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Spring 2015: Romeo and Juliet


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Juliet not using her hands in terms of support while being lifted I think has a great deal to do with how Romeo is supporting and lifting her. In the Ferr/Eagling, Cuthbertson/Bonelli, Girkland/Dowell pairings when Romeo lifts Juliet he's not only using his hands and also his forearms when lifting Juliet which gives Juliet a greater sense of support making it possible for her to rise both her arms. At least that's how I'm seeing it.

See 6:34 here, is the difference more due to her being older than in the Eagling performance or perhaps due to Eagling's having more upper body strength and being able to do the lift differently?:

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See 6:34 here, is the difference more due to her being older than in the Eagling performance or perhaps due to Eagling's having more upper body strength and being able to do the lift differently?:

It's hard to tell which is cause and which is effect. Presumably they decided beforehand which of the two versions they would do, so both Juliet and Romeo are doing it differently. The form of support -- the mechanics of it -- looks quite different in Eagling vs. Corella. A very different form of support is needed when she's hands-free. It's likely easier for both dancers if Juliet is partly supporting herself with her arm, so it's hard to say whether it's due to her limitations, his limitations, both, or some other concern altogether.

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See 6:34 here, is the difference more due to her being older than in the Eagling performance or perhaps due to Eagling's having more upper body strength and being able to do the lift differently?:

The difference - as I see it - is when Corella lifted Ferri he simply was using his hands and he was holding her by the waist. When Eagling lifted Ferri his hands was just under her chest and the rest of her torso was resting on his forearms which made it possible for him to lift Ferri with greater support which gave Ferri the freedom to lift up her arms without fear of falling.

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Thank you for posting the link. It really is the end of an era with Kent retiring. I hope she stays on as a coach and teacher. It was no surprise, but still sad to see the difference between her interaction with Mckenzie and his interaction with Reyes and Herrera during their farewells.

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All these clips of Ferri make me think of something: Ferri's Juliet and Giselle could become works of art bc Ferri was never a tutu ballerina. I think had Ferri been forced relentlessly into 32 fouetté ballets she wouldn't have developed her artistry so much. She was always able to exercise discretion and care over her roles. It seems as if Julie Kent was the last ABT ballerina (okay maybe Diana V as well) to hold that kind of power. Kevin McKenzie's new favorites have the "blessing" of being forced into roles whether they are suited for them or not.

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I'm not sure if we're all talking about the same lift. What I think Amour is referring to is the lift at 6:15 in this video. Two of the three ABT's Juliets I saw this season had their downstage arm on Romeo's shoulder for balance, here you can see that Ferri is not holding onto him, and at the end of the lift she stretches both arms behind her, which Copeland & Seo did not do. I don't remember this particular moment from the Obraztsova/Cornejo performance.

Amour, is that the lift you were referring to?

Amazing how dizzyingly in love and abandoned Ferri & Eagling look here, this may be my favorite video of the balcony scene, ever. I don't see any pretty poses like I saw with Seo - just a whirlwind of beauty & emotion

The press lifts I'm talking about are at 6:52 on this video. No hands from Ferri. Eagling presses her her up 2 or 3 times. He's on his knees and presses her up with both hands, holding her at her hips, straightening his thighs as he presses her up. Her legs and arms are in the air. The woman has to have a very strong center to hold that balance. To my mind, using the hand to balance kind of destroys the image. Also then you are relying on the hand to balance. It's much less difficult for the woman.
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Julie Kent and Alessandra Ferri joined ABT just a few years before Twyla Tharp merged her company into ABT. While there were plenty of classics, there was also a robust neoclassical rep with new works, either world or company premieres. Tharp, Tippett, and Kudelka were choreographing in the '80's and 90's, the Macmillan "Manon" and "Romeo and Juliet" were added to the rep, and Tudor was not an afterthought. There was room for ballerinas who bypassed the tutu classics and a full rep and career path to Principal status for them.

That's no longer the case, even for dancers who don't dream of dancing Odette/Odile or Aurora.

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This one is gorgeous! Very different, because he doesn't raise her up and down, but he has such strength.

He does raise her up but just once. By then he was already having some difficulties with the role. If anyone has seen Frederick Wiseman's documentary Ballet, (which was filmed about 7 years earlier) Bocca does lift Ferri up and down a few times.

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Oh yes, I understand aesthetically that the no-hands is superior. What I meant to show is that it looks like the hand-supported one has been done for a while. This isn't something new that the dancers have recently adopted. Heck I think even Vishneva/Gomes use a hand, but I could be mistaken

Yes, in the video Diana posted on Facebook before she got sick, she used her downstage arm to balance during the press lifts:(

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OK, here is the Ferri/ Bocca balcony scene filmed in 1999, from the DVD Variety and Virtuosity. The press lift (Bocca only does 1 ) happens at 6:17. I also love how when Ferri is draped over Bocca's shoulder, she extends her leg while upside down almost 180 degrees. I don't think anyone else can do that now (Obraztsove certainly didn't):( also, they are so passionate! Bocca doesn't just kiss her on the mouth but all the way down her neck! The best:))

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Since we're on the subject of modifications... it's been awhile since any Romeo has done the turns like this in the Masks scene. See at 26:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3gHuBLf948

I saw 3 casts this year and all romeos took a plie between the turns and we didn't even get 2 sets of doubles, usually a double single. During the LA tour about 6-7 years ago, I believe both Marcelo and David attempted this trick. Marcelo was certainly successful; I think David was successful most of the time. But ever since then, I don't recall many Romeos doing it like this. Also, I think the "Masks" scene is an under appreciated scene. It's fun to watch and can really show the camaraderie among the 3 dancers.

Edited to add: WOW can we talk about the elevation Angel gets in this scene?

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I also love how when Ferri is draped over Bocca's shoulder, she extends her leg while upside down almost 180 degrees. I don't think anyone else can do that now (Obraztsove certainly didn't)sad.png

What exactly are you talking about here? where she's lying across his shoulders or where she is upside down almost completely at 5:14?

(agree they are the gold standard!)

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What exactly are you talking about here? where she's lying across his shoulders or where she is upside down almost completely at 5:14?

(agree they are the gold standard!)

Where she's lying across his shoulders and he walks from stage right to stage left and she keeps one leg down and raises the second leg up. It starts at 4:14 in the YT.
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The difference - as I see it - is when Corella lifted Ferri he simply was using his hands and he was holding her by the waist. When Eagling lifted Ferri his hands was just under her chest and the rest of her torso was resting on his forearms which made it possible for him to lift Ferri with greater support which gave Ferri the freedom to lift up her arms without fear of falling.

Yes, I think the problem lies with Corella's strength in lifting Ferri. I'm terribly disappointed there is no ABT full length version of Ferri and Bocca doing R&J. :(

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Thank you for posting the link. It really is the end of an era with Kent retiring. I hope she stays on as a coach and teacher. It was no surprise, but still sad to see the difference between her interaction with Mckenzie and his interaction with Reyes and Herrera during their farewells.

I, too, have to thank for the many links, even though I was at the performance I was unable to get anything decent recording or picture to post. I don't even know if I should mention this since it was a historical night, and indeed an end to an era, but I have to somewhat agree with several posts about the connection between Kent and Bolle, or lack there of. I can't explain my feeling and I was honestly ready for a tissue evening, but it just wasn't the same feeling that I had when I saw him with Ferri. I am not sure if this is true, but during intermission I overheard a conversation with a small group that she may have been dancing with an injury? Does anyone in BA know of this? I have to say though that Cornejo did tremendous and he had a few well deserved applauses. Stella, was Stella, amazing as always, not surprising that she was a very convincing Lady Capulet, I felt her scream and agony! The most emotional part for me was when Julie's children, especially her son, hugged her and cried. All is all, I was very glad I was able to be there for this moment. Like ABT Fan, I do hope she does remain and help coach or teach the new generation of dancers who I am sure will welcome that.

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It was believed that Kent was injured early in the season, as Murphy replaced her in Pillar of Fire. I don't remember if it was announced that Kent had an injury per se, but that's most likely the reason. Maybe she still hadn't recovered.

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It was believed that Kent was injured early in the season, as Murphy replaced her in Pillar of Fire. I don't remember if it was announced that Kent had an injury per se, but that's most likely the reason. Maybe she still hadn't recovered.

Thank you for clarifying ABT Fan and perhaps it isn't fully recovered.

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There are a number of dancers performing with nagging injuries right now. I always feel sorry for them when I read posts on these forums that they weren't up to snuff, hinting that they should've put out more energy. All too often, they truly wish they could!

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That's true. People may be dancing with injuries, or just may not feel well due to illness but they go on anyway. But that doesn't change the validity of people reporting on what they saw on stage on a particular night, even if there is a great explanation for why it occurred.

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There are a number of dancers performing with nagging injuries right now. I always feel sorry for them when I read posts on these forums that they weren't up to snuff, hinting that they should've put out more energy. All too often, they truly wish they could!

Like most fans, I often feel sympathy for the dancers, but it's difficult to have a serious discussion of a dance performance without critical perspectives on the dancers--even if one is reflecting primarily on the choreography. (Though piling on or personal cracks may be unnecessary...) For me dance deserves serious discussion, and -- from a cruder perspective -- well, people pay the same price and make the same effort to attend whether it's early in the season or late, the dancers are dealing with injuries or not. That's part of the challenge dancers face and indeed one reason for our admiration as well as sympathy!

P.S. Was just about to post this when Abatt posted...I think I'm coming from a similar place.

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Like most fans, I often feel sympathy for the dancers, but it's difficult to have a serious discussion of a dance performance without critical perspectives on the dancers--even if one is reflecting primarily on the choreography. (Though piling on or personal cracks may be unnecessary...) For me dance deserves serious discussion, and -- from a cruder perspective -- well, people pay the same price and make the same effort to attend whether it's early in the season or late, the dancers are dealing with injuries or not. That's part of the challenge dancers face and indeed one reason for our admiration as well as sympathy!

P.S. Was just about to post this when Abatt posted...I think I'm coming from a similar place.

Couldn't agree more with Drew as I feel the same admiration for what they all do to entertain us, the audience. They all enter this with passion for what they love to do, and for each to get this far has to say something for them as individuals.

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