ABT Fall 2023

[MarzipanShepherdess]

Went to last night's Ballet Imperial/Dream program.

I went in with high expectations for Roxander as Puck based on posts here and his dancing last season, but WOW was I blown away. Puck is a real "a star is born" role for him. He was just astounding: huge jump, incredible elevation, powerful turns and my god his SPEED! He really did seem otherworldly in how fast he could move. Yet at the same time, his steps were never blurred, everything in the choreography and mime was super-clearly articulated. More than anything else he makes me excited for the future of ABT.

Melvin Lawoi, who danced Bottom, is clearly one to watch. He handled all the pointe work with aplomb and had great comic timing and a lot of presence. More of him please. 

Roxander was the star of the show, but I thought Camargo looked great last night too. He's a strong addition to the company. Ashton gives the men the juiciest dancing, but Trenary was lovely in the rather limited role. I also enjoyed Claire Davison as Helena--she has a gift for roles like this that require some real acting. And Roman was a very funny Lysander.

I had just seen Sara Mearns and Andy Veyette, and Tiler Peck and, I think, Anthony Huxley, dance Ballet Imperial in City Ballet's anniversary season and I couldn't help but compare the performances. Agree with others who felt ABT's rendition lacked the zest and energy of City Ballet's. I did find Skylar Brandt to be the exception: last night she was wonderfully light and quick and buoyant. While I wasn't super-excited by Isabella and James individually, I do like their partnership. There's clearly tons of trust and rapport and there were a few moments where some playfulness between them came through and livened up what overall felt like a rather mannered take on the ballet.

I wouldn't want City Ballet to adopt a similar aesthetic, but I do like ABT's grander, overtly Russian set and costumes (especially the gorgeous kokoshnik headpieces for the ladies). The more elaborate, traditional look feels in keeping with their style as a company. 

[abatt]

Just a slight correction of the above, I think Mearns danced with Tyler Angle, and Peck danced with Joe Gordon.  While the costumes in Ballet Imperial  convey grandeur and a regal nobility, there was nothing in the performance that conveyed that.  So  ABT's costumes, in my opinion, were incongruous with the performance.  Boylston and  Whiteside gave the impression  of siblings .  She grinned broadly at him during the pas. As a result, the entire section where Whiteside is  searching for his Czarina comes off as  phony.  He was just looking for his little sister Bella.

Devon would have been a more sensible choice for this role.  Everything about her is regal, and she did a wonderful T&V previously. 

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by abatt

[Novice123]

On 10/25/2023 at 8:46 AM, Rick said:

I think the Met Opera gives free tickets to certain doctors for this reason. I’m surprised that ABT doesn’t have a similar policy. 

A few years back at the Met,  I sat next to one of these doctors.  She was called away and never returned.  

[Sal]

I went to Wednesday's Ballet Imperial. The Dream performance. I've read everyone else's comments, so here are my random thoughts...

1. The noisy feet! They were so distracting! I found myself wondering why the ladies didn't bang out their pointe shoes, but maybe they had!! I'm so used  NYCB dancing so quietly in that theater and really disliked the thunks of the shoes.

2. Ballet Imperial. I Must say that PC2 at NYCB was the first ballet I saw the company dance when I first moved to NYC. Sara Mearns and Amar Ramasar were the leads (I can't remember who the soloist ballerina was), and it was so beautiful I was surprised to find myself getting choked up with emotion. Everything about it was moving: the music, the flowing costumes, the dancers, the corps de ballet -- I'll never forget it. To see the same ballet done in, to me, such a  stodgy, stuffy manner was jarring. I felt the tutus inhibited the dancers' movement and distracted from the line and patterns they were creating. Isabella and James were out of their league technically, unfortunately, in my opinion, lacking the attack and confidence I've seen the NYCB dancers achieve. And Skylar was fine in her role, if not underused (I found myself wondering how she might have handled the lead ballerina). I never noticed it before but Skylar had a glued-on, unmoving smile throughout, which didn't suit the ballet and just looked a bit odd as the ballet progressed. 

3. Jake Roxander! A star is born!  I hope the powers that be bring him along carefully and thoughtfully so that we all can enjoy his amazing dancing for many years to come.

4. The Dream. I thought Trenary and Carmago made a lush and lovely couple in their pas de deux. Claire Davison was a hoot as were her cohorts. And the dancer who danced Bottom was spot on. I really enjoy Ashton's humor (La Fille Mal Gardee was a favorite of mine during my dancing days) so I found The Dream to be an enjoyably light entertainment.

[matilda]

Mixed bag of a performance tonight. On the plus side, Camargo and Trenary were excellent in the Dream. He has one of the best arabesques I've seen on a man and his long limbs suit Oberon well. Trenary brought old Hollywood comic glamour as Titania. Melvin Lawovi was hilarious and on point (pun intended) as Bottom. In Ballet Imperial, Chloe Misseldine was regal and musical, and I liked Sunmi Park and Fanqi Li as the demis. 

I've long considered myself a Shevchenko fan but she is absolutely not a Balanchine dancer. There was no joy, no abandon, no freedom of movement, and minimal connection to the music. Technique was fine and the fouettés were great as usual for her, but this was a soulless performance. Royal's classical limitations were glaring and he had issues with technique. There was a section where I think he ended his solo early and just stood on stage to fill the music. Tempo was glacially slow compared to at NYCB. I agree with one of the above comments that Teuscher could have been good in this -- Hurlin too. 

I didn't mind Ballet Imperial's tutus and ornate scenery, although I prefer the more romantic swishy skirts and minimalist background of the PC2 version.

Elwince Magbitang came off as underpowered as Puck. Disappointing, given what a strong impression he made as the gypsy in Don Quixote last summer. 

Edited October 27, 2023 by matilda

[WLH]

Totally agree that the highlights of tonight were Trenary and Camargo, lyrical and beautiful. Melvin was excellent as Bottom. In Ballet Imperial, Shevchenko seemed.. empty? Technically capable, but very little musicality or artistry? Royal III doesn’t have the technique for this as stated above, (why cast him? He’s more effective in other things) however he has a warm aura about him, magnetism, beautiful arms. That doesn’t make up for an absence of chemistry or romance between them, though. A lot of the partnering looked labored and tense. The corps also looked a little off at points. Misseldine has beautiful feet and legs, good stage presence, but her expression was sort of frozen and peppy the whole way through? from the first ring it was somewhat distracting.

 Again though, all worth it to see Camargo and Trenary! I would watch him and Aran Bell do just about anything. 

[fondoffouettes]

Tonight was my first performance of the season, and the sound issues with the floor were more bizarre than I'd expected. I don't think the dancers are to blame at all. In the first movement of Ballet Imperial, I could actually hear the dancers' knees/legs hitting the floor as they dropped into knee-bends, and clearly they weren't slamming their knees into the stage. I was also able to hear what sounded like Royal and Camargo's shoes both sticking the stage floor. In the corps sequences in The Dream, it felt like you could hear every corps member's pointe shoes working at the same time. There were so many other examples, but basically you could hear nearly all foot noise all the time. This isn't something I've ever experienced at the Koch with either NYCB or ABT in the past.

I agree that Camargo and Trenary were wonderful in The Dream. Camargo's arabesque was indeed beautiful, and I thought he did well with all the fleet-footed choreographic moments. Trenary is an ideal Titania. Lawovi was great as Bottom -- one of my favorites I've seen. I haven't seen Roxander as Puck, and yet I was still very underwhelmed by Magbitang. He's a good turner but not the most impressive jumper, and I thought his characterization was quite lacking. The impish insouciance was nowhere to be found. He also has the physicality of a child gymnast, and I prefer a Puck with a more robust presence. 

After hearing reports of Shevchenko in her first outing in Ballet Imperial, I was pleasantly surprised that she seemed quite relaxed in the piece. I agree with others that her solo in the first movement was played way too slowly. She struggled a bit with the turns in that solo; two were fine, but then one of them only seemed to have one revolution, and then for another one, she elected to execute it on pointe rather than on demi-pointe. (It made me realize, though, that I don't think Mearns executes the turns entirely on demi-pointe. It looked strikingly different to see Shevchenko execute the turns with two full revolutions on demi-pointe.). I thought she and Royal were strongest in the second movement, where Shevchenko was able to luxuriate more in the music and use her flexible back and fluid ports de bras to her advantage. Misseldine was great -- expansive, exciting dancing.

I've long wanted to see Ballet Imperial in tutus, but the ones ABT is using make a pretty poor case for them. Everything just looked too heavy and decadent, and I thought the use of color was unsophisticated. I think the Happel costumes at NYCB are a total misfire, but I'm convinced now that the piece does look better in flowy skirts. Perhaps the ballet could look good in tutus that are far lighter than the ones ABT is using.

Edited October 27, 2023 by fondoffouettes

[Helene]

All of these reports of noise on the floor make me think of tap and Flamenco dancers whose boards are often miked.

[abatt]

Based on what I saw at NYCB this fall,  both Mearns and Tiler Peck did the turns on demi-pointe in that opening solo.  That's the choreography.  So if Shevchenko did any of those on pointe, she did not do what is choreographed.  Boylston had a lot of trouble with those turns.  I think maybe one went right.  The others were botched and unsteady.  Just one of the many issues with ABT's performance of  Ballet Imperial. 

[fondoffouettes]

30 minutes ago, abatt said:

Based on what I saw at NYCB this fall,  both Mearns and Tiler Peck did the turns on demi-pointe in that opening solo. 

Thanks for clarifying. I think I was responding to something looking different about Shevchenko's approach to those turns -- they looked more flat-footed than what Mearns did, if that makes sense. 

I do think Shevchenko may have executed one of the turns on pointe. I know that section does also have turns on pointe, but I thought she did it for one the ones that is supposed to be on demi-pointe. But, ballet moves so quickly and there's so much to take in -- I often wish I had instant replay!

[stuben]

11 hours ago, Helene said:

All of these reports of noise on the floor make me think of tap and Flamenco dancers whose boards are often miked.

With so many agreeing on the sound issues, I wonder if this accentuated the squeaky wheels from those black dresses in Petite Mort, I just can't get that noise out of my head, they were so distracting.

12 hours ago, WLH said:

Misseldine has beautiful feet and legs, good stage presence, but her expression was sort of frozen and peppy the whole way through? from the first ring it was somewhat distracting.

That was my issue in regard to her expression (or lack thereof) when I saw Like Water For Chocolate, I thought that was expected for the particular role. Her technique is there but totally agree these are distractions. As for standing out, it is easy to stand out when a dancer is doing a solo on stage, however, I saw Études and didn't realize she was dancing a corps role, and thought several others were standouts.

[abatt]

Misseldine did not have the fixed smile when she did Myrta, from what I recall.

 

As reported previously at the Guggenheim talk Jaffe indicated that Misseldine is prepping the lead in SL.  Now that should be interesting. 

[fondoffouettes]

29 minutes ago, stuben said:

With so many agreeing on the sound issues, I wonder if this accentuated the squeaky wheels from those black dresses in Petite Mort, I just can't get that noise out of my head, they were so distracting.

Quite possibly. I could actually hear quite a lot of noise from Bottom's costume change that occurs far upstage, and I'm not at all used to hearing that sort of thing. 

I did notice that ABT's marley formed a rather thick lip right at the proscenium line. I've never noticed that at NYCB, so it made me wonder if NYCB extends theirs onto the apron. I'm not sure what, if any, difference that would make acoustically. 

[jeff-sh]

1 hour ago, fondoffouettes said:

I did notice that ABT's marley formed a rather thick lip right at the proscenium line.   I've never noticed that at NYCB, so it made me wonder if NYCB extends theirs onto the apron.

I think ABT's marley is on top of existing NYCB floor. NYCB floor is built in with the stage and extends to apron so the whole stage is flat 

Edited October 27, 2023 by jeff-sh

[WLH]

1 hour ago, abatt said:

Misseldine did not have the fixed smile when she did Myrta, from what I recall.

 

As reported previously at the Guggenheim talk Jaffe indicated that Misseldine is prepping the lead in SL.  Now that should be interesting. 

I agree, I don’t remember any sort of frozen facial expression in her Myrta debut, maybe that’s why it caught me off guard.

[vipa]

16 hours ago, abatt said:

Based on what I saw at NYCB this fall,  both Mearns and Tiler Peck did the turns on demi-pointe in that opening solo.  That's the choreography.  So if Shevchenko did any of those on pointe, she did not do what is choreographed.  Boylston had a lot of trouble with those turns.  I think maybe one went right.  The others were botched and unsteady.  Just one of the many issues with ABT's performance of  Ballet Imperial. 

I was actually amazed by how well both Merns and Tiler Peck performed those turns. It can be a real trouble spot.

[California]

I couldn't stick around to see Program 3. How was it? From Instagram, it looked like the colors of the Ukraine flag were on the back during bows. Ratmansky send a loving greeting to honor Ukraine with the performance of Dnipro.

[balletlover08]

On 10/27/2023 at 12:31 PM, WLH said:

I agree, I don’t remember any sort of frozen facial expression in her Myrta debut, maybe that’s why it caught me off guard.

I think she does it when it’s a character that isn’t icy or commanding. I saw up close footage of her Odette and Odile during a gala. She has the tendency to do it in Odette (open mouth fish face) but not Odile. Hopefully Irina will fix it when they start rehearsing. Funnily enough her facial expressions for Odile were done quite well so I hope she figures out her Odette face before February. 
 

The smile also didn’t look pasted on when she did peasant pas or bridesmaids so idk why it’s happening in some roles and not others. Perhaps it’s nerves or wearing masks during rehearsal for too long haha. Wearing masks made me develop some odd facial expressions. Btw not hating on masks it was definitely necessary for a time. 

[ABT Fan]

Just left tonights performance, and last program of the season.

I liked Single Eye, my first time seeing it, though the frequent windmill/flailing arm motions with flexed wrists got old quickly. Thought the men’s tunics were very flattering, especially on Royal, and the backdrops were effective. This is the type of work that Royal excels in - wonderful use of his long arms and legs and expressive body. Breanne Granlund made her first appearance of the season I think. I don’t think she was cast in anything else was she? Boylston and Forster are a very good match.

Gemma Bond’s pas de deux was a brief, unnecessary triffle. Seo and Ahn did what they could; poor use of her. The singer was excellent. 

Loved seeing Dnipro again. Teuscher is beautiful as Natalia; quiet yet touching, nuanced and impactful acting. I wish Forster or Curley were cast tonight as Sergiy. Whiteside’s mastery of petit allegro was on full display. Shevchenko was fine as Olga. I’ve found for quite awhile now that her dancing just doesn’t do it for me - something is always missing and I can’t always articulate what that is, except that tonight I wasn’t moved. I thought years ago that she would become one of my favorites, but that hasn’t happened. 

Roxander was absolutely the highlight of this short season - his performance in Etudes will be hard to beat- If only I could have seen his Puck. 😩

Edited October 29, 2023 by ABT Fan

[MarzipanShepherdess]

Saw yesterday's matinee of Single Eye/Depuis Le Jour/Dnipro.

The unexpected standout of the afternoon was Michael de la Nuez, who had a soloist role in Single Eye and danced Olga's Fiancé in Dnipro. He was excellent in both, and especially stood out in Single Eye for his fluidity and speed, especially because some of the other prominently featured dancers (most notably Shevchenko) looked stiff and not at home with King's more contemporary choreography. Royal was also in the cast of Single Eye that I saw, and I agree with @ABT Fan that he looked great.  Devon was also excellent in Single Eye: it felt like she was fully inhabiting the steps whereas Shevchenko just seemed to be marking them off. I liked Single Eye (some interesting push/pull pas de deuxs) but I felt like overall the company didn't quite do it justice.

Depuis Le Jour began promisingly enough, with some interesting choreography where the two dancers are on the floor together, but once they got up it was just windmilling arms and legs over and over again, which felt quite repetitive even though the pas de deux is just seven minutes. Sebastian and Williams made as much of it as anyone could have, I'm sure. 

Dnipro: Memories of the original cast loomed large for me over this performance. I'm sorry to say that watching Forster and Park in this mostly made me really, really miss Gomes and Part (who originated Sergiy and Natalia). Park does not have Part's flexible, expressive "Vaganova back" and some of Natalia's choreography lost its impact on her. I thought she danced well, but more so capturing Natalia's initial delight at her reunion at Sergei than in the evoking the depths of her heartbreak. I wanted more despair! Catherine Hurlin was excellent as Olga and could have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the OG cast. This role is a great showcase for her warp-speed turns and big jump: you can see how Sergiy would be drawn in by her vibrant presence. And as mentioned above, de la Nuez, who Jaffe seems to be spotlighting more prominently recently, was great in the role Hallberg originated. I really like Dnipro as a ballet and am glad to see it back on ABT's stage. 

[ABT Fan]

24 minutes ago, MarzipanShepherdess said:

Saw yesterday's matinee of Single Eye/Depuis Le Jour/Dnipro.

The unexpected standout of the afternoon was Michael de la Nuez, who had a soloist role in Single Eye and danced Olga's Fiancé in Dnipro. He was excellent in both, and especially stood out in Single Eye for his fluidity and speed, especially because some of the other prominently featured dancers (most notably Shevchenko) looked stiff and not at home with King's more contemporary choreography. Royal was also in the cast of Single Eye that I saw, and I agree with @ABT Fan that he looked great.  Devon was also excellent in Single Eye: it felt like she was fully inhabiting the steps whereas Shevchenko just seemed to be marking them off. I liked Single Eye (some interesting push/pull pas de deuxs) but I felt like overall the company didn't quite do it justice.

Depuis Le Jour began promisingly enough, with some interesting choreography where the two dancers are on the floor together, but once they got up it was just windmilling arms and legs over and over again, which felt quite repetitive even though the pas de deux is just seven minutes. Sebastian and Williams made as much of it as anyone could have, I'm sure. 

Dnipro: Memories of the original cast loomed large for me over this performance. I'm sorry to say that watching Forster and Park in this mostly made me really, really miss Gomes and Part (who originated Sergiy and Natalia). Park does not have Part's flexible, expressive "Vaganova back" and some of Natalia's choreography lost its impact on her. I thought she danced well, but more so capturing Natalia's initial delight at her reunion at Sergei than in the evoking the depths of her heartbreak. I wanted more despair! Catherine Hurlin was excellent as Olga and could have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the OG cast. This role is a great showcase for her warp-speed turns and big jump: you can see how Sergiy would be drawn in by her vibrant presence. And as mentioned above, de la Nuez, who Jaffe seems to be spotlighting more prominently recently, was great in the role Hallberg originated. I really like Dnipro as a ballet and am glad to see it back on ABT's stage. 

I agree that Nuez was excellent in Single Eye. I was happy to see him featured. The last time the company did Dnipro, which was before the pandemic, I saw Hurlin as Olga. She was a newly appointed soloist then and this was one of her first principal roles. I thought it was a natural fit for her and was impressed with her dramatic scale at such a young age. I was sorry to miss her this time around. I’ve also seen Forster as Sergiy and really loved him in this role, but no one can compare to Gomes.

[onxmyxtoes]

The last program was my least favorite out of the bunch. Program 1 (Piano Concerto, Petit Mort, Etudes) and Program 2 (Ballet Imperial, The Dream), were much stronger programs. This one felt sleepy to me and the audience was also pretty low energy. 

[fondoffouettes]

Corps member Katie Boren must be leaving the company. Carlos Gonzalez congratulates her on her career in his Instagram stories.

[California]

41 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

Corps member Katie Boren must be leaving the company. Carlos Gonzalez congratulates her on her career in his Instagram stories.

There's a backstage Instagram shot of other dancers giving Boren big bouquet and another of her outside on a rainy street with the bouquet.

[Helene]

Official news only, and personal conversations aren't official news.