The Blaine Train is back on track again with a truly deserved, long deserved promotion to soloist. We can't wait to see him leading the big classical works.
But if you think this hasn't been a long wait, think again.
Getting from this:
to this has nearly worn us out over the last dozen years or so:
Mobile local Channel 9 has a better copy of this video which only goes for 49 seconds before lapsing into annoying skip crackling. But beggars can't be choosers, can we?
As for the other promotion of Jeffrey Cirio to Principal after less than a year performing as a soloist: McKenzie simply repeated his Simkin Mistake. Cirio is a good technician with less brilliance and less dancing beauty than several other soloist and corpsmen, most notably Joseph Gorak. Since arriving as an import from Boston Ballet, he has mainly been partnered with Boylston and Copeland who he lifts with great effort and often awkward results. His own frame is slight which makes these two dancers look dumpier and more inelegant than if they were dancing with taller, larger partners.
So now out of the eight real principal men at ABT (not counting Lendorf who has been on the roster as a sham principal for two years without ever dancing a step), five of the eight cannot lift the ABT women principals. More than half of the men are lacking in the strength, height, or competence to lift or partner the majority of the women. A sixth is so overwhelmingly hard-featured that he repels ticketbuyers.
McKenzie makes no bones about casting and promoting women in classical roles based on the shapes of the legs and feet. An enormously talented dancer will lose out on Odette because McKenzie doesn't think her legs and feet are physically beautiful enough. If that is his prerogative, then it is also the ticket buyers' prerogative to soundly reject dancers who are of homely face and dumpy upper body. ABT should stop putting homely or ugly or dumpy or grossly overweight people on stage and think that they can fix everything with thick makeup or a big costume. It has been shocking this season to observe the girths and bouncing flab of some of the long term women in the corps (who have been on the aesthetic fringes most of their careers anyway) and one or two of the new ones. Their effortful jumps and clumsy landings as they trundle about the stage detract from the overall beauty of the corps work. Why should anyone pay $100+ and then have to watch this?
12 responses to “Congratulations to Blaine Hoven”
I was so pleased to learn of Blaine Hoven’s promotion. My little off-handed daydream in May about one day seeing him in Swan Lake with Veronika Part may yet become reality. I think it was a mistake for the AD to cast Cirio as the Bluebird in last night’s superb Lane-Cornejo performance of Sleeping Beauty. Cirio’s shortcomings were visibly noticeable when placed in such close proximity to a great talent like Cornejo. There’s no question that Cirio was outclassed. And in the Abrera-Gomes performance the evening prior, Gabe Stone Shayer was spectacularly good as the Bluebird. And he’s still in the corps de ballet. Hmmm.
I was so pleased to learn of Blaine Hoven’s promotion. My little off-handed daydream in May about one day seeing him in Swan Lake with Veronika Part may yet become reality. I think it was a mistake for the AD to cast Cirio as the Bluebird in last night’s superb Lane-Cornejo performance of Sleeping Beauty. Cirio’s shortcomings were visibly noticeable when placed in such close proximity to a great talent like Cornejo. There’s no question that Cirio was outclassed. And in the Abrera-Gomes performance the evening prior, Gabe Stone Shayer was spectacularly good as the Bluebird. And he’s still in the corps de ballet. Hmmm.
I totally agree LLF. Hopefully later today or tomorrow I’ll post my review of last night’s performance and a couple of other Act Is that I took in during the week. It’s been a busy week…
I totally agree LLF. Hopefully later today or tomorrow I’ll post my review of last night’s performance and a couple of other Act Is that I took in during the week. It’s been a busy week…
DO (dissenting opinion) here. I do not understand why everyone raves over Gabe Stone Shayer. His Bluebird last year, partnering Copeland, was an enormous disappointment; I thought it was the worst one I had ever seen. Thursday night, while marginally better, was not something I would call spectacularly good. Decent, but nothing more. What am I not getting? I am willing to be enlightened.
(Cirio didn’t impress me either the one time I saw him. Can’t really say more.)
DO (dissenting opinion) here. I do not understand why everyone raves over Gabe Stone Shayer. His Bluebird last year, partnering Copeland, was an enormous disappointment; I thought it was the worst one I had ever seen. Thursday night, while marginally better, was not something I would call spectacularly good. Decent, but nothing more. What am I not getting? I am willing to be enlightened.
(Cirio didn’t impress me either the one time I saw him. Can’t really say more.)
Hi Ellen.
I thought that GSS’s Bluebird this year opposite Skylar was an enormous improvement over last year’s with Misty. I give a lot of the credit to Skylar who is a much better dancer and partner than Misty could ever hope to be. However, Gabe’s two debuts of Birbanto and Lankendem were way under what they should have been in dancing and acting. There is no way that he has even come close to earning a soloist spot.
Hi Ellen.
I thought that GSS’s Bluebird this year opposite Skylar was an enormous improvement over last year’s with Misty. I give a lot of the credit to Skylar who is a much better dancer and partner than Misty could ever hope to be. However, Gabe’s two debuts of Birbanto and Lankendem were way under what they should have been in dancing and acting. There is no way that he has even come close to earning a soloist spot.
Thanks, Haglund. I agree that much credit should go to Skylar; Misty was very busy being Misty last year, so GSS started off at a disadvantage. This year was definitely better; it just didn’t wow me.
The one time I did appreciate GSS was when I saw his Tico Tico in Company B, so I am not writing him off completely.
Thanks, Haglund. I agree that much credit should go to Skylar; Misty was very busy being Misty last year, so GSS started off at a disadvantage. This year was definitely better; it just didn’t wow me.
The one time I did appreciate GSS was when I saw his Tico Tico in Company B, so I am not writing him off completely.
“…so overwhelmingly hard-featured that he repels…” I definitely couldn’t have said it better myself, Haglund.
Neither am I a fan of GSS.
“…so overwhelmingly hard-featured that he repels…” I definitely couldn’t have said it better myself, Haglund.
Neither am I a fan of GSS.