Haglund's Heel

observations 7/22

ABT announced its fall 2021 season at the Koch Theater yesterday. It's good to see Giselle on the bill. The production should shine in the theater, but as always with ABT, it depends on the casting. It's time for the new generation at ABT to take over Giselle -- and Albrecht.

As for the repertory schedule, the Rhythm & Rapture program may as well be named Imitative & Cutsey. It's a skip. The other rep program holds more promise. It will be exciting to see Lauren Lovette's La Follia Variations in beautiful costume. Pillar of Fire hasn't been done very much during McKenzie's tenure; so, it's hard to predict what kind of shape it will be in or whether Tudor's subtleties will play to the up & coming ballet audience that needs to see more literal sexual imagery and social outrage on stage.

And don't be surprised if after the pre-curtain cellphone announcement, we hear "ABT acknowledges that the ground on which we dance was stolen from the Lenape Tribe by bad ole white people like you" because we all need to be lectured about social injustice by a bunch of ballet dancers.

 

Dance at Damrosch Park!!

This might even force some post-season azalea blooms. Great news!

The BAAND TOGETHER DANCE FESTIVAL will join Ballet Hispanico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem in five nights of performances as part of Lincoln Center's Restart Stages. This will be totally baad in the best sense. What a great idea somebody had.

Performance Schedule (subject to change)

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Lazarus by Rennie Harris (excerpt)
• New York City Ballet – Ces noms que nous portons by Kyle Abraham
• Dance Theatre of Harlem – Harlem on My Mind by Darrell Grand Moultrie (excerpt)
• American Ballet Theatre – Let Me Sing Forevermore by Jessica Lang
• Ballet Hispánico – 18+1 by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

• New York City Ballet – In Creases by Justin Peck
• Dance Theatre of Harlem – New Bach by Robert Garland
• American Ballet Theatre – Songs of Bukovina by Alexei Ratmansky (excerpts)
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Revelations by Alvin Ailey (excerpt)

Thursday, August 19, 2021

• Dance Theatre of Harlem – New Bach by Robert Garland
• Ballet Hispánico – Línea Recta by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
• American Ballet Theatre – Songs of Bukovina by Alexei Ratmansky (excerpts)
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Revelations by Alvin Ailey (excerpt)

Friday, August 20, 2021

• Ballet Hispánico – Tiburones by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
• New York City Ballet – In the Night by Jerome Robbins
• Dance Theatre of Harlem – Change by Dianne McIntyre
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Lazarus by Rennie Harris (excerpt)

Saturday, August 21, 2021

• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Lazarus by Rennie Harris (excerpt)
• New York City Ballet – Ces noms que nous portons by Kyle Abraham
• Dance Theatre of Harlem – Harlem on My Mind by Darrell Grand Moultrie (excerpt)
• American Ballet Theatre – Let Me Sing Forevermore by Jessica Lang
• Ballet Hispánico – 18+1 by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano

Free assigned seats for each evening will be made available through the TodayTix Lottery, the Official Ticketing Partner of Restart Stages.

The TodayTix Lottery will open for entries two weeks before the performance and close three days prior to the performance at 12:59 p.m. EDT.

For more information visit TodayTix.com or download the TodayTix app. For those without access to the app, please call Lincoln Center Guest Services at 212-875-5456 to reserve.

This performance will also be open to general admission.

Beginning 10 minutes before the show, non-ticketed guests will be invited to claim any available seats.

Read the article from Harlem World Magazine.

 

observations 6/3

NYCB's final digital season installment opens tonight. Vienna Waltzes will begin streaming at 8pm on the website and the YouTube channel and will be available until June 17th. It's a 2013 performance with Tyler Angle, Megan Fairchild, Anthony Huxley, Erica Pereira, Sean Suozzi, Teresa Reichlen, Ask la Cour, Maria Kowroski and Jared Angle.

This article about one of Haglund's most favorite Balanchine ballet conductors, Clotilde Otranto, popped up in the news feed. She's pretty excited about returning to the NYCB stage in September, and we're pretty excited for that, too. She always challenges the dancers to take their energy to a higher level. A quick glance at the NYCB website revealed that Daniel Capps is no longer listed as a conductor. He's currently Music Director of the University of London Symphony Orchestra, London Mahler Orchestra and the Sirius Ensemble.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

As of right now, TDF still has tickets to ABT's little gig at Little Island in Hudson River Park (Pier 55 at W. 15th St) on July 3rd at 5pm and 8pm. Remember, ticketholders have to bring proof of vaccination.

 

 

observations 5/31

As we announced below in observations 5/22, ABT will be putting on a couple of little shows at the Little Island's amphitheater (Pier 55 at W. 15th St.) which has a stage the size of a postage stamp. The performances will be on Saturday, July 3rd at 5pm and 8pm. Six dancers will perform three pas de deux which so far are unnamed. However, the Little Island website features a photo of Christine Schevchenko with Don Q fan in hand. It's hard to imagine how a Don Q PdD could possibly fit on the Little Island stage, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow. According to Little Island, its theater bench seating will accommodate 700 people and they have permission from NYC to seat at full capacity.

Here's how it works: 30% of the tickets will be sold on the Little Island website; 30% will be distributed free to Little Island's Community Partners in Chelsea and the West Village; 40% will be sold on TDF. We won't know the prices until tomorrow.

Note that this will take place on 4th of July weekend when the city is fairly empty -- which might be a good thing -- unless, of course, it rains. There is no rain date posted for the ABT performances or any of the planned events. The FAQs claim that the performances will take place rain or shine. Really. But it also says that Little Island will contact ticketholders if an event has to be cancelled.

Little Island is very cool. Haglund spent another hour there today. The plantings are transitioning from spring to summer at the moment. The place should look sensational for these performances in July.

6/1 4:30 pm Update: This is crazy. They want $65 + $4 service fee for 3 PdD! Anybody who pays that must have money to burn. However, those over 62 can get tickets for $25 + 4. TDF tickets for $25 go on sale at noon tomorrow.

 

observations 5/22

Apparently 7:15 a.m. is considered a late arrival at the new Little Island in Hudson River Park. The place was crawling with locals who knew how to hustle to beat the slow-moving tourists out of a front place in line.

What a beautiful addition to Hudson River Park. There are so many different species of mature plantings that Haglund had to download a plant identifier app before he got up the first hill. White and purple wild garlics, phloxes, shrub roses, and this strange thing named Witch's Moneybags:

 

There's a little amphitheater that is supposed to hold over 600 people, but with New Yorkers' lingering fondness for social distancing ("Yo, man, stay outta my space. I get a full 6 ft all the way around. Do you know how much 6 ft costs in Manhattan?"), it's doubtful that many will agree to cozy up with strangers like they used to in the theaters.

The theater's stage is about the size of a basketball half-court. Very small. It would be more than adequate for two or three actors or a small collection of musicians. So, of course, ABT will be performing there at some point soon -- this according to the metropolitan New York travel correspondent for the online newspaper, The Times of India - India Times. If this is accurate, folks, you should expect a lot of posing, arm waving, and maybe a good amount of that famous ballerina hair-swinging melodrama 'cuz there ain't room to do much more.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Thanks to Jeannette for alerting us to the Monday 1PM livestream from Queens Botanical Garden of NYCB dancers performing choreography by Clara Miller to live music performed by NYCB Orchestra musicians. This performance will be livestreamed at this link:

https://www.lincolncenter.org/lincoln-center-at-home/show/love-from-lincoln-center-livestream-on-may-24-119?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=052120JuneRSAnnouncement&utm_content=version_A&uid=&sourceNumber=

and at Lincoln Center's YouTube and Facebook pages -- not NYCB's website, YouTube or Facebook. There will be no repeat or opportunity to view it afterward.

observations 4/29

DuhBlahs says that NYC will fully re-open July 1st. He says Broadway theaters will be later because it takes time "to ramp up productions." However, we know that it doesn't take much time to ramp up for a summer season of ballet at the Koch Theater. Given all the "dancing" that NYCB and ABT artists have been loading up on Instagram, it would seem that the combined companies should be able to produce a sufficient number of vaccinated, in-shape dancers to put on a few shows at the Koch this summer.

Let's go, folks. Make it happen. Get the miracle moving. Let's go let's go let's go!!

We're gettin' antsy here on the blog. New York ballet companies need to step up and contribute something to the recovery this summer.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Meanwhile, Pennsyvania Ballet's spring digital season continues beginning tonight. The program includes Allegro Brilliante, Raymonda Suite, Polyphonia, and an excerpt from Dwight Rhoden's And So It Is. Tickets are $25. Order here and enjoy the show for a full week.

 

observations 4/22

Here's some good news:

Every Thursday from 5PM, Nathan's hotdogs out at Coney Island will cost 5¢ when you buy a regular priced food item - not including apple pie. Even at their normal price of about $5, these hotdogs are worth every cent. And Nathan's has the best institutional mustard on the planet. Squirt it on one of these beauties, bite down, and revel in the crisp snap and juice of the most perfect hotdog ever. Drool your way to the end of the D-Line for one of the most delicious deals NYC has to offer.

Also, beginning today through September, there is a brand new Farmers' Market down at the Hudson Yards complex every Tuesday and Thursday. Come on down.

 

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

More good news:

Beginning next Thursday April 29th through May 5th, Pennsylvania Ballet will stream the Resilience component of its Strength, Resilience, Beauty Spring Digital Season. A few weeks ago, Strength was an outstanding program with Stanton Welch's Clear and Balanchine's Concerto Barocco; so, you don't want to miss this upcoming stream that will include Balanchine's Allegro Brilliante, Wheeldon's Polyphonia, Corella's staging of Raymonda Suite and a solo danced by Jermel Johnson from Dwight Rhoden's And So It Is.

The dazzling Mayara Pineiro and Zecheng Liang will lead Allegro Brilliante. Polyphonia will feature Oksana Maslova, Sterling Baca, So Jung Shin, Russell Ducker, Nayara Lopes Jack Thomas, Alexandra Heier, and Aleksey Babayev. If all this isn't exciting enough, the Raymonda Suite will be led by Dayesi Torriente and Arian Molina Soca.

For only $25, you'll get the best seat in your house. And you can watch the program over and over again for a full week. This is digital planning by someone who knows what the ballet lover values and wants.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

For those of you who watched the digital performance of Lauren Lovette's La Follia Variations danced by the ABT Studio Company and were impressed by the choreography and dancing but not impressed by the dark lighting and drab costumes, we have some good news. For the upcoming live performance being presented by ABT at Segerstrom Center this Sunday for a digital stream available May 12 - 26 for $25, Lauren has chosen designer Victor Glemaud to create some lovely, color-rich tutus for the women. Here's a pic from WWD (note the gorgeous fushia tulle pinned to the bulletin board):

 

Finally, at last -- well, almost

So glad to hear that McKenzie has decided to make 2022 his final year. But will ABT survive it? If they can survive on hope, they will.

We had to laugh at this from the NYT article:

McKenzie’s decision to focus on homegrown dancers rather than international stars had been a courageous and important one, Ratmansky said. “Not everyone agreed with it,” he said, “but as a result we have a generation of extremely talented dancers grown from inside the company. "

The focus on homegrown dancers is a recent occurrence – like around 2015 – not a signature of his three decades of dismal directorship.

So let us consider the short list of viable candidates:

Bocca
Corella
Irina & Max
Nina
possibly Paloma - although the PC Police would be after her immediately because her current company includes no fatties, no thick gymnast bodies, no physiques that stand in the way of achieving seamless classical line.

And let us wince at the short list of TOP NO candidates:

Julie
Robert Hill
No one currently within or associated with ABT including Clinton Luckett, Cynthia Harvey, Keith Roberts, Ethan Stiefel.

But thank the gods everywhere that ABT finally may have a chance to become a great American classical company instead of serving up the classics with off-brand condiments. (Get your hot mustard Odette, your tangy Kitri, and onion mayo Giselle.)

Fingers crossed that the board makes the right choice.

 

 

observations 2/27

ABT and New York City Center will stream A Ratmansky Celebration beginning on March 23rd. The program, which was recently taped on stage at City Center, will be available on demand through April 18th. For $25, here's what we'll see.

"Rose Adagio" from The Sleeping Beauty
Cast: Skylar Brandt, Aran Bell, Patrick Frenette, Blaine Hoven, and Tyler Maloney

Seven Sonatas Second Movement
Cast: Herman Cornejo, Luciana Paris, Carlos Gonzalez, Devon Teuscher

The Seasons Pas de Deux
Cast: Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside

Bernstein in a Bubble World Premiere
Choreography by Alexei Ratmansky
Music by Leonard Bernstein (Divertimento)
Lighting Design by Brad Fields
Cast: Aran Bell, Skylar Brandt, Patrick Frenette, Blaine Hoven, Catherine Hurlin, Tyler Maloney, and Cassandra Trenary

As always with ABT, the casting determines whether it's watchable or not. The opportunity to see Skylar Brandt's nascent Rose Adagio should not be missed. This Aurora has been incubating for more than a year under the attentive, obsessed-with-detail coaching of Irina Dvorovenko and Max Beloserkovsky. We are, indeed, fortunate to get a glimpse of what may turn out to be not only a dream Aurora, but Ratmansky's dream Aurora as well.

The Rose Adagio segment was assembled by Nancy Raffa during a quarantine bubble in Silver Bay. The featured princes, which thankfully include Blaine Hoven and Patrick Frenette, are a first rate team of partners.

Missing from this taped performance are Tom Forster and Christine Shevchenko. They would have made a particularly attractive pair in The Seasons PdD.

So, $25 to watch a couple of PdDs, 1/7 of Seven Sonatas, and a new piece may or may not turn out to be worth the price.

Tickets for the stream go on sale on March 1st at noon on the NY City Center website.

 

observations 2/23

Whoa, our February ballet calendar is getting crowded. Hold it back, Universe. We can't take it. Give the Petipa Peeps and Balanchine Boomers a moment to pull up our Depends and put our teeth in!

Tonight at 8pm NYCB presents Three Faces of Balanchine with Maria Kowroski, Russell Janzen, Ken Jennings, Christina Clark, and Vanna White.

What?! Ken Jennings and Vanna White are going to be doing Prodigal Son? Are you kidding us, Haglund?

Well, possibly, yes. But we know that this is going to be a fabulous program whether or not Ken and Vanna choose to show up.

Thursday night at 8pm -- we'll be treated to a full performance of Prodigal Son with Daniel Ulbricht and Theresa Reichlen.

On Saturday, February 27th (U.S. EST 7:45 pm), the Australian Ballet will live-stream -- and we do mean LIVE -- a pay-for-view performance that includes the Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadere, the finale from Theme and Variations, Tschaikovsky PdD and other repertory from a real stage. Buy your tickets here.

Oh my goodness, the hearts and souls of Petipa Peeps and Balanchine Boomers are rejoicing the world over. We're getting a glimpse of the light at the end of this tunnel. Let's hope it's not the A-Line trying to make up time.

There are still more signs of light. The Green Box Arts Festival in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado has booked ABT for a three-week gig from June into July. That's only four months away!

Toes will soon twinkle again, Folks.