meunier fan Posted October 18 Posted October 18 (edited) Was there last night also. I'm attending all performances in the first ABT Fall Season week before going back to London as I want to get to better know the Company coming as I almost always do simply for the NYCB seasons to which I'm devoted. My memories of ABT almost entirely hold to its so-called 'glory days'. Mercurial they were. If Jaffe (and I think she seems to be doing a truly fantastic job in what surely must be at times inopportune situations) does nothing else in this Fall season but deliver Abraham's truly stunning Mercurial Son she will have done a lot. I'm now convinced this one is a keeper. It is certainly a better work (with the possible exception of portions of The Runaway - and that in a different light -) than I've seen him produce at this address and most certainly at the (newly retitled) RBO. The glimmering costumes are as effervescent as the balletic steps themselves are irrepressibly impulsive and resilient. They burnish; each within - as opposed to on top - of the dramatically volatile score. It too has grown on me. Can't wait to see it again. I thought the second cast almost better than the first but know that this is perhaps being unfair to these fine artists as it was I'm sure - in most part - only me becoming ever more aware of Abraham's buoyant genius which literally bubbles forth. Happily it blows both hot and cold in his lubricious and spiritually quicksilver fabric. It deserves the cheering celebration it has received from this sadly depleted audience. Whereas the Bond is as much a jumble as all of the other things I have seen from her noticeably wayward canon (with special kudos last night for the truly effervescent Chloe Misseldine) and the Etudes is - in truth - at best serviceable on the whole with some welcome flashes of light from the likes of Roxander, Hurlin, Teuscher and the life enrichingly precise Miyake whose pristine placement - even in the corps - puts all around him in due measure much as he did his entire RBS class - Mercurial Son deserves its title and is - at least in my book - well worth the price of anyone's ticket. Roxander and most certainly Lawovi were standouts in their individual gifts and I thought Royal III literally stepped outside himself. His grin at the call seemed almost startled as if - somehow - he had been - if not reborn - reshaped. However, engagement throughout this gayly ticklish yoyo of a delight was lazer sharp. Bless you, Mr. Abraham. Bless you, BIG TIME. Edited October 18 by meunier fan
choriamb Posted October 19 Posted October 19 (edited) I attended on Friday. While I wouldn't make a special trip to see La Boutique, it was OK. There was enough individuallized choreography and quirky devices to show promise...but there were too many lead roles for the ballet to have a strong focus and a bit too many steps to leave much time for interpetation. But Gonzalez, Park, Bell, and (especially) Brandt found what time was available and used it. (And people always complained that Ratmansky's one-acts were too busy as well at their debuts, so it will be interesting to see how this looks next year with additional rehearsal/cuts. I didn't see any resemblance to Massine's La Boutique Fantasque...but it might have been striving toward something like Namouna.) Mercurial Son probably also would have benefited from limiting the number of lead roles. But because part of it was arranged as a series of solos and the choreography was less intricate, there seemed more room for your eyes to focus on individual dancers and for the dancers to interpret. It never dragged and everyone in the cast looked good: like the choreographer had encouraged them to be distinctive. Trenary was as amazing as people have said above: all panther-like phrasing and blinding speed. Robare's allegro attack came as an unexpected jolt from someone of his height: this was a breakout moment. Gonzalez phrased like he was on a mission to prove that he has nuance as well as swagger. (Special props to the men for rising above the rather unflattering, floaty costumes: I don't mind gender-swapped costumes, but I didn't really see a narrative motivation it.) I don't love Etudes, but it was a solid performance. Murphy is Murphy and, needless to say, one wouldn't have guessed that she was in her first outing with a newly-minted soloist in his first lead in a classical barn-burner. The corps looked joyful. Curley didn't look fearful or sloppy...and offered glimmers of elan: I bet he'll build on that over his next two performances. Takumi Miyake had BUCKETS of elan. He clearly had great technique when he did Neapolitan in Swan Lake...but he had all of the verve you want in this role. Barring Trenary, it was the performance of the night. I feel like some of the male corps performances tonight might be an unexpected side-benefit of Roxander and Gonzalez's promotion: it sent a message to the men about which qualities get you promoted. Welcome back, allegro verve: all is forgiven. Edited October 19 by choriamb
ABT Fan Posted October 19 Author Posted October 19 52 minutes ago, abatt said: Miyake was the star on friday. He stole the show On his IG stories he shows a clip someone took of the double tours at the end. His legs and feet cut a beautiful image in those tight turns. It makes me so happy to see these young, extremely promising dancers get big shots this season. https://www.instagram.com/taku.ballet?igsh=MTd1aGxldHNmZnNxNg==
California Posted October 19 Posted October 19 (edited) 12 minutes ago, ABT Fan said: On his IG stories he shows a clip someone took of the double tours at the end. His legs and feet cut a beautiful image in those tight turns. It makes me so happy to see these young, extremely promising dancers get big shots this season. https://www.instagram.com/taku.ballet?igsh=MTd1aGxldHNmZnNxNg== Here's the Instagram I think you intended: https://www.instagram.com/abtofficial/reel/DBBq0jFxG0c/ (In the Instagram Stories, somebody got a clip of him in performance last night, but no way to link that.) And nice to see other men (Bell, Roxander) applauding him at the end! I remember a few years back when many of us noted him in rehearsals with the Studio Company. Can't wait to see him myself! Edited October 19 by California
ABT Fan Posted October 19 Author Posted October 19 (edited) 4 minutes ago, California said: Here's the Instagram I think you intended: https://www.instagram.com/abtofficial/reel/DBBq0jFxG0c/ And nice to see other men (Bell, Roxander) applauding him at the end! I remember a few years back when many of us noted him in rehearsals with the Studio Company. Can't wait to see him myself! Actually, no - I meant Miyake's own IG account, which I linked. You have to scroll through the stories, but someone took a clip from the audience of his tours at the end. You can see the rehearsal on ABT's IG as you attached (and, I also loved Bell's/Roxander's reaction!). Edited October 19 by ABT Fan
ABT Fan Posted October 19 Author Posted October 19 Intermission at the matinee… Before the program started they made an announcement saying Hurlin was injured (to many groans…) so Teuscher will be replacing her in Etudes later. Then they stated the principal casting for Etudes would be Teuscher, Hernandez, Roxander (both as programmed) and Curley. ?? So, I’m thinking with Teuscher stepping in last minute there isn’t time to go over any partnering and they’d rather have Curley step in for parts. About to find out… Hope Hurlin is ok and back on the stage soon, but watch the casting..
NinaFan Posted October 19 Posted October 19 5 hours ago, California said: Here's the Instagram I think you intended: https://www.instagram.com/abtofficial/reel/DBBq0jFxG0c/ (In the Instagram Stories, somebody got a clip of him in performance last night, but no way to link that.) And nice to see other men (Bell, Roxander) applauding him at the end! I remember a few years back when many of us noted him in rehearsals with the Studio Company. Can't wait to see him myself! OMG!!!!!! I've already watched this about ten times. Thanks for posting this second link as I could not find the clip on the first link from ABT Fan. ABT Fan - Interested to hear about the rest of the performance! And yes, hope Hurlin is back on stage soon.
ABT Fan Posted October 19 Author Posted October 19 (edited) An odd Etudes all around. So, Teuscher’s mom sat right next to me for Etudes and told a few of us what happened. Devon found out this morning that she had to replace Hurlin, so her mom raced in to see her. There was no time for her to rehearse with Hernandez, so Curley did the “La Sylphide” partnering segment with her; Hernandez did the rest. I was glad to see Curley was brought out for bows (since we’ve seen even with NYCB how a last minute sub can be left out). Teuscher had the most gorgeous arms and bourrees in the romantic/sylphide section. Her fouettés were uncharacteristically fumbled as she fell out/fell off pointe. Curley is definitely a prince and partnered her well, but they had a bobble or two and his footing once or twice was insecure. But, given the circumstances, I give them full grace. Hernandez was ok, but he flat footed several pirouettes, which I’ve never seen happen before with anyone. Overall, I found him disappointing. Roxander burst forth with his typical gusto for his big solo, but also uncharacteristically slipped which clearly rattled him. He remained tentative for a bit before recovering. But, he did not do the consecutive double tours at the end, choosing one double tour followed by an entrachat six, and so on. Miyake was in the corps and blew the rest of the corps away. Beyer was a Demi soloist so I was able to get a better look at her - it’s time to give her some soloist roles. The new Bond piece I have mixed feelings about. It was danced brilliantly, especially by Trenary (looking incredibly strong), Curley, Fleytoux, and Li. I found a lot of the choreography overly fussy, especially certain port de bras that just didn’t work. Different is not always better. The pas with Curley and Li was stunning- it could be a stand alone piece. I liked the costumes, but there was one part with Trenary where the music was romantic and soft as well as the choreography, yet the costumes and lighting (by then a harsh/brilliant red) were too modern - if they were going for contrast, it didn’t work. I actually liked the new Abraham. Perhaps too many undulating movements, but I found it compelling and interesting. The surprise for me was Granlund whom I’ve never found very interesting. Lawovi was striking with blazzingly fast turns and intensity. No surprise that Royal, Brandt, Roxander looked great. Fleytoux more than held her own next to Brandt. The orchestra looked pretty full, but the first ring where I was was half full and it looked the same higher up. Usually by the end of Etudes you can feel the energy and excitement, but the audience was half asleep. I think programming two new ballets in the first week was not wise. Bond has no following, imo. I think this was an unfortunate lesson for Jaffe. Added: it’s important for me to add, that despite Roxander’s slip and downgrading the tours, he was STILL incredible. He must have pulled off 5 or 6 pirouettes, perfectly executed, before transitioning into the next jump. Teuscher was also really beautiful. Slips and fumbles can happen, especially during an unscheduled performance, but in between they were strong, luminous, and lit up the stage. Edited October 19 by ABT Fan
NinaFan Posted October 19 Posted October 19 ABT Fan - thanks for the report on today. That was great to get the scoop directly from Teuscher's mom. Sounds like a wild Etudes performance all round. Sorry to hear about Roxander's slip. That can rattle anyone. Miyake must have been absolutely brilliant.
cobweb Posted October 19 Posted October 19 I had very mixed feelings going to this afternoon’s matinee. I had definitely intended to see more of ABT this go-round, but my uncertainty about this program put me off. Finally this morning I decided to go for it. I’m glad I went. Let’s start with the good. I’ve only seen Etudes a few times before, and it is such an odd mishmash of a piece, hokey and overwrought. But, I loved it. I see above that @ABTFan notes Roxander changed some of the choreography — since I don’t know this piece that totally escaped me, and I thought he looked sensational. I thought he recovered from his minor slip just fine. Teuscher looked lovely, full of regal authority, softness and grace, and super-clean technique (except for the above-mentioned fouette stumbles). I was kind of glad for the Jarod Curley substitution during the pas de deux, as this gave me a chance to get better acquainted with Curley. He looked very prince-like. Hernandez did not make much of an impression. I found things to like, and dislike, in both the Gemma Bond and Kyle Abraham pieces. I liked Bond’s use of classicism and structure. I would be interested to see future works by her. This piece struck me as overly busy, with too much coming and going, too large a cast, and absolutely horribly lighting and costumes. The black tutus and garish glowing red background seemed like a horrible fit for the music. Freshly costumed and lit, and maybe with some judicious editing, this could be a very engaging piece. In any case, I’d be glad to see it again. The Abraham piece struck me as not exactly what I’d call ballet dancing, but it had a kind of hypnotic allure. Being more accustomed to NYCB’s dancers, who generally have a more athletic build, I am amazed at the slinkiness and body articulation the dancers are capable of. Wow. Melvin Lavowi in the glowing flowy purple outfit was a real standout, more of him please. Overall the dancers looked great. I wouldn’t go out of my way to see this either, but could sit through it again. I wonder about the wisdom of putting these two pieces on the same program. People who like Bond’s classicism are likely to find the Abraham piece obnoxiously loud and all posturing, while people who like the Abraham piece may find Bond’s piece painfully outdated. It was fun to see Stella Abrera and Sascha Radetsky chatting and greeting people in the lobby and audience. Stella looks as beautiful and elegant as ever. After the show, they were walking out of the theatre ahead of me, and they saw, as I did, that a bus was about to pull away as an elderly woman with a cane was struggling to make it to the bus stop. Stella waved to the driver, holding the bus until the woman made it to the stop. Very gracious.
matilda Posted October 19 Posted October 19 On opening night, I recall Roxander starting the double tour sequence with maybe two tour/pirouette combos (like in Theme and Variations), then switching to consecutive double tours -- maybe four of them to fill out the counts? (If others remember it differently, feel free to chime in.) I don't think the tours were as clean as Miyake's in those videos but the moment was still jaw-droppingly impressive. So maybe he was rattled by the slip this afternoon and that's why he adjusted.
cobweb Posted October 19 Posted October 19 (edited) Wanted to add that I noted the much-ballyhooed Elisabeth Beyer in the corps. Couldn’t tell much about artistic potential, but her technique looked startlingly clean. Edited October 19 by cobweb Misspelled name
MarzipanShepherdess Posted October 19 Posted October 19 Saw Saturday's matinee. Boutique Fantasque: I enjoyed watching this but didn't find it particularly memorable. I do appreciate how as a commission it's light years ahead of the Jessica Lang works we were getting under Mackenzie. In the opening section it nods to Massine's Boutique Fantasque a bit with some playfully stiff and jerky movements evoking puppets and dolls, but that motif wasn't developed in a sustained way. The standout to me was Fanqi Li, who was really making the most of every phrase and finishing each little gesture so beautifully. This year she's been looking like a principal to me: she holds your eye. Always nice to see management trying out corps dancers in more featured roles but Kento Sumitani looked tentative and a bit sloppy. Lea Fleytoux looked polished and lyrical. Trenary was a bit flat to me. Mercurial Son: I loved this and can't wait to see it again. I pray that they adjust the audio system for future performances, though: it was painfully loud and the bass was way overdone, to the point where it distracted me from enjoying the choreography. Which has much to enjoy! The whole cast looked great, but especially Melvin Lawoi who wowed from his first breathtakingly fast series of turns. He's unlocked a new level of depth and artistry in this work; I thought the same about Breanne Granlund who was dancing big and taking risks while looking very sharp. Calvin, too, looked great especially in his final solo. The ending felt abrupt to me (Abraham's endings sometimes do), and it didn't have the emotional depth of some of Abraham's best works like Runway or Love Letter on Shuffle, but it's an engaging piece that I look forward to seeing again. Etudes: Especially now knowing how last-minute Teuscher's sub was I thought she was great. As others have said, beautiful in the Romantic section and also gorgeous in the jumping section of the finale. Though her fouettés weren't her best her chaines looked excellent to me. To me Roxander was very impressive and a joy to watch. Even in his slip: his right foot started sliding and he looked about to fall, but he was able to regain his balance and right himself. I was surprised at how little it seemed to rattle him. This was my first time seeing Hernandez. I wasn't blown away (Roxander was definitely the star of the show) but he acquitted himself well and seems like a solid addition to the roster.
abatt Posted October 20 Posted October 20 Let's talk about the new production of TPC3. The costumes are an improvement over the prior costumes, but I do have some complaints. The bodice of the tutus have a high neck with crystals or some other sparkly junk going all the way up the neckline. I prefer an uncluttered neck area on the women's costumes because it elongates the neck. I also did not like the fact that all the women wore sparkling bracelet cuffs on the right wrist. Again, this interferes and distracts from the clean line of the arm. I thought the chandeliers moving down during the performance was a complete and unwelcome distraction. I also felt that cutting off the rear of the stage to make room for the lighting fixtures was a mistake. It made the corps looked too cramped in the remaining stage space left for actual dancing. I thought the Shev-Royal-Misseldine performance was fine, but not remarkable. NYCB does this ballet much better. Recall the total abandon of Kikta as the lead soloist, and compare it to the relatively muted performance of Misseldine. Another thing that seems very obvious to me relates to the level of attack of the ballerina role. As the most prominent example, there is a section late in the ballet where the lead ballerina must go to the right side of the stage and do some very fast allegro work. At NYCB this is thrilling. It is done with fierce attack. Shev did it with minimal attack and it was a bore. I wil say that in the immediately following section iwth the fouettes, she did the fouettes beautifully. Didn't love Neo. It was well performed but trite. The audience went wild for Upper Room, as they always do.
California Posted October 20 Posted October 20 22 hours ago, ABT Fan said: Roxander burst forth with his typical gusto for his big solo, but also uncharacteristically slipped which clearly rattled him. He remained tentative for a bit before recovering. But, he did not do the consecutive double tours at the end, choosing one double tour followed by an entrachat six, and so on. Out of curiosity for those double tours, I did some searching on YouTube for Etudes. Oodles to choose from. Quite a few men in major companies (e.g., Royal Danish) do just a few double tour alternating with entrechat. I don't know what the original choreography is, but this seems like a fairly common substitution, for whatever reason.
ABT Fan Posted October 21 Author Posted October 21 Curley has on his IG stories that he had to replace Whiteside last minute in Neo tonight. He had one quick emergency rehearsal with Boylston after her Ballet Imperial performance at the matinee (which she danced with Whiteside). Was anyone there? Hope Whiteside isn’t injured again.
choriamb Posted October 21 Posted October 21 I hope that Whiteside and Hurlin are both OK: I was looking forward to seeing them. 😐 Unless these are very minor injuries (or they pull in a third-cast dancer), it seems likely that Friday's Ballet Imperial cast will now be Shevchenko/Royal and Neo will be Boylston/Curley (which I'd still be interested in). Does anyone know if ABT actively updates the Web site cast lists nowadays? (I don't recall them posting updates in the past.)
TheAccidentalBalletomane Posted October 21 Posted October 21 (edited) I was at the Matinee today, In B-Imperial, Whiteside did not seem right and he appeared to change the choreography or just mark certain movements. I thought to myself, that cannot be the choreography... If he was badly injured he did well to get through the performance somehow. Skylar was a beam of light as the secondary female lead, and in my view stole the show not only because of her performance in Ballet Imperial but by also going right into Upper Room as a stomper.... that is hard to do back to back ... for numerous reasons, not the least of which is that the company also has constant rehearsals of the next week's works while performing these. This is my second time seeing Upper Room, it's captivating. I keep waiting for the apex and end, but still hoping it never does finish. You had Cornejo as a stomper and Hee Seo in point shoes and they got through it seemingly in good shape, happy for them, and at the same it was great to see the young Roxander dance this paired with Herman in the sub-Acts. And I loved the pairing of Trenary with Brandt, and the pairing of each of them with the males, each being placed in unusual and creative lift positions. Lauren Bonfiglio had a major part and happy for her. I really enjoyed this. Finally, it was a children's show and I was disappointed that there were not more children there and a fuller house. But it was a joy to see the ones that came. Edited October 21 by TheAccidentalBalletomane
matilda Posted October 21 Posted October 21 8 hours ago, TheAccidentalBalletomane said: Finally, it was a children's show and I was disappointed that there were not more children there and a fuller house. But it was a joy to see the ones that came. Another questionable programming decision on the part of management. Why have TWO "family-friendly matinees"? Neither have sold well. By giving the performance that label, they're turning off a lot of people who don't want to go to a show where disruptive behavior is explicitly welcomed. I understand doing one family show, but maybe it would help ticket sales to program something that actually sounds kid-friendly, like a story ballet or at least excerpts from one? If that isn't logistically doable, maybe scrap the idea altogether and do a regular show?
ABT Fan Posted October 21 Author Posted October 21 (edited) 10 hours ago, choriamb said: I hope that Whiteside and Hurlin are both OK: I was looking forward to seeing them. 😐 Unless these are very minor injuries (or they pull in a third-cast dancer), it seems likely that Friday's Ballet Imperial cast will now be Shevchenko/Royal and Neo will be Boylston/Curley (which I'd still be interested in). Does anyone know if ABT actively updates the Web site cast lists nowadays? (I don't recall them posting updates in the past.) Yes they update the casting on their site, but not if the change is made last minute, like what happened with Hurlin and Whiteside this weekend. As of right now, they’re both still listed for this week’s shows. Edited October 21 by ABT Fan
FauxPas Posted October 21 Posted October 21 (edited) Last night there was an announcement that Whiteside was injured and would not be dancing. Jarod Curley replaced him in "Neo" (he was to dance in the second cast with Hurlin, so he knew it). Also, Boylston was not injured but opted out of that evening's performance of "In the Upper Room" and was replaced by Hee Seo in the red pointe shoes role. I think the last minute rehearsal with Curley left her with limited energy for a double header. BTW: Curley is turning into a company workhorse - he stepped in on Saturday to dance the "La Sylphide" pas de deux in "Etudes" with Devon Teuscher because she was replacing the injured Hurlin and there was no time to rehearse the pas de deux with Isaac Hernandez. Interestingly Hurlin was one of the stomper women on Sunday night with Gillian Murphy and Devon Teuscher. Evidently she can still dance in flat feet. I liked the program in general. I liked the new, starkly minimalist set for "Ballet Imperial" and the use of colors was evocative of an empire at sunset. Misseldine was particularly radiant. "Neo" is forgettable but not unpleasant and is just as long as it needs to be at 10 minutes. There is some quirky partnering for the male lead which seems to have been designed with Whiteside in mind and there I missed his presence. Sumie Kaneko playing the shamisen has an elegant dignified carriage and bearing. "In the Upper Room" is a blast. As I said Murphy, Teuscher and Hurlin were the stomper girls, Stearns, Bell and Markey were the stomper boys. The rest of the cast included Hee Seo, Thomas Forster (good) and Alejandro Valero-Outlaw who you don't see much of. Edited October 21 by FauxPas
ABT Fan Posted October 21 Author Posted October 21 Whiteside posted a story that he pulled his calf muscle at the end of Imperial. He says tbd on the rest of his casting. Link to his IG, but cannot directly link stories: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbwhiteside?igsh=cmx2ZGx4emZjN3d3
AB'sMom Posted October 21 Posted October 21 It seems like ABT’s schedule is just a perfect storm for injuries. They go long stretches without performing and then cram a ton of performances into a few weeks. It seems so much better to have your “own” venue, like most ballet companies, where there the performances can be nicely spaced out throughout the season.
ABT Fan Posted October 22 Author Posted October 22 I just received an email with a “special discount for returning audiences”. It applies to the rest of the performances except the gala. I suppose that’s a better way of wording things than “we’re not selling many tickets so please come back”. It’s extremely disheartening to see how poorly this season is selling. I’ll admit it was nice to have lots of elbow room and no line at the restrooms Saturday, but I’d much rather do without that and have a full theater. Not even this Saturday with two guest artists is selling well. Very worrisome.
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