abatt

I attended last night's performance. I thought Reichlin was too slow and plodding in Walspurgisnacht. In this ballet, it's go for broke or go home. Regarding Sonatine, Megan Fairchild does not have the phrasing or musicality of Tiler Peck, but she did a respectable job in the role. Garcia's age and history of injuries is catching up to him, and I thought his execution of his solos was underwhelming, expecially in comparison to DeLuz. And then came Mozartiana. Mearns was terrific. Her opening Prayer section was so intense and beautiful, filled with deep backbends. Her phrasing in her solos and the pdd was exquisite. There is such fluidity in her dancing. Angle was an excellent partner. He has never been a virtuoso. He made it through the steps, but it looked nothing like the crystalline clarity that Huxley brought to the role. Seeing Scheller and Veyette in the first movement of Symphony in C was like a breath of fresh air. Scheller is very underutilized at NYCB and I can't understand why. Her technique is so strong. I thought Hyltin made a strong debut in the second movement. She doesn't have the long lines I've enjoyed seeing in this role. In fact, she may be one of the shorter people I've seen in the second movement. I thought she brought a regal and queenly temperament to the role that was suitable. Her technique is strong. I actually enjoyed Hyltin's performance in this role more than Reichlin's. There are some issues that have to be worked out in the partnering with Justin Peck. Isaacs and Gordon killed it in the 3rd movement. They are the future of NYCB. Fingers crossed that Mearns will be cast in the second movement of C on Sat Feb 27.

Sadly most of the third ring was empty last night, and the fourth ring was entirely empty. Given the great quality of the works that were presented last night, you have to wonder what is going on. I think it has to do with the fact that the prices are too high for these upper levels.

I agree Bobbi. Last niight was the perfect antidote to Tuesday. No gimmicks. Just great choreography.

I hope Millepied doesn't return to NYCB as a candidate to direct the company after Martins retires. Although Martins certainly has his weaknesses, I think Millipied would be far worse. (My hopes for leadership of NYCB include Damian Woetzel as the first choice or Ethan Steifel as second choice).

Peck seems to be getting more into aesthetic issues. During the fall NYCB gala there was a premiere of one of his new ballets (forgot the title) in which heavy eye makeup made some of the dancers look like they had been punched in the eye. It was distracting. Time to return to pure dance.

Looks like Dzama was a fan of SNL's skit The Coneheads.

Casting is now up through Feb 21. Lovette is out of all Sylphide's. The role goes to Indiana Woodward. Megan Fairchhild will also debut as Sylphide (partnered by Garcia). Most thrilling is that Tiler Peck will debut with Ramasar in Tchai Piano Concerto. I was hoping she would get that role. I think she will be amazing. Can't wait to see it. I like Indiana Woodward and I hope her debut is a big success. I've only seen her in small roles. I hope she can carry the lead in a full length dramatic ballet like Sylphide.

I agree that most of the choreography of the New Peck work was pedestrian. There were a few passages that had good choreography - the Adam & Eve segment, the choreography for Daniel Ulbricht, the segments in which Tiler Peck appeared, and some of the choreography for Sterling Hyltin. However, the problem was that these very fine segments were few and far between in a 45 minute ballet. I think part of the problem was that large portions of the score were unsuitable for dance. Additionally, it seems like the design elements - the big, bulky costumes - prevented the dancers from doing much in the way of actual ballet. Large numbers of the cast just wandered around and flapped their arms around, since their costumes would not have permitted anything more complex. It looked like a lot of money was lavished on these costumes and the scrim. Unfortunately, style won out over substance. When a second tier Wheeldon ballet like Estancia looks like the masterpiece of the evening, you're in big trouble. The program was definitely too long, but it seemed a lot longer than it actually was because the overall quality of the works on the program was, in my opinion, poor. Like Zobeide, I will be exchanging out of the one remaining ticket I have for this program. I think there may be many people who will be entertained by this new ballet and the design elements, but it was not my cup of tea.

Even if Lendorf is able to finally appear with ABT during the Spring season, what is the likelihood that he will be able to tackle all these roles that have been assigned to him? My guess is slim to none. He has been injured for about a year and a half, I believe. Assuming he is able to dance, he will have to start off slowly and build back his strength. Of course, I don't expect that ABT will actually update any of the casting until a day or two before a show.

Casting is up for Week 4. No debut Sylphs. Mearns gets a debut in Tschai Piano Concerto.

Wow. Cheap ticket prices. In New York they charge more than $100 to sit up in the nosebleed seats, which is why the theater is half empty almost every night. I guess Katherine Brown wasn't in charge of setting ticket prices for the Paris tour.

Online casting sheet for this week has been updated. Lovette is out for the rest of the week. Hyltin is taking her role in Liebeslieder, and Tiler Peck is taking her role in Who Cares. Additionally Megan LeCrone is out of Who Cares. Her role is going to Lowery. No doubt this injury to Lovette throws off the potential casting for Sylphide. They already have lost one Sylphide (Bouder) to maternity leave. No casting info yet for the Sylphide performances. I hope Lovette can return for the Sylphide performances.

Basically what they did was to move everyone who was supposed to be in the Saturday cast into the Tuesday cast. You can see alll the casting info on the website, whcih was updated. There were so many cast changes that they placed an insert of the changes into the programs - something they stopped doing years ago. The only change announced from the stage was that Erica Pereira replaced Lovette in the soloist role for Walpurgisnacht. I was bummed about seeing Reichlin in the second movement of Symphony in C instead of Mearns. The consolation, however, was that I got to see Mearns as the lead in Walpurgisnacht instead - one of her best roles. I thought Tiler Peck and J. DeLuz made the relatively minor ballet Sonatine look like something very special. Still tryimg to get used to Hyltin as the lead in Mozartiana. So far, I'm not convinced that this is a good role for her. I was blown away by Huxley as the lead in Mozartiana. I haven't seen such crisp, clean and fast footwork in the male solo variations since Damian Woetzel left. No fudging or blurring of the choreography here. Every step was crystalline. However, Huxley and Hyltin are a mis-matched couple. Every time she went on pointe the height difference between her and Huxley became a distraction. I wasn't overly impressed by any of the casting in Symphony in C. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't excellent either. Reichlin is making progress in her role, but she lacks the mystery and grandeur for the role. Being super tall isn't enough. Her fully stretched positions, however, were appreciated.

It was announced today that Jonas Kaufmann is cancelling all of his performances at the Met in Manon Lescaut due to "illness". Roberto Alagna is substituting for Kaufmann.

Just noticed that Abrera replaces Part as Lilac for opening night of the DC run. Part is still listed for a Lilac later in the week, but I suspect that will change too.

I attended Thursday evening. Another brilliant performance from Tiler Peck in T&V. She has such strong technique and musicality. It was a triumph. Her partner, Andy Veyette, had a good night, but not a perfect one. There were some noticeable bobbles in his solo passages. I also have to mention DeLuz's excellent performance in Ballo. He has more elevation and ballon than guys half his age. A performance to treasure. Megan Fairchild did a very good job, but there was little sparkle. I thought she also sometimes blurred the choreography/steps in order to keep up with the music. The four soloist ladies in Ballo were terrific- especially A. Isaacs. I found myself fantasizing about Isaacs taking over the lead in Ballo. Her attack is so bold and her movements so perfectly crisp and clean that I think she would be a perfect candidate for the role. I was hoping for a miraculous transformation of Abi Stafford upon her return, but no such luck. A very bland account of the second movement of Tchai Suite 3. Krohn and Catazaro were romantic and passionate in the first movement. (Catazaro replaced Ask LaCour). Third movement was Ulbricht and Paz, both pretty wonderful. No comment on Kammermusik. Not really my cup of tea. It seems to go on and on for way too long. Nice to see Catazaro back, albeit in a barefooted role.

Isn't there one peformance of Symphony in C at the end of the Winter Season, Feb 27? Perhaps that one might be Laracey?

I thought Lovette took over Mearns' role in Liebeslieder last night. Krohn took the role that Hyltin did in the Fall, I think. And Megan Fairchild took Laracey's role.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/arts/dance/review-new-york-city-ballets-winter-season-blends-movement-and-music.html?ref=arts See today's NY Times review of NYCB for some comments on the Dzama decor in the lobby of the Koch. Most interesting was the fact that they permitted Dzama to put polka dots all over the two large statues on the promenade level. The artist that created those sculptures meant for them to be seen as they are, and without any extraneous junk pasted on them. Even if these polka dots can be removed with no damage to the sculptures, it's outrageous that NYCB permitted this to occur. How would Dzama feel if someone decided to paste things on to his artwork?

Thanks for the info.

News flash. When DC gets hit with a lot of snow, the city seems to come to a halt. When I was in DC to see Mariinsky's Sleeping Beauty at the Kennedy Center in 2010, there was a foot or so of snow that started falling on Tuesday evening. The Tuesday evening show proceeded (with loads of empty seats), but on Wednesday the Kennedy Center was shut down. (They rescheduled the missed Wednesday show by adding a show on Sunday evening). I fully expect that the Kennedy Center will shut down if these forecasts come true. We'll see. It's not up to the visiting company to decide whether to proceed. I'm sure the dancers and staff of the Mariinsky thought that a foot of snow was a joke, and there was no reason to shut down the city. DC does not do well with snow.

I actually would not classify Hyltin as someone who is short. In fact, she fits in with the "tall girl" roles pretty well. At the present moement, Reichlin and Mearns dominate the "tall girl" rep. I doubt Maria K. will be cast in the future in 2nd movement of Symphony in C because she was starting to show weakness in the technical demands during the last run. So that left Hyltin as the go to person as the third cast. While it may be nice in theory to think of Laracey in the role, they generally don't give the lead ballerina role to a soloist for the second movement. (Not so with the danseur role, which is dominated by soloists.) Krohn has the long limbs for the role, but I think she is too weak technically for the role, which may be why she was bypassed. I saw last night's performance, and found that most of the performances of the women were works in progress, to put it mildly. The one notable exception was Tiler Peck, who was exquisite. She is a worthy successor to Kyra Nichols. The men all did fine, with special mention to the dashing R. Janzen. I thought Sara Mearns was all wrong for Glass pieces. She is a lush, romantic ballerina. This ballet calls for angular and spikey. Added: Claire Kretszmar (sp?) was replaced in Glass Pieces.

The Graham company is going to perform at NY City Center in April as part of their 90th Anniversary Season. The Graham is more than happy, apparently, to welcome famous ballerinas who can help them sell seats. Diana Vishneva also appeared with the Graham company a few years ago in New York.

Ditto. Based on the short video I am not a fan of the costumes. Keeping an open mind, though, about Peck's upcoming premiere. The designs are apparently by Dzama, who is also in charge of this year's "Art Series" performances. Dzama's work was on display in the promenade and throughout the theater. I'm not a Dzama fan based on what I saw last night.

Catazaro returns during week 3. That's good news. I'm eagerly anticipating Tiler Peck's debut in Ballo.