ABT Swan Lake at Kennedy Center 2024

[Hippolyta]

I attended Chloe Misseldine’s debut this afternoon. She was stunning. The sold out theatre was absolutely rapt during the Act II pas de deux with Aran Bell and then broke into wild applause at the end. Her performance had emotional nuance, beautiful phrasing and line (gorgeous arms and back), and was technically assured. She and Bell were terrific together. It was a star turn.

Other highlights of the matinee were Kento Sumitani as Benno and Jared Curley as Purple Von Rothbart. I don’t remember seeing Sumitani before but he was charming and looked great in his variations. Curley was very charismatic as you would expect. The company as a whole looked great, including the swan corps.

[YouOverThere]

15 minutes ago, Hippolyta said:

I attended Chloe Misseldine’s debut this afternoon. She was stunning. The sold out theatre was absolutely rapt during the Act II pas de deux with Aran Bell and then broke into wild applause at the end. Her performance had emotional nuance, beautiful phrasing and line (gorgeous arms and back), and was technically assured. She and Bell were terrific together. It was a star turn.

 

Yes, she definitely looked like principal material.

Bell was the best of the 3 leading men that I've watched so far, by a fairly significant margin (I skipped the Friday evening show, which I might regret, so I didn't watch Stearns).

I in a way feel like I'm watching Swan Lake for the first time. I'm focusing more on the supporting and corps dancing than I have in the past, and the ABT soloists and corps members have been IMHO very solid this week.

[lmspear]

1 hour ago, YouOverThere said:

Her performance had emotional nuance, beautiful phrasing and line (gorgeous arms and back), and was technically assured. She and Bell were terrific together. It was a star turn.

 

I was there as well. Her Odile was extremely glamorous.  I've reminded of the film I've seen of Tamara Toumanova. Her Odette made me think of our beloved Stella Abrera.  May Misseldine have a career unhindered by injury and bad management decisions.

[YouOverThere]

6 hours ago, lmspear said:

I was there as well. Her Odile was extremely glamorous.  I've reminded of the film I've seen of Tamara Toumanova. Her Odette made me think of our beloved Stella Abrera.  May Misseldine have a career unhindered by injury and bad management decisions.

The quote was actually from a post by Hippolyta, not from my post.

[stuben]

7 hours ago, lmspear said:

I was there as well. Her Odile was extremely glamorous.  I've reminded of the film I've seen of Tamara Toumanova. Her Odette made me think of our beloved Stella Abrera.  May Misseldine have a career unhindered by injury and bad management decisions.

Isn't her mother Yan Chen, who was with the company and now teaching at JKO? So I am it helps to have her mother there and most likely we can be sure she will be watched closely unlike most of the other dancers with similar unfortunate luck as mentioned during their potential strike.

[NinaFan]

Thanks to everyone for their reviews.  Looking forward to Misseldine's Odette/Odile with Aran Bell at the MET!

[ABT Fan]

Whiteside is replaced tonight by Ahn. Cornejo posted an IG story tribute to him so it must be injury or illness.

Edited February 24 by ABT Fan

[theo]

5 hours ago, stuben said:

Isn't her mother Yan Chen, who was with the company and now teaching at JKO? So I am it helps to have her mother there and most likely we can be sure she will be watched closely unlike most of the other dancers with similar unfortunate luck as mentioned during their potential strike.

Yes, her mom is Yan Chen.  My husband and I saw them both at a restaurant the night before the performance.  Chloe left early but I did I say hello to Ms. Chan and  said that I wished Chloe "merde" for her performance.  Ms. Chen was very gracious and  remarked that Chloe was nervous.   Well, there were no sign of nerves during what I would consider an historic debut by Chloe.  As Hippolyta mentioned earlier in this thread, "She was stunning. The sold out theatre was absolutely rapt during the Act II pas de deux with Aran Bell and then broke into wild applause at the end. " There was a lot of enthusiastic  applause throughout the performance and everybody around me, myself included just kept whispering "wow".  I found her performance nuanced and her interpretation to be honest,  very well acted, and beautifully  danced.   She is the whole package.  She and Aran made a good partnership.  At the end of the performance, there was more wild applause and a spontaneous leap out  of seats  (I was in the Orchestra section near the front) as they were given a well deserved standing ovation.  She absolutely knocked it out of the park!   As if that wasn't gift enough, we saw Chloe late in the evening as  we were returning from the evening performance (Hee and Cory. They were good).  She was heading out for a walk as we were going into our hotel.  I could not help but say hello and tell her how magnificent we thought she was.  She was so genuinely grateful and gracious.    I think I started to gush a little, but she returned it.  She said that she had a great time on stage and that she was so grateful for the support of the people who come to see the performances.  What a lovely, lovely, person.  May she have a bright and beautiful career ahead of her!   Let me not forget to mention  Jarod Curley, who I  also thought was a very  charismatic and fun.  

[ABT Fan]

2 hours ago, NinaFan said:

Thanks to everyone for their reviews.  Looking forward to Misseldine's Odette/Odile with Aran Bell at the MET!

Same!! I appreciate everyone's reports on Misseldine. So happy to hear how wonderful she was and really wish I could have been there.

[balletlover08]

I went to the Misseldine/Bell matinee yesterday here are my thoughts! Warning it may be a little long because this was my first time at the ballet(not including local companies Nutcracker) and I was just so impressed by everything?  I guess you can take my words with a grain of salt but I did travel to see it and I would absolutely travel again if the performance is this magnificent. Over the last few years, I have watched a ton of swan lake on YouTube from different companies but seeing in person is an EXPERIENCE. 

General thoughts, Kennedy center was absolutely gorgeous and I loved the hall of states, I felt tiny walking there. The sightline from my seat in Terrace Two was wonderful! I could see everything on stage clearly albeit from a Birds Eye view. It did give me a good sense of who dances big and who dances small. Coming from the classical music world I’m used to not clapping until the very end while ballet audiences seem to clap for everything: seeing the main character *clap*, the end of a variation *clap*, fouettes *clap*, pas de deux *clap*. It's fine when the dancers stop and bow but I feel like sometimes it's distracting when the dancers are still dancing and there’s no real break. I think the dancers do appreciate it though as I think the claps give them confidence. A lot of people there had no idea who was dancing, what the ballet was called or what company it was. They just showed up for a good time and luckily they enjoyed it and I heard a lot of them say they would be back. Most didn’t even realize that Chloe was debuting; they thought she was seasoned which is a high compliment in itself. 

Overall, the corps were in fine form here. They danced very well together especially in act II. Pas de Trois was Pauline Waski, Sierra Armstrong and Kento Sumitami. I felt that Kento stole the show and he definitely got the loudest applause up to that point. Sierra did well in her variation, nice turns! Pauline though seemed like she wasn’t getting a lot of oomph in her jumps and it just felt flat through her variation and her part of the pas de trois. 

I think Act II was my favorite. The corps de ballet, the white swan pas de deux ugh I could cry from the drama of it all. I am a fan of angst and these two delivered that. I thought the two of them had great chemistry and sold the story well. They are very evenly matched both technically and emotionally. The lifts in the pas de deux were magnificent, she seemed to float in the air for an extended time, heard lots of gasps in the audience and they also did supported pirouettes that seemed ages long. Also, Chloe has great arabesques, she really knows how to make them a moment and essentially freezes at the pinnacle. Cast her immediately in anything that requires lots of arabesques. Being tall, she has beautiful lines and a great port de bras. I didn't notice too many broken wrist moments but I might have been too far to see clearly. 

Her Odile was good too! Quite sultry and confident. She has a queenly demeanor to her and that was evident in her Odile. She was confident and assertive and one can easily see why Siegfried gets duped. I think she did a triple into a double attitude in her solo and it was done well. The fouettes were fine, traveled forward but stayed on beat and finished well. I didn't count but she filled out the beats to applause so good enough for me. I do think she was exhausted by the time she got to the fouettes so I was happy just to see them done! 

Jarod Curley did a fabulous job as Purple Rothbart. He had the audience eating out of his palms in the first few seconds of being on stage. He has natural comedic timing and his acting was perfect. Even from way up high, it was easy to understand. He also looked so very tall and princely, when will he be cast as Prince Siegfried? 

Act IV surprised me because I really enjoyed it. That final pas de deux between Odette and Siegfried almost made me cry because I knew the end was coming and it was like their final dance together. And then the jump into the lake (I think it's the lake they are jumping into right?) and then the reflection of them in the sun with the corps in front almost made me tear up. Maybe because this was my first swan lake but it just really hit me. 

Both Chloe and Aran received tons of well deserved applause and Chloe looked almost overwhelmed by it all at the curtain call. What a magnificent debut and I have no regrets about traveling to see it. It fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine to see Swan Lake in person so I am extremely satisfied. I am hoping to get to the Met in future seasons, if every cast danced like this I would see Swan Lake yearly. 

Edited February 24 by balletlover08

[NinaFan]

1 hour ago, balletlover08 said:

I went to the Misseldine/Bell matinee yesterday here are my thoughts! Warning it may be a little long because this was my first time at the ballet(not including local companies Nutcracker) and I was just so impressed by everything?  I guess you can take my words with a grain of salt but I did travel to see it and I would absolutely travel again if the performance is this magnificent. Over the last few years, I have watched a ton of swan lake on YouTube from different companies but seeing in person is an EXPERIENCE. 

General thoughts, Kennedy center was absolutely gorgeous and I loved the hall of states, I felt tiny walking there. The sightline from my seat in Terrace Two was wonderful! I could see everything on stage clearly albeit from a Birds Eye view. It did give me a good sense of who dances big and who dances small. Coming from the classical music world I’m used to not clapping until the very end while ballet audiences seem to clap for everything: seeing the main character *clap*, the end of a variation *clap*, fouettes *clap*, pas de deux *clap*. It's fine when the dancers stop and bow but I feel like sometimes it's distracting when the dancers are still dancing and there’s no real break. I think the dancers do appreciate it though as I think the claps give them confidence. A lot of people there had no idea who was dancing, what the ballet was called or what company it was. They just showed up for a good time and luckily they enjoyed it and I heard a lot of them say they would be back. Most didn’t even realize that Chloe was debuting; they thought she was seasoned which is a high compliment in itself. 

Overall, the corps were in fine form here. They danced very well together especially in act II. Pas de Trois was Pauline Waski, Sierra Armstrong and Kento Sumitami. I felt that Kento stole the show and he definitely got the loudest applause up to that point. Sierra did well in her variation, nice turns! Pauline though seemed like she wasn’t getting a lot of oomph in her jumps and it just felt flat through her variation and her part of the pas de trois. 

I think Act II was my favorite. The corps de ballet, the white swan pas de deux ugh I could cry from the drama of it all. I am a fan of angst and these two delivered that. I thought the two of them had great chemistry and sold the story well. They are very evenly matched both technically and emotionally. The lifts in the pas de deux were magnificent, she seemed to float in the air for an extended time, heard lots of gasps in the audience and they also did supported pirouettes that seemed ages long. Also, Chloe has great arabesques, she really knows how to make them a moment and essentially freezes at the pinnacle. Cast her immediately in anything that requires lots of arabesques. Being tall, she has beautiful lines and a great port de bras. I didn't notice too many broken wrist moments but I might have been too far to see clearly. 

Her Odile was good too! Quite sultry and confident. She has a queenly demeanor to her and that was evident in her Odile. She was confident and assertive and one can easily see why Siegfried gets duped. I think she did a triple into a double attitude in her solo and it was done well. The fouettes were fine, traveled forward but stayed on beat and finished well. I didn't count but she filled out the beats to applause so good enough for me. I do think she was exhausted by the time she got to the fouettes so I was happy just to see them done! 

Jarod Curley did a fabulous job as Purple Rothbart. He had the audience eating out of his palms in the first few seconds of being on stage. He has natural comedic timing and his acting was perfect. Even from way up high, it was easy to understand. He also looked so very tall and princely, when will he be cast as Prince Siegfried? 

Act IV surprised me because I really enjoyed it. That final pas de deux between Odette and Siegfried almost made me cry because I knew the end was coming and it was like their final dance together. And then the jump into the lake (I think it's the lake they are jumping into right?) and then the reflection of them in the sun with the corps in front almost made me tear up. Maybe because this was my first swan lake but it just really hit me. 

Both Chloe and Aran received tons of well deserved applause and Chloe looked almost overwhelmed by it all at the curtain call. What a magnificent debut and I have no regrets about traveling to see it. It fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine to see Swan Lake in person so I am extremely satisfied. I am hoping to get to the Met in future seasons, if every cast danced like this I would see Swan Lake yearly. 

What a lovely write up from someone going to their first professional ballet performance.   I'm glad you had a great time! 

I  agree that it's fine (and expected) to clap when the dancers stop and bow, but it is VERY distracting when the dancers are still dancing and there’s no real break.  It totally breaks the spell! 

I hope you can get to NY someday to see performances during ABT's MET season.   But don't assume that every cast will dance and act as magically as Chloe and Aran as they won't.  Continue to choose your casts carefully.

Thanks again for your first timer review of Swan Lake and KC! 

 

[California]

Thanks for these reports on Chloe and Aran. I opted for NYCB this week, but hope to see them at the Met this summer. I am struck by the fact that they are performing once this week and won't do this ballet again until July! Meanwhile, NYCB principals are each  performing several times this week, in different ballets. I just have to wonder about how ABT principals feel about such limited opportunities on stage! It must be very frustrating. 

[Drew]

No video can convey the excitement and impact of a world-class live ballet performance.  It was great to read @balletlover08 's review which helped to convey that excitement and impact--I hope many more live performances are in your future. 

I don't get to see many such performances these days, but I'm older and over the course of a lifetime have a seen a lot, so I shouldn't complain. And I'm also a fan of the Kennedy Center.

And thanks to everyone who has been writing about the performances of all the casts!

Edited February 25 by Drew

[ABT Fan]

Whiteside is now out with another knee injury (not the knee he injured a few years ago). I hope it’s not serious and he recovers in time for the Met season. But, they really need to get Curley rehearsing Siegfried etc as a possible replacement (he deserves to be cast in any case).

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3xopOqOu6z/?igsh=c3ZlM3NuMW1nOGVj

[NinaFan]

26 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Whiteside is now out with another knee injury (not the knee he injured a few years ago). I hope it’s not serious and he recovers in time for the Met season. But, they really need to get Curley rehearsing Siegfried etc as a possible replacement (he deserves to be cast in any case).

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3xopOqOu6z/?igsh=c3ZlM3NuMW1nOGVj

Thank you for posting.  I am so upset for Whiteside as he's been through so much injury already.  Like you, I hope it is not serious and that he recovers in time for the MET season.

[balletlover08]

28 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Whiteside is now out with another knee injury (not the knee he injured a few years ago). I hope it’s not serious and he recovers in time for the Met season. But, they really need to get Curley rehearsing Siegfried etc as a possible replacement (he deserves to be cast in any case).

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3xopOqOu6z/?igsh=c3ZlM3NuMW1nOGVj

Oh no! How awful. I actually saw him friday afternoon outside of Kennedy Center. He walked so fast I lost him about halfway down the hallway. It's so hard when your body doesn't cooperate with you. I too hope he's better by the Met season. And yes, either way Curley should start rehearsing Siegfried. From what I've seen of him he would be great! I also saw him outside of Kennedy and he has a presence about him that makes everyone turn to look at him. 

[California]

36 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Whiteside is now out with another knee injury (not the knee he injured a few years ago). I hope it’s not serious and he recovers in time for the Met season. But, they really need to get Curley rehearsing Siegfried etc as a possible replacement (he deserves to be cast in any case).

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3xopOqOu6z/?igsh=c3ZlM3NuMW1nOGVj

So distressing. It took him a year to recover from the other one and he's now 40! I've come to appreciate him as a partner in recent years. 

[NinaFan]

16 hours ago, California said:

Thanks for these reports on Chloe and Aran. I opted for NYCB this week, but hope to see them at the Met this summer. I am struck by the fact that they are performing once this week and won't do this ballet again until July! Meanwhile, NYCB principals are each  performing several times this week, in different ballets. I just have to wonder about how ABT principals feel about such limited opportunities on stage! It must be very frustrating. 

I considered going to KC to see Chloe and Aran as well.  I already ordered my tickets to see them at the MET this summer.  I agree that it is a wonder how ABT dancers can manage with such limited opportunities to dance at ABT.   Like you, I've been enjoying NYCB.  Just one more week of the winter season left,  but at least we don't have a long wait for their spring season. 

[theo]

22 minutes ago, balletlover08 said:

Oh no! How awful. I actually saw him friday afternoon outside of Kennedy Center. He walked so fast I lost him about halfway down the hallway. It's so hard when your body doesn't cooperate with you. I too hope he's better by the Met season. And yes, either way Curley should start rehearsing Siegfried. From what I've seen of him he would be great! I also saw him outside of Kennedy and he has a presence about him that makes everyone turn to look at him. 

I saw him walking Friday afternoon also. He must have been on his way to the rehearsal where he got injured.  The poor guy.  That's a tough one.  I wish him a speedy recovery.

 

[LIslandArts]

Was anybody in attendance for today’s show? I was hoping to see the show one more time, but I’ve come down with the flu. Rats! 

[YouOverThere]

1 hour ago, LIslandArts said:

Was anybody in attendance for today’s show? I was hoping to see the show one more time, but I’ve come down with the flu. Rats! 

How I managed to blow a chance to get a ticket for it is too painful to think about (all the standing room tickets had been sold, but they did end up with some returned tickets). Watching it 5 times wasn't enough 😢

Edited February 26 by YouOverThere

[DPell]

Didn’t Joey Markey debut Ballroom Rothbart this afternoon?

[LIslandArts]

1 hour ago, DPell said:

Didn’t Joey Markey debut Ballroom Rothbart this afternoon?

Yes he did! Part of the reason I wanted to attend today, as well as seeing Frenette & Lall in Pas de Trois once again. 

[Buddy]

On 2/22/2024 at 9:13 PM, YouOverThere said:

- Devon Teuscher is a near-perfect Odette/Odile.

 

So glad to hear you say that !

[Sebastian]

(Posting from London) We have the exciting Chloe Misseldine with us this week, guesting as Odette-Odile in a production of Swan Lake by the State Ballet of Georgia. I saw her London debut and will be going back for her other performance tonight.

Might I ask a question about ABT’s costumes for Swan Lake? I understand Ms Misseldine is wearing an ABT tutu for her Odette with the Georgian company. This costume (apparently a style worn by all ABT Odettes) has an intriguing small red splash at the centre of the torso. I would be most interested in the history and symbolism of this innovation, if indeed it is an innovation. It can be glimpsed here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3whxo8Aesy/?igsh=MWc5MnVyZzVsOG54Mg==

Edited August 31 by Sebastian