Tonya Plank

Tag: David Hallberg

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    Ratmansky’s Fantastically Funny, Tim Burton-Esque New FIREBIRD

    Thursday night I went down to Costa Mesa for ABT’s premiere of Ratmansky’s FIREBIRD at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. I’m so glad I braved the nearly three hour drive (with traffic; without about fifty minutes) from west L.A. because it was an excellent evening. This is I think Ratmansky’s most theatrical, spectacular ballet…

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    ABT is Coming to Orange County with Ratmansky’s New FIREBIRD

    How excited am I! This Thursday through Sunday, my beloved ABT will be performing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County. They’re premiering Ratmansky’s new Firebird – and none other than SLSG faves Marcelo Gomes and Natalia Osipova are scheduled to star! (David Hallberg and Simone Messmer are co-starring.) The two other…

  • Settling into LA II: Santa Monica, Rose Bowl Flea Market, NoHo Arts Festival, and Universal Studios

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    Settling into LA II: Santa Monica, Rose Bowl Flea Market, NoHo Arts Festival, and Universal Studios

    Here are some more of my recent LA photos. I guess before really settling in, there’s a period where you just have to be a tourist 馃檪 Most of my friends seem to live near Santa Monica, so I’ve been spending a good amount of time out there. Above is the Pier, where Route 66…

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    Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg Guest Star in ABT’s SLEEPING BEAUTY

    Curtain calls photos taken by my new balletomane friend, Andrea. I have to confess, Sleeping Beauty is probably my least favorite ballet. I like the Aurora / Prince Desire wedding pas de deux, with all the gorgeous fish dives, in the last act but I could do without the rest. I just don’t have a…

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    Jose Manuel Carreno’s ABT Farewell

      Thursday night at the Met, Jose Manuel Carreno, a longtime favorite of mine, gave his farewell performance with American Ballet Theater. (He will dance a few more performances with the company as they tour Los Angeles and Japan later this month, and he ended up filling in unexpectedly for an injured dancer in Saturday’s…

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    THE BRIGHT STREAM at ABT

      David Hallberg in Ratmansky’s The Bright Stream, Rosalie O’Connor photo. I’m not exactly sure yet what to think of this ballet, which made its premiere at American Ballet Theater last week. There are a couple more performances left this week and I think I may see it one or two more times. Right now…

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    The Sheepdogs of GISELLE

    Don’t have time to write a review right now, but last week I saw basically three Giselles (two inside the auditorium, and one on the screen in the lobby 馃檪 ). I saw Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes (my favorites), Hee Seo and David Hallberg (it was Seo’s debut as Giselle), and on the lobby…

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    Benjamin Millepied, Christopher Wheeldon, and Alexei Ratmansky Premieres at ABT

      Above: Isabella Boylston and Marcelo Gomes in Christopher Wheeldon’s Thirteen Diversions, which premiered at American Ballet Theater two weeks ago. (Photo by Rosalie O’Connor.) Once again, I’m behind on posts. May was a crazy month, filled with family emergencies, last minute travel, and trying to juggle paying legal work with book industry stuff and…

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    Alina Cojocaru and Polina Semionova Guest Star in ABT’s DON QUIXOTE

    Over the weekend, two European star ballerinas – Alina Cojocaru from the Royal Ballet in London, and Polina Semionova from the Berlin State Opera Ballet – guest starred in American Ballet Theater’s Don Quixote as Kitri.聽 Cojocaru danced with Jose Carreno, and Semionova with David Hallberg. I saw both performances.聽Overall, I thought both are beautiful…

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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…

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    Photos of ABT’s New Nutcracker

    As promised, here are some photos of Ratmansky’s new Nutcracker for ABT. I forgot to mention in my last post how much I loved the Alice in Wonderland-like high chair for Clara to sit atop to watch the mice / nutcracker & soldier battle scene. Really brilliant sets. Richard Hudson is a genius. The battle…

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    American Ballet Theater’s Original New Nutcracker

      More photos coming soon. This one (of Gillian Murphy and Catherine Hurlin as the two versions of Clara) is taken from culture.wnyc.org. Last night was the official opening of ABT’s much awaited new Ratmansky-choreographed Nutcracker at BAM. I loved almost every single second of it. I’ve only seen about six different versions of this…