abatt

52 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Her "liaison"? According to the recent New York Times article:

 

Liaison being a refined manner of saying Mick's (most recent) baby mama.

1 minute ago, nanushka said:

It's interesting, I found Boylston considerably more bothersome in The Season on Saturday night than I did back in the spring. She seemed to have tamed some of her more problematic qualities then, but on Saturday they were back. I'm so sorry to have missed the Abrera/Forster pairing both times this ballet has been done.

I think that when Ratmansky is present and preparing dancers for a new work, he must point out all of the flaws and problems.  Once the revival of the work comes, there is probably nobody paying attention to the details of how  Boylston is performing the the work.  All of those awful tendencies just creep back into the performance, unchecked.

26 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

ITeuscher really shone in the ballerina role - she actually has a Balanchine ballerina body - very elongated.  Also she is an excellent turner as the late Alicia Alonso was.  She looked like a queen on that stage.  

  Stella Abrera looked so gorgeous as the Spirit of the Corn - her port de bras really looked creamy and magical and Tom Forster was an excellent partner.  He is ready for Siegfried and Albrecht.  

 

Agree completely.  Devon was again excellent in T&V.  She danced with more freedom and joy than on opening night.  Also agree about Stella.  The Spirit of the Corn looks like an athletic romp of jumps and spins when Boylston does it.  Abrera brings elegance and eloquence to the role that was completely lacking in Boylston's performances.

I missed Hurlin in Winter (Hail) from the Seasons though.  The role she does in Winter requires break neck speed, and last night it looked labored and slow.

I have a question about the Mariinsky's performance of Emeralds.  I see in the casting that only two leads are listed for that ballet.  Does the company omit the section that Balanchine added to 'Emeralds' in 1976 = an extra duet and a septet that ends with three men each sinking poetically to one knee.   I know that they omitted that section when the Mariinsky (Kirov) toured their Jewels in the US in the arly 2000's (around 2002).  Do they continue to omit the 1976 additional choreography?

9 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

During the first decade or so of my NYCB-watching career, I only saw taller dancers like Merrill Ashley, Kyra Nichols, and Darci Kistler perform T&V's ballerina role. Nothing against Fairchild, Bouder, and Peck, but I wouldn't mind seeing some of the company's taller women get a shot at it—and would very much have like to have seen Teuscher dance it. 

Yes, I remember Nichols and Miranda Weese as the ballerinas in T&V at NYCB back in the day - both commanding Ballerinas with a capital B.  I really don't understand the current trend in casting T&V at NYCB.  I too would love to see some taller ladies cast in T&V.  It is said that short guys can better handle the demanding male solo, but I have vivid memories of  Damian Woetzel thrillingly dancing the male lead.

The announcement of the Spring season should be very interesting.  It seems that there will be many debuts in important lead roles.  Anyone know what is happening with Hammoudi.  He seems to have disappeared.

So did everyone catch Melanie's observation that promotions at ABT are "political".

With respect to the comparison of ABT and NYCB in T&V, NYCB has been casting soubrette types in the lead role for a very long time - Megan Fairchild, Tiler Peck, Bouder.  For me, it is always interesting to see a regal type of ballerina take on the role, such as Devon Teuscher.

That first Giselle, with Shkylarov, was exceptional.  It was much better technically than her Giselle two years later at Marcelo Gomes's 20th Anniversary.  I assume she will be paired with Whiteside, since he is partnering her in her Feb. 2020 D.C. Giselle performance.  I would like, however, to see her dance with Hallberg just once.

If they do Don Q early in the season, Abrera will probably be Mercedes.  They don;'t announce that info until much closer to the performance date because it's a secondary role.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/21/arts/dance/stella-abrera-retiring-from-ABT.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

Here is a related article in the NY Times on Stella's decision to retire.

Catch her as Spirit of the Corn tomorrow if you can.  Her interpretation and performance is very different from Boylston's interpretation of the same role.  No surprise there!

Gorak had trouble lifting Xiomara Reyes in a Cinderella performance years ago.  This is a continuous issue for him. 

Personally, I didn't notice any significant problems in Lane's performance last night, except that there were a few moments when she was off the music.  I thought she did quite well in the role overall.

The music at ABT for Balanchine ballets is always played at a glacial pace compared to NYCB. 

I enjoyed the Twyla ballet more on the second viewing, because I  decided to ignore the character names in the program for each dancer and just focus on the dance.  I still felt that the costumes were a negative distraction.

Aside from Gorak's error at the very end when he was unable to lift lane to his shoulder, his double tours were sloppy.  I think he did about  4 and gave up.  There was still plenty of music left when he should have been doing additional double tours.  Instead, he raised his arms and lowered himself to one  knee to assume the final position of that section of the choreography.  His performance explains why he will never move up to principal  Awful.  If ABT doesn't have men who can handle the demands of a ballet, they should not perform the ballet.  How this company has declined.  Their male roster used to be the best anywhere.

The Seasons was utter brilliance.  Loved it.   It is a masterpiece.

By the way, I don't regard McKenzie's hesitation in casting short dancers in certain roles as paternalism.  In fact, I wish McKenzie would exercise more discretion in assigning roles.  As an example, I feel that both Cornejo and Copeland are too short for their roles in Apollo.  One size does not fit all for ballet roles.  Sometimes length of the limbs is part of the aesthetic of the choreography.

I saw the Tharp ballet last night.  It was baffling, to say the least.  Part of the problem was that Tharp decided to give character names to each of the dancers, as though there was some plot driving the ballet.  If there was a plot, I never figured it out.  Some of the choreography was interesting, but a lot of it was dull.  This was not top level Tharp work by any means.  I also wish the costumes had been less tacky and flamboyant.  The costumes were often distractingly awful.  Poor Herman looked like he was wearing an old Elvis jumpsuit, and in the end had to wrap himself in a big tacky silver curtain.  Poor Stephanie  Williams had to wear an outfit that only emphasized her broad shoulders and wide torso.  The only costume that looked good was Shevchenko's. Herman definitely deserves a better ballet than this for his anniversary.

The Lang piece was brief and harmlessly generic.  However, some of the songs used  in the recording are identical to ones used in Balanchine's Who Cares.  I thought about hom much better Balanchine's choreography was  as compared to Lang's.

The best ballet on the program was T&V.  I thought Teuscher made a marvelous debut.  Cory was a good partner, but when he had to do the series of double tours he veered significantly to the side of the stage by the end.  Also, his feet were never in proper position on the landings. (I miss DeLuz.  Will we again see anyone with his technical brilliance in this ballet?)  Despite some shortcomings in the performance, this ballet was pure joy.

The head of Celebrity Cruises went on for what seemed an eternity after she was awarded some bogus award by ABT.  Nate Berkus (no idea who he is or how to spell his name) gave a speech.  Boylston and Whiteside also gave speeches.  Way too many boring speeches.

Oh, and the Balanchine Trust does not allow modification of choreographed steps.

Am I correct that the only other role Copeland is scheduled for during the Koch season besides Terpsichore is Deuce Coupe - a non-ballet role?  I would be thrilled if Lane replaced Copeland in Apollo.  Unfortunately, we won't know if there will actually be a replacement until shortly before showtime.

8 hours ago, On Pointe said:

For Ramasar's sake I hope West Side Story has a decent run,  but I truly doubt that it will succeed.  With the Spielberg film version coming,  could be that the public is not in the mood for yet another WSS,  especially since there's nothing wrong with the original.  At any rate,  I doubt that Ramasar will dance with NYCB again.  I'm sure TPTB were determined to get rid of him by not renewing his contract after the humiliation of losing the AGMA arbitration.

I agree with you.  I doubt that this stage version will last for a full year.  I don't interpret Ramasar's words as indicative of a permanent departure. He is merely expressing his thanks to people in the company, thereby demonstrating that his mandatory sensitivity training has paid off.

10 hours ago, Roberta said:

 

The dancers tonight - magnificent! Batoeva nailed her 32 fouetees, her delectable variations, and was even more convincing an actress than was Terioshkina on Tuesday. AND...she had the far superior Xander Parish as her Andres. It was only my 2nd time seeing Xander live and he was terrific in every respect.

 

Except for the scene where Xander stood too close to Batoeva to support her in a spin or turn and her leg smacked right into him and caused her to stop mid-spin.  Mr. Abatt turned to me and noted that we've been attending ballet for about 25 years and have never seen that  error.  It was egregious.     All in all, however, it was a wonderful weekend of ballet from the Mariinsky.

14 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

I'm in! Just arrived in DC. Where is the ballet pack getting together....? By the Kennedy bust....? I'm going tonight.

At the Kennedy bust.  See you  Friday.

FYI, Copeland is also appearing as a guest artist at the Gala for Paul Taylor Dance Company at Lincoln Center in early November. 

McKenzie would let Copeland make up any variation she could muster to  keep her continuing performing in SL.  As long as they keep doing the McKenzie version, Copeland will continue in the role.  Unlike the exacting demands of Ratmansky, who does not allow alterations of the choreography, anytihng goes if it makes money as far as McKenzie is concerned.

I'm not sure every principal is required to go on every tour. 

12 hours ago, JanLevNYC said:

That’s been Lauren Kings spot .... why not Sara Adams, Ashley Hod, Laine Habony?  All three are beautiful performers and strong technicians.  

Lauren King is  cast as the demi soloist in Tchai PC, in the cast that has Mearns and  Janzen.  It is LeCrone who is not dancing the part this year, presumably because LeCrone is cast in Serenade on the same program.

5 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

I agree that the Fashion Gala model hasn't delivered a ton brilliant costuming, although, to be fair, it hasn't delivered a ton of brilliant choreography either. That being said, a few collaborations worked out pretty well. In addition to The Runaway (Kyle Abraham / Giles Deacon):

Spectral Evidence - Angelin Preljocaj / Olivier Theyskens (2013)

Neverwhere - Benjamin Millepied / Iris Van Herpen (2013) 

Funérailles - Liam Scarlett / Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen (2014)

New Blood - Justin Peck / Humberto Leon (2015) [Not a Fashion Gala ballet, but Peck's The Times are Racing also had costumes by Humberto Leon.]

ten in seven - Peter Walker / Jason Wu (2016)

Pulcinella Variations - Justin Peck / Tsumori Chisato (2017)

Not Our Fate - Lauren Lovette / Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim of MONSE and Oscar de la Renta (2017)

Not all of these are top-drawer ballets, but I'd argue that the costumes added something to the whole. I suspect I could find a few more to add to the list, and there have been a couple of near-misses, too. 

ETA: I saw Neverwhere a couple of seasons ago when it was revived without Van Herpen's brilliant costumes and while I wouldn't go so far as to say it was nothing without them, they definitely added an element of theater that it just doesn't have as a leotard ballet. Kind of the reverse of Balanchine's Four Temperaments.

I think the point of these fall galas is not the choreography.  The entire point is the hope that patrons will pay for the gala dinner to rub elbows with famous fashion designers.  The significance or quality of the choreography is almost an irrelevant afterthought.  These are gimmick galas, concocted by SJ Parker and utilizing her connections in the fashion world.  The most successful was when they had Sir Paul and his fashion designer daughter collaborate with Martins.  That gala made a lot of money.  The Valentino gala also made a ton of money.

Notice that serious ballet choreographers like Ratmansky never participate in the fall fashion gala.