abatt

Stella's Giselle did indeed have some lovely qualities, but overall I felt that there were so many technical flubs and limitations that it would have been better for her to have withdrawn than to dance the role in such a diminished way. Since her promotion two years ago, there has been a precipitous decline in her technique. Her Giselle last year was also diminished, but this year it was far worse.

I thought by now there would be an outpouring of comments about last night's performance. I had to miss the first half of the show, so I only saw AfterRite. In retrospect, I wish I had gone to the first half and skipped the second half. AfterRite had the usual McGregor hallmarks of push me, pull me, bend me, extend my limb in the most extreme awful position choreography. However, this was McGregor with some added grotesque twists. SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT The set has a constructed box with clear plastic doors on the side of the stage. At the end of the ballet, there is a little girl in the box, and white gas starts filling into the box. In other words, the ending of the "ballet" has a little girl being gassed to death. Oh, and did I mention that a video recording device set up on the stage in front of the glass box is recording the gassing? Am I misinterpreting what was going on there? I sure hope so. Clearly McGregor was going for a grand theatrical effect. While the work did have some interesting ideas, as a Jew I found the gassing gimmick at the end completely offensive and inappropriate. Thank goodness I have no tickets for any additional performances of this program. Anyone else attend?

But how could he know anything about her personally, since he does not have a personal friendship or relationship with her. As a critic, his remarks about each dancer relates to what they did on stage that he observed, not what they are like off stage.

This was in another thread regarding the musical Carousel, so I thought some people might have missed it. (Craig is presently a dance captain at Carousel. He is on leave from ABT.) Tonight is Craig's final performance with ABT. He is retiring from the company. Michelle Dorrance has created a tap solo for him in her new piece that will premiere tonight at the gala.

I can understand putting large items like clothing and shoes in storage. However, for important documents, photos and papers, a bank vault would always seem to be the better choice. These storage places frequently have issues with water damage, mold and theft. Sorry to hear that she lost all these items.

I think he meant that Misty does not present any affectations and is not mannered. I was real happy that Lane and Simkin got favorable reviews. I couldn't see them this year because I couldn't miss work. Maybe next year Lane will get an evening Giselle. Any maybe, just maybe, she'll get a Swan Lake instead of the peasant pas!

I agree. Having Lane dance the peasant pas is just insulting. If memory serves, during the recent ABT tour, didn't McKenzie also give Lane the peasant pas in Swan Lake? Misty danced only one Giselle this week too. Why not giver her one of the peasant pas? Lane did two today.

I agree- Hee Seo and Bolle were absolutely wonderful tonight. I don't recall when I last saw Hee do Giselle, but this Romantic role suited her. And I'm so glad I got to see Bolle in this. Excellent acting, beautiful lines, strong partnering, and technique that other guys at ABT half his age can't begin to approach.

Osipova does the most difficult version of the hops on point. She hops forward, and then rotates 360 degrees while doing the hops. At least that's my recollection from what I've seen her do previously. We'll see what she does tonight. As Danny and the Juniors sang, Let's Go To The Hop. Today is the birthday of Hallberg, Osipova and Fonteyn. The ballet stars are aligned.

Nothing against Novak, but I thought Michael Trusnovec might end up as Taylor's successor.

During the golden years mentioned above, those stellar dancers were regular company members, not guest artists. They were trained all over the world - Cuba, Spain, Russia and so on - but they all worked for ABT as full time principals.

Have to agree with NYSusan. ABT is no longer a world class company. With a few exceptions, they are a very mediocre roster of dancers. There were never half empty houses in the days of Carreno, Corella, Ananiashvilli and Ferri in her prime.

Are photographers from the NYTimes allowed to photograph only certain performances, or all performances?

Question: When the NYTimes wants to use a photo, do they get it from ABT and get ABT's permission for use? Is ABT providing the photos to NYTimes? I'm not asking about the captioning of the photos.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/arts/dance/firebird-ballet-stravinsky-ratmansky.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fdance&action=click&contentCollection=dance&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront The NYTimes did it again in the above article about Firebird. Misty is the only person specifically named as being in the photo even though former principal Gomes and current principal Abrera are in the foreground of the photo. Y'all know that Misty's PR agent is also the PR agent of ABT, right? Explains a lot. Talk about an ethical conflict of interest!

The attachment indicates that it's Bouder and Gordon. Veyette is dancing with Hyltin. Thanks Susan!

Thanks Angelica, and thanks to all who posted their reviews.

Who performed at the dress rehearsal?

Additionally, she has previously performed Myrta numerous times, and I believe she has also performed Lead Maiden in Firebird previously. So it's not like these were new roles that she just didn't have time to learn. Very curious. I'm still watching that casting like a hawk.

It seems to me the only good scheduling option is to put Copeland in there. If Abrera can't perform, I would be thrilled to see Lane, or alternatively, a new Giselle like Trenary or Brandt. I saw Copeland last season in Giselle, and once was enough.

There hasn't been any confirmation of Stella's cancellation, but the tea leaves seem to be clear.

I was there on Sat afternoon, and I agree that the pastiche of the Robbins Broadway catalogue didn't really work. The costumes were terrific, though. Sat afternoon also had a lot of new casts. I liked Ulbricht in Suite of Dances, but I thought his delivery sometimes was over the top cutesy. I don't remember that problem when Woetzel performed the role. (I did not see DeLuz.) I thought Spring was a very fine role debut for Lovette and Huxley. She had a lightness to her dancing, which is exactly appropriate. (By contrast Mearns's tornado approach to Spring is all wrong, in my opinion.) Huxley was also marvelous, although there were some partnering rough spots. Gerrity sizzled in Summer, and I loved her languid style. I thought she and Ask made a wonderful pairing. Hmm. Now to Fall. Mejia was amazing In his elevation and speed. I can't wait to see him develop at NYCB. Veyette was taxed to the limit by this choreography. I know he used to be thought of a virtuoso type, but those days are long gone. For the most part, I thought Phelan did a good job. However she is not a gifted turner. She started losing control at the end of one variation where she spins several times as she moves toward the wing of the stage. Moreover, when she spins she lacks the confidence (or ability?) to continuously spin. As a result she hesitates before placing her foot down to being the next spin in a series. She did this sever times. This makes the phrasing look very choppy and lacking in flow and speed. She also came off pointe once during her fouettes.

I really wish they would just announce who her replacement is. It seems very likely that she will not dance her Giselle, so why play games with us and keep her name up there on the casting calendar.

Harrison Ball is another soloist with enormous potential. However, he seems to be injured frequently. About H. Coll, if there is any single person in the company who most deserves to get out of the corps immediately, it's Coll.

The section you are placed in is not revealed in the ticket offer. YOu only find out what section and where when you pick up your ticket at the box office or get it in the mail. However, I don't think these tickets would be in the family circle, because the tdf price is higher than the cost of regular full priced family circle ABT tickets. TDF does not jack up ticket prices above the price you would pay at the box office. It is a discount program. I ordered an ABT ticket on TDF a few years ago for the Dream, and it was a great seat in the side orchestra, a few seats off the center aisle. Ironically, I would have happily bought a ticket for that performance in the balcony, but ABT had instituted dynamic pricing and had raised the price in the balcony. That made me angry since I could see the house was not selling well. So I waited and, sure enough, there it was on TDF.