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Gillian Murphy and Ethan Stiefel were in the audience tonight. So were David Hallberg (who looks beautiful up close), Joaquin de Luz and Julie Kent Barbee and probably some others that I didn't recognize.

The ballet itself was mildly entertaining. It was the least exciting of what I've seen this year, along with the rather lackluster Don Q. NYCB's version is definitely better. The second act, when all the dolls come to life, was much more fun at NYCB.

This is not to say it was bad. Xiomara Reyes is so wonderfully talented, was brilliant as always and must be ABT's most underrated dancer. She pretty much carried the first two acts on her own. Devon Teuscher had a good scene in Act III and Alexei Agoudine did a great acting job in the thankless role of Dr. Coppelius.

Of course the real reason we were all there was to see Sascha's farewell performance and he had plenty of fans in the mostly full orchestra. He entered with a bright smile and no signs of whatever injury has kept him out the last few weeks. (He did appear to bump into a corps member early on.) He had little to do in Act I and less in Act II. But we finally got the great jumps, spins and the thrilling manege that we were waiting for in the grand pas variation and coda (and Xiomara was terrific as well). It was a long wait, but well worth it.

At the curtain call, Xiomara received her bouquet and handed it to Sascha, then graciously stepped back to let him have the spotlight. KM came out to present a wreath and then came Stella with a bouquet and very nice kiss. Several others came onto the stage, including Hallberg, Marcelo and someone else on crutches. After the lights came up following the front of curtain bows, many in the audience refused to leave, still hooting (led by Ethan Stiefel) and chanting his name. Eventually he came out for one final bow.

I wish the ballet that came before it had been just as exciting, but it was a nice sendoff, particularly for a soloist. There was a lot of love for him both onstage and off and he seemed genuinely humbled by it all.

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I attended the matinee (Kajiya's farewell). She and Gorak did a wonderful job. Her warmth and spirit are just right for this part. Just to remind the audience and McKenzie of her strong technique, in the final act Yuriko rotated the direction of her fouettes. (She also did this when she played Kitri a few years ago.) I think that's called a four corner turn, but I'm not sure. Not many people attempt it because it is very difficult, and I'm not sure if most of the audience even understood what they were seeing. Brava Yuriko and best of luck!

Another ABT season in the history books. Onwards to the Bolshoi in NYC starting July 15!

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She got a very very warm send off from the audience I was happy to see - lots of flowers raining on stage - I do not know if there was anyone official onstage.

Too bad it had to be the long week-end. I hope she does well at Houston Ballet.

Gorak was full of youthful verve and freshness - they would have made a nice pair.

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...in the final act Yuriko rotated the direction of her fouettes. (She also did this when she played Kitri a few years ago.) I think that's called a four corner turn, but I'm not sure. Not many people attempt it because it is very difficult, and I'm not sure if most of the audience even understood what they were seeing.

She did something beyond that, though, too. She did fouettes without the fouette -- where the working leg wasn't even working (whipping). What was that?! The propulsion was coming completely from the standing leg. I don't know that I've ever seen anything like that.

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Yes, Kevin McKenzie presented her with a large bouquet after she received several from the standard flower presenter. She was also greeted onstage by Jared Matthews, I believe, and also by a corps member holding a young child. Yuriko pulled Kolpakova onstage and they embraced. The reception from the audience was incredibly warm, as stated above, and the stage was showered with flowers thrown by her fans. She seemed very touched by the outpouring of emotion from the audience. When Yuriko came out for her second curtain call, she peeked out at the audience from behind the curtain before coming on stage (in a way similar to what adult Clara does during her variation in Ratmansky's Nutcracker.)

Her warmth, strong technique, musicality and effervescence shone so brightly in this performance. How sad for ABT to lose such talent and such a potentially beautiful partnership with Gorak, whose dancing was absolutely brilliant this afternoon.

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...in the final act Yuriko rotated the direction of her fouettes. (She also did this when she played Kitri a few years ago.) I think that's called a four corner turn, but I'm not sure. Not many people attempt it because it is very difficult, and I'm not sure if most of the audience even understood what they were seeing.

She did something beyond that, though, too. She did fouettes without the fouette -- where the working leg wasn't even working (whipping). What was that?! The propulsion was coming completely from the standing leg. I don't know that I've ever seen anything like that.

Yes! It was a wonderful moment. It was at the part of the pas de deux that occurs at about 7:57 in this clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eplyGrKjcs

Gillian uses the music leading into the fouettes to do some pretty incredible hops en arabesque, whereas Yuriko used that music to do the the spins with her free leg hanging rather than whipping. It's the move that Sofiane Sylve does at around :17 and :20 in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqutnMKB49s

However, Yuriko did 1 1/4 rotations so that her head was facing in a different direction each time, and then after completing those, she immediately began whipping off the fouettes.

Gorak's leaps around the perimeter of the stage in the pdd (not sure what those are called) are some of most beautiful I've ever seen at ABT. I loved how he continued leaping into the wings rather than completing the series of jumps onstage.

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In Marina Harss's description, "It appeared that every dancer in New York – including Stiefel, Wendy Whelan, Joaquín de Luz, Maria Kowrosky, and even the former Joffrey star Gary Chryst, had come to cheer him on. The applause went on for a good long time and, from what I hear, continued at a restaurant across the plaza." She notes that Radetsky and Stiefel are great friends, and that Radetsky also will be dancing in "Flesh and Blood," which I had forgotten about.

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there were film-unit trucks in the area of NYC around the Fashion Institute of Technology last week notes as part of filming for FLESH AND BONE.

as it turns out both Radetsky and Stiefel were young scholarship students in The School of Classical Ballet at American Ballet Theatre during the start-up years of the short-lived ballet school Baryshnikov established and oversaw at ABT during the last years of artistic directorship there.

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...in the final act Yuriko rotated the direction of her fouettes. (She also did this when she played Kitri a few years ago.) I think that's called a four corner turn, but I'm not sure. Not many people attempt it because it is very difficult, and I'm not sure if most of the audience even understood what they were seeing.

She did something beyond that, though, too. She did fouettes without the fouette -- where the working leg wasn't even working (whipping). What was that?! The propulsion was coming completely from the standing leg. I don't know that I've ever seen anything like that.

You mean her turns similar to the a la seconde turns the men do?

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She did something beyond that, though, too. She did fouettes without the fouette -- where the working leg wasn't even working (whipping). What was that?! The propulsion was coming completely from the standing leg. I don't know that I've ever seen anything like that.

You mean her turns similar to the a la seconde turns the men do?

Not exactly -- see fondoffouette's description and accompanying YouTube video toward the bottom of page 1 of this thread.

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I went to Yuriko's last performance as well, and it made me so sad! She was absolutely radiant, and really demonstrated her technical mastery. Lots of great acting moments as well. So sorry to see her go. I was glad to see that she had so many well-wishers in the audience and had a nice send-off.

Joseph Gorak looked great, too. Got a couple of laughs on his comedic bits, which spoke for his acting ability. He was very chivalrous towards Yuriko, urging her to take solo bows when she wanted to pull him with her to take bows.

All in all a lovely performance; sad we won't get to see it again.

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I just saw some photos on another website of Saturday night's perf. Did Gillian replace Paloma (who is still listed on ABT's site)? She's seen in the pix taking her bows with Jared.

Could the photos have been from the earlier performance with Jared and Gillian? The NYT review of this weekends performances listed Paloma as having danced.

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