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On any given weeknight at the ballet, the typical audience member who plops his tush down in a chair at 7:30 pm has already gone through about 12 hours of crappy day. Maybe it started out with a late train or a fight with the boyfriend or wife. Then eight hours of crappy office work - if he's lucky. It may have rained at lunchtime. His stocks probably declined. He might have arrived home to see that the cat heaved up a hairball on the couch – hours ago. He's hungry but there's no time to sit down and eat before getting to the performance; so, he chews on a bagel while traveling to the theater.
The point is that on any given weeknight at the ballet, the dancer on stage has to start by dragging the audience out of a hole. He has to overcome the effects that 12 hours of crappy day have had on his audience – and he has to do it fast. Few do it as well as Marcelo Gomes. He is like that strong cocktail you want at the end of the day. He's the soothing cucumber compress for the tired eyes. He's the one who will hold up both ends of the conversation so you don't have to struggle for words. He is – r.e.l.i.e.f.
Last evening, Gomes along with Paloma Herrera, David Hallberg, and Gillian Murphy led a high energy cast of some of ABT's most talented dancers in the opening performance of The Bright Stream, Alexei Ratmansky's ballet about a Soviet farm collective that has its stook shaken up when an artist troupe comes to visit. This production requires ensemble work like none other in the repertory. Not only does each artist have to dance spectacularly, he has to make every minute seem spontaneous and he has to contribute energy to everyone else's performances.
Craig Salstein as the Accordion Player was, if anything, operatic in his very funny and marvelously danced pursuit of the schoolgirl, portrayed as a naughty innocent by Maria Riccetto. How are we going to get by a whole year without Maria Riccetto while she's starring in Julio Bocca's company in Uruguay? How is ABT going put on Balanchine's Symphony in C next year without Maria who has some of the fastest, cleanest legs and feet in the company but never looks hurried? Oh heck, maybe she'll fly back as a guest artist.
Misty Copeland as the Milkmaid and Jared Matthews as the Tractor Driver charmingly and fully held the stage during their turns. Alexandre Hammoudi and Joseph Phillips led the Highlanders and Fieldworkers in fabulous folk-inspired corps dances.
But it was the close knit principal cast that most spectacularly pulled off the pranks, jokes, and "drama" and delivered it all with superlative dancing. Hallberg as the Sylph ballet dancer was at his most hilarious when playing off Victor Barbee's Old Dacha Dweller and Martine van Hamel's Dacha Dweller. Her slap of Hallberg's face with her Kitri fan was awfully funny. Gillian Murphy's Ballerina and Paloma Herrera's Zina characters were portrayed warmly and danced eloquently. Marcelo Gomes as Zina's husband, who has a wandering eye and finds some playtime with the Ballerina, was masterfully danced and acted. Duplicity, Gomes style, is always a wrong that feels so good to watch and then forgive.
This cast repeats on Friday night, and there are plenty of tickets available. The only other hometown cast is today's matinee which should be another great performance. See this ballet today or Friday. It's cute, funny, harmless, without violence or drugs, and has very little crime. In fact, it would be a crime to miss it. The orchestra actually sounded pretty good last night, especially the cellist who delivered a gorgeous solo.
The Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon Marcelo Gomes, who is carrying an awfully heavy workload again this season, but we're loving our comrade for it.
What an uplifting performance last night by the students of the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, now completing its second year. The Academy's mission is "to encourage a renaissance of dramatic storytelling in ballet by providing specialized training for gifted students and by establishing a classically-oriented studio company capable of creating new dramatic works." The evening's dancers – not categorized as soloists or corps, seniors or juniors, advanced or intermediate – were grouped as Botticelli, Raphael, or Caravaggio after the great Renaissance painters. The school's faculty includes veterans of the famous Mariinsky, Royal Danish, and Perm companies. For this showcase, the legendary Ivan Nagy lent a coaching hand and ABT Principal Herman Cornejo, considered by many to be the greatest male classical dancer currently on the face of the earth, performed.
The overwhelming impression from last night was that quality is still important.
The first third of the program included divertissements from Swan Lake Act III, Le Corsaire, Little Humpback Horse (Saint-Leon), and Esmeralda along with Bournonville's Jockey Dance and Petipa's Carnival of Venice. The final offering before the intermission was Swan Lake Act II excerpts with 24 swans including the lovely Katia Raj, who performed Odette with her tall, very attentive Siegfried, Alexander Mays. While the divertissements were danced very well – carefully and energetically – this last section bolted the evening up a notch. The corps included dancers of every conceivable physique and yet they moved together as one: legs, feet, fingers, eyes. Ms. Raj did an admirable job manipulating her extraordinarily long limbs into the signature shapes of Odette, and Mr. Mays' careful placement of hands and beautiful, manly line suggested great promise as a potential big stage danseur.
Haglund remembers from Gelsey's early teaching efforts at David Howard's studio how she impresses upon each student to open up his/her face by raising the eyebrows without wrinkling the forehead and looking up into the light. No small task. While the results of that are exactly what is called for in a big theater, it all looked a little strange in the small Symphony Space. However, it will most likely look extraordinary on the performance video, which is available for pre-order here.
The middle section of the program included excerpts from Act II of La Bayadere, a ballet which was in play by ABT at The Met at the exact same moment, although the Act IIs do not represent the same sections of La Bayadere. Act II at ABT is the Kingdom of the Shades, whereas Act II for the GKA performance included the Scarf Dance, Jug Dance, Drum Dance, Golden Idol, and Grand Pas by Solor and Gamzatti. Let's just say that GKA's Gamzatti, the lovely and mysterious India Rose, was NOT dancing around with her mouth opened as apparently was the case down at The Met last night. This confident young dancer demonstrated the aplomb and upper class manners bred into Gamzatti while appearing steely secure in her technique. Her Solor, the tall and handsome John Pickup, lifted Gamzatti effortlessly and demonstrated strong partnering skills. Can you imagine having a big, strong guy walk into a fledgling ballet academy and introduce himself as John Pickup? It would be like a sign from God.
Joao Frazao took a good stab at the Golden Idol solo and excelled earlier in the evening in the Carnival of Venice. Wonderful stage presence and elevation, but still quite young. He's on our radar, though.
The evening concluded with excerpts from Act II of La Sylphide. Haglund was giddy even before it started because another one of his favorite ballerinas, Erica Cornejo, was in attendance with her handsome husband, Carlos Molina. If it hadn't seemed inappropriate in such a church-like setting, Haglund would have thrown himself at Erica's feet and begged her to come back to ABT. Intermission texts received from those in attendance at the Met pleaded with him to do so.
If Swan Lake Act II by the GKA students was an attention-getter, La Sylphide was the mega-horned announcement that the academy is not only committed to quality but to distinguishing itself as such. It was an incredibly fine job, beautifully staged, harmonized, and authentic. Herman Cornejo blew out the air conditioning of the theater with his surging electrical allegro and charm. (We have to blame the air conditioning on somebody.) What a treat to see James' variations danced with such clarity, precision, and joy. Almost all of the Sylphs, including the magical Gretchen LaMotte, were noticeably taller than Herman which, after the initial startle, gave the whole scene an added dimension of fantasy. The Sylphs were perfectly beautiful in their Bournonville port de bras and carriage. Ms. LaMotte, a very tall sprite indeed, was playful and joyful, and a very lovely dancer. Her wings failed to fall off after James wrapped the poisonous scarf around her, but that has even happened to Veronika Part. The moments when she seemingly stumbled forward after having gone blind were very touching.
It was a totally enjoyable evening. The near-capacity crowd thought so, too. Can't forget to mention the beautiful tutus designed by the folks at Tutu.com
The Pump Bump Award must be bestowed upon Herman Cornejo, an artist who makes our lives worth living.
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.
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.
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.