abatt

Wow, not one mixed rep program? No Ratmansky triology? I'm getting kind of tired of Don Q. As always, thanks mussel.

Since Hallberg knows Onegin, I wonder if he will be cast.

Since Orion is supposed to be a powerful and coarse bad guy, I thought Vasiiev's approach worked well for this role. In fact, I much preferred it to the more classical approaches to Orion that were delivered by Stearns and Matthews. When Orion is done in a "balletic" style, it wipes out the contrast between the choreography for Aminta and Orion. And the costume did disguise Vasiliev's thick thighs.

I thought Matthews (Aminta) had a very elegant and pure line and partnered well. However, his jumps and spins are not as explosive as either Gomes or the gravity-defying Cornejo.

Stearns replaced by Radetsky as Orion in tomorrow's Sylvia matinee.

I've seen all of the Sylvia performances this week except the Wed matinee. Last night I thought Vasiliev hit a home run as Orion. His jumps and spins were unbelievably high and difficult- far exceeding the technical level of anyone else who did the role this week at ABT. Vasiliev nearly touched the back of his head with his foot in one of the leaps. Amazing. In addition, he fully inhabited the character he was portraying. He was creepy and frightening in his facial expressions. I thought it was a triumph. (He would also be perfect as the evil character in Raymonda, if ABT ever decides to revive it.) Herman Cornejo was the most brilliant of the Amintas this week in terms of his solo work. He was simply breathtaking and perfect in every jump, leap and spin. His partnering was generally fine, but there were errors. One lift in the pdd near the end of the ballet looked very awkward. He also arrived a second too late to grab Xiomara's hand when she came out of a spin, resulting in her comimg off pointe briefly when she shoud have been on pointe. Of all the Syvia's I saw, Murphy was the best. I enjoyed her bold attack and athleticism, which perfectly suit the role and the choreography. Semionova was gorgeous too, but more demure somehow. Semionova was my favorite ballerina in the seduction of Orion scene. Herrera seemed underpowered for the entire evening. Reyes did well, especially considering that she was thrown into this at the last minute. However, I don't think Syliva is the best fit for her. Special mention for the gorgeous dancing of Simkin as Eros. The performances this week have been sparsely attended, except for last night. I think many people bought tickets to see Osipova and were disappointed by her absence.

Why isn't there any show on Oct 31? Strange.

And the casting changes continue .... Gomes is replaced by Jared Matthews in the Sat matinee of Sylvia. Stearns is replaced by Gomes in the Monday SB (w. Herrrera) Stearns is replaced by Whiteside in the Friday SB (w. Murphy)

I'm not sure if guesting is a feather in the cap or a gigantic paycheck in the bank. Probably a little of both.

I'm hoping for Polina and Marcelo in T&V.

As to the Shakespearean evening, I assume The Tempest will be on that program with the Dream?

The full press release can now be found on the ABT home page, including the entire list of ballets that will be performed and the principal dancers who will appear at the Koch.

Thanks ABT Fan. I'll be there for the last show to bid her farewell. Kind of ironic that she'll be doing the Finger variation that night.

Reyes replacing Osipova for Sat evening, per the ABT calendar on the website.

It's official. Reyes is now replacing Osipova in the Sat evening performance of Sylvia, as stated on the ABT performance calendar on the website.

Does anyonne know when Messmer's final performance at ABT will be? Since she does not have any lead roles during the final week, it's not possible to discern that info from the ABT calendar.

Kent

The only American principals who are coming to mind during the time frame at issue are McKerrow, Jaffe, Steifel, Hallberg, Wiles, Roberts, Tuttle (briefly). Any Americans I've forgotten?

Why did Kourlas put in parenthesis that Messmer cried while giving one of her responses? Was it really necessary to add information about her demeanor, instead of just reporting the response itself? I didn't think it was appropriate.

Also Vishneva.

I would add to that list of foreigners Max Beletserkovsky and Paloma Herrera.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/american-ballet-theater-announces-fall-season/ Here is some info on the fall season at the Koch. Ratmansky premieres a new work, The Tempest.

Once again, Gomes to the rescue. What would ABT do without him?

I'm confused. Looking on the ROH website, Alexandrova is listed for 3 Swan Lakes and one Bayadere. Is there some other source that indicates that she is not performing as scheduled in these roles during the tour?

It seems like McKenzie gives wide latitude to certain dancers to pick and choose their roles, even when ABT has invested time and money into training these individuals in a particular role that they only actually perform once at ABT.Osipova was scheduled to perform SB the season after she debuted it with ABT, but never made it back to America due to "passport" issues. (Osipova was rehearsing R&J in London at the time. Cojocaru replaced her.) I can understand why Vishneva has given up Don Q at this stage of the game, though. I think Vishneva simply does not like the ABT SB. I saw Vishneva do SB with the Mariinsky in DC a few years ago, and she was lovely. No clue why she only chose to dance Sylvia for one season. By the way, if Osipova is unable to dance her Sylvia assignment on Saturday evening, that will have been another complete waste of ABT's training resources. I know sometimes things happen that are out of your control but ....