Haglund's Heel

NYCB cancels its Spring Season

Unhappy, but what can anybody do? We'll all live but it won't be a very happy spring.

Meanwhile, companies begging for money doesn't sit very well at a time like this -- at least not in my 610 sq ft of isolation. The dancers will get the unemployment benefits and all of the other benefits that people working regular jobs get -- if not more. They'll get any rent freezes that NYS or the Feds declare. They'll get stimulus checks, and the company will get help, too. They are as fine or as not fine as the rest of us. Instead of begging people who are also hurting, why don't some of these dancers line up like regular folks at the Amazon warehouse for a temporary job. Would it hurt them to finally realize what working in the real world is like? The tragedy would be that they might not be able to spend all day on Instagram.

I am so sick of the tone-deaf begging. Sick sick sick of it.

Tulsa Ballet's staff is sewing hospital masks. NYCB and ABT have campaigns of tone-deaf begging. Think about it.

 

 

Most of the votes are in

It has been so stressful waiting for the official results of the New Hampshire Democratic Primary tonight. Everyone knows that the Airedale Terrier deserves Best in Show, but the favorite of the voters seems to be the Bernese Mountain dog, Tea Biscuit. We don't know if we can stay up late enough to post the final results. Candidates' tails are dropping left and right. Ears, too. It is such a confusing time, these times. We need our sleep. But having just gotten home from New York City Ballet, we need to share a few things.

Belles-Lettres has enjoyed the same cast each performance this season which has helped this ensemble ballet coalesce into something beyond its many individual parts. The crew brought in another very enjoyable performance tonight. Our eyes were drawn to the pairing of Lauren Lovette and Gilbert Bolden again. Bolden's paws are large enough that he really only needs one of them to take Lauren wherever he wants to take her. Speaking of Lauren, we saw her in grand size at the FIT exhibit "BALLERINA - Fashion's Modern Muse today. The exhibit is free and open to the public Tuesdays through Fridays from noon until 8pm and Saturdays from 10 am until 5 pm.

Pavlova's Dying Swan costume:

The exhibit includes a number of beautiful Balmain creations which were inspired by ballet costumes. Sara Mearns' wedding gown, designed by Marc Happel, is on display, as are Karinska's original Jewels tutus. It's really worth a trip down to the Museum at FIT on 7th Avenue at West 27th Street. The exhibit closes April 18th.

Back to this evening –

In Creases had a couple of new cast members. Rachel Hutsell performed the role which was danced last week by Emilie Gerrity, and Jules Mabie performed the role which was danced earlier by Taylor Stanley. Neither was particularly successful, unfortunately, and both looked unprepared. The leotard ballets are not going to be a good fit for any dancer with a protruding belly and folds over the waist elastic. The remainder of the cast danced brightly but, let's face it, In Creases will never be Best of Breed.

Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet was lovely again tonight. It's impossible to watch it too much. Emilie Gerrity and Taylor Stanley danced the Allegro with Miriam Miller as the soloist. Emilie and Taylor seemed to be feeling their way through the choreography during the early minutes. Then Emilie took a huge spill down stage; she was sprawled out there like road kill with pink spread all over the floor. But she jumped up and seemed to be okay. From then on, the two of them just danced happily like they were in their own world. Miriam's debut was okay but her performance was much less impactful than Emily Kikta's. The required strength and coordination always seem to be just around the corner for Miriam, and tonight was no different.

Indian Woodward and Ask la Cour repeated their fine Intermezzo from last week. Erica Pereira and Anthony Huxley were exquisite in the third movement Andante – there was a maturity that we don't often observe. Sara Mearns and Andrew Veyette dialed up the heat in the Rondo alla Zingarese with a fiery corps de ballet that was fanning their flames.

 

NYCB 2/5 – Cussed by beauty

Oh, wait. That should probably have been kissed by beauty. Please forgive the error, but yesterday was a day of nonstop cussing. Every time the CNN webpage updated, it caused more cussing. Cussing, cussing, cussing – all day long. By 4PM, Haglund didn’t think he had any cuss words left. He took a couple of swigs of ginger kombucha and found the strength to keep cussing. By 6PM, he was plumb wore out, and his lips were blue. He had cussed the day away and didn’t have anything left. It was time to go to the ballet to try to restore balance to life.

Haglund arrived at the ballet and found his comfy orchestra seat. It had been a fulfilling day of cussing and he was ready to relax. All of a sudden the hair on the back of his neck stood up and goose pimples erupted down the length of both arms. Standing in the next row and arranging himself in preparation to sit down was none other than Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the most famous reformed potty mouth of our generation. He claims that he now abstains from all cussing, but we bet that he fell off the wagon yesterday. Haglund had to restrain himself from leaning over to ask the mayor to share some of his choice stuff which was, in the good ole days, quite colorful and original. We’re happy to report that the mayor certainly seemed to enjoy what he saw on stage – just like the rest of us did.

 

Oh, that Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet by Balanchine was a beauty. The star of the night was Emily Kikta in the first movement Allegro. We think we’ve seen every one of her performances in this ballet including her debut years ago when she rocketed to our attention. Last night she burned bright as a Saturn V, full of that special balletic un je ne sai quoi that takes your breath away. Whenever Miss Emily arrived on stage, everyone else seemed to disappear; our eyes were glued to her. The broad sweep of her port de bras and the strength of statement in her arabesques were astonishing. Expansive just doesn’t get any more expansive than what we saw last night. 

 

Lauren Lovette and Ask la Cour plumbed the romance fully from the more moody Intermezzo. Lauren is dancing especially lovely this season and with great confidence. Ask’s performances this season have been a true joy to watch and this Intermezzo was no exception. Megan Fairchild and Gonzalo Garcia danced the Andante in an accomplished fashion. However, something was missing, but we’re not sure what – maybe color and tone. Teresa Reichlen and Adrian Danchig-Waring whipped the ribbons off the Rondo alla Zingarese. Terrific energy, smoldering rapport, and blast after blast of powerful dancing brought this ballet to a fitting climax. We’re surprised that the PC police haven’t yet slung their scorn at this and other ballets that feature gypsy themes and stereotypes; after all, the gypsies were persecuted ethnic itinerants. Just wait, it’s coming: “Cut the gypsy ribbons out of ballet!” “We’re so uncomfortable dancing those roles."

 

Also on the evening’s bill were two pieces by Justin Peck. The first, Belles-Lettres, which was created in 2014, is Peck’s most classical, balletic, and musical dance he has yet produced. The second, In Creases, which was created in 2012, shows his immaturity and proclivity for derivative movement. But then, Philip Glass, whose score Peck used for In Creases, derived many of his musical ideas for Four Movements for Two Pianos from his early works that comprised In The Upper Room. Maybe that’s why the choreography had a Tharp flavor to it. These days it is probably very difficult for any choreographer to listen to Glass’s compositions without wondering what Twyla would do with the music. 

 

Belles-Lettres will stand the test of time. Peck's musical and choreographic choices are married as in no other work that he’s made. Cesar Franck’s composition for piano and accompaniment is a lush, romantic score that makes the heart swell with joy. Last night the dancers worked seamlessly as an ensemble but managed to shine individually as well. Lauren Lovette regaled the audience with her luxuriant musicality and sheer joy of dancing. She was light as a piece of paper in Gilbert Bolden’s hands and clearly enjoyed the heights to which he lifted her. We thought that those two made a very attractive couple whose harmonies were both joyful and mature. Adrian Danchig-Waring & Indiana Woodward, Andrew Scordato & Unity Phelan, Brittany Pollack & Victor Abreu completed the couples with Anthony Huxley offering a dazzling and lyrical display of artistry as the sole man out, so to speak.

 

We need to mention that last week included superb performances from Emilie Gerrity in Stravinsky Violin Concerto. This masterpiece is in fine, solid shape for the coming years with Gerrity and Claire Kretzschmar leading the charge.

 

Once again last night, before the start of the performance and partially through the first ballet, the smell of burning weed and cigarettes wafted through the ventilation in the right side of the orchestra sickening patrons. Wherever it’s coming from – the side of the building, the roof, the basement, someone’s dressing room – needs to be addressed and snuffed permanently.

 

Our H.H. Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon Emily Kikta for her exquisite dancing in Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NYCB 1/30/2020 Please refrain from talking during the performance

NYCB may as well rename the New Combinations program the Red Ink program, because that’s all it will contribute to the company if it continues on this path. Here was a night of a world premiere by the most media-vaunted choreographer of the present time on a bill with the other two most media-vaunted choreographers of the time. Lots of groupies plopped their butts down into free seats. And yet, the house was far from filled for this purportedly momentous occasion. No one was sitting in the fourth ring, a third of the third ring was empty, and there were pockets of empty seats throughout the orchestra level, most notably large swaths of empty seats in the corners. The audience in attendance struggled with its customary first-night woo-whos. 

 

Obviously, a tremendous amount of effort and money went into the new Voices by Alexei Ratmansky: long hours of rehearsal, costume design and fittings, stage design and implementation, media marketing. But we kept hearing the choreographer say in interviews “I don’t know what’s going to happen” in regard to his new dance. In the real world where people are held accountable for results, we can tell you that “I don’t know what’s going to happen” doesn’t fly with executive managements. Managements don’t commit millions of dollars to a project without a dollar projection of its success. Further, managements don’t commit millions of dollars to a project just because the workers will feel good manufacturing it. The product’s prospects have to be that it will be good enough that people will buy it and then buy it over and over again. Unfortunately, not this time.

 

For a few years, we have observed that Ratmansky’s new original works haven’t been very new at all. There’s been new scenery, costumes, and even concepts, but the choreography has been the same predictable idiosyncratic, hyper-kinetic, over-stylized, desperate effort to be chic, relevant, funny, and classical all at one time. Is this an old fuddy-duddy you hear complaining? Perhaps, but it’s the fuddy-duddy who wholly embraced some of the most avant garde ballets of the 20th century: Robbins’ Moves, The Cage, and Glass Pieces; Massine’s Parade; Preljocaj’s La Stravaganza; Bejart’s Adagietto; Joffrey’s Astarte; Balanchine’s black & white canon; Graham’s Appalachian Spring; Jooss’s The Green Table; and some of the most avant garde choreography we’ve yet seen this century including Preljocaj’s Spectral Evidence and Snow White, Bigonzetti’s Oltremare, and Neuemeier’s The Little Mermaid. We’re not anti-avant garde. We’re anti-schtik, anti-throw the body around for no apparent reason, anti-gimmick, and we’re anti-money wasting.

 

In choosing to choreograph to Peter Ablinger’s Voices and Piano, a mash-up of intentionally inaudible recorded voices of Bonnie Barnett, Gjendine Slalien, Forough Farrokhzad, Nina Simone, Setsuko Hara, and Agnes Martin with a piano that follows their voice rhythms, Ratmansky chose to abandon all obligation to musicality. Sometimes the steps hovered around the piano’s individual notes for a few counts like a Twitter entry that purports to convey something thought provoking. The women soloists split their legs in developpes and jumps, threw themselves to the ground, assumed angry expressions, and performed steps and arm configurations as if they were trying to insert some dramatic meaning into what they were doing. Each woman’s solo was followed by an intermission where men paraded through in a line or a male soloist performed a balletic exercise in virtuosity. 

 

But we’re incredibly grateful – grateful that Ratmansky didn’t choose Ablinger’s selections of Gertrude Stein or Angela Davis for his choreography. Can you imagine? Glissade assemble sissonne sisso glissad assem siss gliss ade able onne glissonnable pow! shoot up the police station. So we’re grateful. 

 

The costumes hardly merited a designer per se — they were leotards, some drab, some shiny Lycra – but Keso Dekker got the credit. He also designed the scenery of a lighted voice graph that streamed across the back of the stage. We’re surprised that the piano and dancers’ sounds weren’t also graphed to add to all of the intellectual stimulation. 

 

The dancers, of course, danced their hearts out. They obviously loved the hyper-physicality and the honor of dancing in this new piece. We wish it would have been better and more worthy of their talents. We wish that Ratmansky would limit himself to making a single original ballet per year — something that he could put all of his energies into without being distracted by his next project or a deadline or an individual company’s expectations. What might his choreography reveal under those conditions? 

 

 

observations 1/30

Having difficulty deciding whether to take extra fiber capsules in order to get through tonight's premiere or perhaps it's better to forgo them all together.

Last night, Ask la Cour signed off on Firebird with a terrific performance as Prince Ivan -- so animated, humble, and warm toward his ballerina, Teresa Reichlen. It was an absolute joy to watch.

The upcoming Swan Lake casting is a little disappointing. Three soloist men get debut opportunities, but no soloist women get them. Guillaume Cote's surprise arrival as a guest artist can't be complained about. His Siegfried to Sara Mearns' Odette/Odile will be far more than adequate. Besides, maybe this will set up an exchange for Sara to go to National Ballet of Canada to dance Juliet in Ratmansky's Romeo and Juliet this spring. That would be fair. There has to be something in the exchange. She's always wanted to dance Juliet; maybe her path is through Ratmansky's production instead of NYCB's.

 

 

NYCB - first week trials

The rest of NYCB’s first week concluded without any further impeachable behavior. Oh, there were a few violations, but nothing that we could say warranted bringing the gavel down with an angry bang.

We enjoyed quite a bit of the dancing, although it must be said that Danses Concertantes continued to look like it was intended for a student production. Three trios (two women and one man) with the ladies in fluffy tutus dancing mostly fluff & flooze, strut & twirl, preen & prance quickly became tiresome. Erica Pereira with Harrison Ball and Brittany Pollack with Daniel Applebaum had the misfortune of trying to sell the ballet to the audience which gave it a courteous response at all performances, but nothing more. The costumes and scenery (designed by Eugene Berman) were full of imagination and beauty. The strong plums, reds, blues, and yellow accented with black Grecian-inspired designs seemed a little too rich for the choreography and music. Once we decided that the principal ballerina’s bodice had a sun in the middle of it with black rays streaming outward, we spent most of the time trying to interpret the Grecian designs on the other costumes. And soon it was over and time for intermission nuts and soda.

 

On Thursday we were treated to Claire Kretzschmer’s extraordinary debut in Stravinsky Violin Concerto. She and Taylor Stanley created a fabulous tension. Her level of kick-ass was affecting everyone, especially Lauren Lovette who gave the most animated performance we've seen from her. At one point there were just five women on stage: Kretzschmar with LaFreniere, Clark, Kikta, and Miriam Miller. They were strictly dangerous and packed with so much attitude that they were instantly dubbed the SVC Gang of Five and added to the NYPD’s Gang Database. Look closely the next time and you may be able to see the SVC5 tattoos on their necks. 

 

Unfortunately, we missed Emilie Gerrity’s early debut in SVC on Sunday. The extra fifteen minutes devoted to the See the Music presentation made it impossible for us to stay for the final ballet. We will catch up with Emilie at Saturday’s matinee and will report back.

 

The performances of Allegro Brillante led by Erica Pereira with Roman Mejia and Megan Fairchild with Anthony Huxley could only be described as dazzling. The technique, the musicality, the energy, the artistry — all of it bright as the sun. The ballerina role is a perfect fit for the talents of the two women who are vastly different and at different stages of their careers. Erica was light and radiant whereas Megan was vivid and luminous. Erica’s eagerness to shine and Megan’s polished and confident musicality created wonderful individual interpretations of the choreography. 

 

Roman Mejia was going all out with his macho facial expressions. The crowd ate it up. He certainly does have enormous energy but his lines still need to be longer and his feet need to be pointed with more regularity. He danced like he was shot out of a cannon — and that counts for a lot. His male crew of Alberda, Applebaum, Hoxha, and Scordato all had gleaming lines and immaculate form along with great energy. Anthony Huxley had the premiere form in this ballet. He was quietly brilliant, unassuming but commanding nevertheless. He was all business and his business was to get everything right and do it faster and more cleanly than thought humanly possible.

 

La Source was as enchanting as could be when danced by Erica Pereira and Harrison Ball – another perfect matchup of dancers with the dance. It was a good sign to see that both had the stamina to finish this taxing ballet very strongly. It’s a marathon of allegro: two pas de deux with variations and more variations and more and more. Yet, they did not make it look like a contest or a circus like Ashley Bouder and Joseph Gordon did. It’s possible that we’ve never seen Gordon so rigid in expression as he was when dancing with Bouder who seemed determined to find as many crowd-wowing balances and create as many bravura moments as she could.

 

All of the La Source soloists made a good effort. We definitely saw them in order of capability: Emma Von Enck, Bailey Jones, Rachel Hutsell, and India Bradley. Von Enck was the whole package: technique, musicality, stage presence, star power. Jones was tidy. As we’ve mentioned before, she physically resembles Janie Taylor, but that is not a reason to push her forward. At this point in time, she is a very one-note performer with tidy technique. Hutsell had a nice projection and a solid technique. She’ll have to work to overcome the shortness of line, but we’re quite interested in following her journey. Bradley's sissonne where the back foot kicked up in attitude close to her head showed flexibility but that was the extent of the pluses of this performance. Her exit of simple saute de basque and coupe jete was pathetically bad. The unpointed feet throughout her variations were also disappointing. Solution: less time on Instagram and more time on the foot stretcher.

 

Sara Mearns’ debut as Firebird was both captivating and disappointing – captivating because of the imagination that she revealed throughout most of the ballet only to allow herself to devolve into Odette in the final minutes. She was stunning in the costume and makeup and moved more birdlike than we expected. The manege of saute de chat could have been better. She had the right idea of making them grow to an explosive end, but the first jumps simply looked like she was marking saute de chat. The jumps should have started out with fierce full splits that were low to the ground, and then gradually increased in height to show her ascending flight. You know that streaming line of saute de chat that the women do on the diagonal of Lander’s Etudes? They’re very low but very fast. It’s about getting the legs out as quickly as possible as low as possible. Sara was doing smallish saute de chat that were buoyant and hung in the air which made them look like markings. She could have used more flit and flicker in her arms and fast darts of the head to create a difference between her Firebird and Odette. Come on, she had that great red feather on top of her head; she should have used it.

 

We thought Silas Farley was marvelous as Prince Ivan. He, too, showed great imagination in his character. He had us convinced that he was living Ivan in every bone and muscle of his being. Megan LeCrone was a sweet and lovely Bride, as was Emilie Gerrity in the earlier cast, who looked gorgeous in her white dress. It was wonderful to see Megan dancing with what appeared to be genuine happiness.

 

Mira Nadon's debut in Monumentum pro Gesualdo and Movements for Piano and Orchestra kind of confirmed that she's not a tall dancer. As we said previously, she's like a short forward on a basketball team. She didn't stand out like the principal woman should; part of the reason was that the corps in Movements was filled with Sequoias who were grabbing our eyes. Mira showed sufficient composure and coolness and had no trouble with the choreography. Nevertheless, it was not all that interesting to watch. We sure wouldn't mind seeing her in Firebird, though.

 

Our H.H. Pump Bump, a rose gold stiletto with unusual shine, is bestowed upon Erica Periera for her performances in Allegro Brillante and La Source. Management just needs to pull the trigger and promote her along with Lauren King, Brittany Pollack, and Emilie Gerrity; just let them take over and see what riches it yields. Whatever or whoever is holding this up needs to get out of the way. Balletomanes are already starting to look past this generation of soloists and into the next generation of talent and the one after that. This clog is just ridiculous. 

 

 

1/21 & 1/22NYCB opens with a whimper, not a bang

NYCB got off to a somewhat insignificant start to its Winter Season. There was no anthematic Serenade to open the gates of Balanchine. Rather, there was a mostly forgotten, mostly unimportant but for its rich production designs, mostly low energy Danses Concertantes that was supposed to welcome the masses home. How does one make a tiny glissade, tiny assemble with tiny beat followed by tiny pique attitude not look like a 4:30 p.m. classroom combination at Steps? It’s up to the artists to figure that out. They were still working on it opening night. Maybe tonight will be better or at least good enough to talk about later.

 

Movements for Piano and Orchestra was in top form with Teresa Reichlen and Ask la Cour supported by Marika Anderson, Ashley Hod, Emily Kikta, Isabella LaFreniere, Miriam Miller, and Gretchen Smith. This was an extraordinary display of kinetic geometry. Powerful forces of energy, impactful attitudes, razor sharp accuracy of positions all combined to make this performance memorable. Such a great job from everyone. Monumentum pro Gesualdo faired less well. A strange and unattractive combination of corps physiques led to audience wincing. But Teresa Reichlen and Ask la Cour made the short piece watchable.

 

Stravinsky Violin Concerto suffered similarly in the corps; there were some wide torsos that the lighting spread across the stage. However, it was an absolute thrill to see Adrian Danchig-Waring dancing his best, his most powerful, his most joyful, and showing his leadership skills. This was the level of dancing one hopes to see every night at NYCB. His partner, Sara Mearns, was confident and capable but there wasn’t that mesmerizing rapport that we saw when Sara danced this ballet opposite Taylor Stanley a while back. We really want to see those two tangle or tango in some tangy duet again soon.

 

Lauren Lovette and Joseph Gordon are each growing as principals. Their limbs looked lovely together in Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and they both had the same level of youthful energy. Again, it’s a question of the dancers being able to figure out how to add depth and texture to the dancing (without relying on the eyebrows) to bring the most power to the choreography. If a dancer isn’t born with the ability, he or she has to figure it out. We can feel it emerging from these two dancers which makes us keen to buy more tickets.

 

Wednesday evening’s Allegro Brillante was led by Tiler Peck and Tyler Angle and a superb corps. Tiler’s tempo seemed to be a notch down from her most exciting performances of the past, but she in no way disappointed. She can tear through a diagonal of chaines like no one else and can stop them on a dime with a mischievous smile. In some respect, we wish Allegro Brilliante was scheduled for the latter part of the season, because Tiler is just revving up the steam after being out for so long with injury. However, Tyler Angle no longer fills the demands of Allegro Brillante. Yes, he is a reliable partner, which is incredibly important and valuable, but the form and technique for the rest of the ballet simply are not there. 

 

The lovely surprise of the the night was La Source performed by Megan Fairchild and Gonzalo Garcia along with Emma Von Enck in a debut that we just cannot stop celebrating. Now there is someone with innate stage power. Emma already has enormous style that adds even more light to the brilliance of Balanchine’s choreography. Ravishing Megan and elegant Gonzalo seem to be reaching their pinnacles of artistry at precisely the same time. What a stunning performance they gave us!  Karinska’s pink tutu for the lead ballerina – one of her best – made Megan look divine. They don’t come any more beautiful or perfectly matched to a ballerina’s physique and temperament. Megan’s leg lines are at their longest ever and fully stretched without being hard-looking. Each step was articulated not with a show-offy “See what I can do” but with a love of the music and choreography. Gonzalo’s allegro was crisp and clear as could be, and he had fine control of his turns. This was such a delightful ballet that, yes, we bought more tickets.

 

Firebird received a good performance from Ashley Bouder, Andrew Veyette, and Emilie Gerrity. We’ve seen Ashley dance the Firebird for many years and are familiar with what she does with it. It doesn’t seem to be a role that enables a dancer to develop much beyond the steps; so, repeated audience captivation comes from seeing what dancers’ different physical properties bring to the ballet. We look forward to seeing Sara Mearns’ debut and wish we were also seeing Isabella LaFreniere’s delayed debut as well.

 

For whatever reasons, our enthusiasm after the first two nights of the Winter Season is not as high as it usually is. The season should always start with a bang, not a whimper. What’s coming for the rest of the Winter Season may not lift our spirits much. We’ll just have to wait and see.

 

Our H.H. Pump Bump Award, designed by Nicholas Kirkwood, is bestowed upon Megan Fairchild, Gonzalo Garcia, and Emma Von Enck for their glistening performance of La Source.

 

observations 1/21

Big opening day today.

NYCB opens its winter season.

Impeachment trial opens in DC.

Counsels for NYCB, SAB, Finlay, Ramasar, Catazaro, and Longhitano finally get to argue in court their motions to dismiss the Waterbury suit.

 

observations 1/14

Today Haglund encountered a huge flock of swans hiking west down W. 62nd St after rehearsal. The Shanghai Ballet opens its Swan Lake on 1/17 at Lincoln Center. We'll be there for the Friday and Saturday evening performances. NYCB Orchestra is in the pit. Tickets are reasonably priced from $36. The company has been directed by Derek Deane for a while now which suggests that all their ducks swans will be in a row. Not a pinky will be out of place -- just the way we like it.

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NYCB posted the second week of casting. Ashley Bouder is still listed for all of her performances next week and additional performances in the second week even though she's currently walking around in an ortho boot – again. Here's wishing for more transparency.

This could be a stressful evening. The Jeopardy gladiators clash again tonight followed by the can't-get-the-fire-going Democrats in debate over each other's purity.

 

 

observations 1/8

Since we've missed every single Jeopardy clue so far tonight, let's take a break and talk ballet.

The Bolshoi Ballet casting for the 1/26 cinemacast of Ratmansky's new staging of Giselle has been announced as follows:

Giselle – Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 12:55 p.m. ET and PT, 11:55am MT, and 10:55am CT
Choreography: Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa
New Choreographic Version: Alexei Ratmansky
Conductor: Pavel Klinichev

CAST
Giselle: Olga Smirnova
Count Albrecht: Artemy Belyakov
Berthe, Giselle’s Mother: Anna Antropova
Hans, The Gamekeeper: Denis Savin
Giselle’s Friends: Xenia Averina, Bruna Cantanhede Galianone, Anonina Chapkina,
Olga Kishnyova, Elizabeta Kruteleva, Yulia Skvortsova, Tatiana Tiliguzova, Alexandra Trikoz
Peasant Pas de Deux: Daria Khokhlova, Alexei Putintsev
Bathilde: Nelli Kobakhidze
Myrtha: Angelina Vlashinets
Moina: Xenia Zhiganshina
Zulma: Anastasia Denisova

Check in with www.bolshoiballetincinema.com  for cinema locations and times in your city. By the way, if the cinemacast conflicts with your plans to see NYCB, keep in mind that Symphony Space will be showing Giselle on the following Tuesday 1/28 at 1pm.

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Speaking of NYCB – lots of fabulous casting has been announced for the first week of the Winter Season. Especially exciting is the featuring of Erica Pereira and Harrison Ball in Danses Concertantes which opens the season on January 21st and in La Source at the Saturday matinee. We've been fascinated by the growth of both artists in the past year and are looking forward to seeing what each brings out in the other. We're hopeful that Tiler and Tyler will be in awesome form for Allegro Brilliante on Wednesday the 22nd. All the casts of Stravinsky Violin Concerto look to rock this ballet. And at the Sunday matinee we'll be treated to the debuts of Brittany Pollack and Daniel Applebaum in Danses Concertantes and Mira Nadon with Adrian Danching-Waring in Monumentum & Movements.

We have tickets for every performance. See ya there.