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September 27, 2024

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Haglund, thoughts on Miriam Miller's progression? She was favored by Martins, but with tall dancers LaFreniere and Nadon promoted above her, and another tall blond Afanakensov coming up, does Stafford have room for her?

I believe so. She has made steady progress and has artistic qualities that make her unique and interesting to watch. She can be seemingly subtle and then instantly blow out immense grand allegro in which she flies. We knew from the beginning that we would need to be patient and that Miriam was going to take some time to grow into her legs and develop. But it's happening at a steady pace and is very enjoyable to watch -- IMO.

Haglund, did you see Sara Mearns and Peter Walker in last night's Mozartiana? Would love to hear your thought. My takeaway is that it was a bit disappointing.

Yes, I saw it. I thought that it was a mismatch of principals -- physically and artistically. No rapport between the two. When Walker flubbed the ending on the phrase-finishing turn, there was no way to ameliorate it. His legs are just too long to hide what was happening. He exited and when he returned, he appeared to have shaken it off, was more relaxed, and even smiled.

I've never been able to figure out what Martins was thinking by casting Sara in Mozartiana. No wit. No brightness. Nothing resembling classical port de bras, especially in the inelegant way in which she throws the arms overhead to fifth with shoulders raised. The massive hairpiece of curls makes her head appear larger and her neck shorter.

I left after Mozartiana because I was so depressed.

The SAB students in Serenade were much, much better than they were during their student showcase several months ago. However in a year in which this masterpiece, sadly, is nowhere on the NYCB schedule, it felt like the company was giving Serenade and the loyal audience the short-shrift.

Hi Haglund,
I couldn't agree with you more about the Mearns-Walker Mozartiana performance on Tuesday night. "A bit disappointing" is charitable. I thought Mearns was just not right for this role, and her technique has diminished since I saw her last year. I have never been thrilled by Peter Walker's dancing and thought he was overparted in Mozartiana. Unbelievably, I had never seen Mozartiana in the theater, although I've always loved the video of Farrell shown on TV back in the day. Comparison with Farrell is not fair, so I'll just wait for a different cast, Tiler Peck or Mira Nadon.

Marta, I think your picks for "different casts" are good choices. Mozartiana would have been a good role for Emilie Gerrity who apparently is out for the season. And in the soloist ranks, Laracey and Hod could have brought the sparkle back to this ballet. I suppose eventually we will see Unity Phelan in Mozartiana. Despite all of her beautiful qualities, she often makes the same arm/shoulder mistakes as Mearns, though -- shoulders raised and arms too close to the head.

Haglund, curious if you saw Mira Nadon's debut in Mozartiana last night? I was there and would love to hear your thoughts. She had a fall, but was still sublime!

Great to hear that she was sublime. I wasn't there, but will see the Thurs performance.

Can’t wait for your write up on Thursday’s show! I was there and have lots of thoughts but want to read your column first!

There ya go!

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