canbelto Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 T he McKenzie SL simply butchers the final act. I hate it. I also hate the cheesy decor. Link to comment
angelica Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 18 minutes ago, canbelto said: T he McKenzie SL simply butchers the final act. I hate it. I also hate the cheesy decor. I especially hate (1) the beginning of the final act when the corps dancers are doing extremely boring things (I wouldn't even call them steps) in front of the curtain, presumably when the scenery is being changed; and (2) the women's costumes in the first act where they are so encumbered by fabric that you can't see what are possibly beautiful (don't know 'cause can't see 'em) lines. Link to comment
nysusan Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 42 minutes ago, canbelto said: T he McKenzie SL simply butchers the final act. I hate it. I also hate the cheesy decor. There are lots of things I dislike about this production but the butchered & truncated final act (or final scene in this production) is what I hate the most and what really kills it for me. Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 21 minutes ago, angelica said: I especially hate and (2) the women's costumes in the first act where they are so encumbered by fabric that you can't see what are possibly beautiful (don't know 'cause can't see 'em) lines. Yes! Such a distraction. And, the thick puffy collars. Most of the women look swallowed up as if they were playing dress up. Especially bad on the smaller dancers. Link to comment
Drew Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 1 hour ago, canbelto said: T he McKenzie SL simply butchers the final act. I hate it. I also hate the cheesy decor. 21 minutes ago, nysusan said: There are lots of things I dislike about this production but the butchered & truncated final act (or final scene in this production) is what I hate the most and what really kills it for me. Ditto (except that I remember liking much of the decor -- the Lake scenes feel Pre-Raphaelite to me). David Blair's version with entirely new sets and costumes would suit me fine or something more or less descended from the Royal Ballet De Valois version on which Blair's was (presumably) based....Maybe with a historically 'reconstructed' Petipa waltz for Act I. I don't need a pious, historically reconstructed Swan Lake from ABT--though I certainly hope to see Ratmansky's one day with Miami or another compay--but a traditional one...yes...I do need it. Mckenzie's (which he probably intended as "traditional") distorts too many elements. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 I always hear that unless they hate it, people are attached to the first production they see, and that becomes the baseline. That may be why I love the Blair production I saw in the '70's, even if I saw it for the first time through binoculars, having shattered one of my eyeglass lenses 30 minutes before we had to leave for the performance. I do remember being gobsmacked by Ivan Nagy (Siegfried) and the young Marianna Tcherkassky in the pas de trois. Link to comment
Drew Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 27 minutes ago, Helene said: I always hear that unless they hate it, people are attached to the first production they see, and that becomes the baseline. That may be why I love the Blair production I saw in the '70's... That sounds likely to be true and should teach me humility, but honesty compels me to add that my real feeling is that we were very lucky to have our baseline tastes formed by a production that was not without modernizations (e.g. no Benno in Act II) but still rather less rewritten (or rechoreographed) than many others ... Link to comment
abatt Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 The award for ugliest production sets and costumes goes to NYCB's Swan Lake. ABT's sets and costumes are fine with me. Link to comment
GB1216 Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 On 6/5/2022 at 12:08 PM, abatt said: The award for ugliest production sets and costumes goes to NYCB's Swan Lake. ABT's sets and costumes are fine with me. Agreed. I’ve seen both NYCB and ABT’s productions, and while ABT’s has some flaws, I INFINITELY prefer it over NYCB SL. Link to comment
maps Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 On 5/30/2022 at 1:13 PM, California said: The ABT site actually lists five versions of Raymonda: ... Raymonda Divertissements (Kolpakova/McKenzie) I hope Jaffe pulls a Raymonda out of the vault. This morning I watched some Ailey videos - one was The River and I thought a pdd would have looked great on pointe. Upon reflection confirmed by research it was on pointe at ABT; ELLINGTON's "The River" danced by ABT (ALVIN AILEY choreography) - YouTube https://www.abt.org/ballet/the-river/ Plus Paquita grand pas and Grand Pas Classique [recently done by the Studio company -Part]. New short pdd that would be fun to see-the Duke [Bridgerton the Unofficial Musical]. Link to comment
FauxPas Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 (edited) 14 minutes ago, maps said: This morning I watched some Ailey videos - one was The River and I thought a pdd would have looked great on pointe. Upon reflection confirmed by research it was on pointe at ABT; ELLINGTON's "The River" danced by ABT (ALVIN AILEY choreography) - YouTube https://www.abt.org/ballet/the-river/ @maps your wish is my command! ABT 1973 Cynthia Gregory and Marcos Paredes in "The River" in the "Lake" section danced on pointe. Less dark video: Edited July 13, 2022 by FauxPas Link to comment
Helene Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 In "The Turning Point" the solo "made" by the choreographer character Arnold was the Vortex solo from Ailey's "The River," which is danced on point This isn't from the movie, but shows Ann Marie DeAngelo performing: Link to comment
FauxPas Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 Seems that Pennsylvania Ballet restored "The River" with pointe work in 1998. Must also mention that Cynthia Gregory and Eleanor D'Antuono were in the first cast and are around to coach/restore it. Jennie Elser and Juan Carlos Peneula PA Ballet 1998: Link to comment
Josette Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 On 6/4/2022 at 7:56 AM, RUKen said: I don't think it has been mentioned yet on this thread that Christopher Wheeldon's "Like Water for Chocolate", which is premiering now at the Royal Ballet, is a co-production with American Ballet Theatre. We can expect it to be performed in New York in the next year or two. According to a Segerstrom Performing Arts Center email that I received months ago, ABT is scheduled to premiere Like Water for Chocolate in the U.S. in March of 2023 in Orange County. I saw all casts of The Royal Ballet's world premiere of Like Water for Chocolate in early June, including the General Rehearsal and opening night. The production was hugely popular with the audience. I loved it as danced by The Royal Ballet, who are brilliant dance-actors, and will see it performed by ABT in March, as I live in California. I would assume that NY audiences will see it in summer of 2023 and there will be a great deal of discussion in Ballet Alert about it. Link to comment
Buddy Posted July 14, 2022 Share Posted July 14, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, Josette said: According to a Segerstrom Performing Arts Center email that I received months ago, ABT is scheduled to premiere Like Water for Chocolate in the U.S. in March of 2023 in Orange County. I saw all casts of The Royal Ballet's world premiere of Like Water for Chocolate in early June, including the General Rehearsal and opening night. The production was hugely popular with the audience. I loved it as danced by The Royal Ballet, who are brilliant dance-actors, and will see it performed by ABT in March, as I live in California. I would assume that NY audiences will see it in summer of 2023 and there will be a great deal of discussion in Ballet Alert about it. Being another California resident, Josette, if they'd like to throw a few Swan Lakes into the mix, that would be more than wonderful by me. 😊 Edited July 14, 2022 by Buddy Link to comment
Becki Lee Posted July 14, 2022 Share Posted July 14, 2022 The tours so far are looking like an interesting mix…. February, Kennedy Center, R&J March, Segerstrom, Like Water for Chocolate April, Auditorium Chicago, Mix Rep May, Lied Nebraska, Giselle and Hancher Iowa, Mixed Rep Link to comment
FauxPas Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 Given that ABT has a five week season now I think I can guess what the Met 2023 Summer season will be. Swan Lake, Like Water for Chocolate, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet and possibly either a mixed bill or a second season of Of Love and Rage. Maybe Swan Lake will go into a second week like this year and we will get one long weekend of Of Love and Rage. Link to comment
stuben Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 6 minutes ago, FauxPas said: Given that ABT has a five week season now I think I can guess what the Met 2023 Summer season will be. Swan Lake, Like Water for Chocolate, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet and possibly either a mixed bill or a second season of Of Love and Rage. Maybe Swan Lake will go into a second week like this year and we will get one long weekend of Of Love and Rage. I am thinking everything is speculation at this point since a new AD will be in town?! Unless the 2023 rep has been discussed and agreed upon by both ADs. According to Ms. Jaffe's interview it looks like she will be looking for methods and reps to draw in new audience around the country. Seems to be an interest to perform at universities etc. Perhaps this is a sign for interest in new choreographers as well as bringing back the some of the Golden Age reps? Link to comment
FauxPas Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, stuben said: I am thinking everything is speculation at this point since a new AD will be in town?! Unless the 2023 rep has been discussed and agreed upon by both ADs. According to Ms. Jaffe's interview it looks like she will be looking for methods and reps to draw in new audience around the country. Seems to be an interest to perform at universities etc. Perhaps this is a sign for interest in new choreographers as well as bringing back the some of the Golden Age reps? Agreed but certain things like Wheeldon's "Like Water for Chocolate" have already been announced. So some planning was already done for the Met Summer Season 2023 prior to Jaffe's appointment. I also think that certain dancers have already been contracted for next year, so we can't expect some of the dancers we don't care for to have been dropped in a house cleaning move. I think that the 2023 season will have a lot of McKenzie's fingerprints on the season planning as to dates and repertoire and touring. But Jaffe, as of January 2023 will be in control of things like casting. So maybe no more Deven Teuscher and Hee Seo get two performances of everything and Shevchenko gets only one matinee, etc. Cory maybe gets some of his leading roles cut back due to age and declining technique and Camargo and others are brought forward, etc. Hopefully Jaffe is in the room and looped in for major artistic decisions like the last round of promotions and season planning for 2023. Edited July 18, 2022 by FauxPas Link to comment
Victura Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 (edited) Susan Jaffe was recently on the podcast the Dance Edit. It looks like you need a subscription to listen to the podcast, but there’s a transcript of the conversation here: Susan Jaffe on Ballet’s Path Forward https://thedanceedit.com/transcript-the-dance-edit-extra-episode-23 Edited July 25, 2022 by Victura Link to comment
nysusan Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 1 hour ago, Victura said: Susan Jaffe was recently on the podcast the Dance Edit. It looks like you need a subscription to listen to the podcast, but there’s a transcript of the conversation here: Susan Jaffe on Ballet’s Path Forward https://thedanceedit.com/transcript-the-dance-edit-extra-episode-23 Yup, sounds pretty dismal. No hope for anything with any resemblance to the Petipa Bayadere, Corsaire & Raymonda. If this comes to pass I will be spending my ABT $s on trips to see the Washington, Phil and any other U.S. ballet co that puts on those productions. Ballet West? Maybe even a trip overseas to see the Royal or POB Bayadere or Raymonda. Link to comment
California Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 56 minutes ago, nysusan said: Yup, sounds pretty dismal. No hope for anything with any resemblance to the Petipa Bayadere, Corsaire & Raymonda. If this comes to pass I will be spending my ABT $s on trips to see the Washington, Phil and any other U.S. ballet co that puts on those productions. Ballet West? Maybe even a trip overseas to see the Royal or POB Bayadere or Raymonda. I saw Philadelphia Ballet's Corsaire in 2017. The only concession they made to "modern sensibilities" was identifying Aili as a servant instead of a slave. But I wonder if they'll do this ballet again. https://philadelphiaballet.org/past-performances/le-corsaire/ They were scheduled to do Bayadere in March 2020 but I don't know if it was cancelled: https://philadelphiaballet.org/past-performances/la-bayadere/ They did a Raymonda "Suite" choreographed by Corella in their digital series last year. I have a hunch we will only be seeing suites and variations from Raymonda, at least in North America. https://philadelphiaballet.org/spring-2021/ Link to comment
Victura Posted July 26, 2022 Share Posted July 26, 2022 Having read the podcast transcript more thoroughly now, I thought Jaffe had some good ideas for the future of ABT. If anything, some of the things that she suggested (i.e. costumes being more culturally accurate in La Bayadère) are not big changes at all and something that would be adjusted by each particular production anyway. I thought she had a balanced point of view in wanting to preserve the classics and not throwing out full productions, but working with scholars to determine the appropriate way to present them to audiences. It's a realistic and practical way of moving forward. As much as I love the tradition of classical ballet, nothing stays the same forever, and frankly not alienating audiences but making ballet more accessible and inclusive is a way of making sure it's preserved for the long term. I don't see this as any different than other aspects of ballet changing over time (i.e. the ideal body type in dancers, or more virtuosity/tricks now than in the past) and artistic directors creating new productions of classics and choreographing after Petipa. Link to comment
Roberta Posted July 26, 2022 Share Posted July 26, 2022 On 7/13/2022 at 2:32 PM, FauxPas said: Seems that Pennsylvania Ballet restored "The River" with pointe work in 1998. Must also mention that Cynthia Gregory and Eleanor D'Antuono were in the first cast and are around to coach/restore it. Jennie Elser and Juan Carlos Peneula PA Ballet 1998: The Ailey Company performed the full The River in Washington, DC, in 2007 starring Alicia Graf. No pointe shoes...this was the soft-slipper edition but was very well done, that I recall. Link to comment
tutu Posted July 26, 2022 Share Posted July 26, 2022 5 hours ago, Victura said: Having read the podcast transcript more thoroughly now, I thought Jaffe had some good ideas for the future of ABT. I was a bit disappointed with some of the ways that she was talking about increasing audience education and engagement (the podcasts vs filming vs etc.) — was hoping for something a bit more visionary — but the more I think about it, the more that seems like it’ll be a function of effective hiring in marketing and PR. ABT’s already come miles from where they were a couple years ago on that front and hopefully the upward trajectory continues. Link to comment
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