angelica

Saw Don Q last night from Row A Orchestra. We were trying out the seats because several people we know swear by them. Although we couldn't see the dancers' feet unless they were on pointe (or releve) at the front of the stage, it was a spectacular view of the individuality of each dancer. Biggest excitement for me: Stella Abrera is back and looking fabulous, exquisite technique as well as acting. I'd love to see her and Sascha become the next principals. She was slated to dance Giselle for two years in a row, but each time was taken out due to injuries. Welcome back, Stella! Be well, be safe, and dance for us forever! angelica

Thanks for this great information! This is the first I've heard of it (okay, so I've been living on a mountain top in Tibet). Using that function, I just got a single ticket in orchestra front and center for the Osipova-Hallberg R&J for July 10th. And we already have tickets for the Vishneva-Corella R&J for the evening. What a day that will be!

I had just taken a class at Ballet Arts, and as I was walking west on 56th Street towards Seventh Avenue, suddenly coming right towards me from across the street were David Hallberg and Marcelo Gomes, looking as gorgeous as they look on stage. I went up to them and told them how AMAZING I think they are, how much I enjoy their dancing, and thanked them for bringing so much joy into my life. I also told them that we had ordered our subscription tickets to the Spring season. They were warm and friendly and gracious. I felt I had just received a beautiful gift. Angelica

It's certainly worth a try. How would one call ABT? Does anyone have a telephone number that doesn't go through the Metropolitan Opera House? I'd be willing to make the call. Angelica Okay, I found the telephone number. I will call them during office hours on Monday or Tuesday and will report back for anyone who is interested. Angelica This is very strange, indeed. Angelica, please let us know if you find out something. Okay, everyone--Stella is back!! I saw her in the dress rehearsal at Avery Fisher Hall last Wednesday in the new Ratmansky ballet. She was exquisite! I couldn't take my eyes off her! I hope so much that 2010 will be the year in which she dances the title role in Giselle. WELCOME BACK, STELLA! Angelica

We "just happened" to be in Paris for opening night at the POB. Unlike last year, when they presented a Homage to Jerome Robbins, this year they opened with the 19th century loved-by-all Parisians Giselle. We had to get tickets months in advance. Overall, I was transfixed by the performance. IMHO, the men at ABT far outshine the men at POB, but the women were beyond extraordinary. Aurelie Dupont was weightless and perfection itself in both acts as Giselle; Anne-Marie Gillot was a wili on the warpath as she traversed the stage diagonally with her astounding leaps; and the corps de ballet, along with the two leading wilis, danced selflessly, as one entity, completely devoted to the perfection of their dancing and the meaning of the ballet. I've heard that the training at the school is brutal, but they turn out the most exquisite dancers. Did anyone else happen to be there? angelica

Oh dear, I feel so ignorant. What is SDYTYCD? And what is Tamale Train? Thanks for any insight you can give me. angelica Okay, guys, I just googled "Tamale Train" and I got it! I think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't watch SYTYCD! angelica

Oh dear, I feel so ignorant. What is SDYTYCD? And what is Tamale Train? Thanks for any insight you can give me. angelica

"This was also the first time that I watched Diana Vishneva dance with ABT. She is an amazing dancer, but all the arm flailing and running from one end of the stage to the other over and over again became uninteresting and annoying pretty quickly." Thank you, skj, for articulating what I felt during the most supposedly dramatic of Vishneva's scenes. I had attended the dress rehearsal in the afternoon, and was totally captivated by Dvorovenko's first act (and Dvorovenko is not a dancer I've been particularly enamored of--now I feel I must see her again and perhaps alter my opinion), during which she was totally believable as an impetuous, adorable teenager. And such gorgeous legs and feet! And so lyrical in the balcony scene! Having been won over by her performance in rehearsal, at first I thought it was just a matter of finding it difficult to detach from her and bond with Vishneva. But it's good to know that my feelings are shared by others, and I did feel that Vishneva was not convincing as a teenager and was "over-the-top" in her attempt to communicate Juliet's despair. Both Dvorovenko and Seo, at the dress rehearsal, managed to do it wonderfully, without the histrionics. (On the other hand, for you psychologists out there, it was clear that neither Romeo nor Juliet had mastered affect regulation--and no wonder, given the parental and environmental input.) Interestingly, I thought that Hee Seo, also seen in dress rehearsal, was excellent. She displayed just the right degree of emotion coupled with the right amount of exquisite dancing. What a marvel! She is shown in the booklet as a member of the corps de ballet, and she has, to my mind deservingly, sky-rocketed to the top. I thought that Gomes was wonderful, especially in the balcony scene, where it seemed to me that the audience no longer existed for him, that he was dancing only for Juliet, and that his dancing said, over and over, with every turn and every perfectly placed balance, "I love you." I thought to myself "This is the year of Marcelo Gomes." But bring Cornejo out on the stage and you can't take your eyes off him, he is always so charming and engaging. His dancing appears so effortless, it is as if he can do absolutely anything (you want 10 pirouettes? okay, here we go), and it is always such a joy to watch him. In some ways, he stole the show. I agree that there were too many harlot scenes and too much sword fighting. At the same time, I was impressed with the teaching and rehearsing that went into making this production such a spectacle. But where were the elephants? And the orchestra definitely needs to replace the French horn player, at the very least. During the most intense moment of the marriage ceremony, the French horn has a solo passage, and the notes came out flat and broken. It was jarring and ruined the moment. I know the French horn is an extremely difficult instrument, and I feel bad for the player, who may well feel bad him/herself, but there must be certain minimum standards--like playing the key passages on pitch and unbroken. There was a woman in the ladies room telling another woman that she was going to be attending five more performances of R&J this week. I admire her stamina. angelica

Please forgive my ignorance, but I'd like to set my DVR too. At what time and on what channel does the David Letterman Show appear? And how long does it run? I fell in love with Veronika Part this year but will be away on Thursday night. Many thanks, angelica Letterman is on from 11:35-12:35 pm EST. My guess is that Ms. Part will be the second guest. The first 20 minutes is almost always monologue, Top Ten list etc. He's on CBS. Thank you soooo much for the coordinates. I will definitely record it! angelica

Thanks so much! Got it! angelica

Please forgive my ignorance, but I'd like to set my DVR too. At what time and on what channel does the David Letterman Show appear? And how long does it run? I fell in love with Veronika Part this year but will be away on Thursday night. Many thanks, angelica

Oh dear, is Stella injured again? I hope not. I've been overjoyed by her presence this season, albeit in soloist roles. I'm still eagerly awaiting her debut in the title role of Giselle, which had to be postponed this year and last. angelica

I would just like to add my voice to those who adored Veronika Part in the role of Odette-Odile. This is the first year I've seen her in principal roles (I know, I'm a little behind the pack). I fell in love with her in La Sylphide and only then decided to get a ticket for her Swan Lake--Box 1, seat 4 was the only available seat left anywhere near the stage. It was worth it just to be there, despite missing 1/4 of the stage. Part was extraordinary. Her long limbs and her perfect classical line were the foundation for the emotional depth she brought to the role. I couldn't believe anyone could sustain so much suppleness and fluidity, expressing the widest range of emotion with her arched back, long arms and long legs. Every movement extended amplitude to its limits. I couldn't take my eyes off her. I also want to add that seeing Stella Abrera last night was reason enough to go. I've missed her terribly and she danced beautifully, with the very special softness and lightness that had me predicting her promotion to principal two years ago, before her injury caused her to miss her debut in Giselle two years in a row. Welcome back, Stella! I have high hopes for you. angelica

I saw Veronika Part and Cory Stearns dance La Sylphide last night and was totally enraptured by Part. I had loved her as Myrta earlier this season and wondered whether she would be a mismatch for the role of the Sylph, especially in comparison with the petite Osipova. To my delight, Part was exquisite in the role. There is something very special in the quality of her movements. They have amplitude and a quality of seamless expansiveness, in which she opens slowly into a position, keeps opening and opening, more and more, until she reaches it and then moves on to another. She is never static. She dances with complete authenticity, never posturing for effect. One movement blends into another, and with her gorgeous classical line I couldn't take my eyes off her. I've never seen anyone else dance quite like her, and I can't wait to see her again. I enjoyed Cory Stearns as James. Craig Salstein had the audience (including me) laughing out loud when he imitated the Sylph, he did it so well. Admittedly, this was my first Sylphide so I didn't have any other performances to compare it to. When I referred to Osipova above, I was imagining her in the role based on her Giselle. But I did want to put in a good word for Part. I was appalled to find her name omitted from the McCauley review of Giselle earlier in the week. I am now a committed fan. angelica

So much has been said already, but I'll add some brief impressions of last night's performance. I've been watching Giselle for over five decades, and to my mind this was the most magnificent overall performance I've seen since the Maximova-Vasiliev performance in June 1966, which I will never, ever forget! I especially loved Act II: Osipova was exquisite, Hallberg was eloquent in his grief. He seemed so overcome that he couldn't even smile for the curtain calls. Part was the best Myrtha I've ever seen and deserving of every brava and bravissima that emanated from a nearby box. There's a quality to Part's dancing that's indescribable, but it has something to do with grandeur. As for Osipova, I am stunned that a 23-year old woman--still a girl, really--could act with so much depth. I know that others have faulted her for her acting, but, for me, dancing trumps acting in Act II. Ultimately, on several levels, Act II is about the power of dancing, and her dancing was mesmerizing. And Underwood's renverses alone made the performance! angelica

I agree completely. She's a very rate type -- a danseuse noble -- which is why she was so wonderful as Lilac in the Kirov's old/new "Beauty" and why she's so gorgeous in adagio. She's not built to do quick turns! She was sensational as Myrta in the Giselle last night with Osipova and Hallberg! angelica

This evening I attended the Spotlight Forum wherein Alessandra Ferri interviewed Nina Ananiashvili. I can't begin to describe how luminescent Nina was. First of all, no matter how magnificent she looks on stage, she is, if it can be possible, as beautiful if not more beautiful in person. Or perhaps you expect it on stage, with makeup and costumes. In person she was ravishing, utterly charming, and someone who has been chosen by the Gods, if such there be. She and Alessandra talked spontaneously and with much humor, revealing their engaging personalities in much of which was spontaneous conversation, although the questions were prepared (I wasn't sure whether the answers were.) Both were extremely articulate in languages not their own. It was a privilege to be there and now my only problem is how to go on living in the world as an ordinary mortal. Angelica

I saw Nina and Gomes last night and thought they were both resplendent. It pains me that there is no DVD of Nina dancing Giselle, no legacy of that to pass on to our grandchildren. Gillian was, as usual, her technically magnificent, implacable Myrtha, exactly what is needed for that glorious role. And Gennadi was wonderful as Hilarion. He is a beautiful dancer and I think he brings a kind of reverence to the art of ballet when he almost literally transforms himself into the role with his superior acting as well as modesty and dignity. I liked Maria in the peasant pas de deux. She is technically strong and also lyrical, so it will be interesting to see whether she can command the stage in her June 10th Giselle. I won't be there, alas, but I trust someone here will let us know. angelica

I too have bought tickets for her Giselle debut the last two years, ultimately exchanging them once I became aware she would not be dancing. We are birds of a feather. I did the same thing with my Giselle/Stella tickets! angelica

I am so happy to hear that Stella is performing again. Although she was taken out of Giselle again this year, presumably because of her injury, perhaps we can look forward to seeing her dance the title role next year! I've bought tickets for her debut for the last two years! Angelica

It's certainly worth a try. How would one call ABT? Does anyone have a telephone number that doesn't go through the Metropolitan Opera House? I'd be willing to make the call. Angelica Okay, I found the telephone number. I will call them during office hours on Monday or Tuesday and will report back for anyone who is interested. Angelica

It's certainly worth a try. How would one call ABT? Does anyone have a telephone number that doesn't go through the Metropolitan Opera House? I'd be willing to make the call. Angelica

Hello all, Last year Stella Abrera was scheduled to make her debut in Giselle at a Wednesday matinee of ABT. She was then taken off the schedule and didn't dance at all with ABT last season. Now the same thing has happened again this year. She was scheduled to dance Giselle at the Wednesday matinee on June 10th, but I saw today on ABT's web site that Giselle will be danced at that performance by "TBA." I called the Met to confirm this, and was told that Stella is no longer scheduled to dance this season. I love her dancing, and was so much looking forward to seeing her make her debut in a leading role. Does anyone know what happened? Angelica

Has anyone else besides me noticed the change in seating availability whereby ABT is allotting certain sections (e.g., Saturday night grand tier, orchestra prime, and center parterre) for 6-performance subscriptions rather than keeping them available for 4-performance subscriptions as well? Every day is an IQ test. angelica

"I am one of those people who wishes ABT would announce fuller casting, not just principals." Yes, I quite agree. Also, I just received the spring subscription brochure and noticed, when I checked the web site, that sometimes casting listed as TBA in the brochure shows up on the web site as N. Osipova. I caught some clips of her doing Giselle on youtube, and she looks wonderful. But one has to cross-check to get the latest information. And, of course, casting is always subject to change, which can be very frustrating if you've picked performances according to the casting. angelica