abatt

No offense to Artem, who appears to work for the Eifman company, but my opinion of the Eifman company is that most of the choreography often is horrid. I'm waiting for the reviews from the Paris press on Up and Down before I decide whether to buy tickets to this. (It will be debuting in Paris this month.) I've been very disappointed with Eifman's choreography in the past. His niche is "psychological" exploration of characters. He uses a lot of fully stretched out and contorted positions for the dancers to convey psychological turbulence. This starts to become mind numbing after a few minutes.

Yes, it is coming to New York City Center in May. I don't know what other US cities are on the tour.

I saw Peck in the lead in the Cage a few days ago. As you may recall, that little loin cloth outfit doesn't leave much to the imagination. For an NYCB dancer, he looked a bit out of shape. For anyone in any other type of occupation, he would be deemed totally in shape.

Aurora generally isn't a role given to such a tall ballerina as Lopatkina. The tall ballerinas are usually given Lilac Fairy. Given her stature, I don't think the role of Aurora would have necessrily fit with her physique. I don't equate the fact that Lopatkina hasn't done Aurora with a black mark on her career as a prima ballerina.

I think NYCB does have a roster of up and coming stars who could do these roles. As examples, Harrison Coll and J. Gordon are both on my radar as being future stars who are ready to take on bigger roles. I think Ulbricht's classical form is generally considered to be sloppy. That's why he tends to cast in more modern ballets, but not as the lead in a ballet like Donizetti. Wishing Veyette a speedy recovery. CTballetfan, Rodeo is on the schedule for the Spring 2015 season.

Not my intent to disrespect your opinion, Amy. To each his or her own. However, I agree with Drew and YID that Lopatkina is a first rate artist. She may not be perfectly suited for certain roles, but she is sublime in many roles. I saw her do the Swan twice in 2008 when the Kirov came to New York City. I also saw her full Swan Lake about 2 weeks ago in Brooklyn. These were among the most treasured experiences of my approximately 20 years of attending ballet. She is a compelling dancer and artist.

FYI, here are some rehearsal photos of Maria and Martin rehearsing their parts for the upcoming run of Carmen at the Met. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/arts/music/at-lincoln-center-cultural-institutions-team-up.html?ref=arts The article touches on some bigger themes regarding cooperation among the different organizations that comprise Lincoln Center.

As Amour noted, the audience seemed to love Rodeo, so my mixed feelings about it may be in the minority. To be honest, I have not been a huge fan of most of Peck's past work for NYCB, with the exception of Year of the Rabbit and Belle Lettres. Balanchine often used a gaggle of women and one guy in his ballets to great effect. However, I didn't feel like the opposite approach, a gaggle of guys and one woman, worked very well last night. The jumps and spins started to become monotony for me. There was a lot of movement, but not much content. Ulbricht was totally in his element, as he can out-jump and out-spin most of the other men. The NYC dance world was out in full force last night in the audience. Maybe I would have liked the Peck work better if it had been on a program with a variety of different kind of works - some classical purity and some modern. Last night's program was all modern - mostly unrelenting athletics. Not a tutu or long dress to be seen. So if Veyette is injured for the rest of the Winter season, who will they have to replace him in Harlequinade. Last time they did Harlequinade, Veyette did all the performances because DeLuz got injured. Are we going to have a reversal where DeLuz is expected to do all the Harlequinade performances? Stay tuned.

Just back from the ballet. First, Veyette was replaced in tonight's premiere of Rodeo due to injury. Justin Peck covered a portion of Veyette's role, and Suozzi covered a different portion of the role in another section of the ballet. This ballet is made for many, many men (didn't count in my program how many) and one woman- Sara Mearns. My favorite section of the work was a melting pdd between Mearns and Ramasar. Overall, the choreography was very athletic. Some of the choreography was extremely repetitive, and I often felt like I was watching an advanced ballet class for male dancers where the objective was to practice jumping skills. I most enjoyed the Wheeldon work on the program. (Mercurial Maneuvers). Wheeldon's choreography is very sophisticated and responsive to the music at all times. Tiler and Jared were especially moving in their pdd. I'm still not a fan of Pictures at an Exhibition, although it does have its moments. Hyltin did a lovely job in taking over Wendy's role. And Lovette is looking more and more like principal material. She did a terrific job in the daring and tricky role originated by Tiler Peck. I wish they would get rid of these See the Dance lectures, or hold them during intermission for those who wish to hear them. The evening was already running long.

I attended this evening's show. Bouder was excellent in Donizetti. Veyette's first solo was awful. When it was time for his second solo, he did not return to the stage as the music played on. He evidently sustained an injury. Corps dancer Harrison Ball partnered Bouder in the final moment of the ballet, taking Veyette's place. To my surprise, Veyette came out when the ballet was over to escort Bouder for the bows. (Usually when there is a significant injury the dancer does not come out at the end.). Unless this was some sort of passing illness, don't be surprised if Veyette is replaced in tomorrow night's premiere of the Justin Peck work. I thought Mearns was thrillingly vibrant as the doomed heroine of Valse. She played it as a shallow party girl - an easy victim for the Death figure to entice with jewels and gloves. There was nothing dangerous about Justin Peck's death figure. He is not menacing or seductive. Adrian D-W's clear and articulate footwork in Chaconne was very well done. (I thought Tyler Angle blurred a lot of the footwork in the earlier cast, as he struggled to keep up with the music.) Reichlin danced with regal authority. A wonderful evening but for the unfortunate injury to Veyette..

Approximately 10 years ago NYCB attempted to institute child matinees on Saturdays, and planned to cut the length of the normal program by omitting portions of a ballet, or reducing the number of rep ballets on the program. There was a major backlash from subscribers who threatened to cancel their Sat matinee subscriptions. NYCB quickly backtracked and dumped the child matinee idea. I think people still bring screaming, misbehaving kids regardless of the length of the show or whether the content is appropriate for kids. It can be cheaper to bring a kid than to find and pay for a babysitter. Most parents have no concerns about disturbing everyone else in the theater.

The Met Opera tried out a singles night for a few years, but I think it has been ditched. During intermission they set aside an area of the Grand Tier for cocktails for the participants in the singles event. It was also a way for them to sell a block of tickets to performances that were not otherwise selling well.

I think that to a large extent the financial success of the Mik's tour to NYC hinged on Osipova's participation. Her name sells lots of tickets. Who knows if the Royal Ballet would be willing to allow her to participate again in a future Mik tour. Frankly, I'm surprised they are allowing her to appear at ABT this Spring. The RB administration appears to be pretty lenient and flexible in this regard, at least at the current time.

Here is a discount code for tickets to the Broadway production of An American in Paris. The code is BOX01. See link for restrictions. http://www.broadwaybox.com/shows/american-paris/

The WSJ review of the Chopin program was very interesting. When I had seen In the Night at NYCB in the past, the third couple was always played for comic effect. I had assumed that Lopatkina just didn't get the comic elements, and played it in a more regal fashion because that is more in keeping with her style. However, the WSJ points out that the third couple is often "inadvertently comic or cliched" and praised Lopatkina's performance as "chilling". This makes me realize, for the first time, that the way NYCB does it (comic) is actually not necessarily the way that Robbins intended. Fascinating. (For the NYCB performances, I'm thinking specifically of performances of Ringer and Fayette, and of Whelan w. Jared Angle)

Here's hoping to a KC Raymond run in 2016. If so, I'm definitely there. KC announces next season in early March.

I saw today's matinee. I like the music for Symphonic Dances, but the choreography isn't great. Hyltin was very impressive as the new lead in the Cage. She was completely successful in this spikey, angular choreography. Andantino is too much minor league schmaltz for me, but Bouder and Veyette performed well. Janzen was remarkable as the new lead in Cortege - an excellent partner to Maria and wonderful in his own solos. Maria, as noted, has the regality for the Cortege ballerina role, but she hardly moved her torso or arched her back. Paz. was thrilling as the secondary lead in Cortege.

Speaking of Fokine's Dying Swan.... I was at Carnegie Hall this evening for a concert. In its museum area, Carnegie has a TV screen with video excerpts of important historical events that have occurred at Carnegie. Tonight they had video of Gelsey Kirkland doing Fokine's Dying Swan at Carnegie. Gelsey was before my time, but people always rave about her. Tonight I understood why. Her performance was absolutely gorgeous. Nothing was overdone. Such eloquent and fluid use of her arms and her back. Isaac Stern was the violinist. Upon arriving home I found out that the performance was in 1981 at a Carnegie Gala. Did anyone see this performance live?

I was at last night's program too. I know Goldberg is considered a masterpiece, but why does it feel like such hard work to watch. It has many beautiful segments, especially in Section II of the ballet. But section I just goes on and on and on. I have no objection to long ballets. I love Dances at a Gathering, for example. But Goldberg just doesn't draw me in, and the choreography is too repetitive in places. I particularly enjoyed Tiler Peck, Maria K. in section II, and J. Gordon and Huxley in section I. Maria was so fluid and lyrical, and Tyler Angle was an excellent partner. Tiler Peck nailed her difficult variations with speed and great musicality. I have fond memories of Wendy Whelan performing Sterling Hyltin's role. I think Hyltin may settle into the role over time, but I thought she was the least enjoyable of the three principal women leads for section II. I also noted that Abi Stafford was the only principal dancing in Section I of the ballet. She has been doing that role for quite some time. She never seems to advance into new roles. I'm quite interested in the second cast scheduled for next week, but I don't think I can sit through this ballet again in the near future. Maybe next season if they bring it back. The Concerto B. performance was terrific.

Get well soon, CTballetfan. Sorry about the auto accident.

Thanks, its the mom. Interesting interview. It's too bad Hallberg is cast in Rodeo instead of T&V. Gomes has also given up T&V. Nothing against Gorak, but I hope Herman can make it back to the stage in time for the Met spring season.

I saw a few performances over the weekend, including Hyltin's La Valse. I didn't like her interpretation, but I'm willing to see keep an open mind about it. She conveyed a lot of fear when interacting with Ramasar's death figure. However, she didn't convey that she was seduced in any way by either Ramasar himself, or by the objects Ramasar was giving to her. The steps were all there, but somehow the drama was lacking. I think Hyltin is better in neo-classical works than in dance dramas. Bouder toned down her racing ahead of the pack in the finale of Symphony in C, but that tendency still slipped in briefly. I though B. Pollack was a breath of fresh air in the 4th movement. In fact, I enjoyed the entire cast of Symphony in C on Sat evening, except for Chase Finlay. He needs improvement in his technique, pronto. Bouder and DeLuz were thrilling in Donizetti over the weekend, as others have noted. I feel that Chaconne is one of Maria's best roles, and I thought she and Tyler Angle did an excellent job. Have not seen the Reichlin/Adrian D-W cast in Chaconne. Regarding the week 4 casting, isn't it strange that there are only two lead casts alternating in 5 consecutive performances? I hope they can handle it. Yes, Isaacs is a very deserving recipient of the Levin award. I hope she is able to return to the stage soon.

Who was cast in T&V with Lane before they cast Gorak? Was it Cornejo or TBA?

Or, since Sacre is the opening ballet on the program, arrive at the theater in time for the first intermission in order to skip Sacre entirely..

There are some cast changes for week 3. Lovette replaces Tiler Peck in Pictures at an Exhibition. Mearns and Adrian Dachig Waring replace Maria K and T. Angle in Goldberg.