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Spring 2015: Swan Lake


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Definitely Wednesday night with Veronika Part.

Second that! Though she inspires divided opinions, she is considered by many (including myself) among the world's foremost Odette/Odiles. If you like gorgeous, tall adagio dancers, you'll eat her up. If you like tiny little spinners, not so much.

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I'm not seeing any this year. After 8 wonderful Mariinsky SLs (4 in London, 4 at BAM) I can't bear to see the horrible ABT production. And there are no dancers I want to see as O/O. I'm just going to the RB that week.

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Second that! Though she inspires divided opinions, she is considered by many (including myself) among the world's foremost Odette/Odiles. If you like gorgeous, tall adagio dancers, you'll eat her up. If you like tiny little spinners, not so much.

I third that. Apart from her gorgeous upper body, her handsome legs, and her tremendous talent for drama, Part has the most beautiful feet I've ever seen on a ballerina, and she walks in pointe shoes (flat, not on pointe), with the most exquisite sinuousness. Every joint is articulated.

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With the enthusiasm expressed here, does that mean you would pick Wed evening cast over Mon evening's?

Many might not, but I certainly would. Gillian is on video for this production (though she has grown as an artist since then, I believe). And Veronika probably has fewer fine O/O's in her left. They're very different dancers. I love Veronika's endlessly long legs and gorgeous arms in a classic adagio-centered ballet like SL -- and her black swan is voluptuous. Gillian has less passion but more solid technique (at least, in the more obvious ways). In SL, given the choice between passion and triple fouettés, I'll take passion first. If you can possibly swing it, see both! But it's really a matter of taste, I'd say.

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Actually I found Gillian very passionate in her SL with Marcelo in 2012, and in the past I haven't been much a fan of hers but that was a terrific performance. Veronika I have seen dance in SL twice, Bayadere, Le Corsaire, and Sleeping Beauty (Lilac Fairy) and unlike many on this forum I have never really "gotten" her. And I love long-limbed, and especially Vaganova trained ballerinas, but somehow I haven't felt the passion in her dancing that many others have responded to. Perhaps it is because she gets paired so routinely with Stearns and Whiteside when of course she would be best served with a Bolle or Gomes. The most I have connected with her dancing was her SL with Bolle in 2009: they had the makings of a great partnership but I don't think they have performed SL together since.

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In the first act of SL last spring (2014) Gillian was very passionate. I was completely carried away-- enough to think that it was the best interpretation I had seen in recent years. She had everything! And then she was injured and Hee Seo came on for Act II and my heart sank. I may wait till the last minute and if there is no advance notice that Gillian is replaced I might come in. Still want to see her in Act II.

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I just went on to the new website and to my dismay discovered that you cannot self-select your seats. You select the section and price and they select your seats. No one likes this. I will have to call and ask what seats are available. A real pain. It used to be done this way and only served to frustrate buyers. At these prices you should be able to select your seats from those that are available.

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I just went on to the new website and to my dismay discovered that you cannot self-select your seats. You select the section and price and they select your seats. No one likes this. I will have to call and ask what seats are available. A real pain. It used to be done this way and only served to frustrate buyers. At these prices you should be able to select your seats from those that are available.

I just tried, and I can select my seats. Try it again. Click on the ballet, then buy tickets, select seats, and the section of the house you want. While it looks a little different than in the past, the seating chart still comes up and allows me to select my seats.

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I just tried, and I can select my seats. Try it again. Click on the ballet, then buy tickets, select seats, and the section of the house you want. While it looks a little different than in the past, the seating chart still comes up and allows me to select my seats.

Yes, I just tried, too, and could select seats. They added a nice feature you see at other theaters, viz., when you click on the seat of interest, it shows you a photo of the stage view you'll get. So at least you have some advance warning of the oddball view from the side boxes.

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They added a nice feature you see at other theaters, viz., when you click on the seat of interest, it shows you a photo of the stage view you'll get. So at least you have some advance warning of the oddball view from the side boxes.

That is a step forward, although as on the the Royal Opera House site, the view is of a closed curtain. It would be even more helpful if the curtain were open so that ticket buyers could have some idea of how much of the stage is visible, especially from the sides or the very top.

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That is a step forward, although as on the the Royal Opera House site, the view is of a closed curtain. It would be even more helpful if the curtain were open so that ticket buyers could have some idea of how much of the stage is visible, especially from the sides or the very top.

You are absolutely right since an open curtain would give the real view of the stage. I'm pretty sure the curtain was open when I ordered a couple of Broadway shows recently.

I did notice another change which I am not happy about. You have to click on each seat to figure out the price. In the past, if you clicked on a seat, it would highlight all others in that price range.

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Opened curtain view is 90% more helpful than closed ones, hope Met will listen to us and replace them with opened ones in the future. Kennedy Center has opened curtain views, it even uses the set from ABT SL act 3 ballroom scene. BAM used to have opened curtain views but now they're no long available.

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Just three days before Misty Copeland's NY debut as O/O in full-length SWAN LAKE! She was fantastic in the Washington Ballet's Kirk Petersen-after-N.Sergeyev version but that was a very 'mime-heavy' version with 1930s aesthetics...very different from ABT's. Here's wishing Misty a BIG success! (I know of at least two bus loads of DC fans headed to the Big Apple on Wednesday morn for this!)

So excited.

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:)

I wish that ABT would announce promotions to Principal in the manner that POB does for it's Etoiles...immediately following a performance. I wished that for Stella after last month's GISELLE; didn't happen. Maybe Kevin will surprise us on Wed afternoon for Misty? Then do the same next week for Stella after her CINDERELLA? Hey, one can dream!

Warm up that microphone, Kevin...testing one-two-three!

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smile.png

I wish that ABT would announce promotions to Principal in the manner that POB does for it's Etoiles...immediately following a performance. I wished that for Stella after last month's GISELLE; didn't happen. Maybe Kevin will surprise us on Wed afternoon for Misty? Then do the same next week for Stella after her CINDERELLA? Hey, one can dream!

Warm up that microphone, Kevin...testing one-two-three!

Keep on dreaming...happy.png

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smile.png

I wish that ABT would announce promotions to Principal in the manner that POB does for it's Etoiles...immediately following a performance. I wished that for Stella after last month's GISELLE; didn't happen. Maybe Kevin will surprise us on Wed afternoon for Misty? Then do the same next week for Stella after her CINDERELLA? Hey, one can dream!

Warm up that microphone, Kevin...testing one-two-three!

I really thought Kevin was going to come on stage after Stella's Giselle and promote her on the spot. This style of promoting is so good for morale in the company, not to mention I'm sure the audience would go crazy. Think of the excitement it could generate and ABT really needs some excitement lately. Also, everyone takes pictures and videos during bows. Letting a dancers on stage promotion go viral could give the company a lot of positive "viral" publicity at NO cost to them!

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I really thought Kevin was going to come on stage after Stella's Giselle and promote her on the spot. This style of promoting is so good for morale in the company, not to mention I'm sure the audience would go crazy. Think of the excitement it could generate and ABT really needs some excitement lately. Also, everyone takes pictures and videos during bows. Letting a dancers on stage promotion go viral could give the company a lot of positive "viral" publicity at NO cost to them!

Well, if Kevin had done that, Dancerboy90210 (and I also hoped he would), it would have made him, Kevin, look bad for having denied Stella that role, as well as principal status, lo these many years. He would have had to eat crow, but it would have been the right thing.

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