abatt

It's disappointing that so many dancers from ABT that I enjoyed did not have farewells - Gomes, Abrera, Simkin, Lane.

Slim pickins at ABT for bravura roles. I would have seen Simkin in a heartbeat in Don Q. I used to love Cornejo in Don Q, but he isn't in top form anymore. Good thing they are now down to 5 weeks at the Met. I'm not sure they have the staffing of principals to carry 8 consecutive weeks of shows.

This article is about Tony Kushner, but there is photo of David Alvarez and other dancers in a scene from the new film West Side Story. Alvarez is playing Bernardo. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/30/t-magazine/tony-kushner-caroline-west-side.html

The outfit from last night and the one from a few weeks ago at the ABT gala all seem to be specifically designed to hide the stomach area. These styles are completely different from the styles she has worn for years that show off her figure. I think the question of whether she's pregnant is answered by these photos.

The discount code for Twyla Now (20 percent off) is DMTWYLA.

I was just looking at the City Center website. Cassandra Trenary is replacing Catherine Hurlin in Twyla Now.

Since ABT's Spring Season is starting a month later than it used to start, they may also hold off on releasing the Spring Season info.

Murphy was great in Pillar. She conveyed controlled rage and humiliation with dramatic acting and dancing. Hagar is one of her finest roles. So glad I got to see this again with her in the lead. Tom Forster was also excellent. My one reservation about the cast is that I don't find Stearns believable as the sleazy, sexy guy who entices Hagar. I remember Gomes in this role, and he was so much more menacing and effective. Folia was fine. The choreography is workmanlike. Li is making a big impression this fall as a lovely dancer. I didn't stay for Zig Zag.

I considered the possibility that Copeland may be pregnant, and that's why she has not danced and is not scheduled.

It's not really fair to dismiss technical ability as irrelevant to ballet and something we should just go watch on youtube. When Murphy starts flapping her swan arms in Act III, she is referencing Odile while performing Odette. It is integral to the performance, and the fact that almost nobody can do that while performing perfect fouettes is that much more impressive. Kitri is a headstrong girl with spirit, so when Murphy is able to change her arm positions with her fan while performing perfect fouettes, this is also an integral part of her characterization. Her technique adds to characterization and enhances her story. I do agree that Murphy is a very fine dance actress, and look forward to seeing her Pillar of Fire again this week.

I went to the Forster Murphy Giselle. For me, Murphy will always be a more natural Myrta than Giselle. There is nothing girlish about Murphy, particularly at this stage of her career. (In contrast, I thought Kent always looked waif-like, even as she aged.) However, I thought that the pairing of two mature dancers - Murphy with Forster - worked well. I also liked the fact that Murphy did not overplay the mad scene. Some of the ballerinas like Shevshenko,have chosen over the top acting. (There was one point when Shevshenko was shaking so much it was like she was having a seizure.) Murphy does not go for broke technically in Giselle in either act. (Example, she did a lovely job with the hops on pointe, but she ended several beats before the music ended. In her whirling in the beginning of Act II, she also stopped a little before the music ended.) Her technique was fine but not dazzling or on the stratospheric level that we have observed throughout her career. I thought she captured the Romantic style nicely, especially in the use of her upper body. Forster has never been a dazzling technician, but his characterization worked well. He was a very attentive partner and he tried to add as much detail as possible to his portrayal. As an example, at his entrance in Act II he decided to stroke the flowers he was holding. At the graveside, he didn't just kneel; he stretched his torso over the grave area. Going forward, I'm not sure what to expect from Murphy in the Spring Season. Her hallmark has always been daring technical abilities, like doing triple fouettes while changing arm positions with her fan as Kitri, and flapping her swan arms while doing her whiplash fast fouettes in Act III of Swan Lake. It's not clear to me whether she will regain that level by the Spring.

To most people who follow the company, the name Stephanie Petersen is that of a stranger because her stage name for her entire career was not Stephanie Petersen. That's why performers generally don't change their surnames, or use a hyphenated stage name after marriage.

I remember seeing Fandango performed by Sara Mearns a few years ago at Fall for Dance. Interesting that they now have a man doing the same piece. I think it is a City Center commission, but it would be great to see it eventually become part of the NYCB rep.

This is exactly what happened earlier in the week (maybe Friday?), except that there was no issue with the shoulder lift the day I saw them. And these are ABT soloists?!

Giselle is a vehicle that can make all kinds of dancers at various stages of their careers and with vastly different technical abilities look good. That is why a lot of dancers keep this ballet (and R&J) in their rep until they retire. Weaknesses are much more exposed in the Petipa classics like Swan Lake, SB and Don Q.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/22/arts/dance/giselle-american-ballet-theater.html NY Times review of Wed and Thursday Giselles.

Bell did 32 entrechats. They were beautiful and high. (Tom Forster did 21 on Friday.) And all of Bell's landings in Act II were in perfect 5th position. As noted above, this is becoming a rarity at ABT. Bell and Shevshenko were very, very impressive in both the characterization and the dancing. Remember the old days when Cornejo and DeLuz were knocking our socks off in their brilliance is small roles like a peasant pas? You just knew that they were destined for big things because their technique was so pristine. Sadly, I saw every cast of the peasant pas but I didn't see one man from the corps or the soloist level who had such brilliance or talent. added: While I'm very pleased by the debuts of Brandt and Shevshenko in Giselle, I so miss Sarah Lane's soulful interpretation of this role. We only got to see it twice, but it lives on in my memory.

Indeed, the words "poor planning" pretty much sums up McKenzie's entire career as leader of ABT, in my opinion. Let's hope the next AD can fix things.

I had no idea that Stephanie Petersen was actually Stephanie Williams with a new last name until someone on this board pointed it out. Actually, my point was more about the fact that McKenzie now has only a few soloists, many of whom are not suitable to do a lead role when needed. It's nice that he decided to promote Fang and Paris up to soloist at the very late stage of their careers, but the result is that when McKenzie finds himself in need of a capable soloist for a secondary lead role, they cannot step in to fill the gap.

When did Aaron Scott leave? He's not listed in the playbill. Also, Gorak is still listed as as a soloist but not cast in anything. .

Yes, that's exactly what happened. Cornejo ran out of stage space so he had to improvise while the rest of the music played. Similarly, in Act I, when Brandt did those incredible hops on pointe across the stage she had a few beats of music left but no more stage space.

Agree with all the praise for Brandt and Cornejo. While I never doubted Brandt had the technique for Giselle, I was unsure of whether she would be believable in a dramatic role. She should be very proud of this performance.

Oh no. I hope Shevchenko is not injured.

Sadly, all such tours of the Met are suspended until further notice due to Covid.

So does anyone think that the two little boys on the wine harvest cart were 12 or over? They looked too small to be at least 12. Why endanger their health if they are unvaccinated? As for the masked dancers, it was distracting. If they were exposed to Covid, they should isolate, not appear on stage masked.