abatt

I recall a Theme & Variations performance of Gorak's at the Koch in which he partnered Lane. Gorak had trouble lifting Lane to a seated position on to his shoulders, and she was precariously dangling. Apart from that he could not do the double tours required for his solo. I think that was the last time I ever saw him in a lead role.

Roxander rocked the house

The thing is that the ballet leaves out the ending of the play, in which the Capulets and Montagues agree to end their feud. The chaperone of the kids said the play is about two selfish and dumb teenagers, but that completely misses the point of the themes in the play - a gross oversimplification.

I sat near a large group of teenage girls. I think they were probably not yet high school aged. They thought the ballet was derived from a Taylor Swift song which apparently references R&J. It was clear as they were speaking to their adult chaperones that they never heard of Shakespeare. I guess Shakespeare isn't taught until high school, but I found the whole thing both amusing and disturbing all at the same time. They were completely unfamiliar with the story and when Tybalt killed Mercutio the girl next to me let out an audible gasp, followed by the words Oh my god! The girls were pleased that Aran Bell was dancing. One said - He's awesome. He's like a celebrity!

Bell was excellent. Fabulous technique. And I felt his partnering of Hee Seo, who is a waif, was more daring and looked more spontaneous than his partnering Teuscher. Teuscher is so much taller and bigger than Hee, and therefore more difficult to partner.

Hee Seo was stunning as Juliet. By far the richest and most expressive of any of the casts at ABT thus far this season. Her beautiful upper body liquidity was a marvel. You could see the transformation from innocent girl to woman over the course of the evening. This is her best role. And Roxander knocked it out of the park with his superb dancing as Mercutio. Ahn's Tybalt was a total bore.

I agree with the above comments about Boylston. She did a wonderful job. Hurlin's debut was very good, but the characterization will improve over time. I particularly liked Hurlin's deeply arched back. Also, Zhurbin is a superb Tybalt. I loved his acting, and his decision to die with his sword in hand. It summed up the nature of this character perfectly. Teuscher dancing is very pretty, but it never caught fire. Also, she does not have the flexibility in her back, which sometimes robs the performance of dramatic impetus. Calvin Royal has difficulty in one of the big iconic lifts in the first act. It took me out of the story. Overall, as between the three men I've seen this season (Bell, Carmago and Royal), Royal's dancing was the weakest of the three men. I hope next time they do R&J that Skylar Brandt can get a shot at Juliet.

IATSE is threatening a strike starting this weekend, potentially shutting down all Broadway shows. Are the stagehands employed by ABT through the Met part of that union.

Carmago was fantastic last night. Not much time to post comments, but the quality of his dancing was breathtaking. His solo work in the balcony scene reminded me of Corella and Bocca. He is also an ardent romantic lead.

Bell replaces Stearns on thursday

Me too. But I will probably walk out on for Single Eye, which is not a great ballet. The rest is great. So what happened to the Marston ballet that was supposed to be shared with Houston Ballet. Not that I'm complaining... No Misty again. Glad to see that ABT is still performing Ratmansky's work.

Does that mean Luis R. is departing ABT?

Swan Lake was the only thing that sold out almost every night. No discounts, no papering.

I saw a busload of teenagers entering the theater. Not sure if they were the primary source of the screaming. I didn't mind. If they keep coming back to ABT, it will help ABT survive economically. ABT needs all the help it can get.

Thanks for clarifying that was indeed Klein. I did not hear any announcement on Neapolitan for the cast change. I thought Shevchenko was very good technically, but the performance left me cold. Royal's technical flaws are exposed most egregiously in Petipa.

Thanks

She is the 2023 Jennifer Alexander Award recipient.

Bell danced instead of stearns in acts 3 and 4. There was no announcement that I heard. The intermission was extra long, so I guess that the replacement issue was the reason. Mr. Abatt whispered, do you think Vishneva will come out as Odile. LOL. Considering Bell did not rehearse with Teuscher, it went pretty well. Cory was not dancing so well in Acts I and II, but I assumed it was standard Cory dancing. There was no indication of an injury during Acts I and II. So now we have the question of whether Bell is going to also dance the matinee tomorrow with Hee Seo/ Curley was very good as Rothbart. His only blooper was he missed the chair when he threw his big cape. It landed on the floor and the MC picked it up.

I agree with Matilda. Trenary Cornejo seems interesting. They have not danced this together in NYC (or anywhere?). Trenary was a very good Juliet.

Skylar has made excellent progress as Odette. A terrific performance. And Herman was full of energy and dancing magnificently. Her Odile last season was very good, and it was so again tonight. She did an unsupported balance for a very long time. Wonderful mixture of single and double fouettes. She has added a skill - On her exit in Act II she is able to ripple her arms. Nina used to do that, as did Irina. I've been waiting a long time to see that again.

Yes, she was one of the greats. Maybe the greatest I have ever seen at ABT. I would add to that list Lopatkina, who I saw when the Mariinsky did Swan Lake at the Brooklyn Academy of Music about 10 years ago. From NYCB I would add Mearns.

McKenzie created the Rothbart role because at the time it was created ABT had so many incredible men that he wanted to include an additional lead role for a male, according to interviews I recall reading. It was created on Vladimir Malakhov, not a sex symbol but certainly a great dancer. The most incredible Rothbart was Gomes, and the most brilliant use of the role was in Nina Ananiashvill's farewell. McKenzie allowed a modification, and I recall Gomes literally tossing Nina to Angel Corella, who was playing Seigfreid. The audience went wild. I wonder if there is any youtube footage.

Indeed, she did do better last year in SL. Sometimes when all of the training is fresh for a role debut, the level of attention to detail is much greater at a debut. Who knows how much additional coaching was undertaken since Hurlin already performed the role. And it is interesting that Ahn, who did two Siegfried performances last season, was shut out this season and instead got Rothbart. Looking at Whiteside's performance last night, maybe he would have been better off performing the shorter, less demanding role of Rothbart. Hurlin had two major debuts in classical roles - Giselle and next week as Juliet. Maybe it is difficult to prepare for so many debuts and at the same time take on a revival of a role you did once before. I would certainly be interested in seeing her again next season in SL.

Have to agree with much of what has been written above about the Hurlin Whiteside performance. Whiteside's partnering was excellent, but his solo work was mediocre at best and terrible at worst. He had problems with sloppy lines, stumbling out of turns and all of the other problems mentioned above. I know he has had a tough road of recovery, but the audience deserves better than the level he is currently at. Hurlin gave a well danced performance generally, but her arms frequently looked sloppy. There was zero chemistry wtih Whiteside. This performance had no emotional depth or resonance. More work to do. Her fouettes were initially very fast, and I think she may have slowed and cut it short at 27 or 27 because she would have been in danger of moving too far forward on the stage. Overall, I felt her performance last season may have been more polished than the one tonight. It was good, but it could be so much better. Jose Sebastian did better on Monday than tonight. Park was again outstanding in the pas de trois. Put her in Swan Lake or Giselle next time around.

Hurlin performed SL last year.