American Ballet Theatre

"Harlequinade"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 4, 2018

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2018 by Mary Cargill

Nineteenth century ballet comedies often involve poor girls in love with poor young men, rebelling against a parent who has a beady eye on a rich suitor ("Don Quixote" and "La Fille Mal Gardée" are familiar examples), with true love winning happily in the end.  (As Oscar Wilde would say, that's why it's called

"Harlequinade"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
June 5, 2018

The Petipa/ Ratmansky soufflé "Harlequinade" has many ingredients, chief among them the older terre à terre style, with its sharp, fast footwork; making lace with their feet is a frequent description of those Imperial ballerinas.  Columbine, the heroine of the comic ballet, has choreography packed with these terre à terre moves, as she hops almost continually – slow hops, fast hops, backwards,

"La Bayadère"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
May 29, 2018

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2018 by Mary Cargill

ABT has abandoned its policy of importing guests wholesale to populate its Spring season roster, but with the current shortage of tall, princely men (so many injuries), the company invited the Korean-trained Maryinsky dancer Kimin Kim back for "Bayadère" week, a wise and rewarding decision.  Kim's noble bearing and superb partnering helped

"Harlequinade", "Praedicere", "AfterRite"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
May 21, 2018

ABT's Spring Gala included three premieres, two of coming attractions ("AfterRite" and excerpts from "Harlequin- ade") and one gala special (tap dancer Michelle Dorrance's "Praedicere").  "Harlequinade" is a reconstruction by Alexei Ratmansky of Petipa's 1900 ballet, based on the Stepanov notations now owned by Harvard, so it is technically not a premiere, but the Petipa version was last danced in Russia

"Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
May 17, 2018

ABT's Giselle Week hooped along with a fine and moving, if not always technically perfect, performance by Stella Abrera and Cory Sterns, supported by an impressive debut by Katherine Williams as Myrta, a haunting mime scene by Nancy Raffa, and a sparkling and elegant peasant pas de deux by Skylar Brandt and Joseph Gorak.  

Abrera's Act I Giselle was fresh and eager, though

"Giselle"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
May 16, 2018, matinee

ABT has a solid version of the Romantic classic "Giselle", with beautiful, traditional designs which, even if the first grape was harvested in 1987, look vivid and fresh.  Though some of the stage business could be rethought (Bathilde's nose now almost scrapes the sky, eliminating the sad irony of the two girls sharing their love stories, and why, if all the

"Her Notes", "Symphonic Variations", "Other Dances", "Thirteen Diversions"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
October 22, 2017, matinee

ABT's Sunday matinee showcased four ballets choreographed to concert music, music which was originally intended to stand alone. The choreographers all faced the challenge of improving, so to speak, the original works of art, and though all works were very well danced and had impressive moments, only Ashton's "Symphonic Variations" melded the steps, the atmosphere, and the