American Ballet Theatre

"Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
July 4, 2023, matinee

ABT celebrated the 4th of July with their solid version of the Russo/French "Giselle", a ballet with few fireworks though with plenty of drama.  The two American leads, Devon Teuscher (in her New York debut) and Aran Bell, gave rich, detailed, and committed performances.  Teuscher, a tall, regal dancer, is not a typical Giselle (she is a stunning Myrta, a

"Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
July 5, 2023 matinee

ABT's policy of giving as many principals as possible a shot at a role limits the opportunities to explore and to grow into a role--one or two performances of "Giselle" every few years makes it difficult to play around with different interpretations and also means that dancers get cast in roles for which they might not seem suited.  But this

"Like Water For Chocolate"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 24, 2023, matinee

Balanchine once famously said that there are no mothers in law in ballet, but that is certainly not true, as his revered "The Sleeping Beauty" proves; no one has trouble figuring out the relation of the Queen to the Prince in Act III.  But his point that ballet is not suited to complex plots is certainly valid, and Christopher

"The Dream", "The Seasons"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 26, 2022

Frederick Ashton choreographed his version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as part of the 400th anniversary celebration of Shakespeare's birth.  The ballet also celebrated the birth on one of the twentieth century's most noted partnerships, as it gave Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell the starring  roles and Ashton's Titania and Oberon are saturated with

"Whipped Cream"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 21, 2022

Alexei Ratmansky's deceptively frivolous "Whipped Cream" got a bracing performance, led by guest artist Daniil Simkin, the original Boy with the insatiable sweet tooth.  The wisp of a story of a boy celebrating his first communion by sucking up so much whipped cream that he ended up in a hospital where he hallucinated a magical kingdom with a beautiful Princess

American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
July 16, 2022, matinee

Kenneth MacMillan's "Romeo and Juliet" is an audience magnet and the Met was pointing straight north for Cassandra Trenary's debut as the doomed heroine.  Though the work does have its dry patches--cue those frizzy haired harlots who help pad the second act (and who seem to have had a fresh perm for the occasion)--it is a true tear-jerker,

"Theme and Variations", "Single Eye", "Zig Zag"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 22, 2022, matinee

This performance of ABT's only triple bill this season, subtitled (a bit hopefully) "American Splendor", was dedicated to Kevin McKenzie,  after 30 years as Director of ABT.  The evening opened with brief remarks by Gillian Murphy and Herman Cornejo introduced a short film summarizing Mr. McKenzie's career (including adorable pictures of him as

"Of Love and Rage"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 22, 2022, matinee

"Of Love and Rage", Alexei Ratmansky's newest work for ABT, may never become a second "Romeo and Juliet", able to fill the Met with its name alone, and audiences new to it will always have to study the synopsis with devoted attention. Nevertheless, with the luminous settings and elegant costumes (Jean-Marc Puissant), the robust Khachaturian score, and the

"Don Quixote"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 14, 2022

ABT's colorful version of the long-after Petipa ballet "Don Quixote" showcased three of its exciting younger dancers (Skylar Brandt at Kitri, Cassandra Trenary as Mercedes/Queen of the Dryads, and Gabe Stone Shayer as Espada), along with one of its most thrilling stars, Herman Cornejo, as Basilio.  Now 40, Cornejo is not going to be dancing Basilio for much longer

"Don Quixote"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 15, 2022

"Don Quixote" as a ballet tends to ignore the poor fellow, using him as a hook to hang all those dances on, so it was surprising to see how the tall, lean Cy Doherty commanded attention in the opening scene, staring at the vision of Dulcinea with a befuddled but awestruck sincerity as his creaking, aged body reached for her in vain.  

"Theme and Variations", "Let Me Sing Forevermore", "A Gathering of Ghosts"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 16, 2019

ABT's Fall gala abandoned the usual trappings – not a fouetté in sight – though there were some extended speeches, especially the one from Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, the president of Celebrity Cruises, in which she quoted statistics showing the small number of current female choreographers and touting the fact that the ABT gala featured

"The Sleeping Beauty"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
July 6, 2019, evening

ABT's final performance of its spring season starred two of its group of talented soloists, Cassandra Trenary and Joseph Gorak, as Aurora and her prince. The only principal on view that evening was Stella Abrera as the Lilac Fairy; her arch enemy Carabosse was Craig Salstein, a former ABT soloist who left the company a year ago.  The ballet