abatt

Osipova's hop variation is much more difficult than what Teuscher did.  Osipova rotates a full 360 degrees on point before resuming the hops across the diagonal of the stage. Teuscher only rotated a few degrees (maybe 30 degrees)  to her left  so that she could face Bell, who was seated on the bench.  Then she rotated back to doing the hops across the diagonal.  Teuscher never rotated anything close to 360 degrees.

I think there may be some Osipova haters on this site, but I agree with California.  Those were glory days.  An incredible era.

25 minutes ago, California said:

He's become my favorite to watch, especially after his Don Q last season.  Interesting that he is the only male principal with two SLs this summer. If hints of Etudes this fall are true, he's one of the few men at ABT with the technique to handle the lead. 

Yes, Bell and Carmago are now my favorite ABT dancers.  Bell is more classically refined than Carmago. Has Carmago done Giselle elsewhere?  Very curious to see what he and Hurricane Hurlin do tomorrow afternoon.  I'm taking a vacation day from work to see the performance. 

34 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Where you say Misseldine "is too slow at her entrance" I assume you're referring to her bourres in the entrance? I thought the speed was fine, but yes could be a bit quicker. But, I had more of an issue with her noisy pointe shoes.

Happy to hear Teuscher's debut went well, though I cannot picture her as Giselle at all. I'm looking to seeing Bell in SL.

Yes, I was referring to the bourres. That entrance can cause an audience to erupt into applause if done with speed.  When it's done slowly the effect of Myrta as a spirit floating across the stage is lost.  And Yes, Misseldine did have loud  landings. 

Teuscher was very good today in her debut as Giselle.  Aran Bell was breathtaking.  He is the perfect romantic lead.  His dancing was flawless.  The guy has it all - dramatic presence, fabulous technique and good partnering skills.  He had no trouble with the overhead lifts of Devon, who is  quite tall.  He did at least 32 - may have been 33 - entrechat sixes.   

I expected that given her strong technique Teuscher might take more risks, but for the most part she played it safe.  in act I during the hops of pointe she periodically rotated the hops a bit to point her foot toward Aran Bell.  I've seen others in the past do this as well.  It added an additional dimension of difficulty.  She whirled around pretty quickly at the opening  of Act II when she is first summoned by Myrta.  Lovely use of her arms and upper body.  

Messeldine improved, but still is too slow at her entrance in my opinion.  She also needs to arch her back more.  Hey, maybe now that McKenzie is gone they could bring in Veronika Part, a flawless and memorable Myrta, to teach!

Park and Sebastian did the peasant pas.  Park had complete mastery of the chorography. She is likely a future candidate to dance Giselle.

I know someone else who was at the Giselle dress rehearsal who thought Teuscher was wonderful.   

Forgot to mention how wonderful Park was in the second act as Moyna.  A very strong technical dancer.  I hope we also see her in the peasant pas sometime this week.  

Seo was truly beautiful.  Gorgeous arms and effective use of her back and neck.  She lacks technical brilliance sometimes, but her adagio work was sublime.  I had no problem with her mad scene.  I can't stand it when people overact in that scene.  For me less is more in the mad scene.  She dies of a broken heart, and we don't need scenery chewing to portray that emotion. She seemed to float in Act ii.  Cory is a great partner, but otherwise I felt underwhelmed with his performance.  He lacks blaze, and his technique is acceptable but unremarkable.  

Have to agree that the peasant pas sometimes looked like a student performance.  Both performers need improvement.  They  lacked polish.  Gonzalez tried to impress wtih big jumps, but he often lands with a thud.

I thought Messeldine's performance was a work in progress.  Her initial entrance was slow and plodding.  Not good.  She also looked stiff in the early parts of her solo.  The phrasing of her initial solo needed more  backbends and floaty arms.  She improved in her second big solo after Zulma and Moyna have performed.  Messeldine definitely has a big jump.  I will give her that.

Nice to see classical ballet after the LWFC. Onwards. 

 i had not intended to book this particular performance, but I couldn't stand the thought of returning to LWFC, so I exchanged into this Giselle.  Hee Seo was certainly worth the trip.   Although I think other Giselles will have more breathtaking technical moments this week at ABT, Seo's adagio work was  top tier. 

Janze seemed to be the most noble and elegant of dancers. 

I think NYCB should try and recruit Aran Bell from across the plaza.  

Oh no. I so enjoyed his dancing.  Wishing him well.  I wish we could have seen him again in a role he conquered early in his career in Davidsbundertanze.  

Interesting how some dancers decide to leave a little earlier than necessary, while others refuse to retire and hold on until the bitter end.

Kikta and Nadon as Siren in Prodigal.  Mejia as Prodigal.

Miller in Diamonds

Didn't Gerrity do third movement (maybe it was fourth?) last fall.  

Gerrity is unrecognizable in that cover photo. Was the messy hair supposed to be a way for ballet to appear more accessible to the masses.  Look no ballet bun.  Ballet dancers have messy hair just like regular people.

8 minutes ago, Becki Lee said:

Christine just posted that she is out for remaining LWFC performances “due to a fall.” 

Oh no.  I hope this does not jeopardize her upcoming performances with the Ukranian Ballet in Giselle, or the rest of her ABT season.

I think that the feeling of overkill on LWFC goes back to the weakness of the choreography.  This wears out its welcome much faster than things like Swan Lake, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty and the like because those are much deeper vehicles for great dancing and great dramatic insight.   In contrast, LWFC really doesn't pay dividends with repeat viewing.  How many times can you see people rolling around on the floor, on a table and still be interested.  

Did anyone notice either Blaine Hoven or J. Gorak cast in any minor roles in LWFC?  They are still listed on the website, but not listed for any upcoming assignments. 

I'm a little surprised and disappointed by the Myrta casting for Giselle.  Teuscher, Shevchenko and Hurlin seem very well suited to the role.   Did everyone see those incredibly fast bourees when Shevchenko danced Mama Elena in LWFC?  

Melanie has written a novel titled "First Position".  She gave an interview about it on the Today Show.  I presume a clip of the interview will be available soon if anyone is interested. 

5 minutes ago, TheAccidentalBalletomane said:

I saw LWFC Fri night, w/ the Park/Misseldine/Brandt/Camargo/Bell Cast.  The music conveyed the story fairly well and I enjoyed the Mexican/ethnic style sound and the conductor was very well received. I thought the acting was excellent throughout the cast, which is important since much of the first act, especially, was mostly storytelling and not very much interesting or challenging dancing, although I liked the use of the table and chairs to aid in creating interesting positions around the kitchen table and in other scenes. I note, in particular the acting of the mother (Misseldine) as the ultimate wicked mom; as it is hard for someone so angelic to pull off that character (and she did); and I had to do a double take watching a recent innocent P. Praline / Giselle, now the sister Gertrudis, turn into a woman overcome by desire with a man (men?) having their way with her in a frantic scene ending on horseback.  It was fun and strange seeing  these transformations -- congrats to these dancers.  The dancing was more energetic and less dark of course with the celebration dancing with Gertrudis featured with the men in the campfire scene; some of which looked difficult (I cannot describe what Bell was doing but he was doing it very fast). The dancing/choreography definitely picked up in middle of the second act.  I plan to go one more time to see Brandt dance Tita.   I liked the imagery of the larger than life mother/Misseldine in the crazy long red hair-fro.. I felt it helped convey the correct emotions as to what Tita was feeling in her mind although I know you want to try to convey that with your dance movements.  I will let others correct me on that.  The Times felt that some of the costuming and special effects were a substitute for creative choreography, especially in the first Act and first half of the second.  This is a fair point and am interested if others agree.  

Misseldine was the eldest sister, not the mother.  The mother was  Claire Davison.  Claire missed her big moment of cursing Pedro. She is supposed to touch the top of his head. at the end of Act II.  She was too tall on that contraption that she was being wheeled around on, and the best she could do was wave her arms around the vicinity of Pedro's (Carmago's) head.  

I definitely agree with the post above that Of Love and Rage had considerably more classical ballet than LWFC.  LWFC is balle Light.  Is it a sacrilege to say I preferred Carmago.  Cornejo was good, but Carmago was better.  I was less impressed with Park.  The role requires better acting, and she lacks experience compared to Trenary.  I thought Brandt was all wrong for the feisty middle sister in the second cast.  Her dinner table orgy scene was disjointed and awkward.  In Hurlin's hands it flowed more seamlessly and looked sexy.   Also, whose bright idea was is to pair Aran Bell with Brandt in the campfire scene.  He looked like a giant and she looked like a midget.

Yes, Wheeldon relies heavily on special effects and other bells and whistles instead of creating choreography.  Maybe this is what audiences prefer.  I'm not sure.  

Last night the run time was approx. 2 hrs. 50 min.

Forgot to mention the stellar work of Hurlin.  I am eager to see her in every role she takes on. 

Also, watching Trenary and Cornejo together made me eager to see their R&J.  I hope it actually happens.

The role of Dr. Brown is  very minimal. Nice to see Forster on stage, but it is a very forgettable role.

45 minutes ago, NinaFan said:

Thank you for the review and for not giving the ending away as I’m looking forward to seeing the ballet. 

The fake fire sounds interesting, but then I’m a sucker for special effects anyway.  Perhaps he felt it helped to create the mood, especially if the fire was also in the book.   But I obviously can’t really comment until I’ve seen the ballet.

Would you say the ballet was closer to 2:45 hours or more like 3 hours?  I am trying to get all my ducks in a row timewise.  Thanks.

Last night it was 3 hours, but it was a "gala" night so maybe the intermissions will be a little shorter for the rest of the run. 

 I found some photos of the celebs who attended.  Mick Jagger & Melanie Hamrick (in a Dolce & Gahanna dress) were at the after party, but I'm not sure if they saw the ballet.  The photo was definitely inside of Geffen Hall, where the party was held.

The NY Times review is available for those with subscriptions.  Verdict - too much plot, not enough dancing.

The work held my attention and I enjoyed it, but I wanted more actual dancing and less gesturing.  The choreography for the group dances is relatively simplistic and not technically challenging.   The final pas was very well done, until Wheeldon decided to add that little bit of kitsch at the very end, which I will not reveal so as not to spoil it for others.   

I think this work would have benefitted from an editor who was willing to slash scenes from the ballet that were not essential to the basic outlines of the story.   One thing that distinguishes the classics is that each act has a major dance divertissement of the leads.  I thought there just wasn't enough impressive choreography in this to justify a nearly 3 hour run time. 

ABT has apparently stopped the ticket giveaways in the upper levels to fill the house for the gala.  Lots of empty seats in the balcony and family circle. 

MacMillan didn't need fake fire effects to convey passion.  I realize that fire is part of the book, but it says a lot that Wheeldon frequently relies on scenic gimmicks to substitute for quality choreography.  Couldn't the spirit of the mother deliver her warnings with good mime and acting or dancing.  Instead he gives her this outlandish wig and she is  hidden under tons of fabric as she is carted around the stage.  When Shevchenko smushed her hand down on Cornejo's head I busted out laughing.  I don't think that was the intended effect.  

Overall I felt that the choreography was more like something you would see at a Broadway show rather than the level of sophistication I have come to expect from a top tier ballet company.   One act of Don Q has more sophisticated and difficult choreography than 3 acts of LWFC.

Due to the generosity of a friend who is a member, I attended the dress rehearsal last night.  I didn't stay for the final act.  Since it was a dress rehearsal, I'll keep my comments to a minimum.  Wheeldon was there supervising every aspect.  Having never read the book or seen the film, I felt that there were just too many characters and plot points in this work.  This may have been fine for film and in a novel, but in a ballet it becomes a problem.  Study the synopsis before the performance, or you may find that you are sometimes lost.  (This was also a problem last season for Love & Rage).   The rehearsal cast was opening night cast - Trenary, Cornejo....

I agree with the posts above that the first act is far too long.  

In particular, the technical crew was having some issues regarding lighting.  Hopefully it will all be straightened out for tonight's show. 

1 minute ago, matilda said:

Ha! Freudian slip, I guess. In all fairness I do really like Teuscher although it is hard to picture her as Giselle. If the show weren't on July 4th, I might even try to catch that cast. Bell absolutely killed it as Albrecht in fall 2021. 

Yes.   He was great.  I don't recall who was his partner for that show.  

Just because the unions negotiated a deal with the Met Opera for Sunday opera performances does not necessarily mean that the same deal applies to  ABT.   

On 6/17/2023 at 12:00 PM, California said:

I hope nobody on this site is flying to Houston, hoping to see Sarah Lane in Swan Lake on Sunday. She just cancelled, as per Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/sarahlaneofficial

NYSusan is there, and booked the trip to see Lane.  

Er, two of the least suitable people for Other Dances are Boylston and Ahn. They lack dramatic insight. Maybe the rest of the program will be good. 

By the way, Paul Taylor returns to the Koch Oct 31 thru Nov 12.  Why do I mention this on an ABT thread?  That leaves the two weeks after the NYCB fall season as the likely dates for ABT to appear at the Koch int he fall.