mimsyb

I received the same reply when I called the Box Office.  No reply either to my leaving a number.  My guess is that they are swamped with all sorts of many issues.  The HD showing has been cancelled.   I had sort of wished that perhaps ABT might have come up with an answer regarding exchanges.  I suppose they too have many issues to address.  I guess we wait and see.   Just hope all will remain healthy and safe.

Does anyone know if the Box Office will be open beginning Sunday for Member's exchange week?

17 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

I hope you didn't stay disappointed too long! Bourne's Swan Lake is one of my guilty pleasures: I'm the one perverse balletomane who prefers it to the original.

Add me to that list!  Bourne's version is technically challenging, visually engaging and emotionally moving on every level.  Add to that his amazing respect for the score and inventive use of same.  I often come away from more "classical" versions not satisfied.  Never so with Bourne.

1 hour ago, rkoretzky said:

I will run far away from any additional opportunity to see the Bolshoi attempt Rubies. I can't think of a single positive comment. 

 

 

I also felt the Bolshoi missed the mark on Rubies.  So forced and "in your face" and not in a good way.  They lacked musical punch.  A pretty tepid showing.  And those costumes!  OMG!  They looked like old curtain material from a long ago circus show.   No one here is going to make me forget the great Tess Reichlen any time soon.   But oh, the wonderment of Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle in Diamonds!  Can anything come closer to heaven than these two?  I've seen Sara dance this before, but never with such  luster and inner sole.  It was as if she spoke a whole other language, but was gracious enough to share with us her translation.   She seemed from a whole other world.  And please.  If there is ANY doubt out there about the sheer inventiveness, the imagination and the musicality of this great choreographer, it can be totally put to rest.  Every choreographer working today needs to study and study hard about how it all works.  Free of the clutter.  Empty of all false artifice.  No kitchen sinks in sight!   Pure dance, revealed in the most musical and magical of fashion.  I bow down to Mr. B. and humbly so.

2 hours ago, vipa said:

Agreed, it seems Vishneva made a choice and is dancing on her own terms. Irina was let go a while ago but it could be. Kochetkova is the obvious possibility. IMO that wouldn't be a great loss to ABT and certainly wouldn't damage Kochetkova's career. She is still a principal in SFB and does galas all over the place. Frankly the ABT/Kochetkova  relationship always puzzled me.

 

Bottom line is that Part sounds angry and bitter. I hope time will change that. 

I really can't blame her for the anger.  It's not simply the firing; it's how it was all handled.  And it's all so public.  This has to hurt, no matter how you slice it.  And I can't help but wonder how she will make a living even, given that she isn't a youngster with years of dancing ahead of her. Unless she teaches or has some  other means of income.  It has got to be worrisome.  No one is really prepared to become unemployed.

1 hour ago, cobweb said:

Good grief. When I went to bed the conversation here was going strong, and it seems it continued apace overnight!

I was trying to figure out why they chose Part to terminate, over other dancers. It seems that senior ballerinas are at risk of being forced out before they are ready, and sometimes before their technique diminishes (Part, Reyes, Dvorovenko). Looking at the roster, the other late-thirties ballerinas are Murphy and Abrera. As others have said, Murphy seems to be in a category of her own. That leaves Abrera. I wonder what was the thinking that led to terminating Part rather than Abrera. Do they see Abrera as more versatile or able to cover more roles? Or was it a matter of their paycheck? I gather that pay is related to seniority at the company, but I'm not clear how that relates to years at a particular level. In other words, to compare Murphy and Abrera, are they making roughly the same compensation, as both are principals and have been at the company more or less the same amount of time? Or is Murphy making more because she's been a principal so much longer? And similarly, with Abrera and Part, was Part making more because she was a principal longer, or was it roughly the same because Abrera's been with the company for so long? 

Anyway, agreeing with Drew that Part was sui generis. 

But can you imagine the hew and cry if it had been Stella who was terminated instead of Part.?  After waiting so long for her promotion, it would have been a total PR disaster if ABT had terminated Abrera now.  They will have to give her a few years in her new capacity perhaps just to please her very formidable fan base.  I love Stella and wish she could have had a longer time, but I do wonder about up coming rep for her.  I doubt she will ever get a "Swan Lake", or a "Bayadere".  I hope it will be Abrera who will decide when it's her time to leave and not ABT's.   Also, I find it odd that ABT supported so many dancers who were long term injuries (Hallberg, Cornejo, Hammoudi, Gillian, this year in particular, Stella even, and some in the corps also....Zhong-Jing Fang comes to mind ), but that they were so impatient with Part and her injuries.  She at times struggled to "work through them" rather than stay out and truly heal.  I'm only saying it feels to me as if ABT never truly understood what a treasure they had in Part and thus never really gave her full support.   Even now, with Kolpakova getting older (although who would guess it!), ABT could REALLY, REALLY use someone like Part to help coach and guide these younger Principles.  Role models and mentoring are such a big part (no pun intended!) of becoming a true artist. Despite what Veronika is saying now, I so hope she will find a place somewhere in which HER artistry can be fully appreciated.

11 hours ago, vipa said:

Mozartiana is IMO an incredible, spiritual work that has such amazing depth that more can be discovered upon every viewing. In a way it's wonderful that Part was given this role.

 

Balanchine gave her and us a bouquet.

I agree, Vipa.  This is an astonishing ballet that just keeps revealing more and more every time one sees it.  It's so rich in texture and emotion.  I couldn't help but notice the utter differences in both the Gomes work and the "new" Ratmansky with the Balanchine.  While both of the newer pieces are clumsy and cluttered, the Balanchine seemed fresh and totally in the present.  Unadorned; only ravishing movement. No choreographer living and working today can come up to Mr. B's standard.  No one can reveal what dance can and should be. No one can really move us beyond the superficial that is presented so much to us these days.   Dance over... bye, bye.  But with Balanchine it stays burned in the memory and continues to speak to us even after the curtain comes down.  While we can say that ABT is not a "Balanchine" company per se, still yesterday's performance by Veronika, et al gave us the perfume that is of the Master.  No small thanks and recognition must go to Maria Calegari who set this work on the company.  I have to hope that Veronika has this triumph to carry with her, despite all that has happened in the past few weeks.  Perhaps she will be able to heal (both in body and spirit) and return someday and somewhere to teach and perhaps coach.  She has so many gifts still to offer.

I'm sad to hear about Daniel Mantei.  I always loved his work, but felt he was somewhat relegated to back row stuff.  He was always tall and elegant to watch.  Sorry he didn't get more opportunities.  But I've seen some of his choreography and found it to be quite engaging.  Interesting.  So perhaps he'll find another life somewhere else.  Good luck to him.

Joseph Phillips for one.  And the "biggie", Sterling Baca.   And let's not forget Simone Messmer.

Wasn't it written somewhere in one of the recent articles that Part's sponsorship was turned down by ABT?  I believe the company has the right to do that.  Does anyone know?

Amen to that, Canbelto.   I'm still trying to process the fact of Part's departure.  Big loss to the company.

Not a very interesting season, for sure.  I'm looking forward to Mathew Bourne's "Red Shoes" in stead.  Sara Mearns alternates as the lead!

Well, one only has to look at the expansiveness of McBrides arms and upper body (as well as her legs) to see the difference.  Boylston dances too much internally still.  But I'm not sure she even has the upper body openness needed to do this work.  And Mischa, even though small, dances so big!!  I always feel as if this work should look "dangerous", and I use that term in the sense that the dancing should look as if it may not happen, but always does in the very best way imaginable!   Videos are hard to judge by at times, but it seems to me the tempos in the video were more correct.  Last night they seemed to lag a bit, as if to suit the dancers inability to "dance on top of the notes".   I wanted a "rush" where there was none. 

24 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

I pretty much agree with this assessment. I don't mind when dancers opt for the "easier" fouettes, with the step down between turns (it goes better with the light, twinkly music), but Boylston just looked so tentative and awkward. It almost seemed like she hesitated too long when putting her foot down between turns. Also, I believe she ended early, making it even more anticlimactic, earning a smattering of tepid applause. 

 

I'm sure this video has been shared to death on these forums, but if you're going to opt for the step-down fouettes, they'd hopefully look something like this.

 

 

Gorak didn't bring the bravura dancing one would hope for in this ballet, and he opted for the simplest steps in most places. (Does the Balanchine trust give dancers a variety of options for how they perform each solo in a ballet like this, where dancers usually take some liberties?) Partnering was OK, though it looked like he could barely get Boylston off the stage in that overhead lift that ends the ballet. And ditto what abatt said about the fish dives.

 

Boylston was exciting in the backward hops en arabesque that she does on a diagonal toward the back of the stage. She did a ton of them, and very quickly, though they sort of bore no relation to the music after at a certain point. (Is razzle dazzle worth it when it's unmusical?) It was a very high-energy performance from Boylston, though she's not the most musical dancer and the upper body is pretty unattractive. She doesn't seem to be maturing much as an artist, so I think I'm going to take a few years off from seeing her in any full-lengths.

 

Despite the shortcomings of the Tchai PDD, I still enjoyed it much more than the one I saw this past season at NYCB with Gonzalo Garcia and a dancer from the corps. That was a total snooze-fest. 

 

Nanushka sums up much of what I felt about last night's Mozartiana, so I won't really a lot more. However, there's been a lot of talk on here about which Balanchine ballets are appropriate for ABT. I think this is certainly one of them (provided they don't fire the rest of their regal ballerinas). The small cast makes it easy for ABT to find at least four strong soloist women who can dance crisply and in synch. And it provides a lovely opportunity for four girls from the JKO school. (They were great last night, by the way!) And ABT is never without a short bravura man who can round out the cast. 

 

The Ratmansky was fine but probably one of the less distinct works I've seen from him. There weren't really a lot of memorable moments I could recall, though the dancing was superb all around. The first movement was filled with a lot of purposely opaque moments of romantic intrigue (hands offered and not taken; whispering; making eyes at one another.) This added nothing to the ballet for me, and it just seemed gimmicky. And there were some definite modern ballet cliches here and there; the sliding across the floor en poinet schtick, for example. I wish the costumes had been more distinct from other Ratmansky ballets, as well. Color-washed velvet dresses for the women; velvet tights and textured pleather sleeveless T-shirts for the men. Velvet (especially for tights) just looks so dated and unattractive to me in most ballets. Or is Ratmansky evoking Soviet aesthetics of yesteryear yet again?

I agree, Cubanmiamiboy.   Part has given us so many "time stand still moments".  Her "O/O" stands alone among many.  "Bayadere", "Chopiniana", Myrtha, "Cinderella", "Sylvia", even "Trilogy".  We can probably all give a favorite moment.  Such a loss to the company.  I know she's had injuries, but ABT seems to be very willing to wait it out for other dancers, but never for Veronika.   She was never given a partner with whom she could develop a performance relationship with.  IMO she should have been dancing with Gomes all these years.  Now that Vishneva is gone, Part was the only real Prima ABT still had.  Her elegance and assertiveness out shone all the rest.  How I wish she could still find a place somewhere, but I'm guessing at this stage of her career, that might not be possible.  NAtional Ballet of Canada perhaps, or even Pennsylvania Ballet.   What a sad day at ABT when they can't find a place for this great ballerina.

Agree that fouettes can be totally different in class than on stage.  But if one does practice them in class (a lot), one at least gains stamina for them, and one can come to understand the' mechanics'  of the step. When I was dancing I did them always in class and also every chance I got whenever I could grab a corner of a stage.  While I never had to do them in a ballet, when I got to B'way, I did have to do them there.  Sometimes being really prepared can take the fear out of doing them.    But I also agree that they are even more daunting coming as they do in the coda of "SL".  A lot has come before.  But there is a reason they are in the coda and not at the start of the pas de deux.  It is the supreme test of a ballerina's skills and presentation.  While we may give a "pass" to dancer 'A' or dancer 'B' for whatever reason, still we come away thrilled when they are accomplished  and rightfully so.   

Interesting that Sterling Hyltin could do the fouettes in SL easily, and this in a company that doesn't have a lot of them going on in their rep.   (when does she need to practice them?)  But at ABT where they do so many ballets that include fouettes and for a few of the ladies to not be able to accomplish them easily, it seems that something is lacking in the training.  

Funny you should mention Polina, Abatt.  I too miss her so much!   But you are also correct in saying that Part was the best of the week.  She simply broke my heart this afternoon with her emotion and dramatic portrayal.  Her mime was especially splendid.  Sure, a few small blips technically, but overall, just gorgeous.  Those legs, those feet, those arms!  Plus she brings her unique touch of glamour to this double role.   Such a pleasure to watch her.   Whiteside is much improved, but I would still prefer to see Part with a Prince who can match her emotionally.   Both sides of Rothbart were well taken, with Hammoudi better here that in his attempt at Siegfried the other night.  It was really difficult to hate Gray Davis as the "swamp monster" knowing his recent story of heroism on the subway the other  night.  And bravo to the four cygnettes for keeping it clean and musical.  Teuscher and Hamrick as the big swans also fine and well matched (especially in the jumps).  My last Swan Lake for the season made me quite happy indeed. A huge "thank you" to Veronika!  Brava, brava, brava!!   

Love Gray Davis....even before his "subway save".   He certainly deserves a shot at more roles.

Julie Kent did piques en menage in place of fouettes during her last years of dancing O/O.  They were amazing!

Program for Friday doesn't give Waski one of the Odalesques.  Melanie Hamrick was clean and lovely as the first Odalesque.  Since her return she seems to be dancing better than ever before with a new found joy to her dancing.  Always a pleasure.  Lauren Post was a bit off and muddied a few things in her variation.  She doesn't display lovely foot articulation as the others do.  In the third variation, Giangeruso held up her end of the trio, but still to my eye NO ONE does that diagonal line of arabesque into piroette like Renata Pavam used to do.  What a joy that was to watch!!  I continue to miss her presence on stage, especially at times like this.   And I also noticed that Nicole Graniero is back in the line up.  She danced in the "orange" section of the JArdin Anime'.  She's also listed in the program on the main page.  I know last year she came in during the last few weeks of the season, so wonder if this is something she'll be doing in addition to her job with Washington Ballet.  She's another one I miss seeing a lot.  With so many new faces, it's sometimes hard to keep track, but it's always a pleasure when one or two of the "old guard" come through with shining colors.   The "newbies" can learn a lot from these ladies.

Shevchenko= STAR!   What a sensational performance from her and the entire cast tonight.  Christine came through tonight with colors flying.  Rapport with Lendorf was A Plus.  Terrific together.  Daniil out did himself as Ali and Stella was also lovely.   This was my only "Corsaire" this season, but I left the theater with a huge smile on my face.  Brava, Christine!

Loved, loved, loved "Scotch Symphony" in today's Workshop performance.  The way the women tilted their heads and used their epaulement was especially pleasing.   As was their foot articulation and batterie.  Mira Nadon as the lead displayed a wondrous softness, yet was utterly expansive and lush in her movements.  The sun was shining in the Highlands today.  As always, I am astonished at how the "older" ballet (Scotch Symphony)  looked the freshest, the "newest", the most unencumbered of the three offered today.   Both the Wheeldon and the Martins looked pinched, busy, over done.  The naturalness of Mr. B's choreography and his response to the Mendelssohn score was wondrous to behold.   Kudos to all!

And based on her Giselle performance, I could easily add Nikiya and Manon to that canon.  Her evolution, both as a dancer(technician) and most assuredly her acting, has proved that there is an astonishing artist smoldering in our midst.    Her versatility, and dare I say unique style combine to make her  THE number one asset to ABT at this time.  As the story goes, the tortoise won the race!

I saw Alonso in Giselle, but was probably too young to truly appreciate her performance.  But over the years I have seen many, many Giselles.  Some live in my memory and some are there, but without true memorable distinction.  I put Fracci, Makarova, Kirkland, Ananishivili, Cojocuru (there are others, yes) in that premiere pantheon .  And I know I missed many great portrayals.  But after last night, I really feel as if I saw the greatness that makes memories live.  So, welcome Sarah to this very elite short list of wondrous  Giselles.