Newspaper record and AP photo of Dance Theatre of Harlem's Lydia Abarca and Ronald Perry in Swan Lake circa 1980:
Lydia Abarca was a treasure at DTH – light and lissome, a natural faun. Her and Perry's historical accomplishments should not be ignored for the benefit of an overly ambitious, aggressive ballerina-wannabe who doesn't have the grace that Abarca had in her little finger.
16 responses to “From the archives of authentic history records”
I felt honored and privileged to have attended Misty Copeland’s US debut O/O last night at the Kennedy Center. I don’t know if it was due to the style of this specific production (1934 Sadler’s Wells, by Nicholas Sergeyev, staged by Kirk Peterson)but I was totally bowled over by the sensitive acting and lyricism of Misty’s Odette more than the pyrotec of Odile. The cut of the costumes accentuated her gorgeous arched feet and leg line. Huge volleys of applause at almost every move. This packed crowd was ready to crown her Etoile by the end of her Act 2 solo! It really doesn’t matter one whit that Abarca or whomever did it first.
I felt honored and privileged to have attended Misty Copeland’s US debut O/O last night at the Kennedy Center. I don’t know if it was due to the style of this specific production (1934 Sadler’s Wells, by Nicholas Sergeyev, staged by Kirk Peterson)but I was totally bowled over by the sensitive acting and lyricism of Misty’s Odette more than the pyrotec of Odile. The cut of the costumes accentuated her gorgeous arched feet and leg line. Huge volleys of applause at almost every move. This packed crowd was ready to crown her Etoile by the end of her Act 2 solo! It really doesn’t matter one whit that Abarca or whomever did it first.
Hi, Jeannette. It only matters one “whit” when Misty and her team diss Dance Theatre of Harlem and Houston Ballet by denying that they are “major ballet” companies while claiming that a municipal company of 20 dancers that, according to its 990, utilizes 750 students from its school in its productions, IS somehow a “major ballet” company – thus claiming the accomplishments of Abarca, Perry, Lauren Anderson were somehow less significant than Copeland’s.
The problem is and always has been that Misty Copeland’s manufactured story is just too appealing to fact check.
It’s wonderful that you were impressed with her performance last night. Perhaps a good dose of Kirk Peterson is exactly what she needed. If he managed to extract an ounce of classical lyricism from her, then he managed a miracle. I hope the audience expressed its appreciation for him as well.
Hi, Jeannette. It only matters one “whit” when Misty and her team diss Dance Theatre of Harlem and Houston Ballet by denying that they are “major ballet” companies while claiming that a municipal company of 20 dancers that, according to its 990, utilizes 750 students from its school in its productions, IS somehow a “major ballet” company – thus claiming the accomplishments of Abarca, Perry, Lauren Anderson were somehow less significant than Copeland’s.
The problem is and always has been that Misty Copeland’s manufactured story is just too appealing to fact check.
It’s wonderful that you were impressed with her performance last night. Perhaps a good dose of Kirk Peterson is exactly what she needed. If he managed to extract an ounce of classical lyricism from her, then he managed a miracle. I hope the audience expressed its appreciation for him as well.
I don’t see that the audience’s response means much, especially when all Sarah Kaufman saw was a promising work in progress, not a fully realized O/O. By most accounts Copeland has earned a shot at Swan Lake, but that was a media-manufactured occasion, historic though it technically was, so of course the audience went wild, especially at those prices. Gotta tell yourself it’s great, at those prices.
Likewise, I’m glad you enjoyed it Jeanette, but it’s no honor to be able to afford an expensive ticket. Honor has nothing to do with it.
I don’t see that the audience’s response means much, especially when all Sarah Kaufman saw was a promising work in progress, not a fully realized O/O. By most accounts Copeland has earned a shot at Swan Lake, but that was a media-manufactured occasion, historic though it technically was, so of course the audience went wild, especially at those prices. Gotta tell yourself it’s great, at those prices.
Likewise, I’m glad you enjoyed it Jeanette, but it’s no honor to be able to afford an expensive ticket. Honor has nothing to do with it.
Hi, Ken.
Sarah Kaufman also noted problems with Copeland’s fouettes, pirouettes, lack of dramatic drive, and need for subtleties which were not mentioned in the above enthusiastic performance report. We’ve known that those problems have existed for a long time, and it’s meaningful that Copeland has not yet fully addressed them. It’s telling that Kaufman thought that Copeland would make a bigger mark on other ballets, including Coppelia, which she has already danced in a version so technically watered down in comparison to what Sarah Lane, Yuriko Kajiya and the principals danced that it was an embarrassment.
It sounds like the audience members behaved like a “recital” audience and were well-primed. It doesn’t sound, however, from reports thus far that the audience was anymore diverse than the usual TWB audience.
Copeland’s massive PR is based on a manufactured story that includes lies, exaggerations, and the casting of nasty undocumentable aspersions in a memior that presumably has made her a lot of money. She’s made a lucrative career out of claiming to be a victim who clawed her way to the top; but little of what she says would ever pass a simple fact check. Regrettably, she still does not possess the dancing skill to back up her boasting.
Hi, Ken.
Sarah Kaufman also noted problems with Copeland’s fouettes, pirouettes, lack of dramatic drive, and need for subtleties which were not mentioned in the above enthusiastic performance report. We’ve known that those problems have existed for a long time, and it’s meaningful that Copeland has not yet fully addressed them. It’s telling that Kaufman thought that Copeland would make a bigger mark on other ballets, including Coppelia, which she has already danced in a version so technically watered down in comparison to what Sarah Lane, Yuriko Kajiya and the principals danced that it was an embarrassment.
It sounds like the audience members behaved like a “recital” audience and were well-primed. It doesn’t sound, however, from reports thus far that the audience was anymore diverse than the usual TWB audience.
Copeland’s massive PR is based on a manufactured story that includes lies, exaggerations, and the casting of nasty undocumentable aspersions in a memior that presumably has made her a lot of money. She’s made a lucrative career out of claiming to be a victim who clawed her way to the top; but little of what she says would ever pass a simple fact check. Regrettably, she still does not possess the dancing skill to back up her boasting.
Her story’s a feel good one, so the press and others won’t fact check and will continue to go along with her marketing campaign. I must admit that I got caught up in it until I read her book and started questioning a few things that were in the book, especially that she was supported by the ballet elite who appreciated her rare talent and nurtured her along and gave her opportunities along the way, so that alone contradicts her marketing campaign altogether.
Her story’s a feel good one, so the press and others won’t fact check and will continue to go along with her marketing campaign. I must admit that I got caught up in it until I read her book and started questioning a few things that were in the book, especially that she was supported by the ballet elite who appreciated her rare talent and nurtured her along and gave her opportunities along the way, so that alone contradicts her marketing campaign altogether.
True, JF. Her mantra that she “was told she’d never make it” doesn’t square with the rest of her story unless she’s forgetting to tell everyone that the negativity about her potential came from the black community, not the white. Her bi-racial mother to whom she is so ungrateful attempted to move mountains for her daughter while still maintaining a family structure. Misty then moved into and spent years in a white household where they could provide her with more amenities and the training that she sought. Her main teacher, Charles Maple, who championed her and took her out of state to perform Nutcracker is white. She then moved to an affluent white household in New York where she lived for years while training at ABT. All of a sudden she is claiming to be a product of the black community and is attempting to stir up hate as a purported victim of racism with nothing to back up her claims.
It is disgraceful in her book the way she dismissed the congratulations and good luck wishes of her colleagues during the Firebird season because she says they couldn’t understand how important she was. It is disgraceful the way she tried to point fingers at all of her fellow soloists by describing how for six years she never used the soloists’ dressing room during the Met season because she wanted to be where people supported her; so, she retreated to the corps de ballet dressing room.
Yes, Copeland’s manufactured story of victimization is apparently too appealing to be fact checked or submitted for psychiatric evaluation.
True, JF. Her mantra that she “was told she’d never make it” doesn’t square with the rest of her story unless she’s forgetting to tell everyone that the negativity about her potential came from the black community, not the white. Her bi-racial mother to whom she is so ungrateful attempted to move mountains for her daughter while still maintaining a family structure. Misty then moved into and spent years in a white household where they could provide her with more amenities and the training that she sought. Her main teacher, Charles Maple, who championed her and took her out of state to perform Nutcracker is white. She then moved to an affluent white household in New York where she lived for years while training at ABT. All of a sudden she is claiming to be a product of the black community and is attempting to stir up hate as a purported victim of racism with nothing to back up her claims.
It is disgraceful in her book the way she dismissed the congratulations and good luck wishes of her colleagues during the Firebird season because she says they couldn’t understand how important she was. It is disgraceful the way she tried to point fingers at all of her fellow soloists by describing how for six years she never used the soloists’ dressing room during the Met season because she wanted to be where people supported her; so, she retreated to the corps de ballet dressing room.
Yes, Copeland’s manufactured story of victimization is apparently too appealing to be fact checked or submitted for psychiatric evaluation.
SHe didn’t get a great review for her Swan Lake performance.
“Mr. Mack, while broad-chested and appealingly easygoing, was less than regal. His big jumps landed with a thud, and his acting was close to blank. He squired Ms. Copeland securely, but there was no chemistry between them.
Her dancing was scrupulous. Although her fouetté turns wandered as if windblown, all of her shapes were beautifully lucid, with a softness borne of strength. This meticulousness, though, remained mechanical. Her Odile wasn’t much of a seductress; her Odette was coldly static, lacking in tragic force.”
There’s also a correction that dismisses Misty’s claim to be the first black lead in Swan Lake.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/arts/dance/review-misty-copeland-in-the-washington-ballets-swan-lake.html?_r=0
I hope that her marketing and her performing not so great in the high profile roles she’s been given this year doesn’t end up backfiring when more press articles has to correct what she’s been sprouting. Her presence at her level is important to others of color that dream to become a ballerina on the world stage. So I hope that she just cuts out the half-truths and be proud of what she’s accomplished and helps other people of color to achieve their dreams of becoming a professional ballerina.
SHe didn’t get a great review for her Swan Lake performance.
“Mr. Mack, while broad-chested and appealingly easygoing, was less than regal. His big jumps landed with a thud, and his acting was close to blank. He squired Ms. Copeland securely, but there was no chemistry between them.
Her dancing was scrupulous. Although her fouetté turns wandered as if windblown, all of her shapes were beautifully lucid, with a softness borne of strength. This meticulousness, though, remained mechanical. Her Odile wasn’t much of a seductress; her Odette was coldly static, lacking in tragic force.”
There’s also a correction that dismisses Misty’s claim to be the first black lead in Swan Lake.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/arts/dance/review-misty-copeland-in-the-washington-ballets-swan-lake.html?_r=0
I hope that her marketing and her performing not so great in the high profile roles she’s been given this year doesn’t end up backfiring when more press articles has to correct what she’s been sprouting. Her presence at her level is important to others of color that dream to become a ballerina on the world stage. So I hope that she just cuts out the half-truths and be proud of what she’s accomplished and helps other people of color to achieve their dreams of becoming a professional ballerina.
It turns out that Misty never made it through the fouettes at all. According to another online blog report, she only did half of them and then switched to single pirouettes from fifth position. She really does not have what it takes to do justice to the roles of Odette and Odile, but she doesn’t care. She simply wants the media attention, some kind of bragging rights, something that she can hold above other people. One never hears her speaking about what the ballet means to her or what the characters mean to her or about her actual dancing. It’s all about how important she is and about her made-up struggle. She’s in ballet for the wrong reasons.
It turns out that Misty never made it through the fouettes at all. According to another online blog report, she only did half of them and then switched to single pirouettes from fifth position. She really does not have what it takes to do justice to the roles of Odette and Odile, but she doesn’t care. She simply wants the media attention, some kind of bragging rights, something that she can hold above other people. One never hears her speaking about what the ballet means to her or what the characters mean to her or about her actual dancing. It’s all about how important she is and about her made-up struggle. She’s in ballet for the wrong reasons.