observations 11/24

Folks, we've got something for everyone to do Wednesday night. The Royal Danish Ballet will live-stream its sold out premiere of Hubbe's third crack at La Sylphide. Never dull and always danced impeccably, the Royal Danish Ballet's La Sylphide will  leave us so full that we won't care about tackling the turkey the next day.

https://kglteater.dk/xtra/forestillinger/forestilling-sylfiden/

https://kglteater.dk/en/whats-on/season-20202021/ballet/la-sylphide/

https://m.facebook.com/events/3702134356486177?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A%223%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D&aref=3

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Hate to have to say it, but oy, with the exception of one piece, what an embarrassment ABT dealt itself last night in proclaiming what its future will look like. ABT Today: The Future Starts Now is still available for viewing on YouTube.

 

Here we go again - dancers wanting to make the dances all about themselves and wanting to feel good about what they are doing. It’s the Me Forever movement, the Me in the Center of It All movement, the How Me Feels Is What’s Most Important movement, and the Me is Bigger than the Dance movement.

 

Touché by Christopher Rudd zeroed in on the problem with its pandering to the hyper sexual angst & exhibiting of Calvin Royal and João Menegussi. The goal wasn’t just to normalize gay sex, but to normalize public sex. You know, give the ballet audience the staged soft porn that they might watch on Netflix. Close-ups of hands going for crotches seemed to be the new advanced ballet technique. The requirement of a ballet master who drills dancers on technique has been replaced by the intimacy coach — yes, folks, intimacy coach Sarah Lozoff was hired to help the dancers convey their sexuality on stage. Oy, what would Tudor say...

 

How often in classical ballet have we seen a woman reach for a man’s balls? How often in a classical ballet have we seen a man sexually reach for a woman’s crotch? We can recall that absurd moment in Liam Scarlett’s pathetic choreography where Whiteside bounced Copeland’s tits up and down. That served ABT well, didn’t it? Time-honored classical ballet treats intimacy and sexuality through its technical vocabulary, not through the 21st century vernacular. Rudd’s creation held nothing of value in terms of ballet. Just like intimacy is a euphemism for sex, his gymnastic-like manipulative choreography was a euphemism for and a mis-characterization of ballet.

 

The most embarrassing part of the program, however, was Pam Tanowitz’s film DAVID. Hallberg finally tipped the balance from having a stage-made career to a media-made career. For years, he has offered little in the way of stirring stage performances. Yet, he has not been able to tear himself away from the public’s presumed admiration. He came to everyone’s attention early in his career by way of pristine, beautiful work in classical ballets and valid interpretations of time-tested, time-honored choreographies such as Jooss’ masterpiece of German Expressionism, The Green Table. But injuries and the advance of time made it all too much of a challenge to continue. His bet that the public would love him as much if he would simply point his lovely feet in their faces and wave his long arms seems to have paid off, if not with a win or place, but with a show. Thankfully, Haglund has strong memories of Hallberg’s performances in Theme and Variations opposite Michelle Wiles and Gillian Murphy when the dancing was tough but glorious.

 

Indestructible Light by Darrell Grand Moultrie offered Dancing With The Stars choreography that would never make it past the final cut. Fabulous Duke Ellington music makes for fun social dancing in the club, but here it came off as a football game's “Half Time Show” where everyone was trying too hard to show that they were having a good time. 

 

The most watchable dance/film of the evening was Gemma Bond’s CONVIVIUM performed by Thomas Forster, Katherine Williams, Carlos Gonzales, and Breanne Granlund. The music by John Harbison employed violin, clarinet, and piano.  Unlike the other choreographers, Bond has a wide ballet vocabulary which she can use for sourcing her ideas. Interesting chains of movement, creative organization, and good use of the dancers’ individual talents all helped this chamber piece succeed. However, the ballet came across as being an excerpt of a much larger work. At the outset, we were shown deep dramatic expressions by the dancers without knowing what their deep concerns were. Whenever Katherine Williams throws a scowl on stage, it generally means something. Here, we weren’t given any clues as to why she was emoting. Ditto with Tom Forster at the beginning. Obviously something had occurred prior to our arrival at the ballet which caused him to be distressed, but we didn’t know what. Truthfully, we didn’t care; we were just happy to see him dancing.

 

We’ve been following around Carlos Gonzales for three years while waiting for McKenzie to notice his talent. He’s another one of those immediately-likeable Spaniards with blazing confidence and skill to back it up. In Bond’s piece, he was only one-quarter of the ensemble but he managed to catch our eye half of the time.

 

While we admired aspects of CONVIVIUM, we think it’s time for Bond to abandon her small chamber ideas and get to work on something big with much bolder music, a corps de ballet, quartets, trios, solos, and PdD. And why not?

 

 

Comments

[Sam]

My elementary age child turned to me and said "Are these professionals?" I told him they were, and he said, "It doesn't look like it. Maybe they are new."

If that doesn't sum up ABT nothing does.

[Jeannette]

Right on, Haglund. ABT strikes again...all danced on land violently taken from the Navajo!

Preparing my pink cotton candy for today’s Sylphide stream! Apparently this will be a film of the first cast: Ida Praetorius (Sylphide), Jon Axel Frasson (James), Kizzy Matiakis (Madge).

[Haglund]

Thanks, Jeannette, for the La Sylphide casting update. Looking forward to it tonight.

All those descendants of the Paleo-Indian folks who arrived in the Adirondacks around 7000 BC are wondering when the Mohawks and other tribal land thieves will finally reckon with their pasts. 🙄 Come on, ABT, get on it!!

Just a reminder that tomorrow's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will include NYCB's Ashley Bouder in the SPF variation. Spectrum News 1 uploaded a brief interview with Bouder that includes some footage of past NYCB Nutcrackers that will warm the heart:

https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/arts/2020/11/25/new-york-city-ballet-to-perform-at-the-macy-s-thanksgiving-day-parade-for-the-first-time-in-over-10-years#

[Shawn]

Thank goodness I reserved my applause while watching that for this post. You're in top form Haglund!

That would have been far less awful and foreboding as an inauguration of a spin-off company, ADT or something to that effect.

[Jennifer]

I wish I could spend Thanksgiving on the dock at the gorgeous body of water in the David film. Halberg optional. Did he contribute anything but the beautiful foot in tendu?

[Haglund]

Wavy arms.

[Haglund Fan]

Response to Jennifer: The "dock" is at The Glass House in CT, here is the link <https://theglasshouse.org/explore/pavilion-in-the-pond/> a worthwhile place to visit. Went up there a number of years ago, not too bad a trip if you drive up and worth at least one visit.

[Elizabeth]

Sam's comment says it all. Sadly, the public persona of ABT has fallen considerably to something seemingly immature, sophomoric, and unprofessional. I do admit that this is just my opinion as I prefer more classical and neoclassical repertoire. Also, I find that all fo the interviews with the dancers during quarantine seem childish. ABT used to by my favorite company. They used to set the standard for ballet in America (again just my opinion). They have been eclipsed by NYCB, SF Ballet, PNB, and others. It is quite understandable that they would need to get creative in order to still be putting out fresh ballet. Perhaps that fresh ballet can encompass works utilizing just two to three dancers that have been successful in the past. For example, I'd love to see them do Tchaikovsky Pas de deux.

[Jeannette]

Denmark delivered the perfect antidote to the ABT crappola!

The new RDB Sylphide is yummy scrumptious in every way...and I wasn’t joking about preparing some pink cotton candy. (It’ll make sense when you see the film.)

The generous Danes have even provided us with a lovely souvenir programme. Enjoy!
https://issuu.com/kglteater/docs/sylfiden_program_?fr=sOWVkMzkwNDM4Mg

[Haglund]

You nailed it, Jeannette. It was the perfect antidote. Oh my goodness, what a sight for sore eyes. Such beautiful costumes and scenery and dancing. The pink lighting was pure genius. This La Sylphide was the magic of ballet that we have been missing all year. And oh my, doesn't Miss Ida have beautiful length!

[Eulalia Johnson]

There's much one can say but I'll leave it at this. Where in what ABT gave us is sheer joy in dancing? Even in the grimmest moments of the classical repertoire, misery's expansion into marvelous movement mitigates human pain by pointing to a transcendent reality that puts painful egoic experience into perspective as something transient that does not touch, let alone damage, what we really are. Agony is a stage in soul evolution: It is not its terminus. These works do what art ought not, and that is mislead.

[Haglund]

Right to the point with your sharp instrument, Eulalia.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

[Eulalia Johnson]

And Happy Thanksgiving to you, yours and your cats! Ours are already sniffing the turkey in the air and rejoicing...

[Shawn]

Ida nailed it, along with the rest of her fantastic company! It's essential to be utterly convincing and captivating in that role. Even a moment of thudding clunkiness and you start thinking, why is this guy throwing his life away again?

[Balletfan]

Happy Thanksgiving .... may ballet will be always in your hearths

[Georgiann]

I watched the Royal Danish Ballet's Sylphide tonight, and WOW! I loved everything about it--dancers, costumes and sets. It was just the ballet fix I needed! Happy Thanksgiving Haglund and all!

[Nancy]

Ohhhh! Now I get it. 'ABT Today: The Future Starts' is telling us exactly who and what the Company is! I think a lot of people there don't actually like Classical Ballet. It's just not their cup of tea. Their focus and passion is around other issues and styles.

Sitting in Australia, I am rather nervous about David Hallberg moving into the role of AD at The Australian Ballet Company! I am happy that we also have Queensland Ballet, under Li Cunxin (Mao's Last Dancer). He loves Ballet!

[Jeannette]

Sending wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving from my balcony overlooking the Nile River at the Cairo Marriott, which sits on land taken from the Pharaonic people by Alexander the Great.

[Haglund]

Hi, Nancy. It's always a risk to hire an active dancer to be a director. They can't stop seeing themselves on stage in the choreography and cannot make decisions that don't incorporate their personal performing preferences. Hallberg will be no different.

I agree - you are very lucky to have Li Cunxin in Queensland!

[Haglund]

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

[Jeannette]

Happiness for the Holidays...discovered on YouTube:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BLO6Rk_dMwI

[Haglund]

Thanks, Jeannette!

[Diana]

I couldn't agree with you more, Haglund. Everything ABT produces these days seems to be tasteless, clueless and most egregious of all - DULL.
Ever since seeing him perform alongside Sarah Lane in a gorgeous performance of Harlequinade, I too have been following the career of Carlos Gonzalez. I truly hope that he does not turn out to be another frustrated and stifled dancer like Hoven. I saw on his Instagram that he will be performing this weekend with Duncan Lyle Dance at Kaatsbaan in something new that looks quite classical. I'll gladly take any performance I can get of him at the moment. I thought you might also be interested.