abatt

I attended on Tues and Wed evenings. Don't have much time to report. Svetlana still has gorgeous extension and line. However, her jumping ability seems to have diminished since the last time I saw her live about ten years ago. Her jumps are very low to the ground now. In addition, contrary to what the NY Times wrote, I feel she is probably too regal and queenly to play a peasant girl. Hallberg is in fine form, but I've seen him do better work as Albrecht at ABt over the years. I thought Nikulina (Wed night) was a much more believable Giselle because she is petite and young. In addition, her jumps were very high and fast, and elicitied spontanous applause. On the whole, I didn't regret going, but I wasn't blown away either by either of these performances. I left with a new and deeper appreciation of the great performances I have seen in the past at ABt from Ananiashvilli, Ferri, Osipova and Vishneva..

Given the large numbers of empty seats I saw at each of the 3 Don Q's I attended, I would say New York has definitely reached its Don Q saturation point. With the Bolshoi and the Mik both bringing Don Q this year, ABT ended up with diminished ticket sales, I believe. I hope they do not bring it back next season, as they have been doing it every year for several years.

I thought Russell Janzen was terrific in Davidsbundlertanze. It was a wonderful role debut in the central role. Reichlin was indeed completely different from Mearns in the Clara role, but not in a good way. In order to express "drama" Reichlin tends to give us the furrowed brow expression, which is the same thing she does as Odette. The drama is in the choreography, but her execution/phrasing could not convey the meaning. She tended to clip the end of a phrase as she moved to the next phrase, thereby diminishing the overall impact of her choreography. Tiler Peck and Tyler Angle were striking, with Peck especially daring in her abandon and attack. Laracey was lovely, but I felt there was no romantic chemistry with Suozzi. Remember when Alexpolous and Hubbe danced together in this? They sizzled with romance. I never got that impression from either Hyltin/Finlay or Laracey/Suozzi. Forgot to add that Catzaro makes a very wonderful romantic lead and partner for Krohn. He is much better in these types of roles than in ones that completely expose his technical weaknesses, as in the first movement of Symphony in C. I didn't stay for Union Jack. Wendy Whelan was absorbing and compelling in Glass Pieces today. She is a marvel.

On Friday w. Herrera, Vasiliev lifted her one one arm and did a low arabesque, but he did not go up on releve, based on what I recall.

Ballet performances will include “The Legend of Love,” choreographed by Yuri Grigorovich, and the world premiere in March 2015 of a new staging of “Hamlet,” with choreography by Radu Poklitaru. Also, the world premiere of a ballet based on Mikhail Lermontov’s “A Hero of Our Time,” is scheduled for June 2015, choreographed by Yuri Possokhov. 2015 tours to Hong Kong and São Paulo, Brazil. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/16/bolshoi-theater-plans-tchaikovsky-celebrations/?ref=arts

Yes, very uncomfortable to look up to the stage. I once sat in Row B. My neck hurt the entire time.

I attended half the May 14 performance (skipped Union Jack). Sara Mearns was compelling and heartbreaking in the lead role. In particular, the way she used her flexible back in deep backbends added to her portrait of grief. It was never overdone, just right. Unfortunately, Ask LaCour was not her equal, and whenever they were onstage together in an intimate pdd, his presence became almost an afterthought. The rest of the cast was terrific. In particular, Robert Fairchild blazed with passion and excitement, and brought the best out in Abi Stafford (who I normally find to be efficiently dull). To my surprise, Chase Finlay did perform. He has been replaced in every other performance this season. Hopefully this means he's recovered. Sadly, this dramatic masterpiece apparently doesn't sell. There were abundant emply seats, and the third ring looked about 30 percent full. Agree that the Times photo is gorgeous, any only hints at the brilliance of the performance.

I thought Lovette's Raymonda was a work in progress. It looked under-rehearsed. She came off pointe during the pdd, but I'm not sure if that was due to Huxley's partnering, which was rough. Huxley was much better in his solo work than the partnering work. The very end when the ballerina does a dive into her partner's arms was the safest and dullest performance of that move I've seen. I liked Reichlin in Symphony in C second movement. She is not as regal as Maria, but it was a very fine performance. She is too tall for Tyler Angle. Tiler Peck can add the first movement as another role triumph in her already long list of triumphs. Catazaro did not have a role triumph as her partner. Ashly Isaacs again was terrific in the Third movement, and Garcia looks like a re-born dancer. Taylor Stanley was excellent in the Fourth.Ashley Laracey is not a great spinner, so I did not think she was particularly well suited to the Fourth Movement. Last night was a celebration of SAB. There were many,. many SAB students in the audience. There was a short film in which various present and former SAB students (including Chita Rivera) talked about SAB. Peter Martins then came out and gave a short speech about SAB. He then introduced the faculty on stage, one by one, including Darci, Jock, Dena Abergel, Katrina Killian, Kaitland Gilliland, J. Stafford, Kay Mazzo, Yvonne Borree and others..

I love it when the saute is added to the Tchai pdd. Woetzel used to do that in Tchai pdd and Four Seasons, and Corella did it at ABT in Tchai pdd. Most performers cannot do it (or choose not to).

Who danced Mercedes and Espada last night? Amour? How were the leads?

Reyes is replacing Murphy tomorrow night in Don Q, per the ABT online calendar.

I'm wondering whether they would use her in the new production of Sleeping Beauty (which will premiere in 2015), since she is leaving. I think her best roles are Don Q, Corsaire and Sleeping Beauty. I've never thought her Giselle, Swan Lake or Juliets were particularly memorable. Acting was not a strong point for her, and I feel like these roles require a good dance actress.I also liked her Raymonda very much, but that was a long time ago and who knows if that one will ever come back to ABT. Paloma did very good work in modern ballets, and I closely associate her with Tywla's works for ABT. Maybe ABT will do a Twyla program next season?

I would say it's a mixed review, not a negative one. If you want negative, you should ask me about La Stravaganza.

I attended the gala last night. It was a celebration of the 50 year anniversary of NYCB at the State Theater. The most exciting part of the evening for me was when they introduced on stage some of the dancers who participated in that opening night performance 50 years ago. Among the dancers who came on stage were Kay Mazzo, Arthur Mitchell, Mimi Paul, Jacques D'Amboise, Eddie Villella, and many more. Various film clips from the opening night festivities 50 years ago were shown, including one with Jacques D'Amboise being interviewed on his thoughts on the opening of the new theater. Such a downer that this wonderful hall now has the name Koch forever attached to it. (Koch was there. Saw him on the promenade during intermission.) As for the dancing, Mearns and Jared Angle danced Allegro Brilliant. They were fine, but I don't think this kind of allegro dancing is what Mearns excels at. Bouder or Tiler Peck would have been a better choice, but Tiler Peck was busy with a lead role in the new Justin Peck ballet. The new Peck ballet was very busy - too busy I would say. A very large cast, including numerous principal dancers. I liked parts of it, but for me it just didn't gel. It started to become monotonous, repetitive and somewhat pretentious. There was a repeated motif of people falling to the floor and then raised up off the ground by a partner. Was there some grand point to all this that I missed? The best parts were allegro solo passages for Reichlin, and intimate pdds for Robbie Fairchild and Maria K. The worst parts were when Justin tried to fill beats of music by having the dancers wave their arms around. The women's costumes were very unflattering body suits. I'm sure there will be photos in the paper. Anyone else attend?

Isn't the ending of Martin's SL of Odette bourreing off stage into the rising sun directly out of Balanchine's one act version?

What condition does she have that has caused these cancellations?

Responding to the comment above about Ratmansky using ABT's home grown artists: Frankly, I think part of the reason Osipova and Vasliev decided to join ABT had a lot to do with Ratmansky. He was their champion when he was artistic director of the Bolshoi, and he promoted them to principal there. Ratmansky gave the lead role in Firebird to Osipova (with Misty in second cast). He also carved out leading roles for them in the Trilogy last season. Obviously, those ties ultimately were not strong enough to prevent Osipova from leaving ABT for the Royal. We'll see what Vasiliev's future plans are. Also, the incredible period when Ferri, Ananiashvilli, Vishneva, Corella, Carreno, Bocca, Steifel and others appeared nightly on the Met stage was under McKenzie's leadership. None were "home grown" at ABT, but those were spectacular years when ABT was the envy of every ballet company.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't ABT significantly in the red when McKenzie took over in 1992 from Misha. From the standpoint of moving the company from red ink into black ink, he has been successful. The artistic side is another matter entirely. Yes, I agree he has let a lot of talent waste away there. However, I also note that one artisitic coup was hiring Ratmansky.

I thought Lauren King was much improved in the 4th movement compared to last season. However, she is not a great spinner. If I could have cast the ballet, I might have given the fourth movement to Isaacs, who is a really strong spinner. Tiler Peck used to be incredible in the 4th movement, but she has finally been promoted into the first movement (debuting either this week or next, I think).

Yes, I agree cobweb. In fact, there was not a weak link in the the entire performance by anyone. An excellent program, with everyone doing wonderful work. I especially loved Maria K's sublime and serene performance of the Symphony in C second movement w. Tyler Angle.

It looks like prices have gone up, at least in certain sections. Cheapest subscription price used to be $26 per ticket; now it's $28 per ticket. I think the next cheapest level used to be $51 per subscription ticket, and it is now $53 per ticket. I think the highest subscription ticket price used to be $130 and it is now $139.

I thought Ratmansky was forbidden from working for NYCB once he signed on at ABT. Glad to see that there is detente regarding this issue. (Ratmansky's best work is at NYCB, not ABT, in my opinion.)

And this just in from the NY Times: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/07/city-ballets-2014-15-season-to-feature-ballets-by-peck-scarlett-and-ratmansky/?ref=dance# Has anyone seen Martins' Sylphide?

I think when additional casting is announced, Simkin will probably be listed for Puck, which is a lead role. (Probably also Salstein, and maybe Cornejo too) The numbers above may have to be adjusted.

It's a game of hide and seek. I was able to see enough info on the calendar to see that a new Ratmansky work will debut at NYCB in the Fall of 2014.