ABT 2018 Swan Lake

[abatt]

3 minutes ago, alexL said:

I had written a lengthy review about Copeland/Cornejo then my phone somehow blew the entire thing. I'm too tired to rewrite the whole thing but simply put, while Copeland performed better than I had expected I still don't think she deserves 2 slots of SL. Cornejo still has his skills and his epaulement superior to Whiteside's. In case anyone is wondering Copeland did a series of chaines instead of the fouettes. She didn't have the stamina to keep up her speed until the end. Given her history maybe this was the better option.

This evening's Pas de trois(Cirio, Lane, Brandt) was way superior to the matinee's(Royal, Giangaruso and Fang). Cirio, Lane and Brandt are over qualified for this-Brandt even did entrachat quatres in her solo. Lane looked lovely with her soft port de bras and effortless footwork. Very sad to see Cirio leave- hopefully he'll get to dance the principal roles more often at ENB.

I was there only for the acts after the intermission (acts III and IV).  This was my first Copeland SL, and it will definitely be my last.  I really went to see Cornejo, because I have my doubts about how many more years he has left.  Copeland has given up even attempting any fouettes.  She now enters stage left and simply does  chaine turns for the duration of the music.  As noted, she lost speed at the end.   The audience didn't seem to know that the choreography was changed, or they didn't care.

 

[fondoffouettes]

5 minutes ago, abatt said:

I was there only for the acts after the intermission (acts III and IV).  This was my first Copeland SL, and it will definitely be my last.  I really went to see Cornejo, because I have my doubts about how many more years he has left.  Copeland has given up even attempting any fouettes.  She now enters stage left and simply does  chaine turns for the duration of the music.  As noted, she lost speed at the end.   The audience didn't seem to know that the choreography was changed, or they didn't care.

 

So it was a manege entirely of chaine turns? Did she throw in pique turns periodically? Any overhead arms to give it flair?

Edited June 21, 2018 by fondoffouettes

[alexL]

24 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

So it was a manege entirely of chaine turns? Did she throw in pique turns periodically? Any overhead arms to give it flair?

Just simple chaine turns and an arabesque balance+some posing at the end to fill the music. I think her free leg looked a little better tonight than in that Youtube video that went viral.

To be honest her aggressive and jerky port de bras in Act 3 was more distracting than the lack of fouettes(think of the broadway port de bras of the NYCB dancers in their version of "Swan Lake")

Edited June 21, 2018 by alexL

[Inge]

This whole conversation is depressing me. I couldn't make Shevchenko's debut so I went to tonight's show, hoping that some high audience energy would pick up my spirits. 

It was fine. Copeland is a better Odile than Odette. It might not be world class dancing, but she got the job done without any major fumbles. The only real annoyance for me was that she splays her fingers really wide, especially when she dances Odette. It cuts off her line and looks extremely weird. I've never seen her do this before. And yes, she did piqué and chaîné turns. They weren't especially crisp, but I admire her for realizing her limits and scaling back. Afterwards people around me were whispering, so I assume many are aware of this year's YouTube Foutté-Gate. Oddly enough, there were no solo curtain calls, just two en masse. 

Jonathan Klein was fantastic in the Neopolitan. Sometimes I get more excited about him than Bell. 

Act I is really tough to sit through multiple times per week. That choreography is so muddy and uninspired. In some places it looks like it was choreographed to completely different music. Or no music at all. If there were an intermission after Act I I would just wait until it's over and then take my seat. Bleh. 

Looking forward to Murphy's turn on Friday (but not having to sit through Act I and the dreaded swan interlude). Having two great Swan Queens in the pipeline (Shevchenko, Teuscher) is a pretty exciting prospect. I feel like Trenary would also be fantastic one day. 

Edited June 21, 2018 by Inge

[fondoffouettes]

14 minutes ago, Inge said:

Jonathan Klein was fantastic in the Neopolitan. Sometimes I get more excited about him than Bell. 

 

This makes me really wonder what happened to his Whipped Cream. In today's matinee, in Act I, right at the end of the Danse de Coupes, he did a huge leap in the air with his legs tucked under him, spun in the air for two revolutions, and landed it beautifully. Is he injured, or what's up?

[Inge]

59 minutes ago, abatt said:

The audience didn't seem to know that the choreography was changed, or they didn't care.

 

People were definitely whispering around me. I think a lot of people noticed. 

I wonder what she'll do for Don Q. It's one thing to sub them in Swan Lake, but virtuoso dancing and tricks are really the only things Don Quixote has going for it. Why else even bother seeing Don Quixote? 

[fondoffouettes]

6 minutes ago, Inge said:

People were definitely whispering around me. I think a lot of people noticed. 

I wonder what she'll do for Don Q. It's one thing to sub them in Swan Lake, but virtuoso dancing and tricks are really the only things Don Quixote has going for it. Why else even bother seeing Don Quixote? 

Best case scenario would be for her to pull out and have Brandt fill in, as with Harlequinade. 

[California]

Thanks for all these reports on Swan Lake. I wish I could have seen Shevchenko and also Simkin and Cornejo. But otherwise, I'm very glad I decided to skip it this year. How is the house selling?

Isn't this the first SL for Copeland since that disastrous tape surfaced with her claim that it was just a "bad night"? I'm guessing she was afraid of adding to the collection of evidence with another bad performance. 

[canbelto]

Thank you for all the detailed reviews! Based on the reports I just bought a ticket to Shevchenko's Don Q. 

I really can't sit through ABT's version of Swan Lake anymore.

Edited June 21, 2018 by canbelto

[fondoffouettes]

2 hours ago, California said:

How is the house selling?

I’ve never seen the house so full for a Wednesday matinee. I think Family Circle may have been closed but it otherwise felt like a packed house, 

Edited June 21, 2018 by fondoffouettes

[aurora]

11 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

I’ve never seen the house so full for a Wednesday matinee. I think Family Circle may have been closed but it otherwise felt like a packed house, 

It was also packed last week for R&J weds matinee.

[abatt]

2 hours ago, California said:

 

Isn't this the first SL for Copeland since that disastrous tape surfaced with her claim that it was just a "bad night"? I'm guessing she was afraid of adding to the collection of evidence with another bad performance. 

Bingo!  This is ABT's solution to another video potentially leaking out demonstrating that Misty is not able to perform fouettes. 

[abatt]

9 hours ago, alexL said:

Just simple chaine turns and an arabesque balance+some posing at the end to fill the music. I think her free leg looked a little better tonight than in that Youtube video that went viral.

To be honest her aggressive and jerky port de bras in Act 3 was more distracting than the lack of fouettes(think of the broadway port de bras of the NYCB dancers in their version of "Swan Lake")

I agree with this statement.  It wasn't merely the absence of the fouettes that made this an extremely weak performance.  Copeland tries to hit her positions on time with the music, but there is no grace, beauty or fluidity in her phrasing.  Her movement style is stacatto - not what you would ever want in SL.   Unfortunately, since Cornejo is Copeland's regular partner now in SL, I will probably not see Cornejo again in SL.  Such a shame to pair the best classical male principal with the worst female principal.

Edited June 21, 2018 by abatt

[JuliaJ]

To be fair, I did see Misty perform pull off lovely fouettés -- albeit only around 3 of them in the sequence -- in Christopher Wheeldon's "Thirteen Diversions" last fall... there were four lead women fouttéing in the finale, and only Sarah Lane was slightly out of sync with the others. Misty is much better suited for contemporary pieces than the technically rigorous classics that ABT is known for. I loved her in Afterrite. 

[abatt]

9 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

Best case scenario would be for her to pull out and have Brandt fill in, as with Harlequinade. 

I would have enjoyed catching Cirio in Don Q, particularly now that I know he's leaving the company. However, I could not subject myself to seeing Copeland as Kitri.  If by some miracle Copeland pulled out of Don Q next week, I would attend. 

By the way, once Copeland did pull out of her Harlequinades I bought tickets for those dates.  Brandt and Simkin were magnificent in Harlequinade.

Edited June 21, 2018 by abatt

[California]

7 minutes ago, abatt said:

I would have enjoyed catching Cirio in Don Q, particularly now that I know he's leaving the company. However, I could not subject myself to seeing Copeland as Kitri.  If by some miracle Copeland pulled out of Don Q next week, I would attend. 

Ah, but somebody will have to give us a report on the Act III fouettes. I'm guessing she'll have a substitute ready for those, too.

[angelica]

5 minutes ago, abatt said:

 If by some miracle Copeland pulled out of Don Q next week, I would attend. 

That's exactly how I feel about seeing Shevchenko as Kitri. If by some miracle Whiteside pulled out of Don Q next week....

I've said it somewhere else on this forum, but I'll say it again here. I believe that Shevchenko is destined for greatness. You heard it first from me.

[ABT Fan]

9 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

This makes me really wonder what happened to his Whipped Cream. In today's matinee, in Act I, right at the end of the Danse de Coupes, he did a huge leap in the air with his legs tucked under him, spun in the air for two revolutions, and landed it beautifully. Is he injured, or what's up?

Re: Klein. I noticed him too on Monday night (haven't felt motivated enough to write about that "meh" performance from the principals). They must have decided he wasn't right for WC because as you and I have noticed, he's dancing fine now. 

[ABT Fan]

3 minutes ago, angelica said:

I believe that Shevchenko is destined for greatness. 

I agree. I'm regretting not going yesterday after reading everyone's reports (not surprising she was incredible), but I can't tolerate her partner in this. 

[fondoffouettes]

14 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Re: Klein. I noticed him too on Monday night (haven't felt motivated enough to write about that "meh" performance from the principals). They must have decided he wasn't right for WC because as you and I have noticed, he's dancing fine now. 

It’s odd it took them so long to come to that decision, if that’s the case. He posted this just four days ago on Instagram, and he’s a very infrequent poster.

I’m not especially looking forward to seeing Scott in this. I just don’t see him having the boyish charm of someone like Simkin, Shayer or Cirio, but I’ll reserve further judgment till I see him.

Edited June 21, 2018 by fondoffouettes

[fondoffouettes]

23 minutes ago, California said:

Ah, but somebody will have to give us a report on the Act III fouettes. I'm guessing she'll have a substitute ready for those, too.

Right. I remember when the  fouette went viral, we discussed how the fouette music in Don Q doesn't really suit a manege of turns the way the SL music does. So I wonder what she'll come up with for that. Maybe she'll attempt the fouettes in Don Q, if she feels less scrutiny/pressure in that role. I also wonder if the ballerina has more gas in the tank, for lack of a better phrase, at that point in Don Q (not that that pas de deux is any walk in the park). 

Edited June 21, 2018 by fondoffouettes

[its the mom]

25 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

It’s odd it took them so long to come to that decision, if that’s the case. He posted this just four days ago on Instagram, and he’s a very infrequent poster.

I’m not especially looking forward to seeing Scott in this. I just don’t see him having the boyish charm of someone like Simkin, Shayer or Cirio, but I’ll reserve further judgment till I see him.

With Simkin and Cirio gone next year (and Cornejo no longer performing it), someone else had to learn it.  (I am assuming that Whipped Cream and Harlequinade will be done on tour, but I could be wrong.) Perhaps they were not sure Klein would be back in time from his injury and did the substitution.  The boy role is actually harder than it looks.  

Edited June 21, 2018 by its the mom

[ABT Fan]

11 hours ago, alexL said:

This evening's Pas de trois(Cirio, Lane, Brandt) was way superior to the matinee's(Royal, Giangaruso and Fang). Cirio, Lane and Brandt are over qualified for this.....

What an understatement. At least they can poke fun at their situation:

 

[cobweb]

Thanks to all for these detailed reviews. This is probably the first time in the 16 years that I've been attending ABT, that I have missed Swan Lake entirely (and in my early years of attendance, I would see as many as five SL performances). I would have gone to see Shevchenko, but I can't get to the matinee. I was interested in seeing Teuscher, but I guess honestly not motivated enough to make either of her dates work. Otherwise, not interested in the casting, or interested in one of the cast but repelled by the other. But I am enjoying the reviews, which will help me decide for next year... 

[angelica]

2 minutes ago, cobweb said:

 I would have gone to see Shevchenko, but I can't get to the matinee. I was interested in seeing Teuscher, but I guess honestly not motivated enough to make either of her dates work. Otherwise, not interested in the casting, or interested in one of the cast but repelled by the other. 

The casting for this year kept many ballet lovers away from performances they would have liked to attend, but for the casting. I'm certainly in that group.