Haglund's Heel

ABT – Don Quixote – 5/17

Good dancing, good music tonight at the opening performance of Don Quixote as Paloma Herrera and Jose Manuel Carreno performed for the last time together in New York at The Met.  Their love, respect, and gratitude for each other was apparent through all three acts of this handsome production.  Carreno relied more on his turns than his jumps, and delivered some extraordinary multiple pirouettes that decelerated to an absolute stop and then were punctuated with a knowing smile at the audience.  The big overhead lifts in Act 1 were a little iffy, but did not collapse.  Herrera's Kitri, so different from her spectacular Kitris as a teenager, is now a sophisticated, wiser version whose beautiful legs and feet sculpt the story as opposed to beating it out with excessive energy.

Haglund will only be seeing Don Quixote four times this season, but has in seasons past sat through a week of them.  There are many dance opportunities for soloists and corps members as well as terrific character roles.  Victor Barbee, Arron Scott, Craig Salstein, and Isaac Stappas were very funny as Don Q., Sancho Panza, Gamache, and Lorenzo.  Stappas is unmatched as Lorenzo and was a tour de force throughout the evening.  All the character dancers were superb. But according to the mixed group of high school non-dancers seated near Haglund who had previously seen the play and also read the book in 8th grade, all the characters needed fatter stomachs, and the production would be improved if a real donkey were used in a walk-on, non-dancing role.  It was suggested that ABT recruit Smoke, the Iraqi donkey and Marine mascot who just arrived in town from Iraq's Anbar Province on his way to his new job in Nebraska.  "Nebraska or The Met stage?  Let me bray on it."

Veronika Part and David Hallberg as Mercedes and Espada were smashing.  Hallberg, who may never escape his wholesome image, was especially sizzling in Act III – more spontaneous, less concentration on steps and more infusion of attitude.  Veronika's Queen of the Dryads was truly beautiful.  She had a bit of a problem with one of the Italian fouettes, but it did not mar the overall performance.  Haglund was bothered by the tutus worn by Paloma and Veronika in the dream sequence.  Both were beautiful, but they did not look good together because of the huge difference in the diameters of the pancakes.  They looked like they came from different costume generations. 

The Flower Girls were Maria Riccetto and Misty Copeland - not always in unison on their jumps, but otherwise quite charming.  Their individual variations were vibrant and a little sassy.  Joseph Phillips and Luciana Paris were a powerhouse Gypsy Couple.  Both gave very gutsy performances.  Sarah Lane was the perfect Amour with fleeting bourrees.

One down, two Don Qs to go this week for Carreno.  So many great performances under his belt, including 16 years of mostly great Don Qs.  He's helped define a standard that the upcoming generations will struggle to meet for a long time.  And so, Haglund bestows on Jose this spectacular golden Cuban heeled Pump Bump Award:

 

ABT gala with a small g – 5/16

It was probably completely lost on ABT's management that the most enthusiasm and appreciation from the gala audience was awarded to a PdD by a choreographer who ABT seems to be boycotting the rest of season.  Yep, the crowd roared its love for Marcelo Gomes and Diana Vishneva in Kenneth MacMillan's Manon Bedroom PdD – and with good reason.  There's a whole story in 5 minutes and 40 seconds.  It's like taking an emotional journey on The Cyclone at Coney Island - up and down and around and whips you left and right – and at the end, you're breathless but every nerve in your body is tingling.  Gomes and Vishneva had us in the front car of The Cyclone tonight.  Maybe they knew that our all-time favorite Manon was sitting in the audience watching them.  Who can ever forget Alessandra Ferri's final ABT season in which she performed Manon four times in one week - all of them glorious, memorable performances – especially the Wednesday matinee with a magnificent Angel Corella after which among the first to rise to his feet in the audience was Roberto Bolle.  Haglund will never ever forget it.

Also on the receiving end of the crowd's love and appreciation were Veronika Part and Marcelo Gomes in Alexei Ratmansky's Nutcracker PdD – we're not seeing it again during the Met Season either.  Part and Gomes are able to realize the beauty of this Tchaikovsky music like few others can.  Tonight they engaged us in their dream and the wildness of their joy with every step.  There probably isn't anything else that we see Veronika dance where she takes such risks and dives into the choreography with such abandon.  Obviously much credit must go to Marcelo for being the miraculous partner of superhuman strength.  What a beauty this PdD is and what a pleasure it was to see these two performing it once again.

Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky performed Jessica Lang's Splendid Isolation III - a Pas de Trois for a man, a woman, and a dress.  It was impressive when we saw it at the gala in 2008, and it was impressive again.  The curtain opened on Irina encircled by the enormous white train of her dress, her back to the audience.  It's a most memorable image, but it seemed that a few people with cameras in the family circle needed to capture it anyway.  The modern choreography that ensued had Irina struggling to reach Max and Max struggling to reach Irina, but the dress seemed to be keeping them apart.  Finally, Irina escaped the train of the dress and reached Max, but the ending had them huddled on the floor as though perhaps life could not go on without being attached to the train of the dress.  Max and Irina have turned this into a signature piece which they have performed around the world.  It's quite fine to see it every few years in a gala setting.  Haglund is looking forward to seeing Max and Irina together in Giselle and Swan Lake. 

Alina Cojocaru performed the Rose Adagio with Jared Matthews, Patrick Ogle (substituting for Sascha Radetsky), Gennadi Saveliev and Isaac Stappas.  It was quite a lovely performance, technically strong and without any mind-blowing balances.  Princess Aurora lacked some rapport with her princes, but technically everything went very smoothly.  Whenever Haglund sees a Royal Ballet artist perform the Rose Adagio, he hopes for the reincarnation of Viviana Durante who will always be the Aurora of his dreams. 

Not much else good can be said about the evening.  No appearances by Corella, Radetsky, Abrera, Lane, or Kajiya.  Hope they were all doing something useful with their time – as opposed to being injured. 

The Tchaikovsky PdD seemed labored.  The exit lift started to fizzle before the dancers got all the way off stage.  The Black Swan PdD, in weirdly truncated form, was phoned in by Odile, and Siegfried's grand jetes never opened past 90 degrees.  It's been a while since Haglund saw Odile's backward chugs in arabesque with such a low and awkwardly extended leg.  The Black Swan PdD is fine for every gala, but it should be given to dancers who are really hungry to dance it.  That's when it is spectacular.  We could have had spectacular this year but ABT let the Black Swan snatch defeat right out of the jaws of victory.  The White Swan PdD paired Paloma Herrera with Alexandre Hammoudi.  With another two weeks of rehearsal together, it probably would have been pretty good.  Tonight it seemed that with some of the lifts, Odette and Siegfried had different ideas about trajectory.

In both the White Swan and Black Swan PdDs, the violinist was terrible. Terrible.  Do we now have to worry about the violin soloist in addition to the horn playing in Swan Lake?  Say it isn't so.

We saw Hammoudi three times tonight.  He opened with a scene from The Bright Stream, danced the White Swan PdD, and closed with a scene from The Bright Stream.  He's on track.  Imagine how good he could become given time with Julio Bocca.  There are Bocca Beans in Jared Matthews, too.  That's where the money should be spent - on expensive coaches, NOT on expensive guest artists. 

The Majisimo "company premiere" was a waste of money.  There were better ways to honor Jose Manuel Carreno than by bringing a bunch of regional ballet company dancers to perform with him.  Cuban or not.  Why not just bring his handsome, talented little brother to dance with him?  The choreography wasn't any better or worse than the ABT student piece Karelia March.  Both were just a bunch of tricks to show dancers doing a bunch of tricks.  Paloma Herrera, the lone Argentine spitfire who danced in Majisimo, seemed to make the Cubans look a little tame.

Lady of the Camellias PdD included beautiful piano from Koji Attwood.  Julie Kent paired with Cory Stearns was kind of artificial looking.  She seemed concerned with some of the lifts, but there were no major problems that Haglund observed.  Stearns was fine in his dancing, but the dramatic weight just wasn't there.  Maybe he could use a stint at Bocca Bootcamp, too. 

The finale of The Bright Stream included great work by Isabella Boylston and Daniil Simkin.  Haglund reviewed them in Washington DC a few months ago and thinks they make a cute couple.  Daniil really puts some of the big guys to shame with his lift coordination.  Isabella was beaming tonight.  Beaming.   Her Bright Stream dates with Daniil are Friday, June 10th and Wednesday Matinee June 15.

Overall, as galas go, it wasn't so good.  However, just the opportunity to see such a passionate performance of the Manon PdD made the whole evening worthwhile.  So, of course, the gold and silver Giuseppe Zanotti Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon Vishneva and Gomes who we can only hope will have the opportunity to deliver the whole ballet to us next season.

Camellias and white powdered sugar

There probably is no connection between these two pictures except that they are two things that have extreme effects on the human system.  Haglund plans to see four Camellias in the coming weeks to match the four funnel cakes he partially consumed during the 9th Avenue Food Festival this weekend. 

Don't miss the opportunity to have your heart torn out by Marcelo Gomes and Diana Vishneva on June 4th or 7th.

 

Dances Patrelle – GILBERT & SULLIVAN, The Ballet! – 5/13

Arthur Sullivan was born on this day 169 years ago. To celebrate, Dances Patrelle poured champagne for the whole audience during intermission at tonight's presentation of GILBERT & SULLIVAN, The Ballet!  It was one of those lucky Friday the 13ths.  You may not get champagne, but you should try to get to one of the last three performances this weekend at the Dicapo Opera Theater.  It's community ballet theater - New York style.

Francis Patrelle took a couple of dozen dancers, nine singers, a pianist, and a bassist and built a musical dance story out of thirty or so songs from the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, and H.M.S. Pinafore.  The production concept was taken right out of musical theater history by encasing the musical numbers in the idea that the actual Gilbert & Sullivan and their D'Oyly Carte Opera Company were producing them.  The singers were in the orchestra pit most of the time but were now and then engaged by the dancing performers on the stage.

Even if you're not all that familiar with the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas, you might be happy to hear that The Mikado experienced a little judicious updating tonight.  When the Lord High Executioner arrived and began singing the names of people who would not be missed if they happened to be executed some day, the list of who "would not be missed" included a certain "Tea Party ac-ti-vist"- it all rhymed perfectly.

Haglund's favorite part of the evening was the episode with the song I am the very model of the modern major general from The Pirates of Penzance in which the dancers were hilarious as they danced to the singer's fast pattering of the lyrics and the struggling rhymes. 

Patrelle's productions are always fully and fabulously costumed and propped, as they were tonight, and the scenery was downright imaginative:  a backdrop showing the inside of a theater from the performers' view on the stage; the front of the ship the H.M.S. Pinafore.  The inventive choreography was story-oriented, fast, but not too complex for the broad range of talent executing it. 

Alex Brady, Eric Vlach, John-Mark Owen, Jesse Marks, Therese Miyoshi Wendler, Amy Brandt, and Julie Voshell were but a few of the standouts in the ensemble that included some promising student dancers from several very prominent local dance schools.  The singers were great as well.  It was hard sometimes to see who was singing the various solos, but Haglund was able to see baritones Joshua South and Bradley Lassiter who delivered fantastic vocal performances.

Haglund bestows this Christian Louboutin suede and diamond Pump Bump Award on tonight's ensemble (dancers, singers, musicians) for delivering a terrific performance:

ABT – The Guest Artist Drain

2009    $110,000
2008      $73,000
2007    $173,273

Those are just the reported fees paid to the guest artists for those years.  The actual expenses relating to transportation, accommodations, special rehearsals and coaching, insurance, costumes, and the added administrative expenses could double those costs easily.  The 2010 GAD (guest artist drain) will not be available until ABT files its 2010 Tax Form 990 probably this summer.  The following year's 2011 GAD is sure to be a whopper given the fact that ABT has just announced its ninth (or tenth, depending on where you place Bolle) guest artist for the Met Season.  A conservative estimate of fees and expenses for guest artists from the three years from 2007 to 2009 suggests that ABT spent close to a half million dollars on guest artists that could have been spent developing the extraordinary talent of its own dancers.  Let's remind ourselves - on a daily basis if need be - that ABT has not developed an Odette from its ranks for six long years.  This year, they've imported one from a second tier company in Germany - a long, lean dancer with a proclivity for 180 degree extensions and the vulgar crotch-flashing that comes with it.  No doubt, ABT, which has been completely unable to turn out an Odette of its own in the past six years, is confident of its ability to "mold" this import into one of its "own" stars. 

If there was any question of the artistic management's waning focus and waning ability to develop world class artists from within its ranks, it has been answered in six figures.  A half million dollars could have bought some pretty fine coaching over three years and produced more than one new Odette.  It could have brought us more than a few flashes in the pan.

Let's plug the Guest Artist Drain.

NYCB – Not perfectly sinful, but pretty good.

At an informal talk on Monday where Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Patti LuPone, and Wendy Whelan discussed the new production of The Seven Deadly Sins, Ms. LuPone made a point of saying that she had brought along her own sound guy who had miked and mixed her voice in theaters all over the country and really knew how to make her sound her best.  Unfortunately at the world premiere Wednesday night, the miking and mixing of Ms. LuPone's voice was the big letdown of the new production.  It seemed like Haglund was the only person in his row in the theater who had read the lyrics beforehand, because no one else could understand enough of what Ms. LuPone sang to understand what was going on.  This was not a problem that carried over to the wonderful singing performances of Raymond Jarmillo-McLeod, Eric Michael Gillet, Kevin Earley, or Andrew Stenson.  Their voices were clear and understandable.  Hopefully, this problem will be ironed out by tomorrow night.  After all, the theater serves opera pretty well.  It should be able to serve Ms. LuPone's vibrant voice, too. 

Setting aside that complaint, Haglund thought that The Seven Deadly Sins was a terrific little "ballet chanté" as the Playbill called it.  Song was dominant to dance – which, by the way, was less ballet and more theater-oriented.  Haglund understands that some considered this cause to complain, but he thought that Lynn Taylor-Corbett hit a bullseye with respect to combining the two - more so than any of the Tharp Broadway productions, which Haglund also found enjoyable even though they were quite a bit more noisy and raucous. 

The Seven Deadly Sins with music by Kurt Weill and lyrics by Bertolt Brecht as translated by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman is the story of Anna, whose personality is split into Anna 1 (down to earth, practical) and Anna 2  (impulsive, less resistant to temptations) who embarks on a seven year journey through seven U.S. states to raise money so her family in Louisiana can acquire a nice house.  Along the journey she is faced with the seven deadly sins - sloth, pride, anger, gluttony, lust, greed, and envy - which both de-rail her and propel her toward her goal.  In this production, Anna 1 was sung by Patti LuPone while Anna 2 was danced by Wendy Whelan. 

Haglund thought that Wendy broke through to a new level of artistry last night.  She looked positively hungry for this type of theatrical dance opportunity which enabled her to step outside of the angular, manipulative choreography that has defined her career.  No pointe shoes.  No tight bun at the back of her head.  No black leotard with waist-cinching belt.  Instead, it was a glowing Wendy with shining hair loose and wavy who wore an array of costumes from a modest 1950's style dress to some old fashioned undergarments to some sizzling little number that those sinning gentlemen could ease her out of.  The choreography was not trick-infested but it had Ms. Taylor-Corbett's signature energy and intelligent composition.  As Haglund said, the song dominated the dance, and the dance was there for the purpose of interpreting the song.  There was less in the way of dance and choreography than one usually sees at NYCB but Haglund was pleased that the company stepped out of its comfort zone and dabbled in something more commonly seen at the Lincoln Center Theater.

Andrew Scordato led the Shadows in an athletic Sloth section.  Sara Mearns and Justin Peck were featured in a saucy, kinetic dance in the Anger section.  Craig Hall and Wendy had a dramatic and tender episode in the Lust section.  Vincent Paradiso and Giovanni Villalobos as the Count and the Senator had some comedic choreography in the Greed section.  The corps de ballet as Shadows, Cabaret Dancers, Cabaret Johns, Maids, Butlers and other assorted roles were wonderful and fully committed to their characters.

And last but not least, Patti LuPone brought the brightness of Broadway to this brief ballet.  She mentioned on Monday how she had once been an usher in the 4th Ring and how performing on this theater's stage was a special treat for her.  But for the lousy sound engineering, it would have been a special treat for us, too.  She was an engaging Anna 1 and it was pretty clear that the dancers were having a ball performing on the stage with her. 

Vienna Waltzes completed the program.  Everyone danced and looked elegant, but the highlight was Megan Fairchild and Joaquin De Luz in the Fruhlingsstimmen section, the only one requiring pointe shoes, in which Megan so expertly accelerated her chaine turns as the waltz accelerated.  With Megan, sometimes you don't realize the incredible feats of her feets until she's gone on to the next eight counts, and then you have to ask yourself "Did I just see what I think I saw?"  Rachel Rutherford & Jared Angle, Ana Sophia Scheller & Adam Hendrickson, Jenifer Ringer & Ask La Cour, Maria Kowroski & Charles Askegard, and a corps of 40 men and women swirled and waltzed in front of the mirrored set to great effect.  All very beautiful, but all the Strauss music tends to make Haglund thirsty for champagne.

It all seemed like a very successful gala evening.  Sarah Jessica Parker looked lovely in a conservative sort of way.  What an unexpected treat to see the beautiful Alessandra Ferri at the theater; she's still ballet royalty in Haglund's book and probably always will be.  Allegra Kent looked half her age and seemed excited to be there.

Haglund bestows this little sinful black Pump Bump Award to Wendy Whelan for her terrific performance in The Seven Deadly Sins.

On Haglund's Calendar – Dances Patrelle Gilbert & Sullivan, the ballet

Francis Patrelle's world premiere of Gilbert & Sullivan, the ballet opens at the Dicapo Opera Theatre (East 76th St. between Lexington & Third Aves) Thursday night (May 12) and runs through Sunday.  Tickets are only $35 or $20 (under 30 yrs).  Dicapo box office:  212-288-9438 or at Smarttix.com.

Don't miss Dances Patrelle!

 

NYCB – Friday 5/6 & Saturday Mat 5/7

Haglund is clearly out of shape for the MLB spring season.  (That's Major League Ballet for those who have forgotten.) After only five treks to the outfield bleachers, he's exhausted.  What a week!

Friday night included repeats of fantastic performances of Symphony in Three Movements, Le Tombeau de Couperin, and Stravinsky Violin Concerto with the same great casts as earlier in the week.  Haglund cannot emphasize enough what phenomenal focus the corps de ballet has demonstrated thus far. 

Also on Friday night's program was Duo Concertant with Megan Fairchild and Chase Finlay making their NY debuts.  They delivered another fully formed, intelligent, and interesting interpretation that was danced beautifully.  As in the previous evening's Apollo, Finlay looked totally prepared and had a complete grasp of all the details.  He looked fantastic in the scoop-necked leotard top which can be an unforgiving costume if you happen to have a male physique like an underfed plucked chicken.  Just saying.  The definition in Finlay's arms and shoulders is pretty nice to look at.  Within his dancing, he seems so aware of the importance of employing dynamics.  In the final section of Duo Concertant when the woman disappeared and there was an empty circle of light on the floor, Finlay gestered toward it with such surprise that it actually made Haglund surprised that the circle of light was empty and the woman was gone.  Fairchild was also fantastic in Duo - less mysterious and less remote than others who have danced it, but her warmth worked just as well.  There is plenty of room for different interpretations in this ballet. 

Saturday matinee was a repeat of Finlay as Apollo with Hyltin, Peck, and Scheller.  Just as fantastic as on Thursday night.  Please try to make it to NYCB to see this young man's effort.  It is totally worth it.  The two performances of Apollo this week were not in any way performances after which you went away thinking that Finlay would grow into it.  It's a fully-formed interpretation already, and he dances it extraordinarily well.

Ashley Bouder and Taylor Stanley ripped through Square Dance this afternoon with more than a little spirit.  Again, the corps de ballet was splendid and kept up with the brisk tempo even when all the members of the orchestra couldn't.  Haglund keeps pushing the memory "replay" button to see Bouder's circle of silent flying coupe jetes.  They were darned pretty and looked effortless.  But also pretty was her entrance right before the adagio.  The classic stance seemed a bit more classical than usual.  Stanley has a magnetic stage personality and showed great confidence and strong allegro in this ballet.  But the tension in his hands and the 90 degree jutting of the thumbs is truly distorting the lines of his arms - lines that could be quite handsome.  But he kept up with Bouder today, which is no small feat, and also delivered quite a beautiful solo.

What a week it's been - for all of us - but especially for Chase Finlay who hammered three big hits out of the ballpark.  Haglund bestows this Sergio Rossi swirling Pump Bump Award on Finlay, the newest star in our swirling constellation.

NYCB – A Grand New Apollo 5/5

It was another butt-on-the-edge-of-the-seat night at NYCB on Thursday as Chase Finlay made a remarkable debut in Apollo followed by Jennie Somogyi and her band of Sanguinista Rebels who happily tore through The Four Temperaments. 

We've been seeing Chase Finlay a little more this past year.  Everyone has recognized that he's a good dancer, handsome, but maybe still a bit damp behind the ears.  Well, Thursday night Finlay delivered a debut performance of Apollo that rocked the house.  His own astonishment at the audience's reception was evident on his face when he came before the curtain for a solo bow and was nearly flattened by the roar of the crowd.  Oh, he had help, of course.  Sterling Hyltin, Tiler Peck, and Ana Sophia Scheller gave their own blue ribbon performances of Terpsichore, Polyhymnia, and Calliope and all three of them seemed to sense what Finlay probably couldn't sense himself - that he was really dancing an Apollo that was as good as many of the great Apollos before him.  There were no awkward moments that one expects in such a debut.  No areas of weakness.  His youthfulness served him well in the role.  He looked extraordinarily well-coached and well-prepared - even his gorgeous hair stayed perfectly in place.  It seems that the oldest Balanchine ballet at NYCB has a new hero.

The Four Temperaments was also superb on Thursday night.  It was dedicated to the memory of Edward Bigelow, long time member of the NYCB family and the one to whom Balanchine bequeathed the rights to The Four Temperaments.  The Theme was entrusted to corps dancers Lydia Wellington & Christian Tworzyanski, Lauren King & Allen Peiffer, and Megan LeCrone & Justin Peck - all of whom danced very well.  Ms. Wellington and Ms. King, in particular, are among the most interesting performers to watch in the corps these days.  Gonzalo Garcia gave an emotional reading of the Melancholic variation - possibly not as flexible in the back as others we have seen in that part - but he had the audience believing his sadness.  Ask la Cour always gives a strong performance in the Phlegmatic variation and did so Thursday evening.  Very clear musical accents.  Very grounded in his movement.  All very pleasant to watch.  Teresa Reichlen offered a rather fierce Choleric variation.  The highlight of the ballet was, as usual, Jennie Somogyi's Sanguinic variation.  Somogyi, Tyler Angle, and the four corps women unleashed their energies with a precision and authority that sent a rush of endorphins through Haglund's nervous system. 

It certainly was another memorable evening.  Haglund bestows upon Chase Finlay this extraordinary black crystal studded Alexander McQueen Pump Bump Award on the occasion of his most extraordinary debut in Apollo:

NYCB delivers the big "O" – 5/4

 O-U-T-S-T-A-N-D-I-N-G  evening at NYCB last night.  The men and women of the corps de ballet were unified, committed, and energetic - a joy to watch in all three ballets of the evening. 

First up was Balanchine's Episodes to music by Anton von Webern.  It required patience because the movement of its first three sections did not travel horizontally too much.  There was a lot of manipulative posing and enough pointe tendu for a year, but when the final section entitled "Ricercata in six voices from Bach's Musical Offering" began with the entrance of Sara Mearns and Jonathan Stafford, all of a sudden one actually saw the music.  Mearns and Stafford along with a tack sharp corps of women were riveting.  Every bar of music that Mearns danced was a lesson in getting the full value out of every note and every movement.  The fourth positions were at their maximum.  Each tendu was stretched to its maximum.  The space covered with each step was its maximum.  Pirouettes were punctuated by dipping the head on the final revolution and then whipping the head and face to the audience.  Every step was purposeful and commanded attention.  Mearns extracted the full value out of the choreography like few others these days are able. 

Le Tombeau de Couperin was danced entirely by 16 members of the corps de ballet (eight men, eight women) to Ravel's French Baroque-flavored composition.  Amanda Hankes & Allen Peiffer, Ashley Laracey & Daniel Applebaum, Gwyneth Muller & Austin Laurent, Gretchen Smith & Devin Alberda, Marika Anderson & Vincent Paradiso, Likolani Brown & Troy Schumacher, Lauren King & Andrew Scordato, and Brittany Pollack & Henry Seth were nearly flawless for eighteen minutes while they created simple but elegant designs of diagonals, squares, and diamonds.  The audience loved this ballet, and it was nice to see all eight couples get to come before the curtain to receive the appreciation that they deserved.

Symphony in Three Movements is in excellent shape this first week of the spring season thanks in no small part to the corps de ballet's outstanding efforts.  The principals were fantastic as well.  Savannah Lowery, who was paired with Sean Suozzi, was positively glowing with confidence and, oh my, the length and statement of that arabesque is something to behold.  Tiler Peck and Daniel Ulbricht had fantastic energy and fine form.  Janie Taylor, who was paired with Jared Angle, has never looked stronger.  Boy, it's been a while since Haglund saw her firing on all cylinders like she was last night.  You have the chance to see this same cast on Friday night.  Haglund ain't gonna miss it.

Not only was the corps de ballet fantastic all evening, but several of the dancers had to perform in all three of the ballets.  No small challenge there.  So, Haglund has this special little Louise Goldin diamond and black spiked Pump Bump Award for the ladies and gentlemen of the Corps de Ballet for delivering the Big O all night long.