ABT 7/3
Radetsky marches on

The last time Sascha Radetsky quit ABT in 2008, he went out in a storm of thunder and lightning and was tossed into the wash by the menacing Wilis. When the unusually bright spotlight began following every move of his famously toxic Hilarion in Act II of Giselle, few people in the audience knew that he was leaving for a principal position at the Dutch National Ballet. The reality of his departure only became clear at bows when Ethan Stiefel, who had danced Albrecht, pulled Radetsky forward for a special salute and raised his arm high as though signalling a champion’s victory and farewell.

Radetsky would go on to dance his own Albrecht, Prodigal Son, and several other leading roles for the next year and a half before returning to ABT to reunite with his supremely talented and gorgeous wife, Stella Abrera.

Fast forward five years. Radetsky’s choice to retire prematurely from ABT to star in the upcoming TV dance drama Flesh and Bone took people by surprise, but at least everyone had a few months to process it. This time he would retire as the friendly, innocuous Franz opposite Xiomara Reyes’ Coppelia. There would be no stormy exit. Or would there?

Just as conductor David LaMarche raised his arms to bring the orchestra to attention, hundreds of cell phones began vibrating and buzzing in the audience. The City of New York had just transmitted a text storm warning to all citizens that there was an imminent danger of flash floods in low lying areas. We all could end up in the wash this time.

With effort, we got our imaginations under control and things calmed down so that we could enjoy a bright, superbly danced performance from Radetsky and Reyes. Xiomara can carve out a character on stage with more clarity and theatrical detail than anyone. What a season she has had – managing debut after debut of ABT’s talented men: Matthews, Gorak, and Radetsky – while giving her own gleaming performances of dramatic depth, boundless energy, and charm. However, Haglund did have a little trouble distinguishing between her arabesque and attitude positions last evening.

For his part, Radetsky seemed more relaxed than we’ve ever seen him on stage. His face looked particularly youthful. His leg lines were beautiful. Jumps covered good space in fine form. As he moved toward the downstage corner for the finish of his variation in Act III, Haglund thought to himself, “This is it, Radetsky. This is the last time you’ll ever have to face down a pirouette on the Met stage.” With that, he delivered a strong triple turn followed by a double tour to the knee that got a very happy and boisterous reception from the audience.

Sascha's PdD skills are going to be sadly missed at ABT where sure hands are in short supply these days and not as important an attribute as they are over at NYCB. He handled the tricky PdD with Xiomara with ease and finesse, and the smooth, seemingly effortless communication between them did not go unappreciated by the audience.

Alexei Agoudine was excellent as Dr. Coppelius and commanded complete attention whenever he was on stage. He’s Haglund’s favorite character in this rare ballet where the character dancer drives all of the action and is the true star of the show.

Adrienne Schulte as the Lead Mazurka Lady had a fun whimsical last dance with Sascha; they both joined ABT in the ‘90s. Christine Shevchenko and Blaine Hoven were lively and sharp in the Mazurka and Czardas. Luciana Paris and Devon Teuscher as Prayer and Dawn would have probably drawn more praise if Yuriko Kajiya and Stella Abrera had never danced the roles before them. Luciana was cast a bit against type as Prayer, and Devon had too much hard paste in the shoes to make Dawn as calmly brilliant as it should be.

The audience was filled with familiar faces. Gary Chryst, Gennadi Saviliev, Joaquin De Luz, Max and Irina with two hyper-excited little girls in tow, Wendy Whelan and many ABT dancers dressed up for the occasion. Radetsky’s family was there. Over the years, his big brother has been known to turn heads and stop pedestrian traffic as soon as he entered the Met. How can one family be so gorgeous?

When it was all over, the expression on Radetsky’s face was one of relief, gratitude, and genuine happiness. Xiomara presented her bouquet to him; he, in turn, presented her with a single rose. McKenzie’s ceremoniously delivered horseshoe wreath was dropped to the floor rather quickly. Stella delivered a bouquet with a kiss. The nonperforming company members appeared from the side wings to applaud and take pictures. Corps member Gray Davis even hobbled out on crutches. The audience relentlessly chanted, "Sa-scha, Sa-scha" for several minutes until he appeared before the curtain a final time to receive more cheers. He got the message.

There are some nice images of the bows over on Kent Becker’s Not My Day Job Photography.

So what do you give the guy who has fought so hard and so long to give us so much and is poised to take on even bigger challenges? A Gladiator First Position Pump Bump Award seems the only fitting trophy with which to salute Sascha Radetsky, who on this July 4th is probably celebrating his independence just a little bit more than the rest of us.