abatt

Vasiliev was also a flawless partner for Part, one of the tallest women in the company. That's more than I can say for Cory Stearns, who looked like he was straining to lift her.

I've never seen a circus acrobat who can do what Vasiliev does. He does not have a beautiful classical line, but in the role of Ali that's not a significant issue. It's a problem if you are playing a prince. Vasiliev was thrilling. He gives 110 percent and the audience loved it. We are lucky to have him dancing at the Met. I, too, enjoyed this afternoon's performance.

The programs have been posted on the ABT website, linked below http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=10/1/2012

I was pleasantly surprised how good Ethan looked. I too thought he looked better than he has in years. He is trim, slim and fit. Everyone was excellent last night.

I enjoyed the Kent/Gomes performance on Sat night for the most part, but Kent is making numerous alterations to the choreography in order to suit her present, diminished level of technical ability in order to get through the ballet.

I just read in the NY Times that Alec Baldwin donated $1M to the NY Philharmonic. He is on the Board of Directors there. Too bad Alec doesn't like ballet more.

These ballets are presenting Western stereotypes regarding other races and nationalities.

I think La Bayadere is pretty offensive to Indians, but that has not stopped it from being presented.

It is danceable, but it is not considered a sophisiticated musical composition.

The score for Giselle is never played by orchestras apart from ballet orchestras because the score is so weak and insignificant. The score is considered unworthy by professional musicians.

I think the plot of Raymonda is very offensive to Muslims, and that is why ABT has not done it in such a long time. The libretto would definitely need some heavy editing/re-writes.

Muntagirov had already done the ABT Bayadere once in Washington in Feb 2012 w. Hee Seo, and so he was already familiar with the staging and his partner. Not so w. Swan Lake. This was his first time in the ABT production, and the first time dancing w. Irina. I'm willing to cut the guy some slack because of that, especially since he is such a beautiful dancer. I thought his Act I solo at the end of the act was a marvel. I have to agree that Paloma was the worst of the Swans I saw last week. There is nothing Swan-like about her. She is best in modern works, I believe.

Since ABT has hired every other Ardani artist, why haven't we had Sarafanov? I would go see him in a heartbeat. I don't think Kourlas meant it as a slight of Cornejo. I think she meant that his versatility is limited because he cannot partner most of ABT's ladies.

I saw Vadim Muntagirov's performance on Sat afternoon w. Dvorovenko. I was very impressed with him. His jumps seems to float on air. Beautiful lines. He lands his jumps in perfect position. I thought he was excellent as far as his solo work went. He performed the lifts well, but sometimes when he had to spin Dvorovenko there some minor errors. Also, he did not seem to have much chemistry w. Dvorovenko, and he is not the most convincing actor. I'd be happy to see him again at ABT.

Flames of Paris has my vote. I have never seen Ondine or Mayerling. Maybe one day....

A note about the audiences this week. There have been huge groups of students/kids in the balcony and family circle this week. I think they are fueling the massive applause at less than ideal points in the ballet. However, I'm glad ABT is selling out every night, and that new audiences are coming to see the company.

Hallberg and Semionova were excellent tonight. All the little details that were missing in their performance earlier this week were present tonight, resulting in a spectacular performance. The romance, drama, and emotional connections were all there tonight. I thought that on Tuesday her phrasing was a little choppy, but tonight was much smoother, as one phrase flowed gorgeously into the next. Hallberg seemed to let loose and was much more comfortable in the portrayal of his relationship with Semionova. The only thing that stil need some work is Semionova's mime skills. It was a very memorable performance. The audience was packed on this oppressively muggy evening in New York City.

I expected more people from the past to show up at Angel's farewell. Why wasn't Susan Jaffe there? We know she's in town because she played the Queen Mother on Wed evening. No Ferri. No Nina. No Vishneva.

Have a wonderful time. Safe travels.

I'm not sure how well it will sell, although I'm generally happy with the rep. A lot of their stars do not appear at the City Center season, and they have performed In the Upper Room often during the last few City Center seasons. It makes sense for them to invest in a Ratmansky ballet for the Fall. They have repeatedly turned to mediocre (or worse) choreographers to create new works for the fall season, and not one of those new works has been good enough to see the light of day in subsequent seasons. That has been a total waste of resources, in my opinion.

Casting is not posted until a few weeks before the performances. The tickets go on sale well before the casting is announced.

It's the end of an era. Corella and Herrera performed with great emotional depth tonight. Neither dancer has the same level of technique as when they first burst on to the ABT scene, but they certainly gave it their all. The audience gave Corella a memorable, roaring send off. In return, he tossed off one of his trademark superfast spins. He will be missed.

Cubanmiamiboy, have you looked at any you tube clips of Semionova to get a better idea of what you think. Semionova is now part of the ABT "home team", so you will be able to see her next season.

ABT has been having Wed matinees at City Center, so it will probably be a seven performance run. As noted they usually give a discount if you buy multiple performances, but they charge you a processing fee, so the discount evaporates pretty quickly. The only way you can avoid all the fees is to buy at the box office, which opens many weeks later than the online and phone sales.

OnxMyxToes, I completely agree with you about the Gomes/Muphy performance. It was electrifying. I had no emotional investment whatsoever in the Hallberg-Semionova performance. It was academically beautiful but emotionally empty. In contrast, last night was thrilling in every way. Murphy's mime was completely clear. The pliancy of her spine was gorgeous. She was completely adept at conveying the story, and at delivering the technical goods with ease. This was the best SL I've seen from her. Oh, and did I mention that not only did she do triples in the Black Swan section, but she added flapping swan arm embellishments while she was spinning. Gomes is always phenomenal. Personally, I couldn't care less that his line isn't as beautiful as Hallberg's. He brings so much to every performance. The details were just amazing, and the end was heartbreaking. His Olympic dive off the cliff capped an unbelievably brilliant performance. Sascha was Purple Rothbart. Like most of the guys who do this role, he has trouble balancing on demi pointe and shakes. (Marcelo did this perfectly on Monday night). Also, Sascha looked like he could barely lift the tiny princesses. If you can't lift Fang with ease, who can you lift? The audience started to applaud spontanteously during the 4 Little Cygnet variation. I've never seen that happen. I left last night's performance completely elated. It had everthing that seemed to be lacking during Monday and Tuesday nights. I'm happy to read about the success of Simkin and Boylston. Natalia mentions that Sarah Lane would be a great partner for Simkin in SL. Sarah has actually danced the lead with Angel Corella at Barcelona Ballet in Spani. Unlikely that McKenzie will ever give her this role, so we may all have to take a group trip to Spain.