mimsyb

Except there are fewer "bad seats" at the State Theater than at the Met. One seems closer to the stage no matter where one sits, and there are ways to get around the higher prices at the State. I never sit in the orchestra, because I like to sit "up" for dance. And yes, center sections of any area will be more. But if one is lucky, one can buy the seats just off the aisle (on either side of the center section) and the price drops. This is true for all the rings. And in this theater, it's OK . The view is still just fine. At the Met, all seats in the tiers (even the ones on the far sides) are the same, except during the "dynamic pricing times". A front row subscription ticket at the Met is the same as Row G. I just purchased my Fall ABT tickets and by going one seat off the aisle I got the front row and the price dropped $20.00 per ticket. I've sat in this seat many times (the last being for Boston Ballet), and one sees equally as well as sitting in the Center Section. And Front Row means no one's head is in front of you. While I probably wouldn't go "down the sides" at the State in the rings, still I have sat there on occasion and one still sees quite well. And those prices are a lot lower. I know there are many who really must sit in the orchestra, but in this house especially, the Rings are a better deal.

This is a little off the subject perhaps, but the late (great) actor, Eli Wallach was a student of Martha Graham's for quite awhile. He even did her warm ups pre performance.

And Desmond was featured in the recently closed "After Midnight".

I would agree about Daniel Mantei. He should be doing more. Has improved a lot in the past year. I would also vote for Nicole Graniero as someone who can handle more. She has one of the cleanest techniques on stage, has lovely, focussed port de bras, and delivers in everything she does. My eye always goes straight to her whenever she's on stage. And she can dance the classics, Balanchine and Tharp with equal accomplishment.

Aha. Photo of the audience in the orchestra section- the other sections appeared to be relatively full as well Photo of Stella Abrera & Radetsky RStorms - thanks for joining us and sharing! I'm personally, looking forward to hearing from others about tomorrow's farewell performances (there's a part of me that's still in denial about Sascha, Yuriko, AND Jared's departure...WHY?!?!?!?) ps - videos of curtain call are on YT now (3 parts) but here's that final bow when the audience just wouldn't let him go! It's nice to see that he got a warm goodbye and that the respect between the audience and Sascha goes both ways as he sincerely mouths "thank you" several times. How sad we missed seeing him dance his Albrecht, etc. when he moved to Dutch National Ballet. But he will surely be missed at ABT. His Tybalt, Rothbart, the jailor in Manon, etc. were all excellent. I personally will miss his work in the more contemporary rep., especially "Upper Room" where he sizzled! Hail and farewell, Sascha! I can only wish him success in his next step after ABT.

Yes, I agree. The only thing I saw about the Tempest were the huge "boatloads" of money it obviously cost. What a waste!

Except performing "The Dream" first allows us (if we wish) to leave early! It's something I've always hated about the Peter Martins ballets at NYCB. He always places them in the middle of two superior works, so one either has to endure his ballet to get to the last one on the bill, or spend the time in the lobby and drink! So, go see "The Dream", leave before the lengthy intermission and go home with beautiful thoughts!

"The Dream" seemed to go off without any major glitches. The company looks good in this work, although it's annoying that the fairies' pointe shoes make such a lot of racket as they scurry around the stage. What should be light, airy, and bewitching comes off as a herd of cattle! Why can't the ladies of ABT do something about their noisy shoes? Gillian was petulant at first, then amazed at her love for the donkey and then finally all girlish wonder at her love for Oberon. Cory looked solid, if a bit impassive at times. It's simply his way. I don't mind. Herman was, well, Herman. His Puck is surely the definitive one now going. He defies gravity and seems to not want to come down off his jumps. So happy to see him back dancing after his short hiatus. (still sorry to have missed his and Alina's "SL" last week, but Boston Ballet put a smile back on my face!) And a nice shout out to Blaine Hoven as Bottom. His pointe shoes were actually fairly quiet! As for the "Tempest", the lighting seems a bit brighter this time around at the Met, so now you can actually see what's going on in this ballet. Oh, sorry. Not much. Better to have left it in the dark. Those sea creatures in those jazzy bathing caps really take the cake! But at least Simkin didn't look quite as white faced as last year. This ballet totally eludes me. That's all I can muster at this late hour.

I couldn't agree more, Vipa. While I didn't love all of the Forsythe, still it shows the dancers to their excellent best. Felt the same about Resonance. It simply faded choreographically by the end. But the delicious Cacti saved the day!! What a romp! I don't recall laughing so much in a ballet for a long while. It just sent up EVERYTHING we hold dear and think we know about dance and art in general. No wonder Macauley didn't like it. It even skewered critics or people like him who propose to inform us all about so much, but in the end tell us nothing. There were so many clever aspects to this work and they went by so fast, my mind can barely register them all. An astute eye could even make out references to every ballet that Boston presented here this week. I caught arm references to the Balanchine, as well as the specific hands of Faun. I loved the "white way" that was laid down for the hysterical pas de deux danced to the music of the inner thoughts of the dancers. Doesn't Paul Taylor use that diagonal all the time? His are done with light; here it was Marley flooring! And that the dancers began this work on platforms (which might be related to the pedestals we put artists on at times), and then re-arranged these platforms (pedestals) in a silly jumble as if to say "none of this matters". The use of the cacti was golden! How ridiculous! How perfect! I heard one older man say as we exited; "why cactus"? Exactly! Why in ever not cactus? This was a superb closing to a courageous, thrilling and magnificent showing of BB! Please come back and soon!

Or perhaps more ABT dancers wishing to go and dance with BB! At today's matinee, the orchestra was filled with ABT dancers on their day off. I can't help but wonder what they thought of all the actual dancing the BB dancers do. And to see a few ex ABT dancers (Cornejo, A. Ellis, Bo Busby, Roddy Doble) all looking exceptional here must give a few pause.

If that's what their "tired" looks like, I want some of what they're drinking! I thought the company looked energized and happy. Thrilled to be dancing! Yeah! I'm seeing the other program at today's matinee. While I don't think the ballets themselves will be as interesting, still I look forward to seeing more of the dancers.

I guess I saw something else on stage last night (Saturday). I thought it was one of the most exciting, thrilling and provocative evenings of dance I've seen in a long while. The Balanchine had a clean energy and drive that caught all the jazziness and fun of the choreography. In contrast, while more subdued, "Afternoon of a Faun" mesmerized for different reasons. I hadn't seen this since the Joffrey many years ago, but found it moving and well danced. The Elo work took my breath away with it's speed and punch. The dancers maybe broke the sound barrier here! The standing ovation was well deserved. As for the Kylian, one word. Stunning! What a joy to see these dancers! Everyone looked well trained, coached, committed to the works at hand, joyful to be on stage. Unlike some of the dancers recently at ABT who seem to be joyless and phoning in performances. What a refreshing evening of dance! Theater was packed! I was in the Second Ring where the buzz of energy was very much in evidence. Yes, saw Kevin, talking with Mikko, looking almost relieved to be on this side of the Plaza. Also caught a glimpse of Wendy Whelen: guess she's been there a bit also. All in all, last night was like a fresh glass of champagne after six weeks of a fair to middling glass of red! Bravo to Boston. (the Red Sox also managed to whip Tanaka of the Yankees last night!)

Massine looks "stale" also. He's still danced a lot. One could argue DeMille looks 'stale" also unless coached really well. The list goes on. Sometimes it's good to look at older works, just to see and reflect on how far (or not) dance and choreography has come from the past years. I'm just happy to be seeing the Boston Company. Tonight is Program B and tomorrow is the A. I am not afraid!

Well, it's not a given that one has to get married to have a child.

Calvin Royal, yes. And how about Thomas Forster? I think he would be great in this role. He was deliciously nasty in "Moor's Pavanne" last time around.

And if Cornejo is still listed as out, who dances with Alina on Friday? Anyone know?

ABT has been using 7:30 start times during the week nights, so that doesn't seem too terrible for a ballet to get out around 10:30. Most Broadway shows let out around then. And I believe a 10:30 curtain would satisfy the unions also.

Great to see you too Colleen and all the other ballet alert friends. The Sat. matinee was even more electrifying than the Gomes/Vishneva performance earlier in the week because it was a special anniversary celebraton, and also because their second performance is generally even better than their first. It was the first time all season that the house was well sold. No words! This was one for the ages. Bravo to all! What also thrilled me was the fact that ABT could field so many wonderful casts for this ballet. All were uniquely different and special. I don't understand why this ballet doesn't sell better. It has it all, what ABT does so well. And especially when one sees Vishneva/Gomes. Perhaps that it was competing with "Mid-Summer's Night Dream" across the Plaza? Anyway, glad I was able to see these two very special artists strut their stuff!

I would go with Cojocaru, for sure!

I'd even give Paloma a go at the role over Reyes. Has Paloma she ever danced it? I can't remember. She can sometimes be stellar in these types of roles.

Great ideas, Kathleen! Especially about how one shows "style".. You should be hired as ABT's Marketing/Promotional person! I'm guessing you could write that "script"!

Could it be that some ballets (or versions thereof) don't always stand the test of time? Witness the latest incarnation of "Gaite' Parisienne". This version of "Coppelia" could use some freshening and re thought. It's such a wonderful score and a fun story. it's a shame to let it become so dated.

I am going to go out on a very slender limb here and note that when Lane was in the corps she stood out as something special. She always brought a wonderful veritas to the entire corps. (others who have that quality are Luciana Paris and the wonderful Renata Pavam, now retired. Just to name a couple They are the "glue" of a great corps de ballet ). Lane also did well in the few small solos she was given. But on being promoted, she seemed to fade or disappear, mostly artistically. She has improved technically in many respects, yet still never "takes command of the work". I know she has her ardent advocates and it is true that dancing more lead roles may perhaps cause her to develop further. Still, I can't help but feel she is a strong corps dancer at best (with capabilities of stepping out now and again). At least as a strong corps dancer one gets to dance all the time. It may be simply the way ABT sort of puts a damper on those who go up to the soloist rank. They seem not to be nurtured. Look at the many who failed to move on and so leave. Erica Cornejo, Carlos Molina, Riccetto, Messmer, Carlos Lopez, Kristi Boone, now Yuriko and Jared , I'd even put DeLuz in that category. I won't even go to the subject of Stella! There is simply no room at the top any more. I worry for Lane and to some extent Misty. The years of dancing at one's peak are so fleeting. These dancers should have been given more to do earlier on and see if anything was there to warrant going further with them. Instead, they are still doing the same roles in many cases that they did as corps dancers. The only one ABT seems to be pushing on is Isabella. She doesn't always do great work, but at the very least she is learning from her mistakes and is gaining confidence in every performance. I'm wondering if ABT is not always the best place to be if one wants to move forward.

I attended the Saturday matinee performance and agree about the "Serenade". It was absolutely splendid. One of the best ever! Can't say that about the "Swan Lake" excerpts, however. This was a bit of a mess and danced at such a breakneck tempo so to dilute the magic of the dancing, especially the pas de deux. The cygnets were very sloppy. The divertissments from "Coppelia" were OK, especially the 24 little ones from the school! They looked to be well rehearsed and seemed to be having a wonderful time. Can't say as much for the "Western Symphony" finale. Not much punch here. Everyone working hard, but not much to show for it. Nerves? First show is always difficult. But the "Serenade" was the main deal here. Kudos to Suki Schorer for her care and finesse with this work and the students. I took a friend with me who had never seen ballet before. All he could say at the end of "Serenade" was "wow"! Indeed!

I attended the Workshop performance on this past Saturday afternoon. I noticed a number of students of Asian descent on stage. This was particularly true with the 24 little itty bits that danced in the Waltz of the Golden Hours from "Coppelia". Whether any will eventually make it into the main company is anyone's guess.