ABT 2019 - Tharp Trio (and a little extra)

Hello, friends!  Sorry for the radio silence - I actually have seen a few things that I'm at a loss to talk about satisfactorily.  I may try to at the end of this post, just to get them out of my head and move on to the next.  But, first, let me chat about my recent visit to ABT!

I decided to skip seeing Whipped Cream this year - I loved seeing it two years in a row and I find it to be enchanting, but I instead opted to see the trio of Twyla Tharp pieces, since I've never seen two of them and the third thrills me to no end.  I will also have a report on a very strange, possibly intoxicated, seat neighbor, so this could be a very full post indeed!

First, let me mention that I am so sick of rain.  OK, moving on.  Thankfully, the rain had lessened enough that I could walk from the covered area by Geffen Hall to the covered area by the Met without having to get my umbrella back out.  I always silently worry about my wet umbrella unleashing water everywhere, even when I have it wrapped in a plastic bag.  I guess it's just another one of my silly worry things.  I arrived at the Met a little early, so I wandered through the gift shop.  Of course, I found a few things I'd like to have; maybe after pay day.  When they opened the house, I went right up to the balcony and got a brownie, because I do enjoy a treat.  They sell a good brownie!  Fun note:  during the orchestra's warm-up, I could hear a French horn playing "I Could Have Danced All Night," and I'm pretty sure I heard a clarinet tooting a bit of "Afternoon of a Faun."  My ears were perked up already...

photo credit: Andrea Mohin (not the cast I saw)

The first piece was Twyla's "The Brahms-Haydn Variations," first done by ABT in 2000.  I'm pretty sure I haven't seen this piece before; I loved it!  I totally want to see it again asap!  Unfortunately, that dreaded slip of paper fell out of the program, letting us know that Herman Cornejo is still injured, so taking his place in this ballet was Arron Scott (now dancing with the ever-sparkling Skylar Brandt).  Besides this couple, there are six other featured couples, with sixteen corps dancers, in the ballet.  I just loved all of the shapes in space that the choreography made - each of the couples had a nice rapport and the steps were lovely.  I'm not a huge Misty Copeland fan, but she was really grand here, partnered with my new favorite Joo Won Ahn (I did get annoyed that she got the biggest ovation during the curtain call, but her fandom is real).  But I also enjoyed Zhong-Jing Fang and Calvin Royal quite a bit, along with the previously mentioned Arron and Skylar.  Oh, everyone was good.  I really would like to see this ballet again to revel in all the movement, expansiveness, and musicality.

photo credit: Nan Melville (not the cast I saw)

A bit of a seat neighbor teaser:  the couple on my left turned out to be a solo lady, rather reeking of alcohol.  OK, whatever.  I was glad to have space to put my bag on the floor where her plus-one should've been.  During the first intermission, I can only assume to went up to the bar to reload.  She was on fire during the second intermission, which I will detail later.  The second piece was "Deuce Coupe," which was an ABT premiere, though the ballet was set on the Joffrey in 1973.  This piece was one of Tharp's first to combine a modern dance sensibility and formal ballet vocabulary.  We see one ballerina in white (danced last night by the beautiful Christine Shevchenko), who is going through different ballet steps and sequences while the rest of the company is dressed in loud contemporary clothes and doing looser, more modern steps.  It's a wonderful combination of movement and style, with looseness and fun, all set to music by the Beach Boys.  I will say that some of the recorded music sounded a little wan and scratchy, they could maybe find better recordings.  But I just loved the joy and freedom of the piece.  James Whiteside had a hilarious bit where the music was sped up to a nearly undanceable tempo, though he kept up beautifully.  And there was a terrific duet with Misty Copeland and Shevchenko, showing the strength, power, and beauty of women.  I thought "Deuce Coupe" was terrific and I think the rest of the audience did, too.  There was a rousing and lengthy ovation and curtain call.  I was a little disappointed that Twyla didn't come out, since this was an ABT premiere, but oh well.

During the lengthy second intermission, I made the mistake of engaging with my perhaps-inebriated seat neighbor, who talked the entire break about a) the horror that is Peter Martins; b) who she thinks really killed JFK; c) the direct line from LBJ to the orange nightmare currently inhabiting the White House; d) the reason carbon dioxide makes her fall asleep during most ballets; e) [vaguely racist things about Misty Copeland and her fan base]; and f) Justin Peck is way better than Alexei Ratmansky.  Whew.  She was exhausting, especially before seeing the exhilarating "In the Upper Room," which requires a lot of energy from the audience as well as the dancers, but I politely nodded my head and commented occasionally when she stopped talking.  I guess I can safely say that I haven't had a conversation like that one before, at least not in the Met.

photo credit: Nan Melville (not the cast I saw)

I always love "In the Upper Room" - it's just exciting, exhausting, powerful yet graceful, and I always catch different moments to thrill me whenever I see it.  I seriously have no idea how those dancers keep up that energy throughout.  The Philip Glass score is relentless (in a good way, for once) and the connection of the dancers to the music and the movement is amazing, as are the lighting and smoke effects (though it did seem to be a little excessive, smoke-wise, for a bit in the middle of the piece).  As usual, I loved the experience of seeing it.  My perhaps-inebriated seat neighbor somehow fell asleep during it, which shocks me, because the energy of the piece just hits me really hard, but I guess carbon dioxide is a powerful force.

a terrible shot of Twyla from my phone

During the extended ovation and curtain call, I was thrilled to see that Twyla DID come out!  She came out and hugged all of the dancers, which was sweet, then she rejected the flowers the usher tried to give her.  Adorably rejected, I should say.  Then she invited the people who helped her stage "Deuce Coupe" to come out for applause as well.  She danced around, soaked in the applause, finally accepted a bouquet of flowers, only to throw them into the front row of the audience!  It was a delightful end to the evening.  She's just a force, even after all of these years.  The Times did a terrific story on her working with ABT (you can read it HERE, if you can access stories through their website).  I'm so glad she is getting some attention and I'm ever so thrilled that ABT is making a commitment to women choreographers; I am almost levitating with excitement over seeing Jane Eyre next week.

Passage photo credit: Julieta Cervantes

As for my other recent experiences, I guess I can say that what I want to see right now is the challenging, and maybe a journey, or exploring the unknown - I saw a reading of an exciting new musical that I probably shouldn't talk about, but I can say that it will change the world if they can find a brave producer.  I greatly enjoyed seeing Shaina Taub in concert at Joe's Pub.  She's one of the best composer/lyricists working right now and she's also passionate in her commitment to social justice.  Her song "When," addressing gun control, is just wrenching.  She's funny, yet incisive, and oh so talented.  I also recently enjoyed seeing Christopher Chen's new play Passage at Soho Rep - a loose interpretation of EM Forster's A Passage to India, Passage is unique and quite unlike anything I've seen.  Directed beautifully by Saheem Ali, the show discusses colonialism, privilege, power, and connection - the cast is comprised entirely of actors of color and they bring the audience into the piece on occasion, so we're never let off the hook in this political, but very human, journey.  I was perplexed, and moved, and provoked throughout and I found Passage a very exciting experience.  I was less excited (though probably provoked in a negative way) by Ink at Manhattan Theatre Club.  It was a slick, professionally-presented story about rich men behaving badly but they're still rich and privileged by the end.  I just wasn't having it.  And that's on me.  I guess that's what I DON'T want to see right now and I wish that theater companies would trust audiences and put more exciting and diverse work on their mainstages.  I will say that my opinion was not a universal opinion and Ink got great reviews and a terrific ovation after the performance I attended.  It also got much Tony-nom love.  But with my entertainment dollars dwindling due to my constant need to contribute to progressive causes, safe stories by and about white men just aren't where I want to spend my time and money.  Your mileage, of course, will vary.

ABT 2019 - Ratmansky Trio

My second ballet of the spring season was billed as Ratmansky Trio, celebrating the tenth year of Alexei Ratmansky's tenure at ABT.  One of the three short ballets was brand new, to celebrate the anniversary, and two others were brought back after a while out of the repertory.  It was a lovely evening all around.

There was a disappointing moment at the top of the evening - the dreaded white slip of paper fell out of my program.  Unfortunately, Herman Cornejo was injured and would be unable to dance.  This was really sad - I so enjoy Cornejo and had looked forward to seeing him in the new ballet.  But, I guess better safe than sorry.  I hope he gets well soon.  Like last week, the balcony was disappointingly empty, though again my row in the center was full, but there weren't many people behind us.  I don't know if people aren't ready for ballet yet, or if they're waiting for the story ballets later in the season, but I'm surprised at how sparse the crowds have been so far.  Though the people who were there were very vocal in their cheers and support.  My row had a trio of ladies-of-an-even-older-certain-age-than-me who yelled "BRAVI" with gusto throughout.

photo credit: Rosalie O'Connor

First up was "Songs of Bukovina," with music by Leonid Desyatnikov.  It's a non-linear piece, set to short preludes based on old Ukranian folk songs, played by a solo pianist (Jacek Mysinski, who played beautifully).  The ballet has five couples, with Isabella Boylston and Blaine Hoven as the lead couple.  I enjoyed watching the steps and the shapes created in space, but I didn't really get a sense of the ballet as a whole; what story was it trying to tell me?  Well, not 'story' per se, but what was I supposed to take away?  I didn't sense any connection between the dancers and music, but, again, it was beautifully danced and I just love the sense of joie de vivre that Boylston brings to her dancing.  She just fills the stage and Blaine Hoven was an excellent partner for her.  I was also quite taken with Joo Won Ahn throughout and was happy to see him in an even bigger role later in the evening.  I would definitely like to see "Songs of Bukovina" again to dig more deeply into it.

photo credit: Gene Schiavone

After a very long intermission (I should've went to grab a snack at the bar), we were treated to "On the Dnieper," a lovely ballet that seems almost Tudor-esque in its longing and disappointments in love.  With music by Prokofiev, this piece is about a young man who comes home from the war and realizes he doesn't love his fiancee, but instead loves another woman (who has a fiance of her own).  There is a lot of pining and beautifully eloquent dancing by people who want what they can't have.  Cory Stearns was regal and strong (stalwart, even) and paired equally well with Hee Seo (as his rejected fiancee) and Christine Shevchenko as his new love.  The music occasionally sounded like cut bits from Romeo and Juliet, but all in all, this is a gorgeous short ballet with lyrical dancing and strong character work.  James Whiteside had a terrific solo as the rejected suitor and there is an amazing moment when flowers are strewn around the stage - glorious.  I loved it.

Finally, the big event: the premiere of Ratmansky's new ballet, "The Seasons," with music by Alexander Glazunov.  I don't know Glazunov's work, or his suite called "The Seasons," but the music was gorgeous and I will be looking for a recording of it.  The ballet is separated into the four seasons, beginning with winter, though by the end, all of the seasons are blending into one another (with climate change, this isn't such a far-fetched notion, right?).  I thought the ballet was simply glorious, filled with air and energy and joy.  Ratmansky said in the program, "'The Seasons' is a celebration of American Ballet Theatre and its dancers.  It is a declaration of love, expression of gratitude, and gift to the company that has been my home for the last ten years."  You can see the love throughout the ballet.

photo credit: Rosalie O'Connor

Winter was first, and Joo Won Ahn who I so enjoyed in the first piece, was the lead gentleman, who partnered his four ballerinas beautifully, and also danced his solos with precision and verve.  The ladies also danced with elegance and freedom (they were Zhong-Jing Fang, Devon Teuscher, April Giangeruso, and Betsy McBride).  There were other corps de ballet dancers as snowflakes throughout, and this was just a gorgeous entry into the piece as a whole.

Two gnomes dance around with red scarves, I guess to chase off winter, and then we're in Spring.  Thomas Forster, Cassandra Trenary, and Breanne Granlund were the lead dancers here and they were all simply wonderful.  Just the way the three of them moved around the stage, together and singly, was amazing.  All of the patterns were simply sublime (I'm glad I had my binoculars this time, to catch some close-ups from time to time).  

Summer was also gorgeous, with the corps de ballet in lovely lilac costumes as cornflowers, then young students were poppies in bright red dresses.  The lead dancer was Stella Abrera as the Spirit of the Corn, and she was chased around by a Faun (who was supposed to be played by Herman Cornejo and was replaced by Blaine Hoven, who was quite good).  Coming to her rescue was Thomas Forster, as the Zephyr from spring.  Their pas de deux was fantastic!  So smooth and elegant, yet free-flowing and spirited.  It was wonderful.  

Finally Bacchus and Bacchante from Autumn come joyously onstage and suddenly everyone comes to even larger life.  Calvin Royal III and Catherine Hurlin are fantastic and leading the proceedings to their exuberant final steps.  I thought "The Seasons" was spectacular and would happily have watched it again right after.  I hope that they'll bring this piece back in the fall, because I would so love to see it again.  This season is off to a great start, as far as I'm concerned...

An Emotional Weekend

It was a weekend of ups and downs - I consider Friday night to be the start of the weekend, btw, so that's where this post begins.  Last August, I got an email from the New York Philharmonic, asking me to subscribe to their upcoming season.  I couldn't quite afford that, but I could afford one of their offerings; in fact, there was no way I was going to pass it up!  I bought a ticket to Bugs Bunny at the Symphony ten months ago - I think that may be the farthest in advance I've ever purchased anything!

When I first lived in NYC, in the early 1990s, I treated myself to a ticket to Bugs Bunny on Broadway, a show at the Gershwin Theater.  It featured a live 50-piece orchestra playing the music to animated shorts, including the amazing "Rabbit of Seville" and "What's Opera, Doc?".  I grew up with those cartoons, and with Bugs Bunny, and I remember having the absolute best time at that show.  So when the sequel went on sale at the Philharmonic, I jumped at the chance.

I received a reminder early in the week, telling me to get to the concert hall pretty early, since there would be heavy security there.  I remembered how long it took my handsome pal and me to get through security when we went to see the Tan Dun concert, so I tried to arrive even earlier.  Plus, the email said that photos with Bugs Bunny would be a possibility!  Oh, how exciting!  I act like a dizzy little girl whenever I see beloved characters from my childhood approach (unless they're in Times Square, then I just get annoyed by them).  So I arrived early-ish, waited in a long line for security, then made it upstairs.  

I couldn't find Bugs, though!  I looked at where I thought he should be, but he wasn't.  So I went and stood in the concession line instead.  I decided I needed the stuffed Bugs, if I couldn't see the 'real' one.  Of course, while I was in that line, Bugs walked past me!  Yay!  After I paid for my stuffed Bugs, I ran to get in line to get a photo with the 'real' one!  Me and every other person my age in the place.  It's funny; most of the audience there was my age and older.  There were some kids, but not really a lot.  Obviously, Bugs means a lot to Baby Boomers, who grew up watching him on Saturday mornings.  But I digress.  Thankfully, they had two lines, so it could be really quick to get people in and out for their photos.  The Bugs was very sweet with everyone, lots of high fives and hugs.  I hope he got paid extra for all the TLC he was handing out.  I'm a little embarrassed about how excited I was to have my picture taken with him.  Only a little, though.

My seat was in the third tier, center section, which was perfectly wonderful for this concert.  I could easily see the screen where the animated shorts would be projected and I had a fine view of the orchestra.  The crowd was well-behaved throughout, though I will say that I was seated near a group of perhaps developmentally disabled adults, who were quite vocal in their enjoyment, and that's all I'll say.  If I was periodically distracted, oh well.  We all had a good time in the end.  The concert was put together by the same gent who put together Bugs Bunny on Broadway, so he has, I guess, a template that he follows.  Now and then, it seemed a little too pat, and there was a bit too much branding, but on the whole, I had a grand time.  I loved hearing the music and watching the cartoons; it was a blast back to my past.  I might have gotten a little teary a couple of times.  The conductor kidded with the children in the audience, telling them their parents ate unfamiliar things like sugar and gluten and watched cartoons on Saturday, which might be foreign to them.  He also provided some fun back stories and context for the work, so it was a lovely evening.

I will say that I feel a little sad that kids today aren't learning an appreciation for classical music like we did.  I learned about opera and classical music (and art and ballet) through Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies - it was cool and a little sophisticated to hear that music.  I thank the producers and musicians who didn't talk down to kids at the time.  Of course, they're not talking down to them now, either, I guess, but what they're saying is completely beyond me.  My especial favorites of the evening were "Baton Bunny," "Rhapsody Rabbit," "Long-Haired Hare," and of course "Rabbit of Seville" and "What's Opera, Doc."  They even showed two new Road Runner cartoons, made with CGI and computers, and they just didn't have the charm or humor to them.  But at least they kept up the excellent practice of underscoring with classical music.  But I'll be one of those ornery older people and talk about how things were better in my day!  And get off my lawn, dagnabbit!



Sunday was the AIDS Walk and it was bittersweet, as usual.  I was happy to be out with dear ones and feeling solidarity and love all around.  But it's also a sad day, when I miss other dear ones who are gone too soon because of AIDS.  My handsome friends and I met at the Boathouse for our special Star Walker breakfast, set up for people who have raised $1000 or more.  It's a very nice spot for breakfast, though there wasn't a place to sit, which was hard on my feet.  After being cheered on by a group of cheerleaders, we went to the Opening Ceremony.  That may have been the first time I've seen the entire Opening Ceremony from start to finish.  It was grand, but standing there for over an hour was also hard on my feet.  Before we even started to walk, my bum foot was aching a lot.  But all of the speakers were terrific, the singers were amazing (hopefully, my video of Brian Stokes Mitchell above will attach), and presidential hopeful Kirsten Gillibrand was just awe-inspiring.  Her speech was fiery and moving and so passionate - I cried through most of it.  She is incredible.

There were lots of musicians and cheerleaders around to get the Walk started, which was great fun.  One of my handsome friends and I had to bow out early, though, because the memorial service of a dear college friend was in the afternoon.  I think she would be proud that we did part of the AIDS Walk first before going to celebrate her.  At least I hope she would be.  I was actually a little glad to stop walking for a bit (due to the dumb subways, we had to grab an Uber to my apartment to change clothes) because of my foot.  We got to my apartment, changed, rested a few minutes, rehydrated, and went out to Woodside to say goodbye to our beautiful friend.  The small chapel was full of people who loved our friend and it was a lovely, uplifting service.  I cried a lot, though.  I guess it was just a day of crying.  I was supposed to go to a third event Sunday night, but I was too emotionally wrung out to make it, besides the fact I could barely walk by the end.  I'm sorry I couldn't do it all, but there's only so much one out-of-shape-with-bad-feet person can do, especially on a day of goodbyes.  I'll just have to do more smiling when I remember - sometimes it takes a while to get there.  I'll keep on walking (or limping) until I do.  

from the AIDS Walk Instagram page

from the AIDS Walk Twitter page

ABT 2019 - Harlequinade

Yes, it's that time of year again - the most wonderful time of the year!  Ballet season!  I had my first ballet of the spring season the other night and it was a lovely evening all around.  For some reason, last year I completely spaced out on the night I had a ticket to the newest (then) Ratmansky reconstruction of Petipa's Harlequinade.  I've been chastising myself all year, so I was thrilled to finally be able to see it.  Thank you, ABT, for bringing it back so quickly.

Of course, having said that, I did find the ballet a little slight.  Lovely, charming, sweet, but slight.  It's only about 105 minutes, including the intermission, and so I would've loved more dancing, but all in all, I had a good time.  I would actually like to catch the ballet again, to be able to pay more attention to specific moments, since the first time I see something, I feel as if my focus is all over the place, trying to catch it all.

Like many ballets, the plot is ridiculously simple - Columbine loves Harlequin, her father wants her to marry someone else.  He locks Columbine in the house and instructs his servant, Pierrot, to stand guard.  But Pierrot's wife, Pierette, is a romantic and helps the lovers escape.  There's a wedding and lots of group dancing at the reception.  The end.  Well, no, there's more, but that's the basic story.  And this ballet, in its desire to replicate early 20th century Petipa, uses a lot of mime and group dancing, though there are a few lovely solos and pas de deux here and there.

photo credit: Rosalie O'Connor

I thought Isabella Boylston was a sassy and spunky Columbine and her footwork was sublime.  She has some really tricky, fast choreography and she delivered it beautifully.  James Whiteside, who I sometimes don't enjoy as much in the story ballets, was terrific as Harlequin.  He has a sense of joie de vivre about his person and it really plays well in this ballet.  He is a strong dancer and attentive partner, and since he's not called upon to deliver too much storytelling, he is very successful in his characterization. These two are very close friends in real life and it shows in their comfort and rapport with each other.  I found them to be delightful throughout.

photo credit: Marty Sohl

Thomas Forster, who is becoming one of my favorite ABT dancers, was very funny as Pierrot.  He doesn't have a lot of dancing, mainly due (probably) to his hysterical commedia-inspired costume, but his mime and physical characterization was great.  He has one moment that the audience ate up, when he's trying to sneak out and not be seen, but those sleeves kept getting in the way.  It was really funny.  Stella Abrera was an adorable Pierrette, very light and bubbly and a sweet troublemaker.  Her dancing was full of lightness and fun.  Alexei Agoudine's mime in his role as Columbine's father was clear and bold and Duncan Lyle was truly inspired as Leandre, the snooty suitor for Columbine's hand.  He was delightful and I will have to keep my eyes on him this season.

There's an extended sequence during the wedding scene for children, all students at ABT's school.  They were all adorable, wearing miniature versions of the adult's costumes.  There was one boy who is going to be a star - he was doing all of the same steps as the other kids, but there was just 'more' going on with him; you could tell he was building a character instead of just doing steps.  There's no way to know his name, since there were dozens of kids up there, but I hope he stays with ballet.  That kind of innate talent can't really be taught.

The physical production was lovely and the costumes were gorgeous.  I loved the wigs and the hats, too.  The orchestra was terrific and sounded very well-rehearsed for an early performance (that hasn't always been the case).  I should commend the corps de ballet, too.  Sometimes at the beginning of the season they look a little ragged, but they did a fine job in Harlequinade.  For me, I could've used more 'dancing' and less 'mime,' but the show is sweet, short, and fun.  Actually, it was the perfect ballet for me to see this week - I've been out every night and it gets to be tiring at my age!  I'm too old to go out every night!  I was so tired, I forgot my binoculars and my camera, so sorry about this goofy curtain call shot.  I was hoping my new phone would do a better job, but...no.  Oh well.  I'm just ever so glad ballet season is here.  I'm looking forward to a lot of beauty and music and dance and love; can't we all use a lot more of that right about now???

A Happy/Sad Day

I made plans a while back to get together last weekend with a wonderfully handsome pal, since we hadn't seen each other in forever.  I was really looking forward to it - then early that morning, he let me know that a mutual college friend had passed away.  Even though we were both devastated, we decided to get together anyway, for hugs and remembrances.  So we had a lovely time at MoMA (at one point, we started giving our own titles to the pieces, which was ever so fun), then we went out for a cocktail so we could toast our beautiful friend who will be missed by everyone who knew her.  Enjoy the photos of our day at MoMA and of our dear one.  Life is so short, my friends - keep your loved ones close and hug them whenever you can.  You never know what's around the corner...

we wondered why there were no sculptures in the garden...