Lake!

I'm curious about why so few people have commented on this ballet. Has anyone else seen it?

I saw the dress rehearsal on Tuesday and LOVED everything about the production--the dancing, the choreography, the music (especially without Prokofiev's R&J this season I had been going through Prokofiev withdrawal), everything! Well, okay, I might eliminate the photographer, who seems somehow superfluous. Never having seen this production before, I was expecting mostly slapstick pantomime, via the stepmother and stepsisters, but instead there was gorgeous classical dancing throughout. With three different casts, one for each act, the dress rehearsal was an abundance of riches. I especially loved Stella Abrera (I always do) and Julie Kent (I always do). Will see a fourth cast this evening and will report anything that seems pertinent. I highly recommend this ballet.

I'd be grateful if someone could explain to me how you get those boxes around parts of posts to which you want to respond. I don't seem to be able to figure it out and always end up using quotation marks, which aren't nearly as graceful and clear. Thanks, angelica

"Osipova is from a Moscow school, Part is a product of Vaganova school (St. Petersburg) the main source for Kirov/Mariinsky ballet. There was always a difference in style between the schools (however, it was a bit blended at Bolshoi as plenty of Mariinsky/Vaganov dancers moved to Bolshoi)......" Yes, but Nina Ananiashvili was Bolshoi trained and she has that gorgeous upper body plasticity. Not sure where Stella Abrera trained, but she has it also.

couldn't resist noting - Osipova is from a Moscow school, Part is a product of Vaganova school (St. Petersburg) the main source for Kirov/Mariinsky ballet. There was always a difference in style between the schools (however, it was a bit blended at Bolshoi as plenty of Mariinsky/Vaganov dancers moved to Bolshoi)...... and the second offtopic - Bolshoi is scheduled to bring its Coppelia to DC next May ;-))

I saw the Friday night performance. While Osipova's technique was flawless, I was surprised at the lack of fluidity in her upper body. She doesn't have the plasticity of, say, Veronika Part, who only has to breathe to radiate eloquence. In fact, I could imagine that Osipova had been trained in the U.S. rather than in Russia. Still, she was adorable to watch and her jumps are, beyond question, thrilling. However, the very best part of the evening took place in the second act, the workshop of Dr. Coppelius. A child in the front of the Orchestra was laughing without any inhibition whatsoever at the stunts of the mechanical dolls, and his/her laughter, was infectious. The child's laughter spread through the audience, which ended up laughing on both accounts--the merriment of the "dolls" onstage and the merriment of the child.

The Wednesday matinee was a performance to remember. Hee Seo was a lovely Giselle. Because I was sitting in the Grand Tier rather than the Orchestra, it was difficult for me to see anyone's facial expressions, but I thought that Seo's dancing in Act II was especially lovely, particularly in the second half of the act, when she seemed to dance increasingly weightlessly. The phrase in which David carried her diagonally across the stage in arabesque where she barely grazed the floor in between each one is etched into my brain. I'm eager to see her up close and as she develops the role in subsequent years. To me personally, the afternoon belonged to Stella Abrera, who gave a breathtaking performance as Myrtha. Imperious and implacable, she soared into the air, truly embodying the essence of the character. At the high point when she emerges from behind the corps in grand jetes, everyone around me gasped at her speed, height, and fierceness. I hope that next year she will dance the title role. The Peasant PdD with Sarah Lane and Daniil Simkin was the best I've seen this season.

I've been thinking a great deal about this right-turn, left-turn thing lately, as I try to achieve perfect pirouettes. At the ripe old age of 100 (well, you know), I'll take perfect singles, maybe an occasional double on a good day. I'm right-handed, but I pirouette better en dehors to the left and better en dedans to the right. I do pique turns better to the right. I've been under the impression that that's because my right leg is stronger than my left, and so I can pull up onto it more easily and it holds me more securely. When I see dancers who turn to the left, I've wondered whether that's because their right legs are stronger than their left legs. Any thoughts?

I thought the Vishneve-Gomes Giselle last night was utterly ravishing. How to describe it? If only I were a poet. Even after having seen countless performances of this ballet in my lifetime, I was crying at the end of Act I, so moved was I by how vividly Marcelo conveyed the depth of his grief. Vishneva's Giselle in Act II was flawless and weightless, an exceptional, perhaps defining rendition (as if such a thing could ever be possible). She reminded me of the performances of Ekaterina Maximova in the 1960s, in which Maximova seemed to float above the stage, never quite touching the floor. Vishneva, too, transcended the material world, elongating and shaping her body into the most eloquent embodiment of perfect ballet line. My husband described the production as "operatic," noting the light motifs in the music, which recur more and more ominously. Which brings me to the magnificent Veronika Part, who was gorgeous and merciless as Myrtha, truly a wili on the warpath. Glorious, unforgettable performances by all. And let me not forget to commend Gennadi Saveliev, who, IMHO, seems more than anyone else to embody the role of Hilarion.

Apologies for going off-thread. I think I was responding to members who noted that ABT is bringing in so many guest artists and not grooming its own, and suggested that we keep our eyes out for this young man as someone who is likely to be promoted from within. And interestingly, just today we learn that ABT is bringing in another guest artist--I know, that's another thread. Again, apologies.

Has anyone seen Irlan Silva in ABT II? He is the subject of a terrific documentary following his trajectory from the slums of Rio de Janeiro to the Prix de Lausanne, to winning at Youth America Grand Prix, to the JKO School, to ABT II. He is a gorgeous dancer, exquisite line, handsome, fluent in classical and contemporary dance. I hereby predict that he will rise through the ranks to become an ABT principal from within. The documentary is entitled "Only When I Dance." You can get it from Netflix, even via instant download, and I encourage everyone reading this thread to check it out.

I would like to think that principal dancer status will be bestowed on Abrera, Lane, and Seo, in that order (may they all be free of injuries for the duration of their careers!) They are all beautiful dancers who have shown their ability to rise to the occasion and charm us, thrill us, and even stop our hearts. Perhaps they won't all be technical wizards, capable of 32 fouettes and then some. Some dancers are more lyrical, some more powerful. I have to wonder whether the training in the US is part of the difficulty, as so many of the strongest dancers were trained in Russia and Latin America. Still, we have our Julie Kent and our Gillian Murphy (and others whom I don't mean to intentionally exclude), and hopefully the three above named will follow on their heels (no pun intended).

I thought that Act III of the Semionova-Hallberg Don Q. was utterly ravishing. You could feel the chemistry between the two artists. David looked so proud of Semionova at the curtain calls, so I'm not surprised that he twittered that she had UP-ed her performance. How lucky we are to live in this age with such fantastic dancers! And I totally agree that Veronika Part was magnificent as the Queen of the Dryads. Also, Sarah Lane's performance as Amour was the first I've seen where I didn't think the role was treacly. I, too, am eagerly awaiting the Semionova-Hallberg Swan Lake--except for the fact that it signals the close of the season.