abatt

I was also at the matinee yesterday, and agree with all the comments above praising Shevshenko, Teuscher, Zhang and Richardson. I will also add that Blaine Hoven looked superb as Espada. I was slightly disappointed in Lendorf. He did nothing wrong, but his performance lacked verve. Also some of the partnering was a bit rough. Oh, and Ms. Hamrick has returned to the stage. She was a flower girl. Welcome back. I also went to the evening performance. Amazing performances from Simkin and Boylston. This may be Simkin's best role. He pulled out all of the virtuoso tricks in his tool box. Boytlson was also stellar. Stella and Hammoudi were excellent in their supporting roles as Mercedes/Dryad and Espada. Stella had no trouble whatsoever with her Italian fouettes. And Skylar Brandt was a spectacular Amour.

I could have easily accepted laborious. Repeatedly coming off pointe, however, is unacceptable.

There is a scene in the ballet Manon where she is passed among the rich male customers in a series of overhead lifts. Manon does not object, since she is a courtesan. But does the fact that she doesn't object in the context of the ballet being performed make it less offensive, or less objectifying? The objectification of women in opera and ballet has a long history, and is present in some of the famous works (Traviata, Manon to name a few). Does the fact that those women don't object and in fact have chosen a life of objectification in exchange for financial benefit change how we feel about what's on stage?

I thought the reference to violence against women in Odessa was somewhat oblique. In contrast, when I saw With a Chance of Rain at ABT (you know, the one where James Whiteside grabbed Misty's boobs and played with them) I was immediately enraged and angry.

I saw the performance last night. Murphy danced Kitri with crispness, sharp attack and vivacity. She radiated joy throughout the theater. Yes, she still does those triple fouettes with fan-waving arm variations in the wedding scene. She also still manages the Plisetskaya kick is Act I beautifully. Cory Stearns is no virtuoso, but he did well enough with his solo work, and was a good partner for Murphy. Whiteside was hammy and fun as Espada. Um, now we get to the weak link in the performance, Hee Seo. She was fine as Mercedes. However, she continues to falter as the Dryad Queen. She managed the first 2 or three Italian fouettes, but then imploded by repeatedly coming off pointe. This is not a new problem. It's an embarrassment that a principal dancer at ABT is so technically inept. If she can't do the role, split it up so that Seo only does Mercedes, and someone who can actually do the fouettes performs Dryad. Teuscher and Trenary were the flower girls. They were excellent. McKenzie should have had Teuscher do Dryad. Sarah Lane did Amour. She was, as always, wonderful. Cannot wait for her Giselle! Gabe Stone Shayer was exciting as the lead pirate or whatever that role is called. He did some very impressive work, with especially deep backbends. Does McKenzie think the audience is too dumb to realize Hee Seo's errors, or does he just shut his eyes to the problem? Sad to report that the house looked at least half empty.

I saw Decalogue this afternoon, and I thought it was a very strong and worthwhile work. I also liked the music. The ballet is in the neoclassical tradition, and I thought that to an extent it quoted or referenced the Four T's and other Balanchine leotard ballets, as well as Polyphonia. It held my attention for the duration, and I look forward to seeing it again. The "falls" were intentional. This is a dense and difficult ballet, and it really should not have been at the end of the program. However, I suspect Martins knew that most people attending this program were there to see Decalogue, and would have walked out on the rest of the program. The other offerings on this program were very weak and unimpressive, in my opinion.

I've heard of back injuries, foot injuries, knee injuries, shoulder injuries and neck injuries in dancers. I don't think I've ever heard of a broken arm injury in a dancer. How the heck did that happen. Please tell me that it wasn't caused during practice for The Times are Racing, when Amar has to do numerous one arm handstands. Best wishes to Amar for a speedy recovery.

Mearns is okay now. Her back injury has subsided. She danced on Wed night in Pictures. However, they have lightened her load by reassigning the lead roles in Rodeo this week. It was supposed to be Mearns and Ramasar, and now it is Pollack and Justin Peck.

They are probably still trying to figure out how to fill in the casting for this week and next, given all the injuries. At this rate, Peter Martins might have to put on his tights again.

Veyette replaced Catazaro last night in The Blue of Distance.There was an audible groan when the announcement was made that Craig Hall was replacing Ramasar in Infernal Machine.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/arts/music/juilliard-names-damian-woetzel-as-its-new-president.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=sectionfront

One thing I recall from the NY Times review of Golden Cockerel last year was that Misty was deemed to be the funniest of the casts. Apparently she does have some comedic talent in acting. I was surprised she could not connect to Kitri, because that is a sunny, comedic role.

You may know that Ten in Seven is composed by corps member Emily Kitka's father, who is a music professor. Emily Kikta, who has a lead role in Ten in Seven, is good friends with corps member and choreographer Peter Walker. Those connections explain how this music ended up being used by Walker. I agree with you. It sounded like generic jazzy elevator music. It was inoffensive but unimpressive. .

The Here Now festival is placing a lot of stress on the dancers. There are too many works being rehearsed in too short a time.

Thanks. I see that Mearns and Ramasar are replaced in Rodeo by Pollack and Justin Peck on Sat evening. Just noticed that retiree Craig Hall is debuting in Infernal Machine this week. Yikes. They must be very short staffed to recruit a retiree to learn and dance a new role that he never danced during his career.

So who is Robbie replacing in Spectral, and why? Poor Robbie. Leave him alone. He's on vacation!

Another NY Times interview w. Misty Copeland. This is the second fluff piece about Misty that the Times has run in the last 30 days. I guess they think they can sell more papers, or they have decided that no other ABT dancers are worthy of being interviewed. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/arts/dance/misty-copeland-kitri-don-quixote-giselle.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

I thought Odessa was a very interesting and sophisticated piece of work. I will certainly see it again when it returns in the fall. I was disappointed that Mearns was replaced this afternoon, and I hope she is not injured. The rest of the program ranged from bad to worse. I used to like After the Rain, but it now seems to lack the spiritual approach that it always had when Wendy & Jock danced it. To me, Peter Walker's work looks amateurish. Lovette's work is attractive, but I don't feel compelled to see it again any time soon. And I'll join in the chorus of people who detest Martin's Game of Cards. Not even Ball and Gordon could save this turkey. PS- There is flash footage on the NYCB twitter page of the Mearns - Ramasar pdd of Odessa. I can see from this short excerpt that Phelan did not perform it at the same level as Mearns. Oh well. Maybe next season.... PPS: Just looked at Sara's Instagram account. She is experiencing back pain. Get well soon!

Here's the NY Times review https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/05/arts/for-the-couples-in-this-alexei-ratmansky-ballet-love-is-not-enough.html

Bouder took her 1 year old to the gala. Too cute.

Here is an interesting article from Playbill regarding Odessa. http://www.playbill.com/article/why-this-new-ballet-is-bigger-and-more-in-your-face-than-ever One interesting quote from the article: While Ratmansky’s ballet is plotless, Sunset, based on Isaac Babel’s tales of Jewish gangsters in Odessa after the Russian Revolution, is anything but. “The story behind the music is very particular,” Ratmansky says. “It has strong characters, these criminal developments. You hear all of that.” I also was fascinated by his complementary words on the dancers of NYCB. I wonder what he thinks of the NYCB dancers in comparison to the ABT dancers. As an aside, I saw the All Ratmansky evening of Russian Seasons and Namouna earlier this week. Having been utterly bored at the All Peck evening, the Ratmansky evening was a refreshing and thrilling contrast. It was full of humanity and emotion, not to mention outstanding choreography.

I saw the All Wheeldon program twice. Mercurial Maneuvers is one of Wheeldon's best ballets, in my opinion. I enjoy the way he utilizes the large cast. High praise to Harrison Ball. He is an exceptional dancer. His technique is near perfect. I'm not sure about his partnering skills at this point, but I now regard his appearances as must-see events. The quiet and soulful pdd featuring Tiler and Tyler was beautiful and compelling. Polyphonia looked better at the second performance than the first. The first performance had some rough edges. The most interesting debuts were Phelan and Catazarro, taking over the roles created by Whelan and Soto. Whelan and Soto had remarkable intensity in their long standing partnership. Obviously Phelan and Catazaro were never going to be able to match my memories of the original cast. I did enjoy Unity's fully stretched out lines and positions, and she brought sensuality to the role. Looking forward to seeing her tackle featured or lead roles in other leotard ballets in the future. I didn't stay for Liturgy and American Rhapsody. I also saw the All Peck program. It was way too much Peck for me on a single night.

About 15 years ago NYCB brought back Ballade, with Wendy Whelan and Robert Tewsley (remember him?!). It has never returned again since. I'd like to see that. Also, I've never seen Tzigane live-only on video. Not a spectacular ballet, but definitely worth a look.

More casting updates/changes posted today. Georgina Paz is removed from all of her assignments for the rest of this week and some of next week's assignments.

I agree that creating a balanced program is an art, and that 3 or 4 leotard ballets on an All Balanchine program is equally bad programming as some of some of these Here Now programs, even if the Balanchine leotard works are masterpieces. Wasn't it Balanchine who said that an evening of ballet should be like a fine dinner, with an appetizer, a main entree of a more challenging work and a dessert ballet as the closer? Re the above conversation, Namouna is also a favorite of mine, and I'm looking forward to seeing it next week..