
Ignore him. He gets plenty of attention. And he has a girlfriend.
ABT's 2011 Met Season limped across the finish line Saturday evening with its final performance of Sleeping Beauty. Pray that this production sleeps for another hundred years or so.
For the most part, the dancing on Saturday evening was a fresh and energetic sprint to the finish following a marathon eight weeks of performing. It was the last chance for several months to see the artists who are the true heart and soul of ABT no matter how much its artistic director tries to deflect attention to the expensive, less-than-the-best guest artists.
There is now widespread agreement that this AD has to go due to his loss of focus on developing and promoting the dancers in the company. There has been no defense mounted on his behalf by anyone. Nor should there be. Anybody with enough money can read about the dancers in other companies who are grabbing attention and then go out and buy their services. Dancers in other countries know full well that if they can get a gig as a guest artist at ABT, the uninformed New York Times critic will automatically focus on the guest artist and laud them as being better than ABT's own dancers - no matter how they perform. America's National Ballet Company pimps out the guest artists to the john-critic so he can ejaculate his drivel.
ABT not only needs a new artistic director, it needs to institute a complete moratorium on guest artists while it focuses its resources on building its own star fleet and learning how to drive it to market.
Saturday evening Paloma Herrera was a glistening Aurora for whom the pointe work was child's play. Unlike other Auroras of the week, there was no stress in her face or posture as she attempted the technical demands. It was all too easy for her. Is there anyone on earth who turns out the legs and points the feet with more elegance than Paloma? Is there anyone on earth who dances on top of her pointes with more delicacy and ease? The only aspect of her Aurora that needs cultivating is her ability to differentiate the character in all three acts. Aurora in Act I was pretty much the same Aurora as in Act III.
With last night's performance, Cory Stearns is out of the H.H. Doghouse - although still firmly tethered to it. While it is true that he only danced in the second half of the evening while the women principals had to dance the whole night, what he did manage to bring to the stage was so improved from past performances that Haglund would call it a miracle. He got that back leg working on his jumps: grand jetes, coupe jetes, tour jetes. With the exception of the last circle of jumps when he sort of pooped out and his feet got floppy, the back leg was propelling him all evening. It must be so much easier to dance with both legs instead of with just one. Haglund also witnessed with happiness the increased height of Stearns' arabesque leg.
During the Wedding PdD, the first fish dive was excellent. The dancers were brimming with confidence. The second fish dive - even better! The dancers were so happy that they started to get giddy and then one or both of them muffed the third one. However, the final fish pose at the end of the PdD was beautiful.
Haglund wouldn't say that there was much chemistry between Aurora and Désiré but there was a lot of coordination between them which is a prerequisite. We shall wait and see what develops.
Stella Abrera's Lilac Fairy calmed the kingdom with her effortless beauty and the poetry of her port de bras. Her arabesques were pure song. Pirouettes were launched with love instead of with the force of determination and effort, and they concluded in tidy fifth positions. If we don't get an announcement of Stella's promotion to principal soon, Haglund may have to take things into his own hands and bestow the title upon her. It's all so ridiculous to see ABT continually rely on her to dance full principal loads, which she always does beautifully, but not give her the recognition and credit which she deserves. In terms of the composite of both classical and contemporary technique, elegance, classicism, and overall theatrical ability, there are not many current principals who match her. It is all so offensive to those of us who admire Stella to see ABT disrespect her in this regard.
Speaking of dancers disrespected by ABT's management, Sarah Lane took the role of Princess Florine to a new level Saturday night. She substituted for Maria Riccetto and danced with Joseph Phillips' Blue Bird. Sarah danced with precision, warmth, energy, and above all, beautiful and thoughtful musical phrasing. She was just phenomenal! Why didn't we see Sarah in a lead role this year? Not in Sleeping Beauty, not in Giselle, not in Coppelia, and of course, not now not ever in Swan Lake. What is going on here besides political bullshit? When the political bullshit is responsible for denying company dancers deserved opportunities, it is time for a change in management.
Joe Phillips managed the technical issues of Blue Bird reasonably well. The costume is unforgiving to his body type, and is in fact unforgiving to all but the slightly built dancers with small feet. Phillips has much work to do with regard to holding his turnout in place - imperative, given the pronounced muscularity of his legs. But his overall dancing was impressive. He gives 200% whenever he dances. Most of the time it works well, but when he makes a little error, it is also magnified. The work for him is turnout.
The Fairies were Melanie Hamrick, Isabella Boylston (subbing for Kristi Boone), Leann Underwood, Yuriko Kajiya, and Simone Messmer. They were all outstanding, but Simone as the Fairy of Valor was exceptional. Where she can sometimes be compared in terms of technical abilities with Isabella (Fervor), what differentiates her is the lack of stylistic baggage and the infusion of a feminity and sensuality in everything she dances. She is so clearly overdue for a shot at Odette/Odile. Unfortuately, and back to the political bullshit, Simone doesn't appear to be the flavor of the month at ABT. Maybe she will have to leave the country in order to get opportunities, too.
Misty Copeland and Kenneth Easter were cute and very funny as The Cat and Puss-in-Boots. It's such a shame that the classic variations were so mutilated by the choreographers of this production. There is no variation per se for these two. It's more of a cameo appearance. Misty has been exceptionally reliable all season. Where were the opportunities for her? Will she have to leave the country, too?
In addition to Easter, the supporting men of the cast including Roddy Doble, Alexandre Hammoudi, Eric Tamm, Isaac Stappas (Catalabutte), Joseph Gorak (Herald), Vitali Krauchenka, Calvin Royal, Jose Sebastian, and Arron Scott were outstanding. It has been a pleasure watching Gorak, Tamm, and Hammoudi all season long and to follow their development over the year. Haglund has high hopes for all of them. However, it would be such a disappointment after investing a lot of time in these guys to find out in a couple of years that they can't lift Giselle over their heads. Another disappointment like the one this season with you-know-who would be too hard to take. Hopefully, these guys are regularly lifting each other over their heads in preparation for their opportunities.
The final Pump Bump Award of the season goes to . . . drum roll please . . . Stella Abrera for an entire season of revelatory performances, which along with Marcelo's, have been the brightest of the year.