Classic_Ballet

I cant agree more on this, its embarrasing and unprofessional...Any dancer can have a bad day, but this is really inexcusable and offensive to an audience that is paying high priced tickets to see these shows.

If anyone ever witnesses Seo dancing without falling off point or messing up in a different way, please, report it, that will make history at abt…….Misty SL excerpt was horrendous, poor James W. has to carry with this…Part almost ignored…..Kochetkova dancing in an abt gala, to do anything really significant……...Boylston completely lost and out of control in Don Q………..Hallberg, Semionova and Vishneva injured……. Boy, this gotta be an all time low for this company, beyond my imagination….. depressing. Big congrats to J Gorak, he is a very especial dancer, in my opinion the best that the company offered last night. Sarah was also terrific, I hope she keeps trying, although considering KM tastes for ballerinas, good luck with that……..I am not really surprised that she is being ignored, as Stella and to some extent Part….it actually makes sense….

Kochetkova is the same high than Lane, if not shorter, I believe.....she has been brought to dance SL so, its not a matter of size, I think. btw, it looks like Gillian is now doing the Thursday night SL, and prima H Seo only two shows (Tuesday and Sat night)

This obsessive compulsion of KM with Seo is getting offensive for a very large number of loyal ABT fans. I can only speak for myself; I will never pay a ticket again to see this dancer, at least in a few years, after 7-9 huge disappointments. I have numerous friends who have been attending at ABT for years and all are really pissed off. Why are they treating their educated ballet audience like this ? Does he really thinks that he can force the audience to like a dancer that cant dance Petipa ? Why is he even forcing this ballerina to so many shows and putting her at so much risk and under so much pressure? Really, this is ridiculous. Why not give this opportunity to Sarah Lane who I would be very happy to see, or to Gillian in a Bayadere, for example, since she has danced it before. Its so disrespectful. She messed up on opening night, once again and as usual....she didnt even get a good review in the nytimes for the Jardin aux Lilas show, that is merely acting.... and this is how he responds…it is so embarrassing, I can barely believe that the company that I have adored for so long, who offered shows every week of such high quality, has turned into this, how sad is this really. I guess I will save a lot of money this year. I feel so bad with the standards that they are setting for the new audience members, who never had the chance to see the greatest old times.

i just found GIllian's Giselle act 1 variation in youtube......I would love to see her performing it here... www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0p43YCLw8Q

For god sake, no more Hee Seo......at this rate I will end up quitting ballet after being a very loyal abt fan for more than 15 years .. Reyes danced Desdemona with Rasta Thomas the last time abt performed it, and she was fab.

When Herrera announced her retirement I was quite surprised, and it also happened to me with the sudden departure of Irina. I have avoided Paloma for many years, and I always thought that even though she was incredibly talented, she chose the wrong company, she should have been at NYCB, since Mr B style suites much better her dancing than the classic roles....In any case, she is one of the few ballerinas that has danced pretty much all the roles at abt, touring with the company always, so it will def be a huge loss for them Kent retirement was obvious, I also thought that she would wait for another year but I guess she decided departing with the 75th anniversary. I have been a fan of her for over the years, her Odette and Giselle will always stay in my mind. Reyes retirement does come as a huge surprise to me. I wasnt a fan in her early years but she has matured as the good wine, incredibly well. I think her best years were the last 5-6, I found myself going from avoiding to attending to many of her shows, and she rarely disappointed, she delivered quite a few remarkable performances, technically and artistically, including a last-minute brilliant performance of Sylvia, one of the hardest roles for a classic ballerina. She was a fearless ballerina, incredibly musical and secure, and I loved that......2-3 years ago, during her 10th anniversary as principal dancer, she said in a few interviews that she was planning to dance until her late 40s (after Corella departure, Paloma said the same thing a few times)......Last season she seemed to be in amazing form, dancing opposite to Vasiliev with great success, and she still looks very young............I also noticed that she is leaving right after the first week of the season, meaning that she will barely dance this coming season at all......I wonder what changed............ Reyes partnership with Cornejo ended 2 years ago, I really dont think that she will dance her farewell with him. Although I strongly disagree, as with Seo promotion as well, I can see the promotion of Misty C. on the go.....I have never understood KM decision's regarding his ballerinas......and the decisions that I am sensing coming soon will make me stop going to performances more and more, since it seems that his taste and mine are quite different.......(Although I really appreciate his great move to bring Vishneva 10 years ago, to me the best of his leadership at abt, and lately Semionova)

oh god, she looks gloriously gorgeous........Kevin dam it !! are you blind ? Why do we have to go through this ordeal of seeing dancers who are not ready taking on big roles, while gorgeous Veronika has to be doing matinees and stuck in the same roles for ever and ever, its so unfair and so distasteful. Congrats to Veronika, this is really fantastic !!

www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2014/8/1/1_1930/ According to the Mariinsky website, our beloved Veronika is debuting at the Mariinsky in Giselle!! Huge Congratsss Veronika !!!!! I wonder who will partner her !! I think that is so amazing...guess what Kevin M...she is doing it and in the MARIISNKY !!!! coached there too, ..... you have one of the most stunning ballerinas of her generation totally underused ......what else do u need to finally open your eyes ????

Yeah, I think Paloma was close to her prime at that time, i remember liking her too I would guess she would retire with SL, she has gotten good reviews in SB, although not sure if she would dance the new one i always thought she would retire with Don Q, it was definitely her signature role...but looks like its out of the equation now

Mussel's "crystal ball" has always been spot on.......this time it came with a lot of details and is SPECTACULAR. Thank you mussel for sharing the results !!! I am beyond happy to read that the company will have such an unbelievable 75th anniversary celebration. all are great news, restoring act4 score in SL !!! OMG, New SB, Paquita, Re-staging of Bayadere, Raymonda back !!!! amazingggg Part is a spectacular Raymonda, one of her best roles..I hope we can enjoy a few evenings of her next year, in the new SL, Bayadere, SB and Raymonda.....I think it could be an amazing season for her and for all her fans !!!

is The Dream performed first and then The Tempest or the other way around ? i want to avoid another Ratmansky fiasco at all costs, so would be nice if I can skip it

I havent had time to report about the many performances that I have seen this year, so I decided to take a few minutes and do so for SL Just arrived from Wed matinee, very well sold show. Very different audience than in the evenings though. Part was once again sublime, I have no words to express the liquidity and exquisiteness of her upper body and more so of her magnificent port-de-bras. Time stopped for me during act II, it made me remember why some British critics have defined her as the best swan queen in the western world. I believe she was using a different tutu, which had some dark colored feathers on he backside, resembling the tale of a real swan. Her balances in high arabesque were ethereal, and the technique spot on. I was very impressed with her Odile, not only because the substantial improvement on technique but in the portrayal of the role, energized, seductive yet evil....I could go on and on, because Part's interpretation of this role is larger than life, brava. Stearns partnered her really well, his lines are also gorgeous and his dancing has grown a lot as well. I still fond his interpretation very soft, lacking emotion, projection, very flat in general. I attended to Monday's performance as well. Extremely disappointing. Gillian has grown in the role of Odette, and just seeing this technical marvel perform a Petipa ballet does it for me, I take basically what she gives and its a lot. However, there is no fluidity on the movement, there are brilliant moments connected through many not that brilliant ones, where the character, the upper body work, seems to be gone.....Sadly, she got injured (i think at the end, during the entrechats, she clearly made a small gesture of pain and almost went off point. I thought at first that she had slipped but it looks that it was an injury) I hope she can recover, I was dying to see her Titania, one of her best roles.... Regarding Seo, first, I just want to say that she is a professional Principal Dancer at a big ballet company in the world. A black swan coda on fresh legs, its really not a big deal for a ballerina at this level, especially for someone who has rehearsed the part for a show during the same week .....I can see that she has improved, but she is far far from the minimum technical skills required to perform Petipa choreography. The balance that some people are referring to, has been done by Herrera, Wiles, Murphy e Irina a few times, more so, hers was wobbly, and with the lowest arabesque ever, i.e., not pretty. Her variation and coda needs no comment. She has a super plie, beautiful lines, but to me the amount of tension in her upper body in Act IV killed the whole thing, she tried to use her wrist and fingers as some vaganova trained dancers but with a bad result, her right hand wide open all the time, as if holding a glass of water was incredible disturbing to me.....Poor Marcelo did everything he could and more to lift the show, this dancer is more than an MVP, he is pure heart and commitment, a true artist. On to Semionova/Marcelo tonight, I saw their first show together here and loved it. Her following SL with Hallberg was a huge let down to me, I hope tonight, as always, Marcelo will get the best of her.

I attended tonight and was highly dissapointed. I thought Seo was a total miscast, and lacked a lot of rehearsal time and maturity as Aurora, to say the least. Act I was the worst by far. She looked very, very nervous. All the step were rushed, and many sections of the choreography simplified or poorly executed. Once again (looks like I really have no luck with her) she had some big technical problems. Second round of balances in the Rose Adagio (when Aurora does the final attitude promenades), started badly, she was terrified to the point of not letting the first prince go for a while, face and tension in upper body were more than obvious, I really felt bad for her. The situation got progressively worst until the third prince arrived, during the promenade she lost the balance, went to the side and fell off point. Luckily she recovered and finished them. She was at her best in Act II, nothing spectacular, but no technical problems and she was way more musical and secure. Fishing dives in Act III were ugly and super cautious. She would not lift her supporting leg off the floor until he had her completely secured, ( exactly as she did with Hallberg in the opening night gala. Back then I thought it may have been because of David H recent injury). Her variations were ok, but behind the music many times, and again no joy, no happiness... More than anything, to me, it was Seo going through the steps from beginning to end, sometimes terrified and some others less scared. She totally lacked the stage presence, the royal and luxurious quality that Aurora demands, to make this ballet work. Of course, it doesnt help the fact that the production is so horrendous and the set and costumes even worst...the more I see this the more I dislike it. Muntagirov was ok, his technique is very good but his acting department needs a lot of improving, cold cold cold....and there was zero chemistry/connection with Seo. The best of the night to me were the fairies, especially Simon Mesmer and Isabella B., Stella Abrera was also really wonderful as Lilac Fairy.......and J. Gorak's blue bird. He is not the super skilled technical dancer but his refinement and elegance is truly magnificent. overall i just left with a bad taste, first time in the season that I was sitting in the theater and couldn't wait for the night to come to an end.

I attended both performances of Semionova/Bolle. Fisrt, let me say that I found Sylvia to be on the the most beautiful productions that abt currently has in its repertoire. I absolutely love the choreography from beginning to end, and the score is magical, I could listen to it over and over, and over again. Everything in this ballet is so classy, beautiful, tasteful and enjoyable, its really a masterpiece, I just wish and I hope that we dont have to wait that many years to see it again pls !!...good thing is that at least in the two performances that I attended the orchestra section was almost full so hoping we can see this one again soon. Sylvia is the perfect vehicle for the majestic and gorgeous look of both Semionona and Bolle. I found her absolutely exquisite, especially in Acts II and III. I thought she danced better (if at all possible) on Friday, more in command, and the chemistry with Bolle was really terrific. The first of the fishing dives in act III was so spectacular that it brought a huge ohhhhh from the audience when she threw herself into Bolle's arms. Everything in Act III was a luxurious display of pure, clean classicism and musicality. It was a jaw dropping, incredibly elegant performance. The audience loved her. This is the time i have enjoyed Bolle the most, by far. His partnering skills were stunning, he handled Semionova as if she were as light as a feather, all the liftings were perfect and beautiful executed, very natural and fluid. My only minor criticism to Semionova is regarding Act I, in which I noticed both times that she looked a little overwhelmed with the speed of the music and steps, everything went well but it just didnt look natural, especially the jumps. On friday she was behind the music a couple of times and had to rushed a bit. Besides this, it was really a magnificent performance, a real luxury to see this two beyond-beautiful dancers together, more of this partnership for next year please !!! Macaulay just wrote a review on all the Sylvias of the week, and for the first time, he has praised Part, who made her debut in the role on Wed matinee. He wrote a complete paragraph full of beautiful adjectives about her performance, wow ! Veronika should be so proud, and I was so happy to read it. This seems like a really break through season for her, full of confidence, debuting in challenging roles with great success, and delivering riveting performances (her SL was to me her best since she is in NY). She has finally blossomed into the world-class dancer that she is !! Brava !!.....It also looks like Semionova is going to have a hard time with him, since all he has done since she came is dismiss her performances, he acknowledges her beauty but clearly he doesnt connect with her dancing

actually you are right i didn't see them (Sadly) but it looks like he partnered her well. I just saw him in the theater next to me last week, and he seemed right the same height than Angel, but I may be wrong. (He just seems shorter than Gomes, Bolle and Stearns). I am not a big fan of him, but I was very impressed with the level of attention he paid to Murphy in their SL. Some dancers can really excel at that, Angel was one of them, he even partnered Tereshkina in SL, and she is really tall.

Paloma is very tall for Herman. I wouldnt call osipova "very short" at all. She is taller than Reyes, I dont think Herman can handle Osipova in Don Q or Corsaire, for example. I wouldn't call Whiteside tall either, he is more mid-heigh like Angel, but he seems to be a very good partner, it looks like he can easily handle Murphy, Herrera and prob Kent too, although at this point Kent only dances with either Bolle or Gomes. Part and Semionova are the ones in a different league, they can only dance with Gomes/Bolle/Stearns. After seeing Semionova/Hallberg like three times, I really wish they stop this partnership, they are both gorgeous but she is way too much of a woman for him. He can partner Zhakarova, but Semionova (and Part too) are not the super skinny type of SZ. The problem is a little aggravated because Gomes and Bolle are claimed by the Vishneva and Kent all the time, so there is less chance for the other two ballerinas to dance with them (luckily for Part, neither of them is dancing SB, so she finally got Gomes !!!)

yes, she did some penches when performing Zulma (or Moyna), that I have only seen Gillian throw, it was pretty incredible, fearless. Once of the few times that i have seen the audience go wild with this small part.

Underwood was to me the most talented ballerina in the corps. A few seasons ago I really thought she had an amazing potential, after seeing her in giselle and La Bayadere. Sadly, it looks like she had a really bad injury last year. When i found out that she had been given Lilac Fairy this season I was thrilled, so this is really really bad news, I had my ticket already just to see her, damn !!! Also, I never got why Osipova debuted in SB 2 or 3 seasons ago, and since then she hasn't done it again, or am I wrong here ? same thing with Vishneva who stopped doing first Don Q (a few seasons ago), then SB and SL, and is not even doing Sylvia this season ((((

your welcome, its great to share the experience of the season with so many ballet lovers, i love this site !!

I went last night too and was highly impressed with Matvienko, shocked actually. Gillian was amazing but that was not surprise to me. Even more stunning was the chemistry between them, i dont think I have seen Gillian dancing as happy and which such great joy as last night. Matvienko is the real deal, gorgeous lines, incredible technique, great partner, and he is an actor, he was hilariously funny, fun fun, all joy from beginning to end, and totally, fully dedicated to make his ballerina shine.......he involved the entire company, way more than Stearns, the whole night was full of details between these two. Gillian technique is the amazing usual, last year I think she had a break through season with what it was to me her best SL here, and then Macaulay surprisingly praising her as the best juliet of the season (DV, Osipova and Cojocaru, those are big big words).....She has developed and her Kitri was probable the most complete and musical of the three I saw. Her Act II variation provided he unique penches, with forehead almost touching the knee with an almost 180 extension, boy that is control, the only one who can take this step that far. Fouetes were done first fanning herself, fan up and down, then a couple of triples with hands on her waist, maybe a quadruple, and ended up at high speed singles, with plenty of energy, closing with a perfect double pirouette. She also held a very long balance in the pdd, which was danced gorgeously by both of them, with great carisma added to it. Bravisimo for both, perfect blend of bravura and style, cant wait for their SL, now i want to watch these two in everything lol, i think they are dancing pretty much everything together, no wonder...

There is a review of Osipova/Vasiliev performance on Tuesday at danceviewtimes (by Mary Cargill), and the picture of Vasiliev's arabesque holding Osipova with his right hand (in demi-pointe)...

Hi Aurora, Thanks for posting this, especially Obratzova whom I adore !! Maybe I didnt express myself properly. I didnt mean to say Osipova danced her personal version, lol, its obvious that there are many different versions for this variation out there. In fact, Osipova has danced Kitri at abt always using this version. I am sure Semionova and Cojocaru, for example, had danced different versions elsewhere too. I was just trying to make a point about being a member of a company, not a guest, and respecting the choreography that everybody else is dancing, thats all. Its also true and fair to say that some other people are allowed to make changes, some Albrecht for example do entrechats six vs cabrioles, Ananiashvili used to do small changes in many variations, and there are more examples, but a full variation ? and again, its not only that, she has a tendency to introduce plenty of other smaller changes as well, and I have the feeling, although I may be wrong, that is usually with steps she may not be comfortable doing. In any case, I think she is an exceptionally gifted dancer, unique, I also appreciate that she gives you her all and more every single time she dances (I wish all the principals at abt were like that), I have loved her Medora, Aurora and even her Juliet. I just think she took it way too far on Saturday and it is sad, in my opinion, if she decided not to polish herself and continues to focus in the pyrotechnics at the expense of the art.

I have seen two Don Q so far, Osipova/Vasiliev on Sat and Semionova/Stearns on Monday night. Osipova/Vasiliev: For the first time I agree 100% with every word that Macaulay wrote in his review. No one can take away the bravura of these two. They did everything in 5D, literally, they are full of energy, they are super exciting, they jump, spin, do all kind of tricks bigger and faster, and people adore them because obvously all those pyrotechnics are spectacular. In that regard their show is unique because you wont see that in any other cast. But to me, after seeing them now a few times, its not that fun anymore, it has become actually vulgar and disgraceful. There is no reason to compromise the musicality, the classicism with the acrobatics, and yes, it is Don Q but its still Petipa, these problems could be polished, resolved, but the big question as Macaulay brilliantly said is: do they even want to ?......Osipova in Act I was completely out of control, as I have never seen her before, it was almost terrifying, her facial expression when jumping, and especially in her variation were scary for real, out of character completely, the closest thing to a real athlete that i have ever seen in a ballet. I also agreed 100% with Macaulay's point of Osipova dancing on her own, she couldn't care less about the rest of the company, or at least that's the impression that I got. Vasiliev was surprisingly charming to me, much more engaged with the rest, but personally I have a big, big problem with his physique and more so with the way he executes all his tricks. Compare his pirouettes to Herman's or Simkim's, side by side, and I think there is no more that needs to be said. In Act II, Osipova, thanks god !! was more calmed, and it was actually the only part that I enjoyed to the fullest. To me she was here at her best. Act III was the usual fireworks of Don Q, and more on the vulgarity side for both of them, its a show off piece for them, not a coda of a Petipa ballet, and in fact, she didnt do here anything particularly spectacular, compared to the other big stars (balances, fouettes and so on), however, it did look way more unpolished and unmusical. She changed Kitri's variation completely, 100%, as she did with many steps throughout the ballet. Why can she change choreography as she pleases so she can do things that fit her better, whereas the rest has to deal with whatever is in the script ?( I guess because she sells tickets, which is also true), she did it too in Symphony in C. Misty was apparently coming from an career threatening injury, so I think that may have been the reason for her problems not only in the italian fouettes but also in the jetes coming after that. Semionova/Stearns: First Cory. I was very happy to see that he has improved a lot, pretty much in every department. It is true that there were some partnering problems here and there but overall I think he handled Semionova well, and his technique, although it will never be out of this world, is way way better compared to last year. I guess he is also more experienced now, and he may be better at administering his energy in a full length. There is a lot to work on, but i think he has reached a pretty good level now, and hopefully it will go up from here in the future. Semionova was fantastic, omg it was like a masterclass of true classical ballet. This was like pure caviar, clean, crystal clear, solid point work. Honest, transparent dancing from beginning to end, nothing to hide, no tricks, musical, exquisite really. Act II variation was like textbook steps, rock solid penches, magnificent jetes, wonderful and tasteful extensions, rarely compromising her lines, everything with amazing control, effortless, natural, it was just flawless. In Act III, her diagonal of pas de chevals in Kitri’s solo was to dye for, one of the most musicals and graceful that I have ever seen. She balanced with tremendous control and her fouettes were beautiful as well (high leg !!). I wont go over Seo's dancing in details. Its been widely commented here. We all agreed that she is beautiful and I enjoy her in the right roles, but honestly, I havent seen Seo one time, just a single time, go over a Petipa work without major technical flaws, at least in the last two years. I dont really see the need of putting her through this, to each their own. She is a principal now, dancing next to Semionova in front of the whole company, and having a disaster night like this can really have a major impact in a young dancer like her. She is also supposed to debut in a million things, Month...Swan Lake, SB...I mean, really ? she is going to have time to mature all this works ?.......what is the point of exposing her in a minor role like Mercedes when she has plent to work on ???? Ferri was gorgeous but she ran away from those ballets as soon as she could, and it was ok. ABT promoted her, in my opinion, way way too early, but now that is done, please, protect her and use her wisely, give her time to develop in whatever she excels !!!!

I was tonight there too, and once again, I was stunned by Marcelo and Diana. No words can express the beauty of their dancing and the chemistry of this partnership. I could only add that I noticed a more mature Diana, "less wild" maybe, she really delivered a performance for the ages. Marcelo was his usual great, and his partnering was unmatched, the last pas de deux is still in my mind. Thanks !!!