. . . some of the best classical form we won't see

(Oh well, we knew our good fortune to see beautiful Stella Abrera in performance as Aurora in Sleeping Beauty on an international stage would eventually come to an abrupt end. Who would be surprised if someone from ABT initiated the takedown? More than 1700 people viewed Stella through this link. So the secret of her remarkable artistry in this role is out.) 

Keeping this gem at the top for a while.

Comments

[Angelica Smith]

In every little tidbit ABT has thrown at her this season, Stella has been nothing short of ravishing. We really do need to see more of her, but in leading roles.

[Haglund]

True. But the way McKenzie is continuing to gut Stella's career, there isn't much hope that we'll see her in anything meaningful. The next thing that he will take away from her is Cinderella, which is a shame, because she has demonstrated how beautifully and patiently she bears his abuse - a true Cinderella.

[nanushka]

No review of Veronika Part's Swan Lake, Haglund?

[Haglund]

Hi Nanushka. I skipped all of Swan Lake Week because of the miserable casting. ABT's unfortunate marketing scheme of matching up the good with the bad isn't good enough for my money. I would have loved to have seen Veronika, Gillian, and Herman but the prospect of having to also watch Vasiliev, Whiteside, and Kochetkova was enough to turn away from the box office. It's just as well. Now I have an extra $500 in my pocket.

Last spring, I saw the YAGP film that included Veronika and Marcelo in the White Swan PdD - that's all I need for Swan Lake. McKenzie casts these two together when ABT is on tour but won't cast them in Swan Lake at the Met because they are so good that they make everyone else look like amateurs. He is basically denying us the best that the company offers in order to push mediocrity at us. Not going to get my money for that.

It seems that my assessment of Kochetkova has been pretty much sustained by knowledgeable audience members who attended last night. The HH email box was filled this morning with outrage such as "I have never seen two dancers be so mismatched and have less chemistry together-it was like they were dancing two different ballets. Her very severe style was so contrary to Herman's athletic, youthful, style" and "perfectly awful."

[Fred Stone]

Haglund,

I had the misfortune of seeing Whiteside because I wanted to see Murphy - she was magnificent - and had to put up with his silly antics. This person is a complete embarrassment on stage....and his dancing was...well..mediocre, to say the least...he should have stayed in Boston . But this version of SL is probably one of the worst I have ever seen...it on the level with all those awful Russian companies that do the provincial city circuit in Europe and the U.S. The schlocky set and costume designs , the ragged playing by the orchestra....Wilkins is a conductor ? Or just a marionette waving his arms( watch members of the brass section reading during the performance. I wish I could read magazines at work !) And of course the "choreography" by Mr. " Big Hair"...Say what you may about the bizarre sets and costumes of the A. D. production at the Royal Ballet...but it is probably the most satisfying version of this classic . ABT should just rename itself as: "American Ballet Russian Import Theater " and just put on their favorite circus acts...Osipova spinning like a top and doing 47.5 turns in the Black Swan variation - BRAVA!!!....the Russian audience members scream ... "Quasimodo" Vasiliev doing his gymnast routines ...and Simkin - he would make a good witch in a ballet version of "Hansel and Gretel" - "Look at me...Wheeeeee..I`m flying.."
By the way, I buy standing room in the Dress Circle and usually find a seat.

[Haglund]

Hi Fred.

I agree with you about Whiteside. He can't seem to drop his cutesy persona from his JBDubbs gay pornish music videos. Good luck to ABT in finding a "sponsor" who wants to be forever associated with that crap. His form is very disappointing and he is so utterly unappealing on stage that it becomes unsettling to think how this guy could wind up here.

Fred, I think what's going to happen is that McKenzie will import the Bolshoi lock, stock, and barrel, and then slap the ABT logo on them and present them for 8 weeks at the Met -- and of course, call himself the Artistic Director. What a joke he is.

It is so sad to see how McKenzie benched Sarah Lane when she would have been -- without a doubt -- the best Odette/Odile for Herman Cornejo. And then there is the benching of Stella Abrera -- don't get me started on that again . . . .

[Fred Stone]

Haglund,

Yes, you are right - perhaps McKenzie should rename the company: "Ballet Theater - Bolshoi Subsidiary"."American" should be dropped .
I agree it is outrageous how he is treating Cornejo, Abrera, Lane , etc., and is continuing to invite third rate Russians such as Kochetkova - well , of course , Simkin wants her as a partner. You mentioned Kolpakova - when I saw her backstage at the Met recently she was quite chummy with Vasiliev.
Whom does one blame ? The Board , the sponsors , the audience ? Did you her them screaming when the "Russian Troika" did their circus numbers in the second act of "Le Corsaire "?
I am bored and disgusted with ABT - but I am looking forward to the Ashton "Sylvia", and will skip "The Sleeping Beauty"....and continue to watch all of the treasures that are on Youtube , and forget this wretched ABT season....
"JBDubbs" ? I have no clue what that means .

[Haglund]

Hi Fred.

I'm looking forward to Sylvia, too. Murphy is fabulous in it, and I can't wait to see Jared Matthews take a crack at Aminta. It's such a refreshing, crafted, and original work - especially compared to what is being made these days. I'm interested in seeing how Veronika Part handles her debut as Sylvia. A few years ago, I would have been worried for her, but she's been dancing so strongly these past couple of seasons and tackling new challenges that I think she'll be fine. No doubt, she'll be a stunner in the costume.

Oh, JBDubbs is Whiteside's character for the video and club act that he runs concurrently with his ABT career. It's pretty blue and off putting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2MU6iAgcrs&feature=c4-overview&playnext=1&list=TLtY0e5gStXbg

[Patricia]

I also had the misfortune of seeing Murphy and Whiteside on Thursday. It was so disappointing, especially in comparison to Gillian with Gomes last year and with Hallberg the year before. Not only was Whiteside's dancing mediocre, but his acting was awful, and there was no chemistry between the two. He seemed awkward and unnatural to me. I wondered what Gillian was really thinking about the situation. Committing suicide seemed appropriate under the circumstances. This was my first time to see Vasiliev in person, and that was also a big disappointment.

I also saw the YAGP performance of Marcelo and Veronika at the Ballet in Cinema series, and I agree that it was sublime.

I was somewhat prepared to be less than pleased because I saw Whiteside's DonQ performance three weeks ago. Haglund, I was happy to see your review of the DonQ double header since I was also present for both performances. I must admit that I was not astute enough to see Matvienko's flaws, and I thoroughly enjoyed his partnership with Gillian. The wonderful added bonus was to see Stella, and I thank you for bringing her to my attention.

I must rethink how to spend my limited ballet dollars next year. Thursday was a considerable chunk of those dollars as I must add airfare and ground transportation to the ticket cost. And sitting up all night at LaGuardia was not worth the performance last Thursday night as it was for DonQ.

I couldn't tell if the majority of the audience was unsatisfied on Thursday. (Well, the man to my left slept through most of the performance - and we were in the second row of the orchestra.)The gentleman to my right was from Paris and has subscriptions to all of the major ballet companies in Europe and Russia. He had some interesting comments about ABT in comparison, and it seemed that he was there only to see Gillian. How wonderful it must be to have access to so much quality ballet.

[Haglund]

Oh, Patricia, sitting up all night in La Guardia after sitting through a Swan Lake that had such a disappointing Prince Siegfried -- I should bestow a Ballet Commuter Winged Pump Bump Award on you:

Like you, I'm getting more particular and more particular about where and on whom I spend my money. Last year I flew to Chicago to see Yuriko Kajiya and Jared Matthews debut in Giselle and then skipped most of the Giselles at the Met. So, basically Delta Airlines got my money instead of ABT. The past couple of years, I've traveled down to DC to see certain casts and then skipped performances at the Met. I didn't enjoy the 7 hours on the train or hanging out in Union Station sometimes until 3am, but you do what you have to do. This year Amtrak got a good chunk of my money instead of ABT.

You should keep an eye on the Kennedy Center castings which are often more favorable than in NYC; plus the tickets are much cheaper and the seats are much better. Also it looks like ABT is taking Giselle to Minneapolis this spring, and it's possible that those castings may be preferable to what will be presented at the Met. My strong guess is that sometime, somewhere in the country next year, Gillian Murphy will dance Giselle. And of course, the movie starring her in that role with the RNZB will be out this fall.

[Fred Stone]

Haglund,
I saw the Whiteside clip on Youtube...and I am speechless : Why did ABT not request that he remove this piece of pathetic Dreck from that site ?
Is this man serious about ballet at all? Judging by his Siegfried on Thursday , he is not - his dancing and pantomime was sub-par . He should think about joining the Trocks....he will no doubt be a major star there.
I had no idea how many people came from other parts of the U.S. and Europe to see such travesties of the classic ballets , but I hope that they at least enjoyed some of the dancers , even though the productions on the whole are , well , not very good.

[Haglund]

Fred, I run into a lot of people who really travel out of their ways to come into NYC to see ABT and the Met Opera. I think their focus is probably on the dancers (or singers) and not necessarily on the productions although I did have a conversation this year with a traveler who said that the Met Opera's new Las Vegas-style Rigoletto was beyond redemption. I just hope Hvorostovsky doesn't wear leather pants and Elvis-type jewelry next season when he performs in it. That would send me packing.

[robin]

In defense of maria kochetkova i thought she did a fine job, she's lovely. This does not mean i dont think it should have gone to sarah lane, it should have, but im not going to automatically dismiss a dancer simply because she's a guest. She was not "perfectly awful" & i did not find she & herman mismatched at all. The white pas was sensual & moving & her odette variation was lovely. The black pas was loads of fun & while maria may not be the best she was certainly far from being awful and i enjoyed her very much.
herman, needless to say, was spectacular from start to finish and you could feel the affection for him throughout the crowd. It was a fanastic, memorable performance & i loved them both.

[Haglund]

Hi, Robin. It's been a long wait for Herman and I'm glad that the wait is over and that he was as spectacular as everyone knew he would be. (Hopefully, someone captured some video.) But a guest artist who waltzes into ABT and doesn't deliver more than just a fine job while taking away an ABT dancer's job (and perhaps even serving as the final nail in a coffin), shouldn't really be enough, should it? Shouldn't her performance/audition have been truly superior in every respect? It seems ABT has clearly slipped into bringing in okay/fine/can-do-most-of-the-job guest artists so long as they have Eastern European names. I've yet to read any comments anywhere that indicate anyone was wowed by her performance. I've never been wowed by anything I've seen her do on stage which is one reason I passed up the S.L.

[Patricia]

Yes, I travel to NYC to see specific dancers. Gillian has been high on my list for the past few years. Herman has now moved up to the top spot. And I want to see Marcelo as von Rothbart before I die. Is it too much to ask to see multiple great dancers in each performance? The DonQ performance (evening May 29) came closest to that wish this year.

Fred, you must understand that Atlanta, for instance, is a vast ballet wasteland. We have decent theater (saw a production tonight as good as anything I've seen in NYC), and the Atlanta Opera is not bad either (they import guest artists). But the Atlanta Ballet is absolutely horrible. I walked out of a supposed production of Firebird a few years ago (along with other patrons) and vowed to never spend another dollar there. I blame the AD. And the ticket prices are higher than my favorite seats at ABT performances.

I must say that the last two years of ABT SL performances with Gillian were true highlights of my life. (Right up there with seeing Fonteyn in SL when I was a small child.) I make sacrifices in order to travel to see performances and didn't spend dollars on a hotel this year in order to make multiple trips - so imagine how disappointing Thursday was for someone who has so little opportunity to see good ballet.

Haglund, I am looking at DC and other options. And I also believe that Gillian will dance as Giselle somewhere in the US this year. I was able to drive to see a Joffrey performance this spring, and a front row seat cost $60 at a nice venue (Peace Center in S.C.). But Ballet in Cinema is the best we have in my city. I reminded my new French friend how fortunate he is when he asked if I was going to return to see Sylvia.

As for my Ballet Commuter Winged Pump Bump Award...well, I am overwhelmed. Now that is worth sitting up all night at LGA!

[Fred Stone]

Dear All,

I did not mean to criticize that people travel to NYC to see their favorite dancers at ABT .
I traveled twice from Munich to Milan to see the wonderful Vaziev reconstruction with the La Scala Ballet of Petipas` "Raymonda"- and was totally enchanted .And years ago ,traveled to Washington , D.C. ,to see foreign companies who did not appear in NYC.I have a friend in Zurich who travels all over Europe to see ballet , and who just spent three weeks in NYC to see her favorite dancers and ballets at ABT and NYC Ballet.
I think we all agree the Murphy is a treasure - too bad that she had to dance in a poor version of this classic , paired with the insufferable Whiteside .
All the wonderful dancers of ABT - Abrera ,Cornejo, Lane, Radetsky , etc . , being sidelined for more Russian circus acts .And major talent like Gorak languishing in the corps.
I suggest that Ardani rent the Koch ( I still prefer to call it the New York State Theater), and put an an evening with all his "talent"...doing their vulgar versions of excerpts from the classics, so that the sensation-seekers who really have no interest in ballet as an art form can see the latest....well , you know what I am getting at.
Then they can scream like wounded animals - which I experienced at a "Le Corsaire" during the second act when the "Russian Troika"( Osipova, Simkin,Vasiliev) did their predictable routines .
These audience members only go to see the Russians - one usually never sees them at NYC Ballet , ABT , or when to POB visited last year ...

[Haglund]

Fred, Vaziev's reconstruction of Raymonda would truly be worth importing – but it's unlikely that McKenzie would trust ABT's own dancers with it. He'd view it as another opportunity to import more Russians and Eastern Europeans.

Funny how when the Russian companies take on Tharp, Balanchine or Robbins, they don't beg the Americans to come dance the principal roles for them.

[Fred Stone]

Haglund,

I have seen Russian companies dance Balanchine in D.C. and City Center, and of course on Youtube - the complete "Jewels" by the Bolshoi-and found them rather wanting , to say the least. I have to paraphrase Vaziev ( ex-Kirov)in an interview that I read on the Web: after the Balanchine stagers left , they decided to change steps in order to "improve" the choreography !
You are absolutely correct - why don`t they invite NYCB Principal dancers to show them how ? R. Fairchild , Bouder , Mearns, Hyltin, etc . to show them how Balanchine should be danced . When they try to attempt Balanchine - poorly- they have a lot of silly expressions on their faces, perhaps to compensate that they really do not have the technique and speed . How could they ? (But of course Chase Finlay danced "Apollo" in St. Petersburg with three insignificant Mariinsky dancers) . You are right - the question is right on the mark.
Let them continue to do their "Dram Ballets" -I do enjoy "Spartacus" and other Soviet - era ballets, they are fun for what they are ( "Ballet entertainment "to use A. Croce phrase ), and their "Ersatz Petipa" jazzed up with circus tricks - but of course they are not on the level of Ashton , Balanchine and Robbins.
And then there is the case of extreme nationalism - many Russians believe that only Russian dancers really know how to dance ballet correctly , they even had the effrontery to criticize the POB dancers when they appeared in Russia!

[robin]

Hi hag,
Did you see macaulays review of swan lake? Did he seriously not know this was herman's ny debut as siggy? He mentioned hee, james & maria making debuts but not herman. Granted i'm a bit biased but am i the only one who thought herman finally getting this role was a big deal?

[Haglund]

Hi Robin.

I noticed that immediately and thought that the omission was absolutely intentional. However, did you also notice that ABT got it wrong, too, in their press release about the 5th and 6th weeks of casting? Rather than acknowledging that this was Herman's "ABT" debut -- because he also had that most spectacular international Swan Lake debut with the Corella Ballet for which his picture was splashed all over the front pages of the Spanish newspapers, prestigiously placed above the fold, I might add. That omission or error by ABT was absolutely intentional and nothing less than spit in the face of Angel Corella.

Herman's ABT debut in Swan Lake was of huge importance--the most important accomplishment of the season.

You may want to write to Deputy Culture Editor Dan Watkin at the link on this NYT page. He should have caught this: http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/w/daniel_j_wakin/index.html

[robin]

Yes, i did notice that in ABTs casting as well.
thanks for the link, that omission both baffled me & pissed me off!

[Stephanie Phillips]

ww.timeout.com/newyork/dance/american-ballet-theatre-soloist-simone-messmer-talks-about-her-decision-to-leave Something needs to be done to save ABT! This is a very distressing article.

[Haglund]

Thanks, Stephanie.