Haglund's Heel

observations 8/28

        Smart move by ABT to upload its casting earlier than in years past. Had hoped to see some principal casting for Curley, Frenette, Klein, and Ishchuk. They may show up in underpants in Petite Mort but would rather see them suited up in the royal regalia of Ballet Imperial and Etudes.

        Cornejo, Bell, and Roxander in the more virtuosic solo in Etudes should be electrifying if they all can get those arabesque legs up and hang onto their double tours. Remembering Ahn's bravery in his knock down, death-defying Ali in Le Corsaire a few years back made Haglund think that he'd be pegged for this role, but he'll be fine in the other role in both the second and third casts. Hopefully, Cornejo, Bell and Roxander will understand that the audience won't care if they accelerate the double tours past the tempo; just get the damn eight in -- or do nine if there's time. Not sure what to expect from the corps which generally gets from Point A to Point B cleanly in white acts, but needs to dance from Point A to Point B in the Etudes finale. Fingers crossed. So happy to see Devon Teuscher leading opening night.

        It will be great to see Michael de la Nuez's beautiful jumps as Olga's Fiance in On the Dnipro, but it's a shame that room couldn't be made for Eric Tamm's reprisal of the role, too.

        Shevchenko, Royal, and Misseldine in Ballet Imperial on a program with Cassandra Trenary and Aran Bell in The Dream will make for two glorious performances.

        Not much to complain about; so, we won't. Tickets on sale Wednesday, September 6th at noon.

 

observations 7/19

ABT's Fall Season just might satisfy Haglund's white tutu tooth.

Etudes and Ballet Imperial, along with The Dream, On the Dnipro (sic) (isn't it Dnieper?), Piano Concerto #1, and Petit Mort sound like a fabulous season. Basically, this is what we want.

Etudes hasn't been danced by ABT in 15 years -- why? It's a favorite the world over. Expecting a stunning technical display from Devon Teuscher!

Below is a video of the Mariinsky in a miraculous finale of Etudes. Tereshkina, Sarafanov, Shklyarov. Look at the height of the back legs on those men in their jumps -- principals and corps. They're killing it, and Sarafanov is simply unmatched. And Tereshkina is a goddess in pointe shoes. However, it does seem that some of the corps have difficulty jumping down instead of jumping up on the diagonals. Still and all, a standard setting finale.

Let's go let's go let's go Bell, Curly, Ishchuk, and Frenette!!

 

Tickets on sale September 6th.

 

ABT 7/13 & 7/14 Opulent Odettes and Dazzling Odiles

        Sometimes pathological optimism just bubbles up like it did this past week during ABT's performances of Swan Lake at the Met Opera House. At the moment it seems like the company has a few Odette/Odiles who are at the very height of their formidable artistic powers and who have suddenly helped ABT recover its reputation in this classic. We caught a couple of them, Skylar Brandt and Devon Teuscher, who are developing their individual interpretations at astonishing speed with the assistance of private coaches who, themselves, were memorable in the roles.

        In Skylar Brandt's Odette, we felt the emotional intensity of Irina Dvorovenko. In her Odile, we recognized the diabolical cunning with which Irina used to sashay around the stage. This year the artistry in Brandt's Odette rose to the level of her Odile. We could not decide which character we liked more or who we wanted to win in the end. Odile powered her seductive arrogance with showy balances and dominatrix-inspired whipping fouettes. She came at Prince Siegfried with a diagonal of step-over turns that made him dizzy with heat. This year, Brandt's Odette possessed a new eloquence through her lengthened front of neck and delicate clavicle. The lifted face beautifully conveyed her plight and sorrow as did her sensitive port de bras.

    Herman Cornejo as Siegfried, although technically unsteady at the start, delivered a powerfully danced and nuanced performance of his character who was so lost in love that he couldn't see straight. Cornejo surely senses the curtain slowly descending on his career and is driving hard for performances that are as memorable for their dramatic impact as his early performances have been memorable for their technical brilliance.

        Devon Teuscher, whose Odette and Odile are being developed by Isabelle Guerin, has already achieved such mastery and majesty that it is hard to imagine where she will take these characters in the future. Odette's melancholy ran so deeply at this performance and her river of tears unleashed such a torrent of despair that she might have headed for the cliff in Act II instead of waiting for Act IV. The beautiful length of back and stately shape of arabesques seemed exquisitely suited for Odette. Her character's vulnerability was steeled with an underlying strength that she didn't even know she had. It must be remarked that Devon's choice to spot the audience on her blistering chainé turns (instead of spotting the corner) sent the dramatic pulse beat soaring.  Those haunting eyes burned across the footlights. Such a great, great addition to a powerful interpretation. Also, Odile's fearsome fouettes shot straight to the side without first opening front - the effect was a faster rotation which made her seem more reckless and dominating. All of this awesome power was coupled with elegance of line and pristine positions of the feet.

        The initial Siegfried, Cory Stearns, managed his customary Act I which is to say that the basics got done but little else was accomplished. Apparently he injured his back early on which necessitated withdrawing at the end of Act II. Before doing so, however, he securely partnered Devon in a glorious White Swan PdD. 

        Aran Bell stepped in as Siegfried for Acts III and IV and made sure that it was an evening we would not forget. There may have been a slight unease in his face when he first sat down next to The Queen Mother. No doubt he was wondering if the audience was wondering what he was doing there. (We would later find out that some audience members didn't even know that a substitution had been made or that a different dancer wasn't actually supposed to dance in the last half of the show.) Bell found Siegfried's character fairly quickly without the benefits of dancing Acts I & II. He soared through the dances in The Great Hall with ease. At the conclusion of one variation, he ripped a pirouette that revolved past the music and stuck him on balance with his back to the audience. He then blasted through the Black Swan PdD on full power - not only delivering his own miraculous leaps and turns but also heaving Odile high in her arabesque fouettes and spinning her silly. His Act IV Siegfried was despondent and tormented as he lost Odette to the swampish von Rothbart and lost control of his own destiny. When Odette committed to ending von Rothbart's control with a leap to her death, Bell's chase after her and his dive off the cliff became the exclamation point of the evening. It was terrific theater in every way.

        On Thursday and Friday nights, respectively, Andrii Ishchuk and Jarod Curley danced the role of the Act III von Rothbart with convincing, conniving authority. These are two huge dancers who move with the graceful strength and speed of panthers. They gave terrific performances which brought electricity to the ballroom like we haven't seen since the days of Gomes and Malakhov. Both will undoubtedly transition into the role of Siegfried, but for now we are fortunate to have them on stage in this iconic role.

        The PdT, which in the days of Cornejo/Reyes/Cornejo was thrilling beyond words, was rather disappointing on Thursday and Friday nights. It seems that flying assemblés with sixes are beyond the ABT corps women, and consecutive sixes in place are troublesome as well. Doing "one and run" is no big challenge. Go to 8'15" here and look at what flying sixes and entrechat sixes should be at ABT.

        It was a thrilling two nights of Swan Lake. Nearly everyone deserves an H.H. Pump Bump Award, but we need to single out Devon Teuscher for her brilliant and heavenly detailed Odette & Odile with this Manolo Blahnik swan stiletto.

       

 

ABT 7/11 Swan Lake shocker

        It’s not easy to shock ole Haglund in Swan Lake. But Tuesday night’s ABT performance stirred up the lake's tranquility when Hee Seo sculled through an Act III Odile that actually crested above her Act II Odette. Her Prince Siegfried, Aran Bell, who is a dozen or so years her junior, gave a startlingly brilliant performance from his authoritative entry at the top of the staircase in Act I to his dramatic death dive off the cliff at the end of Act IV. Did having a fresh young pup for a partner perk up Hee to be a little more lively? Actually the fresh young pup also happens to be the franchise quarterback. And this Aran was so much more watchable than that other scraggly-faced Aaron that the Post’s sports columnists can’t stop gushing over. He danced with a boldness, freshness, and confident classicism that rarely went awry. His leg and arm lines were as clear as - ahem - a bell, and his aerial positions were pristine. He committed to the mime and made it no less meaningful than his allegro.

        Hee’s Odette began Act II with timid reserve. Her entrance wasn't the perfection that she’d planned but she steadied her center to bring forward a nicely shaped pique arabesque. There was a sense that while her legs, arms, and torso were ready to dance, she had not warmed up emotionally for Odette. Her positions were pretty; the transitions were smooth; the shapes of the supported pirouettes were beautiful. While Hee may not possess the long arms we associate with Odette, she used them elegantly and spared us any excessive flapping. Everything was lovely, but there was a remoteness that prevented the viewer from connecting with her.

 

        Hee's remoteness evaporated in Act III when Odile arrived in shimmering black on the arm of Joo Won Ahn’s seductively wicked von Rothbart. Maybe she indulged in a can or two of Red Bull at intermission because here we suddenly had a character alive with impulse and motive and full of scamp. Odile found such joy in toying with Siegfried and conspiring with von Rothbart. Ahn had full control of his evil character but unfortunately didn’t have full control of the Hungarian Princess, Anabel Katsnelson, on a lift that went glaringly wrong. It definitely spooked the young corps dancer who displayed a panicky expression as she quickly walked out of the calamity. At least Ahn didn’t drop her on her back and then trip over her like he did to Veronika Park early in his career. Ahn danced a commanding solo in full character brimming with confidence and with sharp legs that sliced through the grand allegro. Like the best von Rothbarts, he gave up a bit of tidiness for theatrical effect. (Recall Hallberg’s sensational debut as von Rothbart with his splayed fingers and throw-away grand jetes entournents.) 

 

        The Black Swan PdD did not disappoint. Bell’s gyroscope-like ability to keep his center was remarkable. He has continued to add layers of color and detail to his Siegfried who on this night was a satisfyingly complex character, not a poster-Siegfried. We should cherish his 90° arabesque and pray that he takes care of it over the next decade. The grand jetes, coupe jetes, and pirouettes were simply breathtaking in their scope.

 

        Hee’s Odile variation didn’t include a bunch of bells & whistles — just basics, which for the most part were cleanly and confidently danced. Her variation began with a double en dehors pirouette and single en dehors turn in attitude. She fought for the finishes which is something that she hasn’t necessarily been known for doing over the past decade. Her turns a la second and renverses in attitude were lovely and clear. Those fouettes were a happy surprise. Fast singles that traveled forward, and as she came downstage her expression of wicked determination came into focus. She got close enough to 30-32 to get a pass, and finished with authority.

 

        Hee was far more emotionally invested in her Act IV Odette than she had been in Act II. She was quite the captivating portrayal of distress and commitment that even overcame the shortcomings of the staging. Bell, too, was deeply invested even though he had to deliver all those big lifts after an entire night of taxing dancing.

 

        Carlos Gonzales defined his Benno with accomplished, authoritative mime and supercharged pirouettes that included unusually high retiré positions. Obviously so talented, Gonzales has also been prone to injury, and the effect shone in the areas of stability and grand allegro. We’d love to see him continue to progress in soloist roles but have also observed that Patrick Frenette needs more of a show of confidence by management. His pristine lines and noble bearing were unmistakable within a large group of corpsmen. He has obviously been putting in the work to polish his dancing, and we need to see that highlighted in a leading principal role sooner than later.

 

        The PdT in Act I was danced by Gonzales, Zimmi Coker and Breanne Granlund. It was okay, but nothing great. Zimmi was accurate and full of energy whereas Breanne displayed poorly shaped feet, missed beats on the cabrioles and struggled with the speed. She was replaced in the PdT in Act IV by Léa Fleytoux, a sparkling jewel of a ballerina.

 

        Luigi Crispino and Tyler Malone held their own in the Neapolitan dance, but only Crispino delivered the showmanship that the dance demands. The Two Swans, Chloe Misseline and Sunmi Park, jumped impressively. The Cygnettes (Fleytoux, Hannah Marshall, Rachel Richardson, Kotomi Yamada) were accurate, but were also distracting in their physical differences, like they were assembled from other quartets and thrown together for this performance.

 

        The best that can be said about the swan Corps de Ballet is that they moved together in military fashion but without the flowing beauty that one always hopes to see. The dancers were of such different sizes and shapes that it sometimes prevented the viewer from looking at the corps as a single body instead of a bunch of individual dancers. ABT needs to standardize the makeup of this corps. Some swans were as bland as if they were in a tech rehearsal whereas others were overdone with Kitri-like eyebrows and excessively black rimmed lids. At least everyone could wear the same color of lipstick, couldn’t they?

 

        We’re going to catch a couple of more Swan Lakes this week including Devon Teuscher’s on Friday night. Hopefully her Siegfried will show some life. By the way, we did manage to see Devon’s Giselle and were thrilled with her classic interpretation and the beauty of her port de bras. She showed the most elegant back and neck lines in her arabesques. Her conveyance of Giselle’s ethereal spirit was stunning in its beauty. Her Albrecht was Aran Bell, a perfect match, and together they transported the audience into their magical realm and provided the aesthetic pleasure that we all actually pay to see.

 

        The H.H. Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon Aran Bell who has been a sight to behold from every angle of every role performed thus far this season.

 

 

 

 

 

ABT Like Water For Chocolate 6/27 It just depends on what you're hungry for. Really.

        There was a time when ABT’s audience members did not frequently go to NYCB performances, and vice versa, because they were hungry for different things. ABT’s audience feasted on the big spectacle dramas while NYCB’s audience wanted highly-seasoned steps, speed, and energy. That’s not really the case any more. Many, if not most, of the core audience members gorge themselves on the offerings of both companies. These days balletomanes want it all — a full course meal of spectacle, drama, steps, and energy. Expectations are high, as they should be, because ticket prices are so high.

 

        ABT’s new full length ballet Like Water For Chocolate by Christopher Wheeldon is handsome from a production standpoint but it needs a little more Whipped Cream. By that we mean where Alexei Ratmansky tended to indulge in a few too many steps, Wheeldon could have used a lot more. The choreography was thin in places due in part to Wheeldon’s effort to literally transcribe Laura Esquivel’s story text into movement. We got theatrical movement but not ballet. The problem was exacerbated by Joby Talbot’s cinematic score that does not provide a strong architecture in which narrative choreography can be embedded. The score lacks the dramatic range that would allow it to stand on its own as a musical work despite its extravagance and Mexican-themed rhythms. A score that is too weak to stand on its own and make its own statement is not going to lift up a ballet. At one point, a sudden burst of horns and percussion shouted excitement and then stopped like maybe Anthony Quinn had arrived in Viva Zapata! Too cinematic, too telenovela-like, too backgroundish. A ballet score is never background music to the dancing or to any of the action on stage. It is an integral part, an impetus, a controlling, motivating partner in the ballet. Balanchine reportedly once said, “It is the music that dictates the whole shape of the work."

 

        In a nutshell, the LWFC story conveys the traditional obligation of the youngest daughter to withhold marrying in order to take care of her mother through the end of life. This particular youngest daughter, however, falls in love and wants to marry. She is as hot for her man as water for making hot chocolate. The mother salvages the daughter's traditional obligation by insisting that the youngest daughter’s suitor marry the eldest sister instead. Then there are side plots. Then there are side plots. Then there are side plots. 

 

        The “staging” and production aspects of LWFC make it worthy of continued revising and editing. There were some fine individual performances and corps work but not enough to make a fulfilling evening of ballet.

 

        The character Nacha, the family cook, which was performed by Courtney Lavine was perhaps the most dramatically interesting of the 25 or so roles. The stage movement given to her by Wheeldon had a 1940s type intensity that was common in Graham and Tudor works. Lavine was riveting during every second of it. The affecting beauty of her face read strongly from the Met stage during the first scene. Overwhelming was the haunting poignancy of her spirit form which reappeared on occasion thereafter.

 

        The character of Mama Elena, portrayed by Claire Davison, felt “off” in some ways. She was more of a wicked stepmother who antagonized her youngest daughter from the outset even though she expected her to take care of her until the mother died. What was the impetus for the brutal attitude? In this world, did mothers always automatically hate their youngest daughters from the gitgo? There should have been some emotional conflict in Mama Elena’s character. Was there no guilt about destroying her youngest’s happiness for her own selfish needs?

 

        The middle daughter, Gertrudis (Skylar Brandt), and the revolutionary soldier Juan Alejandrez (Aran Bell) received meaningful choreographic attention from Wheeldon. A wild orgy set off by the aphrodisiac effect of some rose petals innocently dropped into a quail roast and then served to guests provided Brandt with some of the most entertaining dance opportunities of the evening. She and Bell appearing in the Act II fiesta threw an entire evening’s energy into their spirited struts, stomps, and seductions. These same scenes that allowed the corps de ballet to take over the stage were without a doubt the best dance sequences of the evening.

 

        The eldest daughter, Rosaura (Chloe Misseldine), enjoyed less clarity in character. Her choreography was not particularly memorable although her striking beauty certainly was.

 

        Our main characters, Tita and Pedro, were touchingly portrayed by Sunmi Park and Daniel Camargo. We could tell they were in love and in a vexing predicament. Both are beautiful classical dancers but had little opportunity to show it. Their PdDs were the twisty, acrobatic, tiresome manipulations sometimes re-hashed from other Wheeldon works. Apologies for Haglund’s audible groan when Camargo picked up Park from behind and she grabbed one outstretched leg with both hands like it was a shotgun. How many times have we seen this in the choreographer’s dances — too many. Their PdDs seemed to ramble on and on as the musical rhythms tumbled along without arcs or drama. There was nothing objectionable about anything that they danced; the choreography simply wasn’t meaty enough. To circle back, the music simply didn’t challenge Wheeldon to do anything other than what he has done before.

 

        The final tableau of the two lovers figuratively going up in flames as they "transcended the mortal realm" brought some oohs & aahs. Upon exiting, Haglund overheard “I thought you were bringing me to the ballet.” Expectations perhaps not met.

 

        The H.H. Pump Bump Award, a colorful Louboutin stiletto, is bestowed upon Courtney Lavine for her haunting portrayal of Nacha.

 

 

 

 

 

NYCB Week Two Sometimes patchy but mostly passionate

 
    

        There are some patches in the garden that need to be filled in. The NYC Department of Parks should pay more attention to our iconic azalea garden in Damrosch Park and put up a few classy signs that say “No Dog Pee” and “No Big Apple Circus Pee,” peeleezzee — not that such a message would resonate with the neighbors who routinely run their tiny dogs atop the garden retainer walls and encourage them to seek relief among the azaleas. Attention must be paid. We may have to get Gale Brewer involved.

        Reflecting on recent performances, there were also some rough patches that needed attention in the jardin de ballet. Let’s start with Tuesday’s performance of La Source. The ballet, itself, comes across as being patched together — because it was patched together by Balanchine: first a pas de deux with the later development of the divertissments and corps work. The dancing of the corps de ballet, all apprentices and relatively new corps women, resembled a student workshop performance —  neither charming nor cute to see on NYCB’s main stage. The tutees went from point A ➞ point B ➞ point C with terminal academic dullness as did Bailey Jones who performed in the soloist position. The grownup dancing of Indiana Woodward and Joseph Gordon provided much needed relief (not that ↑ type of relief) with emphasis on purposeful energy, not slam-bam-bang. Indiana's perfume-filled interpretation of Delibes’ music was simply lovely. 

 

        Admittedly in the minority here, we found Namouna, A Grand Divertissement still the jokey grand bore it was five years ago except for the sassy trio of Daniel Ulbricht, Emma Von Enck, and Olivia MacKinnon, and some seductive cigarette smoking by Mira Nadon. The ballet still runs on mania that quickly becomes fatiguing to watch. The whole thing is far too long with a central pas de deux that goes on and on and on while saying very little. The programing of Namouna with student-like dancers in La Source made for an evening where we wished we could switch the channel. 

 

        Square Dance improved over the week but continued to suffer from miscasting. The pairing of Erica Periera with Taylor Stanley is as odd as could be: he, who possesses some of the most interesting artistry on the planet with she, who struggles to emerge from vapid, risk-free albeit technically solid performances. Where Stanley captivated our attention with his inner life and originality, Pereira produced clean, colorless steps of little interest. Meanwhile, corps dancer Claire Von Enck offered some of the best, most vivacious dancing that we’ve seen from her. Alexa Maxwell and Lauren Collett commanded our attention with their sizzling energies as did Victor Abreu and Cainan Weber. 

 

        In addition to Tiler Peck’s delicious debut last week in Raymonda, we were thrilled this week with the performances of Isabella LaFreniere and Chun Wai Chan. LaFreniere dominated the stage with the immense scope of her dancing, authority, and technical perfection. Still relatively new to the trials of dancing Balanchine on the Master’s stage, Chan embraced the challenges of the tempi and superbly partnered LaFreniere. Watching her confidently take flight head first into his arms at the conclusion of Raymonda was one of those “What??!!” moments in the theater.

 

        We witnessed enticing dancing in the performances of Afternoon of a Faun and Haieff Divertimento. Unity Phelan with Joseph Gordon and Dominika Afanasenkov with Christopher Grant in Robbins’ masterful interpretation of Debussy’s seductive score were again illustrative of the current high level of care and careful casting being accorded Robbins’ works. Phelan and Gordon offered a more imaginative approach to their story, whereas Afanasenkov and Grant were more present and literal in their interpretations to the point where the viewer could actually believe that their encounter might really happen in a studio. Afanasenkov has such lovely length and classical shape which she used exquisitely. At one point we saw her reach and rise through Grant’s embrace with a distinctive airiness followed by the simple beauty of her descent to a resting horizontal position. 

 

        Christina Clark continues to captivate our attention and grows in artistry with each appearance on stage. Her Haieff Divertimento performances opposite Alec Knight proved to be fascinating. For a dancer so tall, she certainly has fine control of those extraordinary limbs and can move at the speed of the tinier, compact corps dancers. Hopefully, the fall anniversary season will bring her a big ballerina role or two. Alec Knight has such obvious potential as a major partner because of his physical blessings. Like others, his trajectory was interrupted by injury and COVID. Let’s be careful out there.

 

        Donizetti Variations doesn’t accept complaints. It’s always entertaining and vibrant. Megan Fairchild with Anthony Huxley, Indiana Woodward with Joseph Gordon, and Tiler Peck with the reverse-aging Andrew Veyette all turned out superb virtuosic performances with infectious joy and vibrance. Corps dancers Mary Thomas MacKinnon, Charlie Klesa, and Davide Riccardo were standouts every step of the way. We can’t get enough of this sing-along ballet.

 

        Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, a Louboutin blue leather jolie, is bestowed upon Isabella LaFreniere and Chun Wai Chan for their brilliance and beauty in Raymonda Variations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

observations 3/22

Just dropping in to say how incredibly excited we are about ABT's new Wheeldon production of Like Water For Chocolate that will open at the Segerstrom Center in one week. Old Hag would be there for the premiere but for a very recent knee replacement.

Christopher Wheeldon's growth as a choreographer/producer/director/visionary over the past decade has been nothing short of phenomenal. The rehearsal clips for this new production that are floating around are turning us into Chocoholics. We can't wait. Hopefully, ABT will launch a slick promotion campaign very soon. This production, if carefully promoted, should attract Broadway audiences as well as audiences for every genre of dance. We want to see Cassandra Trenary at the bus stop, underground, in Times Square, and in the Playbill at MJ, the Musical.

ABT single tickets go on sale April 24, 2023. Let's go let's go let's go.

 

ABT - Fall Season Mixed Rep

        The Czech composer Leoš Janáček was already 72 years old when the majestic orchestral work Sinfonietta came tumbling out of him. The piece had been commissioned for the Sokol Festival, a gymnastics festival in Prague sponsored by the Sokol movement, an all-age gymnastics program that was based on the principle of “a strong mind in a strong body”  and would later became a source of patriotic and national pride.

        The brass fanfares and swirling piccolo flourishes beg for the leaping and turning and the precision duos, trios, and multiples that Czech choreographer Jiri Kylian envisioned for Sinfonietta when he chose it for his eponymous ballet which his Nederlands Dans Theater premiered at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina in 1978. The festival’s theme that year was the celebration of Czech composers.

        ABT’s first performances of the work in 1991 while under Jane Hermann’s direction were critically acclaimed from one coast to the other: “exhilarating,” “bold,” “a perfect showcase [for ABT],” “rhapsodic,” said the real dance critics of the time. But since then, audiences have rarely had the opportunity to see ABT’s dancers in this glorious ballet. Last week’s opening cast boasted eleven principal dancers and three others who should be on principal track in one of the most energized, celebratory, unleashed, unifying, and passionately danced performances that we have seen from ABT in quite a while. In a word, it was uplifting.

        Not so with what followed. Christopher Rudd’s race-based work, Lifted, purportedly represented a journey of self-everything: -reflection, -confrontation, and -love with a healthy dose of -pity and -victimization thrown in. All of this was danced by Black artists whose talents were recognized when they were children and who received the same type of encouragement and financial assistance that many, if not most, of ABT’s dancers have received in their careers: YAGP scholarships, SAB scholarships, Kirov Institute scholarships, ABT National Training scholarships, gold medals in international competitions. The choreography failed to make the argument that the dancers' constant obsession with the mirrors on stage was any different than the mirror-obsessions of their non-Black colleagues. Mirror-obsession is quite simply a dancer thing. And the obsession goes way, way, way, way beyond skin color. So who and what did these dancers represent? And was this dance the “ground-breaking” piece that Kevin McKenzie claimed in his opening remarks? To answer the last question first - no. It was mediocre contemporary anything-goes choreography far beneath these talented dancers to perform. What was the message? Most probably it was a reflection of Rudd’s own personal experiences and views of the world and of how the injustices of the past continue to inform the present. It’s not a bad message to make, but the message will not make up for bad choreography. There is no grade “E for Effort” or “M for Message” that serves as justification for spending oodles of money on lousy work product.

        Or lousy costumes, like in Ratmansky’s The Seasons, his frenetic disoriented concoction to Glazunov’s beautiful music. In a nutshell, it was ADHD spun into choreography. Did it show off the dancers? Absolutely! Did they love the challenge? Seemingly so. Was there a lot of action on stage? Like last night’s Halloween Parade, it just kept coming with one outlandish costume after another. ABT, please put this away until the threads disintegrate and you regain the fabric of your senses.

        ABT’s senses were partially regained and the audience’s senses were rewarded with the return of Ashton’s The Dream. But thank goodness for second chances. Our opening cast led by Gillian Murphy, Herman Cornejo, and Daniel Camargo as a last minute substitute for Cory Stearns weren’t quite ready to bring their imaginations along with Ashton’s. The dancers looked tired and unsure. The corps, less than bright and sparkling. At the final performance on Sunday, however, this crew brought its magic. Cornejo’s Puck appeared to be 20 years old again. Murphy found her inner sassy Titania. Camargo’s Oberon stunned with his control, finesse, and power. And then there was Tyler Maloney as Bottom who stole every scene he was in with his elastic expressions and hilarious hoofing.

        In between these two performances, we watched the absolutely stunning debut of Cassandra Trenary as Titania opposite Camargo. This was Shakespeare’s dream of a Titania, if not Ashton’s. Feisty, impudent, unpredictable. Her mime stung Oberon but her lovely arabesque and soft port de bras bent his will. His authority enraged her but his charm ultimately won her over. 

        Also debuting at this performance was corpsman Elwince Magbitang as Puck. Flashes of brilliance and hints of what will be made this a highly successful debut. Hopefully, he had the opportunity to watch Cornejo on Sunday, because that is the standard that has been set.

        Another startling debut came with Patrick Frenette as Demetrius. Never have we more enjoyed watching this secondary role. Frenette made it Oscar-worthy with dramatic details from his own imagination. Here’s the thing. All of this new-found dramatic power will inform this technically-talented dancer’s Albrecht, Siegfried, and Desire just as soon as ABT opens its eyes and casts him. He is someone to look for in each cast, and he makes every role noteworthy. 

        The H.H. Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon Patrick Frenette and Cassandra Trenary for their remarkable debuts in The Dream.

 

 

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.

 

 

observations 9/12

Haglund misses the dancing of Ana Sophia Scheller so much. Since departing NYCB under a wispy cirrus cloud several years ago, she has evolved into a full service ballerina with stunning classical form and ability. Recently she had to depart Ukraine's national ballet company because of the war. But she has been guesting around Europe and this month danced in a gig in Italy where she performed the PdD from La Bayadere with ABT's dynamo Luigi Crispino.

Crispino dances like he's about to explode and loves to punctuate his phrases dramatically. He makes the viewer feel the music pulse up and down the spine. We just cannot wait to see more of him on stage. Until then, here's the PdD from Ana Sophia's Instagram page. We wish she would come home to New York.