observations 3-9

Are we ever psyched that the Mariinsky is bringing La Bayadere to the Kennedy Center during the 2017-18 season and Alicia Alonso is bringing her Ballet Nacional de Cuba to perform both Giselle and Don Quixote! The KenCen seems to be on a ballet authenticity kick for the season.

Christopher Wheeldon's An American in Paris will also be presented during the season. DCers are going to go cray over this production.

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There has been a change in casting for the premiere week of ABT's Whipped Cream in Costa Mesa. The brilliant soloist Skylar Brandt will replace Misty Copeland as Princess Praline due to a reported – ahem – injury to the celebrina. We imagine that, injury or not, she was having her share of problems keeping up with Skylar, Sarah, and Cassie, all of whom dance rings around her. Now the over-ballyhooed ballerina can devote more time to figuring out how to fake her way through Giselle in Oman where she has managed to have her face planted first in the traditionally alphabetical listing next to a nearly-disappearing B&W plain-jane photo of senior ballerina Gillian Murphy. Honest to god, why does ABT allow her and her agent to pull this self-serving crap all the time. When she was a soloist debuting in Swan Lake, she took the official marketing image of all of the women performing Odette/Odile and photoshopped it so that her own image was bigger than everyone else's and then sent it all over Facebook. So obnoxious and selfish...

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Don't forget about the Bolshoi in Cinema's transmission on March 19th. Robbins' The Cage, Lander's Etudes, and Ratmansky's Russian Seasons are on the bill.

Speaking of Harald Lander's exciting Etudes, it seems to Haglund that it is past time for ABT to present that ballet on a rep program again. Gillian Murphy, Devon Teuscher, Christine Shevchenko, Skylar Brandt, and maybe even that little Kaho Ogawa in the corps could comprise an impressive crew in the major ballerina role. It would be nice to see someone try those hopping fouette turns that the amazing Toni Lander pulled off.

Speaking of the Bolshoi, Maria Alexandrova will appear in a contemporary program with Blanc Li at NY City Center March 29th through April 1st. City Center's website describes Goddesses and Demonesses as Drawing on Greek mythology and the contrasting languages of classical ballet and contemporary dance, Li and Alexandrova explore the dual nature of femininity, transforming into archetypes ranging from nurturing mothers to femme fatales.

 

Comments

[Jennifer Hennelly]

Thank you for mentioning Toni Lander.I not only saw the Etudes you mention but as a child ...her La Sylphilde... mesmerized me...you are a scholar of Ballet..so rare..Thank You.,J*

[Haglund]

Thanks Jennifer. Try to catch a performance of Devon Teuscher in Swan Lake this coming spring. She may remind you of Toni Lander.

[melponeme_k]

I'm glad Brandt is getting a big opportunity.

In regards to the other, it is probably her hyper-extension (that she keeps exacerbating for photos) that is causing her pain. I suspect it hampers her already shaky technique. But since she has a very big name on the Board as her patron, she will continue to limp around the stage and also commandeer the company's marketing.

[DWT]

I wonder how Celebrina will do in Don Quixote which is a pretty technical role. Is she going to punt on the fouettés in that too?

[Haglund]

Most likely - and the hops on pointe as well. What a joke...

[Zoot]

At this point I actually feel kind of bad for Misty. She's a lovely dancer in many roles, but her publicist/the board/McKenzie have basically opened a very large candy drawer and she's going to eat it all that candy, and I fear that in the end, it will harm her. She could have a great career and develop beautifully as an artist if she focused a few signature roles and nabbed a partner with whom she has great chemistry, but she keeps focusing on checking roles off her list. Prima ballerina role maximalism only suits a few, and they know how to pace themselves. Perhaps she will dial it back after the season, because her upcoming schedule looks crazy.

Skylar (aka a Mark Ryden drawing come to life) is such a breath of fresh air. Her La Bayadere Shade solo was just as exciting to me as Gillian's long-ago Odalisque.

[Haglund]

ITA, Zoot.

[LLF]

Injured or not, would like to see Copeland drop out of Whipped Cream entirely so that Brandt could be assigned to replace her in the New York performances as well. It would be a positive move for both dancers, and for the new ballet too. Brandt gets the exposure, Copeland gets extra rehearsal time for her "star" roles, and the ballet gets a chance at a more favorable reception with a superior performer.