In addition to promoting Chloe Misseldine to Principal Wednesday at the conclusion of her matinee performance as Odette/Odile, Artistic Director Susan Jaffe should have draped Chloe's shoulders with a black & white PhD graduation stole with cords. Misseldine not only deserved the promotion, but she deserved to be recognized for academic excellence and achievement which come with great expectations for future contributions to the chosen field. Hers was a doctoral level performance if ever there was one. Haglund was nearly overwhelmed while witnessing this very young Ballerina’s mature choices and the overall integrity of her dancing. It’s hard to remember the last time that the sole of a shoe in the face felt so good. Her pointe shoe soles were so turned forward on each extension that the front row audience members could probably read the imprint on the leather. But honestly, rather than sole, it’s all about soul, to quote Billy Joel (because we cannot believe or accept that his 150th MSG performance will be his last). And as Billy says quite clearly and, in fact, several times - it’s all about faith and a deeper devotion. That’s what we saw on stage on Wednesday afternoon from Chloe Misseldine and Aran Bell: faith in their own artistry and a deep devotion to telling the story clearly and with the utmost respect for their language. To borrow one more of the piano man's most famous adages: like every good ballet performance, it allowed us to forget about life for a while. Man oh man, don’t we need that . . .
It was a spectacular performance from Misseldine replete with gorgeous arabesques, liquid swan arms, intelligent usage of stillness and flight, dramatic conviction, tightly coiled pirouettes, and balletic lines that were acutely geometric but which also synthesized avian and human beauty. We first noticed the little bump-up at the top of Odette’s high a la seconde extensions as though she suddenly engaged a flexor near the pinnacle, and concluded that it needs to be smoothed out. However, when we saw it again during Odile’s Pas de Deux, it came across as an absolutely brilliant detail that corresponded to von Rothbart’s creepy neck cracks and whipping head movements that conveyed his evilness. Conclusion: Misseldine should eliminate it from Odette but wildly exaggerate it for Odile to give her Black Swan a unique sense of danger.
Aran Bell’s Siegfried was superb as well. We noticed that he launched his pirouettes with an unusual amount of caution and did not rip the revolutions as we have seen in the past. However, the pirouettes were still impressive as were the double saut de basques that he landed with perfectly balanced arabesques. But the extra caution or preparatory delay on the pirouettes took some of the magic out of the moment; it conveyed an upcoming trick as opposed to an emotional expression by Siegfried. We’re not nitpicking, just observing. Bell’s projection of the drama was strong, clear, and as traditional as we could ever ask for with balletic integrity from his first descent of the staircase in Act I to his final descent into the lake at the end of Act IV. We sensed a developing rapport with Misseldine coupled with his sense of responsibility to make sure that she had the brilliant performance he knew she was capable of giving. Bell has grown into a very generous, mature artist, and it is easy to forget that he is still very young. What the 25-year-old Siegfried might accomplish with this 22-year-old Odette/Odile in the coming years is something for us all to be excited about.
Patrick Frenette gave a major performance as Benno. Always a star in his Ratmansky roles, he has also delivered impressive performances as Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet. His character of Hilarion drew such sympathy that one hoped that Giselle would wake up and smell the coffee and eventually choose him over Albrecht. Frenette is on the cusp of becoming one of ABT’s most captivating theatrical dancers, and we need to see much more of him. His technical abilities keep growing — because he is constantly working to improve them. His pirouettes on Wednesday afternoon were clean and his grand allegro was storm-filled with energy and urgency. He was animated and mime-oriented, but sometimes dropped his facial expression when preparing pirouettes. His partnering was impeccable - he saved Paulina Waski’s standard fumblings and highlighted Sierra Armstrong’s magnetic placement and confident charm in the Pas de Trois. The landing to the knee of the final double tour was smudged, but at that point it simply did not matter. We kept wondering if Waski will ever be able to manage the cabrioles and entrechat six required in this section or the supported partnering. There comes a time when further chances should be cut off, and it seems that we have been past that point with Waski for quite some time. Her weaknesses made Armstrong’s strengths all the more apparent.
Joseph Markey as the purple von Rothbart gave an exceptional performance as well. Even though we knew exactly what the upcoming steps were going to be, Markey created tension with an unpredictability that made the choreography look new. Not only a good, good dancer, but he is an interesting one. Cy Doherty as the monster von Rothbart had some great moments: he died without a shred of dignity left and suffered dramatically at the wings of the swan corps. The Corps de Ballet did a competent job at this matinee but did not have the spectacular visual effect of corps in years past. The various Princesses and national dances in Act III were also competent but a little sleepy. Carlos Gonzalez and Melvin Lawovi needed to kick it up a notch in the Neapolitan duet. It was too careful and lacked voltage.
Small complaints aside, this was a performance of Swan Lake worth remembering for a long time due to the outstanding performances of our two leads, Chloe Misseldine and Aran Bell. We’re going to toss them an H.H. Pump Bump Award, a pair of magnificent Manolo Blahnik diamond embellished pumps, for their dazzling portrayals of Odette/Odile and Siegfried.