New York City Ballet dressed itself to the hilt with two more glistening performances of Jewels on Wednesday and Thursday. Every single debut was a 100 carat diamondized beauty set among the polished performances of gems including Ashley Laracey in Emeralds, Tiler Peck with Roman Mejia and Emily Kikta in Rubies, and Joseph Gordon in Diamonds. 

 

 

 

        Opening Night of New York City Ballet’s 75th Anniversary Season had a circusy feel to it – as though we had somehow stumbled into the middle of Massine’s Parade. A line of picketing musicians oompa oompa-ed up and down the sidewalk in front of Lincoln Center while onlookers spooned gelato into their mouths and divided their attention between the picketers and the video art installation hanging on the front of the Koch Theater. 

Here's the NYCB cast sheet for Week 2 that is posted in the lobby. No changes yet to Week 1.

        Just curious — who out there in NYC currently receives free individual health insurance from his employer? According to NYCB, the musicians have received free individual health insurance for many years and are the only NYCB employees who do not currently pay any part of their individual health insurance premiums. Haglund's experience over the past three decades has been to pay as much as 80% of the cost of health insurance and never less than 50%. Right now, he pays $165 per month for Medicare coverage and an additional premium for prescriptions. Why in this day and age should the NYCB orchestra expect free health insurance when that would surely mean that their cost would be factored into the premiums of other NYCB employees?

        And why is the orchestra arguing a comparison with 2019 wages? 2019 is history. Everybody suffered financially in 2020 & 2021, and nobody – especially those who had to start over multiple times in new jobs – had a sense of entitlement to 2019 wages.

        Haglund's sense is that both sides in this contest are probably lying to some extent which is why neither side will release to the public the actual salaries & benefits paid. IMO, as a nonprofit organization that relies on the generosity of its supporters and the aid of government, NYCB & the union should release lists of salaries & benefits with names redacted so that the public knows where to place its sympathies.

        Every time there is a hike in ticket prices or facility fees or service fees, we should wonder why the orchestra members do not pay health insurance premiums.

        Lastly, why don't all the Lincoln Center resident companies and their unions have enough muscle to collectively negotiate favorable health insurance premiums for the many thousands of employees?

This is a drop dead gorgeous coffee table book. Oh my goodness. While the choreography for which these costumes were designed was mostly forgettable — with the exception of the brilliant Spectral Evidence by Angelin Preljocaj, Polaris by Myles Thatcher, and Belles Lettres by Justin Peck — the costumes were nearly always a hit. We've always wondered why the Fall Fashion Gala tradition is said to have begun in 2012 when, in fact, Stella McCartney contributed major designs the previous fall.

The costumes are glorious, the photography is stunning, and the textual feel of the book is rich. On Amazon.

Haglund's all-time, forever favorites by Valentino (ohhh to touch that silk):

        So . . . along with today's announcement of some fairly interesting casting for New York City Ballet's opening week of Jewels came the announcement that the NYCB Orchestra has authorized a strike in the event that contract negotiations stall. Nothing's ever easy in this city. Let's hope that everyone stays calm and focused and continues to negotiate in good faith so that we can enjoy a wonderful 75th Anniversary Season. Rather than anyone screaming and threatening, why not make the artists' salaries public so that the public can make a judgement about where to place its sympathies. No names — just a list of salaries & benefits.

        We're extremely happy with the many upcoming debuts, particularly seeing Mira Nadon and Davide Riccardo together in Emeralds; Emma Von Enck, Jovani Furlan, and Christina Clark in Rubies along with Isabella LaFreniere and Chun Wai Chan debuting in Diamonds — all will be spectacular. The casting of Ashley Bouder in Emeralds is simply indicative of a problem unresolved. A month ago she was performing out West:

        The Verdy role in Emeralds requires lovely arms. Luckily we'll see the most beautiful arms on the stage when Ashley Laracey performs the other principal role in the same cast. The differences in fitness and stage readiness will be both startling and troubling. Are we looking forward to seeing Tootsie Rolls waving around to Faure's lovely music in the Verdy role? Afraid not. But that isn't Bouder's concern. So long as she can count on five people sitting in the front row right corner cheering her on, she will soil Balanchine from one end of the stage to the other.

        Smart move by ABT to upload its casting earlier than in years past. Had hoped to see some principal casting for Curley, Frenette, Klein, and Ishchuk. They may show up in underpants in Petite Mort but would rather see them suited up in the royal regalia of Ballet Imperial and Etudes.

        Cornejo, Bell, and Roxander in the more virtuosic solo in Etudes should be electrifying if they all can get those arabesque legs up and hang onto their double tours. Remembering Ahn's bravery in his knock down, death-defying Ali in Le Corsaire a few years back made Haglund think that he'd be pegged for this role, but he'll be fine in the other role in both the second and third casts. Hopefully, Cornejo, Bell and Roxander will understand that the audience won't care if they accelerate the double tours past the tempo; just get the damn eight in — or do nine if there's time. Not sure what to expect from the corps which generally gets from Point A to Point B cleanly in white acts, but needs to dance from Point A to Point B in the Etudes finale. Fingers crossed. So happy to see Devon Teuscher leading opening night.

        It will be great to see Michael de la Nuez's beautiful jumps as Olga's Fiance in On the Dnipro, but it's a shame that room couldn't be made for Eric Tamm's reprisal of the role, too.

        Shevchenko, Royal, and Misseldine in Ballet Imperial on a program with Cassandra Trenary and Aran Bell in The Dream will make for two glorious performances.

        Not much to complain about; so, we won't. Tickets on sale Wednesday, September 6th at noon.

ABT's Fall Season just might satisfy Haglund's white tutu tooth.

Etudes and Ballet Imperial, along with The Dream, On the Dnipro (sic) (isn't it Dnieper?), Piano Concerto #1, and Petit Mort sound like a fabulous season. Basically, this is what we want.

Etudes hasn't been danced by ABT in 15 years — why? It's a favorite the world over. Expecting a stunning technical display from Devon Teuscher!

Below is a video of the Mariinsky in a miraculous finale of Etudes. Tereshkina, Sarafanov, Shklyarov. Look at the height of the back legs on those men in their jumps — principals and corps. They're killing it, and Sarafanov is simply unmatched. And Tereshkina is a goddess in pointe shoes. However, it does seem that some of the corps have difficulty jumping down instead of jumping up on the diagonals. Still and all, a standard setting finale.

Let's go let's go let's go Bell, Curly, Ishchuk, and Frenette!!

Tickets on sale September 6th.

        Sometimes pathological optimism just bubbles up like it did this past week during ABT's performances of Swan Lake at the Met Opera House. At the moment it seems like the company has a few Odette/Odiles who are at the very height of their formidable artistic powers and who have suddenly helped ABT recover its reputation in this classic. We caught a couple of them, Skylar Brandt and Devon Teuscher, who are developing their individual interpretations at astonishing speed with the assistance of private coaches who, themselves, were memorable in the roles.

        In Skylar Brandt's Odette, we felt the emotional intensity of Irina Dvorovenko. In her Odile, we recognized the diabolical cunning with which Irina used to sashay around the stage. This year the artistry in Brandt's Odette rose to the level of her Odile. We could not decide which character we liked more or who we wanted to win in the end. Odile powered her seductive arrogance with showy balances and dominatrix-inspired whipping fouettes. She came at Prince Siegfried with a diagonal of step-over turns that made him dizzy with heat. This year, Brandt's Odette possessed a new eloquence through her lengthened front of neck and delicate clavicle. The lifted face beautifully conveyed her plight and sorrow as did her sensitive port de bras.

    Herman Cornejo as Siegfried, although technically unsteady at the start, delivered a powerfully danced and nuanced performance of his character who was so lost in love that he couldn't see straight. Cornejo surely senses the curtain slowly descending on his career and is driving hard for performances that are as memorable for their dramatic impact as his early performances have been memorable for their technical brilliance.

        Devon Teuscher, whose Odette and Odile are being developed by Isabelle Guerin, has already achieved such mastery and majesty that it is hard to imagine where she will take these characters in the future. Odette's melancholy ran so deeply at this performance and her river of tears unleashed such a torrent of despair that she might have headed for the cliff in Act II instead of waiting for Act IV. The beautiful length of back and stately shape of arabesques seemed exquisitely suited for Odette. Her character's vulnerability was steeled with an underlying strength that she didn't even know she had. It must be remarked that Devon's choice to spot the audience on her blistering chainé turns (instead of spotting the corner) sent the dramatic pulse beat soaring.  Those haunting eyes burned across the footlights. Such a great, great addition to a powerful interpretation. Also, Odile's fearsome fouettes shot straight to the side without first opening front – the effect was a faster rotation which made her seem more reckless and dominating. All of this awesome power was coupled with elegance of line and pristine positions of the feet.

        The initial Siegfried, Cory Stearns, managed his customary Act I which is to say that the basics got done but little else was accomplished. Apparently he injured his back early on which necessitated withdrawing at the end of Act II. Before doing so, however, he securely partnered Devon in a glorious White Swan PdD. 

        Aran Bell stepped in as Siegfried for Acts III and IV and made sure that it was an evening we would not forget. There may have been a slight unease in his face when he first sat down next to The Queen Mother. No doubt he was wondering if the audience was wondering what he was doing there. (We would later find out that some audience members didn't even know that a substitution had been made or that a different dancer wasn't actually supposed to dance in the last half of the show.) Bell found Siegfried's character fairly quickly without the benefits of dancing Acts I & II. He soared through the dances in The Great Hall with ease. At the conclusion of one variation, he ripped a pirouette that revolved past the music and stuck him on balance with his back to the audience. He then blasted through the Black Swan PdD on full power – not only delivering his own miraculous leaps and turns but also heaving Odile high in her arabesque fouettes and spinning her silly. His Act IV Siegfried was despondent and tormented as he lost Odette to the swampish von Rothbart and lost control of his own destiny. When Odette committed to ending von Rothbart's control with a leap to her death, Bell's chase after her and his dive off the cliff became the exclamation point of the evening. It was terrific theater in every way.

        On Thursday and Friday nights, respectively, Andrii Ishchuk and Jarod Curley danced the role of the Act III von Rothbart with convincing, conniving authority. These are two huge dancers who move with the graceful strength and speed of panthers. They gave terrific performances which brought electricity to the ballroom like we haven't seen since the days of Gomes and Malakhov. Both will undoubtedly transition into the role of Siegfried, but for now we are fortunate to have them on stage in this iconic role.

        The PdT, which in the days of Cornejo/Reyes/Cornejo was thrilling beyond words, was rather disappointing on Thursday and Friday nights. It seems that flying assemblés with sixes are beyond the ABT corps women, and consecutive sixes in place are troublesome as well. Doing "one and run" is no big challenge. Go to 8'15" here and look at what flying sixes and entrechat sixes should be at ABT.

        It was a thrilling two nights of Swan Lake. Nearly everyone deserves an H.H. Pump Bump Award, but we need to single out Devon Teuscher for her brilliant and heavenly detailed Odette & Odile with this Manolo Blahnik swan stiletto.

        It’s not easy to shock ole Haglund in Swan Lake. But Tuesday night’s ABT performance stirred up the lake's tranquility when Hee Seo sculled through an Act III Odile that actually crested above her Act II Odette. Her Prince Siegfried, Aran Bell, who is a dozen or so years her junior, gave a startlingly brilliant performance from his authoritative entry at the top of the staircase in Act I to his dramatic death dive off the cliff at the end of Act IV. Did having a fresh young pup for a partner perk up Hee to be a little more lively? Actually the fresh young pup also happens to be the franchise quarterback. And this Aran was so much more watchable than that other scraggly-faced Aaron that the Post’s sports columnists can’t stop gushing over. He danced with a boldness, freshness, and confident classicism that rarely went awry. His leg and arm lines were as clear as – ahem – a bell, and his aerial positions were pristine. He committed to the mime and made it no less meaningful than his allegro.

        There was a time when ABT’s audience members did not frequently go to NYCB performances, and vice versa, because they were hungry for different things. ABT’s audience feasted on the big spectacle dramas while NYCB’s audience wanted highly-seasoned steps, speed, and energy. That’s not really the case any more. Many, if not most, of the core audience members gorge themselves on the offerings of both companies. These days balletomanes want it all — a full course meal of spectacle, drama, steps, and energy. Expectations are high, as they should be, because ticket prices are so high.