"Swan Lake"
Bolshoi Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
July 15, 2014

Ballet companies, it seems, might as well program "$wan Lake" and be honest about it, since there are no productions around resembling the original Petipa/Ivanov story.  The Bolshoi's Grigorovich reworking is no worse, but certainly no better, than others seen in New York.  It is, at least, set in the Middle Ages, though the designs (by Simon Virsaladze) seem to be influenced

“Manon”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
June 7, 2014 (matinee)

From scandal in Paris to tragedy in a Louisiana swamp is a long way to go in a span of two hours, but Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes made the journey seem realistic. Vishneva, celebrated her tenth anniversary with ABT at this performance, and took the opportunity to demonstrate her range, looking like a different woman in each of the three acts.

As the convent-bound

"Coppélia"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
July 5, 2014, Matinee and Evening

The final ABT performances this year celebrated (or mourned, as it were) the departure of soloists Yuriko Kajiya (in her debut as Swanilda) and Jared Matthews, who are leaving to join the Houston Ballet.  Since Paloma Herrera (Matthew's Swanilda) has announced that she will retire next year, every performance of hers is also a small farewell.  Kajiya's Franz was

"The Dream", "The Tempest"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
July 1, 2014

ABT's Shakespeare night included two works both danced to incidental music composed for the plays, Felix Mendelssohn's for "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and Jean Sibelius' for "The Tempest".  Ashton's "The Dream" has turned fifty, and Ratmansky's "The Tempest" is less than a year old, but seeing them together shows that "The Dream" is timeless, while "The Tempest"

"Ivillage: My Indian Village", "Inseparation", "Flight", "Bollysa"
Sa Dance Company
Ailey Citigroup Theater
New York, New York
June 28, 2014

The word "Sa" means, according to the program notes, the first and last note in the octave used in Indian classical music.  The Sa Dance Company, a group of 10 stunningly beautiful women, melds blends the various schools of Indian classical dance with more modern versions; the brief biographies in the program shows the range of types these dancers

"Swan Lake"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
June 27, 2014

The injury bug has hit ABT with a vengeance, and Friday's announced "Swan Lake" cast, Alina Cojocaru and Herman Cornejo, were replaced by Hee Seo and Roberto Bolle; Seo had already stepped in on Monday for the black act to replace Gillian Murphy, injured during the performance.  This gallantry meant the audience was already rooting for her, but her Odette/Odile is still

"Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
June 17, 2014

"Wonderful! Wonderful!" the man behind me shouted after almost every variation during the Polina Semionova/David Hallberg performance of "Giselle".  He certainly had a point.  Seminova is a tall, long-limbed dancer, not a typical Giselle, but she controlled her extremes to present a fully developed character; a ballerina, it seems, is someone who can do anything but has the taste not to. 

Cinderella"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
June 9, 2014

"Who will play the sisters?" was the constant refrain when ABT announced that it would perform Sir Frederick Ashton's version.  The Cinderella story certainly seems like a natural in the full-length sweepstakes--a familiar story with a ballroom setting and a happy ending, but the previous two versions (by Ben Stevenson and James Kudelka) were choreographic duds.  The somewhat episodic Prokofiev music

“La Bayadère”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
May 28, 2014

Bolshoi Ballet’s latest rising star – Olga Smirnova – appeared as a guest in only one performance during American Ballet Theatre’s run at the Met, but in the three acts of “La Bayadère” she made a bigger statement than most dancers do in a season. The Nikiya she danced was her Bolshoi Nikiya in style and interpretation, and this portrayal contrasted from the rest of the

"La Bayadère"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
May 23, 2014

The Makarova-Petipa eternal triangle got a glorious sendoff with its opening night cast, including Diana Vishneva as Nikiya, Marcelo Gomes as Solor and Gillian Murphy, in her first appearance this season, as Gamzatti.  Vishneva is a beautiful woman with an expressive face, and her Nikiya was no shrinking violet.  She was both shocked and angry at the High Brahmin's untoward advances

“Robert Schumann’s ‘Davidsbündlertänze’”, “Union Jack”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
May 17, 2014, matinee

“Robert Schumann’s ‘Davidsbündlertänze’” is an awkward title for a subtle and profound work.  The four couples represent various aspects of Schumann’s (and by extension any artist’s) feelings; the two most obvious are Clara the loving and supportive wife, and Clara the wild and slightly dangerous muse.  The two other couples represent

“Snow White”
Ballet Preljocaj
David H. Koch Theater
New York, NY
April 25, 2014

Snow White’s hair wasn’t the only thing black as night in Angelin Preljocaj’s balletic take on Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale. – The entire ballet, from set design to the story, was cast in darkness.  The stark departure from the colorful and cute Walt Disney version was intentional, but paradoxically, by removing all things Disney and kid-friendly, Preljocaj made this “Snow White”