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Haglund has been a good sport all of these months while friends made fun of his perceived blog audience of readers simultaneously obsessed with baseball and ballet and the undeniable connection between the two. They called it the accidental audience of one. Well, well, well. He now has all the proof he needs to show that such a crossover audience exists and in fact is growing!
Ballparks.com, ticket peddler for major league baseball and other sporting events all over the country, was selling tickets to American Ballet Theatre's performances at Avery Fisher Hall this month. That's where Haglund is buying all of his ballet tickets from now on! So there.
Go Yankees. Point those toes!
What a terrific night at American Ballet Theatre at Avery Fisher Hall!
Maria Riccetto and Jared Matthews revived Clark Tippet’s 1989 Some Assembly Required with sass and strength and sparkle - a tremendous performance from both. Haglund previously observed Maria working her wisdom in Francis Patrelle’s boxing ring so he knew that Jared Matthews was in for a workout tonight. Jared survived, but not without bruises. He and Maria portrayed the at-odds but in-love couple who battled and baited one another to William Bolcom’s Second Sonata for Violin and Piano. Stare-downs, rough and tumble you know what, and tenderness were all there. Tippet’s originality, brash humor and his gift for telling a story in SAR just hammered home what we all lost when we lost him. ABT should take this piece with them to China and leave the Barton fiasco in the broom closet.
Marcelo Gomes and Veronika Part performed Jerome Robbins’ Other Dances as set by Isabelle Guerin of the Paris Opera Ballet. Haglund wanted to keep an open mind about this performance realizing that Veronika does not have the lightness of Makarova or the flexibility and playful sensuality of Ferri – both of whom were major interpreters of Robbins’ dance. So this was going to be a different kind of Other Dances, and indeed it was. There were some uncertainties during the initial PdD but things ironed out during the second set of solos and the final PdD, which was fantastic. Marcelo and Veronika are usually seen performing together in more serious full-length ballets, so it was a pleasure to see them together in a lighter piece.
Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas had a 33% cast change as the result of injuries to Xiomara Reyes and Herman Cornejo. Sarah Lane and Joe Phillips stepped in from the alternate cast for a smooth substitution. But once again, it was Stella Abrera who blew Haglund away with her lyricism, natural affinity for Ratmansky’s choreography, and the overall beauty of her movement. Her dark beauty against Hallberg's blondness is striking. They are a must have Giselle and Albrecht.
The alternate cast for Millepied’s Everything Doesn’t Happen At Once included Abrera and Cory Stearns in the leads, Aaron Scott in the Simkin role, and Eric Tamm in the Hoven role. While on opening night, Simkin’s brilliance was unquestionable, the alternate cast tonight was overall much more cohesive and spirited. Eric Tamm bolted through his choreography with such force that Haglund thought Eric might launch himself off the end of the stage. But he was fantastic. Eric Tamm. Eric Tamm. Remember that name and look for it in the spring castings.
Haglund’s psychiatrist told him that he was strong enough now to watch his favorite Abrera dance with the unfavorite Cory Stearns – for a short period of time. The doc was right. In fact, Abrera, with her lethal, no holds barred interpretation of Millepied’s choreography shook up Stearns so that he brought up his game a level or two. (It started in the first few minutes when the choreography calls for her to give her partner a shove in the chest with both hands.) Once again Abrera was brilliant, possessed even (not meaning to sound like Snagglepuss). When she led the military march of ladies around the perimeter with their arms cocked like rifles, you just knew her aim was dead perfect. Guess who she was aiming at. The fact is that Abrera injected so much attitude into this performance that the dimensions of the piece expanded. The audience was quite thrilled. Haglund cannot imagine how the Chinese will interpret Millepied’s choreography if they see this cast. It could start a riot. Yeah!
Gotta bring out the Golden Cleats Pump Bump Award again tonight. It was just one of those nights.
Go Yankees
Copyright © 2009
Upon opening its first season at Avery Fisher Hall this evening, American Ballet Theatre just may have acquired the distinction of becoming the only company ever to present seasons at all three of the major venues on the Lincoln Center campus: New York State Theater, Metropolitan Opera House, and now Avery Fisher Hall. Quite remarkable. Even if tonight’s program was a mixed success, it was an evening of repertory perhaps nearly as mixed as that which Miss Chase concocked during ABT’s formative years. It was 70 years ago this month that she and about 16 dancers were furiously preparing for what would be the January debut performances of Ballet Theatre: Les Sylphides, Carnavale, Jardin aux Lilas, Judgment of Paris, Dark Elegies, The Great American Goof, Giselle, Swan Lake, La Fille Mal Gardee were all in the works at that time – even before a theater had been found and reserved for the performances. There’s probably no point in wondering if the choreography being created these days represents an evolution or devolution - it’s probably both. Before we got to see any dance this evening, however, we had to listen to a couple of bimbos with 2nd grade reading skills read “their” prepared remarks to open the evening. Normally McKenzie delivers this annoyance and manages to do so without giggling, butt swinging, and stumbling over his own words. Thankfully, the ladies tumbled to the bottoms of their pages relatively quickly but then presented their behinds in a slow walk across the stage for their exits. Alexei Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas opened the program to music by Domenico Scarlatti. This was a beautiful offering, stunningly danced by Julie Kent, Xiomara Reyes, Stella Abrera, David Hallberg, Herman Cornejo, and Gennadi Saveliev. Dressed in simple white dresses with bare legs, the ladies flirted with their partners and frequently changed partners – perhaps just sampling what was out there – but all eventually ended up with whom they were destined to be. The men were spectacular in their individual allegro sections, but it was the women who teased out the gaiety and underlying melancholy in the beautiful sonatas. Abrera was breathtaking in her pas de deux with Saveliev. Her gentle, sweeping lyricism and long, effortless line wove through the adagio exquisitely. Haglund is so grateful to see her back on stage after such a long and unfair absence. Aszure Barton’s One of Three to Ravel's Violin Sonata in G proved to be quite a disappointment, not to mention a waste of money. It had more than a little “college phys ed major dance requirement” element to it. Basically it was a concoction of elementary ballet steps (lots of legs to the ears) and modern dance cliché movements. ABT’s Make a Dance program for middle schoolers could produce something with better content. The three women in the cast, Gillian Murphy, Misty Copeland, and Paloma Herrera, each had her own confrontations with groups of men. Murphy’s long white dress was designed to draw attention to her bust. Her choreography was a few arabesques and some facial expressions. Copeland’s costume – with revealing halter neck and white skirt, was designed to draw attention to her bust and her hyper-extended legs and hyper cavus feet. Paloma, who is becoming all too adept at successfully selling the mediocre choreography that has been turning up during the Fall seasons, managed to sell it once again with charm, charisma, and attack-and-get-it-over-with drive. Her connection with the audience was immediate upon her entrance, and her rapport with partner Carlos Lopez was excellent. Haglund has admitted that he adores these dancers so much that he would pay money just to watch them push grocery carts down the supermarket aisle, but he doesn’t ever want to see this Barton piece again. No thank you. Following One of Three, Veronika Part performed Michel Fokine's The Dying Swan. She was heartbreakingly beautiful, but the lighting design for the performance was either really bad or non-existent. Haglund is used to seeing The Dying Swan on a darkened stage with the Swan lit brightly. Because both the pianist and cellist were positioned on the stage, the stage was lit more brightly than it should have been which detracted from the otherwise glorious performance. Benjamin Millepied presented Everything Doesn’t Happen At Once to a collection of music by David Lang of Bang on a Can fame. It was Einstein who enlightened us with “The only reason for Time is so everything doesn’t happen at once.” While Millepied surely does not present as a choreographic Einstein, he has managed to put together a dance that has a strong beginning, a strong ending, and things of interest connecting the two. He used a large group of dancers, 24 in all, and moved them in mass in criss-cross patterns and straight horizontal and vertical lines. He uses way too much pedestrian movement as segue to little dances and pas de deux. In fact, it seemed like there was more pedestrian movement than dance. That might be a good tool to use for Robbins’ Glass Pieces, but Glass Pieces has already been done. We don’t need a repeat or something imitative. Without meaning to go all Crowe Ransomish, Haglund thinks that the piece stands on its own without the benefit of a lot explanation from Millepied and makes a non-narrative choreographic statement. In other words, Millepied is finally cooking with gas. If the piece has a high wow factor – and it does, unashamedly – well so does Le Corsaire. And what’s more wow than vaulting off a cliff to one’s death in a lake below? The dancers were terrific in Millepied’s piece, particularly Maria Riccetto and Danil Simkin in their individual efforts. Simkin displayed his gymdanstics skills with flying leaps and multiple pirouettes at warp speed. All of it very thrilling, but yes, rather commercial. The central pas de deux was danced by Isabella Boylston and Marcelo Gomes - not a good match-up. Isabella has all the feet and legs that she needs but still presents as a corps dancer with a rather dead expression on her face. Haglund was happy to see Isabella's progress in classical roles during the Spring season at the Met when she was forced to bring more to the performance aspect of her dancing and he hopes to see that again. Haglund had a good time this evening and awards this Golden Cleats Pump Bump to Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas . Copyright © 2009
Go Yankees
On October 1st Boston Ballet opened its season at its new home, the Boston Opera House, with Maina Gielgud's production of Giselle. Erica Cornejo danced the title role, and Nelson Madrigal was her Albrecht. Keith Powers of the Boston Herald wrote:
Erica Cornejo danced the title role on opening night, infusing the fragile and luckless Giselle with an otherworldly air. It’s a role fit for a star. Cornejo is just that.
In Act One she’s the impatient object of affection, ready to burst out of her mother’s cautious arms and dance for joy. In Act Two she’s a gossamer ghost, reaching out from the grave to protect her suitor. Either way, Cornejo danced with the grace, virtuosity and halting awkwardness the role demanded.
The Boston Phoenix has an extensive photo spread by Eric Antoniou that includes the two photos below. Mr. Antoniou seems quite the dance photographer judging from his Giselle photos and his collection from the Ballets Russes at the Wang. Check them out!
Erica Cornejo and Nelson Madrigal in Act I
Photo by Eric Antoniou.
Erica Cornejo in Act II
Photo by Eric Antoniou.
So why wasn't Alastair in Boston covering this? What, and miss an opportunity to see a full 15 minutes of Mark Morris at Fall for Dance and a modern dance concert at St. Mark's Church? You must be kidding.