It’s good to see that Herman Cornejo is finally getting the chance to dance Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake. Who’s giving him that chance? Not Kevin McKenzie.
Angel Corella’s new El Lago De Los Cisnes, a Petipa/Ivanov based production with Corella’s own adaptations, will debut for his company, Corella Ballet Castilla y Leon, during the last week of February in Spain. Cornejo, a principal with that company, will dance the premiere with principal Adiarys Almeida. Here’s an art photo of the two by Manuel los de Galanes taken from the company’s website.
Come to think of it, Cornejo’s most frequent partner at ABT, Xiomara Reyes, does not dance Swan Lake with ABT even though she has experience dancing Odette/Odile with the Royal Ballet of Flanders.
So who is getting the opportunity to develop a Prince Siegfried this year? soloist Cory Stearns: someone who has never been tested with the Swan Lake Pas de Trois; someone whose Von Rothbart is under-developed and peters out at the end. When the company takes Swan Lake to Chicago in April, Chicagoans will be denied the opportunity to see one of the most magnificent Siegfrieds in the company, David Hallberg, while they are served up two helpings of Cory Stearns. Hope they appreciate that.
It’s good to see that Sascha Radetsky is finally getting the chance to dance Basilio in Don Quixote. Who’s giving him that chance? Not Kevin McKenzie.
Radetsky has returned to the Dutch National Ballet, where he spent last season as Principal, to dance the role of Basilio in Alexei Ratmansky’s Don Quixote for three performances. During the fall, he partnered Paloma Herrera in the Don Q. PdD in Singapore. Unfortunately, his progress in ABT’s Don Q. seems to have rolled to a stop with his fiery, cape-snapping Espada. Here is Fabrizzio Ferri’s image:
So who is getting the opportunity to develop a Basilio this year? soloist Cory Stearns: someone who has never danced Espada; someone who was supposed to debut his Basilio in China during ABT‘s fall tour but had to withdraw suddenly due to illness or ill-preparedness or both. Two other principals and two soloists had to step in to save the day.
You gotta wonder. You just gotta wonder.