abatt

1 hour ago, laurel said:

  I also loved Sara Mearns' lovely, poignant turn as the Swan, the faded beauty of yesteryear.  I wondered how close to reality that might have seemed for her.  

Yes.  Completely agree.  Mearns was fantastic in this solo.  I also liked the section of the mermaids.  The rest was fun for kids, but not so much for me.  The flub with Mann was unprofessional.  Sure an actor can forget a line, but the way it was handled was like watching a high school play.  Dead silence for an extended period and then someone yelling the line out from the wings so that the entire audience could hear it. Also, I preferred Lithgow in the narrator role when this was last performed.  His diction was superb, whereas Mann's words sometimes sounded muddy.  Maybe it was the sound design.

I saw both shows today.  Emma &  Ulbricht were the highlight of the evening show in Tarantella.  They tore through space with abandon. Woodward and Huxley were very classical, but technically conservative.   Ditto Phelan and Gordon.  I prefer a Tschai pas with daring, jaw dropping technical content. 

Nadon and Mejia were quite wonderful in the afternoon performance of Stars.

31 minutes ago, vipa said:

Thanks so much for doing this.  It is quite an interesting overview. David Gabriel would be my prediction for the next promotion. 

I think Alec Knight will also be in the promotion mix.

Emma VE and D. Gabriel had  great debuts tonight in Ballo.  Pure joy.  Both are technical wizards.  I cannot wait to see them conquer more of the rep.  NYCB is bursting with talent at all levels. 

I hope Gabriel is promoted to soloist.  After his work this season and the challenging lead roles he has performed so well, he deserves it.    

1 minute ago, Jacqueline said:

abatt, just saw on the online casting sheet that Mira Nadon is replacing Tiler Peck in Stars & Stripes at the Saturday matinee.  However, it looks like as of now she is still schedulued for Tschai Pas on Friday night.

Thanks for the update.   I suspect the Tschai pas cast may also eventually change. 

Just curious.  How was the "second cast" that debuted in Solitude on Tuesday, featuring LaFreniere and Phelan in the secondary roles.

added - Since Tiler Peck was removed from the cast in Opus on Tuesday, I wonder if she will actually appear this weekend in Stars & Stripes and Tschai Pas.  If anyone looks at the casting sheet in the lobby please let us know of any additional cast changes.  Thanks. 

Interestingly, a friend accompanied me to see Solitude with Adrian DW in the lead on Sat afternoon.  Her reaction was that the emotional resonance of Solitude comes  solely from the music.  She was unmoved by the performance/choreography.  Different strokes...

While Adrian DW was not as persuasive in the lead role as Joe Gordon, I thought he gave a good performance.  

Personally, I think you would have to be made of stone not to be moved by this ballet, no matter who is dancing.  

Agree with the comment above that Joe Gordon is now the best of the interpreters of Opus 19.  

I liked Maxwell in today's matinee of Opus.  Huxley is an introverted dancer, and I think he may need more time in this role of the Dreamer. 

While I was watching Gordon do his solo in Solitude last night, a memory of an article I read about him several years ago came into my mind.  It was an article that recounted how his father died when Gordon was 9, and his mother died when he was 22.  Everyone suffers loss, but in a way I think his life experience informed his dancing in this role.  Any thoughts?

It will be interesting to see what Adrian does with this role.

39 minutes ago, BalanchineFan said:

I love that ballet. I got tickets to see it a second time this winter. Is there any indication why Joseph Gordon isn't doing more performances? I think he and Adrian Danchig-Waring were always sharing the leading role, but now I think Adrian has all the remaining performances.

Gordon is doing the ballet at tomorrow's matinee.  So Gordon and Adrian DW each have three performances in total. 

I hope when Solitude returns it is shown on the same program with Pavane.  

Solitude was mind blowing.  Ratmansky has made some excellent work over the years, but this work is his deepest reflection on humanity.  A masterpiece.

Gordon's performance in this is the best I have ever seen him..  Surely we already knew he is a technical whiz, but Ratmansky has pulled out of him a charismatic presence that I have not previously seen in him.  The depth and meaning here does not come from overt emoting and making faces.  Rather it comes from the choreography itself.  Every position was fully stretched, and his phrasing was seamless.  He danced with a sense of urgency.  I need to go back a few more times to figure out exactly how Nadon fits into this story.  She danced brilliantly, as usual.  Solitude is  Ratmansky's most personal and deepest  work of art.   May it live on in the NYCB rep for a long, long time.

I thought Phelan's performance in Opus was quite good.  This role suits her.  I was less impressed wtih Stanley, whose energy sometimes flagged.  With memories of Boal and Woetzel in this role, Stanley's performance just didn't make an impact.  

Tiler Peck was back and looking good in Symphony in 3 Movements.  Agree that Erica P. is looking underpowered these days.  More Mabie please..

Trenary is dancing with Twyla Tharp's company this week at the Joyce Theater in NYC.   It seems unlikely that she will ever dance SL at ABT.  Jaffe selected Misseldine, a soloist, for a debut in this  major role instead of Trenary, a principal.  

I could certainly see Trenary as Kitri. 

8 hours ago, YouOverThere said:

3 takeaways from the Thursday performance:

- Devon Teuscher is a near-perfect Odette/Odile.

- If Jake Roxander learns to jump any higher, he's going to need a parachute.

- The Devon Teuscher/Joo Won Ahn pairing is less than ideal.

Ahn is a disappointment regardless of who he is paired with.  

Awful program.

Per insta t peck seems to be nursing a foot injury.  

I thought parts of Rotunda were okay, and other parts were intolerably dull.   I think a lot of costumes selected by Justin are unattractive, although these are the worst.  

I was expecting and hoping for a lot more from Concerto for Two Pianos.  It was a good effort that was pleasant, but it is no masterpiece.  It was better than most of the recent commissions from modern dance choreographers that have been presented under Whelan's artistic leadership, but that's not saying much in my opinion. 

The Ratmansky work was the only work on the program that was completely engaging  at all times and had masterful choreography.  

Last night was my first and will be my only viewing of this program. 

If memory serves, Altson was tapped to lead one of the movements in Symphony in C when the company toured in Paris.  It will be interesting to see if she gets a Symphony in C lead in the Spring season.  

In addition to her Ballo role, she was great in Martins' HJ recently.  

I find it odd that Maxwell has very limited experience as the lead ballerina in major Balanchine works.  This is their bread and butter, so anyone who moves up to principal must be able to handle those roles.  How much does it really matter that she has been cast as the lead in Peck, Martins and some Robbins.    I would like to see Alexa lead  major Balanchine ballets to test her mettle and see how she does.

I think Alston MacGill should move up to soloist.  This is her time.  She missed years due to injury, and she is blazing in every role they cast her in. 

They barely used Kikta this winter.  I don't understand it.

There are a few soloists who need to bid a fond farewell,  including Schumacher and LeCrone. 

I'm still waiting to see Mira in Scotch Symphony, the role she did at the SAB workshop which  all the critics raved about.  

I saw the program.  For me the highlight was Brel.  I saw the performance that featured Cornejo.  I hope this work can be seen by more people , or that Tharp will loan it out to either ABT or NYCB.  It is worth multiple viewings and has great depth.  

The other two works on the program were enjoyable, but not masterworks in the Tharp canon.  

59 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

I cried every time I saw Whelan and Hübbe dance Nein Geliebter. No one has matched them since. 

Agree

Agree that Mabie was very good in his Melancholic debut.  Great attention to detail.  So much better than Villarini - Velez last week.  More Mabie please.

Davide also made a wonderful debut, but he doesn't yet have control in the opening of his solo where he has to hold his foot and remain still.  He kept wobbling and moving.

Mira was thrilling in Choleric.  Hod was doing well until the mishap mentioned above.

I enjoyed all of the LW cast, but I found the pairing of short Woodward and super tall Chamblee a distracting partnering  mis-match of sizes. 

FYI tiler peck is replaced in ballo on sunday by fairchild per lobby sheet

It was, in my opinion, a bit of stunt casting which showed the world how liberal, diverse and inclusive NYCB is.  It had the desired effect, because the company got an article  about the performance in the NYTimes.  

I did not see the performance because I'm not a fan of this ballet no matter who is performing. 

IN addition to seeing Emma V Enck in Ballo, I'm also looking forward to seeing what Gabriel can do with his lead role, which is no walk in the park.  It is unusual for Staford to give such a difficult lead role to a corps dancer.   Gabriel is emerging as a major talent.  I wonder if the original plan was to cast Mejia, but due to his ongoing issues with injury, Gabriel got the nod.  I thought Gabriel was outstanding in Martins' HJ.