Tag: Boston Ballet

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American Ballet Theater Spring 2011 Opening Night Gala

Last night was ABT’s Spring 2011 opening night gala. Dreary, rainy night … but what else is new for New York these days?

Once inside, I really enjoyed the show though. (I’m hoping to receive photos soon, which I’ll post). The program began with a short preview of Ratmansky’s The Bright Stream, which I’m excited to see next week. Seems to have a lot of humor, some bravura dancing, a cute storyline.

 

(Photo: The Bolshoi’s production of Bright Stream; Natalia Osipova is jete-ing).

Then, there were introductions by Rachel Moore, executive director of ABT, wearing a beautiful green dress, and Kevin McKenzie (AD), followed by Caroline Kennedy, who introduced the students of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of American Ballet as they danced a world premiere, Karelia March, by Raymond Lukens. The program says the students are Level 7, which must be the highest level, because some of those dancers looked like ABT principals. I’m not kidding, I swear. They really amazed me. That school is doing incredible things!

Next was Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, danced by David Hallberg and Gillian Murphy. Everytime I see David dance I think he must be the most perfect male dancer in the world. Gillian was stunning too.

Then came the Grand Pas de Deux from Ratmansky’s new Nutcracker, danced by Marcelo Gomes and Veronika Part. (No, they’re not performing that ballet during the Met season, but there seemed to be a few excerpts in the program from ballets they’re not performing). I missed seeing this couple – overall still my favorite – when the company premiered Ratmansky’s version in December. They were so sweet. Veronika danced with such wonderment in her eyes, such joy. And Marcelo was her perfect, adoring cavalier, all eyes on her. I don’t have kids, but I’d think they’re the perfect wedding couple to wow very young audiences.

Then came Majisimo, a classical ballet piece with Spanish flourishes created by Georges Garcia for the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1965 and set to Jules Massenet’s Le Cid. This piece was mainly meant to highlight Jose Manuel Carreno, who of course retires from ABT later this season. But it was really a dance for eight couples, and he danced only the male part of one of them – there were very few solos. He danced with Paloma Herrera. Xiomara Reyes was paired with Reyneris Reyes, guesting from Miami City Ballet. The other couples were comprised of Cuban dancers guesting from other companies as well: Lorena Feijoo and Joan Boada from San Francisco Ballet, and Lorna Feijoo and Nelson Madrigal from Boston Ballet. The dancers were spectacular, but I didn’t think that much of the choreography, which reminded me of a more bland version of an ensemble scene from Don Quixote. Jose had a series of turning jumps, and a really beautiful multiple pirouette that wowed the audience – drawing those turns out are what he’s most known for. And Xiomara really took my breath away with this crazy fast series of traveling turns in a diagonal down the stage. I’ve never seen her dance like that!

 

(Photo: Jose Carreno dancing with Polina Semionova in Diana e Acteon)

After intermission came two pas de deux from Swan Lake. A Twitter follower asked me why they needed to perform two scenes from the same ballet. I think that ABT, same as everyone else, is just trying to benefit from the Black Swan craze. They should have had Sarah Lane dance one of the pdd though! 😀 Anyway, first pas de deux – White Swan- was Paloma Herrera and Alexandre Hammoudi, which was good. But the second – the Black Swan – I found surprisingly magnificent! It was danced by Michele Wiles and Cory Stearns. There have been so many guest stars from Europe lately gracing ABT’s stage, I’d forgotten how perfect an Odile Michele Wiles is. And Cory really impressed me as well. Whatever he may lack in dance ability (I can’t imagine he’ll ever be a David Hallberg or Marcelo Gomes), he more than makes up for in acting and stage presence. He’s really good at bringing you into the world of the ballet and creating a character you can sympathize with.

Sandwiched in between the two SLs was Jessica Lang’s Splendid Isolation III, danced by Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky. I joked on Twitter that Max earned the hot guy of the night award for that, but seriously – he did! Irina was really beautiful as well. And her party dress, which she came out in for the final stage bow, was, as usual, gorgeous. She has such impeccable fashion taste, imo.

 

Following that was the highlight of the night, for me – Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes in the Act I pdd from Manon. Such a perfectly choreographed pas de deux – beautifully romantic and full of love / lust but with so many breathtaking but capriciously executed, dangerous-looking lifts you sense something out of control. As beautiful as it is, this story isn’t going to have a happy ending. I am liking Diana Vishneva more and more. I’ve always thought she was a great dancer but she always seemed to play too much to the audience for the story ballets. She didn’t take me into the world of the character as much as I want an actor to. But the last two seasons she’s been doing just that: really developing the character and dancing to her partner – Marcelo here and in Lady of the Camellias last season, which is the first time she really blew me away – instead of the audience. This – the Manon pdd – was the audience favorite last night as well. The two got a storm of whoots and bravos at their curtain call, and practically had a standing ovation the audience was so loud in their applause. “So beautiful,” exclaimed the woman beside me. “Okay, we can go home now,” she joked.

 

(Couldn’t find a photo of Diana and Marcelo, but here is Diana dancing Manon with Manuel Legris. With all photos I post now, I’m linking to the original site via a click on the photo.)

Here are Marcelo and Diana in Lady of the Camellias:

 

Then, Alina Cojocaru, one of the European guest artists this season, danced the Rose Adagio from Sleeping Beauty. I’m not a huge fan of this ballet in general, but she was lovely. Patrick Ogle replaced Sascha Radetsky as one of the cavaliers.

Second to last was the Act II pdd from Lady of the Camellias danced by Julie Kent and Cory Stearns. Again, Cory did a very good acting job – and physically he fits the character perfectly, as Julie does hers, but I think some of those lifts are so difficult-looking… I just worry about the dancers. Isn’t that how Roberto Bolle got hurt last season – performing this role?

And the evening ended with another ensemble excerpt from Ratmansky’s Bright Stream. People who stood out most to me were Daniil Simkin and, again, Xiomara Reyes. I really am excited to see this ballet.

Tonight Don Quixote begins and runs through the beginning of next week. I’m excited to see Alina Cojocaru dance with Jose Carreno on Friday night, and Russian ballerina Polina Semionova guesting in the Saturday matinee with David Hallberg.

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Jose Carreno in “Swan Lake” on Dancing With the Stars

Did you guys see it last night? I don’t know who choreographed but it’s obviously a version created for fans of Black Swan the movie, showing both black and white swans vying for Prince Siegfried’s attention, and shortened for the allotted time. Lorena Feijoo from San Francisco Ballet and her sister, Lorna, from Boston Ballet, danced the white and black swan. Interesting that they didn’t have Jose in tights. I hate it when male ballet dancers don’t wear tights. You can’t see the movement at all; it just doesn’t look like ballet. Still, I think our Jose looked better than Jose Martinez in pants.

Also, regarding yet more Black Swan controversy: E! is now positing that because Sarah Lane and Isabella Boylston are both in ABT, Lane’s statements to Dance Magazine about the amount of dancing she did for the film were motivated by sympathy for Boylston. This is becoming just a little absurdist.

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FALL FOR DANCE 2009

 

It’s September — happy September everyone — and for New Yorkers that means Fall For Dance is just around the corner. Tickets go on sale 11 a.m. September 13th, so time to get thinking about what all you want to see. For people unfamiliar with this festival (which this year takes place from September 22 – October 3), three to four companies perform each night and tickets are only $10 a piece per night. A great opportunity for first-time dance-goers. Tix sell out out at the speed of light, though, so have your computer turned on and your browser pointing here by above said time on above said date.

In celebration of the centennial of Ballets Russes, many of the participating companies are performing BR classics like Nijinsky’s Afternoon of a Faun and Fokine’s Dying Swan and Spectre de la Rose. There are also several lectures in the City Center studio centered around BR and its influence today. Go here for the schedule and more info.

 

 

 

 

 

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AVI SCHER & DANCERS

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Photo by Matthew Murphy, of Avi Scher & Dancers when they performed recently up at Jacob’s Pillow. Choreographer and artistic director Scher is at the front of the group. All photos are taken by Matt Murphy and used with his permission. See more of his photos of Avi’s company here and here.

On Sunday, I went to Studio 5 in City Center to see the first full program by young choreographer Avichai Scher. I’d seen Scher’s work before, at one of the 92 Street Y’s Friday dance hours, and was very impressed, so I was excited to attend this program in the intimate Studio 5 space. I love the small space — you’re so close to the dancers, you can really see every little detail. I was also excited because Scher, who studied at the School of American Ballet (the school associated with New York City Ballet), uses a lot of NYCB dancers, and I’m still kind of missing them from the season ending two weeks ago!

I really loved the program. There were five pieces, four of which were choreographed by Scher, who I think is a very talented up and coming choreographer. His work is playful, humorous, lyrical, touching, and always meaningful and evocative.

First on the program was Last Dance, a ballet he choreographed in memory of Jenn Jansma, a 21-year-old ballerina with the Carolina Ballet who passed away of cancer. So horribly sad. The dance was really beautiful, very lyrical, with lots of wispy, flying, birdlike movements. There were eight dancers altogether here but Abi Stafford danced the lead, who I imagined to be Jansma, young and innocent, at the end, heavenbound. Abi, is, if you don’t know, a principal dancer with NYCB, and she gave such a touching performance. She is really such a compelling dancer, especially when you see her up close like this. She makes everything so real and personal.

I mean, you feel like you’re going through everything with her, if that makes sense. She is really starting to impress me lately. I’ve always noticed her superior dance ability, but I think she is beginning to come into her own artistically as well. There was also a really sweet duet between her and David Prottas in this piece. He is also a standout dancer with NYCB.

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Second on the program was Aquilarco, a duet from 1999, choreographed by Val Caniparoli, danced by Scher himself and Racheal Prince. Originally danced by San Francisco Ballet, this was a really cute piece — like a balletic Flamenco, very flirty and playful with lots of original movement and intricate partnering.

Next was a fun piece, just recently created by Scher, called Our Love’s Defense. It’s a duet, performed by Melissa Hough (a new principal at Boston Ballet) and NYCB’s Christian Tworzyanski. The music, by Jason Mraz, reminded me of ragtime, and the dance was about two lovers fighting and making up. They wore wrist supports that kind of resembled wrestling gloves and the movement in places looked a bit boxing-like, but playfully so. Toward the end, the dance became seductive, and they eventually ripped off their outer clothing, stripping down to their underwear, before embracing. Very sweet dance!

Next was a world premiere, No Matter What, for six dancers. The music, by Aphex Twin and Adam Lewis, was kind of new-agey and reminiscient of waves, as was the movement. It was interesting — it looked at times like the dancers were inside of invisible boxes, trying to work their way out. But the movement was more fluid than robot-like. At times, the dancers looked like creatures, with very fluid, waving limbs. This was the only dance that wasn’t on pointe. There were lots of interesting, Balanchine-like pattern changes among the dancers; at the end, they all stood in a huddle, looking up toward the light, as if they’d finally found their way out of whatever might have been imprisoning them.

Finally, we saw Mirrors, a work still in progress. It was my favorite! It involved seven dancers, and they were all mesmerizing. They would by turns, dance freely, playfully, then look as if they were catching themselves in a mirror, checking themselves, sometimes pleased but often not. Dena Abergel from NYCB did a tremendous acting job with this. She really blew me away. As did Abi again. At the end, it seems like the two are two sides of the same person. They turn in a circle, each her back toward the other, one seemingly content, the other not, one with her hands to her face, covering her eyes, the other her arms spread out.

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My favorite part of this piece though was a gorgeous duet between NYCB principal Jared Angle and the wonderfully willowy, rather bewitching at times, Alexsandra Meijer, a principal with San Jose Ballet. There were some lovely lifts, beautiful partnering, and one movement theme was his repeatedly covering her eyes with his hands, preventing her from looking, presumably at herself in a mirror. She reminded me a bit of Janie Taylor, really mesmerizing with loose, sometimes spidery limbs. And Jared is so gallant and such the perfect male partner, and such an excellent dancer. You can really see that up close. You can tell why he’s a principal; everything he does is perfection.

Anyway, I can’t wait to see more of this dance; I can’t wait until it’s finished. And I can’t wait to see more of Avi’s work in general.