abatt

I think one of the things that distinguishes Mearns is that she often dances with abandon (but not recklessness). I would love to see what she could do with roles like Giselle and other full length dramatic ballets. (Her Swan Lake is sublime.)

Yes, the ABT corps looked very scrappy yesterday afternoon. The torreadors, especially, were badly out of unison.

It took a few minutes for me to figure out who "the young ASS" was. You might want to use her name rather than her initials. LOL.

Thanks, Jane.

I've been getting an error message when I try to open the press release. Is Gundrun B. coming to New York? If so, what are performance dates? Thanks.

I attended on Tuesday evening and Wed. evening. Bouder was incredible in Divertimento 15. She can make the rapid fire footwork look like child's play. Amazing. So when is Lauren King going to be promoted? She was lovely in Divertimento. I was impressed by Ashley Isaacs, a dancer in the corps, in Fearful Symmetries. I had never noticed her before, but I will now be on the lookoout for her on the casting sheet. She has incredible technique. All of the other leads in Fearful- Reichlin, Ramasar, Mearns, Stafford and Huxley -were excellent. Fearful is one of my favorite Martins ballets. At tonight's performance, the three tall girl muses - Kowrowski, Mearns, Reichlin -were fantastic. Kowrowski's dancing as the lead muse was lyrical and expansive. Chase is looking better and better as Apollo in each performance. He had a minor slip (he did not fall), but he recovered quickly. His partnering of Maria was not quite as smooth as with Hyltin. Taylor and Hall were riveting in Afternoon of a Faun. Antique Epigraphs is a minor ballet, but I enjoy seeing it. Mearns, in particular, was outstanding.

I attended the Wed. matinee of Don Q. Simkin was thrilling. Yes, I guess he is a bit of a show off, but if you've got it, flaunt it. His jumps were high and his spins were fast and precise. Any place he could throw in an extra little jump or spin, he did so. He also partnered Yuriko well, except for one overhead lift in the final act that was a bit sloppy. I wasn't expecting much from Yuriko, as I think she is often miscast in bravura roles. She did a respectable job, but there were few fireworks. Her spins are slow and careful. Her best work, in my opinion, was in the second act with the Queen of the Dryads, where her lyricism could shine. She also held one of her balances for a very long time in the final act. Gemma Bond was Amour. She was leaden. Stella did Mercedes and Dryad Queen. Sbe was excellent. It's great to see her back in top form. Jared Matthews danced Espada, replacing Radetsky. The flower girls were Messmer and Pavam.

Given Ratmansky's tenure w. ABT until 2013 - an astounding period of time - I have no doubt that ABT will eventually perform every one of the full length ballets that Ratmansky is creating around the globe. The Bright Stream is just the beginning of this process.

I thought that they devised a less than satisfactory method to have Stephanie Blythe interact with the rest of the cast on "The Machine". While Terfel, Voigt and others were willing and able to actually walk on the tilted boards comprising the set, I suspect that Blythe, who is not exactly agile (to put it nicely), said no way. They devised this chair lift so that her "throne" would glide along the boards of the Machine, and she would never have to actually walk on the set itself. In the house, it led to a very artificial look to her interaction with Wotan. She could get up from the chair to stand in place, but she could never walk away from the chair. It made the scene seem very artifical and deflated the drama. It may have looked better on film, where they could do close ups so that the audience would not be aware of the limitations of Blythe's movements.

My favorite part of the Gala was the Manon pdd w. Gomes and Vishneva. Those two dancers are explosive together. Such blazing romance! Murphy surprisingly played it a little safe in the Tchai pdd w. Hallberg. They were beautiful together. I thought Majiismo looked like a classroom exercise, not a ballet. I thought Hammoudi was very impressive in partnering Herrera in Swan Lake Act II pdd. It was a lovely performance. Did we really need to see the silly Splendid Isolation again this year, after having seen it at the ABT gala in 2008. (This is the one where Irina wears a huge skirt.) Yes, Irina has lovely arms and a beautiful back. However, this little pdd does not warrant repeated viewing. Less gimmick, more dancing please. The excerpts from Bright Stream were enjoyable, and I was especially impressed by I. Boylston. Wiles and Stearns were a total bore in the Black Swan pdd. This is usually a show stopper. Cojocaru was fine in Rose Adagio, but there was nothing remarkable or memorable about her performance. Kent did the Lady of the Cams. pdd with Stearns. It was a strange pairing that I hope will not be repeated in the future. The kids from JKO were fine, but why do we need to see students at a gala, and at gala prices? Usually Irina wins my vote hands down for best dress. However, I didn't think her dress was particularly flattering on her (Silver shiny bustier with long flowing black skirt.) Actually, I think I liked Paloma's dress the best. Part and Gomes did a lovely job w. Nutcracker pdd, but Gomes was clearly straining himself in the difficult lift. Veronica came off point, I believe.

It was even longer yesterday than usual. It started 45 minutes late because of computer problems involving "The Machine" (the massive set).

I've attended a few performances this week. The less said about 7DS the better. The only thing deadly about it is that the choreography is deadly boring. Whelan is miscast, in my opinion. On a more positive note, I thought Kowrowski was excellent in the final section of Vienna Waltzes. She was much better at the second performance than the first. I also saw Mearns do the role this afternoon. She was utterly brilliant. She uses her supple spine to thrilling effect, and she can create a world of drama simply by standing still. A sensational debut. Bouder and Garcia debuted this afternoon in the Voices of Spring section. Garcia was in excellent form. It's good to see him back. Bouder's phrasing was a little disjointed, but I'm sure she will improve. Stafford was an excellent partner for Ringer in Gold and Silver Waltz. I'm not a big Marcovici fan. He was an able partner for Mearns in VW. I also saw Reichlin and Mearns in Concerto B. on Friday evening. Reichlin has improved a lot in Concerto B. since I first saw her in the role 2 years ago. Not as lyrical as Maria, though. Mearns was wonderful in the second violin role. These are exciting times at NYCB, as fresh faces take on important new roles.

Nothing against Salstein, but I think that casting him instead of a guest was a matter of necessity. Unlike the old warhorse ballets where ABT could potentially find a quick guest replacement, I don't think many companies are performing Shadowplay. I'm guessing there is a very limited number of people who know the role and could perform it on short notice.

When I left the gala on Wed. I was wondering what in the world was going on. There were police everywhere and huge crowds. I had no idea it was a Koch protest.

Carbro, I had the same reaction when I first encountered this pricing issue with tickets I wanted to purchase at the Joyce Theater a few months ago. The price they wanted to charge me at the box office for the ticket was higher than the price they published in the brochure. However, the brochure contained a small asterisk, and in fine print the booklet stated that prices were subject to change after a specific date. This is "variable" or "dynamic" or "demand based" ticket pricing, and it appears to be legal as long as there is a statement in the printed materials that prices are subject to change, or words to that effect. (By the way, I did not buy the Joyce tickets as a way of protesting the policy.) Ticketmaster is also starting to do this with events they sell. It's pretty outrageous, in my opinion. I haven't checked the fine print in the current NYCB brochure.

If anyone is interested, the libretto for the Seven Deadly Sins is now available on the NYCB website. There is a link on the homepage.

I could not agree with you more. The same problem exists throughout the auditorium, including upstairs in the Fourth Ring, where scraping chairs on the un-carpeted floor REGULARLY disturb the performance. If anyone at NYCB is reading this, there are MANY people who are complaining about this problem. There is an easy, cheap fix to be found across the street at Bed Bath & Beyond. It's a magical invention called Furniture Slides, which are attached easily to chair legs. No more scraping! Use our new $2 per ticket facility fee to pay for it. When that's done, all of the doors need to have springs installed so that they do not slam when someone leaves the auditorium during the show. About the performance, I thought Megan and Chase were very good in Duo C. yesterday. Hyltin's reading is more satisfying though, in my opinion. I'm not complaining, though. Duo C. languished for more than a decade because of poor performances. I never knew there were so many steps until last year. Reichlin was brilliant in M&M. I liked the pairing of Maria and Mearns in Concerto B.

PBS announced that it will broadcast The Little Mermaid in the Fall. See the link below from the NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/05/09/arts/AP-US-TV-PBS-Schedule.html?ref=arts

Apart from raising prices for performances that are "hot" tickets (Swan Lake in the winter, Seven Deadly Sins program), they are now adding a $2.00 "facility charge" to every ticket sold to every performance. I guess it was only a matter of time until they did that. The Met Opera and Philharmonic have been doing that for a few years.

The house was packed yesterday, but Mother's Day is always a big day at the ballet.

Chase Finlay was even better today than on Thursday. He looked more relaxed and confident. Also, Whelan's performance today was much improved compared to opening night. I had never seen Bouder dance Square Dance. She was terrific. To answer Vipa's question, the only other ballerina that currently does the main pas in Agon is Kowrowski. I would love to see Reichlin do it some day.

I attended the May 5 performance. Chase Finlay made an incredible debut in Apollo. In the past I've found him a little disappointing in some lead roles, but my opinion changed when I saw him in Apollo. He clearly had been coached in every detail. Although he needs to iron out a few nuances of the performance, he was very impressive. His lines were gorgeous, and he brought youthful attack and energy to his role. His debut gave me a new appreciation of the role because most of the men I have seen dance the role were older. Finlay also did an excellent job in partnering his muses. I think there were five curtain calls, and the audience would not stop applauding until Chase emerged for a solo bow before the curtain. The audience was ecstatic. I'm sure it was a very special and memorable night for him. Bravo Chase. I enjoyed the performances of Scheller and Peck. However, I think Hyltin is miscast. Her performance didn't have the lyricism or musicality required for the lead muse, in my opinion. I enjoyed the 4T's, especially Somogyi/Angle and Reichlin. Garcia did Melancholic, but he doesn't have enough upper body flexibility to do the role justice. I was also present at the Tues May 3 performance. I feel that M. Fairchild is somewhat bland in Square Dance. Huxley gave a very fine performance in the male solo. The performances that Wendy Whelan used to give in Agon were thrilling, especially with Jock Soto. Unfortunately, Wendy seemed a bit unfocused on Tuesday. Her timing was off in certain points, and she doesn't have the same level of flexibility as she used to. Kowrowski did fine work in Stravinsky Violin Concerto in Aria I. However, I didn't think Ramasar was a particularly effective partner for her. Hyltin did Aria II with Ask LaCour. I've seen her in this ballet before, and thought she had greater rapport with R. Fairchild.

Here's a link to an article in the NY Times about The Seven Deadly Sins: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/arts/dance/seven-deadly-sins-at-city-balet-spring-gala.html

Casting is up for week two. Here's the link- http://www.nycballet.com/nycb/content/casting.aspx?id=14002 They are using the same cast for each performance of 7DS (Whelan, Mearns, Hall). I didn't realize they were bringing in famed conductor Paul Gemignani for 7DS. Looking forward to it. Our new leads in the final section of Vienna Waltzes will be Kowrowski/Askegard (Askegard isn't new to the part) and Mearns/Marcovici. I've never seen anyone other than Kistler and Nichols in the ballerina role. I expect that both Mearns and Kowrowski will be marvelous. Robbie Fairchild is back in action in Week 2, doing Duo Concertant w. Hyltin. Kathryn Morgan is also back in action, doing the polka section of VW. Bouder will debut in the Voices of Spring section w. Garcia. That's PERFECT casting. Can't wait. Please don't go out on strike, folks.

Is Gudrun Bojesen coming on the US tour? She's not listed for the Kennedy Center appearances.