ABT 2018 - Swan Lake

I was home briefly last week for another celebration of my sweetheart's high school graduation (some photos are below) - this time, it was his party, along with a birthday party for my sister.  She and I also took a paella cooking class while I was there, which was great.  There were only four of us in the class, so we did have a lot of personal attention - I had no idea I was holding a chef's knife incorrectly!  And I finally learned how to supreme an orange!  So...very worthwhile and fun.  My mom and I did some shopping, we watched some tennis, and had some laughs; it was great.  All in all, I had a terrific time (oh, and my sweetheart DID hold up his end of the bargain and saw The Incredibles 2 with me!  His review?  "It was better than mediocre."  Sigh.  I loved it.  We went on Father's Day, then went out to eat where he said he had the best steak dinner of his life. Ok) and I'm sad I won't see them again until Christmas.  Though we did get two unexpected extra days together, thanks to American Airlines.  There was some sort of regional/commuter airline computer kerfuffle, so my flight kept getting delayed and/or canceled.  It was nice to spend extra time with the family, but boy, travel delays are exhausting.  For me and my family - they kept having to come get me at the airport!  Because of the nonsense, I missed out on The Iceman Cometh (I had to give away my TDF ticket), and I almost missed my ABT ticket for Swan Lake.  But I guess they knew they'd better get me back for that or there might be hell to pay...

photo credit: Gene Schiavone

You all know I do love me some Swan Lake, though after my gold standard performance in 2013, I'm always a little wary.  Here are some thoughts on previous visits to the lake:  2013 and 2015.  I was happy to see one of the new principals take on Odette/Odile, Devon Teuscher.  I thought she was terrific.  She was very elegant and moving as Odette, with beautiful arms and deliciously romantic poses.  She did lack the amazing swan arms that I've loved on other dancers, but this is only the second or third time she's done the ballet, so there's room for growth.  Her Black Swan/Odile was fantastic!  So glitteringly evil, she didn't even look like the same woman!  And her fouettes were downright fantastic!  She traveled a bit, but that's ok.  And the speed and fire of her dancing finally woke up her prince Siegfried, Cory Stearns.

photo credit: Gene Schiavone

I went back and looked at old reviews of Cory - I generally describe him as 'stalwart.'  A very pleasant and handsome dancer and a strong partner.  A couple of years ago, I saw him as Siegfried (see link above) and thought he had made giant leaps (ha! leaps!) in the acting department, but he seems to have regressed.  The scuttle is that he and Devon are a couple offstage, as well, so perhaps he was holding himself back to let her shine more?  I don't know; all I do know is that he was fine, not bad, but nothing special and so I didn't really feel anything throughout.  Though I will say that he was electric after the Black Swan pas de deux until the end - his frantic dancing with Odette because he's sentenced her to death was quite well done, and his death leap was very exciting.  I just wish he had done some of the exciting dancing/acting earlier in the evening.

My ABT MVP, Roman Zhurbin, was again the lizard form of Rothbart, and again, he was terrific.  I just can't believe how he finds new layers and new pieces of business, all while wearing a huge rubber lizard suit.  Thomas Forster was Purple Rothbart and he was outstanding!  I always enjoy him and boy, was he seductive in the ballroom.  His arabesque may not have been as high and secure as Marcelo Gomes' (he's always the gold standard, as far as I'm concerned), but other than that, he was fantastic.  The pas de trois in the first act was done excellently by Blaine Hoven, Catherine Hurlin, and Katherine Williams.  I am going to keep my eyes on those two ladies - they were effervescent.  The four baby swans were lovely in the second act, along with the swan soloists.  Oh, and I was so impressed with Duncan Lyle and Jose Sebastian in the Spanish Dance.  They were fabulous.

I'm always happy to see dancers take on new roles and I look forward to watching Teuscher develop as a principal dancer.  Maybe her new roles will inspire Cory to take some risks, too.  Only two more ballets in my season - I need to make them last!