Nouvelles des compagnies américaines

[haydn]

Article pour une fois pas inintéressant dans Grazia, publication qui ne se distingue d'ordinaire pas par la profondeur intellectuelle de ses articles, sur Devin Alberda, danseur au New York City Ballet, qui s'est spécialisé dans les portraits photos "informels" de ses collègues, et qui trouble un peu l’image lisse de la com officielle de la compagnie :


New York City Ballet : ces garçons qui dansent, par Raphaelle Elkrief (Grazia)

[sophia]

Après Nina Ananiashvili, José Manuel Carreño, Ethan Stiefel, Angel Corella...., une autre vedette emblématique de l'ABT, Paloma Herrera, fera prochainement ses adieux. Départ prévu en 2015.

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/m1/1687866-paloma-herrera-se-despide-del-ballet
http://dancemagazine.com/blogs/dance-glance/5822

En attendant, Sascha Radetsky qui, lui, n'aura jamais été promu principal, fera ses adieux le 3 juillet prochain dans Coppélia.

[sophia]

Alastair Macauley ne tarit pas d'éloges sur Everywhere we go, le nouveau ballet de Justin Peck, donné pour le gala d'ouverture de la saison de printemps du NYCB : "the evening reached its climax with a sensational world premiere: Justin Peck’s 42-minute new ballet, “Everywhere We Go,” a work both diffuse and brilliant whose rich supply of configurations, phrases and rhythms often (if not always) suggests that young Mr. Peck can do anything he wants with choreography: a virtuoso of the form."

Celebrating Old Times With New: A Premiere



A noter que les costumes sont de Janie Taylor.

Un petit extrait en vidéo.

[sophia]

A recommander : les vidéos pédagogiques du Pacific Northwest Ballet sur Giselle, dans la version reconstruite en 2011 par les historiens Doug Fullington et Marian Smith, d'après les sources conservées à Harvard.

Cette saison, cette Giselle va bénéficier de nouveaux décors et costumes signés Jérôme Kaplan, ancrés dans le XIXème siècle (avec un petit clin d'oeil Downton Abbey...) >>> une interview de Jérôme Kaplan sur le blog du PNB.

Unveiling Giselle #1 - The Greatest Romantic Ballet

Unveiling Giselle #2 - New Scenery & Costumes

Unveiling Giselle #3 - Wilis & the Supernatural

Unveiling Giselle #4 - The Language of Flowers

[sophia]

L'"invasion russe" avait lieu cette semaine au Met avec les débuts successifs d'Olga Smirnova (+Vadim Muntagirov), Viktoria Tereshkina et Vladimir Shklyarov dans La Bayadère de Makarova avec l'ABT.

A lire sur le sujet, les articles du HuffPost et du New York Times. Résultat des courses : Macauley veut les revoir tous trois, mais surtout Shklyarov!

[voyageur]

Having missed nearly all of the first 2 weeks of ABT's summer season at the Met (including, sadly, Alban Lendorf's Basilio and the Nikiyas of Diana Vishneva and Alina Cojocaru), last week I was able to see 3 performances of Bayadere featuring much of the remaining guest stardust on loan for this run: Vladimir Shklyarov (on May 26 and 29), Olga Smirnova and Vadim Muntagirov (on May 28) and Viktoria Tereshkina (on May 29).

On May 27, Shklyarov replaced an injured Cory Stearns, partnering Polina Semionova's Nikiya and Hee Seo's Gamzatti. Perhaps as a result of inadequate stage rehearsal time, there were a couple of near-disasters in Act I (which in this version runs through the betrothal scene): a collision with a corps dancer and a near slip, but he is enough of a pro to have saved himself and his performance in the Shades scene was unmarred by this or any other flaw. Some of his recent performances have looked to me as if he were pushing a bit, but I saw none of that here--very fine elevation and that lovely line. I had thought him a bit short for Semionova, but they looked good together.
Semionova (who is currently a full-fledged company member, not a guest) has on occasion left me cold, but her Nikiya, with her pliant back and willowy arms, was gorgeous in the pre-Shades scenes, and her acting was strong--she was passionate with Solor (and in a different way with the Brahmin) and in the catfight I liked the way she just crumpled after she realized what she'd done. She can handle the technical demands of Shades easily, of course, but her Shades was beautifully shaped, as well, and she added some lovely touches, like a slow port de bras.
Though some of her performances in the role are better than others, Hee Seo in my book is no Gamzatti, either in technique or temperament, and I thought her May 26 performance was not one of her better ones. She seemed to finish the Italian fouettes too early, came out of her "regular" fouettes awkwardly, and wobbled in her nanosecond balance. And Gamzatti has to be more than the spoiled pretty thing she makes of her.

Smirnova's was certainly the most-awaited performance here (but even so it was far from a sellout). She gave us a largely beautiful (particularly in Act I) but rather bloodless performance. Her epaulement is exquisite, and arms, neck and back made gorgeous shapes throughout, but I am not certain what they expressed. Bayadere is not an abstract ballet (though Shades can be seen as one) and particularly in the Makarova version, if there is no passion, Act I feels like an interminable succession of kitsch until one gets to the betrothal scene. I didn't see any horror at the Brahmin, any particular feeling for Solor, or any outrage at Gamzatti, and only very little emotion in her variation in the betrothal scene. In Shades, I did not like the way she ended the 2d pas de deux and with that upper body I would have expected, and preferred, a deeper port de bras, but her adagio work was generally lovely--it was in the coda that I wanted more articulation.
Muntagirov is a lovely dancer, with great line, elegance, an easy, high jump and very clean footwork, but I want more passion in my Solors.
Seo was Gamzatti again, and did better fouettes, but was still miscast.

I concluded after noting some comments from other audience members about Thursday's performance that Tereshkina is a dancer's dancer. She doesn't advertise her technical brilliance, she just uses it naturally, like the air she breathes (as a friend commented). She doesn't set out to charm the audience either, and she can be a bit austere, so she is not as accessible as some. But oh, can she dance, and her Nikiya was magnificent (beautiful epaulement, that breathcatching balance, gorgeous shades scene and such fast, sharp soutenus in the coda) and moving.
Shklyarov was in great form throughout, and I think he gave us 8 double assembles in Shades).
Isabella Boylston was the Gamzatti, showing better temperament (and I think a bigger jump and better fouettes) than Seo for the part, but with some rough edges.

There were mood-altering wobbles from the corps in Shades all 3 nights I attended, and the variations were of varying quality, but Sarah Lane did a very fine job in the first variation and I liked Devon Teuscher in the second variation.

[sophia]

Thank you, voyageur, for the report.

[voyageur]

For the fourth week of ABT's summer season, the company presented Manon in a new-to-ABT production by Peter Farmer (apparently borrowed from Houston Ballet). I found it disconcerting after 40 years' worth of Manons with the Georgiadis designs suddenly to see it with different dress and decor. (I felt similarly about the new production of Onegin ABT gave us a couple of years ago, but in that case the loss was, to my eyes, only esthetic--I find the Jurgen Rose designs lovelier. In this case, though, I think the production has lost something more: the Georgiadis sets managed to combine opulence and squalor in a way that both framed and commented on the action; the Farmer sets are both literally and figuratively flatter. And in Act I when Manon rubs that coat against her face, substituting a fur collared brocade for the white ermine results in a loss of some resonance.)

But Manon is about its performance, and on June 3 Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes were transcendent. Vishneva is a great dramatic ballerina, and Manon is one of her best roles, giving her the opportunity to combine nuanced acting with rapturous movement. Her portrayal was multi-layered--youthful at first, but even then a flirt, and very excited, even dreamy, over that purse her first admirer hands her. Lots of telling little details--e.g., she leaped to the bed with one leg raised and kept it up. I thought her acting when Lescaut is shot very moving--she heard the shot and became very still, almost not daring to look because she knew, then she turned her head and just went limp. In Act II she was very seductive, clearly reveling in her sexual power. But then visibly torn by Des Grieux' longing, and concluding she can have it all. Her Act III was compelling--with weakness, revulsion and despair convincingly portrayed (though I do wish that wig were not quite so full--it looks more like what a salon on Madison Avenue might turn out than the barely grown in hair of a shaved prostitute's head).
Gomes is not an Anthony Dowell kind of dancer, but that difficult Act I variation was beautifully controlled and fluid at the same time, and every step expressive of his yearning for her. He was passionate throughout, and, while his partnering is always superb, together they are a fabulous partnership.
Herman Cornejo, the Lescaut, is a small dancer who dances very large. But even so, when he circled the much taller Gomes at the end of Act I, it looked to me rather like a gnat flying around a human--I much prefer a taller Lescaut.
Misty Copeland, who has often disappointed me in classical roles, did a very good job as Lescaut's mistress--handling both the comedy and the dancing strongly.
This cast repeated at the matinee on June 7, which was also a celebration of Vishneva's 10th anniversary with ABT, but I was unable to attend. I did, however, attend the evening performance, with Polina Semionova and Cory Stearns.
Semionova was lovely--her Manon is perhaps a bit sweeter than Vishneva's (though she was quite the wanton the morning after) and cowed and cowering in the scene with the jailer (whereas Vishneva was revolted and then just went dead). Stearns, who has just returned from an injury, danced well, and his line is beautiful, but I did not find his dancing very expressive. He partnered Semionova well, though necessarily more carefully than Gomes did Vishneva.
James Whiteside, who is quite tall, was the Lescaut, so he was believable as Semionova's brother and the scene with Des Grieux looked much better than the one with Cornejo and Gomes. He is a strong dancer, and articulated the choreography well, but I found his portrayal too nasty. Granted, Lescaut has the morals of a jackal and a mean streak to boot, but if we don't at least LIKE him, his death is not horrifying, and it is much harder to feel sympathy for Manon's distress.
Veronika Part was, I thought, miscast as Lescaut's mistress.
Though I understand that the Vishneva anniversary performance was well sold, the Manons I attended had a shocking number of empty seats.

[sophia]

Thank you, voyageur.

Une photo des saluts de la représentation-anniversaire des 10 ans de Diana Vishneva à l'ABT :


Source : http://instagram.com/marcelua

[voyageur]

The fifth week of ABT's summer season brought us its premiere of the Ashton Cinderella. This is the fourth production of the ballet to be performed by ABT, and is in my view superior, not just to the preceding three versions, but to every other version of Cinderella I've seen.
ABT in recent times has done a more than respectable job of mounting Ashton ballets (the Sylvia in particular I thought extremely well done) and while the company as a whole does not quite get the "Bend" "More" torsos needed to dance Ashton's choreography as it was meant to be danced, I don't think they dance it any less well than the Royal Ballet nowadays. And indeed, the David Walker sets and costumes borrowed by ABT from the Joffrey are for me better than the Toer Van Schayk sets and Christine Haworth costumes used in the latter's current production (with the exception of that long cape/train that mucks up Cinderella's Act II entrance--bad in any case, the green at ABT is more offensive and misplaced--no, we are not in Napoli's Act II--than what I recall as a more neutral white at the Royal).
I saw two casts: Xiomara Reyes and Joseph Gorak on June 11 and Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg on June 12.
Reyes brought her customary sweetness to the role, though I would have liked to see a bit more sadness in Act I. She handled the Ashton choreography well, though I found Murphy's footwork a bit sharper and I would have preferred a more articulated and deeper arch to her back in her ballroom variation. Gorak, who was cast as a result of some reshuffling following Cory Stearns' injury, showed his elegance and refinement from his entrance and that perfect double tour. He has beautiful line and wonderful fluidity; his ballroom variation was gorgeously danced and with one turn that took my breath away. Though without any flubs, Gorak's partnering still needs work--it looks awkward and his concentration was so intense that he was out of character. Reyes, to her great credit, stayed in character and looked joyous and at ease throughout. I have seen other men at ABT struggle with partnering early in their careers and develop into good partners over time, and I have hopes that in time Gorak will develop the strength and skill he needs.
Murphy is by no means a waif, and her Cinderella, while beautifully danced (and, with one exception, particularly her footwork) was a bit sturdy for my taste. She had Cinders' good nature and playfulness, but not, I think, her wistfulness. Hallberg has gained command since joining the Bolshoi, and he, too, was an elegant prince. Though I thought Gorak's dancing more fluid, Hallberg's partnering was strong and secure.
As the Fairy Godmother, Veronika Part was beautiful and expansive. Devon Teuscher danced it more securely, but I thought she was a bit cold.
The Seasons largely didn't get it right, but I liked Sarah Lane and, even more, Skylar Brandt as Spring, both of whom got the "buds bursting" heard by Nadia Nerina in the score, and April Giangeruso was a lovely Winter, though I've seen it danced with more command.
The stepsisters for me at this point are something to be gotten through (particularly in Act I) and I was not taken with any of the four I saw (and I disliked Craig Salstein's overdone Ashton sister most of all). I did enjoy Luis Ribagorda's Jester.
ABT is scheduled to perform this Cinderella again in Washington in March 2015. If the two performances I saw lacked the magic I remember from say, Alina Cojocaru or, much earlier, Antoinette Sibley, descending that staircase they nevertheless more than warrant repeated viewing. In a company known for the poor quality of its productions, the Ashton Cinderella gleams like a precious jewel.

[haydn]

Thank you very much, voyageur, for reviewing the Met season for us!

_________________
Un petit "j'aime" sur la page Facebook de Dansomanie : http://www.facebook.com/Dansomanie/

[voyageur]

The sixth week of ABT's summer season gave us Giselle, the best of its productions of the 19th century classics; it's certainly not the best Giselle out there, but it is devoid of major offense. I saw the performances on June 16 (Vishneva/Gomes), 17 (Semionova/Hallberg), and the evening of June 18 (Kent/Bolle).
Vishneva's Giselle has changed considerably over the years she has been performing it here--I remember her early ones as not-at-all-in-the-Romantic-style, but rather highly idiosynchratic and modern in feel, full of energy, and even a bit brash. The Giselle she presented last week, while of a very different order, was also idiosynchratic and not-in-the-Romantic-style-or-at-least-not-the-one-we-associate-with-Giselle --this was fervent and detailed, a dramatic and almost operatic rendition of a Romantic ballet, with a hothouse quality. This Giselle was on death's doorstep almost from the start (that momentary faiblesse in Act I became a scary swoon). Much of the time it worked--she was convincingly young and in the throes of first love, tender in nestling her head on Gomes' shoulder, or pushing Hilarion away as if she could not bear to have her bubble burst, and her mad scene clearly showed her inhabiting another world altogether.
What worked all the time was the quality of her dancing and, particularly, her dancing with Gomes. They are a great partnership, both fully committed and always using dance to express emotion. All their dancing in Act I was for each other--her Spessivtzeva variation (which included as an extra bonus some extra and extra-high ronds de jambe) as she looked back to him (in this version it is performed in the direction of her mother), his variation.
And in Act II, the dancing was ravishing. She took that first sequence very fast, and used varying speed throughout for full effect, as she did the varying height of her jumps. He did 24 entrechats six very well, and as if overtaken by another's will. I found his ending, which seemed to ask the impossible "how can I go on after this?" the most moving by far of the three performances.
Gillian Murphy was a forceful and implacable Myrtha, but I thought I saw some slight strain in her dancing. Yuriko Kajiya's Zulma was very good, but Misty Copeland's Moyna variation was ruined by her undisciplined upper body.
Jared Matthews was a fine Hilarion.
ABT made me happy by casting Joseph Gorak and Sarah Lane in the peasant pas. They made me even happier in their dancing of it. They were terrific: both very musical, with perfect timing and finishes, clean and precise footwork, and beautiful ports de bras. Watching Gorak, I thought that the choreography really didn't suit him; he seems too elegant for the piece, which is usually danced by a more muscular male, but the following night when I watched a more rustic rendition I wished I were seeing Gorak again.

If Vishneva/Gomes were "un peu de trop," Semionova/Hallberg the following evening seemed a bit "trop peu".
Semionova's Giselle was sweet, and a bit shy, but not for an instant did I believe her to be frail. And I found little transformation in her Act II--her Wili seemed quite human, and, for example, visibly happy when that clock starts striking. I have never found Hallberg's acting to be on a par with his dancing, and while I think that is even more the case now, I found his ending rather moving.
Their dancing was beautiful (to the consternation of many, however, Hallberg did brises in lieu of the entrechats six and I don't think they were particularly effective) and their limbs look very good together (though without that congruence of line he has with Zakharova). I think, however, they each do better with other partners who break through some of their individual reserve. This was a Giselle that barely touched me.
Veronika Part's Myrtha was danced with expansiveness and without visible strain.

I did not plan originally to see the Kent/Bolle Giselle, but as I suddenly had the evening free, and Gorak/Lane were going to be dancing the peasant pas again, I decided to go.
Some ballerinas are worth seeing again and again and in everything even into their later years. To my eyes, not so Julie Kent in Giselle. This was a mere sketch of a Giselle-- without elevation, with too much time off point, sans a decent penche, and with a pinched and desiccated flow of movement--arms (one very lovely port de bras when she was motioning to Albrecht to stay at the cross as she's obeying Myrtha's command) and little else.
I've seen relatively little of Bolle in recent years, as (at the Royal Ballet and La Scala as well as at ABT) he's often paired with ballerinas who don't interest me, so this was a good opportunity to take another look. In a performance dedicated to Ivan Nagy (the ultimate Albrecht-as-great-partner), Bolle was a great partner--raising Kent high in the overhead lifts and making her look as good as could be. His instrument is so beautiful that it can almost overtake any other analysis--e.g., does his Albrecht seem so sure of himself because of the way he moves and acts or because of what the viewer assumes about him?--but I've sometimes found nothing very compelling in the quality of the way he moves. His Albrecht, however, I thought quite beautifully danced. He did the full 32 entrechats six (I thought the last 2 a bit blurred, but that may have been a deliberate choice to demonstrate Albrecht's exhaustion).
Stella Abrera danced Myrtha well, though I prefer a more imperious Queen of the Wilis.
It was a joy to watch Gorak and Lane in the peasant pas again, though I think this was the first time I saw him dance a less than perfect variation--just a small blip.

[voyageur]

It's that time in the season when injuries seem to bite everywhere.

Cornejo has been out and was replaced in his Giselle with Cojocaru on Saturday by David Hallberg, who in turn is now out with an injury and was replaced in his Lake with Semionova last night by Gomes. But before THAT occurred, at Monday's Lake, Gillian Murphy sprained her foot during the coda in Act II and was replaced in Acts III and IV by Hee Seo (report on that performance to come). Cojocaru had been scheduled to dance Lake tomorrow (Friday) with Cornejo, and there was considerable speculation concerning whom she would dance it with--the answer is "no one," as she is now out, too, and Seo and Bolle will dance that performance. Whether Cojocaru is injured, too, or just wasn't able to find/rehearse adequately with a suitable partner, I don't know, but this is the second consecutive Met season in which she is not dancing her scheduled Lake.

Murphy and Hallberg are scheduled to dance The Dream on Monday and again on Wednesday. It seems likely that one or both of them won't be appearing.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Update on June 27: the cast change slip tonight said Cojocaru was injured and unable to dance (silence re Cornejo), and she has tweeted that she needs a few days. (As I posted in the Bolshoi tours thread, Hallberg tweeted that his injury is minor and he just needs a couple of weeks' rest.) Hallberg's Lake tomorrow and Dreams next week will be danced by Stearns.

[sophia]

Once again, a big thank you, voyageur, for the review!

[sophia]

Isabella Boylston a été promue principale de l'ABT.

Quatre danseurs ont également été promus solistes : Joseph Gorak, Christine Shevchenko, Devon Teuscher et Roman Zhurbin.

Isabella Boylston Promoted to Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theater


Source : ABT