Haglund's Heel

observations 3-13

Winter Storm Stella is now only a few hours outside of the New York metro area. Is she really going to sock us in with snow and wind so that we can't get to Costa Mesa to see our own Stella as the first Princess Tea Flower in Whipped Cream? Say it ain't so.

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The casting for the Bolshoi in Cinema broadcast on Sunday March 19th looks pretty enticing. We hope that Olga is up to the task in Etudes although we are definitely not expecting to see any hopping fouettes. Praying for energetic tempi and a brave ballerina.

The Cage
The Novice: Ekaterina Krysanova
The Queen: Yanina Parienko
First Intruder: Nikita Kapustin
Second Intruder: Alexander Vodopetov

Etudes
Ballerina: Olga Smirnova
Principal Dancers: Semyon Chudin, Artem Ovcharenko

Russian Seasons
Couple in Yellow/White: Yulia Stepanova, Vladislav Lantratov
Couple in Red: Ekaterina Krysanova, Denis Savin
Couple in Green: Anna Nikulina, Anton Savichev
Couple in Blue: Anna Okuneva, Dmitry Dorokhov
Couple in Violet: Victoria Litvinova, Artur Mkrtchyan
Couple in Claret Red: Victoria Yakushev, Mikhail Kochan

 

observations 8-29

Erica Cornejo will retire from Boston Ballet this coming season. Her final performances will be as Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty in May. Boy oh boy, doesn't that news make the bones feel old. It was an unhappy decade ago that Erica walked out of ABT when she was one of its most promising soloists. She left at the precise time that McKenzie was revving up his guest artist Star Strategy that stole careers from ABT's own talented dancers. But she and Carlos Molina refused to sit idly by and watch their best years waste away, and they decamped for Boston.

One of Haglund's favorite videos is this clip of La Sylphide where the very young Erica and her even younger brother, Herman Cornejo, danced the leads:

 

Other than Herman and soloist Luciana Paris, both of whom are in the latter stages of their careers, there are no other dancers at ABT from Argentina. Not a single one in the corps de ballet. Where else on the planet do they make dancers like the Cornejos and Julio Bocca, Marianela Nunez, Paloma Herrera, Ludmila Pagliero, and Ana Sophia Scheller? If ever there was a good artistic reason (as opposed to a cheap branding-related reason) for ABT to forge a sibling relationship with the Instituto Superior de Arte at Teatro Colón, that time is now. Our supply of their great, great dancers is nearly depleted.

Haglund really doesn't ever expect to see another Julio Bocca in this lifetime. The circumstances aren't likely ever to collide for that type of miraculous artistry. Julio came about because of (1) his own natural, extraordinary talent, (2) Baryshnikov's tough but brilliant mentoring, and (3) Julio's desire to match and exceed the example that the still-dancing Baryshnikov set for him on a daily basis.

We won't see another Julio, but there are some young men in ABT's corps who if they were to consume this video and other Cornejo/Bocca videos for breakfast every morning, might develop the inspiration they need to be much greater than anyone thought possible. Heaven knows, they're not likely to get inspiration from McKenzie.

By the way, Herman and Ludmila Pagliero will star in Makarova's staging of La Bayadere at the Teatro Colón in November. Our fingers are crossed that this might be one of Teatro Colón's livestream events. We'll keep our ear to the ground for any such news.

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Three weeks until the start of NYCB's fall season. It seems like it has been an eternity since the end of spring. The Stravinsky/Balanchine black & white program with Stravinsky Violin Concerto and Symphony in Three Movements as bookends is going to be a vitamin-packed blockbuster evening. We can also cheer about the four performances of Jewels and that our favorite Firebird will return from nesting duties.

Let's go let's go let's go.

 

observations 11/27

Roddy Doble will dance the principal role of the Snow King opposite Ashley Ellis' Snow Queen in Boston Ballet's December 4th performance of The Nutcracker. Roddy was a standout performer in everything he danced at ABT, but never got the respect that he deserved when it came to casting.

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The Russian National Ballet Theatre is bringing Swan Lake to the Lehman Center in The Bronx for one performance on Sunday, April 12. Haglund is becoming more and more interested in the second and third tier companies coming out of Russia because they compare favorably to some of what we have to endure in the way of classics from our so-called national ballet company.

There isn't likely to be a live orchestra, but one will see classical artists who graduated from most of the major schools in Russia. There are some clips of the company on YouTube which confirm that they have some very talented dancers.

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Peter Boal will perform the role of Drosselmeier at NYCB's December 13th matinee of The Nutcracker as "research" in connection with Pacific Northwest Ballet's acquisition of the Balanchine production next year, according to various media reports. Research, right. Anybody who doesn't think that Boal has his sights set on being Peter Martins' eventual successor hasn't been following his parade of trips to NYC to promote his work as artistic director in Seattle and remind everyone of his connections to this area. There is, of course, the possibilty that he also will be shopping for an underutilized ballerina or two to fill Carla Korbes' unfillable shoes.

Ashley Laracey will debut as Dew Drop at the December 10th matinee performance. That is shaping up to be a good performance with Erica Pereira and Anthony Huxley as SPF and Her Cavalier, and the lovely Alina Dronova who always is exquisite leading the Marzipan crew.

The ravishing duo of Rebecca Krohn and Amar Ramasar will lead the Saturday November 29th matinee and Sunday November 30th evening performances.

We wonder who Lauren King will dance with this year since her customary partner, Robert Fairchild, is busy performing in An American in Paris. She would look fabulous with many, but how about handsome Craig Hall or the interesting Peter Walker or the magnetic Harrison Coll or ultra-magnetic Taylor Stanley?

By the way, tickets to An American in Paris at the Palace Theater in New York go on sale one week from this Saturday.

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Yuriko Kajiya will lead the Opening Night cast of Houston Ballet's run of The Nutcracker tomorrow night. Jared Matthews will dance the Prince in the second evening's performance. We miss them here and will never forget their thrilling and beautiful performances in Ratmansky's Nutcracker at BAM last year. They were the best pair ever.

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Cynthia Harvey will be the Jury Chair for the 2015 Prix de Lausanne which will take place in February. Other jury members include Ethan Stiefel, Franco De Vita, Chi Cao, Lisa-Maree Cullum, Simona Noja, Lidia Segni, and György Szakaly. 

 

Boston Ballet @ Lincoln Center

Rep details for the upcoming visit by Boston Ballet this summer have been announced. The company performs at the Koch Theater June 25-29 which is right in the middle of ABT's oddull (odd+dull) casted Swan Lake week. A little bit of pointless nudity should certainly spice up the ballet week at Lincoln Center and ensure David Koch's attendance. The Koch Theater would be wise to note that special feature where most adults can see it before purchasing tickets for their kids.

Program 1

The Second Detail – Forsythe
New work by Jose Martinez
Cacti – Ekman (clip)

Program 2

Symphony in Three Movements - Balanchine
Afternoon of a Faun - Nijinsky
Plan to B - Elo (same soup, different bowl)
Bella Figura - Kylian (features the pointless nudity)

 

Jared & Yuriko in Swan Lake Act III – not here

On March 23rd, Jared Matthews and Yuriko Kajiya will perform Act III of Swan Lake with the Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet at the Jackson Academy Performing Arts Center, an 800 seat, $8,000,000 state of the art venue in Jackson.  Haglund wishes he could go, but flights are too expensive.  Once again this year, it is a crime that ABT is not allowing these two glorious dancers (and Stella Abrera) more meaningful opportunities to dance during the Met Season, especially when they are far more suited to the great Petipa roles, so many of which have been sorely miscast. This year ABT will continue with its effort to sell short, thick arms as the latest, greatest thing to come to its Swan Lake's Odette.

In other news, it appears that Boston Ballet will have an engagement at the Koch Theater during the 2013-2014 season.  Frankly, the asinine and juvenile behavior of the company's "star" who jumped to ABT last year is enough to completely turn off any interest in the company except for the chance to perhaps see Erica Cornejo dance again – in something not in the vein of Jorma Elo.

Reminder:  Lincoln Center Festival will announce its 2013 season around March 27th.

 

UIEX - new ABT dancer

Thanks to the Haglund'eeler who noticed in this blog review of Boston Ballet's Don Q that the writer reported that principal James Whiteside will leave Boston Ballet at the end of the season to join ABT in some capacity.  He should definitely rethink the move.

It sounds like McKenzie has so lost his credibility and the respect of the company that he's going to have to go out and replace every last dancer.  

At what point does the board remove the CEO because he's lost the confidence of the employees as well as the ability to manage and develop the talent within?  How low does ABT's stock have to go before the board will act?

 

Boston Ballet – Erica Cornejo as Giselle

On October 1st Boston Ballet opened its season at its new home, the Boston Opera House, with Maina Gielgud's production of Giselle.  Erica Cornejo danced the title role, and  Nelson Madrigal was her Albrecht.  Keith Powers of the Boston Herald wrote:

Erica Cornejo danced the title role on opening night, infusing the fragile and luckless Giselle with an otherworldly air. It’s a role fit for a star. Cornejo is just that.

In Act One she’s the impatient object of affection, ready to burst out of her mother’s cautious arms and dance for joy. In Act Two she’s a gossamer ghost, reaching out from the grave to protect her suitor. Either way, Cornejo danced with the grace, virtuosity and halting awkwardness the role demanded.

The Boston Phoenix has an extensive photo spread by Eric Antoniou that includes the two photos below.  Mr. Antoniou seems quite the dance photographer judging from his Giselle photos and his collection from the Ballets Russes at the Wang.  Check them out!

 

 

 

Erica Cornejo and Nelson Madrigal in Act I
Photo by Eric Antoniou.

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

  Erica Cornejo in Act II
  Photo by Eric Antoniou.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So why wasn't Alastair in Boston covering this?  What, and miss an opportunity to see a full 15 minutes of Mark Morris at Fall for Dance and a modern dance concert at St. Mark's Church?  You must be kidding.