Submitted by Elizabeth, Jun 29, 2007 15:10

I couldn't agree with "Sir Joshua" more! MacKenzie's "Swan Lake" was the first sign that he didn't know what he was doing, and had zero respect for Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, and the Russian classical ballet tradition. If that wasn't enough, after his version of "Leda and the Swan," he went on to make "Raymonda" look like a school recital. But the coup de grace was the horrific catastrophe of the murder of the "Sleeping Beauty," brought to us by not only MacKenzie, but his partners in crime Gelsey Kirkland, her husband Michael Chernov, (who should be permanently banned from the ballet companies of the world), and Willa Kim - costume & design assassin. And like lemmings, the company's benefactors continue to invest heavy dollars in his revisionist excesses. True connoisseurs and true balletomanes will agree that this was the absolute worst version produced this century - so far. Last century, that dubious distinction belonged to Sir Anthony Dowell's production for the Royal Ballet with Bjornsen's 'Phantom of the Opera' designs.

ABT's recent tour to London and Paris in February this year confirmed that the level of dancing has declined mightily. "Bayadere" Act 3 was particularly disparaged, not so much for the principals, but for the lack of synchronicity, precision and discipline of the corps de ballet. One thing is for certain: ABT need NOT take this new "Beauty,", "Swan Lake," or "Raymonda" abroad. These productions are an embarrasment. All of these failures happened on MacKenzie's watch. And Congress dubbed ABT "America's National Ballet company?!" No way - they aren't even the best we have. Such as it is, only NYCB has legitimate claim to that title, as there is a school and heritiage of tradition there. Not so with ABT: Everyone in ABT is from somewhere else, and it shows onstage. The Board of Directors should demand MacKenzie's resignation. If they fail to get that they ought to fire him yesterday.

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