ABT Nutcracker @ BAM – Finally!

We are into the fourth season of Alexei Ratmansky’s vision of The Nutcracker, and finally – finally – we got to see the Nutcracker Prince nail the dramatic Grigorovich Lift in the Grand Pas. Was it a guest artist who accomplished this feat? No. Was it an import? No. Was it one of the Nutcracker Princes who has had several years worth of chances to get it done? No.

The guy who finally got the job done and got it done in good style was dancing his debut after being rudely passed over for the role in the previous three seasons.  

For the past three seasons, every time it came time in the Grand Pas for the grown-up Clara to run to the Nutcracker Prince and jump so that he catches her arabesque supporting leg and presses her fanny over his head followed by a triumphant march downstage on the diagonal, ABT’s Claras and Princes have all uniformly wimped out on this major strength-sapping overhead lift that was created by Yuri Grigorovich during the golden era of Soviet ballet, and have, instead, substituted some grade-school version that always looked worse than if they never tried it at all.  

The lift is a magnificent, incredibly difficult, gut-stinging, hernia-inviting, showy maneuver that Ratmansky inserted in his Nutcracker at the music’s climax for whatever reason – maybe to inspire a few of ABT's men to try harder. Yesterday afternoon Jared Matthews rose to the occasion – the only one of ABT's Nutcracker Princes ever to do so in this production. If Ratmansky wasn’t there to witness it, surely his heart must have skipped a beat wherever he was.

But more important than the lift was the overall exquisite and joyous performance of Jared and his Clara, Yuriko Kajiya, in their two PdDs. Their hearts were huge, their spirits generous, and their dancing was grand and exuberant. Throughout her variations, Yuriko displayed her special musicality that intensifies the beauty of the music: a slow release of an arabesque to extend the musical phrase, breathing balances, getting full value from every movement. Jared’s own musicality has grown enormously these past couple of years. Yesterday he punctuated the finishes of the pirouettes and allegro phrases with genuine authority. He not only gave us his best dancing, but he gave us his whole heart. No doubt, David Howard was smiling down on the stage yesterday while quipping, “That’s right - now do it again!" Here’s hoping that Jared’s thigh was taped just as a precaution and that nothing will prevent him from repeating his fine effort this coming Wednesday. After Saturday’s performance, Haglund couldn’t get to the box office fast enough.

While Jared and Yuriko may have been the highlight of the ABT Nutcracker run so far, the opening night performance by Veronika Part and Marcelo Gomes and Sunday afternoon’s performance by Gillian Murphy and Eric Tamm were Christmas come early.

Veronika, looking Chanel sleek, danced with exquisite lightness and the brilliance of Coco’s famous Bijoux de Diamants. It’s only when she is cast in Ratmansky’s works that we ever have the opportunity to see her move at such high speeds in über complex choreography. And it is only when dancing with Marcelo that she is free to take the risks that produce jaw-dropping results – as on Friday night when Marcelo tossed her up into the air in front of him like she was made of paper and rotated her in a multiple tour, or her maximum saute fouette that preceded the final, dramatic fish pose of wedding-kiss perfection. It is such a privilege to see these two dancers perform together. It is so unfair to ABT’s audience that we must face another Met Season without their Swan Lake.

Marcelo, by the way, was jumping and pirouetting like he was 22 and it was impossible not to do. Haglund had to give a rather noisy whoop when Marcelo polished off a fast pirouette with a particularly fine finish to the knee, but there were other whoops from the audience as well. Both he and Veronika were in top form on Friday night, but we did miss seeing their diagonal of fast double pique turns or double step-overs.  Maybe we just blinked at the wrong time.

Sunday afternoon saw the return of another exceptional pairing – that of Gillian Murphy and Eric Tamm. One would think that their similar coloring would make them wash out on stage but it has the opposite effect. They are a stunningly handsome couple. He is a gallant and accurate partner for her, and if she has to dial back the force a tiny bit on supported pirouettes, it’s not a bad thing – we get to see more musicality and less dazzle. Gillian wears restraint well, and this guy should be her Albrecht. If only artistic sense prevailed at ABT....  As in their performances during the second Nutcracker season, some of the details of the choreography tend to show through more clearly than with the other couples. During the Snow Pas there is a lift where Clara gazes down into the Prince’s eyes while her legs are crossed off to the side of him. It is a beautiful image especially when the Prince can hold the pose still for a moment and meet her gaze as Eric always does. Also, after the first section of the Grand Pas when the Prince walks upstage in silence to begin his variation, Eric suddenly pauses to look up at the beautiful stars in the sky. It is a very human moment that comes at an unexpected time. Haglund so wishes that McKenzie’s radar would blip upon Eric Tamm, who looks exceptionally handsome in white tights, and that this dancer would be afforded more white-tight roles.

Overall, the performances seemed to have a heightened energy to them. The two Drosselmeyers (Victor Barbee and Roman Zhurbin), the Sugar Plum Fairy (Zhong-Jing Fang and Nicola Curry), the Cook (Julio Bragado- Young and Kenneth Easter), and other of the character types made larger impressions than in years past, like they were playing to a much larger house than BAM. It looked very good and captivated the youngest members of the audience better. The Snowflakes and Flowers continue to have some of the most extraordinary choreography in this extraordinary production. Ratmansky's Nutcracker is the finest thing that he has made for ABT to date. It is unquestionably a major artistic success in every important respect. Why then has ABT failed to make it a marketing success? At this point in time, we were supposed to be seeing five weeks of Nutcracker at BAM. We’re not even seeing two.

Haglund has more ABT Nutcrackers to see but it won’t be easy getting there from the Wild West Side where no subway trains rumble through, no buses pass by, the taxis fear to tread, and the horse don’t wanna leave its warm barn. But somehow, some way, he’ll get there, because there are a lot of people dancing exceptionally well in a great production. If you miss Jared and Yuriko this Wednesday, well, it’ll be just like missing their Giselle in Chicago a couple of years back – you'll probably never get another chance to see it. Besides, they may even be showing off their H.H. Pump Bump Award, a seasonal stiletto direct from Charlotte Olympia's own closet:

 

 

Comments

[angelica]

Oh, Haglund, what a wonderful review. I have to hope that when the dead wood at the top of the principal roster ages into history, we will finally see the Yuriko-Jared Giselle in New York. Also another long-awaited Giselle....maybe even a few more.

I'm so glad to see that Jared is finally getting recognized by the reviewer at The New York Times. I've been watching him develop over several years. I thought his Lensky in the spring Onegin was the best thing he's ever done. His adagio before the duel was heart-stopping, a total embodiment of the character conveyed through exquisite dancing.

[J]

Is the lift you describe like the final lift in the Spring Waters pas de deux? I'm so happy to hear such detail about these performances. Thank you, Haglund.

[Haglund]

Thanks, Angelica. I agree that Jared's Lensky was superb. Jared and Yuriko's Giselle in Chicago was the best that ABT had to offer that year, but NYC didn't get to see it.

[Haglund]

Hi J. The lift doesn't go quite as far as the one in Spring Waters - there's no letting go at the end – but it's similar up until that point. It's in Grigorovich's Nutcracker.

[Fan Zhang]

Forget partnerships, I'm more concerned that we will never see the homegrown soloists ever again...I mean look at what happened to sascha radetsky (who is gorgeous and stunning and every superlative)...

Instead we get a certain newly promoted principal, whom I saw dance Nut with Xiomara Reyes. It was exciting for all the wrong reasons; I thought she would crack her head open on the lift. My date, who had never been to the ballet before, turned to me and said "they made a huge mistake right?"

[Haglund]

Fan Zhang, you echo what many have complained about - the lack of opportunities for us to see our homegrown soloists in principal roles that they deserve to dance and would dance well. Do you think Radetsky would have a problem with that lift? Ha! He'd be able to do it like at the end of Grigorovich's Spring Waters PdD where the guy just lets go and finishes it all with one arm. And he looks and dances like a true Prince. I saw him in all of his (Kudelka) Cinderella performances with Reyes and he was phenomenal. He should have been her partner.

Good to hear that Whiteside is living up to his potential by nearly cracking Reyes' head open. On opening night, he was in the Arabian section and did not have a clue as to what the character was supposed to be doing. Not a clue. Maybe if Ratmansky altered the choreography so that Whiteside could flash his crotch or ass to the audience as he's accustomed to doing in his other career, the guy might be more comfortable in the Arabian role. What a mistake it was to hire that guy. Rather, another mistake.

[J]

The Spring Waters lift is at the end of this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKS7d6C6fBU

Is the Grigorovich lift you've been discussing here at 1:24?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUcB3MUe8Mg

(Mosina is Russian born, Bolshoi trained. Tyukov is also Russian, trained at Perm.)

[Haglund]

Thanks for the links, J. Those are the lifts, except that (I'm pretty sure) Jared didn't let go, but his was still the absolute best of all of the ABT men. What the other couples always do is: a) Clara runs up to the prince and comes to a complete dead stop, b) then she lifts her foot to the back like a horse about to be shoed, and c) the Prince finally hoists her up. It looks as lame as it sounds.

Those are great YouTube clips.

[Friedrich]

Haglund,

You really detest Whiteside , don`t you ? I agree that he is not on a Soloist level , let alone a Principal . Why he was hired by McKenzie is a mystery...as there are other ABTdancers that deserve to be promoted as you have constantly pointed out. I have seen some of his Youtube videos , and was appalled...I think he has , as one says "serious issues " . At least ABT could have insisted that he remove those silly , infantile videos....but , alas , did not .What is in his mind I do not know , but a serious artist should not have posted such "Dreck".I will avoid any ballet that he dances in .Perhaps he should drop ballet and just do "Drag " Shows !
The Ratmansky "Nutcracker" is nothing special....and I have seen numerous versions in the 39 years. I first saw it at BAM last year and was underwhelmed.....Balanchines version is still the best......Ratmansky is very prolific...and most of his ballets are forgettable....why Greskovich and Gottlieb have jumped on his bandwagon is a mystery...who wants to see his "Firebird" and "From Foreign Lands" again ? I do not. The only decent ballet he did was DSCH at NYCB.....it it does not even measure up to minor Balanchine such "Kammermusik#2"...but then , what do I know?

[Haglund]

Hi, Friedrich.

Ratmansky's Nutcracker may not seem to be on the classical level of Balanchine's, because it is less grand and more intimate. My only disappointment with the production is the K-Mart Christmas tree. But I continually find more things to enjoy about the production with each viewing.

I've probably seen it 30 times over the past four years and know that each cast, particularly the character ensemble, bring something new to each performance. Even during seasons when I know that I've seen way more than enough of the Kitchen scene and the Dining room scene, Ratmansky's Nutcracker pulls me back to BAM for the two major PdDs and the Snow Scene which IMO definitely are not inferior to Balanchine's in any respect.

To me, Nutcracker is not a ballet where one seeks out the best possible production and ignores all others. Seeing the variety of interpretations and themes broaden the scope of the seasonal joy - as hokey as that may sound. Balanchine's, Ratmansky's, Joffrey's, Francis Patrelle's, Grigorovich's, Helgi Tomasson's, and Gelsey Kirkland's are all fantastically imaginative productions. The only ones I really don't care for are the ones that mock or bend-for-the-sake-of-bending the tradition.

With regard to Ratmansky's other work, I don't think ABT has gotten his best stuff - for whatever reason. Maybe it has to do with the inevitable collaborative influences of the rest of the artistic team or time constraints or maybe it's just that he's churning out too much choreography around the world too fast without letting it simmer.

As for Whiteside, you're right, I can't bear to watch him.

[Friedrich]

Haglund,

I agree with you that other choreographic versions are worthwhile watching....indeed , some of them have wonderful parts...but , as a whole, Balanchines version is most satisfying overall. Excepting the schlocky Ter-Arutunian sets and costumes...it looks like Christmas at Walmart ! How about having Juergen Rose design the ballet ?
I saw the NYCB December 19th performance....which was mediocre at best....except for T. Peck, R. Krohn, and R. Fairchild ( replacing Danchig-Waring ).The Berlin State Ballet has a new production by Y. Burlaka of the ballet , using the Stepanov notations..recreating the original set and costume designs....the Berlin press raved about this production....it would be a real treat to see it. You may know that Ratmansky and Burlaka recreated "Le Corsaire" using the Stepanov notes...and it is a triumph -you can see two complete performances by the Bolshoi on Youtube...a real pleasure...have you seen them ?
Pergaps I was a liitle unfair regarding Ratmansky....I also like his "Naumona" (SP ?) for the NYCB....and wish he would devote some time to choreograph the whole score.
I think that your site is a real treat...and you allow postings that you may not agree with...unlike Ballet Alert.....
I always look forward to your thoughts about the ballet....

Regarding J. Whiteside - why even comment on his performances ? I will just avoid seeing him dance....but you as a critic and fan , I understand that you will see performances where he may be in the cast.

[Haglund]

Hi, Friedrich. It seems that NYCB is loosening up on its undying commitment to original costume designs, but any and all changes continue to be controversial, e.g.,the new costumes for Symphony in C and Who Cares failed to win everybody's applause.

I've viewed much of the YouTube video of Le Corsaire by Ratmansky and Burlaka. I wonder why the Bolshoi doesn't bring that to the U.S (or maybe they have, and I just missed it.)

Friedrich, thanks for reading H.H. and for contributing your considerable insight.

[J]

I've been curious to see how others do the "Grigorovich lift" in the Grand Pas and found two Bolshoi couples that seem to do it more along the lines of the ABT version you described. It starts at about 3:10 in each clip. The entrance into the lift seems very slow and deliberate and he never lets go with either arm. (I prefer the Mosina-Tyukov version.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b9Afjo2pVU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTnFUN3pBMc

[Haglund]

You're right, J, that's similar to what most of the ABT couples tried to do but they were a long way off from an execution standpoint. Jared and Yuriko did it like Maximova and Vasiliev except that Jared didn't let go....yet. I think we should all stay tuned for next year.

[k]

Haglund-- saw James Whiteside with Hee Seo last night and the grand pas was an absolute disaster. I was afraid for her life; he nearly dropped her on almost every lift and even pulled her away out of an assisted pirouette. The "Grigorovich lift" looked as crude as if he just had his hand up her skirt, and they didn't even attempt to move diagonally once she was hauled up. Remarkably bad.

[Haglund]

Hi K. Not surprised at all to hear about Whiteside. Hee Seo is not a strong partner either and has become accustomed to Bolle and Gomes carrying all the weight and responsibility. Sooo not principal level dancers.

I heard that Jared Matthews stepped in for Joseph Gorak in yesterday afternoon's performance with Sarah Lane. Sarah and Joseph's first performance didn't go so well: missed lifts shattered their confidence and musicality for the remainder of the performance.

What more does Jared have to do to prove himself? He's already proven that he's beyond Whiteside and Stearns.

Jared, Stella, Yuriko, and Sarah should all be promoted to principal without further delay. It makes me sick to my stomach to see their accomplishments ignored by McKenzie while he promotes the homely, ugly, and marginally competent.