Tag: Catherine Hurlin

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Balanchine: The City Center Years (Program V)

Program VI of “Balanchine: The City Center Years” at New York City Center.

The festival closed this afternoon with four stunning performances.

Hometown favorite American Ballet Theatre put on an amazing presentation of Symphonie Concertante. Devon Teuscher was so beautiful in her lead role, as were Christine Shevchenko and Thomas Forster. Wonderful to see how much Cate Hurlin and Katie Williams have grown and blossomed (and of course been promoted) in the 3 years since I moved to NYC and started attending ABT performances regularly.

The other programs today include repeats (but gorgeous ones!) of the Four Temperaments by Joffrey Ballet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Sae Eun Park and Hugo Marchand, of Ballet Opera de Paris, and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux by Victoria Tereshkina and Kimin Kim.

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Whipped Cream

Whipped Cream by American Ballet Theatre.

I missed Whipped Cream last year, and was glad to finally catch the production this year. My favorite part of the night, though, came during the curtain bow. Catherine Hurlin was just promoted to a soloist over the weekend. Tonight was her first performance since the announcement. You could literally see the glee coming out of her, as she dances joyfully on stage during the bow. Congratulations!!!

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Don Quixote

Don Quixote by American Ballet Theatre.

Love Isabella Boylston as Kitri, and Catherine Hurlin and Cassie Trenary as the Flower Girls!

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Swan Lake

American Ballet Theatre. June 18th at the Met Opera House.

Swan Lake. My favorite moments: The black swan scene between Devon Teuscher and Cory Stearns. Pas de Trois by Katherine Williams, Catherine Hurlin, and Blaine Hoven.

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ABT Season Preview

Preview of the American Ballet Theatre fall season at the Guggenheim Museum tonight.

Caught the gorgeous Gillian Murphy in an excerpt of “Thirteen Diversions” (and heard her speak in an interview). Looking forward to the ABT Gala on October 18th!

More from the evening. Saw Benjamin Millepied working with Devon Teuscher, Catherine Hurlin, Misty Copeland, David Hallberg, and Cory Stearns on “I Feel the Earth Move” (and heard about his childhood in Senegal and the influence of modern and African dance). A glimpse of Isabella Boylston and Thomas Forster in “Elegy Pas de Deux”. Of course, Blaine Hoven dancing with Gillian!

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Star Spotting at the Met Opera

Star spotting tonight at the Met Opera!

The final week of American Ballet Theatre season is the Tchaikovsky Spectacular. Tonight’s program features excerpts from four ballets… or put differently, a chance to see six principals and five soloists on stage in a single night (and that’s just the top billed artists).

Two of my favorite stars, Gillian Murphy and James Whiteside, duetted in a fun Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. As the tempo picked up, the aerials only got faster and higher, cultivating in Gillian leaping into two gorgeous fish dives and an overhead lift by James to end the piece. Bravos! Thank you for the treat!!! 🔥😍😘

Cassie Trenary was lovely as Princess Aurora in Aurora’s Wedding. Sadly, Herman Cornejo was injured and unable to perform as Prince Désiré.

Costuming for the wedding is absolutely stunning. Love Alexandra Basmagy‘s dress as the Queen (and her beautiful performance earlier in the night in Mozartiana alongside Catherine Hurlin). My favorite step of all times is the mazurka, and so naturally I adored ensemble of mazurka dancers.

We got a preview of the White Cat on instagram during intermission by Elina Miettinen, who came out as the purrrfect sassy kitten. Don’t mess with this one. Meow! 😻

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Le Corsaire

My favorite ballet so far this season at American Ballet Theatre!

Such a dynamic, high-energy, non-stop show from beginning to end. So many incredible moments tonight.

Jeffrey Cirio as Lankendem draws applause from the audience two seconds into his solo for the most amazing and powerful split leap. Cassie Trenary, Catherine Hurlin, and Katherine Williams are absolutely gorgeous as the odalisques. Love the musicality, energy, and playfulness of Craig Salstein and Zhong-Jing Fang‘s duet as Birbanto and the Lead Pirate Woman.

Male dancers have so many fun leap-and-turn combos in this ballet. Love James Whiteside as Conrad and Joo Won Ahn as Ali. Both the theatrical and technical sides of Misty Copeland Misty Copeland shine through as Gulnare. She’s “dramatically” shy tonight unlike Queen of Shemakhan, but oh my look at those turns and lifts!!! Of course, the leading ballerina Hee Seo as Medora is so lovely too. No wonder a whole kingdom plus some more pirates all fall for her.