Veronika Part's Swan Lake

[MakarovaFan]

What is the general opinion of Veronika Part's Swan Lake?

[abatt]

There is no "general opinion" on anything Part does. In fact, there was a long thread on this board a few years ago concerning divided opinions regarding her dancing. In my opinion, SL is among her strongest roles. Her specialty is adagio. She is not a technical wizard, and don't expect her to do triple spins in the Black Swan pdd. She has beautifully long limbs and can break your heart with her expressive face and eyes. I always look forward to her SL, especialy when she is given a good partner (Bolle, Gomes). (Please, don't give her Cory Stearns this year.)

[Helene]

A link to the thread on Part:

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/22733-veronika-part-divided-opinions/page__p__184503__hl__veronika__fromsearch__1#entry184503

There are also some performance review threads in this (ABT) forum:

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/32040-swan-lake/page__p__270566__hl__%2B%2Bveronika+%2B%2Bswan__fromsearch__1#entry270566

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/30607-abt-in-chicago-2010/page__p__266960__hl__%2B%2Bveronika+%2B%2Bswan__fromsearch__1#entry266960

[cubanmiamiboy]

I always look forward to her SL, especialy when she is given a good partner (Bolle, Gomes).

I always wonder how Part/Bolle look together onstage. I mean...they both look like runaway models, for God's sake...!

I completely believe in the visual part of ballet's enjoyment. Both Part and Bolle have never been praised for the strongest technique, but I doubt there's a couple out there that can give you such a feast for the eyes...

http://oi31.tinypic.com/29vcxhf.jpg

http://photos.revolution-press.com/jaw/sf/zytlothe/bolle.jpg

[Quiggin]

Here's a nice clip that may have been posted before - it has a charming Edgar Degas point of view.

[cubanmiamiboy]

Ah...how REGAL she looks...!!

[canbelto]

Positives about Part's SL:

1. A real regalness that makes her a true Swan Queen. Her great, somewhat aloof physical beauty help.

2. Her Vaganova training; she makes such expressive use of her arms and back. Her arms are long and mournful, like a real Swan, and her incredibly supple back adds to the feeling that she's not quite human.

3. Her wonderfully light and airy jump. It's one of the wonders that such a tall and relatively large framed ballerina soars in the air so easily but Part does it.

4. Her way of movement is simply very beautiful in the adagio dancing; her ability to create beautiful shapes *as* she dances (as opposed to simply posing) is a wonder.

Negatives:

1. She's a much better adagio than allegro dancer.

2. She's an inconsistent turner. I've seen her nail the fouettes, but I've also seen her struggle. I've seen her had trouble with the final pirouettes in Odette's variation.

3. (And this can't be said enough) I don't think Part (or any ballerina, really) is highlighted to her best advantage in Kevin McKenzie's shallow, somewhat quirky production, in which the 4th Act is truncated to a triviality, and the Act Three pas de deux is interrupted by a weird little dance by purple Rothbart.