abatt

Film critic Manola Dargis is doing an article for the Sunday NY Times about her attendance at the Oscars. There are a series of photos posted on-line on the NY Times website under the heading "Scenes From the Governors Ball." The 5th photo is a great photo of former ABT dancer Jackie Reyes posing with Aaron Sorkin. The description of the photo reads "Aaron Sorkin and his guest..." Reyes looks lovely.

I found that to be the case as well. Bouder is a marvel in many roles, but she needs some coaching as Odette. One example of failing to convey pathos occurred in the final act. There is a quiet moment when Odette sinks to the floor and then lowers her arm to the ground. Most ballerinas slowly lower the arm. Bouder decided to slam her hand on the stage floor so that it made a sound when her hand hit the stage floor. She may have been trying to convey Odette's frustration, but for me it robbed the scene of grandeur and pathos. It made Odette seem like a frustrated child.

Now that the Winter Season is over, NYCB updated the photos on its home page to highlight things that are coming up in the Spring. There is a rehearsal photo for The Seven Deadly Sins (SDS) that features Wendy Whelan surrounded by several crouching men. I really liked Lynn Taylor Corbett's Chiascoro. I have high hopes for SDS.

Did anyone else find Anne Hathaway grating on the nerves? She was trying too hard to be fun, happy and perky. Why did she have to scream "Whoo Hooo" every time a celebrity walked on stage to present an award? I'm sure it wasn't her idea, but there were far too many dress changes for her. Franco was more tolerable. Hauling out Kirk Douglas was a bad idea. He was barely comprehensible. I had no idea that was Jackie Reyes. I guess Sorkin is having a mid life crisis.

The performance at the Rose Theater has tickets available at all price levels according to the website of Jazz at Lincoln Center, which runs/rents the Rose Theater. I just checked the website for Jazz at Lincoln Center, and ticket prices for the performance only on March 15 range from $73 to $133. Tickets for the performance can be purchased by the general public. It is only the gala dinner that costs $600. The socialites are performing at the Rose Theater. Apart from being an insult to Graham's legacy, this is tantamount to consumer fraud because the unsuspecting public believes they are buying tickets to see a dance performance by a professional dance company, when in fact they will be seeing the socialites "perform" Maple Leaf Rag. What's next? David Koch as Apollo? Oh, wait, the Balanchine Trust would never allow it.

George Balanchine and various other choreographers had the benefit of very good legal advice. Their works cannot be performed in any public setting without the approval of a trust which oversees performance quality and standards of the copyrighted choreography. Apparently there is no such quality control over the performance of the Martha Graham works, since socialites with no dance experience or qualifications will be "performing." It is my understanding that the socialites will be performing in a public space - the Rose Theater at Jazz At Lincoln Center, where people have paid to see the performance. This is not being performed in someone's private living room or private estate. That's why this situation is so outrageous, in my opinion.

Finlay is certainly a future candidate for Apollo and many other major roles. He may even be learning the role as an understudy now. However, he is too young and not ready for a major role of that stature at this juncture.

Here's a tidbit that made my stomach turn. How far the Graham Company has fallen: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/dance-of-the-socialites

I had the good fortune of seeing all of the casts at NYCB. I saw the Mearns/Angle cast all three times - twice in the fourth ring and once, thanks to my husband's splurge and effort in securing tickets, from the first row center of the first ring. (I saw former general manager of the Met Opera, Joe Volpe, that night. Marcelo Gomes was also in the first ring.) I'll join the chorus of all those who praised Mearns' performances as remarkable and exquisite. Her performance in this ballet should be on DVD. Jared Angle doesn't really do a thing for me in this ballet. I saw Bouder/Veyette once. Unfortunately, while I think Bouder is a great dancer in certain roles, I did not think she was a particularly memorable Swan Queen. Apart from the issue of a lack of vulnerability mentioned above, I felt like she rarely stretched her positions to create beautiful lines. Also, I felt there was way too much arm flapping. This was a pitfall that Sara Mearns wisely avoided. Normally, I would have expected Bouder to at least knock the Black Swan section out of the park. She was having a bit of an off night when I saw it (last Wednesday) and nearly lost her balance after coming out of some spins. Veyette's dancing tends to look very effortful. He has learned to achieve height in his jumps, but this seems to come at the expense of his line. I saw Reichlin/T. Angle last Thursday. Reichlin had some excellent, beautiful moments. Her elongated limbs suit this role perfectly. However, there were many moments where the performance looked like a work in progress. It didn't help that the tempo was so fast at times that she could barely perform all the steps and still keep up with the music. Tyler Angle was excellent. He was a romantic partner and handled his solos very well. Tess is too tall for him, but they worked well together. Hyltin and R. Fairchild gave a very good debut performance on Sunday afternoon. Hyltin had lovely stretched positions. She paid attention to details in the use of her arms, head and neck. She and Robby handled the technical demands of their roles very well. I would definitely be interested in seeing them again in the future when they develop more in their roles. On to some of the minor roles. I think it was noted earlier how brilliant T. Peck. DeLuz, M. Fairchild and A. Stafford were in the p.d.q. I was disappointed by the later casts. Christian T. seemed to have difficulty w. the demands of the role. Chase Finlay has a lot going for him, but he has difficulty cleanly landing his turns in the air. He also struggled with the difficult choreography. I saw Pereirra in the second cast of the p.d.q. There is no technical challenge that is too great for her. She is marvelous. I thought Megan LeCrone was out of her technical league in the pdq. S. Lowery was miscast. Petite allegro is not her forte. It's been a fun and exciting Winter Season. Kathryn Morgan and Adrian Daching Waring are missed. Now it's about time to get excited about our new casts for Apollo, Vienna Waltzes and other masterpieces returning in the Spring.

Yes, the idea of watching 50 minutes of Martins' choreography is mind numbing, isn't it?

Sir Paul's new work for NYCB will premiere at NYCB's fall gala on Sept 22. Peter Martins is choreographing the new work. More details here: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/paul-mccartney-collaborates-with-city-ballet/?ref=arts

Is Merrill Ashley teaching at ABT? I'm shocked. She is such an integral part of NYCB's history. In the current program of NYCB, Merrill Ashley is listed as "Guest Teacher." Did she fill Georgina Parkinson's position, or was Merrill Ashley teaching at ABT prior to Ms. Parkinson's death?

The Met Opera announced the 2011-2012 season today. The new productions for next season are: Anna Bolena, Don Giovanni, Siegfried, Faust, The Enchanted Island (a pastiche of Baroque music), Götterdämmerung, and Manon. Manon and Anna Bolena will star Anna Netrebko. Enchanted Island will star David Daniels. The 2011-12 season of The Met: Live in HD will feature 11 transmissions as follows:October 15 - Anna Bolena, Don Giovanni (October 29), Siegfried (November 5), Satyagraha (November 19), Rodelinda (December 3), Faust (December 10), The Enchanted Island (January 21), Götterdämmerung (February 11), Ernani (February 25), Manon (April 7), and La Traviata (April 14). For more info, go to the Met Opera website.

Thanks for the heads up Colleen.

Hi Faux Pas. I didn't think Vishneva was the best from the standpoint of technique. However, her overall performance was the most moving and nuanced of the three casts I saw last week. Giselle is one of those ballets where acting ability is equal to or more important than stellar technique. I would agree that Vishneva's technique is now on the decline compared to a few years ago due to her age and prior injuries. I was surprised that the NY Times disliked Vishneva so much, whereas the reviewer for the Washington Post thought her performance was stellar. I happen to agree with the Washington Post on this one.

I watched the BAFTA awards on BBC America last night. Portman won Best Actress for Black Swan. The director of that film accepted the award on her behalf, saying that due to her pregnancy she was unable to make the trip to London. The King's Speech swept the awards, winning Best Picture, Best British Picture, Best Actor for Colin Firth, Best Supporting Actor for Geoffrey Rush, and Best Supporting Actress for Helena Bonham Carter. The director of the Social Network won for Best Director.

Sara Mearns has such an expressive face. She makes you feel her tragic pain through her expressions. She is almost like a silent movie star in the way she can communicate with her audience, not to mention her flexible spine and lush, expansive movements. Like some of the posts above, I found Jared Angle a blandly boring presence who partnered Ms. Mearns ably. (Can you imagine what a Mearns/Gomes performance might look like! Amazing.) I thought Tiler Peck and J. DeLuz were terrific in the ballroom scene. I've been at a number of performances other than SL lately, as well. I thought Teresa Reichlin was fabulous as the Siren in Prodigal. She uses her long limbs like daggers - a cool, voluptuous snake. Unfortunately, Ulbricht does not seem to have the imagination to convey the expressive aspects of the Prodigal's downfall and ultimate reconciliation with his father. He is too robust in these scenes, and his performance lacks nuance and detail. I certainly appreciate Ulbrict's virtuosity, but it's time for him to develop some additional performance skills. I loved Craig Hall and Wendy Whelan in After the Rain. Such a lovely pdd. I have to agree with the post above regarding Bouder's mugging during Divertimento. I hope she does not do that during SL this week. At the performance on Saturday, I thought Chase Finlay did a lovely job. I look forward to seeing more of him in the future. Scheller has been doing great work this season. I thought she was perfection in the soloist roles in La Source, Walspurginacht, Cortege and Divertimento. I missed her in the lead of Cortege. I hope she gets some more leading roles. I thought Stroman's new ballet was boring. She seems to have a very limited ballet vocabulary. However, the audience seemed to enjoy it. I can understand why Martins wanted to add a light, breezy, jazzy work to the rep. Last year's architecture of dance gave us complex ballets from Important Ballet Choreographers. At least the Stroman piece will appeal to other segments of the audience who are seeking fun entertainment. Did anyone see Suozzi and Mearns in Prodigal?

She was the shy, reserved type in Act I at the Tues. performance. In fact, she did not seem to be dancing full out in Act I, in my opinion. Act II, however, was incredible.

Hi everyone. I made my annual journey to the Kennedy Center this week to see Giselle. Thank goodness we had good weather this year. Last year was a disaster because of the blizzard that occurred during the week the Kirov was at the Kennedy Center. I saw the performances on Tues, Wed. and Thurs. Vishneva was my favorite of the three Giselles. I thought her second act was sublime and moving. Vishneva's first act was underpowered. The Washington Post reviewer attributed this to Vishneva's creation of a character who was frail. I attribute it to the possibility that Vishneva was concerned about her stamina, and was saving up her energy for Act II. Vishneva has the market cornered on the portrayal of death/consumption/betrayal. The last time I had seen Somova was at City Center in NY a few years ago. At that time, I was very disappointed by Somova because of the way she hyper-extended her limbs, thereby grossly distorting her line. I was pleasantly surprised on Wed. to see that she has tamed these excesses, and has blossomed into a much better dancer than the one I recall from past performances. I enjoyed Tereshkina's performance as well, but it did not move me. I thought the male leads on Tues and Thurs. were both excellent. I didn't really care for Somova's partner. He did a good job partnering Somova, but beyond that I didn't feel like he had much presence or very good technical abilities. Kondourova was fantastic as Myrta. Looking forward to learning what the Kirov will do at the Kennedy Center next year. I keep hoping that they will make a visit to NYC, but I'm not holding my breath.

I saw The Lesson a few years ago as part of the Kings of Dance program in New York. I didn't care for it either.

NYCB added a performance of SL on Feb 11, ditching a mixed bill program on that date in order to take full advantage of robust SL ticket sales. I think the added performance is now virtually sold out. I'm not sure if the movie fueled the demand for SL tickets, since SL sold out last year at NYCB. Also, SL always sells well at ABT. By the way, there is a very funny mash-up of video from Portman's speech at the Golden Globe Awards. You can find it at www.collegehumor.com. Use the words Natalie Portman Extended Laugh to find the video.

Thanks so much for posting this info. I'm surprised Mearns/Angle are doing SL on Friday and Sunday. I thought they would rotate the cast because of the demanding nature of the lead roles. Sara better eat her Wheaties during that time period. I wish I could attend the Suozzi/Mearns Prodigal, but I will be in DC at the Kirov Giselle. Reports, please, from anyone who goes.

Balanchine's neoclassical, leotard ballets are frequently compared to Picasso insofar as Balanchine breaks up the classical line of the body in those ballets, and angularity is a key component to successful performance of the leotard ballets.

When Damian Woetzel performed Prodigal Son, I always got the sense that he was channeling various artwork which depicts Christ on the cross. In particular, I got this impression in the scene after he has been robbed and he is standing up against the piece of scenery that is used alternately as a fence and a table. In that scene, the table is now vertical, and the Prodigal stands in front of it, barely able to stand on his feet, using one of the rungs on the left to dangle and hold himself up. That imagery never came through so strongly to me when other dancers performed the role.

The BAFTA award nominations were announced today. The leader in nominations was The King's Speech. Black Swan received the second most nominations, including for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress for Portman and Best Supporting Actress for Barbara Hershey. (Mila was shut out.) The ceremony is on Feb 13, 2011. I've watched it on the BBC America channel the last two years. I assume it will be carried again this year on that station.