Haglund's Heel

ABT Whipped Cream – B.Y.O.C.

When ABT premiered Alexei Ratmansky’s Whipped Cream at the Segerstrom Center five years ago, there were tables set up in the lobby with huge containers of candy. For $6, you got an empty box into which you shoveled as much candy as possible before carrying it into the theater to enjoy during the performance. During Act I there was that expected moment when you thought “Ugh, I’ve eaten too much of this stuff — the stomach feels sick, but the buzz in the brain is fantastic.” And then after a little while, you plowed back into the candy again. What was happening in the story on stage was literally happening throughout the audience at the same time. 

 

Then when the show moved to New York, everybody got all serious and nixed the candy. "Have a cocktail, instead, for $20,” we were urged. Nah, bring your own candy! Twizzlers, root beer barrels, chocolate covered anything — bring your own candy. It will make this delicious, caramelized production all the more enjoyable. Whipped Cream is a scrumptious, delightful affair that ABT has reprised with new intense flavoring during its current run at the Koch Theater. 

 

Designer Mark Ryden shows us the brain on acid. His Snow Yak, Long Neck Piggy, Gumball Lady, and that freaking bouncing out-of-control Bumblebee are to die for. The big-headed Priest with his moralizing gaze, the even bigger-headed Doctor who manages to get his hands under The Boy's hospital bed sheet after which he dips into the booze, the battalion of Nurse Ratcheds with their nightmarish, rocket-sized syringes — all of it mixed in with the sweetest little tea flowers and spices — you can’t imagine-up this stuff without pharmaceutical help.

 

On Thursday and Friday nights, ABT’s dancers performed superbly while the non-dancing Extras nearly stole the show. The company looks so inspired when they dance Ratmansky’s works. Jonathan Klein, slightly wrestling with the overwhelming reality of leading Opening Night, was in top form as The Boy who indulges in too much whipped cream, ends up in the hospital, and has an awful nightmare. May Klein have many more Opening Nights in his future — in our future. His solos were packed with goodies and his characterization was true. The second performance saw Daniil Simkin reprise his original role with the crazy, over-the-top pyrotechnical embellishes that are fructose to his fans. Simkin was out to make us believers. He didn’t just politely taste the whipped cream; he stuck his whole face in the bowl. Who hasn’t done that? Well, you’re all liars.

 

Skylar Brandt took Princess Praline to a new level on opening night. Her brilliance came so easily and so boldly. It was breathtaking to see that level of technical authority on stage. She was, in fact, the very top tier of the beautiful cake that becomes the focal point at the party. Breanne Granlund successfully debuted in the role on the following night but had a couple of technical issues. We look forward to seeing how ABT develops her artistry. 

 

Christine Shevchenko and Calvin Royal danced the roles of Princess Tea Flower and Prince Coffee on opening night while Devon Teuscher and Cory Stearns danced the second night. Both couples were charming and persuasive. Shevchenko offered more effervescence while Teuscher’s brew had more subtle flavors. Royal’s dancing continues to improve rapidly. It seems to rise a level or two every time he has to dance a Ratmansky role. Stearns is still capable of doing most of what he has always done, and on the second night he incorporated real energy into the characterization of Prince Coffee.

 

Joseph Gorak and Eric Tamm shared the role of Prince Cocoa, and each danced brilliantly. Why is it we see so little of them? Blaine Hoven’s Slivovitz with his concern for his manicure was hysterical along with Catherine Hurlin and Connor Holloway on opening night and Zhong-Jing Fang and Joao Menegussi on the second night. Each cast mixed up a potent cocktail of comedy and fun.

 

The H.H. Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon –– wait, there’s a tie –– Long Neck Piggy and Skylar Brandt for their brilliance and imagination on opening night.

 

 

NYCB -- Fire in the House 10/7

Gotta ask one more time: Why isn't our New York City Ballet Orchestra playing its power to the masses at Carnegie Hall just like the Met Opera Orchestra does? The Shostakovich played last night by Stephen Gosling and conducted by our favorite Clotilde Otranto was electrifying. The orchestra simply out-did itself, and the dancers were not about to waste its efforts. In short, this performance brought back the excitement of its premiere fourteen years ago.

In Ratmansky's Concerto DSCH, Emma Von Enck, Sebastian Villarini-Velez, and KJ Takahashi switched on the high voltage without any warning to the audience -- their electricity arcing back and forth among one another. The aculeate pointes of Von Enck, the soaring spins of Villarini-Velez, and the seriously devastating allegro from Takahashi brought a fire to the house last night. It was just the type of fire that will inspire Ratmansky to return to NYCB to make more ballets.

Sterling Hyltin and Adrian Danchig-Waring had such an ease between themselves that their PdDs often looked like one piece as opposed to two dancers performing together. Their harmonious lines simply blended as one. It was so lovely to see them dance together.

The Corps de Ballet did not let up for one second in their energy and focus on implicit storytelling. Olivia Boisson, Ashley Hod, Olivia MacKinnon, and Mary Elizabeth Sell were standouts as were Victor Abreu and Alec Knight. We're on our way to getting Knight back after his long absence. He's had a number of important assignments this season. There's no need to press this comeback too fast; we can wait.

The evening's opening performance of Stravinsky Violin Concerto was huge. The kinetic energy was off the charts (no one conducts this better than Maestro Otranto) and the dancing was sublime. Ashley Laracey and Joseph Gordon were an extraordinary pairing, gorgeous in every note of music. Beautiful chemistry. Sara Mearns and Taylor Stanley also had a unique, playful chemistry which was fun to watch. We're just wondering what happened to the leotards in this ballet. They used to have such a pretty neck line, but now they seem to be stretched open at the front -- for what purpose? It brought back bad memories of Darci Kistler's white leotards that were obviously re-made to accent her late-age bodybuilding efforts.

The Corps de Ballet in Stravinsky was outstanding. There was so much going on and everybody was giving it their all. Every one of them was dancing like a star. It was such a wonderful experience to be able to watch this performance and listen to the magnificent New York City Ballet Orchestra play Stravinsky like they own it. They do.

Unfortunately, Haglund had somewhere to go and couldn't stay for Everywhere We Go. And so it goes . . .

The H.H. Pump Bump Award, fire in the feet at Lincoln Center, is bestowed upon Emma Von Enck whose explosive debut in Concerto DSCH will be remembered for a long time.

 

 

NYCB - All Stravinsky 10/6

Who plays Stravinsky better than the New York City Ballet Orchestra? Nobody. We have to ask again why this orchestra has not had its very own dates at Carnegie Hall like the Met Opera Orchestra has or why the orchestra hasn't held a free summer concert in Damrosch Park to play some of its biggest music. Classic asset wasting, if you ask us.

Last night's Stravinsky program of Apollo, The Cage, Concertino, and Symphony in Three Movements was a crowd pleaser. Unfortunately, the whole crowd wasn't in attendance because NYCB management closed off the affordable seats in the 3rd and 4th rings to its devoted fans. Apparently management is of the opinion that getting no money for a 3rd ring seat is lots better than getting a little money and allowing the core audience at the lower end of the economy to enjoy the ballet. Has NYCB  become so image-centric that it doesn't want the devoted audience at the lower end of the economy sitting in its theater? Classic asset wasting, if you ask us.

Apollo featured Taylor Stanley in the title role with superb debuts from Unity Phelan as Terpsichore and Emilie Gerrity as Polyhymnia. Sara Adams returned as Calliope with a new authority and beaming confidence to go with her pristine dancing. Stanley's interpretation of the role has certainly deepened since his debut. It was much easier to see the transformation of the young, wet-behind-the-ears Apollo to the mature god. All of the dancing was so crisp and clean, and yes, Stanley's legs were god-like perfection in those white tights. Gerrity's Polyhymnia was in beautiful form but with a little bit of a struggle with those pique turns to arabesque with the finger to the lips. While Phelan's Terpsichore may have come a little close to turning the PdD into a love duet, she also sported some unusually beautiful leg and foot lines in the extensions. All of the boldness that we objected to in Phelan's Sleepwalker worked wonderfully as Terpsichore. Here is a ballerina who can send those extensions skyrocketing with true placement and glorious form.

Robbins' The Cage, always a perennial favorite during NYC's month long celebration of Halloween, chilled and thrilled last night. Seated next to Haglund were two fair young male visitors from Sweden who had no idea beforehand what this ballet was about. "Herrejösses" was their reaction afterward. Sterling Hyltin put her years of experience as The Novice to good use when dispatching Jonathan Fahoury and Andrew Veyette. Nope, no question about what happened there. Isabella LaFreniere was one angry Myrta of a Queen Leader of the girl Crips.

Concertino isn't top shelf Robbins but last night it showed off one of the company's next top shelf ballerinas. Ashley Hod clearly held the stage and the audience's full attention with her extraordinary geometric forms and engaging personality that included warmth with a little tinge of unpredictability. Alec Knight and Davide Riccardo were commanding in their solos and reliable in their partnering.

Symphony in Three Movements got a careful but highly enjoyable performance. There were a lot of nervous newbies in the corps which no longer enjoys the impact that our grove of sequoias (Kikta, Miller, LaFreniere, Nadon, Hod) lent to this spectacle before they were promoted out of the corps. (Savannah Durham was missed immediately, too). Christina Clark and Naomi Corti are now the downstage pillars all by themselves.

Gotta say that Emma Von Enck upped the overall stage energy with her snap and crackle opposite the answering Daniel Ulbricht. We love seeing their energies combine. Tiler Peck and Adrian Danchig-Waring in the central PdD were stylish and compatible if not particularly congruent in geometry. At times, things looked effortful. Emily Gerrity and Sebastian Villarini-Velez were sharp, elongated, and in command. Both of these dancers have more than proven themselves worthy of being principals -- as have Sara Adams and Ashley Laracey. It's time for the company management to get behind them as such. Honestly, why are there nearly twice as many male principals as female principals?

Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, a Julian Hakes original, is bestowed upon Ashley Hod who becomes more interesting each time she lands on stage.

 

 

 

 

observations 10/7

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded today to a Ukrainian human rights organization, a Russian human rights organization, and a Belarusian human rights advocate. Meanwhile Evgenia Obraztsova, Maria Alexandrova, Ekaterina Shipulina, Ruslan Skvortsov, and Alexander Volchkov, Vladislav Lantratov, Vyacheslav Lopatin, Anastasia Stashkevich, Ekaterina Krysanova, and Mikhail Lobukhin have all been suspended from the Bolshoi because they performed in a gala in Uzbekistan, a country which is allowing Russians to flee across its borders to safety.

Let's hope that the five men don't find themselves "drafted" into Putin's army.

Thanks much to the reader who brought this news to the forefront.

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We got an email this morning about a change in the NYCB's Winter Season schedule. West Side Story Suite has been replaced by Firebird. Hallelujah! Looking forward to more sensational performances by Isabella LaFreniere in the title role.

We also noted that single ticket sales for the January 27th performance of Firebird have been suspended. Perhaps this is indicative of an upcoming negotiated exit of a certain Firebird who has had ruffled feathers for several years now. NYCB tends to close off single ticket sales while it puts together the emails to subscribers and donors to give them an opportunity to buy tickets before the rush. We'll just have to wait and see...

 

 

PTDC -- The Green Table 11/10 & 11/12

People, we posted about this 24 hours ago, and yet, there are still tickets left including plenty of $15 seats. What is going on here?! You all know how "dynamic" pricing works. $15 is not going to be the price long.

Get your tickets now.

We wonder if Lauren Lovette might join the cast for these performances, perhaps as a diplomat or one of the women who Death claims for his own.

 

 

observations 10/2

FANTASTIC NEWS!!

Paul Taylor Dance Company will perform Kurt Jooss' The Green Table during its fall season at the Koch Theater November 1-13!! This dance will look superb on the Taylor company, maybe even the best it's ever looked - except when Christian Holder was Death at the Joffrey. This is quite simply a brilliant acquisition.

Apparently there will only be two performances: November 10th @ 7pm and November 12th @ 8pm on a program with Arden Court and Suite from The Hours by Philip Glass. Get your tickets now!

Pianist Conrad Tao will perform Rhapsody in Blue on the program that includes Company B and Rush Hour on November 6th @ 3pm and November 8 @ 7pm. Lauren Lovette has a premiere at the November 2nd  Gala and repeats it on November 5 @ 8pm and November 12 @ 2pm.

Get your tickets now!