ABT 2019 Swan Lake

[fondoffouettes]

If she truly has the flu and was so ill she needed Cornejo to hold her up (as she states in her Instagram post), then she shouldn't have been onstage potentially getting Cornejo, Lane and her other colleagues sick. 

[NinaFan]

5 minutes ago, Leah said:

Judging from the blowback she got in her Instagram comments alone from pulling out of Whipped Cream, I really don't blame her for insisting on going on. I hope that if Cornejo and others felt uncomfortable with her onstage they would have been comfortable speaking up.

Whether they speak up or not, it's selfish to put your fellow dancers in jeopardy.   The flu is contagious and the last thing Cornejo needs is to get sick after coming back from injury. 

[California]

If you're not already following Cornejo on Instagram, time to sign up! On his "stories" today he posted his entire Act III variation! Alas, no way to copy that one here. I'm hoping for more. It looks like it was shot from the Grand Tier box nearest stage left, which I think is reserved for company members. I hope somebody got some footage of Lane!

[ABT Fan]

6 minutes ago, Leah said:

Judging from the blowback she got in her Instagram comments alone from pulling out of Whipped Cream, I really don't blame her for insisting on going on. I hope that if Cornejo and others felt uncomfortable with her onstage they would have been comfortable speaking up.

Well, she pulled out of WC due to “scheduling conflicts” which I believe is what caused the major backlash (just read the comments in her post). When she had to withdraw last fall from her Nutcracker pas due to a death in her family (and Lane covered her then too), many people understood. A “scheduling conflict” is avoidable, especially when announced two days before she’s due to perform.

[ABT Fan]

4 minutes ago, NinaFan said:

Whether they speak up or not, it's selfish to put your fellow dancers in jeopardy.   The flu is contagious and the last thing Cornejo needs is to get sick after coming back from injury. 

I will be mad as h*ll if Cornejo (or Lane) has to withdraw next week from their SB because they have the flu.

[NinaFan]

2 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

I will be mad as h*ll if Cornejo (or Lane) has to withdraw next week from their SB because they have the flu.

Let's hope not.  But you have to wonder why ABT would expose so many dancers and stagehands to the flu when all they had to do was have Lane dance the entire ballet.

[ABT Fan]

I'm shocked. I guess ABT got some returns/exchanges or took back some seats they gave away, but as of right this second there are 12 seats available in Orchestra prime for Saturday night. Everything else is sold out. A short while ago when I looked (a week ago?) it was completely sold out. These seats are $250 each but they are terrific seats. 

I've never noticed this before. Is it common for a show to be sold out and then have some seats just appear?

Anyway, if those seats remain available and it's announced by ABT or someone reliable that Lane is stepping in again.....I can hear the Ballet Alert stampede now. 

[Fleurfairy]

3 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Anyway, if those seats remain available and it's announced by ABT or someone reliable that Lane is stepping in again.....I can hear the Ballet Alert stampede now. 

As fabulous as that would be, have Hallberg and Lane ever danced together? The height difference is significant as well. My guess is they would sub in Seo or Boylston. OR Hallberg might pull out with Misty and then they would sub in Lane/Cornejo. But Hallberg/Lane seems unlikely.

[abatt]

6 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

I'm shocked. I guess ABT got some returns/exchanges or took back some seats they gave away, but as of right this second there are 12 seats available in Orchestra prime for Saturday night. Everything else is sold out. A short while ago when I looked (a week ago?) it was completely sold out. These seats are $250 each but they are terrific seats. 

I've never noticed this before. Is it common for a show to be sold out and then have some seats just appear?

Anyway, if those seats remain available and it's announced by ABT or someone reliable that Lane is stepping in again.....I can hear the Ballet Alert stampede now. 

These are house seats that are being released.

[nanushka]

30 minutes ago, Fleurfairy said:

OR Hallberg might pull out with Misty and then they would sub in Lane/Cornejo.

That seems extremely unlikely to me. As much as I'd love to see a Lane/Cornejo Swan Lake, I don't think that's in the cards.

Wasn't Misty giving Herman and Sarah kisses during the curtain calls last night?

[California]

35 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Is it common for a show to be sold out and then have some seats just appear?

People who are unable to attend can donate their ticket(s) for resale and get a charitable tax deduction. For the Met, you either call the Customer Care number on the web page or your print-at-home ticket or do it in person at the box office. Must be at least two hours before curtain. NYCB has the same option, but you can also do that on their web page if you have a member account or at the box office or by calling. I've done this several times when travel plans got complicated. And after sitting through the dress rehearsal of Coq d'Or, I confess that I headed straight for the box office to donate my opening night ticket - I'm not sitting through that again!

[NinaFan]

38 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

I've never noticed this before. Is it common for a show to be sold out and then have some seats just appear?

Yes.  I've turned in seats for sold out performances which then re-appear on the seat map. 

[ABT Fan]

34 minutes ago, Fleurfairy said:

As fabulous as that would be, have Hallberg and Lane ever danced together? The height difference is significant as well. My guess is they would sub in Seo or Boylston. OR Hallberg might pull out with Misty and then they would sub in Lane/Cornejo. But Hallberg/Lane seems unlikely.

I think it's highly unlikely too, that Lane would sub w/ Hallberg. I'm pretty sure they've never danced together. I was just saying that IF that were to happen, many of us would be thrilled if we were able to snag a seat. 

Regarding the height difference, I think Copeland is maybe an inch, if that, taller than Lane.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

39 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

I'm shocked. I guess ABT got some returns/exchanges or took back some seats they gave away, but as of right this second there are 12 seats available in Orchestra prime for Saturday night. Everything else is sold out. A short while ago when I looked (a week ago?) it was completely sold out. These seats are $250 each but they are terrific seats. 

I've never noticed this before. Is it common for a show to be sold out and then have some seats just appear?

The newly-opened seats could be donations from ticket holders who couldn't use them and didn't want to try to sell them. (Been there; done that.) They might also be house seats the company was holding but has since released. 

[LadyBubbles]

If Copeland really had the flu I can only wish those who were close to her last night best of luck. This is contagious and yes, there were kisses exchanged at the curtain call as per IG pictures.

If anyone is subbing in on Saturday, I don't think it will be Lane. She's literally a foot shorter than Hallberg. I know Copeland is only an inch taller, but she has big feet (like, BIG feet for her height) while Lane's feet are rather small. On pointe, there's a big height difference between these two ladies. I know guys CAN partner ladies who are significantly shorter than them, but it's not ideal (their entire placement is shifted). Roberto Bolle himself once said that he preferred smaller dancers for ballets like R&J but taller dancers for a classical ballet like Swan Lake. IIRC, he even mentioned the word "difficult" when he talked about having to partner a short dancer in a classical ballet. That interview was a while ago and in Italian, so I don't remember his exact words.

Edited June 27, 2019 by LadyBubbles

[nanushka]

1 minute ago, LadyBubbles said:

If anyone is subbing in on Saturday, I don't think it will be Lane. She's literally a foot shorter than Hallberg. I know Copeland is only an inch taller, but she has big feet (like, BIG feet for her height) while Lane's feet are rather small. On pointe, there's a big height difference between these two ladies.

Yes, if there's an assigned cover for the role in every performance, and if those covers are often other dancers performing the role in the same run (both of which I believe are true), it seems highly unlikely that Lane would be assigned for Saturday night. On the other hand, it makes sense that she would have been assigned for Wednesday night.

[laurel]

Surely no one really believes that Copeland actually had "the flu"??  Influenza remains a deadly disease that kills/hospitalizes thousands every year.  If you contract the flu, it will flatten you; it affects your breathing, you can barely move.  If Copeland had the flu she would not have been standing upright, much less able to dance on a stage.  

[Drew]

5 hours ago, NinaFan said:

Agreed

I've never attended a performance where a dancer was sick before the performance and chose which sections to dance.  They withdraw completely. 

I remembered reading about Makarova choosing which sections to dance in a performance of Don Quixote...and found a review. Not illness but tendonitis was the official reason given:

"Miss Makarova did the solo now usually done by one of the flower girls and Miss Shibata did Miss Makarova's. Throughout the evening, Miss Makarova was reportedly dancing with a case of tendonitis. As a result, in Act I, her leaps were ingeniously simulated by having her lifted in the air by several men. Others were done for her by Miss Menendez or by Rebecca Wright, truly outstanding as the Cupid. Nonetheless, the good spirits provided by Mr. Dowell and Miss Makarova triumphed over all."

Here is the link: https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/04/archives/the-dance-debuts-in-quixote.html

[nanushka]

2 minutes ago, Drew said:

I remembered reading about Makarova choosing which sections to dance in a performance of Don Quixote...and found a review. Not illness but tendonitis was the official reason given:

"Miss Makarova did the solo now usually done by one of the flower girls and Miss Shibata did Miss Makarova's. Throughout the evening, Miss Makarova was reportedly dancing with a case of tendonitis. As a result, in Act I, her leaps were ingeniously simulated by having her lifted in the air by several men. Others were done for her by Miss Menendez or by Rebecca Wright, truly outstanding as the Cupid. Nonetheless, the good spirits provided by Mr. Dowell and Miss Makarova triumphed over all."

Here is the link: https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/04/archives/the-dance-debuts-in-quixote.html

Fascinating! Thanks for digging that up!!

[Helene]

2 hours ago, laurel said:

Influenza remains a deadly disease that kills/hospitalizes thousands every year.  If you contract the flu, it will flatten you; it affects your breathing, you can barely move.  

"Having the flu" is widely and colloquially used for being ill with a bad virus/cold in which there are flu-like symptoms.  Plenty of dancers, especially around Nutcracker time, perform when they are less than well, and especially when illness travels fast across a company, but that is not always possible.  Let's hope that didn't happen here, because it doesn't always. 

[Inge]

I may be alone in this, but I care about Copeland's fans and am happy she honored her schedule last night. It is a momentous moment in many of their lives, from the little girls to the women of color who've never been able to witness real representation in ballet. 

It's not fair to Sarah Lane, but the mishandling of Lane's career is 100% McKenzie's fault. Not Copeland's. I feel terribly for Lane and believe that she should have gotten a special shoutout by ABT for being a trooper and knocking it out of the park. She better get an actual Swan Lake next year (if not one of Copeland's shows, Seo or Teuscher could stand to lose one and literally no one would be upset). 

Copeland's presence is important. I hope she is able to dance on Saturday and that going forward, she has ample opportunity to dance more Manons and Juliets and feels less pressure to do O/Os and such. 

[Helene]

With regards to the deleted content:

1. If you have official news about a dancer, withdrawal, substitution, etc., you're welcome to post it with a citation. 

2. Do not discuss the discussion.  

[nanushka]

40 minutes ago, Inge said:

[Lane] better get an actual Swan Lake next year (if not one of Copeland's shows, Seo or Teuscher could stand to lose one and literally no one would be upset). 

Well....Seo, Teuscher and their fans would. But I very much agree that Lane should get at least one if not two O/Os next year!

[vendangeuse]

1 hour ago, Inge said:

I may be alone in this, but I care about Copeland's fans and am happy she honored her schedule last night. It is a momentous moment in many of their lives, from the little girls to the women of color who've never been able to witness real representation in ballet. 

It's not fair to Sarah Lane, but the mishandling of Lane's career is 100% McKenzie's fault. Not Copeland's. I feel terribly for Lane and believe that she should have gotten a special shoutout by ABT for being a trooper and knocking it out of the park. She better get an actual Swan Lake next year (if not one of Copeland's shows, Seo or Teuscher could stand to lose one and literally no one would be upset). 

Copeland's presence is important. I hope she is able to dance on Saturday and that going forward, she has ample opportunity to dance more Manons and Juliets and feels less pressure to do O/Os and such. 

Agree with this wholeheartedly. I went last night to see Cornejo specifically, but I was astounded by the number of children in attendance—several of them with Misty Copeland dolls on their laps throughout the performance. It was incredibly moving for me to see so many young people so deeply engaged with ballet and excited to be there. From my perspective, Misty sells, which helps keep ABT afloat. I do not go out of my way to see or avoid her, but i recognize that she plays an important roll in the company, and I am grateful to her for the roll she has played in drawing new audiences to the ballet.

...which is not to say that I was, admittedly, a little excited when I saw the posting in the lobby about Sarah Lane. I have not been a big fan of hers in the past, but last night she really won me over. I do hope she gets an O/O next year; she has certainly proved capable and deserving of it. 

I also have tickets on Saturday (to see Hallberg) and I am very curious to see what casting changes (if any) occur for that performance... if I were inclined to bet I’d put money on Bolyston performing Act III Saturday night. 

[Victura]

I saw the Teuscher/Bell matinee on Wednesday and was hoping someone else would report on it, as I can really only comment on the second half. I arrived a little late due to train issues and spent the first half in the small theater watching on a screen, which doesn't have great picture quality. (There were quite a few of us in there, and although I realize it was our fault for being late, I wish the screen had better resolution or we could've been let in between acts or during a pause.)

At any rate, from the first half, the pas de trois was Royal, Giangeruso, and Fang, and Royal in particular did very well. The white swan pas de deux was very nicely done technically, though I can't really speak to anyone's dramatic abilities there. Teuscher doesn't have the most pliant back but still made some beautiful shapes. She made a very strong Odile though, perhaps not quite an evil seductress but certainly sparkled in a way that one could very easily see why Siegfried becomes enthralled with her. In the variation, she came down from pointe about half a turn too early both times in the pirouettes that go into attitude, but they were easily 5-6 turns total each time. Her fouettes were very strong. I thought that Wilkins, the conductor, noticeably sped up that portion, but she did lots of triples in the A section and switched to singles in the B section, all extremely secure with only a little downstage traveling.

Bell had a very successful debut. I personally have never seen him take on a principal role (or even a soloist role), but he was a confident Siegfried and partnered Teuscher well. Technically, he was very clean. I've perhaps seen better characterizations (comparing him against the likes of Gomes and Bolle) but overall, he did quite well and brought a youthful energy and self assurance to the role. His ending leap was pretty spectacular that people around me gasped.

For those wondering, Jose Sebastian did do the arabesque balance - it was a little tentative on the way up, but he did hold it for awhile. Some good moments of acting that reminded me a little of Gomes. He definitely has potential to grow into the role more, but a very positive debut.

A great performance on the whole, and the audience was very appreciative and gave an enthusiastic standing ovation at the end.

Edited June 28, 2019 by Victura