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ABT 2015 Met season


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I was there last night too. I feel like a fool, but was that really Boylston in Sylphides? I don't have my program with me now, but I thought the soloists were Melanie Hamrick and a shorter, lighter-haired dancer (with a great jump) whom I didn't recognize. I agree that it was lackluster. Tom Forster did thud about, and Hamrick seemed uninspired and lazy. I can't say this ballet is one of my favorites, though.

Pillar of Fire was fantastic and perfectly cast. This ballet is so unique in the staging and lighting. The chemistry between Stella Abrerra and Gillian Murphy is something fierce. And I love the choreography. Glad to see it back.

Fancy Free was good times, and the audience couldn't get enough of Herman and Marcelo (can you blame them?) The dancers seemed to be having legitimate fun. My boyfriend really wanted to know how much of the choreography was original and how much the dancers embellish their solos, in particular all of the humorous hip shaking in Marcelo's solo. I told him I thought they stuck to the original choreography (didn't Jerome Robbins himself perform the hip-shaking, mambo part?) pretty closely, but I wasn't sure.

Yes, lots of empty seats at the Met, although the crowd did seem a bit younger than usual. (I wouldn't have bought tickets for this performance myself, but I won them in an ABT Facebook contest) There were a noticeable number of Koreans in the house, presumably to support Hee Seo who had a bit of a rough night, falling on her bum in Sylphides. It can only go up from here?

Oh, and regarding calling Boylston, "Bella," didn't everybody call Baryshnikov "Misha" and Marakova "Natasha"? Seems like exactly the same thing.

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There are a wide range of privacy options on social meida. Some social media has privacy options, like Facebook, where there's a difference between a "like" (fan) account and a personal one. Even on personal pages, where you must be accepted as a "friend," have post-by-post settings. Some dancers at PNB make less private things readable by all.

The Twitter paradigm is all public, because the goal is to get re-tweets to spread the word. but I was surprised to learn that there is a validation mechanism that can be set so that tweets can only go to and from approved followers, which, for most uses, defeats the purpose,since it's all-or-nothing and instant messenger and texting serve the private function already. I've never seen anything be blocked on Instagram, but at least some require being logged in to view.

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ABT casting update. Semionova /STearns are removed from tomorrow's Theme and Variations. They are replaced by Boylston Stearns. Also, Teucher replaces Kent in Pillar for Wed night.

Is Kent still injured? I wouldn't mind seeing Teuscher in Pillar of Fire on Saturday.

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I was there last night too. I feel like a fool, but was that really Boylston in Sylphides? I don't have my program with me now, but I thought the soloists were Melanie Hamrick and a shorter, lighter-haired dancer (with a great jump) whom I didn't recognize.

Hamrick was the third soloist and had one short solo. The main soloists were Hee Seo and Isabella Boylston (who had the great jump).

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Tonight's performance was excellent. Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo were sublime as the leads in T&V. Sarah's footwork was so clear and precise. Her arms were held in lovely, rounded positions. Herman effortlessly performed his difficult solo. Except for one mistake, his partnering was also very good. Lilac Garden was also wonderful. This role is an excellent fit for Hee Seo. The entire lead cast of Seo, Stearns, Zhurbin and Part was outstanding. Whereas Part completely overshadowed Devon T. during the Fall performances at the Koch, the addition of Hee Seo taking over Devon's role really served the ballet well and created a better balance of the characters. I have enough of Rodeo so I didn't stay for that ballet. Once again, the auditorium looked less than half full.

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Tonight's performance was excellent. Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo were sublime as the leads in T&V. Sarah's footwork was so clear and precise. Her arms were held in lovely, rounded positions. Herman effortlessly performed his difficult solo. Except for one mistake, his partnering was also very good. Lilac Garden was also wonderful. This role is an excellent fit for Hee Seo. The entire lead cast of Seo, Stearns, Zhurbin and Part was outstanding. Whereas Part completely overshadowed Devon T. during the Fall performances at the Koch, the addition of Hee Seo taking over Devon's role really served the ballet well and created a better balance of the characters. I have enough of Rodeo so I didn't stay for that ballet. Once again, the auditorium looked less than half full.

I mostly agree with abatt about T&V. My problem with it had to do with tempo. It seemed almost sluggish tempo wise and for me that drained a lot of the zip/drama/energy from the piece. Even the polonaise section was slow. They don't even have to take it at the NYCB breakneck speed. Something in between would be fine with me. That said Lane & Cornejo gave fine performances and had a lovely rapport in the pas. Her port de bras is creamy and beautiful, and there are times when her arabesque line just sings. It doesn't have to do with the height of her leg but with the the rightness of her leg, arms, back and head.

I totally second abatt's description of Lilac Garden.

I did stay for Rodeo. I haven't seen it since back in the ABT Christine Sarry days! I loved Xiomara. The piece is in a way a cartoon, but Reyes' emotions were so real and rich that she created a truly sympathetic character.

As abatt said the place seemed less than half full. They have to do something about filling seats.

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I mostly agree with abatt about T&V. My problem with it had to do with tempo. It seemed almost sluggish tempo wise and for me that drained a lot of the zip/drama/energy from the piece. Even the polonaise section was slow. They don't even have to take it at the NYCB breakneck speed. Something in between would be fine with me. That said Lane & Cornejo gave fine performances and had a lovely rapport in the pas. Her port de bras is creamy and beautiful, and there are times when her arabesque line just sings. It doesn't have to do with the height of her leg but with the the rightness of her leg, arms, back and head.

I totally second abatt's description of Lilac Garden.

I did stay for Rodeo. I haven't seen it since back in the ABT Christine Sarry days! I loved Xiomara. The piece is in a way a cartoon, but Reyes' emotions were so real and rich that she created a truly sympathetic character.

As abatt said the place seemed less than half full. They have to do something about filling seats.

What can they do?

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What can they do?

They will probably pull in more foreign guest stars. But I'm not sure if that will work anymore. I've checked the ticket availability for both Vishneva and Semionova's Giselle performances. There are plenty of tickets available for both. The same with the guest star performances for Romeo and Juliet. The only R&J that is truly sold out is Julie Kent's last performance.

The loss of audience is not good at all. How many seasons can ABT afford this? They recently moved their Nutcracker performances to California. Would they pull the entire company out of NY and just base themselves in DC?

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What can they do?

The Rubinstein Box Office in the Atrium is a good way to sell half price seats. City Ballet, Paul Taylor, etc.; almost everyone uses it. To the best of my knowledge neither ABT or the Met uses it. ABT does use other forms of reduced pricing, but the Atrium is a perfect place to sell seats not previously taken. And again, I say to cast the "visiting stars" in some of these ballets would probably go a long way to sell seats. I would pay money to see Vishneva dance "Lilac Garden", or Osipova dance "Rodeo". Think outside the proverbial box a bit.

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I say to cast the "visiting stars" in some of these ballets would probably go a long way to sell seats. I would pay money to see Vishneva dance "Lilac Garden", or Osipova dance "Rodeo". Think outside the proverbial box a bit.

In the short term, that probably would sell more seats, but in the long term, I think it would perpetuate the decline in sales for the company. In my opinion, they have over-relied on guest stars to boost the box office. Dancers have been promoted to principal status before they have developed the skills to perform at a level that will excite the audience (I'm thinking Simkin, Seo, and Boylston), and some soloists that have shown promise have not been given enough opportunities to perform lead roles (most notably Stella Abrera, but also some others that have left the company). All of this has been discussed at length on this board--I think that boosting ticket sales will require a long-term commitment to rebuild the company back to the status it had a decade or so ago.

(Full disclosure--I'm as guilty as anyone of buying tickets for performances with guest stars, but until the last few years, I was very happy to choose only from among the scheduled performances of the company dancers.)

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They are not using guest artists for the mixed rep because I believe some of these works will/have been at the Koch during their fall season. They never hire guests for the Koch, so they focus on using the home team in these works. Yes, Vishneva would have been marvelous in Lilac.

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What can they do?

The can stop programming mixed bills at the Met. I know - we all love them. I love them but ABT's main audience does not. Wait till the full lengths start and the seats will be filled, this happens every year. I think it shows a lot of commitment on ABT's part to continue programming at least a few nights of mixed bills even though they know that they will be way undersold.

I was at last night's program and I thought it was wonderful. T&V is always played at a funereal pace at ABT, I've gotten used to it. That said Lane was heavenly and Cornejo has finally brought his partnering skills to an acceptable level. He has always been an outstanding dancer and it was jut beautiful to watch him glide through that treacherous solo.

I agree that Lilac Garden was much more balanced than last year, Rodeo was still charming after all these years and for me it was a nice way to say goodbye to Reyes.

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ITA with RUKen and nysusan

Mixed bills at the Met only appeal to a small segment of ABT's audience. To the extent management does stick with them, bringing in guest stars to fuel ticket sales would only reinforce the notion that ABT is a collective of guest stars and not a company, and would only depress company morale even further.

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Given the half-empty house that others are reporting here, I'm surprised that I don't find any discounted tickets at Goldstar, which this morning has discounts on NYCB performances May 22, 27, 28, 31.

TDF does have ABT tickets for May 25, June 1, 3, 4. May 25 is the Kent-Bolle Giselle; I thought that would have at least sentimental appeal, as it's Kent's last Giselle, even though this is Memorial Day.

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For odd reasons almost always the first two weeks of the Met season sell poorly. Often ABT doesn't help by programming unpopular repertory - mixed bills (which is standard programming across the plaza at NYCB) and less than adored full-length ballets like "Onegin" often start the season. Last year they started with "Don Quixote" and that sold better - also it is a bravura ballet and works well at the beginning of the season before dancers get tired and injured. The end of the ABT Met season in July (when the NYCB season is over and they are in Saratoga) is always packed. ABT is basically the only show in town - or at least at Lincoln Center. They always schedule "Romeo and Juliet" or "Swan Lake" at the end of the Met Spring/Summer season and they pack the house.

Sarah Lane was indeed perfection in "T&V" and whatever imperfections in the pas de deux were due to Herman's partnering issues. Glad to see Herman in great form and totally recovered from injury - I have a lot of tickets to see him this year. I found Hee Seo rather small emotionally as Caroline in "Lilac Garden" - she danced nicely but I needed a stronger sense of longing. Contemporary performers in period pieces don't understand the concept of repression - both "Lilac Garden" and "Pillar of Fire" deal with characters who must repress their desires to conform to social convention and respectability. That sense of simmering passion being kept under a lid. I also must mention that "Lilac Garden" looked fresh and pristine - bravo to Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner for their restaging which breathed fresh life into the piece. James Whiteside brought a nice Ray Bolger goofy hoofer quality to the Champion Roper and tapped up a storm. Xiomara Reyes had so many specific moments that were beautifully captured and performed - the audience laughed and were touched at the same time.

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Vishneva and Semionova are Principal Dancers at ABT, as is Bolle. Vishneva has been a Principal for a decade. They are not guest stars, however limited their performances are.

I wish there were smaller, financially viable theaters that were more conducive to the intimacy of the heritage rep. I remember when War Memorial was being retrofitted to withstand earthquakes and SFB performed in two small venues, the theater near the old Exploratorium and Yerba Buena. It was a financial mess, although that's to be expected when a company has to leave a more conventional space, but we saw a lot of mixed rep in the right size space.

I only would see a work like "Pillar" or "Lilac Garden" at the Met if I were willing to spend the entire budget on a ticket close enough to see its impact. At least with T&V, the patterns are interesting enough from Dress Circle or higher. I'd rather go to NYPL and watch the Cynthia Gregory tape.

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from ABT:

<<

cast changes for the evening performance tonight, May 13:

In Theme and Variations the principals will be ISABELLA BOYLSTON and CORY STEARNS.

In Pillar of Fire the principals will be DEVON TEUSCHER*, ROMAN ZHURBIN and CORY STEARNS.

>>

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I only would see a work like "Pillar" or "Lilac Garden" at the Met if I were willing to spend the entire budget on a ticket close enough to see its impact. At least with T&V, the patterns are interesting enough from Dress Circle or higher. I'd rather go to NYPL and watch the Cynthia Gregory tape.

I imagine that ABT is very aware of what does and doesn't sell at the Met -- I can't say I was thrilled with many of the things that their CFO said in that interview at Babson, but he's obviously the kind of person that looks at all elements of the season. This is their anniversary season -- it would be very strange if they didn't perform works from their heritage repertory.

I think there's a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation waiting to be written out there on the relationship between the size of the theater and the kind of works that do and don't get made. I'm wondering, though, how we will all continue to perceive this as we become more and more accustomed to the ultra-close-up views we get through dance video. I realized, while I was watching the recent Royal Ballet film of Giselle with Osipova and Acosta, that I had a closer view of the action than some of the performers did.

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I wish there were smaller, financially viable theaters that were more conducive to the intimacy of the heritage rep...

I only would see a work like "Pillar" or "Lilac Garden" at the Met if I were willing to spend the entire budget on a ticket close enough to see its impact.

City Center was useful in this regard.

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