Right here, right now

Theme and Variations, Les Syphides, Don Q PdD, Firebird 1978

http://lincolncenter.org/lincoln-center-at-home/show/american-ballet-theatre-at-the-metropolitan-opera-house-1978-109

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Comments

[Jeannette]

Whaaat? I say patiently with my glass of champagne waiting, the Loncoln Certer Youtube site on my big TV... So we have to register? ABT really must hate sharing performances on film. Wow.

[Jeannette]

I keep clicking on the link, Haglund, as well as links in LC Dance Week reminder email, sent two days ago. “Service Unavailable” shows up in all cases. Good grief, ABT.

[Haglund]

Try the blasted iPad or laptop. Your smart TV may be tripping you up. lol You're missing Ivan! Oh, the whole thing was soooo pretty.

[Jeannette]

They must have run into last-minute demands from someone or a union. Sad.

[Haglund]

Jeannette, your "smart" TV is the problem. This is a FANTASTIC program!!!

[Haglund]

Actually, not the greatest Don Q Grand Pas but heck, Makarova had a baby 3 months before!

This T&V is sooo beautiful. Gelsey, Gelsey, Gelsey 😘 This had the thrill and excitement of sitting right in the theater.

Cynthia Gregory at the peak of her powers! What a stunning Firebird she was. She and Gelsey still set the standards for today.

[rosa]

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn45Q4SbiGk&t=209s

[Haglund]

Thanks!

[Ellen]

Sigh! Such a lovely evening. Could someone please explain to me why ABT felt the need to replace this Firebird with that Ratmansky excrescence, and current ABT principals and soloists, please take note of that to which you should be aspiring.

[Jeannette]

Thanks guys. I eventually got it but only on my iPad. Yes, it’s lovely!

[Marta]

Thanks for the link, Haglund. I was going round the twist trying to find it on Youtube, ABT, Lincoln Center. Why did they have to hide it? I could not find it on YouTube on my TV, no matter how I searched, so by 8:15 I settled for the desktop screen. T&V was incredibly beautiful, Gelsey & Misha both thrilling. The PdD had an almost ethereal quality with the sighing music. DQ, no not the greatest, yet great enough! Makarova is so charismatic that she seemed completely brilliant, even though she avoided the fouettes. Bujones was very good. Did they dance much together? Gregory --stunning is right! The Fokine Firebird seems much more populated than Balanchine's version.

[Beth CP]

Sigh...Such a "Something-for-Everyone" mixed bill, capitalizing on the rich history that is ABT's calling card....and the reason why this has been my favorite company as far back as I can remember. "Les Sylphides" was as airy and serene as ever....Miss Kirkland may have discovered her inner romantic ballerina when she wandered across the Lincoln Center plaza, but those technical chops, honed at SAB/NYCB, made one see that she could very easily have gone right back where she came from. A T&V that was virtually textbook precise. Kudos to the ensemble and demi soloists, keeping up with the breakneck pace. I'd only quibble about the tutus by Desmond Heeley. When I first saw them waaay back I thought "Gorgeous colors...but they're huge!"...they still are, LOL!....Miss Gregory epitomizes everything that makes the role of the Firebird so glamourous and exotic. I never felt I was seeing anything but a Firebird....Watching the "Don Q Pas de Deux" I felt a pang of sadness that Mr. Bujones (as well as Mr. Nagy and Miss Wright), are no longer with us. Their stars still twinkle when we get to see them on streaming platforms such as this....I truly hope the current PTB (both artistic and management), were watching this program. ABT, with the vast rep that is available, could surely put together approachable, artistically satisfying seasons if they were to use this as a blueprint. They could easily swap out "Don Q" for another little morsel like "Some Assembly Required" and there you have a slice of contemporary added in....I know they've got major financial challenges that need to be dealt with beyond what the virus handed out to them. If it doesn't happen soon, ABT just might be saying "Buh-bye...."...

[Jeannette]

I sure hope that the Lincoln Center folks revert to normalcy with tonight’s SAB Celebration - putting this on regular YouTube so that we can watch on our big TVs in comfort. I truly hate hunching over a laptop on my work desk.

Why the restrictions on the ABT 1978 program? Afraid that we might enjoy it too much, reminding us of the relatively-weak ABT of 2020?

[Haglund]

Thank goodness they let Martin Bookspan sell the merits of (1978) ABT.

[Solor]

Both Makarova and Bujones danced regularly with multiple partners. I remember Makarova with Baryshnikov, Bujones, Bissell, Dowell and McKenzie, and Bujones with Makarova, Gregory, Harvey and Tcherkassky. Of course, the ubiquitous Gregory/Bujones partnership was probably the most memorable because of their "Swan Lake" fireworks.

[Haglund]

ITA the Gregory/Bujones Swan Lakes and Sleeping Beauties were at such a high standard that even 40 years later they are difficult to match.

[Jeannette]

Wouldn’t it be great if PBS/ Lincoln Center would release the full Sleeping Beauty telecast starring Gregory/Bujones, as well as the Petipa Mixed Bill program that included, among other things, Raymonda Suite with Van Hamel/Bujones and Sleeping B Act III with Makarova/Baryshnikov? Nice sharp editions to replace the grainy bits on YouTube.

[Rachel Perez Schulten]

SAB Performance has been postponed until further notice in recognition of the national crisis in the wake of the recent murders.

[Haglund]

Thanks, Rachel. I see the note on the SAB Facebook page, but nothing seems to have yet been posted on the Lincoln Center site.

"The School of American Ballet has made the decision to postpone the Virtual Workshop Performance Celebration which had been scheduled to stream from Monday, June 1, to Friday, June 5. At this time of national strife and soul searching following the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and Breonna Taylor, the focus of our School has turned to reflection and purposeful solidarity with the Black community. We will revisit our plans for the Virtual Workshop Performance Celebration at a more appropriate time in the coming months."