Magical MissTari Tour: ABT 2015 - Romeo and Juliet and the end of an era

I know I've said it a million times, but I'll say it again - I love ballet. I love ABT, I love the story ballets and I love ballerina Julie Kent. In my memory, she's the first ballerina I saw in person dance Romeo and Juliet, plus I've always been a fan of the movies Dancers and Center Stage, both of which feature her. I just find her an incredibly musical and expressive dancer who doesn't rely on tricks or bravado, just experience, talent and storytelling genius. I generally schedule my ABT spring season around which ballets she'll be dancing and her Swan Lake in 2013 was one of the transcendent experiences of my life (you can see that review HERE). When ABT announced that she'd be retiring this year, I knew I had to be there. I convinced my Impossibly Handsome Ballet Buddy (IHBB) to join me. Well, it didn't take much convincing, he was a fan, too.

Last Saturday was an incredibly emotional evening for me. It was like losing a piece of my youth - not that Julie Kent is my age, I'm quite a bit older (of course) but I've been following her career for over 20 years, so that's a big part of my life. Add into the equation that Romeo and Juliet features some of the most beautiful dancing ever, plus Roberto Bolle was dancing Romeo and he is one of the most beautiful dancers ever, and you have a recipe for sobbing from me.

After seeing the ballet twice earlier this week, I was a little afraid I'd be over hearing it again. But I shouldn't have worried - I thought Saturday night just sped by. It flew by much too quickly. I was trying to be completely present and enjoy the moments as they came, but I did get weepy a couple of times when my brain remembered that this would be the last time I'd see Julie dance. She got a huge round of applause at her entrance and I think I held my breath almost the entire evening when she danced, so I wouldn't miss a thing. It was all just artistic, thoughtful and, of course, gorgeous. I enjoyed her relationship with the Nurse and she had completely different actions than did the other ballerinas I'd seen earlier in the week. I also really liked the way Julie played off Alexandre Hammoudi as Paris (I liked him in this role better than I did when he danced Romeo last Tuesday). The way he looked at Julie, as if she were porcelain. He touched her as if he were afraid she'd break. Even in their last scene together, he only got frustrated with her at the very end of their pas de deux, which was a completely different choice than the Paris I saw earlier.

I saw the same gent dance Tybalt all three nights and he seemed to make some really different and interesting choices on Saturday night, perhaps because he was dancing opposite the sublime Roberto Bolle as Romeo and Herman Cornejo as Mercutio. I don't know that I'd be able to watch three versions of every ballet, but seeing Romeo and Juliet three times in one week was simply fascinating, watching different dancers make different choices with the exact same steps. Cornejo as Mercutio was brilliant - his death scene was far and away superior to the others I saw earlier in the week. Of course, I also loved Cornejo's Romeo, as I guess I am predisposed to do.

photo credit: Paula Lobo

The balcony scene was so beautiful and romantic, yet tinged with sadness. It also got an extended reception as the curtain went down for the first act. The scene where Romeo and Juliet marry was incredibly touching and it seemed as if not only Romeo and Juliet wanted to not let each other go, but Julie and Roberto were also clinging to one another. It was beautifully touching. Roberto Bolle is just such a wonderful partner for her, they really seem to move as one, and he really pulled out the stops, it seems, for Julie's final performance. Their bedroom pas de deux was incredible, and Julie's acting in the final scene with her parents and with the poison was sublime. She may be a tiny lady, sitting alone on her bed, but she filled the space with her palpable terror and resignation. And the end...sob city. So tragic. So beautiful. So moving. The way she died, trying to pull her Romeo up to her, was crazy wonderful.

And then the rapturous applause. According to reports, the ovation for Julie lasted over 20 minutes. Former partners and colleagues came on stage to fete her, leave her bouquets and, in a couple of cases, lift her in one last lift. It was beautiful. And when her children came out to hug her, oh. So adorable. The whole thing just showed how beloved Julie is, not only amongst the audience, but also amongst her colleagues. And she had such a sweet, touching look on her face throughout. She was often wiping away tears. As was I. It was just a glorious night. I'm so glad I was there and I'm so glad I got to share it with my IHBB.

I took tons of photos and quite a few of them turned out pretty well, for once. I'm also going to include some of the photos I've taken of Julie in the past. I can't lie, ABT won't be quite the same for me anymore. I'm interested to see how they move forward now that their premier ballerina of the story ballets is gone. I hope she stays around to perhaps coach some of the younger dancers on how to fill the stage and tell a story through dance. That would make me happy. I think I'm going to need to see if I can find a copy of the Le Corsaire DVD (maybe I'll check at the Met when I go next week). I'm sure I'll be in Julie-withdrawal very soon...