abatt

20 minutes ago, California said:

Brilliant programming for fall! I want to see it all!

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.  

1 hour ago, California said:

At intermission,  Greg, director of development, confirmed: fall schedule announced Wednesday,  July 19.

Thanks 

8 hours ago, angelica said:

Just want to give a shout-out to Erica Lall for her delightful performance in last night's Act I pas de trois. Technically precise with high jumps, soft landings, and visible charm.

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.  

5 minutes ago, Rick said:

And Nina’s farewell remains my benchmark Odette/Odile. 

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.

Hee has made a lot of improvements over the years.   During fouettes she used to either bail out quickly, or the fouettes would veer  all the way to the side of the stage, towards the wings, as she was doing them.  Now she moves forward in small increments in a straight line, as most people do, and does a highly respectable number of neat fouettes.  I recall a number of prior outings years ago when I was afraid she would either end up in the orchestra pit or in the side wings offstage because she lacked control.  Fortunately, she put in the work and got the help she needed to improve. 

1 hour ago, WLH said:

Another mesmerizing jump into the lake from Aran Bell last night. I love when you can hear those around you practically losing their breath 

Yes his dive off the cliff was spectacular, but Carmago's the night before was also remarkable.   I was captivated by last night's performance.  Hee is so elegant, and she uses her back, head and arms to maximum effect.  Of course, she does not have the level of technical brilliance of some other dancers, but her technical achievement was fine (I think 26 fouettes).   For me, this was a SL with tragic dimension.  Aran Bell was superb.   He is a first rate classical dancer.

The most negative part for me was when Ahn, playing Rothbart, nearly dropped a princess during a lift gone wrong.  Did you catch the look on her face?  Total fear.  He is a tall and strong principal.  I expect better.

37 minutes ago, California said:

Interesting! I actually wish they would bring back Union Jack! No other company does it and that opening section with all the regiments is really something. Last performed in 2019. I remember an interview long ago that said no other company had requested it, probably because they have 70 dancers on stage at one point! Few companies are big enough to handle that, even with supplements from their schools.

It's not only the cast size.  The costumes must really add up.  And that middle section requires a donkey. 

Yes, it was Ask

I saw last night's SL.  Carmago danced and acted beautifully.  A very impressive performance.  Boylston has the same problems that have been an issue for her for years in this.  She is a brilliant technician, but her head and torso are often the least free parts of her body, which is a significant drawback  in portraying Odette.  Her ballroom act was amazing -  an unsupported balance that seemingly went on forever.  She did at least 30 utterly wonderful fouettes, finishing with at least a double pirouette (it may have been a triple).  Yet despite the brilliance in technique, this SL lacked a tragic dimension. 

Park was breathtaking in the pas de trois.  Sebastian did well as Rothbart but had difficulty controlling a spin in his solo.  Roander and Klein were fantastic in the Neapolitan dance.  The audience was packed.  

Yes, Janzen actually was great in this role when he did it as, I believe,  a soloist.  

I saw Wendy Whelan on the subway last week and said hello.  She was very nice and down to earth.  She asked me what I would like to see programmed in the future, as the company is already planning the 2024-25 season.  I mentioned that Davidbundertanze  had not been performed in a long time.  She replied that "You need the right tall guy for that one."  So that was my brush with ballet royalty on the subway system.

Boylston and Forster seem like a complete casting mis-match.  

Bad news.  Per the Met website, Boylston is now listed on the Wed matinee for Swan Lake, replacing Murphy.

I liked Murphy's Giselle.  She is not as strong as she used to be, but she is still a formidable dancer.  She has considerable experience as Giselle, but not with ABT.  When Steifel ran Royal New Zealand ballet she did Giselle many times with that company.  She and Forster make a good couple.  I liked their work together better than when they did Giselle together at the Koch back in 2021.  She is not a histrionic scenery chewing Giselle in the mad scene.  She is more self contained, which worked well.   

Since Giselle is only revived every two years or so, I'm wondering if we have seen the last Giselle performances from  Cornejo, Murphy and possibly Forster.  

Did anyone else notice that Misseldine does two full circle of jumps around the stage in her last big solo as Myrta, whereas Devon circles around once and then kills time waving her arms around near Giselle's grave to wait out the time until the next bit of choreography.  She is a strong dancer who managed to correct her issues over the course of her four performances and immensely improved her performance.  Good work Chloe!