« March 2009 | Main | May 2009 »
The YAGP Peter the Great celebration gets high marks from Haglund - even if it did seem at times to be in the midst of the wild wild west - of Russia. Better behaved crowds have been seen at the old Yankee Stadium during a losing streak.
Since this was a celebration of Peter Pestov, the legendary teacher, Haglund paid close attention to the men who had been his students. Different bodies, very different personalities, different strengths and weaknesses were on display. The initial performance by Pestov's graduating class demonstrated the torturous adagio elements regimented into nearly every Russian syllabus and are designed to build strength and stamina. Haglund's hips and back began to hurt as he watched the students successfully struggle with the slow grand ronde jambs and the slow big jumps. No weaklings ever made it through Pestov's class, that's for sure.
Highlights
Oh, it was good to see Sascha Radetsky back in New York. His excerpt from Hans Van Manen's 5 Tangos showed that he has picked up considerable confidence in the past year and now projects with a larger theatrical sense - leaving behind the acting for a small screen that was a problem at times during his first stint with ABT. There was a new grounded intensity in his movement that involved his whole body.
As opined previously, we need Radetsky back on the home team. The guy can skate and shoot and block and check and when he doesn't have a clear shot at the net, he passes the puck to someone who does. We need this guy back on our team whether he delivers glamorous hat tricks or not.
Gennadi Saveliev's Gopak reminded us again that Saveliev is one of the most under-appreciated dancers at ABT. Yeah, this piece was all flash, but pretty good flash. Haglund will now buy a couple of more tickets to see his Lankendem in May.
Maria Kochetkova and Gonzalo Garcia performed Yuri Possokhov's Ramonda PdD. She was lovely and elegant and has a little Osipova smile that was quite charming. Garcia was fine as a partner, but he does not offer much in the way of a classical line in his legs and feet.
Viktoria Tereshkina and Vladimir Shyklyarov closed the program with the Don Quixote PdD. Haglund liked Tereshkina in this much more than in the Manon PdD with Marcelo Gomes. Although she was strong and clear and extensive in line in the Don Q., she offered nothing to differentiate herself from the multitude of other great Don Q.ers that we've seen on New York stages. She played it safe, but was impressive in doing so.
The Manon PdD proved to be a disappointment. Haglund cringed when Tereshkina broke character and gleamed her teeth at the audience in the vein/vain of Somova during some of the most passionate choreography. She did not dance with the sense of abandon that the role of Manon requires, and she just may be too big to be thrown around in the manner that we've come to expect. Gomes delivered with the expected passion. We have to find him a partner of the same intensity soon.
Haglund loved Nikolai Tsiskaridze in Petit's Carmen. This was a see-it-once-but-not-again piece that held surprise after surpise and, given the dancer's reputation, was a delight in trying to figure out when and whether he was being serious or not. Yeah, he can dance, but oh, he can take you for a ride, too. Some members of the audience upstairs booed him at the end but were quickly drowned out with applause. Haglund has never heard booing at the ballet before, so, he got very excited and was anticipating some kind of a rumble - which never occurred.
After so looking forward to once again seeing Big Red Kondaurova, Haglund was disappointed in the choreography that he had to endure in order to see her. Ratmansky's Middle Duet was pure pretzelmania that went on way too long and offered nothing of interest with regard to movement. However, Big Red's partner, Islom Baimurodov, was very pleasant to look at. Very pleasant indeed.
The Le Corsaire PdT with Almeida, Gatti and Cornejo (representing the Corella Ballet) showed that Herman, who Haglund loves dearly, needs some time to develop his Ali. His variation had neither the speed and intensity of Corella's nor the heat of Carreno's. His movement was big and correct - too much so. Time will take care of this and we will all be patient.
The final element of the program was to try to get Peter Pestov to take the appropriate bows and accept the cheering that he so deserves. No small task. Thank you Mr. Pestov. May you continue educating dancers the world over for many years to come.
Copyright © 2009
Another torturous winter wait has nearly come to an end as we anticipate what on its face appears to be a true gala performance event as American Ballet Theatre opens its spring season at the Met on May 18th.
Haglund can't wait to see the newest principal, Veronika Part, impart her beauty on Balanchine's Mozartiana.
And there will be special gala performances just for Nina Ananiashvili and Jose Manuel Carreno. Nina will dance a piece d'occasion by Ratmansky to the glorious waltz from Khachaturian's Masquerade Suite! Imagine what that music will sound like in the Met Opera House! And who, we pray, might step out to waltz her about the stage with his much missed Argentinian verve? J.M. will dance to a live performance by Herbie Hancock! If there is a god, he will dance without a shirt. Haglund looks forward with great mixed emotions to his and Nina's final performance of Giselle. Dvorovenko/Hallberg/Corella in the Le Corsaire PdT and Reyes and Cornejo in an excerpt from La Sylphide. And much more . . .
Gettin' ready —
Francis Patrelle stayed true to his mission with this program for Dances Patrelle at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College over the weekend. That mission, published prominently in the Kayebill program, included to realize the interdisciplinary relationship between dance, music, and drama and to promote the relationship through dance and to provide maturing dancers the opportunity to expand their art through new choreographic works. But as far as living up to the branding tag line of Reinventing Dramatic Dance - not exactly the case.
Murder at the Masque, with choreography by Patrelle to an original score by Patrick Soluri with impressive sets by Gillian Bradshaw-Smith was more than delightful with good dramatic dance performances by Matthew Dibble and Alex Brady. In a dance world that is constantly seeking its next 16 year old to promote as the must-see-of-the-century, both of these dancers were a tribute to the value of spending a couple of decades stockpiling experiences that enabled them to make the most of this dance drama.
Haglund's only gripe: the Edgar Allen Poe-inspired story line was a bit thin and could have benefited from the murder occurring earlier in the evening. The musical score was well integrated into the drama and choreography. Soluri provided lovely, hummable melodies to dance to and appropriate discordant moments for the drama. Patrelle's choreography for Dibble exhibited the dancer's strong yet pure style of movement. The choreography for the masses was at times a bit of a challenge for some of the ladies.
The second half of the evening was Come Rain / Come Shine which depicted three couples in sparring pas de deux to a selection of Judy Garland tunes. It premiered in 1986 at The Riverside Church Dance Festival. Haglund's friend finely articulated the problem with this piece. She observed that Judy Garland's singing success, like Frank Sinatra's and others, was the result of delivering the same formula over and over again. It's great in small and even medium doses, but a big dose becomes a bit tiring. And so it went with the choreography. Patrelle fell into a formula that perfectly matched the music, but also became a bit tiring after a half hour.
That said, Haglund now wishes to rave endlessly about his beloved American Ballet Theatre guest dancers who spectacularly embraced this opportunity and each other.
First of all, the responsibility for the staging was left to Cynthia Gregory, who was pictured in the Kayebill performing the piece with Donald Williams in 1989. Whenever and wherever there is an opportunity to have Cynthia Gregory hovering over Kristi Boone in a rehearsal studio, it's a good thing. Hopefully during rehearsal breaks, they huddled together in a corner where Cynthia imparted wisdom and detail with regard to differentiating between Odette and Odile. Was there ever a black swan with more hiss and spit than Cynthia Gregory? Never. And one of the few things that keeps old Haglund in this world is the desire to see Kristi Boone debut in Swan Lake.
Kristi with Isaac Stappas, Maria Riccetto, Marcelo Gomes, Roman Zhurbin, and Gemma Bond delivered high entertainment, uninhibited sex appeal, and super dancing with each Judy Garland song. Imagine Haglund's shock when Maria - the fragile, wholesome, delicate, newly-minted Giselle - came flaunting down the aisle with a sense of bump-and-grind with Marcelo in hot pursuit. Needless to say, she was in complete control of this relationship and won every argument - hands down. No contest.
One of Haglund's favorite dancers is Roman Zhurbin. Whether he is picking up Giselle on his shoulder at the festival or juggling a coconut in Petrushka or kneeling as a bereaved parent in Dark Elegies, he transports you into the moment, the era, the world on the stage. It was a delight to see him rise to the challenge of some not undifficult technical passages. Clearly, he is working very hard these days with impressive results.
Gemma Bond has pretty much stayed under Haglund's radar since she arrived. She stepped out for some fine dancing last year in Benjamin Millepied's Danses Concertantes at The Joyce Theater. Last night she scored high in all departments, particulary in her rapport with Roman. Very, very likable.
Marcelo and Isaac drove the drama in this piece - each with seemingly limitless dramatic gifts and intuitive abilities to up the ante and challenge the other players to bring more to the table. Both are masters at creating confrontation, so it was a no-brainer for Francis to invite them to be in this revival. Bravo to both.
Haglund had some difficulty coming up with the appropriate Pump Bump Award for this performance, but he thinks this Ferragamo 1938 creation for Judy Garland says it all:
Copyright © 2009