abatt
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Posts posted by abatt
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When Julio Bocca was on the road to retirement, Romeo was the first ballet he left behind. Bocca stayed with the more classical ballets for the next few years until he retired. I'm wondering if Cornejo feels the same way . Women seem to love doing Juliet as a farewell late in their careers, but not the men.
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I was only able to stay for two-thirds of last night's R&J, but my reaction to Devon was that she seemed too sophisticated and mature to play Juliet. Also, I didn't see much of an arc between the initial meeting with Paris, when she should be very shy and girlish, and her blossoming into womanhood in the encounters with Romeo. Bell danced beautifully and if he was injured it did not show.
Added - I think that in terms of stature and demeanor, Juliet could be a good fit for Brandt. I'm curious to see what Trenary will do on Saturday.
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I think a part of the problem at NYCB is that Peter Martins hired choreographers who were steeped in ballet and who employed ballet vocabulary in their works. Now the trend at NYCB is to hire choreographers who have no training or background in ballet, and it it evident in their new works for the company. I'll use Kyle Abraham as the example. Yes, the solo he created for Stanley was great (but more modern dance than ballet). Take a look at the choreography in the rest of the work, and it looks like it was made by someone who has a very limited knowledge of ballet vocabulary. Abraham is far from the only person hired at NYCB in recent years who has almost no background in ballet.
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3 hours ago, ABT Fan said:
Oh no!! Cornejo has been replaced by Royal at Saturday’s matinee. I mean no offense to Royal, but I was so looking forward to seeing Cornejo with Trenary! (And, I was thinking this was probably the first Met season in recent years that Cornejo wasn’t injured; although I don’t know the reason for the substitution.) Ugh.
I consider myself lucky to have seen Cornejo in T&V a few days ago. The fact that he can't make it through even a 5 week season anymore does not bode well.
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4 hours ago, California said:
Speaking of...hope they announce the fall schedule soon. Green Table and T&V would make for nice mixed bills, perhaps with Ratmansky's Seasons?
I think Paul Taylor Dance Company may presently has rights to Green Table . They just added it to their rep this year.
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Yes, ABT used to perform Stevenson's Cinderella. It was an entertainment for the kids, but not particularly satisfying as a ballet. The choreography of the Ashton version, which ABT now performs, is so much more satisfying. I wish they would bring it back.
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16 minutes ago, FauxPas said:
An interesting fact about Chloe Misseldine - she actually is second generation ABT. Her mother is the Chinese ballerina Yan Chen who danced at ABT in the 1990's. I saw Yan Chen as Swanilda in "Coppelia" in which she was charming (I think her partner was Angel Corella). Chen was working her way up the ranks but was plagued by injuries and also was married and started a family which also includes Chloe's older brother Adam.
So we know where the talent comes from.
Thanks for the info. I remember Yan Chen very well. Yes, she was paired with Angel Corella in several ballets.
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1 hour ago, MarzipanShepherdess said:
It's good to see Betsey McBride promoted. I admire immensely the risk she took in leaving a principal contract with Houston Ballet to come in as a corps dancer with ABT and work her way back up again.
She was with Texas Ballet Theater, not Houston Ballet. Is Houston Ballet the same thing as Texas Ballet Theater?
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Have to respectfully disagree about Zimmi. She needs more experience and polish.
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Zhurbin is a great character dancer, one of the best in the world. I think it's a sign of respect for his body of work as McKenzie departs. Zhurbin can keep dancing for much longer than others because he only does character roles.
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11 minutes ago, nanushka said:
When is Jaffe taking over? Although there was an event for McKenzie's "farewell" on Saturday, I thought he was actually continuing on through the fall season. (That may have changed, or I may have misunderstood whatever I read that gave me that impression.)
McKenzie departs in December 2022.
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Surprised Curley didn't make the cut.
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4 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:
Bell is still listed for his Romeo tomorrow and Sat night. I keep checking...
Did Bell appear on stage Saturday evening when the entire company (even Stearns) celebrated McKenzie?
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She seems too tall to be Aurora. She is usually cast as Lilac Fairy.
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28 minutes ago, California said:
A little Friday night trivia: If you go to the Instagram stories of @cewtipie the fourth slide shows Baryshnikov standing in the aisle. The white hair is a remnant of his play The Orchard, which just closed. Did anybody else notice this? He always seems to be on the lookout for new artists for his Center, so I wonder if he wanted to take a look at the pieces by Lang and King. Skylar Brandt includes the same shot in her stories. (Sorry - there's no way to link to Stories)
Bell is still listed for Zig-Zag and his R&Js. Nice that Cornejo gets a week to recover before his R&J! I look forward to all your reports!
I don't know that they update the online calendar info on weekends, so I would be surprised if Bell appeared tonight.
I dumped my tickets for tonight based on the review of Ahn. T&V was the only ballet on the program that I was really interested in seeing. However, I don't want to see it butchered. Based on the NYTimes review of Ahn in this I decided this just wasn't worth the time or money. If you don't have people who can perform the lead roles, don't revive the ballet.
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Bad news, folks. I'm just back from ABT and there was an insert stating that Aran Bell is injured. Royal took Cornejo's role in Section III of Single Eye, and Curley took Bell's part in Zig Zag.
So assuming Bell doesn't make a miraculous recovery by Tuesday, who are they going to throw into R&J to partner Devon. I'm sure we won't know until around 4PM on Tuesday.
Herman's performance tonight in T&V was so wonderful. He knocked out those double tours like it was nothing. His partnering was flawless. Where are they going to find anyone at his level going forward once he retires. Nobody in the company even comes close. Brandt was fine for a debut. In her solo I felt she was still channeling Swan Lake sometimes. I prefer the ladies across the plaza but Brandt did well enough. She is starting to get annoying with demonstrating in every ballet how long she can sustain an unsupported balance. This is T&V, not Don Q.
I thought Single Eye had some interesting choreography, but it's not a ballet I want to see again. Forster looked good in this choreography. I didn't stay for ZigZag because I think it is drivel.
The house was very poorly sold. Funny that McKenzie would select this as his celebratory program.
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46 minutes ago, California said:
Just took another look at casting. Cornejo is also doing Single Eye Saturday night! Good grief! He's in all four performances of the mixed bill!
I'm sure most of you have heard the famous Baryshnikov quote that T&V is the hardest ballet he ever performed.
ABT's performances of the male solo in T&V is, I believe, easier than and different from what NYCB's men are required to do. The men at NYCB do more double tours and fewer pirouettes. Which version of that choreography did Baryshnikov do?
When I was watching Ahn and Bell in Swan Lake, their ballroom variations seemed like a practice run for what would be required in the T&V solo, except that more double tours and pirouettes are required in T&V. Also, in SL the orchestra slows the tempo as needed. Not sure if the orchestra does the same for the T&V music.
Added - J. DeLuz included this ballet in his farewell, and he slammed it out the park despite his advanced age and history of injury.
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18 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:
I really wish I could have seen her debut.
I'm sure she will be cast as the lead in SL next season.
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I have not found any casting for the SPAC shows. It seems like the engagement is close enough that it should be posted already.
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1 hour ago, JuliaJ said:
Per the ABT website, Bell and Shevchenko are out of Theme and Variations. Brandt and Cornejo replace them on Friday (and also dance the Saturday matinee). Hope they are both ok and can dance R&J next week!
Oh NOOOOOO. Thanks for the info, though. Bell & Shevy are still listed for their other assignments for the mixed bill programs.
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9 hours ago, ABT Fan said:
I was a bit disappointed in Forster, whom I love so much and am so glad to see he's finally getting the opportunities he should have had several years ago. Several of the more complicated turns (into arabesque for one) were botched a bit or he came out of them early and had to cover. His jetes were gorgeous as always and pirouettes were mostly very clean. What I found most surprising in him was a lack of character development, as he is one of the company's most gifted actors. It was a bit one note. I didn't feel his lament and struggle in Act I, while he pondered his mother's orders to marry. And, his grief was not palpable enough when he realized he betrayed Odette. His partnering was extraordinary though.
I too was disappointed with Forster. He makes difficult choreography look difficult. His weaknesses were apparent even in Act I, and just became more pronounced in Act III. He was a good partner, and it seems like he and Murphy are now always paired together. His classical technique has always been weak, and that has not improved. The Ratmansky choreography was better suited to his abilities, as his deficiencies are most exposed in the Petipa canon. As of right now I will not be attending the Murphy Forster R&J, but perhaps the MacMillan choreography will look better on Forster.
Even though Murphy was not at the level she used to be, I'll take it! Even at a reduced level, her technical accomplishment was still at a high enough level. I'm okay with the fact that she isn't doing all 32 fouettes.
Just adding to the chorus of people who found Hurlin quite wonderful yesterday in her debut. Watching her made me realize that she could do well in any leading role at ABT, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for her at the company.
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Article on their Woodstock home.
Most interesting info for me was that they got married six or seven years ago.
Also, their Manhattan apartment is a rental.
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23 minutes ago, nanushka said:
Possible. But at least the ones seated near me yesterday (who seemed to be starting much of the cheering) were young, student-aged fans at a holiday matinee, at a time of year when many ballet students are in town. And I believe many of the seats they were in hadn't sold well until a day or two before, when the company may have released them for discounted tickets.
Good point. I think the company gets a tax deduction if it gives away tickets for educational purposes. The family circle and certain parts of the balcony seemed to have a lot of kids.
New York City Ballet 2021-2022 season
in New York City Ballet
Posted
Call Me Ben was an epic failure and ridiculed in no less than the NY Times. The Most Incredible Thing, while no masterpiece, was not greeted with the kind of disdain that Call Me Ben (rightly) received.