2018 Met Season

[laurel]

I counted 31 - looks like there are two doubles early on.  A little too much traveling for my taste, but they look beautiful, and the finish is clean and on the money!  Thanks, Dreamer, for the IG clip - love this!

[vipa]

Thanks for the video. I have no problem with this. I don't count fouettes. For me it is an amount of music to fill with turns and a good finish. She satisfied that IMO. I don't expect everyone to be Gillian Murphy or Carrie Imler. Keep turning, have a plan and finish as if that is what you intended all along. The worst part of Lane's fouettes at the Met was that she looked disappointed when they ended badly. I've seen other dancers fall out of fouettes and look like they don't know what to do next. I always find that unsettling. What Lane did here is an improvement from the Met, and respectable. My guess is that her disappointment in her Met performance may have been because she'd always done them in rehearsal. I have no inside knowledge, but that's my guess.

[canbelto]

33 minutes ago, vipa said:

Thanks for the video. I have no problem with this. I don't count fouettes. For me it is an amount of music to fill with turns and a good finish. She satisfied that IMO. I don't expect everyone to be Gillian Murphy or Carrie Imler. Keep turning, have a plan and finish as if that is what you intended all along. The worst part of Lane's fouettes at the Met was that she looked disappointed when they ended badly. I've seen other dancers fall out of fouettes and look like they don't know what to do next. I always find that unsettling. What Lane did here is an improvement from the Met, and respectable. My guess is that her disappointment in her Met performance may have been because she'd always done them in rehearsal. I have no inside knowledge, but that's my guess.

 

Well I was there and sitting up front in orchestra and IMO Lane looked so crestfallen because she started so strong. Singles alternating with doubles, very little traveling. Then she did some traveling, but still looked strong. Her sudden fall off pointe just when she was about to make it to the finish line must have been disappointing. But she broke character completely and looked more like Odette than Odile as the ballroom scene ended. 

But fouettes don't IMO make or break a performance. 

[LadyBubbles]

My guess is, back in June, she didn't have a plan B because she didn't have time to think of a plan B. That wasn't just her (last minute and with very little rehearsal) debut, but also the first time she had done a 32 fouette sequence on a full length ballet at the MET. She did the Corsaire fouettes a few times at the Roberto Bolle tour in 2016 (and she finished them), but you can't compare the level of exhaustion on just a PDD versus a full length. So, my guess is, she was going for the 32 counts in the music because she can do it, and just wasn't expecting to fall out like that. It was a rookie mistake to not act like a boss and own the rest of the coda, but keep in mind she's still a rookie when it comes to 32 fouettes in a full length ballet. Yeah, I know she did Swan Lake in Spain once but that was 5 years ago and it wasn't in the middle of 8 intense weeks of ballet. She'll get another chance next year when she dances Kitri. Let's hope things go well, and if they don't, let's hope she has a plan B and owns it.

 

I'd rather see a dancer fill 27/28/29 music counts and finish nicely like Sarah did in the Kremlin video than a dancer finish all 32 and stumble at the very end. I've seen that many times, especially in regional companies in "obscure" countries (my job takes me there, so if there's ballet while I'm anywhere I try to go and watch). Often times the ladies can do the fouettes and they are able to cover the entire music, but somehow don't know how to end the sequence, so the landing looks very rough and sometimes they even stumble after they're already standing on two feet and no longer on pointe.

[Helene]

55 minutes ago, vipa said:

Keep turning, have a plan and finish as if that is what you intended all along. The worst part of Lane's fouettes at the Met was that she looked disappointed when they ended badly. I've seen other dancers fall out of fouettes and look like they don't know what to do next. I always find that unsettling. What Lane did here is an improvement from the Met, and respectable.

 

This reminds me of the passage in Merrill Ashley's book where she describes being on tour with a touring group Jacques d'Amboise organized.  They were performing where her parents lived -- if I recall correctly, the Twin Cities -- and she said her parents (and maybe others) visited her in her dressing room before the show, they were chatting, and her mother was repairing her costume when she realized she didn't have time to warm up properly.  She said that she didn't dance very well, but she thought d'Amboise saw how she handled the situation and wasn't as disappointed as she was by her performance.

[clrtt]

I just saw Blaine Hoven’s Full Circle Gala presented by his home studio in Mobile Alabama last night. What a treat to see Hoven with Cassandra Trenary, Isabella Boylston, Stella Abrera, Christine Shevchenko, and Jose Sebastian! Trenary was the most amazing Kitri, not only in her artistry but in her technique. She nailed the 32 fouettés, was strong, charismatic and beautiful dancing with Hoven. Shevchenko also performed a wonderful Black Swan Pas with Sebastian and also completed the fouettés with just a bit of traveling. All of the dancers looked like they were enjoying every moment which made for a wonderful night at the ballet. 

[ABT Fan]

1 hour ago, clrtt said:

I just saw Blaine Hoven’s Full Circle Gala presented by his home studio in Mobile Alabama last night. What a treat to see Hoven with Cassandra Trenary, Isabella Boylston, Stella Abrera, Christine Shevchenko, and Jose Sebastian! Trenary was the most amazing Kitri, not only in her artistry but in her technique. She nailed the 32 fouettés, was strong, charismatic and beautiful dancing with Hoven. Shevchenko also performed a wonderful Black Swan Pas with Sebastian and also completed the fouettés with just a bit of traveling. All of the dancers looked like they were enjoying every moment which made for a wonderful night at the ballet. 

 

Thanks for this report! How was Sebastian as Espada? He's pretty much remained a back-row corps dancer, so I'm curious how he did in this.

[clrtt]

ABT Fan he was actually quite good! I can see some growth still needed in his technique and stage presence but he held his own and the audience enjoyed him very much.

[ABT Fan]

That's great to hear, thanks!

[ABT Fan]

On 10/28/2017 at 5:02 AM, its the mom said:

Bolle - 1

Cirio - 6 (if you include Mercutio) - I assume he will do Harlequinade and the McGregor piece, as he has worked with Wayne before, but assumptions are a bad thing.

Cornejo - 7, but no Whipped Cream

Gomes - 7

Hallberg - 9

Lendorf - 9 - He has been given a good bit considering the amount of times he has been injured.

Simkin - 7 (one of these is Mercutio and two are Whipped Cream)

Stearns - 9

Whiteside - 6 (Whiteside did not do Basilio last year, but this year is paired with Seo.

 

I do think Cirio and Lane could have good chemistry, but, as we know, it does not matter what we think.  Probably a number of us could cast these ballets better.   

 

 

 

 

I just noticed that Simkin is also doing Romeo at the Saturday matinee with Copeland. Was that always there or did it just pop up?

 

"it's the mom" - perhaps this is how you got to 7 earlier, and I just missed his Romeo casting.

 

That gives him:

 

Albrecht - 1

DQ - 2

Romeo - 1

Mercutio - 1

Whipped Cream - 2

Total: still 7

 

There's still a TBA for SL w/ Copeland, and that will probably go to him, and, he'll also most likely get Harlequinade (and maybe Pierrot too, I'd forgotten about this role). He also usually does the Bronze Idol in Bayadere, which even though that isn't the lead it's still a plum part.

 

So, once the final casting is out it looks like Simkin will wind up with the same or a higher number of performances than Hallberg, Lendorf and Stearns. Much better than I originally thought.

 

Maybe Cirio will fair a bit better too. Right now he has:

 

Mercutio - 3

DQ - 1

WC - 2

Total: still 6

 

We're already assuming he'll also get Harlequinade (and maybe Pierrot). Cirio did the Bronze Idol in Boston, so hopefully he'll get a few performances of that. I still wish we were seeing him in SL. He deserves more leads in the full-lengths.

Edited November 3, 2017 by ABT Fan
Typos

[abatt]

I was contemplating whether that TBA slot in SL might end up being Bolle. He's danced a number of times with Copeland at La Scala and during La Scala's visit to CA last summer. Bolle has been doing 2 shows per season at the Met for a few years.  He stopped doing the ABT SL a few years ago, but maybe Copeland's small stature (easy lifts) could be be a motivation to return to the role.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

2 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

 

Thanks for this report! How was Sebastian as Espada? He's pretty much remained a back-row corps dancer, so I'm curious how he did in this.

 

Well, based on what I saw on display in his recent Fall Season performances in of Songs of Bukovina and Serenade After Plato's Symposium, ABT ought to move him out of the back row pronto. 

[its the mom]

2 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

 

I just noticed that Simkin is also doing Romeo at the Saturday matinee with Copeland. Was that always there or did it just pop up?

 

"it's the mom" - perhaps this is how you got to 7 earlier, and I just missed his Romeo casting.

 

That gives him:

 

Albrecht - 1

DQ - 2

Romeo - 1

Mercutio - 1

Whipped Cream - 2

Total: still 7

 

There's still a TBA for SL w/ Copeland, and that will probably go to him, and, he'll also most likely get Harlequinade (and maybe Pierrot too, I'd forgotten about this role). He also usually does the Bronze Idol in Bayadere, which even though that isn't the lead it's still a plum part.

 

So, once the final casting is out it looks like Simkin will wind up with the same or a higher number of performances than Hallberg, Lendorf and Stearns. Much better than I originally thought.

 

Maybe Cirio will fair a bit better too. Right now he has:

 

Mercutio - 3

DQ - 1

WC - 2

Total: still 6

 

We're already assuming he'll also get Harlequinade (and maybe Pierrot). Cirio did the Bronze Idol in Boston, so hopefully he'll get a few performances of that. I still wish we were seeing him in SL. He deserves more leads in the full-lengths.

The Simkin/Copeland R&J was there. I remember thinking that I didn't think it was a good match.  It would be better with Lane.  But I am happy he is not being slighted.  I would imagine Cirio will do Bronze Idol, but it is a shame he doesn't get a Solor shot. He did that in Boston, too, as well as Siegfried. 

 

[nanushka]

Wish we were seeing this this summer:

 

Edited November 24, 2017 by nanushka

[laurel]

Black Swan on Black Friday!  Clip of Aran Bell and Sarah Lane in their recent performance with Boca Ballet Theater.

 

[vipa]

I'm a huge Sarah Lane fan but I wish she was a little calmer about those fouettes. It's like she'd using determination instead of technique

[angelica]

16 hours ago, vipa said:

I'm a huge Sarah Lane fan but I wish she was a little calmer about those fouettes. It's like she'd using determination instead of technique

I, too, am a huge fan of Sarah Lane, but I agree that those fouettes are (well, I'll go further than you) a disaster. Maybe she was out celebrating something the night before. This clip should be removed because it shows her at her worst. And her best is transcendent. 

[onxmyxtoes]

4 hours ago, angelica said:

I, too, am a huge fan of Sarah Lane, but I agree that those fouettes are (well, I'll go further than you) a disaster. Maybe she was out celebrating something the night before. This clip should be removed because it shows her at her worst. And her best is transcendent. 

I read your comment before watching the video and expected much worse than what I saw.

There was little traveling, every fouette was executed completely and cleanly and she finished without a stumble. Not a disaster, in my opinion, but we're all allowed our own.

Some of the disadvantage might be how close the camera is and the angle from the wings. I bet from the audience perspective, it looked quite different.

[angelica]

39 minutes ago, onxmyxtoes said:

I read your comment before watching the video and expected much worse than what I saw.

There was little traveling, every fouette was executed completely and cleanly and she finished without a stumble. Not a disaster, in my opinion, but we're all allowed our own.

Some of the disadvantage might be how close the camera is and the angle from the wings. I bet from the audience perspective, it looked quite different.

Expectations are, of course, of the utmost importance. Had I said that she was stunning, you might have had a different take.

True, the camera angle may have a lot to do with it. But Lane is a dancer with a gorgeous port de bras, and here her upper body looks stiff and unattractive. The whole effect for me was that she was gritting her teeth as she was grinding out each turn.

I am, however, planning to see each and every ballet in which she is dancing the leading role during the spring season.

[LadyBubbles]

9 hours ago, angelica said:

I, too, am a huge fan of Sarah Lane, but I agree that those fouettes are (well, I'll go further than you) a disaster. Maybe she was out celebrating something the night before. This clip should be removed because it shows her at her worst. And her best is transcendent. 

Not sure whether she was out celebrating the night before. However, I can tell you she only arrived in Florida a few hours before the show because it took place on the last day of ABT's fall season (and she danced on the previous day).

[canbelto]

I think it's the expression on her face and upper body language: her face and shoulders are tense and she looks like she's powering through to the end so it doesn't look like a triumphant moment of victory for Odile. 

I think part of what makes the 32 fouettes so difficult in Swan Lake is that they have to be done with a sort of predatory arrogance. Odile is going in for the kill. But for many ballerinas who aren't natural human gyroscopes all you see on their faces is lactic acid buildup. 

Maybe I'm betraying my love for sports but I always think Odile's fouettes should be done with the expression Steph Curry has when he hits another three-pointer.

 

[Kathleen O'Connell]

13 hours ago, canbelto said:

Maybe I'm betraying my love for sports but I always think Odile's fouettes should be done with the expression Steph Curry has when he hits another three-pointer.

Absolutely. And no matter how badly they're going, her face needs to say "Swish! Nothing but net!"

[sonatina1234]

10 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

Absolutely. And no matter how badly they're going, her face needs to say "Swish! Nothing but net!"

I feel like you guys are being a bit harsh. those fouettes look fine to me, and better than the ones she did at another gig. less travelling and more centered.

[Olga]

41 minutes ago, sonatina1234 said:

I feel like you guys are being a bit harsh. those fouettes look fine to me, and better than the ones she did at another gig. less travelling and more centered.

Agree. They may not be knockouts but they are quite decent.

[JumpFrog]

9 minutes ago, Olga said:

Agree. They may not be knockouts but they are quite decent.

I also agree. I think they are quite decent.