angelica

I so much wish I could have seen Shevchenko in this performance. I didn't buy a ticket because I can't bear to watch her partner.

As I've said somewhere else on this board, I think Ratmansky's next task should be to bring Acts 1 and 4 in SL up to the level of Acts 2 and 3. The opening of Act 4 is really a snooze-fest, as I believe someone said above. And those heavy costumes in Act 1 don't really go too well with dancing around a Maypole.

I hope he continues to dance with ABT. I really enjoy watching him.

That's exactly why I'm not going to Shevchenko's O/O. Whiteside has kept me away from several performances this season.

I don't have time to search right now, but I know I've seen a photo of her dancing Juliet, possibly with LakeCities Ballet.

Just a fleeting thought. Lane has danced O/O and Juliet elsewhere, with companies other than ABT. Perhaps having her learn Nikiya and Kitri is a way of ensuring that she now knows almost all the leading roles and can perform in any of them next and in future seasons. An all-around Principal.

Thanks for the clarification, aurora. I missed that performance, but her debut as Nikiya was stunning.

I'm not sure what you mean by her turn at the first shade.

I had a very different response to her Bayadere debut. I thought she was exquisite except for the turns in the scarf dance, which were wobbly, I admit. But, at least in my eyes, the rest of her performance was gorgeous.

Oh dear, Jp, I don't think I've ever seen the gelato cart after dark. Has anyone here?

I heartily recommend dessert from the gelato cart, L'Arte del Gelato, on the plaza outside Geffen Hall. They will put two flavors in a small cup, and three in a large. My favorite combo is coffee and chocolate. They say the chocolate is milk chocolate but it tastes dark to me. And it's not too sweet, like some of the other flavors. For me, a trip to Lincoln Center isn't complete without the gelato. Be sure to ask for extra napkins.

I love Shevchenko, but I won't go to any performance with Whiteside in a leading role.

Of all the dancers this season, the one who has stood out for me has been Sarah Lane. The Saturday, June 30th, matinee performance will be her debut as Kitri, and I think she's going to knock it out of the park. And with Herman Cornejo as her partner, they comprise Team A in my eyes. Catch Cornejo now, because who knows how many more years he'll be dancing. Sarah isn't dancing Juliet this week and won't be dancing Odette/Odile either. I'm sure she'll be dancing soloist roles in SL, but I think she'll be as fresh and exciting as she always is. I wouldn't miss that performance.

I, too, attended the Friday evening performance and thoroughly enjoyed the ballet. I think expectations play a role here. After reading many negative reviews along with the positive ones, and having disliked Whipped Cream and disliked even more The Golden Cockerel, I was expecting another ballet that would disappoint me. Not so. Harlequinade had much more ballet dancing than I expected, and I realized that seeing mime performed by trained ballet dancers is altogether different from seeing mime performed by others. The ballet line is present, which is the thing that my brain seeks out when I go to the ballet. I also think that much of my pleasure came from the exquisite performance of Sarah Lane, who handled the technical challenges with no problem and sparkled her way through the role of Columbine. David Hallberg's sad Pierrot had me laughing at his ability to sustain the pathos of his character across an evening. There were more children than I would have liked to see. After all, unlike at the Mariinsky, we are not seeing children who were picked from hundreds of applicants for their turnout and flexibility, and schooled under a regimen that we in the US would find unacceptable. They were cute, but one would have been more than enough. On the other hand, they do help fill the house and raise the enthusiasm of the audience. Overall, I think that Harlequinade is a good addition to ABT's repertoire, even though it probably cost many arms and legs. Next, however, instead of resurrecting another quirky ballet from the past, I hope that Ratmansky could turn his attention to replacing ABT's God-awful Acts I and IV of our beloved Swan Lake.

Oh, aurora, I didn't think you were implying that my eyesight is poorer than most. You're quite right that broadly performed mime is very different from the danced mime in SL. Having read all the comments so far, I'm really looking forward to seeing this ballet--and I'm not seeing it until Friday!

Perhaps my eyesight is poorer than most, although I do not think so. I just know that the mime passages in ballets have become more meaningful for me now that I can see them close up. Also, though, I believe you're right that not everyone understands all the mime. It took me some time over the years to learn the mime vocabulary and to appreciate its role in a ballet.

I agree completely with your view, Juliaj, (even though I haven't seen the ballet yet!) Reading the comments, I'm wondering if the distance of most of the seats from the stage make the mime virtually unintelligible with or without binoculars, which I find annoying to have to use. Personally, I enjoy mime when I'm close enough to "read" it easily, rather than have to work to fill in the blanks.

Would it help if ABT were to visit these schools for talent-scouting? Or is there a downside to this that hasn't occurred to me? I would just like to add that after seeing Shevchenko as Myrta, and seeing her dance Gamzatti in the dress rehearsal, I think she has the makings of greatness.

Thank you, abatt. The next time I have what might turn out to be a problematic seat I'll give that a try.

abatt, I would just like to confirm this. When they inspect your bags going in, will they allow anyone to bring their own cushion? The size of a Met cushion? I once was seated next to someone who was sitting on her own cushion, but she had transferred from a wheelchair. IMHO, this is morally wrong. At least take it off during the performance.

Perhaps we have to start a movement for Orchestra seats to be assigned by height. Young people are much taller these days than they were when I was growing up. I note that the seats in Grand Tier and Dress Circle are steeply raked. Not sure about Balcony or Family Circle. Does anyone here know the rules about getting cushions at the Met? Some years ago, when we brought my granddaughter, they had to see that she was a child before they would give us a cushion. Can short adults get cushions? Is there a height maximum?

Not as bad as at the ballet, but very sad that people put their own primping and preening ahead of their fellow audience members' right to see the stage. Nobody taught them proper manners. They should be sitting in Center Parterre, not Orchestra.

Yes, the Met should have been raked from Row A, but remember that it was built for opera, not ballet. I think it's selfish and narcissistic for people to dress in such a way that precludes the person behind them from seeing--at least at the ballet.

Oh my, I really hope she doesn't sit in a front Orchestra seat with that hairdo! The hairdo of the woman in front of me was shaped like a round watermelon.

LOL! He comes to the ticketing area, so you get a ticket to go out (which lets you back in), and then you go around the column, and you think this can't possibly be right because you are in a kind of no man's land. But then the PM comes out with his computer and you hope that the new seat doesn't have a twin in front of you. But if a seat is so bad that you'd rather leave than stay for the rest of the ballet, the new seat has got to be better. Also, I think that Row B Orchestra at the Met is somewhat lower than Row A. Is that possible?