Haglund's Heel

observations 9-30

Wow! It seems that Aaron Sanz got the call early for his debut in Symphony in Three Movements at NYCB. Last night he subbed for Taylor Stanley. Haglund had to miss it, but he has already heard this morning that Aaron was fantastic and that he and Sterling Hyltin looked fab together. We can't wait to see them next week.

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Here is another example of New York Snapback Ability. From Ballet Hispanico's Artistic Director and CEO Eduardo Vilaro in the September newsletter:

From Eduardo: ¡Saludos!

Many of you are now aware of the flooding that hit our home at Ballet Hispánico about one month ago now. This incident has revealed so much to me about our community and I am so grateful. Grateful, because it allowed me to witness the amazing staff team we have who rallied like the superstars they are. The immense outpouring of support we've received, both monetary and emotional, from our peers, neighbors, and complete strangers has been overwhelming. I send you all my heartfelt thanks for your compassion and understanding as we recover as a community.

We're certainly getting back to our feet (as only dancers can do!) with our annual return to the Apollo Theater in November. Our School of Dance is bustling with more activity than ever now that we've opened adult classes, and we can't wait to watch our dance familia grow--won't you join us?

Con cariño,
Eduardo

. . . snapback like a rubber band -- proud of New York!

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The first Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema presentation is coming up on October 16th. Grigorovich's The Golden Age to Shostakovich's score will be relayed live on a delayed basis around the U.S. and the world. In Manhattan you can see it at the usual cinema haunts at Empire on 42nd, Kips Bay, Union Square, and then on October 18th at the Beekman Theater on the East Side. To look for specific cinemas in your area, go to the Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema website and plug in your zip code.

Haglund is very curious about this ballet because Irek Mukhamedov created the main character in Grigorovich's production back in the '80s which means it will probably be dramatically multi-layered. Mukhamedov is now associated with Tamara Rojo's English National Ballet, one of the guest companies on World Ballet Day Live. We wonder if we'll see him working in the background during the transmission. Here's an artist who can definitely rekindle fantasies better than most anyone else.

What an interesting weekend that is going to be for balletomanes: Baryshnikov channeling Nijinsky and his deteriorating mind at BAM on Saturday followed the next day by Grigorovich's commentary on Russian mafia and gangs from the same time period. Insanity and crimes-- the stuff of good ballet theater.

 

 

Livestream events upcoming

Per the Wall Street Journal, Lincoln Center will run a livestream all-day event on its Facebook page and its constituents' FB pages next Friday, October 7th. The broadcast called From Sunup to Curtain Down will include:

A day in the life of NYCB Principal Megan Fairchild
A visit to SAB
A behind the scenes look at Lincoln Center Theater's production of Falsettos
A visit with actors and directors involved with the New York Film Festival
A pre-performance meeting with Lang Lang who will be banging out Beethoven's PC No. 4 with the NYPhil that night.

Surely if it's going to run all day, there will be a lot more than this. But why can't we find the info on Lincoln Center's FB page or website? Maybe it will show up today.

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Don't forget the 20-hour livestream of World Ballet Day Day that begins on Tuesday, October 4th. It actually begins late on Monday, October 3th for those of us in the U.S. The Australian Ballet opens the celebration which progresses through Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and concludes with the San Francisco Ballet.

Details and times are on the World Ballet Day Live website from which you can also watch the livestream.  It will broadcast on FB as well.

The regional guest companies invited to participate by the Big Five are Hong Kong Ballet, Queensland Ballet, West Australian Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Northern Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Houston Ballet, Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo and Nederlands Dans Theater.

Don't forget. Here's the link: WORLD BALLET DAY LIVE

 

Ballet Mentor

Here’s a sneak peak at a new resource for dancers, students, parents, teachers, balletomanes, and anyone who harbors dreams, expectations, unrequited love, or simply passion for ballet.

Ballet Mentor, which will officially launch on October 1st, is the brainchild of Eric Tamm, Luis Ribagorda, Sarah Lane, and Craig Salstein – all esteemed current or former artists of American Ballet Theatre. Ten professionals with current or past connections to ABT, each of whom enjoys high respect within the ballet field and has a reputation for integrity and common sense, have joined the endeavor to provide private mentoring to individuals through a subscription-based service. Cory Stearns, Calvin Royal III, Craig Salstein, Sarah Lane, Katherine Williams, Nicole Graniero, Gillian Murphy, Thomas Forster, Jared Matthews, and Yuriko Kajiya are the inaugural mentors for this new and very unique program.

Here is what Eric Tamm conveyed to Haglund today:

This website gives students, teachers, parents, and balletomanes direct contact with professional dancers, who can answer questions, offer advice and guidance, and customize a unique one on one experience for whatever subjects/topics want to be addressed. Specifically, we felt that there was a huge gap between students and those of us, who have the experience in navigating a career in ballet, so hopefully Ballet Mentor can better prepare people for company life and make educated decisions to achieve their goals. The beautiful thing is this platform can be used in numerous ways depending on the Subscriber and their needs (i.e. ballet theory, schools & summer programs, the audition process, etc.). The knowledge that we have gained as performing artists over the years shouldn't be lost but passed down…and we’re excited to share it.

. . . .

There are 10 mentors (5 Women / 5 Men) to choose from currently, but that is scheduled to grow with time. Subscribers are asked to sign up for lengths of time (1 month, 3 months, or 12 months), after which they are then paired with a mentor and communication begins. All messages are private and sent/received through the Ballet Mentor website. All mentors are performing artists with hectic travel and rehearsal schedules, so responses are guaranteed within 7 calendar days. The whole experience should be very personalized and unique to the Subscriber…making it exciting to all involved!

From the About Us page:

In an art form with no words, Ballet Mentor gives ballet a voice by connecting the professional dance world with those who desire to love and learn more about it. Ballet Mentor breaks the boundaries of the stage and opens up information & life experiences attained by the world’s top professional artists. Founded by four professional ballet dancers from American Ballet Theatre, Sarah Lane, Eric Tamm, Craig Salstein, & Luis Ribagorda, our goal is to encourage connectivity in the ballet world and develop a supportive environment in which relationships surrounding a love for ballet will grow. We understand what the road to becoming a professional ballet dancer takes and Ballet Mentor was designed to give that extra boost to the next generation.

A lot of parents of students and professionals read Haglund’s Heel, and now and then, they write to Old Hag off-blog with questions, pent-up frustrations, thanks, observations - you name it. Even the parents of some of these mentors have written to Haglund over the years, but shshsh, don’t squeal. So obviously there is a need for more connectivity between ballet participants (and those who support them) with professionals who have already forged a path to a successful career and have encountered the common troubling or perplexing issues. Look at it this way, if you are giving your child sound advice but he’s not buying it, and all of a sudden he gets a message from Jared Matthews or Cory Stearns that says basically the same thing — as a parent, you win. Game over, you win. The same goes for the teacher who might be trying to stop foot-winging or ear-whacking extensions. Hear it from Gillian Murphy and all of sudden it matters a lot more to the student.

We can see that this website and subscription model are going to be especially valuable tools for ballet teachers in all parts of this country, urban and remote, and around the world. Who knows – maybe a teacher will be able to persuade the mentor to come to town for some guest teaching or perhaps just a Skype Q&A session in the studio. Anyone entrusted with a ballet classroom has an economical opportunity to get top-notch mentoring that will improve educational outcomes.

We can’t wait to see this get off the ground. Take a look for yourself: Ballet Mentor

 

NYCB – Stravinsky/Balanchine B&W 9/21 & 9/24 mat

It's no secret that more than a few of the balletomanes who love these Stravinsky/Balanchine Black & White programs bear the burden of geometriphagia* – the uncontrollable feeding on geometric shapes. By now, readers know that Haglund has had the affliction for a long time.

Whenever these programs appear on the stage, the audience's chatter about pirouettes and big jumps is pushed down the disposal in favor of symmetry, asymmetry, congruence, adjacency, angles, diameters, lines, and beloved circles which are conversationally whipped to a froth like some delectable chocolate mousse topped with miniature Oreos. [Short pause to munch on a rhombus.]

Wednesday night’s and Saturday matinee’s program had the sweet double-stuff filling that one’s front teeth ache for.

Stravinsky Violin Concerto was led by Sterling Hyltin, Rebecca Krohn, Robert Fairchild and Amar Ramasar whose lean lines, flexibility, sharp pointes, and daring speed etched out the master’s musicality like an architect’s dancing compass: 

^{[Ballerina compass in echapee to second en pointe]}

What a thrill it was to see Robert Fairchild, back in his top dancing form, push his center into the floor with a little jazz accent and then rip it high. This ballet and Symphony in Three Movements are among Sterling’s best roles. The lightness, ease, and clarity with which she achieves the geometry in the choreography is thrilling. Rebecca’s limbs create the most gorgeous, tapered, uninterrupted curves that suggest the concept of infinity. Amar, too, sources the jazz elements from the steps and delivers bold dynamics from fierceness to fun throughout. The corps was excellent in both performances.

Monumentum pro Gesualdo, Movements for Piano and Orchestra, and Duo Concertant comprised the center of the program. Teresa Reichlen and Ask la Cour skillfully and thoughtfully led the first two brief ballets with the second revealing a more potent picture with dance. It didn’t hurt that the corps de ballet included Claire Kretzschmar and Ashley Hod whose mile-long limbs and tight torsos can clarify shapes like few others. Haglund hopes that he lives long enough to see that little Kretzschmar pick and sass her way down the middle of the stage the way Sterling does in the first movement of Symphony in Three Movements. [Short pause to slip a sublingual lemniscate under the tongue.]

Megan Fairchild and Anthony Huxley captivated in Duo Concertant and made their story believable. The ballet is a gift to those who find their freedom in blistering allegro that accelerates like a wind gust – as these two brilliant dancers certainly do. Arturo Delmoni and Nancy McDill as the onstage violinist and pianist seemed to revel in Stravinsky’s challenging score.

Symphony in Three Movements received a forceful reading by Tiler Peck & Taylor Stanley, Ana Sophia Scheller & Daniel Ulbricht, and Savannah Lowery & Andrew Scordato. Tiler’s fierceness of energy is a nice contrast to the ebullience that we normally associate with her.  It’s not one of my favorite ballets for her, though, only because she does not achieve with her limbs the absoluteness in the geometric shapes that Sterling, Janie, and Wendy have in the past. The PdD with Taylor was much better at the matinee than on Wednesday. When Stanley stood behind Tiler while interlocking and entwining arms with her, there was a theatrical weight to it that invited extra attention.

Daniel Ulbricht and Ana Sophia Scheller romped through the first section with enormous vivacity and play. Savannah Lowery and Andrew Scordato were carefree and lively in their section, as well. The corps de ballet ladies in white leotards and swinging ponytails stole the show like they often do. As the curtain rose on the diagonal line of stationary beauties, you could sense their springs were tightly coiled. Then those long limbs launched into an array of lines and angles where the precision was breathtaking.

In these Balanchine Black & White programs, the corps de ballet plays an especially important role in defining the overall concept of what is on stage. They don’t often get the recognition that they deserve. One such dancer has been toiling in the back of the corps of Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Monumentum, and Symphony in Three Movements for a few years while gaining authority, expansiveness, and sharpness with every season. On Saturday evening, October 8th, Aaron Sanz will take the big step to the front of the stage to dance a lead in Symphony in Three Movements with Sterling Hyltin. He is geometry personified – from his square Clark Kent jawline to his eagle-like wingspan to the triangle formed by his broad shoulders and slim waist. You think you’re watching Superman on the ballet stage. He’s mild mannered but intense and probably able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. We’re very happy that this young man gets the chance to step forward and can’t wait to see what his future holds.

The H.H. Pump Bump Award, a black & white peep toe number from Valentino that will set you back $1395, is bestowed upon Sterling Hyltin who rips through Stravinksy/Balanchine roles like she owns them.

_{* Yes, we made this up.}

UIEX – Scrub Daddy gossip

Today when Haglund got home from work the little Scrub Daddy peeps in the kitchen were smiling more broadly than usual and chatting up a storm during their afternoon tea party.

Haglund said, "Wassup, Daddios? What did I miss?"

They chimed, "We can't tell you."

Haglund said, "Come on, guys, we're Scrub Buddios."

Mr. Blue said, "All I can say is Sterling, and too bad you can't go to the opening night of Cinderella in Philly."

Haglund said, "Tell me everything you know or I'll ––"

Mr. Blue said, "–– or you'll what? Squeeze the smile right off my face? Go ahead and try."

 

Haglund said, "Okay, guys, let's have it all."

They all started talking at once, and Haglund couldn't understand any of it. Mr. Green was chanting, "Sar–ah! Sar–ah! Rise from the grave hallelujah!" The Yellow Twins were nearly overcome with emotion while blabbering "De–von! De–von!" with the evil twin hissing and spitting while angrily flapping his imaginary wings.

Haglund finally had to take control of the situation because it was upsetting the cats who are at odds with the Scrub Daddy community anyway. Time for some Scrub Daddy Therapy until they can calm down from what was apparently a very exciting news day:

 

 

NYCB Fall Gala 9/20There is only now

... just a little too gimmicky and out-of-context for NYCB's marketing department to use to promote new and often not great choreography. They can do better than that. There is only now. There was only then. There will only be when. Pseudointellectual goop. The full quote from Balanchine was:

Why are you stingy with yourselves? Why are you holding back? What are you saving for––for another time? There are no other times. There is only now. Right now.

He was talking about artists' efforts, not audiences embracing trivial choreography just because it's new.

Now, about last night…..

NYCB’s Fall Season Gala was interesting enough and covered a wide span of styles in choreography, music, and costuming. Of the four premieres, two disappointments came from the most experienced choreographers who, of course, had the most to lose. The two successes – including a major one – came from nascent dance makers who let their imaginations fly.

What a breath of fresh air it was to experience Lauren Lovette’s For Clara to Robert Schumann’s Introduction and Concert-Allegro, Op. 134. The title of the piece is a reference to the composer’s wife who was not only a five-star concert pianist but a talented composer whose creative output was snuffed out in favor of domesticity, as was customary during the time. It is interesting that Clara Schumann plays an important role in the new offerings for NYCB’s fall season while simultaneously ABT will feature a new work in its upcoming fall season with music by Fannie Mendelssohn, an accomplished composer who was discouraged from writing music due to gender stereotyping.

Lauren’s voice in this grandest of all choreographic cathedrals is a new one but already booms. Now bear in mind that we’ve said stuff like that before about other new choreographers and then cringed when their subsequent works were little more than the re-hashing of ideas seen initially along with the overuse of the same dancers to interpret their works. So we’re going to be cautiously happy and not allow ourselves to build any weighty expectations for the future. But we are definitely happy.

Kudos to Emilie Gerrity, Unity Phelan, Indiana Woodward, Zachary Catazaro, Chase Finlay and a corps of twelve for their incredible commitment to Lauren’s themes and imagination. With highly musical peaks and valleys that propelled the music through our senses, her ballet limited convolution in favor of elocution. When phrases were saturated with steps, as in several of Indiana’s diagonals of speedy virtuosity, they were fully supported by Schumann’s notes played beautifully by pianist Susan Walters and conducted passionately by Clotilde Otranto.

While the ballet was not narrative in form, it took us on a sort of journey through relationships; perhaps it was the course traveled by a single relationship. Pensiveness, joy, play, difficulties were all reflected in the various pas de deux. There were a few lifts that leaned more toward athleticism than artistry, but it may be that they just need a few more rehearsals to bridge that gap.

The costume designs contributed little to this ballet, but thank goodness they didn’t interfere either.  Narciso Rodriguez created simple lines with lightweight fabric.  Women wore brief, soft-skirted tunics while the men were bare chested. It seemed like a conscious effort to be laid-back cool which fizzled.

In the next ballet, The Dreamers by Justin Peck, Sara Mearns and Amar Ramasar came out wearing Dries Van Noten’s designs that looked a little too much like Espada & Mercedes in a Rothko-ish manic/depressive episode. The Rothko influence was intentional, as suggested by the video that preceded the ballet. Our guess is that the other influence was not intentional.

Peck was once again drawn to Bohuslav Martinù for the music which resulted in the same-old, same-old convoluted let’s-swing-the-girl-around-in-the air and jut bare-legged extensions here and there like they were projectiles. It was more of the senseless – sorry to have to repeat my own original phrase – angst & yank of contemporary ballet.

Corpsman Peter Walker’s premiere ten in seven featured a four-member band on a raised platform on stage who played Thomas Kikta’s original guitar score commissioned for the ballet entitled vii for X. Kikta, Emily’s father, played guitar while Arkadiy Figlin was on guest keyboard, Raymond Mase on trumpet, and James Saporito on percussion. We’re  familiar with Peter’s choreographic style having seen several of the charming and creative videos that he and Emily have produced together. There is a Manhattan coolness and confidence that runs through his work.

The evening’s piece clearly had a Broadway feel to it and was definitely better choreography than much of what we see on Broadway. A little jazzy, a little let-me-show-ya-what-I-got attitude ran through the ballet of seven sections danced by an ensemble of ten. Among the cast, Taylor Stanley, Sean Suozzi, Spartak Hoxha, Ashly Isaacs, and Indian Woodward impressed with their intensity and ability to merge styles. We’re afraid that Russell Janzen may never be a jazz bunny, though. That’s okay, we have adored this man in everything he has danced up to now. We’d pay to watch him sit on the stage and read a book.

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Unframed to a patchwork of music by Boccherini, Elgar, Vasks, and Vivaldi was Exhibit A for why ballet should not rely heavily on modern/non-ballet-fully-informed choreographers to save it. You end up with ballet cliché after ballet cliché that illustrates the very limited working vocabulary of the choreographer. Dullness prevailed last night. There were but two brief lights: Daniel Ulbricht (with, forgive Haglund, but he can’t recall who the woman was) in a PdD and Adrian Danchig Waring in another section. These two guys poured the choreographer’s clichés into their NutriBullet Magic Bullet ballet blenders with their own potent vitamin powder and whirled out some decent, nutritional smoothie. The fact that Tiler Peck, Sterling Hyltin, the Angles, and other big players couldn't rescue this piece says a lot.

The costumes looked like something out of Pilobolus’ Fruit of the Loom commercials. Underwear. Come on. How low do you have to go to create interest?

Thank goodness for Valentino. The only disappointment was that he didn’t come skipping down the ramp on stage after his collection was presented in the finale of Bal de Couture like he did at the premiere a few years ago. Ashley Laracey, Isabella LaFreniere and Claire Kretzschmar wore Haglund’s favorite gowns of insanely expensive black and white Italian silk. It’s going to be hard for the NYCB costume shop artists to ever surpass what they created for Valentino. We don’t mean that it’s all downhill from there, but the accomplishment was so exceptional that it may never be equaled. We don’t care what the choreography by Peter Martins contributed or didn’t contribute to the event. These gowns worn with extraordinary grace by NYCB’s women should be welcomed back regularly as a reminder of what truly great design is.

We’re so happy to see NYCB back on stage and dancing so well. Our first HH Pump Bump of the season, one of Valentino's modest but complicated beauties, is bestowed upon Lauren Lovette for her promise-filled ballet For Clara.

Killing time while waiting for the NYCB season to begin... The best shakes in Manhattan this weekend

are at The New York Coffee Festival at the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue between 25th & 26th Streets. The festival continues tomorrow morning beginning at 10AM. Haglund recommends arriving no later than 11AM with a pre-purchased ticket. The crowd of happy, fidgety folks with twitching eyes and a tendency to interrupt grows to a good size rather quickly.

A ticket for a 3-1/2 hour session of sipping free coffee and free espresso drinks while browsing all of the space age coffee equipment, sniffing beans, studying the coffee art exhibit, and participating in brewer seminars is $20 online (more at the door). An All Day Pass that includes everything in the $20 pass plus priority no-wait admission, a complimentary espresso martini, a cool arty tote bag and a coffee book that is a guide to the best craft coffee venues in all of New York City is $45 unless you use this nifty discount code online: VPTC45 for a VIP ticket @ $35 or NSTC33 to purchase 2 standard tickets for $38.

The coffee book is very cool, because you can discover dinky craft coffee venues that you normally wouldn't know about unless you prowl the side streets around town. The book costs $17 to buy separately. Discover Propeller on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, Tygershark on Vanderbilt in Prospect Heights, Perk Kafé on East 37th St in Murray Hill, Jack's Stir Brew Coffee on West 10th in the West Village, Everyman Espresso on East 13th in the East Village, Box Kite on West 72nd St on the UWS. The book even tells you the name of the roaster, the brand and type of grinder used, and brand and model of espresso machine so you can be real fussy about where to sip your brew.

Take a look at what Haglund experienced today:

 

You haven't lived until you've experienced one of these babies.

This is the second year for The New York Coffee Festival and what a blazing success it is. Enjoy it, but please don't do any texting with a Blood Espresso Level above .08%.

 

observations 9-16

The financial auditors for the Paris Opera Ballet have slapped the company's hands for excessive spending on perks for Benjamin Millepied and other of its directors. Chauffeurs, cars, and fat lunches were part of Millepied's high life during his stay. In the two years prior to Millepied's arrival, 10 directors tallied taxi bills totaling nearly 100,000 euros.

The auditors questioned why Millepied had a chauffeured car at his disposal when no other manager enjoyed the same privilege. Honestly, we thought that Ben and Natalie were the bicycle types.

The auditors were dissatisfied with the finding that 40% of the new productions failed to get another run and 26% only got a single subsequent performance. Basically they scolded, "Do better. Do more. Do more better."

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ABT's Spring Season subscriptions will go on sale at the end of October. We're looking for a Veronika/Marcelo Swan Lake, an Abrera/Hallberg Giselle, a Teuscher Swan Lake, a Lane Giselle or Swan Lake, and a Veronika Onegin. We know we are going to be disappointed; we nearly always are even though our expectations are modest. But we need to see the full casting ASAP so that we can make plans to go to D.C. for Washington Ballet's The Dream/Lilac Garden in the big house.

There's no need to be keeping the January Swan Lake casting for K.C. a secret - unless it's bad news. The Empress With No Clothes On has had at least four chances to pick up the steps but has yet to manage more than an intermediate student rendition of the Odette/Odile roles. Time to turn those over to the professionals with the skills. K.C. is a good place to start.

 

Toot-a-loo until next time

Today we learned that Diana Vishneva will give a farewell performance to American Ballet Theatre this June with two performances of Cranko's Onegin opposite Marcelo Gomes. She has for the past several years insisted on only dancing with him and has danced but a handful of ABT performances - functioning mostly as a MET guest artist who was permitted a permanent place on the roster. Diana said in an email to the NYTimes that she wouldn't rule out one-off guest appearances with ABT. We think this means that she will come back nearly every year to do her one or two performances and continue to monopolize Marcelo in those roles so long as she can. Little will have changed other than to make the permanent roster look slightly more honest. There's more work to be done. One -eva down, two -ovas to go.

Years ago, Valery Gergiev told Diana that she could not be a principal ballerina at the Mariinsky Theatre if she only danced one or two performances per year. A report of this discussion was included in a cinema documentary the title of which Haglund long ago forgot. But that was the most significant take-away from it – the official ruler of one of the world's most revered performing arts institutions telling its biggest international star at the time, in effect, If you want to be part of us, you have to be here. You are not unexpendable.

The Mariinsky rarely allows Diana to dance the Petipa classics anymore – occasionally on tour. We won't ever go to see her Giselle again because of the tasteless canoodling with Gomes that she added to the Act II PdD one year. She wouldn't have dared exhibit that stuff on the Mariinsky stage, but somehow, ABT's standards were low enough to let it slip by. But she can still act up a storm and that is what the role of Tatiana in Onegin calls for. We can expect Diana's Tatiana to rip like we've never seen her rip before.

 

Souvenirs de Paris

Our Stella Abrera balancing on the clam shell (and releasing her partner's hand exactly on the musical cue) in Sleeping Beauty Act II courtesy of a perfect set-up by our dashing Alex Hammoudi. We are eternally grateful to akouavi_ for this video:

"Stella Abrera vole la vedette au prince Désiré (le Français Alexandre Hammoudi) tandis que Sarah Lane (Florine) et Jeffrey Cirio (l'Oiseau Bleu) charment l'assistance."
[trans: Stella Abrera steals the show....]

 

Thanks to mayssafl for this video of the thunderous ovation from the sold-out house for Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo: