ABT Fall 2024 Season

[California]

34 minutes ago, abatt said:

So NYCB's "Call Me Ben" retains its position as worst ballet ever.

Yes, "Call Me Ben" is my worst-ever ballet, too. I had just retired and was excited that I could go to the afternoon rehearsals. All they rehearsed was Ben! So I saw rehearsals AND several performances. Yuk. But we did learn that Robbie Fairchild could sing and act, along with his great dancing. I don't know if that launched his Broadway career, but it didn't hurt. 

[ABT Fan]

I went tonight, and during the first act I thought "well, this isn't that bad...." but by the beginning of the second act I just wanted it over with. I did not care one bit about any of the characters, through no fault of the dancers; there was no real development of even the leads. There was simply too much going on and such a complicated story does not translate well through dance. Raskolnikov's continuous and never-ending display of emotional angst from the moment he entered was tedious. Come on and confess already dude, and put me out of my misery! Despite that, Cornejo did look good and made the best of an over-the-top assignment. I cannot imagine a woman playing this part (it is a male character) and do not agree with Pickett's reasoning for the female casting. Besides Cornejo, I thought Jacob Clerico, a corps dancer who is never featured, was an excellent Luzhin. He did a great job conveying drama through the choreography he was given (and I thought his character had some of the best). Miyake was the Ever Watcher who shined in this brief part. The pas between Dunya and Razumikhin (Hurlin/Bell) was poignant, but those few tender minutes were not nearly enough to save this depressing ballet. The ushers should have given out Prozac with the programs.

A truly unfortunate way to end the season, which I think (and given the comments here, I believe many others agree) was mostly excellent and really exciting at times. Between Shades making a comeback and overall danced really well, Etudes giving us several exciting debuts, In the Upper Room, which is always a thrill, and several pas which we haven't seen at all or in years, it was a well-programmed season with some fantastic dancing - before C&P happened. I admire Jaffe's attempt to bring in new choreographers, but I hope this ballet is shoved into the back of a closet after tomorrow.

Instead of C&P, we could have had 2 more mixed bills with de Mille's Rodeo (Royal did dress up as a cowboy for Halloween - I mean, come on, can't you just see him in this with Brand or Hurlin?), the complete Leaves are Fading, Makarova's Paquita, add some Ratmansky like his Seven Sonatas, which we haven't seen in years, plus one/two other ballets that deserve to be re-visited. Or, instead of only giving Shades 3 performances, 5 or even 6 would have been great.

I'm cautiously optimistic about next year's Met season. We should learn in the next week or so. Fingers and toes crossed. June is so far away.

Edited November 3 by ABT Fan

[choriamb]

Agreed...it was overall a good season. My only gripes were C&P and that programming In the Upper Room on the first nights may have primed publicity/attendance better.

It was good even in terms of new commissions, overall. A lot of new ballets are likeable...but not memorable enough to be an audience draw if revived.  Mercurial Son and Neo were exciting and looked unlike anything else in the rep:  if applause is any indication, they'll be a future draw for most of the auditorium. (Possibly more, if Abraham's upcoming work at the Armory is a hit.)  And my neighbors in the cheap seats talked eagerly about Trenary and Brandt's performances after C&P and La Boutique...so the less successful ballets don't seem to have done collateral damage.

It's been great to see the up-and-comers shine over the past three weeks:  Curley, Gonzalez, Roxander, Li, and Park all seem ready to debut their next principal role. (The first two as Albrecht, please.)  And besides the newbies like Robare and Outlaw, I felt like I saw a groundswell of corps folks who've been around 6-8 years all simultaneously coming into their own...next season is going to be exciting!

Edited November 3 by choriamb

[matilda]

I skipped Crime and Punishment, in part because of scheduling conflicts but also because of a few red flags leading up to the premiere: 1) the obvious emphasis on pantomime over choreography in the Guggenheim Works & Process excerpt and 2) the oversized program book given out this season had a whole section on the ballet and listed over 20 individual scenes. Great dramatic ballets like Romeo and Juliet, Manon, and Onegin do not need so many scenes to tell their stories (not to mention, those works use classical music and are rooted in classical choreography). 

C&P is programmed for the Kennedy Center in a few months; I wonder if it will be swapped for something else. 

Key takeaway from the fall season: legacy works and classics draw a crowd; contemporary/premiere-heavy programs do not. Maybe one premiere per season (not three!) would be better for both the box office and company budget. I did like the Abraham premiere. 

[ABT Fan]

10 hours ago, choriamb said:

Agreed...it was overall a good season. My only gripes were C&P and that programming In the Upper Room on the first nights may have primed publicity/attendance better.

It was good even in terms of new commissions, overall. A lot of new ballets are likeable...but not memorable enough to be an audience draw if revived.  Mercurial Son and Neo were exciting and looked unlike anything else in the rep:  if applause is any indication, they'll be a future draw for most of the auditorium. (Possibly more, if Abraham's upcoming work at the Armory is a hit.)  And my neighbors in the cheap seats talked eagerly about Trenary and Brandt's performances after C&P and La Boutique...so the less successful ballets don't seem to have done collateral damage.

It's been great to see the up-and-comers shine over the past three weeks:  Curley, Gonzalez, Roxander, Li, and Park all seem ready to debut their next principal role. (The first two as Albrecht, please.)  And besides the newbies like Robare and Outlaw, I felt like I saw a groundswell of corps folks who've been around 6-8 years all simultaneously coming into their own...next season is going to be exciting!

 

3 hours ago, matilda said:

C&P is programmed for the Kennedy Center in a few months; I wonder if it will be swapped for something else. 

Key takeaway from the fall season: legacy works and classics draw a crowd; contemporary/premiere-heavy programs do not. Maybe one premiere per season (not three!) would be better for both the box office and company budget. I did like the Abraham premiere. 

 

Agreed. And, that first week didn't get things off to a great start - 2 new ballets on that program did not bode well. I think Jaffe thought that Etudes would still bring folks in.

I didn't care for Boutique (except the middle pas that I saw Curley/Li do), but the audience seemed to. Mercurial Son I really liked, and the audience also really went for that. Two new ballets for a 3 week season is enough.

For the company's sake, I hope C&P is swapped out for Kennedy Center. And, isn't that audience pretty conservative in terms of dance? Classical ballet is the only way to go. If NY didn't like C&P, it could be a disaster there.

I am going to focus on the marvelous things we did see this season:

I think Curley out of everyone was being tested in every way by Jaffe, to see if he could handle a full length. He was given FOUR Etudes, and wound up doing a half more (subbing in the Sylphide section with Teuscher). Also, 2 Neo's, a lead role in Boutique and a dramatic role in C&P (I know Ratmansky would have cast his own ballet, but still). From what I saw, he is a leading man all the way - technically, stamina-wise, partnering ability, dramatically, all of it. I will be shocked if he isn't given a Siegfried or Albrecht next summer.

Roxander is also ready for a lead - Basilio please!

Other dancers who leaped forward this season:

Fleytoux (her Shades solo was perfection). 

Miyake in his astounding Etudes debut! More soloist roles for him asap. I expect he'll be promoted next year.

Robare, Markey, Li, Y. Seo, Gonzalez, Granlund, Park, Misseldine, Hurlin, Trenary, Royal all had fantastic seasons. And, the young talent coming up makes me very hopeful and excited.

[nysusan]

On 10/31/2024 at 9:02 AM, nysusan said:

 It was awful. I left at intermission.

 

I bought tickets to 2 performances of C&P up front and so even though I disliked it so much on opening night that I didn't stay for the 2nd act, I decided I would go again last night for the Cornejo cast. I'm glad I did. Which is  not to say that I liked it the 2nd time around - I didn't - but at least this time it was watchable.

 

I don't know if it was Trenary's whole approach to her dancing here I disliked or the difference between a women and a man dancing the same steps. I give Trenary props for throwing herself into the role and giving her usually committed dramatic performance, but it just didn't work for me. She looked like a caricature of the old Martha Graham  "choreography" mixed with wild upper body movement (and that's no knock on Graham - I love her work but remember the old Danny Kaye "choreography scene from While Christmas?). I saw frenetic constantly thrashing arms, contracting & then exploding torso, unrelenting angst with every movement and no discernible ballet steps.

 

It was different with Cornejo. While his dancing also conveyed torment with those thrashing arm movements they  were less intense and seemed less constant than Trenary's and there were actual ballet steps - I clearly saw jetes, a manage, pirouettes, tours. So even though his upper body & arms were still flung about, anchoring that to actual ballet vocabulary gave it form for me. 

 

On opening night I was so put off by Trenary that I couldn't really take in the supporting roles even though their dancing was actual ballet and all of the women were on pointe. With the Cornejo cast I was able to get a more holistic view of the whole thing and have nothing but praise for all of the secondary dancers. I will particularly single out Jacob Clerico. Like @ABT fan, I'd never noticed him before and he was wonderful here - both in his actual dancing and the way he expressed the characterization through his dancing. He also has a very commanding presence, it reminded me of the first time I saw Curley. Miyake and Curley were also standouts and Hurlin, Bell & Brandt gave their usual exemplary performances.

 

But the story was so hard to follow, so detailed & complicated and the visuals were murky and dark. I would not go see this again and would never recommend it to anyone.

 

I often chat with the elevator operators. The two I usually chat with know that I left before the 2nd act last time. They asked me what I thought this time and I told them it was better. They said they only heard negative comments from the audience last night (Granlund cast). So it isn't just us - most people who went didn't like it.

[ABT Fan]

4 minutes ago, nysusan said:

I give Trenary props for throwing herself into the role and giving her usually committed dramatic performance, but it just didn't work for me. She looked like a caricature of the old Martha Graham  "choreography" mixed with wild upper body movement (and that's no knock on Graham - I love her work but remember the old Danny Kaye "choreography scene from While Christmas?).

Ha, yes! That's one of my favorite parts of White Christmas and it always makes me howl.

I just saw on Boylston's IG stories a tribute to corps dancer Lavine on her "last Fall season" and how she'll be greatly missed.

 

[Royal Blue]

Crime and Punishment is one of the greatest and most influential books ever written, and its author is one of the greatest geniuses the waves and waves of humanity have produced. For those who appreciate his work, is it that difficult to imagine two real lovers in the modern world discussing the "beloved" yet complicated novel from 1866 (and the myriad searing issues it raises) the way "the murderer and the prostitute" in it read and discuss the Bible? Talk about life imitating art and about an author from a past era indicating what will occur to a great lover if they are fortunate enough in life to come across a genuine soulmate!

DEI issues are not my province. Shouldn't all people in our exceptional land—whether they are citizens or not—be treated with dignity and respect? More to the point, are women simply incapable of reading and understanding Dostoevsky? Regardless of what one feels regarding ABT's Crime and Punishment, it is laudable that a female choreographer and a female composer were entrusted with this difficult / impossible task.

Certain operas with featured trouser roles are fantastic by virtue of their music and their libretto, not because of women impersonating male characters in them. In Crime and Punishment, the costume for Dunya augmented the beauty of Christine Shevchenko and Catherine Hurlin in their respective portrayal of the role. And, certainly, my feelings are similar concerning the dress worn by Sonya. Vive la différence, I say! Nonetheless, the passion and effectiveness with which Cassandra Trenary and Breanne Granlund each enacted the character of Raskolnikov was impressive (I erred by not buying a ticket early on for the former's second performance). And I understand the reasoning behind their casting.

As one would expect, occasionally the characterization of one dancer over that of another in a role in this kind of ballet is preferable. Examples here would be my partiality for James Whiteside’s Svidrigailov, and Claire Davison’s Katerina. Nonetheless, I appreciated the dedication all performers on the stage exhibited during this premiere run of a challenging work.

 

[DPell]

James was replaced by Patrick at yesterday’s and today’s matinee. 

[cargill]

I just saw this blurb on the Kennedy Center's website.  It seems they are promoting the female creative team.

“It’s not often that a presenting organization such as the Kennedy Center can support the creation of a new full-length story ballet by giving it a chance to be seen in another city. It’s an extra thrill that ABT is bringing us a story crafted and created by a predominantly female creative team. While it may not seem revolutionary, seeing a classical full-length ballet with choreography, music, lighting, sets, and costumes all directed by women, performed by a company directed by a woman, is a huge step forward for the field.”

[theo]

1 hour ago, cargill said:

I just saw this blurb on the Kennedy Center's website.  It seems they are promoting the female creative team.

“It’s not often that a presenting organization such as the Kennedy Center can support the creation of a new full-length story ballet by giving it a chance to be seen in another city. It’s an extra thrill that ABT is bringing us a story crafted and created by a predominantly female creative team. While it may not seem revolutionary, seeing a classical full-length ballet with choreography, music, lighting, sets, and costumes all directed by women, performed by a company directed by a woman, is a huge step forward for the field.”

I'm guessing they're not going to swap C&P.  Too bad.   See you in 2026 ABT.  

[nysusan]

 

2 hours ago, cargill said:

I just saw this blurb on the Kennedy Center's website.  It seems they are promoting the female creative team.

While it may not seem revolutionary, seeing a classical full-length ballet with choreography, music, lighting, sets, and costumes all directed by women, performed by a company directed by a woman, is a huge step forward for the field.”

I  cannot believe they're calling it a classical ballet. A contemporary ballet - sure. But classical? Hardly

[ABT Fan]

47 minutes ago, nysusan said:

 

I  cannot believe they're calling it a classical ballet. A contemporary ballet - sure. But classical? Hardly

The quote is attributed to Jane Raleigh of the Kennedy Center, see it in it's entirety below with the link. I believe it's been up on their site since C&P was announced (so I suppose it's possible it could still be replaced, but who knows). We don't know if Raleigh was told this was a "classical" ballet or if assumptions were made, since this is ABT presenting it and not a modern dance troupe, for example. But, either way, if patrons read this blurb and buy tickets expecting a classical ballet, then disappointment will be an understatement.

 

“It’s not often that a presenting organization such as the Kennedy Center can support the creation of a new full-length story ballet by giving it a chance to be seen in another city. It’s an extra thrill that ABT is bringing us a story crafted and created by a predominantly female creative team. While it may not seem revolutionary, seeing a classical full-length ballet with choreography, music, lighting, sets, and costumes all directed by women, performed by a company directed by a woman, is a huge step forward for the field.”

—Jane Raleigh, Kennedy Center director of dance programming

https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/dance/2024-2025/abt-crime-punishment/

[angelica]

32 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

if patrons read this blurb and buy tickets expecting a classical ballet, then disappointment will be an understatement.

Give me Petipa or give me..........

Macmillan!

[choriamb]

10 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

I just saw on Boylston's IG stories a tribute to corps dancer Lavine on her "last Fall season" and how she'll be greatly missed.

Argh...I'll miss Lavine. She always brings an extra touch of elegance to the stage in the classics. 💐

[vipa]

4 hours ago, cargill said:

I just saw this blurb on the Kennedy Center's website.  It seems they are promoting the female creative team.

“It’s not often that a presenting organization such as the Kennedy Center can support the creation of a new full-length story ballet by giving it a chance to be seen in another city. It’s an extra thrill that ABT is bringing us a story crafted and created by a predominantly female creative team. While it may not seem revolutionary, seeing a classical full-length ballet with choreography, music, lighting, sets, and costumes all directed by women, performed by a company directed by a woman, is a huge step forward for the field.”

I can't believe the idea that lights, sets and costumes being done by women will sell a lot of tickets. It seems an odd selling point to me. Also, a ballet company being directed by a woman doesn't seem like such a big deal at the moment. 

[its the mom]

Just a comment. Obviously, ABT and ballet companies must please their audience members. However, it is crucial for us to understand that dancers want to develop in their artistry. Dancing classical ballets is obvioiusly part of an ABT dancer's job, however I would point you to Calvin Royal's instagram post in which he says (in particular the middle statement):

"Today we give our final performance of the Fall Season ✨
I am so proud of the artists of @abtofficial and the entire “Crime & Punishment” team onstage and bts that were open to giving life to our newest production ✨

It’s what we artists crave - Risk, new adventure, creativity, space to fall, recover & grow.

@helenpickettchoreographer & @james.bonas.7 —thanks for all you’ve shared and encouraged throughout this entire process. It’s been a rollercoaster on so many levels, and I so appreciate your flexibility, humanity and for caring so deeply about the art and the artists above all."

 

 

[California]

9 hours ago, vipa said:

I can't believe the idea that lights, sets and costumes being done by women will sell a lot of tickets. It seems an odd selling point to me. Also, a ballet company being directed by a woman doesn't seem like such a big deal at the moment. 

It's also high-risk billing this as all-female. If it flops at Kennedy Center (as comments here suggest it will), it will only set back the hope many of us have that more women will be given opportunities. 

I'm waiting for Nutcracker casting at Segerstrom to be announced. It's the only Nutcracker I actually like (the Ratmansky choreography is fascinating) and a chance to see favorite principals before the Met next summer. 

[cobweb]

9 hours ago, vipa said:

I can't believe the idea that lights, sets and costumes being done by women will sell a lot of tickets. It seems an odd selling point to me. Also, a ballet company being directed by a woman doesn't seem like such a big deal at the moment. 

I agree with this. Having a mostly-female creative team doesn’t guarantee artistic success any more than does an all-male creative team. (Aside from that, is this even so new? Barbara Karinska, Lourdes Lopez, anyone? Also, per Wikipedia, Jennifer Tipton has been doing lighting since at least 1969!!) 

Agreeing with what many here have said… I think we’re in agreement that Susan Jaffe is doing a good job in the talent development department. She has brought to our attention quite a number of promising young dancers that we are enjoying and are eager to see again. Programming is more of a mixed bag. Judging from the size of the audience, it does appear the audience wants to see tried-and-true favorites like Upper Room, Sylvia pdd, and Kingdom of the Shades. Maybe a good strategy at this point would be to program pieces that will draw in the audience, with a smattering of new commissions, while continuing to develop the new generation of dancers. In other words, get things more stabilized. Then there could be more leeway for experimentation with things like Crime & Punishment. Also as someone asked up-thread, what was Jaffe thinking with C&P? I would love to know what she envisions as a good narrative ballet, and what she pictured might come from such a long, complex, psychologically oriented novel such as C&P. This seems like such a mis-judgment. Could it have been foisted on her by some determined donor?

[cobweb]

Also —- just dreaming here… I would be thrilled to hear ABT would present a week or two of small, chamber-oriented pieces at the Joyce… would be great to see our favorite young dancers closer up, on a smaller stage, and in pieces that benefit from the more intimate setting. 

[matilda]

5 minutes ago, cobweb said:

Also —- just dreaming here… I would be thrilled to hear ABT would present a week or two of small, chamber-oriented pieces at the Joyce… would be great to see our favorite young dancers closer up, on a smaller stage, and in pieces that benefit from the more intimate setting. 

Calvin Royal basically did that with his self-curated program in August. It was great. Not that every piece on the program was a success, but you could appreciate lesser pieces more, and also ABT's less-featured dancers, in that smaller setting vs. at Lincoln Center where the expectations tend to be much higher. 

[cobweb]

7 minutes ago, matilda said:

Calvin Royal basically did that with his self-curated program in August. It was great. Not that every piece on the program was a success, but you could appreciate lesser pieces more, and also ABT's less-featured dancers, in that smaller setting vs. at Lincoln Center where the expectations tend to be much higher

Sorry I missed it, and I hope he does it again!

[abatt]

1 hour ago, cobweb said:

I agree with this. Having a mostly-female creative team doesn’t guarantee artistic success any more than does an all-male creative team. (Aside from that, is this even so new? Barbara Karinska, Lourdes Lopez, anyone? Also, per Wikipedia, Jennifer Tipton has been doing lighting since at least 1969!!) 

Agreeing with what many here have said… I think we’re in agreement that Susan Jaffe is doing a good job in the talent development department. She has brought to our attention quite a number of promising young dancers that we are enjoying and are eager to see again. Programming is more of a mixed bag. Judging from the size of the audience, it does appear the audience wants to see tried-and-true favorites like Upper Room, Sylvia pdd, and Kingdom of the Shades. Maybe a good strategy at this point would be to program pieces that will draw in the audience, with a smattering of new commissions, while continuing to develop the new generation of dancers. In other words, get things more stabilized. Then there could be more leeway for experimentation with things like Crime & Punishment. Also as someone asked up-thread, what was Jaffe thinking with C&P? I would love to know what she envisions as a good narrative ballet, and what she pictured might come from such a long, complex, psychologically oriented novel such as C&P. This seems like such a mis-judgment. Could it have been foisted on her by some determined donor?

The buck stops with Jaffe for both successes and failures. 

Helen Pickett said in an article that she had been thinking about turning C&P into a ballet for some time.  Jaffe bought the  Pickett Kool Aid, so to speak.  Hopefully this will serve as an important lesson going forward.

DEI is a mission of all big arts organizations right now, so it should not come as a surprise that they are emphasizing the all-women creative team.  

I noticed NY Susan's comment above about how the work looked a lot better with Cornejo than Trenary.  Wondering if anyone else saw multiple casts and could comment.  I only saw Cornejo, and immediately was skeptical that this role could be performed equally well by either gender.  Cornejo was one of the few bright spots for me in seeing this work.  The night I saw it with a friend, she remarked that for example, women don't do the type of menage turns and other choreography required in Act I, so how could a ballerina do the same role.   I agreed with that point entirely.  

 

 

 

Edited November 4 by abatt

[canbelto]

My review of Crime and Punishment:

https://bachtrack.com/review-crime-and-punishment-helen-pickett-american-ballet-theatre-lincoln-center-new-york-october-2024

[vipa]

On 11/4/2024 at 8:34 AM, cobweb said:

I agree with this. Having a mostly-female creative team doesn’t guarantee artistic success any more than does an all-male creative team. (Aside from that, is this even so new? Barbara Karinska, Lourdes Lopez, anyone? Also, per Wikipedia, Jennifer Tipton has been doing lighting since at least 1969!!) 

 

Good points. When I stopped and thought a minute I of course remembered that Lucia Chase ran ABT for a long time, and Jane Herman for several years. A female director at ABT is not a new development. Boston Ballet was founded and run by E. Virginia Williams. There was Barbara Weisberger in PA, Ruth Page in Chicago etc. 

I also like @cobweb's idea of ABT having chamber oriented pieces at the Joyce, but I think management probably looks at that as a function of the studio company.