Unless you've been holed up with Punxsutawney Phil or Staten Island Chuck these past many weeks, you have to share Haglund's wide-eyed and bushy-tailed excitement and anticipation over Angel Corella's visit to NY City Center with his Corella Ballet Castilla y Leon beginning one week from today – March 17th.
Angel's company arrives in New York fresh from its stupendous success with Swan Lake in Spain in February. It was, quite literally, front page news in Spain with a photo of the magnificent Herman Cornejo splashed all over the top half of page one of the newspaper. (Haglund saw the link on the company's website, but can no longer locate it.) Cornejo was, of course, Prince Siegfried, a role denied him by ABT's Kevin McKenzie in favor of a much lesser dancer (Cory Stearns) who reminds McKenzie of himself. The artistic director of America's National Ballet Company, it seems, sees no problem in discriminating against magnificent shorter male dancers in favor of the taller, less talented, less accomplished, less everything dancer whose ordinariness McKenzie perceives to be more pleasing than Cornejo's Baryshnikov-like brilliance – a brilliance like that which McKenzie toiled under during the 1980s.
How can ABT be America's National Ballet Company and overtly discriminate against employees based on the director's lonely and personal bias against short male dancers in princely roles? If you're going to discriminate in that manner, you don't deserve to be America's National Ballet Company. Congress should take away the designation.
Back to Angel – He's bringing a more contemporary program to City Center which will highlight the vitality of his dancers. Angel will dance. Much missed Carmen Corella will dance. And of course, Herman Cornejo will dance. Haglund dares to indulge in a little Tony Bennettization to predict "This could be the start of something big!"
Once again, Gia Kourlas has put together a compelling interview for TimeOut NY. She recently spoke with Angel Corella about a number of matters including his company's visit to NY City Center and his lack of performances with ABT during the 2010 Met Season. Haglund, like probably everyone else, assumed that Corella was not scheduled for more than two performances at the Met by his own choice as he directed his energies toward his own company. But oh no, we find out that Angel informed ABT that he was available for the entire season and wanted to dance more, but Kevin McKenzie only wanted to cast him for two performances. Why cast Angel Corella, Herman Cornejo, Jose Manuel Carreno, or Sascha Radetsky when you can cast a likeness of your dull past self in everything? Why even consider casting David Hallberg in The Lady and the Camillas when you can cast a likeness of your dull past self in the new production? The $64,000 Question: Why on earth would anyone seriously think that the audience would rather see Cory Stearns than Angel Corella in anything? In anything, let alone in nearly everything?
Anyway, here's hoping that Angel Corella is on course to build Spain's equivalent of The Royal Ballet. And you know what? We in New York who have cherished Angel Corella for so many years – we can help make it happen.
12 responses to “Countdown to Corella”
Dear Haglund,
I often enjoy your blog, but this incessant whining about Mr. Stearns is getting boring. You discuss him more than any other dancer on the planet and its beginning to look like you’re obsessed. Although you may not see potential in his work, there are many people who do. Cory is obviously going to play a key role in the future of ABT. Please accept that and start discussing other topics.
Dear Haglund,
I often enjoy your blog, but this incessant whining about Mr. Stearns is getting boring. You discuss him more than any other dancer on the planet and its beginning to look like you’re obsessed. Although you may not see potential in his work, there are many people who do. Cory is obviously going to play a key role in the future of ABT. Please accept that and start discussing other topics.
Hi Greg. Thanks for your comment.
Sorry if it sounds like Old Hag is obsessed with Mr. Stearns. He’s not. He’s obsessed with the unfortunate misapplication of resources by ABT’s myopic management. Down the pike Mr. Stearns may be able to carry a principal role or two with some success, but there are other extremely talented dancers who have already proven themselves fully able to do that and who are being frozen out of the picture so that one dancer who can’t do it yet can be given an inordinate amount of opportunity. Never before has ABT gambled so many resources so narrowly. And ultimately, it’s the audience that loses out.
Haglund hopes he’s wrong. We’ll see come May.
Hi Greg. Thanks for your comment.
Sorry if it sounds like Old Hag is obsessed with Mr. Stearns. He’s not. He’s obsessed with the unfortunate misapplication of resources by ABT’s myopic management. Down the pike Mr. Stearns may be able to carry a principal role or two with some success, but there are other extremely talented dancers who have already proven themselves fully able to do that and who are being frozen out of the picture so that one dancer who can’t do it yet can be given an inordinate amount of opportunity. Never before has ABT gambled so many resources so narrowly. And ultimately, it’s the audience that loses out.
Haglund hopes he’s wrong. We’ll see come May.
I agree, we’ll see at MET.
I agree, we’ll see at MET.
It’s a shame that ABTs founding stable of men that they became so famous for are being tossed aside a bit this season. Jose and Angel may not be as technically dazzling as they were ten years ago, but they bring so much to the table as mature dancers it’s hard to see their performances dwindle. Ditto Sascha, who has an enormous stage presence (don’t even get me started on Stella’s situation either…)
It would be easier to digest if the workload was being taken by a variety of the young, truly deserving soloists at ABT, but all to one guy? Seems like a lot of pressure, hopefully he’s up for it and remains injury free or it will be a mess.
It’s a shame that ABTs founding stable of men that they became so famous for are being tossed aside a bit this season. Jose and Angel may not be as technically dazzling as they were ten years ago, but they bring so much to the table as mature dancers it’s hard to see their performances dwindle. Ditto Sascha, who has an enormous stage presence (don’t even get me started on Stella’s situation either…)
It would be easier to digest if the workload was being taken by a variety of the young, truly deserving soloists at ABT, but all to one guy? Seems like a lot of pressure, hopefully he’s up for it and remains injury free or it will be a mess.
Hi “K”. Thanks for your comment.
Haglund has to agree with you, and, like you, it wouldn’t take much to get him started on the shameful treatment of Stella and Sascha. The list goes on and the audience continues to lose out.
Hi “K”. Thanks for your comment.
Haglund has to agree with you, and, like you, it wouldn’t take much to get him started on the shameful treatment of Stella and Sascha. The list goes on and the audience continues to lose out.
it’s july — we saw — cory’s not up to par. ugh. why couldn’t they at least have casted sascha?!
it’s july — we saw — cory’s not up to par. ugh. why couldn’t they at least have casted sascha?!