abatt

I'm a little surprised that ABT is adding this one to the rep. My recollection is that it didn't sell very well when the Bolshoi brought it to NY a few years ago.

The Kennedy Center announced its new season today. The Kirov will present Giselle in Feb 2011.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen the entire Jewels performed by another company recently. I recall seeing the Kirov perform it at the MET about 7 years ago (at least). However, that is too long ago for me to make a comparison. More recently, the Kirov performed Rubies at City Center. I was not impressed by their leading dancers in Rubies. The lead woman in each performance was Novikova, who was much too polite and not nearly energetic or angular enough. The leading males from the Kirov (can't recall who they were) also paled in comparison to NYCB. The only dancer from the Kirov who was memorable in Rubies was Kondourova (Big Red on this Board), who was a fantastic "Tall Girl." More recently, the opening night of NYCB in Nov 2009 featured dancers from Paris Opera doing the pdd from Rubies. They were not very good, to put it mildly.

I saw 3 of the Jewels performances. Sara Mearns was incredible in Diamonds and also in Emeralds. Hyltin made a good debut in Rubies, but my favorite in this role is still Bouder. Unfortunately, I missed Janie Taylor's performances in Rubies. Ellen Bar had a lot of sex appeal in the "Tall Girl" role in Rubies, but she lacked the explosive technique needed for the role, in my opinion. Abi Stafford has improved a great deal in Emeralds since she initially assumed the role some 2 years ago. By the way, there is an article in today's NY Times singing the praises of various NYCB dancers, but most especially Sara Mearns.

A few comments on the All Robbins programs I saw last week and last night. I thought Tiler Peck was fantastic in DAAG in the "pink role". She is musical, and she is probably at the peak of her technical abilities. Tyler Angle was wonderful in the purple role. I preferred Sterling Hyltin's "yellow" performance over Megan Fairchild's. Hyltin made the choreography look spontaneous. Mauve, danced by Mearns, has not been danced this well since Helene Alexopolous left the company some 10 years ago. Chrisitian T. danced "blue". Unfortunately, in the big moment when the girl in yellow is thrown to him, he awkwardly caught Hyltin, sending gasps throughout the audience for all the wrong reasons. I know DeLuz has danced the "brown" role before, but I think he has improved a lot in the role, He has added a lot of small gestures to the quieter moments which add poignancy. Of course, he thrilled in his big solo and the audience applauded heartily. I didn't really care for G. Garcia in the brown role last week. There is no nuance to his performance, in my opinion. I caught West Side Story last week. Gina P. is tearing up the stage as Anita. She has improved tremendously in this role since she first took it on about 2 yrs ago. She is thrilling. Onwards to Jewels.

I just took a look at the casting again for this week. It has been modified. Somogyi has been replaced in all of her roles this week. In Dances at a Gathering, Somogyi is replaced by Mearns for the "Mauve role". Regarding the "green" role,Mearns is replaced by Kowrowski. In Jewels, Somogyi is replaced by Abi Stafford in Emeralds. Abi Stafford is doing every performance of Emeralds!

Going back to the subject of the outfits worn by women skaters, I think Nancy Kerrigan had a lot to do with skaters choosing beautiful dresses, some made by important fashion designers. If you recall, Kerrigan skated in Vera Wang outfits. After that, Vera Wang became a household name,and the go-to boutique for wedding gowns. Carolina Kostner has worn Roberto Cavalli dresses in competition.

The Met Opera announced next season's lineup. You can obtain complete info on their website. The HD Broadcast lineup is as follows: October 9 Wagner’s Das Rheingold October 23 Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov November 13 Donizetti’s Don Pasquale December 11 Verdi’s Don Carlo January 8 Puccini’s La Fanciulla Del West February 26 Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride March 19 Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor April 9 Rossini’s Le Comte Ory April 23 Strauss’s Capriccio April 30 Verdi’s Il Trovatore May 14 Wagner’s Die Walküre

Isn't it sad how friends become enemies once they go into business together?

I just read the review and noticed that Carrie Lee Riggins, formerly in the corps of NYCB, has joined LA Ballet. Good for her!

I think it was in bad taste for Lourdes Lopez to complain in the press that Wheeldon didn't commit himself sufficiently to the company. If you notice, Wheeldon does not level any criticisms specifically at Lopez, but focused his comments, diplomatically, on his frustrations regarding not having a regular cadre of dancers in the company. I'm puzzled regarding how Lopez thinks Morphoses can continue without Chris. All of the major corporate support that was showered upon Morphoses was due to the talents and presence of Chris as Artisitic Director. Even if Chris no longer owns the rights to the ballets he created for Morphoses (I have no idea who may hold the copyrights to those ballets), all of the dancers who appeared with the company were loyal to Chris. Does she reallly think any major talents will be on board with the company if Chris is no longer affiliated with the enterprise?

Christopher Wheeldon Leaves Dance Company He Created From Today's NY Times: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/...any-he-created/

I forgot to add that the audience was among the worst behaved I have ever encountered at a cultural event. Many latecomers, cell phones constantly going off, lots of talking during the performance, plastic bag noises throughout. The icing on the cake was one woman in the mid mez who was recording the entire performance until the usher came over during the second act.

I went to the Kings performance on Sun. afternoon, and I found it mostly disappointing because of the poor choreograhy. Some of it (Vestris and Fallen Angel) was awful. Most of it was mediocre at best. The only piece on the program that I would ever want to see again is the Ashton piece w. David Hallberg. Why doesn't ABT add this to their mixed bills this spring? We say many dancers in the audience, including Irina Dvorovenko (who looked stunning in a sequined top), Tiler Peck,and Erica Pereira. We also saw Darci Kistler and Peter Martins in Au Bon Pain next door during intermission. Peter decided to pay for his coffee by clearing his pockets of a pile of nickels, dimes and pennies.

I was at the Bolshoi's performances of Spartacus on Tues and Wed evenings. I thought Ivan Vasiliev was electrifying as Spartacus. His soaring jumps and leaps were breathtaking. The Wed evening Spartacus was Pavel Dmitrichenko. He was fine, but he paled in comparison to Vasiliev. The rest of the lead cast on the opening night was very good. Volchkov was impressive as Crassus, and Kaptsova was lovely as Phyrygia. (Nikulina was also marvelous as Phyrigia on Wed.) However, I didn't particularly like Maria Allash as Aegina. On Wed. evening Maria Alexandrova was considerably better than Allash as Aegina. Were any other Ballet Talkers there?

ABT is certainly engaging some excellent female guest artists this season - Osipova, Cojocaru. (I know Vishneva is a regular company member, but I still think of her as a guest artist since she never appears with the company except for the MET season.) I guess after focusing for so long on building an impressive male roster, McKenzie is now focusing on the ladies. Now let's hope all these dancers actually show up as scheduled!

Thanks Natalia! How awful is the snow situation around the Kennedy Center. I know they re-opened yesterday, so I would guess that the area is passable.

I saw the second performance this afternoon of the Peck - Garcia- Taylor cast. Tiler Peck's 2nd performance was even better than her first. Her phrasing this time was even better than the first time. Also, she held her balance in the Rose Adagio today for much longer than during her first performance. Janie Taylor improved considerably. She was much more attentive to her upper body movements and the use of her arms in a more expansive manner today. Huxley didn't make it for his second Bluebird. He was replaced by Ulbricht. The house was PACKED at the matinee.

Michael, I think the moment you are alluding to was captured in a photo that is on the Danceviewtimes website, along with a review of the Mogran/Angle SB.

I thought Morgan did well, but needs more polish. She looked a bit tentative initially in the Rose Adagio, but she improved as the evening proceeded. I liked her, but I think there are a lot of elements that will improve with experience. Tyler Angle is a good partner, but he had some difficulty in the technical demands of the role. For example, he was doing fine in his big solo in the vision scene until the very end, where he stumbled on a landing and came down awkwardly. He also had a problem with a landing in his solo in the wedding scene. Mearns was fantastic. It's too bad that Krohn was out, but if I had to have a replacement I'm glad it was Mearns. I don't have my program, so I can't recall the name of the new Carabosse. She wasn't scary; she just seemed demented. I actually laughed out loud she was so over the top. Norma Desmond on speed. The major revelation, as Deborah B point out, was Chase Finlay. He was incredible as Gold. Did you see his gorgeous line, and those pointed feet!? His upper body carriage was so lovely. His jumps were excellent, and his landings were super smooth and quiet. I hope to see a lot more of this elegant, beautiful dancer. I spotted Ashley Bouder in the audience in the Fourth Ring.

I definitely noticed that too. This was one of the thrilling elements of her performance. Agree that none of the other NYCB Beauties held the high attitude position like Peck.

Yes, she did. During the prologue, she looked like the most unhappy, tense person on stage- like she would have rather been anywhere else. Also, her upper body movement was stiff, and her mime in the birthday scene was not clear. She only began to come to life and look relaxed in her solo in the wedding scene.

Tiler Peck was outstanding tonight as Aurora. Her phrasing and musicality were absolutely wonderful. She demonstrated the transition of her character over the course of the ballet very well. She was very elegant and lyrical in the wedding scene in particular. She didn't hold her balance a long time in the Rose Adagio the way Bouder did, but that didn't matter to me. Her technique throughout was very impressive. Gonzalo Garcia was a good partner, but he had a tendency to over-act to point of being a ham. He acquitted himself well in his solos, and the fish dives went very well. Janie Taylor was miscast as Lilac Fairy. Gina was a bit too campy as Carabosse. Erica P. easily executed all the technical demands of Florine, but I thought that she needed more lyrical flow in her movements. Bluebird (Huxley) acquitted himself well. I really enjoyed Gilliland as Diamond. Ask la Cour had some difficulty with his Gold variation. Onwards to the Morgan-Angle-Krohn debuts tomorrow!

I'm disappointed that Zakharova is not appearing.

According to the Kennedy Center website, Shipulina is replaced by Ekaterina Krysanova as Aegina for the Thu., Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Sat., Feb. 20 at 1:30 p.m. performances.