The official Lincoln Center Festival dates for the magnificent Paris Opera Ballet's Giselle performances are Friday, July 13, Saturday July 14 (Mat & Eve), and Tuesday, July 17 through Thursday, July 19 – a total of six performances. Don't miss this presentation by a glorious company that is truly a company in style, essence, and purpose – not a mumbo-jumbo pick-up company of itinerant guest dancers like ABT has become.
POB will present a program entitled French Masters of the 20th Century on Wednesday, July 11, Thursday, July 12 and Sunday July 15. Pina Bausch's Orpheus and Eurydice with the Balthasar-Naumann Ensemble and Chorus will be presented on Friday, July 20, Saturday July 21, and the company's final performance on Sunday July 22.
If you're a Member of Friends of Lincoln Center, you already know that you can purchase tickets beginning tomorrow. Everybody else will have to wait until general ticket sales begin.
Meanwhile, ABT's performance of Giselle next Sunday in Chicago is shaping up to be quite the event which Haglund plans to attend. Yuriko Kajiya will debut as Giselle. Jared Matthews will dance the role of Count Albrecht for the first time with ABT having just debuted with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet a couple of weeks earlier. Devon Teuscher will debut as Myrtha. Who's going to keep all of these excited dancers calm? That task could fall to the steady Blaine Hoven who will be performing the Peasant PdD with Isabella Boylston. Not sure who is slotted for Hilarion, but hope it's a veteran.
Can't wait to see Jared press a horizontal Yuriko into the air in Act II. He will be phenomenal! Anyone who chooses to see the Saturday performances probably won't see those two iconic lifts – but please report back here if you do. It's just a rumor at this point in time, but the word out on Division Street is if the Counts on Saturday miss those lifts, the spectacular Myrthas are going to swoop in from the wings and lift the Giselles for them. There will probably be a lot of trash-talking to go with it. "Get the f__ out of my way, skinny boy." Listen, those Myrthas can trash-talk like Larry Bird blowing his bad breath all over Scottie Pippen, and they're just as strong and fierce. They're not going to put up with Albrecht popping Giselle six inches off the ground and then letting her slide down his front while he twirls around. No sir-ee, Bob. And just imagine – imagine – what Mayor Rahm Emanuel will say if the Counts wimp out on those lifts. Just imagine.