Some relieving ABT updated Met season casting

In the wake of the news earlier this week that a number of the open principal roles for American Ballet Theatre's spring season at the Met went to visiting male dancers from the Royal Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet, as wonderful as they may prove to be, I was getting less and less optimistic about the future of some of ABT's homegrown dancers.  However, in some happy turn of events some additional casting went up on the website today that made me take a big sigh of relief:

The best and worst of ABT at City Center (October 2012)

So I was absolutely intending to blog about all seven performances of ABT at City Center last week, but I've worked 80+ hours this week and haven't yet had the time to organize all the many thoughts into prose.  So, I thought I'd share some "awards" (most of which were run by and agreed to by my friend and comrade-in-madness for my ballet marathon week).  So here goes (after the jump):

ABT City Center (and Bard) Casting - thoughts?

So the bulk of the American Ballet Theatre fall season casting for City Center just went up online.  Thoughts? Gripes? Cheers?  

Here it is:

A little love letter to the ballet.

For those of use who love ballet, it can be so hard to understand why the rest of the world doesn't see what we see, can't feel what we feel.   How do most people not experience the same overpowering physical exhilaration we feel when merely sitting and watching, yes watching, a ballet dancer living their dream on stage?  The freedom when technique meets ability meets passion in just one human being on the stage ripples out into the audience and fills every muscle, every cell in my body with energy and implausible possibility.  

Perhaps this what other people feel when watching athletes like Michael Phelps, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Nastia Liukin or Dara Torres.  But while I root for these athletes and love to watch them strive, the feeling I get as a spectator is so different than watching ballet.  I feel nerves and hopes for these athletes, I feel the stress of pretending my will as a spectator can help them win, but still I don't feel their work with them.  But when I watch Marcelo Gomes in an abstract contemporary piece (or almost anything really), or Alessandra Ferri as Manon, or Julie Kent's sheer strength during the endless, countless overhead lifts in Lady of the Camellias, or Ethan Stiefel as Albrecht in Giselle, or Simone Messmer in this November's Volpi pas de deux, or Stella Abrera in Meadow or as Emilia in Othello, or Ulyana Lopatkina as Giselle, or Michael Trusnovec from Paul Taylor Dance, or so many more....I can't explain how but I think I get just a little bit of what they must be feeling while flying or turning, while forcing extreme tension into their limbs to make the tiniest moves important, while living so inside the music that it appears to be emanating out of their bodies rather than the orchestra pit, while letting everything go, to make the biggest leaps soar.

Have love for ABT soloists....will travel.

So while time and money cruelly prevented me from traveling to New Zealand this fall to see Stella Abrera's much-praised debut season as Aurora in Sleeping Beauty with Ethan's Stiefel's Royal New Zealand Ballet...when I heard that American Ballet Theatre had scheduled soloists Yuriko Kajiya and Jared Matthews for their first (and arguably overdue) Giselle, I knew I was going no matter where it would be.  
March 25th. Chicago.  Be there.  

In related news, when ABT came asking for my subscription renewal, I politely explained that while I absolutely love ABT, and anyone who knows me will tell you no less, I subscribe to see (and donate to support) ABT dancers - not guest artists - and so would be holding off on buying any tickets until the schedule is more set closer to the performance dates.  

I want to see Misty Copeland. I want to see Stella Abrera (who frustratingly is scheduled for large roles currently only on Wednesday matinees at Met).  I want to see Jared Matthews, Yuriko Kajiya, Herman Cornejo, Sascha Radetsky, Simone Messmer, Joseph Gorak, Arron Scott, Brittany deGrofft, Christine Shevchenko, Adrienne Schulte, Nicole Graniero, Julio-Bragado Young, Alex Hammoudi, Gray Davis, Roddy Doble, Roman Zhurbin, Eric Tamm, Sarah Lane.....and all of the other hard working, dedicated, beautiful dancers ABT has selected and trained year after year.   If the powers that be think these dancers are not ready - the powers have no one to blame but themselves.  Give these dancers the opportunities and more coaching and they will give every ounce of their determination and energy to be ready. To be more than ready.  To fly.

I want the dancers to be inspired, to have opportunities to grow and mature before our eyes.  I want to show them we support them - and for them to have their turns to inspire us. I want to see artistry and emotion, rather than flashy jumps (to the extent they are accompanied by lackluster partnering and hammy acting). I want ABT to bring back the longer fall season which highlights both the amazing contemporary power of so many of these dancers, and gives more of the company real opportunities to shine.

Dancers like Marcelo Gomes were not created in a day; he was given the chances to push himself along the way.  The younger dancers of ABT deserve no less.

So this Met season, and around the country and around the world - I encourage you all to go see and support ABT, and as many times as you can afford....but perhaps pay a little more attention to the casting this year, and try to support the company dancers rather than the guest principals.  You may be surprised at how much their fire will inspire you and win your hearts.  They will not disappoint.

For me....if Sarah Lane should finally get her full length debut during the US tour...I for one will be doing my utmost to be there.  If Misty Copeland wasn't scheduled for Firebird at Met season, you can bet I would be flying out to California to see that too.

The only thing I can really do to make my feelings heard is put my money where my mouth is.  And so, this year, and until a change is made, I will.

Victory to the Home Team: ABT at City Center (Wednesday, November 9, 2011)

Say what you will about Kevin McKenzie’s increasingly lackluster programming choices, there was something exciting about November 9th's repertory program by American Ballet Theatre. I left with such a jolt of electricity that I couldn’t fall asleep until well after 4 am. Notwithstanding some turnover in the ranks since ABT did longer fall seasons in 2006 and 2007, Wednesday night was a return to the well-rehearsed, passionate, joyful and exceptionally strong group of dancers I remembered from City Center seasons past. This night showed some rumblings of something I couldn't quite yet put into words - something that would become a loud and clear statement by some of the dancers later in the week.

Quick First Thoughts on ABT's City Center Casting

So the first half of casting for ABT's week at City Center went up today online, and here are my first impressions....

Quick Notes on ABT's Swan Lake with the Unstoppable Marcelo Gomes and Polina Semionova (July 2nd evening)

So clearly I'm never going to get the long version of this review written, but I wanted to at least post the curtain call video below and share a couple of thoughts. 

What can I say about him this season that I haven't already said about the truly unstoppable Marcelo Gomes?  This Met season he went from being one of my favorite dancers, to probably my favorite dancer of all time, any genre (though Gregory Hines still comes a close 2nd).

A fairy tale told by many different authors - ABT's Cinderella (June 25th evening)

People seem to have really loved or loathed American Ballet Theatre’s production of James Kudelka’s Cinderella this season.  Based on the evening performance on Saturday, June 25^th, I’m on the fence (which probably contributed to the lateness of this review).  Overall, I liked it less than I had in previous years, but some of the things I DID like were things that had been missing in those past viewings.

This just in - more injuries at ABT

David Hallberg seems to have sprained his ankle last night in Carreno's farewell to American Ballet Theatre.

But wait, because of the injury, it wasn't Carreno's farewell after all!  To the likely horror of those who paid over $1000 a seat on craigslist or stubhub to see the historic show last night, Jose Manuel is now dancing the Saturday matinee opposite Julie Kent, and Marcelo Gomes has been moved to the evening performance with Polina Semionova.  The evening crowd should be in for QUITE a treat.  Luckily thanks to the wonder of smartphones and my ballet-impulse-buying-addiction, I was able to score a ticket to the evening performance as well!  Have to bring the real camera this time for the curtain call......

Now, do I review last night before tomorrow's matinee? Or wait to compare the two....hmmmm.....

And, for those who are keeping track, that brings the ABT male soloist/principal injury/non-performance count this met season to (to my semi-reliable knowledge):

Max Beloserkovsky - injured/hasn't danced since gala

Herman Cornejo - injured/hasn't danced since gala

Ethan Stiefel - withdrew from entire season

Roberto Bolle - no injury but only danced 4 performances

Angel Corella - no injury but only danced 2 performances

David Hallberg - sprained ankle week 7

Gennadi Saveliev - injured calf muscle week 7

Sascha Radetsky  - seemed to have some kind of injury at the beginning of the season

Anyone else wondering if one of the corps guys put some kind of voodoo curse on the higher ups?  WHAT a crazy season.  If this isn't more reason to pay attention to developing Jared Matthews, Sascha Radetsky, Eric Tamm, Alex Hammoudi and others for next season then I don't know what is!

American Ballet Theatre's new Russian star: The Bright Stream

A little background before my thoughts on Saturday's matinee....

When I travelled down to Washington, D.C. on a frozen weekend in late January to see ABT's premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's The Bright Stream, I didn't know what to expect.  I'd seen a few pictures, but purposefully hadn't done any research on the Bolshoi's production.  I wanted to see it with fresh eyes, no expectations.    

Within minutes of the orchestra's beginning note of the joyful Shostakovich score, I was hooked.  

The Bright Stream turned out to be a refreshingly joyous vehicle for ABT - and although set in Soviet Russia, it somehow seems like a modern continuation picking up at the point where de Mille, Robbins and Tudor left ABT years ago.

A ballet with a thousand lifts…and a few stumbles

American Ballet Theatre’s Lady of the Camellias seems to be a ballet that people either love or hate.  Unlike the often-cranky New York Times’ reviewers, I really do like this ballet, and even love parts of it.   Based on the novel by Dumas, which has been told a hundred different ways before, including ABT’s Manon, John Neumeier’s choreography and the stark scenery of this ballet mostly works.  The Chopin score is beautiful, and beautifully played by three soloists.  And even though a lot of what happened at Saturday’s matinee was a bit of a mess, I still think that this is a production not to be missed.

Marcelo, Marcelo, Marcelo!

So much has already been written about Friday night’s performance of American Ballet Theatre’s Giselle that I hesitate to add my small voice to the cheers, but I was so moved by the experience I can’t help but proceed anyway.

So, let me start at the beginning. Before Friday night, I had seen Diana Vishneva only a few times before in my many years of ABT - in ballets such as Sylvia (with Ethan Stiefel), in On The Dnieper (with Jose Manuel Carreno), and several times last season in Thais (with Jared Matthews). This season, I’m seeing her twice - in Giselle and Lady of the Camellias - and honestly I had bought both tickets to see Gomes. I had heard, though, that Vishneva is fantastic in both. As for her Giselle, the hype did not let me down.

And, if Marcelo Gomes wasn’t already my favorite dancer, he surely would be after this performance. His acting, technique and performance soared beyond my own expectations.... I came away saying “I knew he was great, but I had no idea he could do THAT!”
Act I

Wheeldon’s Thirteen Diversions, Two Missed Opportunities and One Deep Bench

Well, I have mixed thoughts about last night’s mixed bill at American Ballet Theatre.  On one hand, there were a lot of things wrong with the program: uninspiring and even mundane choreography (ahem, Mr. Millepied?), a costume choice that may have been trying too hard (again, Mr. Millepied?), unfortunate miscasting or unnecessary use of two or three principal dancers......but really not much of what was wrong with the performance can be attributed to the dancers.  Not really.  On the other hand, there was Wheeldon’s “Thirteen Diversions,” which was well danced, lit, costumed and choreographed.  And, there were a few very strong performances by members of the corps de ballet and soloists in Ratmansky’s Dumbarton that, if you were really seeing, reminded me what I love about ABT, and gave me back more than a glimmer of hope for the company’s future.