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ABT bringing Swan Lake to Wolftrap this summer


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8 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Shevchenko and Lane are the only O/O I would see (again). Although, next year I might see Teuscher again only to see Bell as Siegfried. 

I find it interesting and often quite worthwhile to revisit, after a number of years, (certain) dancers in (certain) roles I’ve in the meantime avoided. I’m very glad I saw Seo and Teuscher in this year, despite staying away for a time. (In the case of the former I’ll again stay away for awhile, though I’m not sorry to have seen her this year.) I wouldn’t mind seeing Boylston do it again in a year or two, though I’ve avoided hers for quite awhile.

Edited by nanushka
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Lurker here. I've been reading this forum for a while, but I'm somewhat new to ballet, really avidly following it and attending performances for the last four years or so, so take my opinion for what it's worth --

I attended both the Friday and Saturday night Swan Lake, so I saw Copeland/Cornejo and Teuscher/Bell. I only went on Friday night to see Cornejo because I have never had the chance to see his Siegfried. Copeland danced both white swan and black swan. She did not do the fouettes in Act III and instead did the manege of steps. I don't like to be mean, but she was very mediocre. Her movements lacked musicality and her arms seemed clunky to me. She could not hold many of her poses very long. I was sitting in the loge, so if there was any subtlety to her performance, I didn't see it. Her Odile was bit better than her Odette. The crowd went wild for her, though, and it was cute to see a little girl there with her Misty doll. Cornejo of course was terrific as was everyone else in the company. Luis Ribagorda was a strong Benno. I find he has a striking stage presence with great characterization. The pas de trois with Ribagorda, Brandt, and Trenary was fantastic. And Jose Sebastian's Rothbart was sensuous and sinister (though he didn't really manage that balance).

Saturday night with Teuscher was night and day compared to Copeland. I saw her debut at the Kennedy Center a few years ago and she was even better this time out. I found her performance to be full of subtle movements and beautiful phrasing, She and Bell were great together. I really felt the romance unfolding between them. Thomas Forster danced Rothbart beautifully (and eked out more of a balance than Sebastian). The pas de trois with Royal, Stephanie Williams, and Katherine Williams (who subbed for Melanie Hamrick) was also good, though Stephanie Williams was weaker than the others. The cygnettes were almost perfect (with Brandt, Trenary, Erica Lall, and Anabel Katsnelson). Catherine Hurlin also really stood out as a big swan and one of the princesses.

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Forgot to add that the Neopolitans were also beautifully danced both nights by Gorak and Klein and then Ahn and Sung Woo Han. They each had a different feel - Gorak and Klein elegant and Ahn and Han energetic - but both thrilling. I hope Klein continues to get opportunities. 

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7 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

I'm curious about that, too. It's interesting that she's tagged balletconrad. I wasn't sure if she was still working with him, but apparently she is. 

 

Wasn’t sure how I felt about balletconrad after that weird video with him — but I hope this means that he’s helping Copeland dance without pain!

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Glad you enjoyed my reviews. I wish Christine Shevchenko had performed, though, as I would like to see her O/O too.

I hope ABT starts coming to Wolf Trap regularly each summer. Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet (a couple of years ago) both seemed to do well. 

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Just now, Hippolyta said:

I hope ABT starts coming to Wolf Trap regularly each summer. Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet (a couple of years ago) both seemed to do well. 

That would be great. I’d like to see the company establish more regular out-of-town gigs, like those in Southern California.

That said, I do wonder if the week right after the grueling Met season is the best time for the dancers.

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Back to the earlier question about Seo:

I thought that she was better than she had been at the Kennedy Center - smoother and more confident. Except for the fouettes - she started off with a pattern of 3 doubles, 1 single, and this was working well. Too well. She switched to all doubles and immediately starting veering to the right, finally stopping after around 26.

I wasn't as pleased with Stearns. He seemed a little stiff.

The rest of the cast was excellent - about as good as I've seen. Though I didn't care for some of the costumes. I thought that the women's skirts in the first act were too long so that they became a distraction when trying to watch the ballerinas' footwork. Perhaps that was a function of the large theater, which left people like me who can't afford the primo seats farther from the stage than they would be in, for example, the Kennedy Center Opera House.

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