ABT in DC

[paolo]

What is Sarah Kaufman's problem with ABT? Huge article in the Washington Post this morning that spends paragraphs and paragraphs basically criticizing ABT for not doing true 40s ballets as part of the Kennedy Center's 40s Festival. An interesting ABT article could have been written on the eve of their first two week stint in DC in years, about Herman Cornejo, and the Swan Lake telecast, and the Fokine works (well, some was said about this). Ms. Kaufman has always been rather hard on ABT and rather forgiving of other, far less talented companies.

[Dale]

Here's the link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...n28.html?sub=AR

[Dale]

I'm affraid I have to agree with Kaufman. The 40s are a very interesting and important decade in the history of ballet and ABT missed a chance to show its history. NYCB -- in it's visit to Kennedy Center -- also is at fault, although it is presenting Theme and Variations and Four Ts. It also could have brought Orpheus, which is in its rep. this winter, but chose not to.

This graph sums it up:

The fact remains that the Kennedy Center's "1940s and the Arts" project, which it bills as the largest and most expensive festival in its history, is no feat of planning. It is, instead, a come-as-you-are party, at least as far as ABT is concerned. Bring what you have that has anything to do with the era. Fit this in to what you'd be doing anyway.

[Alexandra]

I was just reading it, thinking, "What an interesting piece!" I think she has a good point. It's great for the Kennedy Center to have these Festivals -- tie all the arts together, whether the link is by country or time or something else. There was a wonderful Romantic Era festival here back in the 1970s under Martin Feinstein. Everything in the Kennedy Center was drenched in Romanticism; no exceptions. There was even a Romantic era ball in the Grand Foyer. It was beautifully planned and fascinating to see so many different aspects of Romanticism. Quite different than SAYING you're going to have a Romantic festival and then booking Peter Sellars to do a new production of "Death of a Salesman" and the Kirov to do two weeks of "Sleepiing Beauty" and "Raymonda." City Ballet isn't bringing much of a 40s repertory either (harder for them, since they brought THEIR 1940s ballets last year, also a matter of convenience, since those were the works just performed in the Winter season. )

I think newspapers (the Post, at least, which is a very political paper) are always looking to do something that isn't about a star -- although that is what most ballet people would like to read about most. Their reasoning is that if you deal with a larger cultural matter, more people will be interested in the article, I think, and whether that's true or not I don't know. But I was interested in the piece and agree that this was a missed opportunity. For the dancers, as well as the audience.

[atm711]

I agreed with the Article--it was a wonderful tribute to ballet in the 40's. There was one comment Kaufman made that I found puzzling. In writing of McKerrow's performance of Pillar of Fire (with Washington Ballet) she said that she was "a profoundly MUSICAL Hagar". It seems to me it should be the last attribute mentioned in reviewing any performance of Hagar.

[Dale]

To get an idea from where she's coming from, here's a link the Kaufman's article when the "Kennedy Center's "A New America: The 1940s and the Arts" celebration" was first announced. She had high hopes.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A...anguage=printer

[Ari]

I don't think Kaufman's article is anti-ABT. On the contrary, she emphasizes the revolutionary work the company premiered in the '40s. All she's complaining about is that the company is not being true to its artistic heritage -- a charge that, unfortunately, could be levelled at many other top-level companies.

McKenzie's defense is that the company didn't have the money to rehearse a special program of its 1940s ballets. If that's the case, and it sounds right, then it's the fault of the Kennedy Center for not making funds available to have a program that would fit in with its 1940s festival.

[GeorgeB fan]

The thing that stood out for me in the article was that Amanda McKerrow will be retiring from the company in July. Has there been any official annoucement from ABT? I hope Kevin McKenzie will be giving McKerrow a proper farewell during the MET season in New York if this turn out to be true.

[Dale]

No. There hasn't been an official announcement regarding McKerrow. We will post it when/if it becomes available. McKerrow has been rumored to be retiring for the last 2-3 years. However, she now has a job elsewhere -- assisting the new AD (Stiefel) at Ballet Pacifica with her husband.

[carbro]

In writing of McKerrow's performance of Pillar of Fire (with Washington Ballet) she said that she was "a profoundly MUSICAL Hagar".  It seems to me it should be the last attribute mentioned in reviewing any performance of Hagar. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It depends on what the viewer (whether critic or paying customer) wants from a ballet. I never think musicality should be the last attribute mentioned. To win my favor, a dancer must show me what s/he is hearing.

The only exception is "Moves" , although I have seen it (once or twice) danced so musically that I swear I could hear the non-existent accompaniment. At least in certain passages.

[Ari]

Tickets for tomorrow's (Tuesday's) performance of Giselle (Kent, Carreño, Abrera) at the KC will be available tomorrow for half price ($38.45) at TICKETplace, Washington's half-price ticket booth. It is located at 407 Seventh Street, NW (between D and E Streets) between the Gallery Place (Red Line) and Archives (Green/Yellow Lines) metro stations. Hours are 10 am to 6 pm.

I don't know where the available seats are, but the orchestra is a pretty safe bet.

[Ari]

Tickets for Wednesday's performance of Giselle (McKerrow, Stiefel, Wiles) will also be available at TICKETplace from 10 am to 6 pm. Ticket price for Wednesday's performance is $42.80. Other info is as in the above post.

[Alexandra]

The house looked quite full tonight, so it seems that the TICKETplace tickets found good homes.

[art076]

Any reports on how ABT's Giselle is going?

[Mike Gunther]

Any reports on how ABT's Giselle is going?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I saw the Tues. nite opener, with Julie Kent and Jose Manuel Carreno. Other companies' productions of Giselle might tell the story in a more integrated way, but ABT really delivers those big set-pieces.

Besides the glorious Julie Kent and her enthusiastic partner, I was very impressed by Herman Cornejo in the Peasant pdd. Actually, I thought pretty much everybody was dancing well that night. A couple of the Wilis had a "bad veil" experience at the beginning of Act II, but other than that the performance seemed to go off like clockwork.

I'll also be seeing the Fokine program, on Saturday.

[carbro]

A couple of the Wilis had a "bad veil" experience

Wardrobe malfunctions in their own way!

Thanks for the report, Mike. I'm glad it went (mostly) well.

Who was Herman's partner, and who were the Two Wilis (Moyna and Zulma)?

[kfw]

Reyes was Cornejo's partner. Wiles was Moyna and Part (!) was Zulma.

[Ari]

And Monique Meunier was Bathilde.

[Ari]

Discount tickets for the Thursday performance of Giselle (Ferri, Bocca, Part) will also be available at TICKETplace on the day of the performance for $42.80.

[Juliet]

Going tomorrow--anyone else?

[kfw]

And Monique Meunier was Bathilde.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And I was thrilled to see her. She danced Moyna at the afternoon rehearsal, where Part was an imposing and authoritative and beautiful (as if she could help herself) Myrtha. Moyna’s a small part, of course, but Meunier did get one fine jete into the wings, and I was happy for small favors, especially as it came on top of a larger favor that afternoon: the Wednesday cast (most of them) took the rehearsal, so that those of us who made an afternoon and evening of it were able to see two casts back to back.

McKerrow’s Giselle is the one I would have bought a ticket for if the rehearsal hadn’t been a factor, and she and Stiefel didn’t disappoint, even if they marked or half marked many of the steps and perhaps danced very little of them entirely full out. They didn’t stint on, or at least didn’t mark, the emotion, and I felt like they showed us the story.

McKerrow has a wonderfully expressive face, a face that shows character and hints at suffering even in repose, and from the first scene we could feel for her in her shyness and infatuation and wonderment and joy. For Kent’s part in the evening, she danced beautifully, but -- a Ballet Alerter asked me at intermision, in what I took as an almost rhetorical question, if I was moved – she didn’t have McKerrow's depth of characterization until her mad scene. I found that quite moving and remarkably nuanced, moment by moment, but even there, as Hilarion was exposing Albrecht, we saw for a moment or two the sweet smile and grin that are so natural to her. That may well have been a conscious interpretive choice – “this isn’t really happening” or “everything’s going to be alright’ – but at least for this viewer it didn’t ring true. I was moved, all evening long, by her gorgeous dancing.

When Stiefel’s Albrecht looked at Kent’s Giselle as they first sighted each other, I saw hauteur in his eye. When Carreno looked at Kent, I saw ardor. Both men impressed in the steps, and Stiefel perhaps had slightly more power; I especially remember his second act brise steps along the diagonal between the rows of Wili's. For my money, Carreno’s choice of characterization allows for a richer story. There may be others reading who don’t know what D.C. dance critic Suzanne Carbonneau told us in the afternoon, that while the Soviets naturally wanted to see the rich and privileged Albrecht played as a spoiled cad, Barishnikov -- I guess after he emigrated -- popularized the romantic Albrecht, secretly yearning to break free of his loveless match with the equally privileged Bathilde.

The beautfully danced peasant pas de deux won my heart in each performance. If I’m not mistaken Enrica Cornejo danced in the rehearsal. I didn’t recognize her partner, but as he finished his second (?) solo with the pirouette or multiple pirouttes to the knee, he skidded a bit. I don’t know which way he was supposed to face, but he managed a little extra skid and when he finally stopped, facing the peasant girls upstage, he stuck out his tongue for them – a little interpretive touch they seemed to enjoy! Then in the second act when Myrtha realizes her branch wand is no match for the cross on Giselle’s grave, Part hurled it past the lovers, almost hit them I guess, and engaged in a little quick “oops” tongue action herself. I’ll bet neither of these details made it into Wednesday night’s performance!

[koshka]

Going tonight (Thursday) and also Sunday (and Saturday for Fokine)--yikes!

(For Juliet: can't get the email link to work, but will be in my usual seat)

[paolo]

Julie Kent was exquisite, mesmerizing, transporting. If possible, she may be even better than before- maybe it's the motherhood thing. Jose was also very, very good and an excellent actor (far better acting than Ethan). Both peasant pas de deux have been well received, with Herman Cornejo especially explosive and controlled but Saviliev also quite good. The right line in Act II on Tuesday was a bit out of whack.

Just read Sarah Kaufman's review. I agree with her about Julie, Jose, Herman Cornejo, and Xiomara. I did find the first paragraph strange. She seems to suggest the secondary dancers were lacking, but then seems to praise all. I wish whoever designs the sets for POB would help out ABT with that gloomy set.

I think Angel will be an extraordinary Petrouchka.

[kfw]

paolo, how was McKerrow?

[paolo]

McKerrow was good, not as clean as she used to be. Mad scene not entirely believable but she does want to make you feel for her, but only partially successful in this regard.