abatt

In my early ballet going years at ABT, I sat in the parterre box closest to the stage on the right side of the house for Romeo and Juliet. BIG mistake. I missed most of the balcony scene because a large portion of thestage on the right was completely cut off from view. Beware. I also stopped sitting in the boxes for the reason mentioned by California. There are too many people jockeying for favorable positions/sight lines in the boxes. I felt like people were practically sitting in my lap they were so close. Very unpleasant.

Some additional casting info is now available from the casting sheets in the lobby. Apollo: 6/11 Hallberg, Part, Abrera, Seo 6/13 Matinee: Gomes, Semionova, Hamrick, Teuscher 6/'13 evening: Beloserkosky, Herrera, Ricetto, Shevchenko Thirteen Diversions: 6/11 Ricetto/Matthews, Boylston/Stearns, Abrera/Tamm, Shevchenko/Hoven 6/12 Lane/Salstein, Seo/Davis, Murphy/Hallberg, Messsmer/Hammmoudi 6/13 mat: Ricetto/Matthews, Copeland/Davis, Abrera/Tamm, Shevch/Hov 6/13 eve: Lane/Sals., Seo/Davis, Boone/Forster, Teucher/Mantei Firebird 6/11 Osipova, Gomes, Messmer, Hallberg 6/12 Copeland, Cornejo, Ricetto, Zhurbin 6/13mat Boylston, Hammoudi, Boone, Stearns 6/13 eve same as 6/11 6/21 same as 6/11 6/22 same as 6/13 mat 6/23 mat same as 6/12 6/23 eve same as 6/11 No casting available yet for Purple Rothbart. And you don't have to pay me a fee for the casting update info, unlike the ABT app. for I Phone.

A word about Mearns. The casting sheet in the lobby of the Koch was updated today. Mearns is replaced in all ballets for this week. Krohn replaces her in Concerto B. Kowrowski replaces her in Liebeslieder. Georgina Paz. replaces her in Russian Seasons. Reichlin replaces her in BS Quartet, 4th movement. R. Fairchild is replaced this week in Fancy Free by Tyler Angle.

The dogs were well behaved. No spontaneous choreography.

I attended last night's Giselle, with Kent and Gomes as the leads. Although Kent's technique has declined, she was still an excellent Giselle. The shapes she created in Act II were gorgeous. IN particular, the fluidity of her upper body and arms were lovely. Gomes is always great in just about every role he does, and last night was no exception. I think he brings out the best in Kent. Gomes was ardent and romantic, with phenomenal technique. The portion of Act II where he partners Kent as she barely skims the stage with her foot was perfectly done. Marcelo did 21 entrechat sixes as he traveled down the center of the stage. Part looks better than ever as Myrta. In the past her initial entrance, where she bourees across the stage, has been a bit slow. Last night I thought she did them faster than I had ever seen her do them previously. Kajiya and Boylston were Moyna and Zulma. Kajiya was gorgeous. Boylston has great technique, but I think she still needs some training regarding the carriage of her upper body and her arms. Lane and Simkin were last night's peasants. Lane came off pointe twice, but one of the times was due to a partnering issue with Simkin. Genadi performed the role of Hilarion. There were many, many empty seats at Tuesday's performance. Looking forward to Thursday's cast.

Hi Ceeszi. Here are some highs and lows from last night. Vasiliev and Osipova performed the pdd from Ratmansky's Flames of Paris. Vasiliev tried to show off a bit too much at the start, and nearly fell over on a complex jump. One jerk in the audience (in the balcony) decided to boo Vasiliev loudly, as the rest of the audience applauded heartily. Osipova and Vasiliev were absolutely fantastic, except for Vasiliev's one error that I mentioned. Their jumps and spins were extraordinary.(I forgot to add that Osipova inserted jumps as she did her fouettes. UNREAL.) I hope that Flames is the next Ratmansky ballet that ABT brings us. I've seen it on DVD w. Osipova and Vasiliev and loved it. Another extraordinary achievement was the R&J pdd done by Vishneva and Gomes. It was pure bliss. They were absolutely wonderful. The audience erupted with applause. If you don't already have tickets to their R& J, run (don't walk) to the box office. Max B. made a rare appearance by partnering his wife Irina in the Act II pdd from Swan Lake. Max looked in shape. I have no idea why he doesn't dance anymore. Irina is a wonderful technician, and I admire her. But her performance didin't move me. Speaking of SL, Murphy and Muntagirov did the black swan pdd. Gillian pulled off some impressive spins. This was my first time seeing Muntagirov. I know he has a very impressive reputation, but his dancing last night seemed merely adequate. I thought one of the most disappointing performances of the evening was the Onegin pdd w. Kent and Bolle. There was zero chemistry between them, in my opinion. Corella and Cojocaru were very good together in the Manon pdd (bedroom scene). Corella executed the difficult lifts with ease, and Cojocaru danced gorgeously. Sigh. I'm going to miss Angel. Veronika Part looked super thin in a pdd w. T. Forster titled Blue (by Susan Jaffe). It was a tedious, modern (pull me, stretch me) pdd, but the dancers did they best they could with it. Reyes and Cornejo were charming in Don Q. wedding pdd. Cornejo did some wonderful jumps and spins. Reyes did some impresssive triple (or quadruple?) fouettes, although she was traveling all over the stage without control. Hallberg looks better than I've ever seen him. He did a pdd w. Polina Semionova from Bayadere. His line, his stretch - totally amazing. The Bolshoi has done good by him. Semionova was fine but forgettable. Herrera and Stearns did the Bedroom pdd from Corsaire. You could see all the effort and mechanics in Cory's lifts. The kids from JKO school were lovely. One boy had a solo that demonstrated his strong technique. Don't know his name. I didn't see much point to doing portions of Thirteen Diversions. It just looked disjointed. Simkin did a solo to Jaques Brel music. The solo was choregraphed for him, and I've seen him perform it a various galas over the years. It takes full advantage of showing off his marvelous technical abilities and comedic talents. I always consider the final bows an essential part of the evening to see what everyone is wearing. Once again, Irina stole the show. She looked INCREDIBLE in a gorgeous cobalt blue sequined dress with a plunging neck. Does anyone know the designer of the dress. Unfortunately, worst dressed goes to Vishneva, who looked like she was wearing pajamas. The outfit made her look frumpy. Why did Caroline Kennedy trot her kid on stage? He had his hands in his pockets and looked down at the stage the whole time. He clearly did not want to be there. Ah, the lifestyles of the rich and famous. I'm sure there must have been celebs there, but I couldn't identify any. What did everyone else think.

Actually, I'm not sure that's correct, susanger. They raised the subscription price from $49 to $51 for one section. I know my subscription ticket price thiis season for those tickets was $49. Also, I believe they raised the price in second highest category from $102 or $103 last season to $108 next season. The price level that I'm sure remained the same was the $26 section (full price $29). I've been waiting for them to bring back Red Angels. Two weeks of Sleeping Beauty? Sounds like a bit much. I guess it sells. It's also interesting that they are bringing back Rubies and Diamonds on different programs. They've never split up Jewels before, to my knowledge. I know many companies only do Rubies. I've never heard of a stand-alone Diamonds, but I'm not complaining because I enjoy that ballet.

Kowrowski was sublime on Sunday afternoon in the second movement of Symphony in C. Reichlin has improved tremendously in Firebird since I last saw her dance it earlier this year. In general, she is dancing with more poise and presence. It was a fantastic afternoon of dance. They need to find someone with a better public speaking voice to make the cast change announcements before the show on the days when Perry Silvey isn't available to do it. The woman who has been making the announcements is inaudible.

Fortunately, I think everyone who was interviewed in the article was measured and careful in what they said and how they said it. It almost seemed like the interview was bait for these dancers to say something completely inflamatory about ABT's management and its guest artist policy.

News flash- Sara Mearns is apparently still/again injured. I was at today's matinee. She was in Les Carillons. She came out with the ensemble to do the opening section. It all looked fine. Then, oddly, Scheller, came out to perform the big solo usually done by Mearns. In the final section, only four couples out of the 5 lead couples came out to perform. Then, in the last few moments of the ballet, Ramasar (Mearns' partner) improvised some solo dancing as the other lead couples performed. Mearns did not return for the curtain call. Hope she is able to return soon. I'm expecting some cast shuffles at tomorrow's matinee. I wasn't going to comment on the Friday Concerto B, but I agree w. mimsyb. However, Abi was not the only member of the cast of that ballet who had issues on Friday night.

Has anyone else noticed that Sterling Hyltin is looking fantastic this season. She and Robert Fairchild were ravishing in their debuts in the first section of In the Night. I was also very impressed with her debut in Serenade as the Russian girl. It seems like she has reached a new level of artistry this season. Another noteworthy performance I saw this week was Tiler Peck's breathtaking interpretation of the second movement of B-S Quartet. Her dramatic presence, timing and musicality made the performance memorable. As always, I loved La Bouder's bold and soaring Firebird. I also saw last night's performance of Symphony in C. I thought the women's tutus and tiaras were beautifully done. However, I did not like the men's costumes. I thought there was too much bling at the neckline, to the point of being distracting. I also did not like the designs on the arms of the men's costumes. On the upper arm area there are a lot of crystals, which distract from the line of the arm. Bouder and DeLuz were brilliant in the third movement. Ditto Tiler Peck and Adrian D-W in the fourth. (Adrian has looked great in every role this season. I hope he is promoted soon.) Abi Stafford could use some additional rehearsal in the first movement. It looked a bit sloppy. Mearns danced the second movement w. J. Stafford. It was a good performance, but not a great one. Something was missing. I actually think Mearns would be better in the first movement. I guess Wendy has given up her role in the second movement. That's a pity, since I used to love her performances of that role. Sadly, due to schedule conflicts I will not see Maria K. this season in the role. I'm assuming the ballet will return in the fall. The corps looked very well rehearsed.

I think this production may look better in HD than in the house live. In the house, the singers were often isolated on the apron of the stage, with little interaction with their surroundings (that is, the Machine) or with eachother. I'm still baffled by the cost of that contraption. Since the Met spent so much money on the Machine, many of their other new productions are very low budget and cheap looking. I was generally unimpressed with the production. I hope they bring back the old production that it replaced at some point. That old production was ravishing and wonderful.

The anticipated debut of Mearns as the Waltz Girl did not not occur tonight. Mearns was replaced by Taylor in Serenade. In fact, she is being replaced in every ballet this weekend (see rg's post re casting changes). Taylor was better tonight than earlier in the week. I also thought Maria K danced Firebird better than earlier in the week, except for a minor slip up in the pdd w. Ask. Nevertheless, I prefer the more airborne dancing of Bouder's Firebird. The house was pretty full, and people were seated in the fourth ring. Reichlin was wonderful in her role debut as the Dark Angel in Serenade. She has the perfect long line for the role. It was odd, however, to see her dancing next to Taylor and M. Fairchild, because of the huge differences in height. Adrian Daching Waring was excellent in his role debut. The way he stared into Janie's eyes in their final moments together before the Dark Angel leads him off was intensely romantic. Mearns is still listed for all of her assignments next week. Hope she just has a cold.

Vipa, I went on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I agree with much of what you wrote. First, I enjoyed the little "see the music" talk before the show. Andrew Sill made some interesting points about the music for Serenade. It was also touching that City Ballet dedicated the performance fo Serenade to the late Hugo Fiorato. I don't get Janie Taylor in Serenade either. She leaves me cold in this ballet. I enjoyed the corps, and Bouder's performance. I also have to agree with Vipa that Tiler Peck may be the best ballerina I've ever seen in Tschai PDD. It's not merely her sparkling, effortless technique. Her musicality and timing make all the difference. I enjoyed DeLuz as well, but I've seen the male role performed exquisitely in the past too (We miss you Damian!). I enjoyed Reichlin and Mearns in Kammermusik. They performed better on Wed than on Tues.However, that ballet can go back into storage ASAP. I also thought that Maria's performance lacked excitement. I'm counting down the minutes until we get to see Mearns' Waltz Girl on Friday evening. I'm packing my Kleenex right now in anticipation of a very memorable performance. Regarding the Brahms Schoenberg on Tuesday, Robbie Fairchild goes from stength to strength. I was riveted by his ardent romanticism in the second movement.

I notice that Osipova and Vasiliev are doing Flames of Paris pdd on opening night, and Lane/Simkin are doing that pdd during ABT's Taipei visit in July. Could this mean that we can expect ABT to perform Flames during the 2013 season? I hope so. I've seen the ballet on video and thought it was wonderful.

I vote for Leonid Sarafanov. I also would like to see a lot more of Ivan Vasiliev.

Thanks for posting the casting, rg.

I thought that his performances were electrifying. In addition to being a superb technician, he developed strong acting ability and stage presence during his career. As a point of comparison, Herman Cornejo is a fantastic technician, but, in my opinion, a poor actor. I'm not sure which role I will remember Angel in as a "signature" role, but Ali in Corsaire is pretty high on the list. I also loved his Romeos with Ferri and Vishneva. In New York, Angel, Jose and Ethan raised the bar so high that we New Yorkers became spoiled in our expectations for grand performances night after night. To the extent that Angel is remembered for his contribution to ballet, I think that will depend on whether Barcelona Ballet flourishes. I hope it does! I think Simkin's chances for elevation to principal got a little bit stronger today.

My understanding is that Wheeldon left Morphoses because of a "falling out" with Lopez, as stated in the article. Is it possible that Wheeldon might re-engage with Morphoses if Lopez leaves to take over Miami City?

I wondered, too, what Medora was shouting out in Russian when my husband and I saw this Corsaire production at the Kennedy Center several years ago. She was yelling something like ". . . back to the ship".

The press release on line indicated that San Fran. Ballet is bringing Helgi T's Romeo & Juliet.

I would vote for Georgina Paz. I think she deserves to be a soloist at this point. Have to agree with other posts about Robbie Fairchild's excellent performance in Russian Seasons.

Huck, I don't think Sarafanov was scheduled to come to NY with the Kings. Kings tours to many different cities, with varying cast members. You mentioned the highlight of the program. Without a doubt, Vasiliev was thrilling. Sadly, most of the rest of the program was garbage. Instead of Kings of Dance, it shoud have been called Kings of Twitch. Most of the dancers' solos consisted of odd hand, head and arm twitches. There was very little actual dancing going on. David Hallberg was made to look foolish by Nacho Duato's choreography as he pranced around the stage in a big skirt, which he sometimes threw over his head to show us his underpants. Oh, and did I mention that sometimes David put the hem of the skirt in his mouth? Guillame Cote's solo was even more tedious, as he twitched his arms and hands for what seemed like an eternity. Denis Matvienko twitched while rolling on the floor. Gomes did a dopey solo that at least had a few minutes of actual dancing. I feel like I was pickpocketed by Mr Danilian. There must have been a memo that went out to the choreographers instructing them to create inane, simplistic choregraphy so that the dancers wouldn't get injured. Thank goodness Vasiliev's choreographer (DeBana?)was the one and only choreographer who took full advantage of the marvelous technical abilities of King Vasiliev. What a major disaster and waste of money and time.

I completely agree w. Colleen's description of Mearns in Vienna Waltzes. It was magnificent. She is able to speak volumes with her limbs and her back. A breathtaking performance.

I think he does change the tune based on which event is getting out. There was a New York Times article about him a few years ago. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E3DA153FF934A25755C0A9619C8B63&scp=2&sq=saxaphone%20subway%20lincoln%20center&st=cse