Last two nights I’ve been at the ABT — Monday night was their opening night gala, and they performed several smaller ballets and parts of ballets the company is going to be performing this season. What a dream 🙂 Angel Corella is just the king of charisma, and Jose Carreno is so amazing he completely steals the show whenever he’s onstage! And, Marcelo!! And, last night was called “Noche Latina” — they did Le Corsaire, a silly ballet but one with loads of cute guys dressed as pirates and donning goatees doing enormous jumps… And they had all the Latin dancers in the main roles to showcase the amazing Latin talent. But, horrendously, no Marcelo… I guess not enough roles for all of that Latin talent…
I love going to these ballets — and seeing all kinds of dance performances — because I think it is so important for dancer wannabes, like me, to watch the dancers very carefully. You pick up so much just really looking closely at them. But the ABT is so theatrical (I guess, hence their name — American Ballet Theater) and they put on such a show, I tend to get carried away in the spectacle of it all. So, I think it’s easier to focus on the dancers when I go to the New York City Ballet. You can get a Fourth Ring Society membership to the NYCB and sit up in the fourth ring for only $15 a performance, which is an amazing deal. And, if you sit on the sides you’re practically right on top of the dancers — I mean, way way on top, but I find I can see them very well, even without opera glasses.
I love this time of year because both ballets are in season simultaneously, and there’s never a dull moment. But, ugh, I’ll have to tear myself away for a bit soon, because I’m going to …. Blackpool!
