observations 11/18

The fix is in.

ABT has rigged the press coverage of its Nutcracker performances this year. Other than the opening night performance, they are presently offering only two press nights: Misty Copeland's second performance on December 18th and Hee Seo's second performance on December 16th. Yes, their second performances. lol.

It seems that ABT doesn't want any press coverage of either Sarah Lane's or Stella Abrera's performances in the leading role as Clara, even though Stella, one of the two most classically empowered and refined artists in the company, will be debuting in this production and Sarah's previous performances have been among the most beautiful of all. That's understandable: these two remarkable soloists make Hee Seo and Misty Copeland look like KMart jewelry every time they are compared. No disrespect intended to KMart – they have a decent housewares department. If one wants single pique turns, single step-over turns, simplified & slowed down choreography, or a noisy power drill, KMart's the place to shop. If one is looking for upscale classical ballet, try these dates December 13 @ 12pm (Sarah w/Joseph Gorak), December 14 @ 1pm (Stella w/Alexandre Hammoudi), December 19 @ 7pm (Sarah w/Joseph Gorak), and December 20 @ 2pm (Stella w/Alexandre Hammoudi).

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Style and substance.

Gelsey Kirkland Ballet will present its exquisite production of The Nutcracker at the Schimmel Center on December 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21. Use the discount code FRIENDS by December 5 to save 10% on any evening performance.

Let us step back in time to consider what it meant to dance like the light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6NCE9GlU7s

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Dates to remember:

12/6 Tickets for An American in Paris at the Palace Theater on Broadway go on sale to the general public. Mastercard presale in process now.

12/8 Single tickets for the Mariinsky at BAM go on sale to the general public.

2/4  Single tickets to the Scottish Ballet's acclaimed production of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire go on sale at the Kennedy Center.

 

 

Comments

[angelica]

I just put my life on hold for nine minutes and 10 seconds to watch the Kirkland-Baryshnikov Nutcracker excerpt linked to in this post, and I urge you all to do the same. Thank goodness this performance has been captured on video, and thank you, Haglund, for sharing it with us.

[Haglund]

You're welcome. To think that this performance is from nearly 40 years ago - really, who has even come close to Gelsey in "putting it all together" since the 1970s?

[angelica]

Stella?

[Haglund]

Beautiful as Stella is, Gelsey was truly in a category all her own.

[angelica]

I agree, Haglund. Being in a category of one's own is what distinguishes greatness. I only wish Stella had been given more of a chance. It's just that when you asked the question "Who has even come close....?" I wished it could have been Stella.

[Haglund]

I agree. So much talent has been squandered. Stella, Sarah, Yuriko, Simone - and that only accounts for the most recent decade.

[jose]

Whatever happened to Simone? Can she come back to ABT?

[Haglund]

Hi, Jose.

Many, many, many people have been asking about former ABT soloist Simone Messmer who left San Francisco Ballet at the end of last season.

Her dancing has always been so far above and beyond others who seemed to be handed her opportunities (Boylston, Seo, Copeland). We really were cheated out of seeing her fine performances. She was always far more classical, far more technically assured, far more educated, and infinitely more interesting than those other three combined. I hope we have the opportunity to see her on a main stage again. I really do.

Imagine what a great company ABT would be right now if it had Simone, Yuriko, Jared, Maria Riccetto, Stella, and Sarah helping to lead the way as its principals. We could be proud instead of embarrassed by half the principals who don't deserve to be there.

[missy]

I've been watching that Kirkland/Baryshnikov Nutcracker since I was a child in rural Ohio. That set a nearly impossible standard for all of my future ballet-going.

[Haglund]

"Impossible standard" says it exactly. Thanks for stopping by H.H., Missy.

[cat]

I got that Mastercard presale alert. Any word of the quality of the production through the grapevine? I'll be interested to see what they do to the story. It's not my favorite movie as the story is quite odd and I feel like the ballet portions go on for far too long with little to no relevance to the plot. Gene Kelly's dream ballet sequences can feel a bit indulgent to me and AAIP is at the more indulgent end of the spectrum.

[Haglund]

Hi, cat. No word yet, but since it opened on Saturday night, we should have some reviews pretty soon. I'm looking forward to it mostly because it's been apparent for some time now that Wheeldon's choreographic concepts were moving in the direction of musical theater. It's also been apparent for some time that Robert Fairchild is a natural for the musical theater stage. I'm cautiously optimistic.