Lena C. Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 47 minutes ago, ABT Fan said: Terpsichore should have been Lane. Agreed...I guess if Lane does not present flowers onstage then her absence can be taken as a sign of discord. I'm really hoping that's not the case. Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Lane did not come out onstage, but the only person who presented Cornejo flowers was McKenzie. The others were just standing at the back when the curtain rose and threw single flowers. I didn’t see Seo or Teuscher either. Lots of confetti and the audience went wild. Ghosts was better this time for me since I just focused on Cornejo’s magnificent dancing. His solos are so personal and constructed for his singular talents, I can’t imagine anyone else doing it if a sub was needed (maybe Simkin, but him subbing is so unlikely). Royal (wow), Shevchenko, Trenary, Bell and Hurlin were the other standouts. The evening still had a smidge of bittersweetness for me, but glad I came to recognize an extraordinary artist. Link to comment
vipa Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Since this was an anniversary show not a retirement, such as with DeLuz , it's not surprising to me that a number of dancers wouldn't be there. Link to comment
canbelto Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Well this makes me sad. Sarah shows up at many special occasions of her colleagues. For her to be a no show tonight speaks volumes. Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 2 minutes ago, canbelto said: Well this makes me sad. Sarah shows up at many special occasions of her colleagues. For her to be a no show tonight speaks volumes. Yep. Seo and Teuscher are dancing in tomorrow’s matinee so it’s understandable why they weren’t there. Plus, neither are partners with Cornejo. I didn’t see Stearns either. Link to comment
nanushka Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 (edited) I think it’s good to keep in mind that we don’t know what these dancers’ personal lives and relationships are all about. They are as removed from most of us as any strangers or distant acquaintances. It’s natural that we feel intimately connected to them through their dancing, but ultimately their private experiences are just that, and thus unknown. Edited October 27, 2019 by nanushka Link to comment
LadyBubbles Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Lane wasn't at Bolle's farewell, but I don't think anyone took that as there being bad air between them. They were never partners (except maybe during Onegin, but that's not the main partnership) but she did tour with him a few years ago. As I said elsewhere, Lane, Cornejo, and Ribagorda since he too was brought up, are not Gen Z'ers for whom social media is everything (and where unfollowing a person means losing that friend for life). Now, IF there were bad air and that's the reason for their lack of shows together, then they're both being incredibly childish. Anyway, I'm glad to hear the show went well and Cornejo enjoyed himself at his anniversary show. May there be a 25th anniversary, hopefully. Link to comment
MarzipanShepherdess Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Wonderful tribute to Herman tonight. I know that his physique doesn’t make him an ideal Apollo, but I enjoyed him in the role. I think he performed it adroitly and confidently—for me, it worked. Misty, Skylar, and Cassandra were all good as muses. The tango with Erica was short, but high on charisma and panache. It was a lot of fun to see Herman dance tango, especially with Erica and especially knowing how sentimental this piece is for him (he first came to ABT to perform it with Erica at an Argentinian cultural event and asked to take class with ABT, this kicking off his connection to the company). He and Erica were both fabulous and full of energy. I grant that Ghosts is not Tharp’s best work, and I seem to be in the minority here, but I really enjoyed it. It’s a PERFECT vehicle for Herman, with ample opportunity to appreciate his refinement, his charisma, his wit, speed, turns, and leaps. He had a manège that was just breathtaking, and a pirouette series that could truly be described as thrilling. It really felt like a love letter from Twyla, highlighting all Herman’s gifts in a major way. I agree with @ABT Fan that there’s no one else in the current male roster I can imagine pulling it off. I can see different dancers doing bits of it well, but no one doing the whole. What a credit to Herman’s artistry that is. Royal and Hurlin particularly stood out of a very strong Ghosts cast, Royal for his elegant hands and arms and Hurlin for her strength and speed (aptly named “greased lightning” in the program). Shevchenko also looked great, and Hoven made a strong case for why he should really pick up some of those TBA slots in the spring. Link to comment
cobweb Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Thanks all for these reports! It is very much appreciated. Link to comment
Lena C. Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 1 hour ago, canbelto said: Well this makes me sad. Sarah shows up at many special occasions of her colleagues. For her to be a no show tonight speaks volumes. Agreed. Sarah is an avid Instagram user, she posted tributes to both Simkin and Cirio when they left for Berlin and England respectively. Her lack of acknowledgment for Cornejo's anniversary, as well as her cryptic post on today of all days, indeed speaks volumes. It seems that their long partnership and warm friendship is over. Something catastrophic clearly happened between them. While I mourn the loss of the Lane/Cornejo partnership, I rejoice in his anniversary and look forward to his future performances with Trenary and Brandt. I hope he dances with Brandt more frequently, they were lovely in Corsaire. Link to comment
laurel Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 I sat there tonight, watching Ghosts for the third time this week, when it occurred to me that this might very well be the last time I'll see Cornejo perform at ABT, and I started to cry. In the middle of his anniversary show. There's no reason for me to pay to see him perform in the future with dancers I don't really enjoy. For the wonderful Lane-Cornejo partnership to end so abruptly and sadly is truly tragic. Their gorgeous dancing and emotional connection has sustained me through some difficult personal times over the past couple of years, and I feel lucky to have seen so many of their outstanding performances. My heart was breaking for Lane with her sad little Instagram post this afternoon, and I knew she and her husband would not be there tonight. The few company members I did see on stage, who did not dance in the gala, were Abrera and Radetsky, Boylston and Whiteside, and Connor Holloway and Tyler Maloney way in the back. For Lane to have attended a party to which she was not invited would have been unthinkable. We may never know whether anything really did occur to end the partnership, the way we may never know what happened to Marcelo Gomes, but it's my feeling that this is the work of Lord Voldemort in the front office. Between the sight of so much money sitting at the front of the orchestra tonight, and the return of the "guest artists" next year, it's pretty clear that for management, company artistry is a valueless commodity which doesn't result in cold hard box office cash. I don't care who Lane will be forced to dance with next season; I will be there supporting her at every one of her performances. Guest artists? No way. Link to comment
Fleurfairy Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 So agree with you laurel. (Couldn’t help but LOL at the Lord Voldemort reference) This is a tragedy and spells disaster for Lane’s prospects in coming seasons. I hope she sees the writing on the wall and starts making plans. Link to comment
canbelto Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 (edited) Personal stuff happens between dancers all the time and they find dancing together either intolerable or unrealistic. Herman makes his own choices re: casting, especially for a gala in his honor. Remember when he and Alessandra Ferri were an item and she came back to dance with him? Now that's over because their relationship is no more. Edited October 27, 2019 by canbelto Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 51 minutes ago, canbelto said: Personal stuff happens between dancers all the time and they find dancing together either intolerable or unrealistic. Herman makes his own choices re: casting, especially for a gala in his honor. Remember when he and Alessandra Ferri were an item and she came back to dance with him? Now that's over because their relationship is no more. He and Ferri danced together for weeks this past January, in something she had put together in London. He posted countless photos of that on his Instagram, which are still there. And he got married either in January or February. So he apparently found a way to keep dancing with her. Separately, I remember Hammoudi was initially cast in Time There Was opposite Seo in the second cast, but he didn’t dance Friday. He name wasn’t even in the program (Forster danced instead) so clearly it was not a last minute change. It’s possible he’s injured again, but that was the only ballet he was scheduled to dance in. With nothing on the horizon for him at the Met, so far, I wonder if he’ll be leaving at the end of the season. Link to comment
MarzipanShepherdess Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 13 hours ago, Lena C. said: Her lack of acknowledgment for Cornejo's anniversary, as well as her cryptic post on today of all days, indeed speaks volumes. Wow. I don’t follow lane on Instagram but went to look at that post after you referenced it here. Posting a long caption beginning “the greatest examples are those who have the courage to live in humility, who do not need to be puffed up...” on the day of Herman’s big anniversary extravaganza certainly seems like some serious shade directed at her former dance partner. Have to say I don’t think that was very classy or gracious of her, regardless of the current state of her feelings towards Herman. Link to comment
canbelto Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 (edited) If you follow Cornejo you'll see that there seems to be an even more radical scrub of his IG. ALL pictures with Lane are now gone, including stuff from two years ago like that lovely Bayadere and Don Q they did. I have a bunch of photos of that single Bayadere and was refreshing my memory at all the warm curtain call photos. This is depressing. Joseph Gorak's IG is actually one of the few places you can see Cornejo and Lane in happier times: Edited October 27, 2019 by canbelto Link to comment
LadyBubbles Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Yeah, his little tribute to her when she subbed in on Giselle is gone too. I guess there really is some beef going on. If he's refusing to dance with her then that's childish. Actually, I said this before, but I don't recall Lane posting any pics with Cornejo last spring except for reposted instastories. Maybe whatever happened started before last spring? Oh as for yesterday's post, it's not unusual for her to post sentimental self reflecting stuff, but yeah, the timing is interesting. Then again, as much as I like Cornejo, the over the top posting and publicity schedule he's been on the last few days/weeks is a bit much (how many pics of his feet do we really need) so I'm all for a little shade when it's warranted. Oh well, RIP Lane/Cornejo magic. I wish Simkin danced more with the company. Link to comment
Inge Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, MarzipanShepherdess said: Wow. I don’t follow lane on Instagram but went to look at that post after you referenced it here. Posting a long caption beginning “the greatest examples are those who have the courage to live in humility, who do not need to be puffed up...” on the day of Herman’s big anniversary extravaganza certainly seems like some serious shade directed at her former dance partner. Have to say I don’t think that was very classy or gracious of her, regardless of the current state of her feelings towards Herman. I also thought read a little weird, but keep in mind it could be an accidental same-day post of a biblically-themed quote + tribute to her husband, which is not unusual for her. I'm refraining from taking sides (Sarah / Herman / McKenzie) unless I know exactly what happened, which I probably never will. It may blow over by next season. She doesn't have many other established partners (Simkin being a 1-show principal) so for everyone upset at McKenzie for his casting, perhaps he had no choice. Here's hoping that everyone can work through any issues and find fulfillment in this upcoming season. I do think that McKenzie could have pulled an exciting dancer from the corps for her R+J debut, but alas. Edited October 28, 2019 by Inge Link to comment
canbelto Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 I guess this is all through the lens of knowing that these two ghosted each other on social media (while dancing in the same company) but looking back at their last Sleeping Beauty curtain calls the body language between them seems off. Lane's smile doesn't quite reach the eyes. It was really different from the Manon curtain calls where I remember a lot of snuggling all throughout curtain calls: Link to comment
angelica Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 9 minutes ago, LadyBubbles said: I wish Simkin danced more with the company. I am so sorry that Simkin isn't dancing more. He really blossomed at ABT, which helped him develop his line and his partnering. I think he owes them a couple more shows. Link to comment
aurora Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 9 minutes ago, Inge said: I do think that McKenzie could have pulled an exciting dancer from the corps for her R+J debut, but alas. Keep in mind she seems to like dancing with her partner for R&J Link to comment
LadyBubbles Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 I'm sure she likes dancing with Gorak because they're close friends and I'm sure she's happy he's getting an opportunity, but unless he can get those lifts under control I'm not sure he should be dancing Romeo... Link to comment
nanushka Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 7 minutes ago, LadyBubbles said: I'm sure she likes dancing with Gorak because they're close friends and I'm sure she's happy he's getting an opportunity, but unless he can get those lifts under control I'm not sure he should be dancing Romeo... How has Gorak done as Romeo in the past, has anyone seen him? Who did he dance it with? Link to comment
canbelto Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Gorak danced it with Misty Copeland in the past. Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 48 minutes ago, Inge said: Ido think that McKenzie could have pulled an exciting dancer from the corps for her R+J debut, but alas. Who are you thinking of, I’m curious? Link to comment
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