Haglund's Heel

Another voice

Please read Bridesmaids which is Rachel March's review of the Wednesday matinee performance of La Bayadere.  Here is one more blog which is a healthy resource on the accomplishments and star quality of Stella Abrera and many other homegrown ABT artists who are being denied opportunities and promotions.

The desperate state of affairs at ABT is turning into a textbook study of how to destroy a beloved cultural organization.  In an effort to pump up ticket sales, it's management has continued to import ill-fitting guest artists instead of supporting and developing its own glorious talent.  What ABT doesn't seem to understand is that the guest artists are only widely known to its core audience, a large part of which is rabidly angry over the corresponding shelving of the company's own artists.  Bringing in guest artists who aren't really known much outside balletomane circles, and then alienating a chunk of the core audience so that it won't buy tickets doesn't appear to be a productive course to take - judging from the terrible turnout for this year's season. 

Would anybody be at all surprised if The Met's officials decided to cut the number of weeks for ABT's future seasons to 5 or 6 or maybe even 4?  Who would blame them?

 

ABT – La Bayadere – Wed matinee 5/23

La Bayadere has some of the most beautiful, passionate musical melodies in all of ballet.  If it were an opera, you might hear Renée Fleming and Jonas Kaufmann singing Nikiya and Solor with Joyce DiDonato as Gamzatti.  The choral work in Act II would be to die for.  In its form as a Natalia Makarova-staged Petipa ballet, it's a dramatic force but it has always been overshadowed by its higher profile Petipa siblings such as Swan Lake and Giselle.  Still, the music captures your senses and readies you to be transported wherever the performers will take you.  Given the overall problems of the ABT orchestra this season, it was a pleasant surprise to hear the music quality much improved at today's matinee where it was conducted by Ormsby Wilkins.

This afternoon the principal roles of Nikiya, Solor, and Gamzatti were performed by Paloma Herrera, Cory Stearns, and Stella Abrera. 

Paloma's Nikiya was in some ways dwarfed by Veronika Part's portrayal of less than 24 hours earlier, but was still a valid performance.  There is a lot less of Paloma for the stage lights to bounce off of and it can make her face in particular difficult to read.  Smaller features that are closer together always present a  challenge for the artist who is trying to convey large emotions in a cavernous opera house like the Met.  If one is not blessed with a particularly open face, there are things one can do to make it less of a problem, but it will always be somewhat of a handicap in a large theater.  Cory Stearns has the exact same problem.  Small, close set features that are not inviting to large amounts of light.

Paloma's strengths as Nikiya today were in her nearly faultless technique applied meticulously with her beautifully shaped legs and feet.  Over the years her port de bras has softened and become more classical and is now quite lovely most of the time.  She still drops her chest on grand jetes and sauté de chats just as she did when Haglund ocassionally saw her as a 17-year-old in David Howard's ballet class.  Imagine how much more impressive a dancer Paloma would have become if the ABT ballet masters had cared enough to insist that she eliminate that bad habit.  Most lovely today was her dance around the Sacred Fire during which there were many opportunities to witness the gorgeous curved shape of her arabesque which she balanced on pointe with ease.  Her Act II Nikiya was technically assured and correct, but there was not a sense of individual musicality in her dancing.  Every phrase was kind of colored the same way.

Haglund attended Cory Stearns' debut as Solor two years ago.  Expectations were low at that time and Cory exceeded them only for the first part of the performance.  Today, his Solor was very nearly completely put together, but for some shaky lifts, an inflexible back, and some less than strong acting.  His stamina has certainly improved a lot.  His grand allegro had good, yes, good strength to it.  Everything he did had more – oh, what's that ballet term – UMPH to it.  His feet, legs, arms, and hands looked like a first class danseur's.  The upper torso is still very light and his core didn't look especially strong.  He made the over head lifts as required, but he didn't have an ounce of strength to spare which made it all kind of scary.  Haglund just doesn't understand why this guy doesn't pump up his upper body.  It's not going to wreck his balletic line unless he's trying to look like a delicate ballerina.  Cory is coming up on another chance of a lifetime to dance Swan Lake with this country's most glorious classical ballerina.  He has the opportunity to create unforgettable moments with her.  He has a chance to step out of the shadows of the other male principals by making sure that he has the strength needed to do the job impressively, not just barely. 

The main reason that Haglund attended today's performance was to witness Stella Abrera's marvelous Gamzatti.  She was even stronger and more secure than when she performed the same role last February in Washington DC.  Her characterization of Gamzatti is one of deep love of Solor coupled with a deep hurt from being rejected and a strong sense of royal entitlement to him.  Her desperation is tinged with anger.  It is fascinating to watch Stella whip her long neck and head around during her Act III solo to convey the depth of her emotions.  No other Gamzatti does it so effectively. 

Stella's overall performance today was the strongest of the three principals.  In Act I her Italian fouettes and regular fouettes had good form and power.  Her grand jetes soared with the body high off the hips.  All of the technical demands were met with clarity and authority.  Add stunning beauty and mature acting, and voilà, you have a PRINCIPAL ballerina.  But for some reason, we don't.  So let's ask again. Why hasn't our Stella, the Stella who we have watched grow into an incredibly accomplished artist despite some very tough trials, been promoted to principal and why isn't she getting the principal opportunities?  Is it really better to bring in some other company's dancer who is too disabled to properly dance roles than give your own incredible ballerina the opportunity?  Is it really better to bring in some other company's dancer to perform a marginal Myrtha than give the opportunity to one of your own company's dancers?  Is it really better to bring in some other company's unclassical, unaesthetic dancer and encourage your own dancers to copy her unappealing traits?

Arron Scott had much more success this afternoon with The Bronze Idol than did Daniil Simkin last night.  He seemed to understand the concept of the Idol's movement, and brought the right accent to the legs, arms, and body most of the time.  It's still a work in progress, but he's got a very good start.

How refreshing it was to see Sarah Smith and Luciana Voltolini as the D'Jampe Dancers.  Both had such great energy which the backup ladies did not match. 

Luciana Paris, Maria Riccetto, and Misty Copeland were excellent in their difficult Shade Variations. 

Jeffrey Golladay's Head Fakir was just as grubby as Craig Salstein's last night.  His leaps over the Sacred Fire had good height and his savage mime was clear.

The corps de ballet in the Kingdom of the Shades looked perfect, but Haglund confesses to obsessing over the beauty of Gemma Bond's back foot peeling off the floor on its way to arabesque. 

If everyone hasn't gone to bed by now, let them not be surprised by Haglund bestowing the Pump Bump Award, an Alexander McQueen snakeskin platform pump ($1230), on Stella Abrera for her stunning performance of Gamzatti this afternoon.

ABT – La Bayadere – 5/22

Veronika Part, Marcelo Gomes, and Gillian Murphy overcame the bland, passionless sounds from the orchestra to deliver a glorious opening performance of La Bayadere.  The subpar music throughout the run so far finally made Haglund curious enough to look to see who these dismal musicians were.  And right on page 28 of last night's program, all was revealed in the + and *.  ABT has hired no fewer than 10 guest artists for its orchestra.  How one becomes identified as a guest artist in a rag-tag pick-up orchestra is a little hard to understand.  But leave it to ABT to pull the guest artist card out of its sleeve whenever possible to cheat us all.

But there were a few miracles on stage last night.  Veronika's Nikiya was heavenly.  It seems like this could be another transformative and ascending season for her, judging from the results of her off season training.  Some of her gorgeous curves have been replaced by crystalline lines of diamond brilliance.  Every line is longer.  Every step is more secure.  Her passion is deeply embedded within the technical architecture of this ballet.

Among the many highlights from last night were Veronika's Act II series of pirouettes that opened to arabesque.  She made the swift pirouettes look like a preparation for the huge ending arabesques.  It all made such beautiful sense.  Her Act I solo around the fire was as sensual and passionate as legally allowed.  Then Marcelo's Solor entered the picture and all laws were broken.  The two of them together always seem bigger than life.  When Veronika flew to Marcelo's shoulder in the PdD, it was one of the purest statements of passion on the stage.   Marcelo was in top form last night as well, and at the end of his variations, he delivered the expected deep backbends when his head nearly touched the back foot.  His solo at the beginning of Act II was filled with emotion, nearly desperate at times.  All of his movement was geared toward reaching for Nikiya.

Gillian Murphy is a natural Gamzatti who can bring off the I'm-spoiled-but-I'm-hurting-too-so-have-some-sympathy act by way of blistering technique.  It wasn't her best performance of Gamzatti that Haglund has seen, but Gillian doesn't need to be at her best in order to be one of the best.

Daniil Simkin's Bronze Idol missed the mark again this year.  Why McKenzie keeps casting him in this role is hard to understand.  When Johan Renvall debuted this role, he set a pretty high standard.  Then Angel Corella came along, met the standard, and exceeded it.  Then Herman Cornejo came along, met that standard, and exceeded it.  We need Daniil to get this role with all of the required upper body staccato.  There was too much balletic languishing between the movements.  And unfortunately, he tripped at the top of the steps and landed inside the buddha instead of on the top of the first step.

Craig Salstein was fantastic as the Head Fakir.  His dirty little beggar had a bit of savage in him as well.  He was especially likable when pawing at Nikiya.

Sarah Lane among the Shades (Lane, Yuriko Kajiya, Devon Teuscher) was a standout for her clarity and musicality.  The light seems attracted to her face and she was utterly beautiful last night. 

The corps de ballet in The Kingdom of the Shades was fairly studied and seemed determined not to err even if it meant being a bit underpowered.  But they were lovely.

The evening's Pump Bump Award, a snakeskin under the flower stiletto, is bestowed upon Marcelo Gomes and Veronika Part with the hope that someday we may again see their Swan Lake.

VP & MG La Bayadere

Haglund apologizes for being late with this post, but he's at the ballet.  Please be patient.

 

ABT Giselle 5/21 – Conductor has Mad Scene in Act I; Giselle flips in Act II

The awful shame about tonight is that if we hadn't had the two absolutely disastrous, seemingly never ending, worse than you can imagine incidents, it would have been a wonderful performance.  The audience truly appreciated Irina Dvorovenko, Roberto Bolle, Simone Messmer, and Jared Matthews for their efforts and seemed to forgive everything that went wrong tonight.

Toward the end of Act I – just as Giselle was set to run and break up Albrecht and Bathilde, half of the orchestra began playing before the other half started.  It wasn't just an errant musician or two - it was a big section.  And they kept going and kept going – completely musically off with each other – for about 30 seconds.  Haglund could not believe his ears.  He looked back over his shoulder to the Parterre and saw Kevin McKenzie with both hands up holding his face in disbelief.  Down in the orchestra pit, Ormsby Wilkins was hitting his chest and shaking his head.  Somehow, finally all the musicians got back on the same track but not before pretty much wrecking the drama of the confrontation in Act I.  ABT has enough problems.  Having a conductor asleep at the podium isn't something that the company needs.  It was the worst musical mistake that Haglund has heard from an ABT orchestra in more than a half century of attending performances.

Then, in the first overhead lift in Act II – when Roberto picked up Irina, Haglund wondered why both of Irina's legs were bent instead of one being straight.  Her bent legs kept going up - up - up - up and soon she was slowly falling over backwards overtop Roberto's head.  She ended up completely flipping over and sliding down his back.  It was like watching a disaster in slow motion.  Had it not been for Roberto's brute strength in his arms and shoulders, he would never have been able to control Irina's descent and it could have been much, much worse than it was. 

With the above noted exception, Act I was the best Act I that Haglund saw in the past week.  Irina and Roberto are completely suited for one another.  She is ultra glamorous, and he is ultra handsome.  They are equally mature as artists and selflessly respond to the other's dancing.  They could be Cinderella and her Prince or Odette and Siegfried.  They are already a fabulous and passionate Romeo and Juliet.  And they could have been a made-for-the-movies Giselle and Albrecht, but for the mishaps of this evening.  They have good chemistry, and Haglund hopes that tonight's disaster isn't the last time we see them dance together.

Irina's Mad Scene was close to perfect.  She didn't go over the top like Osipova.  She didn't stand around and bore us like Kent and Herrera.  She was spontaneous, surprising, unique, and believable in her characterization.  When she literally fell into the arms of Berthe, Haglund then realized that most everyone else doesn't do that satisfactorily.  She didn't run all over the stage crazy so much as lose touch with reality.  Her unhinged state was more than just reflected in her face; it was in her posture.   Earlier in Act I, her variations were lovely.  She omitted nothing.  She added no pony tricks.  Her pique penche arabesques were picture perfect.  Her hops on pointe were swift and smooth.  Her circle of pique turns were impressively fast.

Irina's Act II –  but for her flip over Roberto's head – was a classic and traditional Act II.  In fact, after the disastrous lift, both dancers soared in terms of dancing and drama.  They seemed determined to turn the situation around and deliver their best to us.  Roberto gave us 30 entrechats six. Irina's entrechats quatre began rapidly and accelerated as she moved upstage.   The PdD (except for that one lift) was beautiful, love-filled, and magical.

Simone Messmer's Myrtha was okay.  She certainly can glare out at the audience and appear fierce, but her jumps didn't reflect that of a spirit in flight like Abrera's and Part's Myrthas do.  Her upper body and port de bras do not have the breadth of the two reigning Myrthas, and her shoulders and arms don't have the sinewy definition that has come to be identified with the best Myrthas.   Simone's Myrtha is a new issue, so to speak.  Certainly it will grow better with more performances.

Jared Matthews was, of course, fabulous as Hilarion.  Zhong-Jing Fang was back under control as Zulma - no excessive emoting or mouthing the music.  Christine Shevchenko was serviceable as Moyna, if a bit ordinary.  The corps didn't dare make a mistake considering the way things were going tonight. 

The Pump Bump Award for this evening is awarded to Irina and Roberto for their sturdy spines, steady nerves, and strong finish.

 

 

ABT on Goldstar.com

Discounted tickets for The Bright Stream are available at Goldstar.com as is the July 4th matinee performance of Le Corsaire.  Prices for Orchestra seats at B.S. are $31-$52.50.  L.C. is strictly $45.  Haglund can't actually recommend Goldstar.com's service because he has never used it.  It doesn't appear that one knows what seats he has purchased until he picks up the tickets on the day of the performance - kind of a drawback.  And of course there is a "service" fee of $7 or $8.

The Bright Stream doesn't seem to be selling very well - not even with all the freaking guest dancers.  Wow, who wants to miss the opportunity for a big belly laugh - maybe even a wet your pants laugh – when Kobborg appears in a tutu with his head bandana and beard.  Gosh, how could anyone possibly think about missing something so uproariously funny and so worth yanking the performance opportunity from an ABT dancer?  Ohhh nooooooo!  It looks like Haglund will have to miss it because he will have a headache on that date.  [knock, knock]  Uh oh, someone's at the door.

"Oh, hi, Mr. Hands.  Would you like a ticket to Kobborg's performance––  Wait! Wait!  Mr. Hands, I didn't mean to insult you.  Stop, Mr. Hands.  Not my head, Mr. Hands!  Please stop, Mr. Hands!  Oh my head.  Ohhhh nooooooooo!"

"Mr. Sluggo told me to get rid of your headache."

 

ABT - Terror at Twelve O'Clock - 5/16 eve

. . . and then it was time for Act II of this evening's Giselle starring Paloma Herrera, Roberto Bolle, Stella Abrera, and Jared Matthews.

Stella Abrera's Myrtha swiftly and silently bourreed across the floor of the dark forest summoning the restless spirits to rise from their shallow graves and come together to begin their nightly ritual of unholy revenge.  In white tulle and veils, they were a vision of beauty, but underneath it all, they were -- wait for it -- a sisterhood of psychopaths led by the most stunningly beautiful twisted sister of them all.  The vindictive spirits roamed the forest until they caught their first victim of the night.  Poor Hilarion.  He never left anyone at the altar.  He didn't deserve to die.  But the guiltless sisters needed their nightly relief, and He. Was. It. 

Stella Abrera was brilliant tonight as Myrtha – dark, unrelenting, all-powerful, but in the end, powerless over Giselle's love, forgiveness, and determination to save Albrecht.  She came flying from the back of the stage with grand jetes that streamed forward at Mach speeds, each one landing silently.  Her double circle of sauté de basques – two circles of circles – was sensational.  And oh, how her Myrtha menaced and threatened Albrecht – making him do 29 or 30 entrechats six at the end.  She snapped those tender myrtle branches from the rocks and wielded them to orchestrate terror throughout the night forest.

Jared Matthews' Hilarion was terrific  - but not as good as his Albrecht last month in Chicago.  Oh, let's not start any nastiness this late, but suffice to say, New York is being robbed this year by not being allowed to see Jared as Albrecht and Yuriko Kajiya as Giselle.  And of course, we're being robbed for too many years to count by not getting to see Stella realize her dream to dance Giselle.  What was that articulate comment in Dance Magazine about Stella's lost opportunity to dance Giselle following recovery from an injury - "a well-deserved opportunity that, inexplicably, has not again materialized" – INEXPLICABLY.

Roberto Bolle and Paloma Herrera were enjoyable as Albrecht and Giselle.  Much more than competent.  Less than thrilling.  The chemistry was thin.  We believed more in their steps than in their love for each other.  Paloma seems to have plateaued in her development of her Giselle, and there doesn't seem to be anyone at ABT who can help bump her to the next artistic level in this role.  Her Act I needs to be fresher – not louder, not jumpier, not screaming crazy like Osipova, but just fresher and more distinct. 

Moyna and Zulma were again danced by Isabella Boylston and Yuriko Kajiya with the same result as last evening only Yuriko was even better musically and managed to attract some balances in arabesque that were mighty impressive from an artistic standpoint. 

Let's be fair and go back to the beginning, because there was some very fine dancing in Act I in the Peasant PdD by Misty Copeland and Craig Salstein.  Both have gained new strengths in their roles since the last time Haglund saw them.  Misty's arms, especially, are more rounded with more space between the forearm and the ear when the arms are held in fifth high position.  Boy, tonight on the little section which begins with emboites going backward to the knee from which the dancer springs to a double pirouette, Misty impressively got firmly down to the knee and stayed there confidently for a count before launching her pretty pirouettes.  It was no small statement about this dancer's strength and coordination.  She didn't need much help from Craig on those turns either.  His variation was much tidier than on previous occasions when he may have pushed too hard to impress.  He and Misty have a nice chemistry going.

The corps de ballet was mostly fine but for a couple of musically rugged spots with some of the newer Wilis.

The Pump Bump Award, this luxurious leatherette rhinestone and feather wedding party stiletto, is bestowed upon Stella Abrera for her boldly brilliant Myrtha.

ABT – Giselle 5/15

After much serious thought, Haglund bailed out of the Facebook IPO today.  He wasn't going to buy many shares anyway, so the FB deal will probably still go through without him, in case anyone is worried. He bailed out because this whole Hoodiegate thing with Zuckerberg has really gotten under the skin.  How you dress counts in business and in social circles.  If you're trying to achieve something, you've got to dress like you want it.  Sometimes you dress up; sometimes you dress down.  How you dress counts.  Just ask Count Albrecht.  If he had shown up in front of Giselle tonight in his gold threads (overdressed) or in a hoodie (underdressed), he wouldn't have stood a chance with her.  Thank goodness Albrecht was being steered in the right direction by Marcelo Gomes, an impeccable fashion force wherever he goes. 

And so ABT opened its week of Giselles at the Met with mostly fine performances and a few magical ones.  One goes to see Julie Kent's Giselle to get a glimpse of the classic shapes of those iconic moments in Act II when Giselle as the spirit awakens, forgives Albrecht for his betrayal, and saves him from the Wilis.  Her Act I when Giselle cavorts around in the village and ends up going mad and dying is not especially strong, and hasn't been for as long as Haglund remembers, but there have been times when her Act II has been peerless.  Her second act is still extraordinary for its lightness, ghostliness, and clarity of classical form, though perhaps overshadowed by the memory of past performances. 

The images from Julie's Giselle tonight that Haglund tried to store away safely in memory for easy retrieval later included her arabesque that leaned against Albrecht - a shape that was as classically pure as it gets – from the tips of the fingers to the tips of the toes; the height of the body above the legs and the curved shape of the back foot in grand jetes; the collection of the feet crossed at the ankles under the skirt; the rapid, skimming entrechats quatre that traveled backwards; and the shape of Giselle's horizontal body as it was held aloft over Albrecht's head.  All very lovely tonight.

Marcelo Gomes' Albrecht tonight was utterly charming as he innocently played the game of chase with Giselle in Act 1, and he was suitably tragic in Act II.  His technique was wonderfully colored and shaded to convey the depth of his feelings.  The series of entrechat sixes suddenly took on new drama as he performed them while accelerating down stage.

Veronika Part's Myrtha is one which causes the men in the audience to plead "Kill me now."  Veronika, beautiful tonight as always, looked like she has decided to dance in a lower weight class this season.  Haglund recalls hearing during his collegiate nights at Joe's Bar in Iowa City, where Dan Gable regularly spun wisdom on all sorts of subjects, that wrestling in a lower weight class than you usually do can really provide a distinct advantage over the opponent.  Veronika's arms and shoulders appeared newly and quite beautifully sculpted tonight.  And judging from the extent that Hilarion's face was messed up when he appeared for his final death sentencing before Myrtha, the fitness program seems to have been worth it.  Haglund loves all of Veronika's variations as Myrtha, but he so looks forward to the moment when she stalks Albrecht and nearly puts him out of his misery.  He is only saved by the bell - the 4:00 am bell, that is.  Such deadly force.  Such beauty.

Hilarion was danced by Gennadi Saviliev, who will retire at the end of the season.  Saviliev's Hilarions have been gold these past few years, and they will be missed a lot.  He always gets your sympathy as opposed to trying to be the despicable bad guy as most portray the character these days.

Moyna and Zulma were danced by Isabella Boylston and Yuriko Kajiya.  Yuriko's musicality and phrasing make her dancing magical.  Her solos were brief but so beautiful.  Isabella has such awesome shaped feet and legs, but sadly does not have a classical upper body or expressive arms.  Haglund didn't see a Wili, and didn't see a potential Odette either.

The Peasant PdD was sprite-like but lovely as performed by Sarah Lane and Daniil Simkin.  Their side by side dancing and variations were fantastic, but their partnering in the pirouettes sometimes ended awkwardly.  ABT is lucky to have these two gutsy dancers.  When a maneuver doesn't meet an optimal result, do they back away?  No, they ramp up the energy and attack it again with more determination.  Gutsy.  The highlight of the Peasant PdD was catching the reaction on Peasant Blaine Hoven's face when Daniil spun a pirouette and caught an unbelievably long balance at the end.  Most likely, Blaine will be up to bat in the Peasant PdD this week as well.

The Corps de Ballet was tight and tidy tonight.  There are several new faces, all of whom seem to be fitting in quite nicely.

The Pump Bump Award, an Iron Steampunk Stiletto by Tory Burch, is bestowed upon Veronika Part for the deadly beauty of her Myrtha.

OMG Ivan Nagy is back in town!

Be still my heart!  IVAN NAGY is back in Manhattan rehearsing Gelsey Kirkland's students in the Swan Lake PdD.  Ivan Nagy. 

NO DOUBT Natalia Makarova and Cynthia Gregory are trying to squeeze back into their white tutus for one more chance to have Ivan Nagy wrap those delicious arms around them!  OMG Ivan Nagy is back.  Haglund is going bananas.  BA-NA-NAS!

He quit too soon.  He disappeared.  Ballet let him slip away.  Haglund has wondered aloud on this blog how ABT could have lost an artistic connection with someone as important as Ivan Nagy.  Now Gelsey has brought him back to ballet and to her students and to us.

It's settled.  We all will go to Gelsey's Academy performance on Friday, May 25th at Symphony Space.  Here's the link to order tickets.  AS A BONUS, you will be treated to the mighty Herman Cornejo dancing James' variations from La Sylphide.  Yes, the MIGHTY CORNEJO will be dancing, too!

Gelsey has rehearsal pictures of Ivan Nagy with her students on her website.  Haglund lifted one here, but go to the site to see them.  Oh, God, Ivan Nagy is back. 
 

 

Not on Haglund's calendar

ABT's gala.

Anyone who purchased a ticket for this performance is hurting the ABT dancers and is supporting the regime's harmful practice of importing guest dancers.

UIEX - new ABT dancer

Thanks to the Haglund'eeler who noticed in this blog review of Boston Ballet's Don Q that the writer reported that principal James Whiteside will leave Boston Ballet at the end of the season to join ABT in some capacity.  He should definitely rethink the move.

It sounds like McKenzie has so lost his credibility and the respect of the company that he's going to have to go out and replace every last dancer.  

At what point does the board remove the CEO because he's lost the confidence of the employees as well as the ability to manage and develop the talent within?  How low does ABT's stock have to go before the board will act?

 

ABT spring season

Ardani Ballet Theatre opens its eight week season this week at the Met Opera House with a slew of loaners and bad publicity.  So what's new.

Boasting the worst marketing department in the history of all performing arts, ABT now burdens its artists with going out and creating their own media buzz as a condition of getting on stage while its marketing professionals spend their time fussing over the souvenir kiosk.

Last March, a Chicago reporter quizzed Kevin McKenzie on the underground pipeline of imported guest dancers from Ardani Management to ABT.  McKenzie acknowledged the pipeline and that the reporter's reference to ABT becoming Ardani Ballet Theatre was half true - "exactly".  McKenzie tried to sway the point of reference from importing transient guest principals to importing young, gifted dancers from South America for the corps.  Read it here because you won't see a link on ABT's Twitter or Facebook pages. 

In the May issue of Dance Magazine, David Hallberg says in reference to his coach at the Bolshoi, "that's what I've needed for a long time – a really great coach".  This echoes his comments in early interviews about his reasons for jumping to the Bolshoi.  Apparently there are no coaches at ABT who could guide him toward improving his dancing the way he needed.  And as we have seen, ABT opts to spend its donors' money and the U.S. taxpayers' money on imported marginal guest dancers rather than permanent, highly respected coaches.

In the Sunday NYT, there is an interview with several corps and soloist members who make it clear that ABT's reliance on importing foreign guest dancers into the company is working against the institution.  Congratulations to the dancers who are finally speaking out and let's watch closely how quickly ABT starts dumping them. 

Where is the dancers' union in all of this?  How are these imported transient artists getting union passes to come in and swipe the ABT dancers' job opportunities and especially swipe their advancement opportunities? 

What about ABT's MO of going out and sabotaging other ballet companies'  seasons by enticing dancers to bolt so they can squat at ABT?  Osipova, Vasiliev, Polunin all walked out on employers because of interference with their perceived opportunities at ABT.  Semionova demanded release from her contract, because she saw ABT opportunities opening up with the expected retirement of Julie Kent next year.  Matvienko was dumped by the Mariinsky on the heels of his guest contract with ABT.  McKenzie has been soliciting Muntagirov behind the ENB director's back for months.  All the while, ABT's own extraordinarily gifted dancers go unused, uncoached, unappreciated, and unlistened-to.

The only conclusion one can reach is that the ABT Board is turning a blind eye to McKenzie's impotent artistic management and staffing, and that it finds illicit pleasure in boasting about its exotic, foreign imports at its parties.  ". . . I shot a zebra in Africa . . . Oh, but I imported Semionova. . . See my imported marble and black pearl cocktail table which I found in India. . . Oh, but did you see my Osipova that I imported from Russia?"  Yes, that's the way it's played out over and over again.

You know how to stop it - other than dumping McKenzie, of course?  The Bolshoi, The Royal Ballet, The English National Ballet, the Berlin Opera - they all need to start demanding financial compensation from both the artists and ABT for sabotaging their seasons and soliciting their artists under employment agreements. 

 

The fluid solution

[In a dark Tblisi cafe after the Ananiashvili gala]

Listen, Sergei.  When you get to our clinic, just wink and tell them it's yours.... No, not both eyes, just one.... What do you mean you "don't want to rehearse"?  You wanna end up with a soloist contract - keep messing with me.

 

Petit F5

A little refresh & update on live-streams and screenings:

Wednesday 4/25 @ 8PM (EDT) – Ballet Next will live-stream its event at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center on its website:  http://www.balletnext.com/  Performers will be Michele Wiles, Charles Askegard, Kristi Boone, Misty Copeland, Ana Sophia Scheller, and Georgina Pazcoguin.  They will dance choreography by Brian Reeder, Askegard, and Margo Sappington.

Friday 4/27 @ 3PM & 7PM – the movie Joffrey – Mavericks of Dance opens a run of several days at Cinema Village in New York.  Former Joffrey company members and Dance Magazine's Wendy Perron will host several Q&A sessions on selected dates.  You can purchase tickets in advance here.  A list of upcoming screenings in other cities can be found here.

Sunday & Monday 4/29-30 @ 7:30PM (EDT) – The Guggenheim's Works & Process Series presents a preview program of ABT's Spring Season at the Met Opera House which focuses on the characters at the hearts of the ballets including an excerpt from Firebird performed by Misty Copeland.  The program will be live-streamed both nights at:  http://www.ustream.tv/worksandprocess

Maria Riccetto to join Julio Bocca's company

ABT soloist Maria Riccetto will join Julio Bocca's company, Ballet Nacional del Sodre, in Uruguay as a Primera Bailarina Invitada (Guest Principal Ballerina) for a year beginning August 1st.  Thereafter she will return to ABT.

Congratulations to beautiful Maria.  But Honey, don't come back without an ABT principal contract.  McKenzie is screwing with the senior soloists, trying to clear the way for lesser dancers and lesser guest artists while at the same time complaining that he doesn't have enough corps dancers and has to insert student dancers from the school.  He's screwing with the senior soloists big time.  Walk out and don't look back.  You are too beautiful, too talented, and too wasted by ABT.