2023-2024 Season

[pirouette]

Does anyone know the name of the male dancer who fell during the Pastorale section of La Sonnambula? Was it Lars Nelson? And did he come back for the finale or did they switch him out? It looked to me like he was hurt, but I could be wrong..

[jeff-sh]

1 minute ago, pirouette said:

Does anyone know the name of the male dancer who fell during the Pastorale section of La Sonnambula? Was it Lars Nelson? And did he come back for the finale or did they switch him out? It looked to me like he was hurt, but I could be wrong..

Yes it was Lars. Jules Mabie replaced him for finale

[pirouette]

17 minutes ago, jeff-sh said:

Yes it was Lars. Jules Mabie replaced him for finale

Thank you. Hope Lars is ok.

[vipa]

Saw tonight's show. So happy to see Apollo again. Adrian Danchig-Waring was terrific. I love the scale and clarity of his dancing. He showed us a young god coming into his own, with a well thought out portrayal. I enjoyed Unity Phelan's Terpsichore, it was nuanced, musical and playful. The cast, which included, Sara Adams as Calliope and Emilie Gerrity's as Polyhymnia really brought the piece to life, although I still find Gerrity on the bland side.

I hadn't seen La Sonnambula in many years, and can wait a few years before seening it again. That said the Divertissements have interesting moments. Jacqeuline Bologna and Davide Riccardo did the Pas de Deux. She is looking good this season, and he is definitely soloist material. Not sure why Unity Phelan is cast as the Sleepwalker, other than she's cast in everything. She doesn't bring anything special to the role, but I'm not sure how much can actually be brought to it. I wouldn't mind if the ballet was dropped from the rep for a while.

Tchai Piano was a joy. It made me smile. Emily Kikta was wonderful in the 2nd ballerina role. Assured, radiant and bold, she whipped through the difficult choreography like a ballerina. She is dancing like a principal. Mearns and Angle were the principal couple. When I saw Angle in Emeralds recently, I thought his solo work substandard. That wasn't the case here. Clean beats, nice jumps, crisp turns, and the partnering is always sublime. Sara Mearns knows how to hold the stage. I found her opening section with the pivot turns in tendu (an unusual step) riveting. Towards the end of the ballet the spead and clairity of her footwork seemed to diminish, but overall her performance was full, beautiful and engaging. She has the imagination, as an artist, to bring a lot to any role. 

As stated by others Lars Nelson fell during La Sonnambula, and seemed unable to complete steps when he got up. I hpe he's not badly injured.

 

[abatt]

10 hours ago, cobweb said:

I was also there last night and like @deanofdance had a great time. For me I especially loved Stars & Stripes. It is irresistible. I never would have thought to put Nadon and Walker in the pas de deux but both looked more comfortable with the choreography than they did on the first night, and both are very appealing. Emma Von Enck again dazzled in Tarantella - so responsive to the music! Sebastian Villarini-Velez did well and was extremely genial. 

I was there on Tuesday as well.  Thankfully Woodward cleaned up her section in Western  involving the fouettes.  She is not doing the Italian fouettes, but at least what she substituted looked neat and controlled.

I never underestimate Mira Nadon.  I liked her and Walker in S&S.  I prefer the whiz bang performances of other interpreters, but their performance   was lovely.   It was worth the price of admission to see Ulbricht partner Kikta in the finale.  She towered over him.  

[abatt]

They have not had a fabulous Sonnambula in a while.  Whelan used to be great in the role, and Janie Taylor too.   If you don't have someone exceptional in that role, it falls flat.   We'll see what Maxwell can do with it. 

 

[Belka]

One week ago my friend and I took the train from DC to see the Sep 28 and Sep 30 evening performances, and we took in the onstage company class and the 5pm onstage presentation. What an absolute treat and honor to experience all of the different parts of the ballet in one long weekend--and a major rainstorm to boot! I'm pretty late with these thoughts, so I'll try to keep it short.

Sep 28 (Thursday evening) Western Symphony - all of the soloists were really on top of their game. Kudos to Olivia MacKinnon for staying focused during the costume malfunction - someone upthread mentioned the long ribbon (?) that came undone from her costume and fortunately didn't get in the way of either her dancing or Gilbert Bolden's partnering (as many others have already stated, please promote him). Indiana pulled off the complex series of attitude turns in place of the italian fouettes without a care. But the show stealer for me was Emily Kikta! WOW! What explosive, fun dancing with abandon! Andrew Veyette matched her energy and flair, and it was fantastic to watch this ballet, which ended up being my favorite of the evening--not a single weak point in the dancing. Tarantella - I had two friends with me who were not previously dancers who both remarked that Daniel Ulbricht really tore up the stage and that Erica P. wasn't able to match his energy. Sad I missed Emma Von Enck in this one. Watching Roman and Megan bring down the house in Stars and Stripes was just icing on the cake after Western Symphony. I don't think there's anything either of them can't do. What a pleasure.

Sep 30 - Onstage class - this was actually my favorite activity of the weekend. I loved seeing the dancers just being themselves. I too noticed Gilbert front and center at the barre with Roman and Tiler, and mostly watched them in the warm up, and Alexa Maxwell, who was pretty much right in front of me. Across the floor I was extremely impressed by Alexa Maxwell, Miriam Miller, and a corps member I had to look up: Cainan Weber - his movements seemed extremely sharp and put together. Megan F, Tiler, Roman (who was also keeping everyone entertained with pirouettes a la seconde upstage) were a joy to watch as well.

Sep 30 - Onstage presentation - What a treat to see all of these pieces I didn't anticipate seeing this weekend! Highlights were Baily Jones in Symphony in C 3rd movement (I did not think Villarini-Velez was up to par with her, technically); Emma and Jovani Furlan in Rubies (wow! please have them dance this in DC next year); the bonus viewing of Megan F and Roman in Stars and Stripes, this time from a closer seat, was pure joy; and it it always a pleasure to see the exquisite Taylor Stanley. His remarks about what Agon meant to him were heartfelt and sincere and his dancing matches those sentiments. Unity danced the Rondo in Western Symphony with Veyette--it was interesting to compare that performance to the Kikta/Veyette show on the 28th. Though this was not a "real" performance, Unity's dancing was much more reserved and "proper" compared with Kikta's. I imagine that surprises no one on this board, but it was fascinating for me to be able to compare the two. I'm squarely in camp Kikta for this role at least (and, I suspect for many other roles. You can't take your eyes off her). 30 Sep performance thoughts to follow.

Edited October 5, 2023 by Belka
typo

[Belka]

On 10/3/2023 at 7:58 PM, On Pointe said:

I do not understand why any ballet company would allow the public to watch company class,  and I don't understand why anyone who isn't a ballet professional would want to see it. 

I'm a former ballet dancer, and I brought my non-dancer friend (who is a newer fan of ballet) to the class and we both thought it was incredibly interesting to watch. My friend noted she enjoyed it as much as the performance we saw a day prior.

[Fleurfairy]

Unity Phelan is becoming the new Hee Seo, as we all used to joke ABT should be renamed Hee Seo Ballet Theatre. Cast in everything.

[GB1216]

I hope that Alexa Maxwell got an opportunity to be coached by Allegra as well.  I’ll be seeing her at the Sunday matinee and am very curious. She’s certainly coming into her own, but I would not have pegged her for the sleepwalker off the bat.

[vipa]

3 minutes ago, GB1216 said:

I hope that Alexa Maxwell got an opportunity to be coached by Allegra as well.  I’ll be seeing her at the Sunday matinee and am very curious. She’s certainly coming into her own, but I would not have pegged her for the sleepwalker off the bat.

Maxwell mentioned being in the studio with Allegra, on her instagram, so even  if she wasn’t coached directly she was there.

[cobweb]

I look forward to any reports from tonight's gala. Especially interested to hear about the excerpts from Who Cares? They haven't brought this piece back in awhile; I'd be eager to see it again. 

I attended last night. Agree that La Sonnambula is largely a snooze. I wish they had put in La Valse instead, there's more dancing, the costumes are mesmerizing, and I like the music a lot more. Taylor Stanley was fine, but I missed Harrison Ball, who was the Poet last time I saw it, and was insanely beautiful. Unity Phelan was also fine, but I couldn't help but think they should have given that role to Ashley Laracey, who would elevate it to another level of mystery entirely. It will be interesting to see Alexa Maxwell in the role, as @GB1216 said, I would not have pegged her for a role of mystery. On the other hand, she is always intense and dramatic. 

I enjoyed Apollo. Adrian Danchig-Waring etches the shapes so clearly, he just gets there so fast and looks great. I found Phelan and Gerrity both lovely but especially liked Sara Adams. Interesting that Taylor Stanley is not doing Apollo this time, I wonder why. I cannot WAIT to see the dynamite cast of Chan with Nadon, Kikta, and LaFreniere on Saturday!!

Finally Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 2 -- wow, what a great, grand piece! I wish they did this more often, it should be in the regular rotation like Symphony in C and Serenade. Emily Kikta was commanding and totally scintillating. (IMHO she should have been promoted instead of Emilie Gerrity.) More please. Sara Mearns is also commanding and has the innate sense of drama needed for this piece, and as noted above Tyler Angle was better than expected. All in all, such a GREAT PIECE!!

[cubanmiamiboy]

I was also yesterday at the performance, and again tonight at the gala.

Danchig-Waring was beautiful in Apollo. I have a complex relationship with the ballet. Long story short, I got to see a "new" Apollo at NYCB when I first saw it 22 years ago in US, which was before I saw Villella's staging. The Apollo I saw in Cuba-( unauthorized by the Trust)- was the 1940's version Balanchine staged for Eglevsky and Alonso. Full sets, golden sandals, wig for Apollo, chariot in Olympus, birth scene...the whole nine yards. The ballet was further supervised by Lifar-( close friend of Alonso)- in the 1960's. So this Apollo at NYCB is a total different animal. Enjoyable for sure, but it always leaves me as if they're playing excerpts in practice clothes. Still, as I said....D-W was all one can ask for in the role.

La Sonmambula has never been a favorite of mine. Perhaps Kent was able to revive the role to grand levels, but to me it seems that , aside from the sleepwalking scenes, including the finale, the rest hasn't really survived well the test of times. I have seen pictures of the original scheme, and just like Freddie Franklin said, the loss of the fantastic headpieces and the tux pants for the men quite diminishes the glamour that the party scene allegedly had in its origin. Phelan was ok in the role, but definitely not what I have read both Danilova and Kent did with it. His male counterpart I had never seen...but he didn't look, aesthetically, up to what the role was said to convey, again.... according to Franklin.

Ballet Imperial ....you can never go wrong with it... particularly for its exquisite score. Mearns was beautiful on it. Thank God she's one of the very few ballerinas I have seen that doesn't feel the need to show a frozen smile in everything. She was perfection. Kikta....not that much. She looked -( to me)- tense .

[cobweb]

No reports on the gala and dancing?

[cubanmiamiboy]

1 hour ago, cobweb said:

No reports on the gala and dancing?

Yes. SJP opened the night, wearing Carolina Herrera. Lots of fuss for the new "Who Cares..?" costumes, also by CH. I personally disliked them, as they look rather cocktail hour than ballet costume. The ballet is looking less and less ingenue and more and more ballroom. Now it only needs the heeled shoes for the women. Peck was wonderful in her first solo, and Bouder looked heavy. Among the onstage singers there was Vanessa Williams.

Glass Pieces is out of my liking frame whatsoever, so I can't really comment on it.

There was also a short documentary on the 75th anniversary that I felt was more aimed at PC than to bringing to the screen the email group of surviving members of Balanchine's era.

Food was overrated.😎

 

[Fleurfairy]

Who Cares? is one of my favorites, but the costumes didn't add much to the choreography. I see these fashion galas as stunt casting in a way. Just serves the purpose to get the fashion crowd to come to the ballet for a night.

Megan Fairchild's dancing is always a joy. It will be a huge loss when she retires. Tyler Angle should probably be thinking about wrapping it up. He looks old in comparison to Megan who always appears young and fresh even at 40.

And nobody can top Tiler doing Fascinatin' Rhythm. 

I echo Cubanmiamiboy. Bouder looks out of place, both physically and in her dancing. 

[abatt]

I have not seen these new costumes, but they could not be worse than the awful Santo Loquasto costumes they are replacing.  Any photos of the costumes?

[BalanchineFan]

On 10/3/2023 at 7:58 PM, On Pointe said:

I do not understand why any ballet company would allow the public to watch company class,  and I don't understand why anyone who isn't a ballet professional would want to see it.  It seems so intrusive.  It's designed to get dancers ready for their working day,  not to show off.  It isn't really "class" anyway - once there's an audience it becomes a performance,  whether or not it seems like one.  It's pretty hard to pretend that hundreds of people are not watching you,  as you pin up your hair or fall out of turns you never fall out of during the show.  Opera singers and concert pianists don't warm up in public,  and I don't think dancers should either.  Or maybe it's just me.

Unlike you, I love watching company class. As a dancer I didn’t mind classes with an audience. It appealed to my exhibitionist side, I suppose. They know it’s class, so you still do all the things you normally do to get your body ready for the rest of the day; rehearsal, performance whatever. One of things you see is how individuals navigate that. Who is relaxed in that situation. Who enjoys it, who is hiding in the back. No judgement, though. Everyone is entitled to their response and strategy.

I imagine companies do it because there’s an interest, people come, it builds excitement, it’s easy for them and not a costly perk to add for donors.

SAB has patrons visit classes a few times a year as well and I love that, too. In partnering class you can learn what they’re doing and see how difficult it is to master it. Those are “real” classes where they give corrections to individuals. 

Edited October 6, 2023 by BalanchineFan

[BalanchineFan]

1 hour ago, abatt said:

I have not seen these new costumes, but they could not be worse than the awful Santo Loquasto costumes they are replacing.  Any photos of the costumes?

Megan Fairchild’s IG

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyDqGmBOWVp/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Wendy Whelan’s IG also has pictures of the gala and some of the Broadway luminaries who sang. 
Gilbert Bolden’s IG shows his THREE looks for the evening. 
 

here’s another. A pic of the curtain call where you see a few costumes  

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyD-CueOA5s/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Whatever you think of the fashion gala it is MADE for social media. The pictures are very exciting.  

Edited October 6, 2023 by BalanchineFan

[abatt]

Thanks.  Very pretty costume.  Hope they revive the ballet next season. 

[Papagena]

16 hours ago, cobweb said:

Emily Kikta was commanding and totally scintillating. (IMHO she should have been promoted instead of Emilie Gerrity.) More please. All in all, such a GREAT PIECE!!

I agree. There are so many different and evolving characteristics of what makes a 'Balanchine Ballerina,' but something about how she can cover so much space + her timeless modernity and commanding presence makes her a top choice when I bring NYCB-first-timers to a performance. So many gorgeous ballerinas of many shapes and style in the company, but when I watch Kikta I always want to be her! 

Gerrity is lovely as well but doesn't stick in the mind as much. I'm looking forward to seeing her in more starring roles - for some reason my performance choices worked out to not having seen her much this and the previous year. 

Edited October 6, 2023 by Papagena

[abatt]

For me the big question mark is Miller.  She generally has not added any major Balanchine roles to her rep since Peter Martins left.  I would have expected her to at least get a debut in Jewels, or Symphony in C or some other important ballet.  It didn't happen.  Kikta is the one getting the nice debut roles.  I like Kikta, but I think she is so tall that there may be a concern about who could partner her in principal roles.  They already have LaFreniere, who is probably similar height, and there are already difficulties in finding proper partners for her.  Chan is used often here, but he is not tall enough to partner her.  My two cents.

[bellawood]

9 minutes ago, abatt said:

For me the big question mark is Miller.  She generally has not added any major Balanchine roles to her rep since Peter Martins left.  I would have expected her to at least get a debut in Jewels, or Symphony in C or some other important ballet.  It didn't happen.  Kikta is the one getting the nice debut roles.  I like Kikta, but I think she is so tall that there may be a concern about who could partner her in principal roles.  They already have LaFreniere, who is probably similar height, and there are already difficulties in finding proper partners for her.  Chan is used often here, but he is not tall enough to partner her.  My two cents.

I agree, to me Miriam Miller is a ballerina who was very to PM's taste and has perhaps not gotten a lot of looks under new management. Her major roles -- Titania, Agon PDD -- she did when PM was director. I think Kikta is several inches taller than ILF. She looked like she was dancing with a child during the coda of S&S. Can she dance with Gilbert Bolden? Never mind her own husband?

[cobweb]

Kikta is very tall, Miller is taller. Surely Peter Walker can partner Kikta, but not sure about Bolden. No doubt that is a limiting factor, but given that they promoted so many tall women to soloist, I assume that means they're prepared to have at least one very tall principal. Right?? In any case, I find Kikta a far, far more intriguing dancer than Miriam Miller. 

[fondoffouettes]

Kikta is such a unique and compelling talent. I really hope she is promoted after what by all accounts has been a very successful season for her so far. I look forward to her dancing as much as that of any of my favorite principals.

Edited October 6, 2023 by fondoffouettes