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'

"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,

“Coppélia”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York
June 2, 2018

“Coppélia” is among the nineteenth century ballet classics, but compared to others, such as “Giselle” and “Swan Lake,” it is presented much less often. This may be because it is a comic ballet and therefore taken less seriously. But even when it is performed, its dances often look fusty, and its humor outdated. So it was a pleasure to see New York City Ballet’s version

"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

“Giselle”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
May 18, 2018

Every generation hopes for dancers who bring iconic roles to life. In 2005, when Natalia Osipova suddenly emerged from the Bolshoi corps de ballet dancing as if shot from the proverbial canon as Kitri in “Don Quixote,” she did it for that role. Thirteen years later, dancing alongside David Hallberg at ABT last Friday night in “Giselle” (her only New York performance this year), she confirmed

"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

"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

"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

“Giselle”
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, New York
May 14, 2018

by Carol Pardo
copyright © 2018 by Carol Pardo

  The ballet "Giselle" is intended to be about its title character, a village girl who dies of a broken heart when she discovers that her beloved is a nobleman in commoner's clothing and betrothed to boot. Yet so great are her feelings for him that, from beyond the grave, she saves him from the Wilis,

“Whipped Cream”
American Ballet Theatre
Opera House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
February 1, 2018

Alexei Ratmansky's “Whipped Cream” stirred up a concoction of whimsy and merriment that lifted the mood and lightened the spirit of balletgoers on Thursday. The production’s fast-paced frenzy of activity was both delightful and dizzying. Danced assuredly by a stellar cast, this ballet is less a showcase for the dancers than a platform for Mark

“Songs of Bukovina,” “Symphonic Variations,” “Other Dances,” “Serenade after Plato’s Symposium”
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
October 21, 2017 afternoon

The two ballets by Alexei Ratmansky on the program, including his newest work, were vibrant and full of life. Meanwhile iconic works by Ashton and Robbins were more or less dead on arrival. On Saturday afternoon at ABT, if you needed proof positive that it’s Ratmansky’s company now, the dancers his,

"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,