Haglund's Heel

observations 5/15

Is the ABT principal with the stress fracture going to dance on it or is she going to be replaced? Is McKenzie in a mad dash to bring in more guest artists to cover someone who is supposed to be a generic house ballerina or is he going to let Stella Abrera dance Giselle and Sarah Lane dance Swan Lake like he should? Are they going to dribble the changes throughout the week at the last minute to make certain that no one has an opportunity to exchange tickets and none of the deserving soloists have the opportunity to prepare? Guess what? Abrera and Lane are already prepared.

Full disclosure, please – and not at the last minute.

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Meanwhile, our glorious, much missed, world class Giselle, Yuriko Kajiya, will be reprising her signature role opposite the enormously talented Aaron Robison in a performance under the stars and moon Saturday night in Houston at the Miller Outdoor Theater with all of Houston Ballet. Normally I would wish that Jared would jump in as Hilarion, but since this is Aaron's Albrecht debut, that could be way too scary given Jared's intensity in that role and given who is dancing Giselle.

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Gelsey Kirkland Ballet presents Don Quixote again tonight and tomorrow night at the Schimmel Center at Pace University. You can be certain that it's going to be authentic and that everyone is going to be exceptionally well-schooled in style. Tickets available at http://schimmel.pace.edu/events/don-quixote

Watch the trailer, remember the glory:

 

ABT – Les Sylphides, Jardin aux Lilas, Rodeo 5/13 Mat

In his review of ABT’s opening night performance, the NYT’s Alastair Macaulay said that since 1977-78 he has been bewildered in his efforts to pin down what characterizes a correct or inspired Les Sylphides. He then fully illustrated his admitted ignorance by praising the performance of one of two klutzy dancers in ABT who should never be allowed within 10 miles of a tulle skirt.

Despite the admission of not being able to determine what characterizes a correct Les Sylphides, he proceeded to explain that no one on the stage, except for Isabella Boylston, understood the style. If Macaulay thought that Boylston’s style is what Les Sylphides should look like then he probably thought that the sylphs should have trailing toilet paper stuck to their shoes like in a Mark Morris dance. A little more potty humor in Les Sylphides, pleads Macaulay, as if Boylston clomping around in tulle isn’t enough.

If Macaulay had trouble pinning down what characterizes a correct or inspired Les Sylphides, he shouldn’t after yesterday’s matinee. But he likely didn’t see the beauty of it because of his caligynephobic reaction to the beautiful women who were performing. Veronika Part, Stella Abrera, Sarah Lane, and Joseph Gorak as the Poet were the exquisite cast.

Veronika, whose embodiment of the Romantic style continues to be tragically underused at ABT, beautifully captured the ethereal purity and spirituality of the Prelude section with her long limbs, gorgeous shoulders and peerless epaulment.

Stella was all lightness and grace in the Mazurka and in the PdD with Joe. We never heard a sound from her shoes when she landed jumps that swept in wide arcs across the stage. Les Sylphides is not about doing high jumps that land with big noise.

Watching Sarah’s fleet bourrees and musicality in the Waltz was like catching sight of a hummingbird stealing nectar from a flower.

Joe’s variation as the Poet was filled with velvety soft landings in balletic lines from God. What a gift this young man has.

The corps de ballet was exceptionally focused yesterday afternoon. Haglund observed no lapses and thought that everyone was gorgeous from heads to fingers to toes.

Tudor’s Jardin Aux Lilas has become a little odd looking although it is still affecting. Anyone who ever saw Michael Owens’s characterization of The Man She Must Marry did not feel Caroline’s dread to the same degree with Alex Hammoudi in the role. He was not enough of a boring dead end for Caroline. Thomas Forster was outstanding as Her Lover – young, wholesome, with still more balletic lines from God, and an innocence in his desperation. Xiomara Reyes as Caroline was touchingly young and you felt her longing and state of despair. Christine Shevchenko was on the right track toward creating a fine reading of An Episode in His Past but was not as boldly ready and willing to chase after Her Lover as Martine van Hamel or Veronika Part in the role.

The ladies who portrayed Friends and Relations contributed outstanding reactive drama to the performance. Courtney Lavine, Isadora Loyola, Lauren Post, and Jennifer Whalen were just the right amount of gossipy and knowing. Courtney has an incredibly expressive face that can change so quickly that it made you not want to take your eyes off of her.

Rodeo brought all the cows home with Roman Zhurbin, Craig Salstein, Misty Copeland, and Leann Underwood in the leading roles. Sorry to say that the Cowhands looked like ballet dancers trying to be Broadway dancers. All ABT would have to do to get the right form would be to put these guys on horses for three hours straight before letting them get off. Easy. Nobody in the cast was Western enough. We didn’t believe any of them ever got dust on their boots.

The Cowgirl had so much glam makeup on the eyes that she looked more ready to be featured in a horse section of the televised Rose Parade than in Rodeo. Traditionally, the second cast Cowgirl in Rodeo has been reserved for a talented corps dancer – Susan Jones, Erica Cornejo, Marian Butler, to name a few of the great ones. Why has this tradition been broken in favor of allocating another less than suitable role to Misty Copeland? Why was Marian Butler dumped and why wasn’t another suitable corps woman given the opportunity? Nicole Graniero, Luciana Paris, and especially Adrienne Schulte would have soared in this role. Instead, we got a stiff, under acted, adequately danced Cowgirl from Misty.

Roman Zhurbin didn’t have the swagger of a Head Wrangler; he was more like Sheriff Andy of Mayberry. Craig Salstein’s tapping seemed not as showy or lively as when we saw it at City Center years ago. Maybe it was the larger stage that made the tap solo less effective; bringing it way down stage could help.

The afternoon's performance had terrible attendance. The entire family circle was blacked out and there weren’t enough people in the orchestra level to qualify as a patron dress rehearsal. Where were all those people that Misty Copeland is supposed to pull in? Oh wait, attendance on her dates is only good when the butts sit free. So, why at the end of the third ballet when the audience had basically all stopped clapping, did the curtain separate for Copeland and Salstein to come out for a special bow when neither the cast of Les Sylphides nor the cast of Lilac Garden which featured a respected retiring principal were given the same opportunity?

Thank goodness we had the first rate cast of Les Sylphides to save the day. These dancers rate first in terms of skill and artistry – which count for next to nothing at ABT these days – and are awarded the H.H. Pump Bump First Position trophy for their brilliant classical dancing and for maintaining the highest standards in Les Sylphides.

 

ABT & NYCB 5/12 The thrill of the customized ballet evening

Given the ballet offerings at Lincoln Center last night, Haglund would have expected to attend the most classical ballet La Sylphide with Herman Cornejo at ABT and then race across the plaza to watch Ashley Bouder tear through NYCB's Theme and Variations. Instead, he found himself watching Cornejo in Theme and Variations at ABT and then racing across the plaza to watch Bouder’s La Sylphide at NYCB. It felt strangely special, this blurring of specialities.

Theme and Variations, Balanchine’s masterpiece from November 1947, includes magnificent balletic pomp and ceremony as grand as a royal wedding. Important as this premiere was in November of 1947, the world’s captivating news of that month also included the wedding of Britain’s Princess Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, a properly lavish ceremony that was widely covered by Life Magazine and a flood of international newspapers. It was a good, happy news event that affirmed the beauty of order in a world wearing fresh scars from its own re-ordering. Everyone could afford to feel good about the event even if they could barely afford to eat.

This wedding picture of Elizabeth and Philip standing at the front of the palace – she on the left, he on the right – with their attendants positioned around and behind them brings to mind the opening of Theme and Variations which advances to bright allegro, a tender pas de deux, and a gloriously royal promenade.

Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo were knockouts in last night’s performance. We don’t get to see them enough in this ballet even though they offer a closer reading to the Kirkland/Baryshnikov interpretation than any of the other couples around town. The Kirkland/Bayshnikov interpretation may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and may not have even been Balanchine’s, but it is a favorite of many because Gelsey could introduce classical form into Balanchine's neo-classical steps like no one else.

Sarah’s command of the technical challenges, her musical accents, and the articulation of the feet and legs were, indeed, beautiful to see. Early in last night’s performance, Haglund noticed a new vivid enunciation in Sarah's pas de chat where the first foot peeled off the floor and the arch pushed right up her plumb-line before the second foot sprang to meet it in a tidy formation. Jeeze, it was beautiful and so easily and joyously done. Sarah has created such graceful length in her limbs that one assumes when watching her on stage that she is much taller than she really is.

The same is true for Herman who always looks so much taller when standing apart from the other men on stage because of his essentially perfect lines and port de bras. It was such a joy to watch him toss off the allegro so easily and deliver such centered pirouettes so consistently.

At times, however, it seemed that the tempo for everyone's allegro was lazy. A little more energy in the music would have created even more brilliance on stage.

The pas de deux went smoothly except for one instance when Herman was standing a little too far behind Sarah while she was on pointe and wasn’t in the best place when she needed him.

The demi-soloist women, Luciana Paris, Christine Shevchenko, Devon Teuscher, and Stephanie Williams (subbing for Misty Copeland) were perfection. It is so hard to take the eyes off of Devon who looks absolutely stunning in a classical tutu and whose dancing is beautifully clear and confident. Sometimes Haglund spends the whole night at the ballet wishing that dancers would eliminate this bad habit or that extraneous tic, but Devon’s technique is scrubbed clean. What a beauty.

The demi-soloist men danced well except for a couple of synchronization issues noticed with Alex Hammoudi and Jose Sebastian. Blaine Hoven looked better than in years – svelte, long leg lines, big jumps, and lots of energy. Craig Salstein danced brightly as well.

The corps de ballet was mostly where it should have been all the time, except for a slip and fall by one woman. Here again, the women were more cohesive and coordinated than the men who sometimes were – not ragged, but let’s say, a little rumply in places.

Then it was a quick scamper across the plaza where Haglund was first in line at the champagne bar during intermission between Bournonville Divertissements and La Sylphide.

Ashley Bouder has been working on and thinking about La Sylphide for quite some time and her efforts paid off last night. It was another transformation before our eyes like the one we experienced with Sterling Hyltin last week. Ashley acquired such a convincing Romantic style that it was hard to believe it wasn’t her native style. All of that energy that she normally exerts to power through Balanchine’s allegro was converted to lightness and dancing of Impressionistic wonder. Her balances on pointe had little showmanship in them but instead were airy, and they illuminated points in the music to an extent not thought possible. All in all, another extraordinary accomplishment in this run of La Sylphide.

Andrew Veyette threw a tremendous amount of energy into his dancing and acting, but unfortunately, he didn’t surrender to the Bournonville style. His arms frequently flew above his shoulders and lost their shapes. He made a choice to use his arms to jump as high and as far as possible even if it meant sacrificing style and form. It was a little disappointing. He and Ashley had a great rapport, however, and were wonderful in the “chase” scenes.

Megan LeCrone made a remarkable debut as Effie. For a dancer who can seem reluctant to communicate on stage, holy cow, did she ever walk on with some acting chops last night. Obviously, we want to see more of this in all of her dancing. She was totally charming and a hit with audience.

Joseph Gordon’s Gurn was yet another revelation. Superbly danced and superbly acted. He pretty well had the style down pat in his variations and didn’t suspend it in order to grab more height or distance in his jumps.

Marika Anderson’s Madge was wonderfully mimed. One look from her eyes could pierce through travertine. Excellent all around.

Haglund fully enjoyed this production of La Sylphide at its premiere. Now he’s in love with it.

The H.H. Pump Bump Award for Haglund’s customized evening of dance is bestowed upon Sarah Lane for her exquisite performance in Theme and Variations.

 

observations 5/12

Just want to remind everyone that some real ballerinas will be in control of Les Sylphides at ABT's Wednesday matinee. Veronika Part, Stella Abrera, Sarah Lane along with Joseph Gorak will head the cast. These are the pros who McKenzie relegated to second cast so they wouldn't get reviewed on opening night.

It will be interesting to read how the NYT smooths over the opening night's performance given its writers' desire to accommodate ABT and push ahead Seo and Boylston and other klutzes with NYT endorsed "native advertising" that has seeped into its critics' writing and completely confused editorial and promotional content.

Haglund didn't waste money on a ticket because he already knew that Seo and Boylston were going to fall flat on their asses and screw up one of ballet's most important historical gems. These are the incompetent oxen that McKenzie is forcing down the audience's throat in Giselle instead of the company's current greatest classical ballerinas.

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It seems that Wayne McGregor's new Woolf Works for the Royal Ballet staring Alessandra Ferri has the London critics divided:

From the Telegraph:

But the lion's share of McGregor's now overfamiliar, often hyper-extended steps make no sort of emotional impact whatsoever, and are already fizzling from the memory by the time you collect your coat.

From the Guardian:

Even without prior knowledge of the novel, this act stands alone as a ravishingly expressive work, with McGregor’s choreography ranging from a delicate, detailed intimacy, to the raw ragged duet in which Septimus and Clarissa dance towards the edge of madness.

and this:

Woolf Works is not a perfect ballet – it suffers from momentary lapses of focus, and odd awkwardness. But in the depth and the scope of its ambitions, and in its haunting meditations on memory, madness and time, it takes both McGregor – and the concept of the three-act ballet – to a brave and entirely exhilarating new place.

From the Independent:

Ferri suggests both Woolf and her heroine. Now aged 52, returning to the company that launched her as a ballerina, Ferri is a commanding presence. With dark eyes and a pliant body, she flows through McGregor’s steps, winding and folding into soft lines. Looking at Beatriz Stix-Brunell, who plays her past self, Ferri manages to show emotion both felt and remembered.

and this:

McGregor’s corps de ballet dances are too repetitive, failing to create rhythmic force, but the larger imagery is effective. It’s a fitting conclusion to a brave, thoughtful work.

Seeing as Haglund would pay to watch Ferri push a grocery cart up the supermarket aisle and also despises McGregor's work, he's sorry to have missed the opportunity to experience his own conflicted feelings by seeing this new dance.

 

Living a lie

"I was living a lie."
"Were you a good liar?"
"The best."

And so began the conversation in this evening’s edition of CBS 60 Minutes which basically was an hour that focused on two professional liars and manipulators.

The first, Jack Barsky, was a KGB agent and spy who lied his way through life in America. The second, Misty Copeland, is engrossed in an elaborate public campaign to get appointed as principal dancer at ABT, a position that historically was awarded based on artistic and technical excellence — which this happy promo piece clearly demonstrated she has not yet achieved.

This fifth-cast Princess Florine was shown struggling with simple hops on pointe, and the program editor failed to cut away before she started to fall off. This guest Odette in the minor municipal ballet company was shown with some of the most hideous, ugly, un-swanny arms and clunkish bourrees that we’ve ever been forced to watch. Her legs were hideous. Her feet were stiff. Her whole physique was hideous even for an amateur. To say she looked like a Trock would be too much of an insult to those talented fellows. This weak, lacking dancer was shown in her debut in a version of Coppelia watered down to eliminate the challenges that all the other dancers in the same role faced and cleared easily.

Once again, a major news organization, in this case CBS, failed to perform its due diligence before passing out Copeland’s false claims that she and her partner were the first African-American couple to dance Swan Lake in a major company. Even the New York Times had to run a correction when they swallowed her PR excrement without first sniffing it. Who the hell does Copeland think she is claiming that Dance Theatre of Harlem was not a major ballet company?

“American’s first black classical ballet company”
First ever black company to dance at Covent Garden (someone should tell Misty that’s where the Royal Ballet lives)
First black cultural group to tour the Soviet Union after a cultural program was granted renewed life
Featured at the Olympics’ ceremonies
Featured and regularly reviewed in The New York Times during their seasons in Manhattan
Featured on PBS
Founder awarded the National Medal of Arts
Founder awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship  

Who the hell does Copeland think she is claiming that Dance Theatre of Harlem was not a major ballet company, but that the little half-amateur Washington Ballet in which she stumbled through Swan Lake is some kind of a major ballet company? Maybe she thinks that Lydia Abarca and Ronald Perry who danced Swan Lake before her are actually blond Swedes pretending to be Black Americans.

CBS claims that a ballet company told Copeland that she would never make it in ballet. That’s a bald faced lie and Copeland and her team know it. No company ever told Copeland that she would never make it in ballet. It’s to the point now where she’s convinced that no one will ever even care to check out anything she says to ascertain that it’s the truth. So why bother with the truth when lies will get you what you want easier than honest hard work?

Did McKenzie really say that he wonders if she understands how important a symbol she could be and that it’s a big deal around here? Around where? Around his own wallet? The big fucking deal is that he is not promoting based on merit. The big fucking deal is that he’s handing out classical roles because Copeland and her team are squeezing his jewels to get her roles that she is clearly incapable of dancing. The answer to that: Oh, just change the god damn steps and say that she’s done them. Screw the better dancers who are losing opportunities to this fake. They're not black.

Copeland clearly believes that her own success is more important than the integrity of ballet.

Did McKenzie really try to claim that Copeland is musical and has wonderful proportions? Is he on drugs or does he have major cataracts? Those are two of her greatest faults - aside from her limited technical abilities and her disgusting personality. How anyone at ABT can work with this obnoxious, selfish diva is a miracle.

Copeland's narcissism, her exaggerated sense of self, her willful lying are at a level that ballet hasn’t seen before. She talked about how she feels when she’s dancing on stage when she does four pirouettes. When has Copeland EVER done four pirouettes? EVER?

And here we go with another ABT gala where the media is run by Misty Copeland and her hapless manager with one paying client. Oh boy, oh boy - Star Jones, Sherry Shepherd, Al Roker and every other overweight black talk show personality that Copeland's manager can scrape up to lead cheers for Misty. Who will the two of them drag here next and plead to help promote Any-Means-To-An-End- Misty?

And finally, how nice of Copeland on Mother’s Day to complain about her own mother on national television for trying to keep the family together. The truth is - so what if Misty Copeland had never become a professional ballet dancer? So what? In the grand scheme, does it really matter? She has yet to deliver ONE SINGLE SOLITARY performance of compelling artistry. She is nothing more than PR hype. Maybe Copeland would have become an accountant or a lawyer or an overweight talk show host. All of her siblings are successes; so, her mother must have been doing quite a few things right.

We close with a toast to all mothers everywhere and especially to those who suffer with ungrateful children.

observations 5/9

Get Ready, San Diego.

New York City Ballet is coming your way.

The company will appear at the beautiful San Diego Civic Theatre on Saturday, October 10th as part of the La Jolla Music Society's 2015-2016 season which was just announced today in San Diego. No word yet on what works they will bring, but hopefully you'll get one or two of their biggest and best Balanchine Black & White ballets. Stay tuned.

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OMG, Houston!

Houston Ballet is presenting THREE FREE performances of GISELLE at the Miller Outdoor Theatre on May 15, 16, and 17.  And there is a program bonus of Stanton Welch's Clear, too!

Note: "This is a ticketed event for the covered seating area. Free tickets are available (4 per person over age 16 while they last) at the Miller Outdoor Theatre box office the day of the performance between the hours of 10:30am-1pm. If tickets remain at 1pm, the box office will re-open one hour before show time to distribute the remaining tickets. As always, open seating on the hill."

Being in the midst of marauding Wilis at night in an outdoor theater is one of life's greatest ballet experiences. Dont' miss this and try to go to all of the performances. And, of course, send Haglund a report.

Though we have no information about casting, we hope that Houston gets to see the miraculous Yuriko Kajiya and Jared Matthews as Giselle and Albrecht on one of those nights. Haglund saw them in Detroit in HB's Giselle and was blissed beyond belief. Here's a reminder:

Premiere 5/7NYCB's La Sylphide soars

Pardon the sticky fingers, but Haglund woke up this morning with a hankering for homemade cinnamon Danish, probably the aftereffect of enjoying last night’s premiere of New York City Ballet’s new La Sylphide.

We’re so proud to see NYCB take this significant evolutionary step of importing an authentic 19th Century classic into its repertoire, and we are – but shouldn’t be – surprised that they pulled it off with such fine style. No one should worry whether August Bournonville's La Sylphide represents a sudden right turn for this company whose historical map has been ballet's guide to its greatest neo-classical and contemporary treasures. It is, however, proof positive that NYCB is rapidly evolving into the country’s premiere full-service ballet company that can create from scratch a roster of incredible dancers who are able to deliver remarkable performances across the entire spectrum of ballet. They are strong enough, skilled enough, and brave enough to do it all – at the highest standards.

Peter Martins staged the production with the assistance of Petrusjka Broholm, a highly respected stager and coach who has staged or been in-charge of works by Alexei Ratmansky, John Neumeier, Peter Martins, Christopher Wheeldon and Anne Marie Holmes. Schooled by the Royal Danish Ballet, Broholm danced in the company for over 30 years and was a long time coach and teacher there. She has done a miraculous – repeat, miraculous job transforming Sterling Hyltin from a neo-classical sprite to a Romantic sprite imbued with softness and ethereal wonder – nearly unrecognizable but for the mischievous smile that sometimes appears in more familiar roles we see her dance. She conveyed the tragedy of the Sylph’s loss of wings, blindness, and death with touching simplicity and honesty. Her soft widely-rounded arms and supple feet never showed signs of severe neo-classical accents, only the airy lightness inherent in the best Bournonville. At one point, she fluttered her hands and arms with hummingbird delicacy.

Her James, Joaquin De Luz, proved again that 39 is the new 19. How does he do it? What a thrill it was to see him unleash barrage after barrage of taxing batterie in James’ variations. Entrechat six - double tour to the right - land in clean fifth; repeat to the left –– all of it done purrrrfectly. Height of jumps - incredible. Clarity of beats - wonderful. Did we mention that the guy is 39? De Luz masterfully portrayed James’ short-term confusion and disbelief at seeing the enticing Sylph followed by a “go for it” effort to catch her, despite his impending marriage plans. His duplicity was played with humor as opposed to angst and without over-emphasizing his internal struggle.

Georgina Pazcoguin brilliantly portrayed Madge, the witchy fortune teller. Haglund could see the words in her mime and fell in love with her coarse charms. Brittany Pollack’s Effie danced delightfully but it seemed at times that her character was drawn by numbers. Daniel Ulbricht, on the other hand, nailed Gurn’s character, not to mention the sylph-ish bourrees when miming his discovery of the Sylphide with James. His own variations were as huge and clear as De Luz’s, and we’re sure that we will eventually see him as James, too.

The Corps de Ballet was mostly quite lovely with only an untidy spot now and then. Sara Adams exquisitely danced her sylph solo at the beginning of Act II. Her lingering penche arabesques were dreamy. There is a quiet beauty about this dancer that is very appealing.

The costumes and scenery, originally designed by Susan Tammany for Martins’ earlier production of La Sylphide for Pennsylvania Ballet, were very attractive. The costumes, in particularly, were from Scottish Heaven. The corps women’s Romantic sylph tutus occasionally displayed a slight pastel pink hue when the dancers moved quickly. The rich Scottish plaids worn by the dancers in Act I — a variety of purple, green, and rust clan colors –– were handsome.

The scenery was a little unusual but didn’t offend the senses the way we were expecting, based on a few previous NYCB experiences. The set for Act I was constructed with warm wood beams and seemed a little Dansk-inspired from the ‘80s while the Act II design of the colorful and very imaginative backdrop representing the forest seemed early Marimekko-inspired. The Act II backdrop was visually enjoyable independently, but it didn’t really go with the Act II costumes.

The evening began with Bournonville Divertissements, a collection of excerpts from Napoli, Flower Festival, and Abdallah originally staged by Stanley Williams and currently staged by Nilas Martins. Erica Pereira and Allen Peiffer gave a vivid performance of the Ballabile section from Napoli. Erica, showing new skill with every taxing assignment given her, jumped with surprising strength and Allen was a charismatic partner who also shone brightly. Crisp, clear footwork and nice leg lines – we need to see more of this young man.

The Pas de Deux from Flower Festival started off well with Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle. He had the clearest, strongest Danish signature of anyone last night; why aren’t we seeing him as James? Sara, although more than capable in execution of the steps, was throwing herself and her limbs around like it was time for the Tarantella, which she danced marvelously along with the whole cast.

The Pas de Six from Napoli and Abdallah featured Lauren King, Rebecca Krohn, Megan LeCrone, Lauren Lovette, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Amar Ramasar, and Anthony Huxley. This was the strongest element in the collection of excerpts. Rebecca’s variation was filled with lovely, unexpected balances and fleet footwork. Lauren Lovette and Lauren King were festive and engaging in their solos. Anthony Huxley grabbed our attention with his velocity and l'élocution des pieds.

We have to remark on again and thank Petrusjka Broholm for her incredible transformation of NYCB’s dancers in the production of La Sylphide. It would be wonderful to see her join NYCB in some permanent capacity. How she would enrich the dancers’ artistry, not to mention keep La Sylphide tidy. We know without constant loving care, it could become very messy, very quickly.

The H.H. Pump Bump Award – who knew Louboutin did tartan plaid heels? – is bestowed upon Sterling Hyltin and Joaquin De Luz for their enchanting Sylph and James last evening.

observations 5/7

We're plenty excited about the NYCB premiere of La Sylphide tonight. Those props had better behave themselves.

All of the upcoming casts are fantastic: Hyltin & DeLuz, Bouder & Veyette, Peck & Garcia, and Lovette & Huxley. You know, Huxley could soon be our new Herman. Not that we need a new Herman, but it's always nice to have twice what you need. Speaking of Herman, let's take a look at 19-year-old Herman and his sister Erica dancing a little La Sylphide:

 

And Nikolaj Hübbe:

 

And Herman again:

 

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The folks at the The Music Center in LA announced that ABT will bring (cue the throat clearing noises) Ratmansky's Firebird to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in July of 2016. That gives us an inkling of what we'll have to avoid during next year's Met Season.

 

NYCB 5/5Lute Abuse at the Ballet

Cinco de Mayo was observed in many parts of the city last night – in different ways. About cinco minutes into Zachary Catazaro’s debut as Apollo, a substance like slippery mayo on the grip of his lute caused him to let loose of it like Manny Machado heaving his bat. The delicate lute crashed to the floor several feet away from Apollo who froze in shock for a second. He improvised for a few chords and then walked upstage to retrieve the instrument and gently placed it on the floor next to his stool. But unfortunately, he was out of the game – not ejected, just dejected to the point where the embarrassed Apollo could barely function. Should Catazaro get another chance at the role (he is scheduled for it on Saturday), hopefully he will have received some counseling so that embarrassment will never again kill one of his performances.

The Muses realized that the deflated Apollo wasn’t going to recover and that the performance rested on their slim shoulders. They may have been wondering if the three of them would be able to drag Catazaro into the wings if he suddenly fainted from the stress. They kept their eyes on him. They kept their smiles mostly contained. It was a diverse group of muses: Sterling Hyltin, light and chipper as Terpsichore; Sara Mearns, studied and focused on Polyhymnia’s tasks; Ana Sophia Scheller, just fizzy grateful to be back doubling over as Calliope. Haglund has seen all of them dancer better, but their hesitance to let fly was understood.

Agon’s cast was a little less cohesive than usual. Ashley Hod and Unity Phelan are still new to their roles and more focused on throwing the force out than making the details interesting. Rebecca Krohn, on the other hand, has a thrilling control over the dynamics of her role and total control over the technical challenges. Her partner, Anthony Huxley, likewise. Both of these artists also possess a modesty that makes them all the more attractive to watch. Teresa Reichlen and Adrian Danchig-Waring, while extraordinary individually, didn’t account for more as a pair.

Sterling Hyltin and Russell Janzen (in his debut) performed Duo Concertant with quick feet and a sense of politeness. Janzen was more ready for the technical challenges than Catazaro was in Apollo, but both of these young men do not bend and use their upper bodies to the extent that they should.

Symphony in Three Movements was led by Lauren King (debut) & Antonio Carmena, Megan LeCrone & Sean Suozzi, and Tiler Peck & Amar Ramasar. Except for the first couple of kicks in back attitude while on pique which seemed very hesitant, Lauren had an excellent debut that showed technical growth and a new smooth coordination. How is it that those leg lines are getting longer and longer? Tiler and Amar gave their work together a sense of competitive challenge along the lines of what would be expected in Agon, but they were wonderful. While Tiler doesn’t have the mosquito-quality piques that Sterling Hyltin has in this role, she is just as charged on stage. Again last evening, the corps in Symphony shone gloriously.

The H.H. Pump Bump Award, a striking black and white Louboutin bootie, is bestowed upon Lauren King for her debut in Symphony in Three Movements.

observations 5/6

ABT has made more alterations to the spring season casting. Marcelo Gomes has been deleted from Gillian Murphy's cast of Ashton's Cinderella and replaced by Alex Hammoudi. On the heels of the end of the season, Gomes is slated to perform in Matthew Bourne's The Car Man at Sadler's Wells; so maybe this was just an accommodation to release him earlier for that. ABT considers Ashton's Cinderella the least important part of the season, anyway. That's why they loaded it into the final holiday week, and that's why there is no mention of it or anything of Ashton's in the Anniversary Gala.

Stella Abrera gets the opening night Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty and Cassandra Trenary will be Princess Florine to Daniil Simkin's Bluebird. Wait until everyone gets a load of the clumsy Clydesdale clomping and hillbilly port de bras of the opening night's Diamond Fairy. . . .

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WWD previewed the costumes for Peter Martins' production of NYCB's La Sylphide. Who knew that the designer who Martins used for his production at Pennsylvania Ballet 30 years ago and is using again for NYCB happens to be a part-time usher at the Koch Theater? Haglund wonders if she is the usher who once arm wrestled him to the ground to confiscate a bag of cough drops. "You can have cough drops but not the bag." 

Yesterday Haglund watched a La Sylphide dress rehearsal and was mighty impressed with it all. He came right home and ordered tickets to several more performances.

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Free outdoor dance performance:

Paul Taylor Dance Company, Parsons Dance, and Ballet Hispanico will perform at the inaugural Hudson River Dance Festival on Pier 63 @ West 23rd Street in Chelsea on June 17th and 18th at 6:30PM. That early-ish start time is only listed in one place on the Hudson River Park website and is the usual start time for Park events. The email sent out about the event didn't include any mention of time at all. It might be a good idea to check again on the start time in mid-June.