I saw the performance of Swan Lake featuring Irina Dvorovenko/Maxim Beloserkovsky tonight.

Dancing van Rothbart: Gomes
Benno: Daniil Simkin
Act I Pas de Trois: Simkin, Sarah Lane, Isabella Boylston

Cygnettes: Yuriko Kajiya, Marian Butler, Misty Copeland, Maria Riccetto
Two Swans: *Hee Seo* and Stella Abrera
Regular swans include Kristi Boone, Leann Underwood

Princesses: Misty Copeland, Luciana Paris, Anne Milewski, Yuriko Kajiya
Act III Dances:
--Czardas: Marian Butler and Alexi Agoudine leading
-- Spanish Dance: *Cory Stearns*, Maria Bystrova, Roman Zhurbin, Karen Uphoff
-- Neapolitan: Joseph Phillips, Craig Salstein
-- Mazurka: Includes Leann Underwood, Alexandre Hammoudi, Patrick Ogle, *Eric Tamm*

This is my first time viewing either member of the lead couple in any role. I found Irina D a very calm Odette who was beautiful, but not moving in Act II. She was more effective in Act III -- as Odile. I didn't like Maxim B's prince. Perhaps it is due to his recent injury (which prompted Hallberg to be substituted for Maxim B's role beside Nina A last week) or his not being among the younger danseurs, but his jumps lacked height. His face has a "plastic", almost face-lifted kind of look that was only deviated from rarely (one deviation was in the final scene as he showed anguish as Odette is about to go to her doom). I have to say that the only ABT Swan Lakes I have seen are Hallberg/Wiles versions. And that is my preferred ABT pairing (even as the pairing was emerging over time), so it's in some ways unfair, but, not unexpectedly, I far preferred the Hallberg/Wiles versions from prior years to tonight's performance. But that doesn't mean, obviously, that somebody else would feel the same way. I did enjoy tonight's performance -- Irina D's interpretation more than Maxim B's.

Happily, Daniil Simkin was Benno. He was very good in the peasant pas de trois, and continued to display very high jumps, nice entrechats, and good acting for ballet. I notice that Daniil portrays a young joviality that is suited for Benno, but that somehow does not seem inappropriate. He adds to the stage presentation overall even when he is on the side lines, by interacting with the less central characters and judiciously using his arms in particular. Strong potential in this young danseur, and it's quite exciting to contemplate how Daniil will evolve at the ABT. In particular, in the first scene in Act II, as Benno and the Prince are in the forest (before the Prince sees the swan), Benno does only one jump, but it is high jump and it is shortly after a jump by the Prince. The difference in height achieved was pretty noticeable. Not that height in jumps is everything, but Maxim B's jumps lacked lightness as well as height.

To me, Gomes' version of von Rothbart in Act III is over the top. His evil laughs seem too evident, his demeanor too contrivedly villainous and unidimensional.

Before the 7:30 pm performance, I didn't have much time. So I had a smoked salmon plate at the Revlon Bar ($10). The condiments are the same as those for the smoked salmon appetizer at the Grand Tier restaurant, although the latter dish is more expensive and contains a larger portion of salmon . Garnishes are the same: Diced egg white; finely diced egg yolk; capers; diced onion; a dense creme fraiche on the side. There was also sangria ($9 for a small-ish glass) served at the side of the Revlon Bar that had the food (not the half that served the wine only). The sangria was a bit too sweet for me, but the diced green apple and the diced orange (skin on) mitigated that a bit. There were tall round (but small diameter) tables one can stand beside indoors. Some of these tables permitted a good view of the red Chagall giant mural (one of the two at the Met). Outside, despite the rain, there were people seated at tables on the covered terrace). The two Chagalls were recently made collateral on loans obtained by the Met.

Swan Lake
Dvorovenko/Maxim B.

Irina displayed a pretty equlibrated performance (between Odette/Odile), with solid and strong technique, some spectacular balances, super fast- single fouettes....
Her port- de bras at the end of act II was beatiful as well.
However, I found her Odette pretty unmoving, totally lacking passion and love.

I have enjoyed her a lot this season but i think tonight she went back to her "showy" version, going from pose to pose....
She also danced Odette at a very very fast tempo, which I particularly disliked a lot (especially in the adagio pdd)

Maxim, probably due to the recent injury, was pretty weak as her prince and certainly he did not contribute in the acting section either.

Marcelo showed why he owns the role of Von R., he was wonderful.

Simkim elevation in his jumps were as amazing as usual, however he does show problems whenever partnering a ballerina.
I think he had a little problem with his variation, ending it up before the music.

Cant wait for Vinshneva/Gomes and Part/Bolle shows !!!!!!!!

I was very disappointed in tonight's performance. Having seen Swan countless times I left at the intermission, not wanting to stick around. As someone mentioned earlier, Odette was completely devoid of any emotion. Maxim also is struggling with his injury.

Also, I know this is to be expected given that it is Swan Lake and draws the masses to the opera house, but audience today was quite unruly. Someone was blatantly taking photographs with the flash on. A person brought a "Slim Jim," no joke, and started munching on it. People all around me were talking and commenting throughout and during the performance. One young man actually started chuckling audibly during the Act II pas de deux! This girl in front of me claimed she was a dancer and offered to explain certain motions during the performance! (she clearly did not look like a dancer!!!). And these were orchestra seats.

Plus it was hard to focus on the music with the audience erupting into applause seemingly every single time somebody jumped or Irinia made an appearance or exit, disregarding the fact that the sequence was not yet completed.

On a plus note: I thought the Pas de quatra (cygnets) was very well executed, and I was very pleased with the peasant solos of Act I, and thought the Corps did well tonight in Act II. Can't comment on the rest, as I had left.

p.s. Did anyone happen to catch that funny final arabesque in the Act II pas de deux? Where Irinia extended her arabesque into Maxim's chest?

I wasn't sure whether having approximately the same facial expressions throughout Act II (and, for the Prince, Act I) is a more "Russian" presentation, or a presentation particular to this pair. In Act II, the only time I felt Odette's experiencing something emotional was the initial fear she had of the Prince. Maybe Irina D thinks that she is "acting" very subtly with her eyes, but I was using my binoculars a lot and I didn't think that was achieved, if that was her intent. In Act III, as Odile, she more effectively used seductive or expressive eyes (looking from the left or right at the Price).

I didn't think her "intended-to-be-fluidly-flying-wings-mimicking" arm movements during Act II were that special or fluid, around the time when she exits. I thought Michele Wiles' rendition of that was markedly better.

I also was surprised by how Irina D does not seem as well-proportioned a ballerina as I thought she would be. She looked a bit less tall and elegant than I had expected, and her legs and torso didn't look particularly lean and long relative to her head and neck. I'm not saying Irina D isn't beautiful or that her overall proportions are not pleasing. She is just a bit different from what I had expected.



Now that you mention it, Simkin did seem slightly slightly hectic towards the end of the Act I pas de trois. But I think that was because he had to move between the ballerinas on either side of him quickly. He was barely able to do it. BTW, Sarah Lane might be a good soloist for Simkin to work more with. While I don't particularly like Sarah Lane's dancing, her height seems to allow Simkin to look taller relative to her. While Simkin's height is not ideal, he does have nice lines for his height. But he also looks young (because he is), and I wonder how that will affect his advancement. He's certainly getting relatively plummy roles for a new soloist, although some roles he has had this season have been due to injuries (eg Cornejo's injury for the bazaar owner's role in Le Corsaire allowed Simkin to fill in during both the Herrera/Hallberg and Murphy/Hallberg Le Corsaire performances).

............"I wasn't sure whether having approximately the same facial expressions throughout Act II (and, for the Prince, Act I) is a more "Russian" presentation, or a presentation particular to this pair. In Act II, the only time I felt Odette's experiencing something emotional was the initial fear she had of the Prince. Maybe Irina D thinks that she is "acting" very subtly with her eyes, but I was using my binoculars a lot and I didn't think that was achieved, if that was her intent. In Act III, as Odile, she more effectively used seductive or expressive eyes (looking from the left or right at the Price)".................

Is def. not a Russian presentation but something very typical of this couple.
Irina is a very talented dancer, but when she decides to come for a photo section instead of a ballet show we get what we got tonight.

I encourage you to see Part and Vinshneva, so you can see by yourself that they way she danced tonight was totally anti-russian style.

and yes..I did see Irina's leg crashing into Maxim's chest, and the funny thing to me was how she still moved the leg and force it to go into 6-o'clock position....as if saying....over my dead body I am not showing a 180o perfect penchee in front/center stage of the met.... i have to said that i literally laughed...
I actually think that it happened more than once during the performance.

I was also at the Irina - Max Show last night. Agreed that their performance was devoid of emotion, which is surprising to me because they are married. His technique declines more and more every year, and his acting is virtually non existent. However, he is a reliable partner. By the way, some may recall that the NY Times critic was put off by Max's ultra-blond hair at the opening gala. Max took that to heart, and has gotten rid of the blinding blond, trading it in for a more natural brown-blond color. As for Irina, I think she has good technique and a beautiful line. Her positions were fully stretched and lovely. She was more at home in the Black Swan act, where her true extroverted, "look at me I'm gorgeous" persona can come through. As noted above, she did 32 single fouettes very quickly in place. She certainly is not the best of the ABT swan queens, but she's very good. I also noticed the minor partnering problems with Simkin. His solo dancing, however, was incredible. I was happy to see Freddie Franklin back on stage as the Tutor. He used to perform Madge at ABT in Sylphide. (He should have given Barbee some lessons.) Gomes was, as usual, completely seductive as the purple Von Rothbart. He owns the stage in that role. Is it my imagination, or did Stella look stiff as one of the big swans? I really liked Hee Seo as the other big swan. Georgina Parkinson has toned down her super stern portrayal of the Queen Mother, and actually smiles now and then.

The audience was very full. School is out, and I guess SL is particularly popular.

I know the very first scene in Act I has already been a debated aspect of the current ABT Swan Lake production. But I still fail to see why it was added -- it takes the possibility of different interpretations away from how Odette became entrapped as a swan by von Rothbart. It makes Odette seem like she was entrapped by von Rothbart because of girlish naivete, even though the synopsis in the program describes this as having occurred many years ago. Then, the final part of the scene involves von Rothbart (now with the "monster" costume on) holding a fake white swan the length of one's arm, next to himself. This seems to involve a certain "force feeding" of information to the audience that does not seem called for.

I cannot agree more--and it always looks like Rothbart is strangling the ridiculous stuffed swan rather than caressing it, anyways. I also seriously question the need to have the 'swamp monster' incarnation of von Rothbart--it really seems like an unnecessary complication to the story. I really wish Kevin M. had a better editorial eye or sense of aesthetics... I know this is off topic, but did anyone else notice the significant swath of unpainted wood on the mechanical branch in Act II of La Sylphide (the one that the Sylph appears to be perched on)? That and the rickity stuffed sylph that glided (jerkily) off into the sky at the end of Act II really made me wish there were someone at ABT who could edit out such clunky, inelegant details...

I think McKenzie added the monster Rothbart and the stuffed swan in order to make it more "Disneyesque". Kids like to see monsters and stuffed animals, so let's put them on stage. I think he believes that this approach makes it more family friendly and therefore sells more tickets.

i wish Ratmasnky will re-stage all the classics and especially Mr McKenzie's versions

I guess you missed the part where Max failed to get out of the way and got kicked by Irina during the end of the Act II pdd? That is a very serious mistake for a professional at this level of the game. Almost as bad as falling off of a pirouette and having to flail your arms to catch your balance, as one of the corps did in the opening of Act I.

I guess the monster is a closer call for me than the stuffed swan and the first scene re: the young Odette. The reason being that, maybe by splitting the less-dance-intensive aspects of the von Rothbart role from the more substantive portions in Act III, it is easier to entice a principal or another interesting danseur to dance the Act III von Rothbart role even though it of course does not involve the male lead in the ballet (without having to worry about the less attractive aspects of the von Rothbart role from a substantive dance component perspective). If the von Rothbart that is not dancing did not have a mask (or other headgear), the audience would be able to tell that it was not the same danseur. Of the eight dancing von Rothbart roles this season at the Met, two are taken by Gomes and one by Hallberg.

On the other hand, having a mask on the non-dancing von Rothbart does not mean one has to stick with the current monster costume now used to cover the body of von Rothbart. That is pretty bad.

Getting back to last night's Gomes in Act III, there was a funny part where von Rothbart had already captivated the four princesses at the ball. He has already danced with each of them individually. Then, the four are in a "square" formation and he is in the middle. Von Rothbart then lifts one of the princesses almost straight up, while she has her hands relatively close to her body and doesn't move. He then sort of easily, but not forcefully, plonks her down. He then repeated this for one of the other princesses. It kind of made the princesses look like dolls/putty in his hands.

Well, I guess I should have said that he is generally a reliable partner. I had to say something nice about him, right!

June 23 Swan Lake
Gillian Murphy/Angel Corella

Benno: Jared Mathews
von Rothbart, Act III: Gennadi Saveliev
Queen Mother: Nancy Raffa

Pas de trois: Maria Riccetto, Stella Abrera, Jared Mathews
Aristocrats (the program's term) in Act I: include Hee Seo, Isabella Boylston and Blaine Hoven

Cygnettes: Yuriko Kajiya, Sarah Lane, Anne Milewski, Renta Pavam
Two Swans: Leann Underwood, Melanie Hamrick
Regular swans include Hee Seo, Isabella Boylston

Hungarian Princess: Marian Butler
Spanish Princess: Sarah Lane
Italian Princess: Gemma Bond
Polish Princess: Isabella Boylston

Czardas: Includes Simone Messmer (subbing for Kristi Boone), Patrick Ogle, Blaine Hoven, Eric Tamm

I attended tonight's performance of Swan Lake. I had been curious about this pairing after having watched the PBS TV program featuring the same. Corella's performance was outstanding.

I was very impressed with Angel Corella's portrayl of the Prince. Very expressive face, head tilt, eye contact (at appropriate times), very communicative body stance and strong engagement with everything and everyone around him throughout the performance. In Act I, for example, when he sees the different couples around him, Corella is able to convincingly convey his loneliness and feeling left out. During Act II dancing with Odette, he showed, at various relevant times and in a moving way, yearning, amazement, a feeling of needing to explore more and engage Odette more, a sense of being empassioned somewhat, and a sense of elegant and somewhat smoldering urgency. I found his acting (including his body and face expressiveness and positioning, and his mime) excellent. His jumps and other technical aspects were very good -- not great -- but way more than the level sufficient to be very effective overall in the role of the Prince. During Act III, after Corella sees Odile, his face glows and he communicates the joy he feels as he dances with her. He almost floats, as he was so immersed in the moment and in Odile. He practically beams with happiness. I found Corella's overall performance to be excellent. He seemed so much more vibrant and full of life than Maxim B from Monday evening.

I did notice, however, that Corella's upper legs seemed a little bit more filled out than in the PBS video. That did not adversely affect anything; I just noted it. I didn't notice it during Corella's also oustanding (but normal for him) performances this season as Ali the slave in the Le Corsaires seen or in his very good performance as The Prodigal Son. Maybe the white leotards the Prince wears in Swan Lake are not helpful.

To me, Gillian was generally effective. She was more emotive as Odette than Irina D, but it doesn't take much to be able to say that about a ballerina. But still, for reasons I cannot quite pinpoint, I found both her Odette and her Odile less than entirely satisfying. Her black swan fouettes were exciting, expectedly. A number of multiple turns, and interesting (and appropriate) differences in arm positions. She was at times using her arms to facilitate the turn like many ballerinas do, but, at other times, holding her arms in the air in a nice position. At other times, her arms were elbow height and more hand to elbow. She conveyed energy during the fouettes.

One thing that should not matter, but that I found not visually appealing about Gillian's Odette costume: The costume from far looks like a bustier on top, but it is actually held up by two sections of skin-colored gauze that secure the bustier and form more of a sleeveless top. In Gillian's case, her gauze section was many shades more intense than her natural tone and was not visually appealing.

I found Saveliev's depiction of von Rothbart in Act III to be poor. His dancing did not seem crisp, and some of his jumps seemed, to me at least, poor. Also, Saveliev's physique is of the stocky type in the upper body, and his lines are compromised by that, at least to me.

Jared Mathews was alright -- not as animated as Simkin, in the role of Benno. Maybe Jared Mathews was not the best Benno to cast when Corella is the Prince. Jared's height makes Corella look shorter than if, say, Simkin were utilized. At least Jared was better as Benno, however, than he was as the guy who pursued Giselle and was killed by the Wilis during the Hallberg/Osipova Giselle performance (with a wonderful performance by Hallberg).

I enjoyed a Bailey's Irish cream, on the rocks ($14), during intermission.

wow that's really harsh!

I don't claim to be tactful. Nor, for that matter, do I aim to be even handed in my descriptions. For example, I really appreciate Hallberg and Corella's performances and I rarely find their performances less than very good.

I first saw ABT's Swan Lake four or five years ago with Gillian as Odette/Odile. Since that time, she has seemed to improve her artistry and build on her already impressive technique. I agree with Ambonnay that something felt unemotional and slightly unsatisfying about her portrayal. She has obviously tried to soften her Odette and add nuance to her arm gestures and expression, which is a welcome change. Her black swan was very exciting, as expected. Whenever she appears on stage in that black costume with her seemingly lavender-white skin, I can only think of Madame X. Her fouettes were spectacular; she incorporated wild swam arm gestures during her triples. Angel's Siegfried was certainly very good, but lacked the finesse and energy he's brought to the role in years past. His jumps weren't as buoyant; his turns weren't as buttery smooth. It is strange to see Angel appear as if he's not completely engaged in a role. It's hard for me to judge Savaliev objectively in his role as Rothbart because David and Marcelo inhabit the character so completely...

Jared, Stella, and Maria were all very secure and clean in the peasant pas de trois; it wasn't the over-the-top virtuosic pas de trois that Cornejo has created in past years, but it was very satisfying and musical. Stella wasn't quite as buoyant as she sometimes is, but still very lovely and expressive. I was worried about her earlier this season when she was pulled from some roles, but it's great to see her dancing so well again.

My new technique for 'coping' with the stuffed swan in the prelude is that I simply keep my eyes shut for the entire overture. Though this presents another problem--I end up focusing on the orchestra's thin sound. The brass section didn't produce any cringe-worthy moments as in past years, though, so that was a sign of improvement.

I've come up with another objection to the overture, although you may not be able to comment on today's version. After von Rothbart grabs the young Odette and lifts her in the air, she is lifted and held in a series of stark, rapidly shifting positions, before the part with the stuffed swan. The unnecessarily "posy" and dramatic nature of each of those Odette positions does not seem in keeping with any other part of the ballet. Those positions are even more dramatic and rapidly placed together than certain very tension-filled moments in the ballet later on.

So I think the choreographic style in the preclude is not appropriately matched to the remainder of the ballet.

I've never thought about that aspect, but I think you are entirely right. Between the loose hair, flowy dress, and series of rapid, dramatic lifts and poses, it almost seems like something that belongs in a MacMillan ballet.

The stuffed swan is a bit of a problem. I've seen all the "monster Rothbarts" do this role, and to my eye only Isaac Stappas reveals the swan facing towards stage right, so more of the audience can see the "bird in hand" (so to speak). All the other Rothbarts bring the bird out facing stage left, and because the action takes place in the downstage corner and because the bird is caught in the light coming from the wing many in the audience miss the moment. And only see the bird's behind,not it's head. By facing the bird to the right, it benefits from the back light from the wing, thus more people see it. I sometimes wonder if anyone bothers to watch the action from the house, or ever goes up to Grand Tier or Dress Circle to see how an action "reads" from different vantage points. The audience is more than just those in the orchestra.
mimsyb

I prefer middle orchestra or one of the side boxes. I have seen a ballet from the upper levels (it was for NYCB and I refuse to spend $$ to watch NYCB), and it was simply too far away. I had a hard time keeping up with the leg movements, and no chance of seeing the dancers' feet from that angle (looking down). Also, you miss the facial expresions unless you have binoculars, but at that point you also miss the big picture.

I've noticed that it sometimes matters what magnification of binoculars I use. It is not necessarily the case that highest magnification is the best, as that also limits the "scope" (as your post suggests) of what is seen, depending on where I sit. So, this sounds like a trivial thing, but I have more than one pair of binos for ballet viewing purposes and, if have time, I will look at the ticket and seat number/placement when picking which of my binos to bring along.

On Gomes as the Act III von Rothbart on Monday, the NY Post had this to say: "Choreographer and director Kevin McKenzie conceived the villain Von Rothbart as both an evil sorcerer and an irresistible sex magnet, an idea that's not nearly as good as it sounds. . Marcelo Gomes created the role and usually makes a case for it through sheer charisma, but this time he pushed from charisma to sleaze."

I wouldn't have framed the observation in the last part of the last quoted sentence so harshly, but I would agree with its content. A rare negative assessment this season for Gomes.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06242009/enter...ight_175814.htm

Hi everyone. I also attended last night's SL w. Murphy and Corella. Murphy has improved in the whiite swan aspects of the role over the years. She is certainly more emotive than she used to be. Also, I liked the way she used her flexible back to demonstrate her anguish through deep back bends. Corella was brilliant from a dramatic point of view. As one post noted above, he was able to convey his loneliness during the birthday party scene merely through facial expressions. In his solo at the end of Act I, he expressed yearning and despair through his stretched line. During the Act II pdd, he became increasingly enraptured with his swan queen. This was expressed not only through passiionate facial expressions, but through every little gesture of his body. His technique has declined a little bit over the years, but he is still way ahead of the rest of the ABT pack, in my opinion. Gillian dazzled in the Black Swan act. Weren't those quadruples I saw her do? I don't think they were triples. The crowd went wild as she added undulating swan arms to her turns. I guess Angel decided toward the end that he had to turn the juice up a notch to compete with Gillian, so he concluded his solo in the pdd with incredibly fast turns, with perfect control. Gillian has her limitations dramatically, but her incredible technique makes her a very exciting dancer. Genadi had zero impact as purple Rothbart. The peasant pdd was lovely, but unremarkable. Stella, in my opinion, has looked noticeably tentative this season. I hope she can return to being the old pre-injury Stella soon.



By the way, re the post above, didn't Vladamir Malhakov create the role of purple Rothbart on opening night? I recall that he received greater applause than the Odette, Susan Jaffe.

I agree with Corella still being amazing. I never saw him in his younger years, but his technical capabilities are still much much more than good, even if they might not be what they once were. I agree Corella is much better than any other danseur at the ABT, with the exception of Hallberg, who, for me, is at least at Corella's present-day level from an overall evaluation perspective and has the potential to grow into more. But Hallberg, despite all his commendable qualities, is not (yet) a superb actor (with that not being a negative, because sometimes I think Hallberg chooses subtlety and finesse over more obvious ways of acting communication). Also, Hallberg has the benefit of a beautiful natural physique and elegant frame, and height and handsomeness. While Corella is handsome as well and has an open, inviting face, Corella did not start off with those all of those natural advantages and therefore is to be particularly commended for his remarkable achievements.

Corella's acting is so much better than any ABT principal's (male or female) I have seen. Many small changes in body position, meaningful glances at his partner, the way he might sway his head, or shift his hand -- all of those things can, in some ways, be said to be more than "acting" and to make his acting blur with his overall "occupation" of the role of Prince Siegfried. It is quite amazing that Corella can do so much with just his face, although it is his whole body that is involved in expressing what is happening with the Prince throughout. And yet Corella's acting doesn't seem contrived. It seemed natural and genuine.

I also saw last night's SL. I felt Corella was a bit distant in his Act I acting, and not his usual self in the dancing department. Even my seat mate noticed the weight gain and I think his dancing at times looks more forced than usual. But he pulled it together for Act II, both acting wise and in his dancing. Still, he seems to have lost a lot of his youthful fluency, especially in transitions from one jump to the next or in his turn preparations. I agree that Gillian has improved her White Swan in many ways, and her passion has deepened as displayed by her extraordinary flexibility of her back. What can one say about her Black Swan? She out did herself in many respects, including the fouettes with the multiple turns (yes, they were quads) and the new arm waving. It can border on a circus act at times, but in truth by that time of the evening I was ready for some excitement. For most of the evening I sat numb. Saveliev was not very effective as purple Rothbart. (they should take Isaac Stappas out of the Ninja suit and give him a go at the role. He's the best villain at ABT, and he's pretty sexy on the eyes.). The Pas de Trois for the most part was a yawn. Ricetto looked dazzling, Abrera started out OK but faded into her variation, and Mathews was well, Mathews. Not much going on. I'd love to see Joseph Phillips or Erich Tamm given a chance at this. Both would generate more excitement. The swans were pretty much hit and miss. Many instances of dancing off the music and not dancing together. Arms at different angles and arabesque heights not uniform. The four Cynettes were fine, although dancing at a rather moribund tempo. The two big swans (Leann Underwood and Melanie Hamrick) again not in sync. And neither could do the entre chat sixes (a common problem with the ABT women). Nancy Raffa as the Queen Mother was excellent, although I had a hard time getting the image of her stunning portrayal of Madge in last weeks "La Sylphide" out of my mind. In many ways, "Swan Lake" is the ultimate test of a company and it's resources. Last night fell short. But I'm seeing all the other casts, so somewhere in there there has to be a fully realized performance. And my last gripe of the evening. Can't someone at ABT or the Met do something about the total inappropriate use of cell phones and Blackberrys during the performance? The lady sitting on my other side (Grand tier) was texting the entire performance! This has gotten totally out of control and the ushers do nothing even when you mention it to them. The lady texting told me "to mind my own business". Apparently she thought she was at the ball game. Please someone HELP!!

Sadly I think Swan Lake audiences are incorrigible. I would say the same applies to the Nutcracker. You could however ask multiple ushers for assistance, but who knows if they'd do anything.

A pet peeve of mine that I've noticed a lot lately are "Seat Crashers." These are basically people who buy the cheapest tickets, and then hang around the Orchestra section like vultures scanning for open seats and then take those. That's fine, except most of the time those empty seats are actually taken but the person is running late or coming after intermission. This causes an awkward, "hey! you're in my seat!" conversation, ticket flashing, usher-getting, and the entire row having to get up to let the seat crasher out and the ticket holder in, just moments before the ballet starts.

My favorite part of the conversation is, "But you weren't here!!!!"

I attended to last night performance (Murphy/Corella)

It was a great pleasure to see how Gillian keeps improving year after year in all her roles.

Her artistry has improved quite a lot. You can see that tremendoulsy beautiful back bends going deeper and deeper and a much improved port-de-bras as well. Her prodigous technique has also reached new peaks, showing once again an astonishing control, together with her usual crystal clear foot work.

As Odette, she is still not as deep in passion as Part but overall it was a very good performance (artistry-wise), which combined with that amazing technique made it even better. Act II highlight was her Odette's variation which was flawless. The diagonal with perfectly executed triples adding the much improved arm movements was incredibly beautiful, she ended it up with crazy fast chaines.

Her black swan continued to be once again a total diplay of incredible power and control, combined with better acting and energy. One thing that amazes me about her technique is her confidence, you can rarely see her tumbling, plus, the center of her turns and her supported pirouettes are nearly perfect even when she throws triples.
This year I also noticed improved extensions, making a few 180 penchees that she didnt do before, and some good balances keeping that arabesque high or at a nearly perfect 90 degrees.

Her Odile variation, well, what can you say about that, wow, and her fouettes were again improved (how in the world was that possibe ). The lady threw quadruples !!! but not happy with that, she did them while executing a beautiful por-de-bras, i mean, really, the coordination and the control needed to do this is literally insane. As a london critic said about her performance there, "the only thing she didnt do was flying over the stage", for god sake, I ve been going to ballet for many years and I have never seen anything like this. More than that, she finished them so strongly, with the same series of quad with port-de bras, and on pointe ! I was just speachless !!!!!
In Act IV her back bends were beautiful. She threw herself to the lake with no fear (most abt swan queens seem terrified when is time for them to make that jump) after saying good bye to her prince, a very touching detail.

Angel was ok, but he has gained so much weight that its painful to watch him so limited technically speaking, compared to where he was before. Considering his age (he should be at his peak now), its hard to understand.
I guess that running a company in Spain is hard to combine with keeping a high standard of dancing. At this point, I am kind of worried about his future here. I hope (and wish) he comes back next year in great shape, because if this keeps going deeper and deeper, the picture wont be pretty.
Luckily he kind of picked up in Act 3, although the easy and virtousity of his dancing wasnt there either.

Saveliev was not a good Von Rob, especially if you compare him to Marcelo and David.
He looked shaky and his protrayal of the character is far bellow my expectations.

The reviewer, our own Leigh Witchel, goes on to ask, "But shouldn't a company with the best dancers be performing the best versions of the ballets?" to which I reply, Where's the challenge in that?

Thanks, all, for your comments. Keep 'em coming. I haven't yet seen a Swan this week, but will towards the end of its run.

But you have seen the La sylphide of Veronika and Hee. Please give us your report.

I was at the Murphy/Corella Swan Lake and would second the comments by Classic Ballet. Gillian was spectacular and wonderful and the full house rewarded her amazing performance with boistrous cheering and a spontaneous standing ovation. I would also mention Stella and Maria for a sweet and lyrical pas d'trois.

I happened to be sitting next to a middle-aged couple who were tourists from Italy who had come to the ballet simply for something to do. They had no special knowledge. They were not even aware that NYC supports both NY City Ballet and ABT. To put it mildly, they were flabbergasted by the quality of the production, the orchestra and Gillian's dancing. I have to say I was feeling a little bit proud to see the eyes of "Old Europe" opened just a little bit to the fact that America is not a total cultural wasteland after all.

You are correct, abatt. With the deepest plies ever.

Yes, that one is inevitable. Along with "Where were you?" "We thought you'd left" and the occasional assumption that, since we weren't there for some portion of the evening's offerings, we had lost our right to those seats. The old Finders Keepers syndrome.

June 24, 2009 Matinee
Michele Wiles/David Hallberg

Benno: Carlos Lopez
von Rothbart, Act III: Gennadi Saveliev (subbing for Cory Stearns )
Pas de Trois: Misty Copeland, Yuriko Kajiya, Carlos Lopez
Aristocrats include: Hee Seo, Eric Tamm

Cygnettes: Gemma Bond, Marian Butler, Caroline Duprot, Jacquelyn Reyes
Two Swans: Simone Messmer, Nicole Curry
Regular swans: include Hee Seo, Isabella Boylston

Hungarian Princess: Marian Butler (subbing for Melissa Thomas)
Spanish Princess: Leann Underood
Italian Princess: Renata Pavam
Polish Princess: Hee Seo
Czardas: include Simone Messmer, Julio Bragado-Young

I attended today's matinee, featuring Michele Wiles and David Hallberg. Even though this is my favorite ABT pair and I have always liked their Swan Lake, I found the performance slightly disappointing, and strangely more because of Hallberg's introspective and quite reserved Prince than Michele's Odette or Odile. It must be stated that Hallberg still dances extremely beautifully -- with jumps, landings, extension, lines that are lyrical and excellently executed. Nobody can legitmately find fault with his technique or his overall visual presentation. Nor can one fault his relatively classical and understated approach to the role of the Prince -- it is commendable in today's world. My goodness -- through the last moment of his appearance when he jumps off the cliff after Odette does --- he looks incredible.

But what is it about Hallberg's Siegfried that left me slightly disappointed? Maybe that his Siegfried was ever so slightly too even-keeled in general. That he was acting largely using his face, although his body displayed at all times gorgeous lines and its own intrinsic pristine form. That he was quite serious-looking in Act III, even after Odile showed up, not really even smiling or exhibiting obvious joy until after the Odile fouettes. (I appreciate one can be enthralled and fall for somebody without portraying obvious joy.) These thoughts are quite difficult for me to express, given that I appreciate all of Hallberg's performances (including today's) a great deal.

Michele's Odette and Odile continue to be quite appealing to me, although I appreciate that is not a universally shared sentiment. Alas, the applause for her was so limited at the end that she (and others) did not even appear from behind the curtains the way the dancers normally do, after the "large" curtain closes for the second time. I don't know if that is less abnormal in view of the fact this is a matinee, but I would think not. There were some children in the audience, including one who cried a bit during the pre-intermission period and had to be taken away.

Overall, Michele and David remain very accomplished dancing Swan Lake in my eyes. Today, though, there was a tiny bit of something missing.

My pet peeves: Neighbors opening candy wrappers nosily, chewing candy or gum, in a way you can hear during the performance.

I just returned from a Swan Lake tonight that was easily the most memorable Swan Lake I can remember. The performance was not perfect, but it was one of those performances that seemed to become greater as the night went on, so by the time there was the final curtain it was a screaming ovation.

The leads were Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes. I'd never seen Vishneva's O/O, and even though I am a huge fan of this dancer, I was not sure if she is a natural O/O. Well, she isn't a "natural," but somehow she's carved out a portrayal that's as moving as any Swan Lake I've ever seen. She has a somewhat unusual physique -- extremely long arms and an uber-flexible back, alongside legs and feet that look merely serviceable. She uses her large expressive eyes to great effect. Her Odette is mournful, but slightly aloof. She has a way of holding Siegfried at bay with a quick flick of her fingers and an upwards glance. Yet it's not a cold Odette by any means -- during the famous pas de deux, Vishneva used her uber-flexible back and long, fluid arms to give the impression that at times she was literally melting into Marcelo's arms. By the end of the pas de deux, one sensed two people who had genuinely fallen in love onstage. If Vishneva had a shaky moment it was Odette's variation. She messed up on a pirouette, fell off pointe briefly, and never could gain the momentum to finish the difficult diagonal pirouette sequence with the proper flourish. But the great thing about this dancer is that she always takes risks, and gives it her all, and she finished act 2 with a great series of scissones.

I thought Vishneva's Odile was more low-key than I expected, but it had the right touch of glamor, and her chemistry with Marcelo was by this time unmistakable, and they really sizzled in their black swan pas de deux. They were having fun, and it showed. Odile's variation was much smoother than Odette's -- no stumbles whatsoever. Vishneva's fouettes were sprinkled with some doubles, which kind of slowed down her momentum, but by now I've come to accept that the effort that she shows in her dancing is like part of her portrayal. She doesn't take the easy way out. At the end of the evening she got a huge, loving ovation and flowers thrown to the stage.

Her Prince, Marcelo Gomes, was a prince in every sense of the word. He and Vishneva are inherently well-matched -- both dark-haired, intense performers. He's a beautiful partner, and I hope the partnership between these two great artists continues. I wonder how much better Vishneva's Giselle would have been with Gomes at her side.

I otherwise don't have many nice things to say about the production. I thought the corps de ballet looked very ragged at times, especially in Act 1. In Act 2 memories of the Bolshoi in Corsaire made me all too aware of the differences in schooling and style between the various swans, which prevented them from really dancing as one. The harmony they had achieved in Giselle was gone. In Act 4, the choreography is so bad and distracting that it was only the spellbinding dancing between Vishneva and Gomes that kept me in my seat.

But still, at the end of the evening one judges Swan Lake by its leads and tonight Vishneva and Gomes hit a grand slam.

I just got home from Wednesday's evening performance with Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes and all I can say is WOW!

Daniil Simkin was fabulous as usual, and the four cygnettes were spot on, but the rest of the cast looked a tad ragged, in my opinion.

But who cares when you've got Vishneva and Gomes dancing their hearts out?!

The theater was absolutely packed; the standing room was full; there were many children, but during the White Swan pas de deux, there was absolute silence in the audience. I didn't hear a single cough or sneeze (at least not in the Orchestra section). And the crowd rewarded them richly with applause, calling them out for a second round of bows.

Vishneva was so convincing in her characterizations that my friend, who'd never seen "Swan Lake" before, thought that Odette and Odile were played by different ballerinas! (Granted, we were way in the back of the Orchestra section.) She was stunning tonight!

Well, I might write more later, but I just wanted to say that I am a big, big fan of the Diana-Marcelo partnership, and I absolutely cannot wait to see their "Romeo & Juliet"!!

Diana was absolutely exquisite tonight.

What else can you say.


I loved her Odette. I thought it was unusual in that she was very sad, continually cloaked in sadness. She kept a plaintive but changing face; at any moment you could read her predicament in her heavy brow and sad eyes. She also gave the character some nobility and an air of resignation. I was amazed at how she was able to maintain absolute somber control of her face during her variations. It was as if she channeled the exertions of her steps into a stately sadness. I didn't think anyone could be as powerful as Nina playing Odette but Diana was beautiful and very close.

Her Odile was sparkling, sensuous. I noticed Diana does a lot with her mouth... maybe I remember Macaulay gushing about this at some point. If he was there tonight I'm sure he was enjoying himself. She changed from sexual aggression to cunning, deception every few moments, flashing back to a big sinister smile. I liked her in this ballet because the roles are night and day with her; she's very different. Her whole face lit up as Odile, in contrast to her pitiable Odette. The act iii pas de deux was just superb; she and Marcelo built each snippet of choreography to a thrilling climax. She has such a flexible back and was doing this thing every time she and Marcelo came together, rolling her shoulders sensuously toward him, then throwing her head back into an arabesque. It was incredible; she had the crowd in her palm.

Marcelo was his strong, handsome self. He seemed a little soft tonight but I've only seen him a few times, so maybe that's his style. I confess I wasn't exactly watching him the whole time either.

Isabella Boylston, Daniil Simkin, and Sarah Lane danced the pas de trois. Lane has a beautiful lightness to her movements, but I think her molar-flashing smile bothers me because she's just showing teeth, rather than smiling with her whole face. Simkin stole the show again. His massive jumps belie his small stature. Do you think we'll see him doing Don Q with Osipova in a few years...hmmm?! I hope so. The Met might collapse with all the !!ballon!!. Haha.

Grant DeLong and Blaine Hoven danced the Neapolitan. I didn't think DeLong was as strong as Hoven but he stood out to me for the quality of his positions. I've never noticed him before. Jared Matthews was von Rothbart (purple) and Roman Zhurbin the green monster-thing.

The orchestra was an awful mess. So lethargic. Every recording I've ever heard sounded better than they did tonight. The second half was better than the first, but still sketchy. Also, the sheer black curtain seemed to get stuck midway across at the opening of the first act. I'm guessing they pulled it in manually from its slow, jerky departure. I was a little bored tonight in between major scenes. This production doesn't have the zip it used to. Maybe the weak orchestra contributed somewhat to that; I'm a big fan of full length ballets but the corps didn't hold my interest tonight (swans aside). The first corny scene with the capture was really slow... I remember Dvorovenko whipping into the air and onto von Rothbart's shoulders at the first crash of the music a couple of years ago. Tonight it was just weak, kind of sedate. If you're going to Disney it up, then you know... Disney it up!

The orchestra looked sold out, lots of people stayed in their seats for the curtain calls. Not a lot of ABT regulars around me though. Someone asked at intermission how to pronounce "Gomes" haha. It's nice to see a crowd after weeks of empty seats.

I can't wait for Veronika on Friday.

All I can say is that this is probably one of the most thrilling, beautiful, and emotional nights of ballet that I have ever seen!

The pairing of Diana and Marcelo was magical. I agree about the Act II Pas de deux - I have never seen an audience so still and calm.

Diana and Marcelo were each giving 110% in their performances. And this was the first time that Swan Lake has made me cry.

Negatives - the corps (especially in Act I) was horrendous. The black see-through curtain got stuck twice. There was way too much noise when they were changing the scenery while the swans were dancing out front in Act IV.

But all this is forgiven when I keep thinking of our two leads.

This is a Swan Lake I will never forget!

Tonight's performance was pretty sensational and I find it hard to quibble. Yes the corps had some hiccups and the production is a problem but the partnership of Vishneva and Gomes was amazing. Absolutely fantastic in acts 2 and 3. I could watch Vishneva's arms and hands for days. There were some jaw dropping moments tonight. Her transformation at the end of act 2 was spin chilling. For me Gomes has grown in the last few years into one of ABT's best dancers and strongest partners. (I'm sad I didn't get to see Gomes' Von Rothbart on Monday, he seems to be the only one who can make that choreography really work.) I second the praise of the four cygnettes. I thought they nailed it. Simkin was terrific too, more so in the solos than the partnering. I've enjoyed him in everything he has done this year.

I won't repeat the kudos from so many about Vishneva/Gomes as they correspond to mine. Sensational!! But what strikes me about many of the reports is that they talk about the messiness of the corps and other parts of the ballet. I've attended all performance so far, and the corps, etc. is not improving. It's sad when one of the finest classical companies in the world cannot put together and rehearse a corps de ballet that is spot on perfect, yet sadder still that we, the audience, forgive it because of the star power presented in the leads. That the pas de trois, purple Rothbart, the corps, and yes, even the orchestra are not all superior in content should not be forgiven. We should not have to wait from dazzling moment to dazzling moment for our pure enjoyment of this work. If the whole production were of a higher quality how much more our appreciation would be and even the dazzling star power moments would fit more appropriately. ABT is a fine company. There is no excuse for some of the casting and certainly no excuse for the sloppy dancing. ABT deserves a better production, to be sure. But even the one it has should be given a better rendering. It seems this week the juice has been drained from the company. I will continue to attend, as I too love the wonderful pairings of the stars. I only wish there was more meat on the bones of this work and more consistency in its production.

Re the Vishneva - Gomes performance, I join in the chorus of ballettalkers who praised its emotional depth and dramatic force. I think Vishneva was much better in the adagio white acts than in the black swan section. She is not as strong in turning these days as she used to be, and I believe she came off pointe at least once during her attempt to do the double fouettes. Her heartfelt Odette was gorgeous. Simkin is a marvel. Gomes is an outstanding partner and did a beautiful job. Even Jared Matthews has improved since last year as the purple Rothbart.

I was also at the stunning Vishneva/Gomes Swan Lake last night. I hadn't seen them dance together since their extraordinary "Manon" two years ago, and their chemistry is still amazing. They looked like they were having so much fun on that stage together.

I loved Vishneva's sorrowful Odette- aloof at the beginning, but then melting into Gomes' arms during the pas de deux. Her Odile was fast and dangerous.

This was my first time seeing Daniil Simkin, and while I did enjoy his buoyancy, is it just me or does he seem to wind himself up like a corkscrew in his pirouette preparation?

On the whole, it was a fabulous and moving performance of "Swan Lake". I'm ready for the Vishneva/Gomes "Romeo and Juliet"

A quick note about Vishneva and Gomes: Diana is constantly refining and adjusting her interpretations. Her Odette this year was more subtle than in the past. The grief was contained and she held a queenly reserve - definitely noble and not overtly despairing, pleading and suffering. However this was not the world unto herself that Uliana Lopatkina has evolved into - there was lots of chemistry between Diana and Marcelo and the pas de deux was not just about her. Beautiful shaping and phrasing in the arms and legs with lots of accentuation to the music. Vishneva like Makarova realizes that the swan is a "big bird" and her arms are always broad and majestic wings (she never does the boneless rippling water effect). Part and Lopatkina are by default "big birds" but Vishneva avoids the fluttering that more delicate ballerinas can fall into.

The Odile has a subtle glamor - not overtly vampy but not a brittle soubrette as she sometimes has been to her detriment. In the coda of the Black Swan PDD, Vishneva seemed to start to lose steam in the fouettes about 2/3 of the way through and had to crank out some hard-pressed singles toward the end but finished. Not quite the Ananiashvili of 12 years ago or the Murphy of Tuesday night but still impressive. I thought she had some lovely pirouettes throughout the evening.

Vishneva's "Swan Lake" has been plagued by the unevenness and lack of equality in her white and black acts. Odile is something she had to work into as Makarova did. Last night while not as great as some other ballerinas in each act, Vishneva struck something of a balance with the very different aspects of this most demanding of ballerina roles. I think the rapport and confidence she feels with Marcelo Gomes is a big part of this - she never reached this level with Saveliev or Carreno in "Swan Lake".

I agree with this sentiment whole heartedly. The ABT corps is just not good. In my opinion, awful to be blunt. And ballet audiences are WAY to forgiving. I cringe when I hear the audience rupture into thunderous applause everytime the corps appears to do something that looks "good," despite there having been so many flaws in their synchronization or individual performance issues. I've seen over a dozen shows so far this season, and never once have I seen the corps dance together in unison. In all the giselles I saw, the Act II arabesques by the corps were all at different levels of height, and would rise and come down at different times. Surely they can rehearse that better?

But as long as the tickets keep selling, I don't know if ABT will do anything about it. But then I'm not sure they have much power over it. I still dance and I get to see the up and coming crop of professional dancers at the top level and I have to say I'm not impressed at all. The American ballet training is severely lacking in many regards. Far too much emphasis on turning and jumping is placed on many of these schools and summer intensive programs. Artistry is not taught until far too late in the game.

Worst of all, there are too many different styles and mixing. The individual members of the corps all seem to think it's their day to shine and are too busy being their own starlet in their own minds to care about dancing together as a group. This is why I can't say a good thing about Danil Simkin. He does not seem to care at all about partnership, and instead seems to just be waiting to show boat again. Ballet is not an athletic event. Yet everytime we applaud him for his jumps, we make it into one.

Tonight's performance with Steifel/Herrera/Hallberg... some highly idiosyncratic impressions...
Is it Paloma Herrera that's changed, or is it me? I used to avoid her performances like the plague, something about her onstage manner just seemed unfocused, uncommitted. I used to joke that (while a technical marvel) she used to look like she was standing around bored onstage. This season I really love her! She really inhabits a role, and while this wasn't the most fearless performance I've ever seen from her, she throws herself into it. How old is she? I hope I get more time to enjoy her. And it was great to see Ethan Steifel. At the curtain call they seemed really affectionate with each other and happy to dance together. It was sweet.
David Hallberg, what can I say. !!! Even in that ridiculous opening sequence (I really don't get the whole dual sorcerer thing), behind the gauzy scrim, his incredible line makes it all worthwhile. He's so mesmerizing onstage that I had to remember to watch the black swan pdd, I was tempted just to train my binos on Hallberg standing around and gesturing at the queen!
My budget hasn't allowed me to see quite as many performances this season as I'd like -- only 14 so far :-( -- so I haven't seen as much of Misty Copeland as I could wish. I'm sure she'd rather be doing something other than a cygnette, but I was thrilled to see her. Since she did perform tonight, I'm not sure why she was replaced as the Hungarian princess. Misty, I wanted to see you!
The "national dances" do get long. My favorite is the Spanish dance, for its intensity and drama. My second favorite is that crowd-pleaser, the Neapolitan. I could do without the Hungarian & Polish dances, although I did get some enjoyment tonight from training the binos on Leann Underwood. Also Alexandre Hammoudi (Spanish dance) just has a terrific air as a partner, careful and protective of his partner in a way that reminds me of Marcelo Gomes.
I know a lot of you really hate it, so I hesitate to say this, but I do like the swan sequence that's the prelude for the final act. I find it quite poetic.
As many others have commented, it would be great if ABT would post casting for roles like the pas de trois. I'd be highly inclined to buy a ticket if I knew Eric Tamm or Isabella Boylston was doing the pas de trois, and I'd even be tempted to come just to see Leann Underwood or Katherine Williams do one of those princess roles.
On to Veronika!

I also attended to Vishneva/Gomes SL last night and all i can say is that these two were just fabulous.
Diana is trully an artist. She does dance beautifully, but I see her as a ballerina who uses her body as a vehicle to tell the audience the story she wants to tell.
Its so much more than steps, her character are all about perfection, details, and more importantly she dances for her partner, not for herself.

Her Odette was gorgeous, with that super-flexible Vaganova-trained upper body, beautiful arms and using her head as very few ballerinas know how to use in SL.
She danced it with the perfect tempo, not too slow, not too fast, such a good taste !! and such musicality !!!

She may not be the more accomplished technician, but she did held herself pretty good. Except for a couple of details (especially at the end of the diagonal in turns of Odette's variation where she went a little wild), she was rock solid, nailing a few beautiful balances (at the right times) and some pretty good triples pirouettes during odette's variation.
Highlight of Act 2 were the Adagio with Marcelo (true that you couldnt hear a whisper in the entire audience) which was absolutely fenomenal !!!!!!....and details like that little kiss that she gave to marcelo (in his mouth) at the end of act 2 (just before the transformation when she was saying good bye to him), while executing a beautiful penchee and after embracing him as many times as she could, with so much love, brava !

Act 3 showed a malicious Odile. She used her mouth a lot (as someone commented before) especially that evil smile.
Her variation was close to perfect (except for the very end, she finished up a little out of balance), and she did nail another couple of really long and beautiful balances.
The fouettes were probably the weakest part of the performance. I have seen all her SL in nyc and she always, always try for multiple turns and ends up either falling off point or lossing the balance completely. Is not really that important to me, but i think that it would be much better to do simples turns at a faster tempo (she def can do that) and end them up clean and strong, it does leaves a much better taste for the audience, in my opinion.
Anyway, at the end of the coda, when they were both at the front center of the stage, marcelo kneeling, just before the end, she caressed Marcelo's face so maliciously again ! what a detail !
This is what i really loved the most in this performance. Diana was trully and absolutely enjoying herself on stage as i have never seen her before.
its so obvious how much she loves dancing with Marcelo (no wonder she danced giselle with him at the Mariisnky festival), she added countless details that she doesnt do with anybody else. Now that Malakov is ending his career, i think she is kind of picking Marcelo to built a strong and acclaimed partnership, which is growing pretty fast and so strongly. I just cant wait for theirs R & J, that is going to be amazing !!

As for Marcelo (the magnificent, as somebody call him on this board), what can you say. Such a noble dancer, so elegant and such a tremendous partner.
Those beautiful long legs ...ufff.
No matter who he is dancing with, he always gets the most of his ballerina, bravo !!!
As Diana, he always gives 110% in all is performances, and that is something that as an audience member i trully appreciate a lot.

The rest of the casting wasnt at the level of the leading roles.
I disliked more Jared Matthew's Von Rob. than Savaliev's (which is a lot to say since i really disliked Savaliev performance but at least he had more personality and probably a more suited physique).
Simkim was incredible once again, and once again he showed really weak partnership skills (he cant manage to hold his ballerina straight when holding her from behind, and the supported pirouettes are so sloppy..., luckily with a lot of work, this may be solved in the near future)
Sara and Isabella were better than moday, still I liked a lot more Ricetto/Abrera's perfromace.


Ok, so now, the stage is all set for Friday night's movie-star looking couple.
Since one of the two most beautiful dancers nowadays (if not the most) were announced to dance SL together, i have been counting the days left for the performance (like for the olympics, ha). So far Part has had one of her best seasons since she came to abt, including an astonishing Sylphide !
its like Ava gardner performing SL with a beautiful greek god , cant get better than this !

Friday night is going to be just magic !

I was at the Herrera -Steifel performance last night. I found it dramatically inert. While Paloma is technically accomplished as far as spinning and jumping go, I didn't think her upper body was sufficiently flexible or expressive. Also, the use of the arms is key for Odette, and I think she could do a lot more to improve her port de bras. She played a shy and sad Odette. She did some impressive technical work in the black swan section, easily pumping out double fouettes. However, she elected not to be a vamp or a temptress, as some do in the Odile role. Unfortunately, this didn't create enought of a distinciton between the good Odette and the evil Odile. There was nothing evil about her Odile. It was good to see Steifel back, and his technique was strong. However, in the last act his lifts of Paloma were awkward. Another odd thing I noticed is that while all the other men who played Siegfried sat in the chair on the far right of the stage during the birthday party, Steifel disappeared from the stage. If your friend Benno and his gals are dancing for you at your party, shouldn't you stick around and at least watch? He also disappeared during the ballroom scene with the national dances. All the other Siegfrieds sit in the chair next to the queen mother and watch the dancers, if I'm not mistaken. Did Siegfried need to go backstage to check the baseball score? Hallberg was exciting as purple Rothbart, but I prefer Gomes. The pas de trois was Hoven, Hamrick and Hee Seo. They were lovely. I have been disappointed with a number of Hoven's performances this season, such as Mozartiana and the peasant pas in Giselle. He frequently seems labored, and his jumps barely get off the ground at times. He improved last night. The fireworks failed to go off last night when purple Rothbart runs up the stairs to leave the ballroom. Unfortunately, there was not much spark between Herrera and Steifel, either, in my opinion. After the ballroom scene, some idiot in a balcony box on the right yelled out in a really loud voice "Can We hold our applause until the end of the piece." Someone responded by yelling out "have a good time." The place was packed, as has been the case all week.

While I think it is extremely rude to shout out during the middle of the performance, I really do wish people would not applaud so early or so frequently. In my opinion New York audiences honestly tend to be so provincial in their knowledge of ballet that they applaud awkwardly and at moments that are not proper. Too much applause makes me think I'm at a sporting event.

It always makes me feel so uneasy when they applaud when Siegfried throws himself off the precipice during the finale of Swan Lake. I'm not a fan of the Tosca-like ending, anyways, but it just makes it worse when people applaud during it. Do they know that Odette and Siefried are killing themselves and that it's not just a jumping contest? My other pet peeve is when people applaud after every dramatic or pronounced coda in the music, even if there was no remarkable dancing leading up to that coda. Well, I was watching a Russian video of Coppelia (or perhaps it was some other ballet) in which audience members were clapping to the music--at least we don't have that problem!

Maybe his absences from the stage are connected to his recent injury or illness (I don't know which). Steifel is a very honest and dancer who always puts out to the fullest.