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MATTHEW MURPHY |
It’s time for the conclusion of my Top Ten Met Moments! If you haven’t checked out the first five, you can click here to get caught up.
6. The Final Performances
Each season since I’ve joined ABT, the Met Season has marked the end of one of our principal dancer’s careers. Being surrounded by them all the time is overwhelming but their farewell performances are on a whole different level. From the roar of the crowd, to the tears of fellow dancers, each of these has been a night to remember.
My first season we said farewell to Ashley Tuttle with “Romeo and Juliet.” Season Two (I type this like it’s a TV show) was Amanda McKerrow’s final “Giselle.” In perhaps the most emotional season yet, Season Three was Julio Bocca’s final season. The crowd was the most intense at his final performance, and as a male dancer, this one was especially touching. Even though I was out for my fourth Met season, I still made a point to be back in the city for Alessandra Ferri’s final performance of “Romeo and Juliet.” I spent the entire show sitting in the downstage left front wing, inching as close to the stage as I possibly could. There was something so magnetic and luscious about her dancing, you could tell by the packed wings that everyone wanted to cherish every moment for one last time.
(Enjoying a beer center stage, celebrating an incredible career.)
7. The Mistakes
In my first five of the top ten, I came clean about losing it on stage more than a few times. All of those events pale in comparison to an event in my first season that had the entire stage in tears for far too long of a time.
It was during “Raymonda” and there is a dramatic entrance with Abderakhman and his henchmen, who were played by supers (hired extras.) After doing their business on stage, the supers swept upstage, split and ran off on two large staircases that towered in the back of the stage. I can’t recall if it was the giant staff he was carrying or just a misstep but one of the supers tripped on his way up the stairs and fell flat on his stomach. The stairs weren’t too sturdy so the entire set was shaking. Instead of standing up and getting off as quickly as possible, he decided that he would army crawl up the stairs, making them shake even more. Once he made his exit, the entire corps did their best to contain the laughter but something about the situation was so ludicrous that we all quickly had tears streaming down our cheeks from laughing. People slowly started to excuse themselves to gather their sanity in the wings but we couldn’t all leave at one time. Those of us left on stage did our best to avoid eye contact but I was still laughing during the prima ballerina’s slow hand clap variation. So, so, so very professional of me.
There are endless other moments that I could share but I only have time for a few more. Misty Copeland whizzing across the front of the stage during the garden scene of “Cinderella,” only to do a weird army role/somersault center stage is fresh in my memory. Walking on for the dream sequence coda during “Raymonda” and seeing the spot next to me empty because the boy was distracted in the wings is another. We’re human, we all make mistakes.
(Another mistake. My shoe exploded right when I went on stage during “Jeu de Cartes.”)
(Perhaps an idea for a future mistake? Instead of Cinderella lowering in the pumpkin…it could be David!)
8. The Cafeteria
I think the importance of the Met cafeteria can best be described by a phone call that I received at the beginning of this past Met when I was sick in bed with mono. Marian Butler called to see how I was doing but the main point of the message was to inform me that everyone was angry because it was Friday and there was no creamed spinach. When rehearsals are going full throttle and you are in the middle of an eight show work week, the schedule at the cafeteria is usually one of the key things to help you get by. Creamed spinach and macaroni are the special Friday treat but they’re always cooking up something good for us. We spend tons of time in there, sitting eating cookies and chatting, that it holds a special place for all of the dancers. The staff is also great, and we all develop a special bond with the women working the checkout. Who knew I would become so attached to cafeteria food?!
(I didn’t have a picture to put up from the cafeteria so this will have to do as a filler. We are in cab. Cab/Cafeteria. They both start with C’s. It’s totally the same thing.)
9. Cheering On The Girls
A popular argument in the corps usually centers on who has it harder, the boys or the girls? We try to trump pointe shoes with dance belts (after wearing both, I can assure you that they both suck but pointe shoes take the cake HANDS DOWN) but in the end we all know that the girls have it much harder, especially during Met. Between “Bayadere,” “Giselle,” “Swan Lake,” and countless others, a few weeks into the season can find the girls depleted on every level. The only thing I can do is stand in the wings to support them. I do my best to get out of costume as quickly as possible and rush back downstairs to cheer them on. Between the incredible score and the brilliant dancing from the corps, I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of watching “Swan Lake” from the wings.
(The girls, looking eerie during “Giselle.”)
(Another reason to praise the girls: they are a little more flexible than the boys. Take Kristi Boone for example.)
10. Tom the Makeup Guru
Part of the fun of some of our full-length ballets is the intricate and often zany makeup that some of the parts require. Even though we usually do our own makeup, there are always parts that require a journey to the makeup room for some professional assistance. While all of the staff does incredible work, there is something about Tom that has us all rushing to his chair. Instead of just giving us lines to make us look old, he adds strained veins to our face or a bruised eye to show that the times have gotten tough. What is even more amazing is that he does it so effortlessly. After a season without doing any makeup, I thought about perhaps just stopping by to have him do me up like some crazy animal just for fun. I’d be sure to get some looks on the subway.
(A little of Tom’s magic before “Sylvia.”)
(True Tom magic. Jared Matthews in Von Rothbart makeup.)
(Perhaps one of my favorite roles of all time as the Waiter in Don Q. Tom always did fun things with this one. Nothing like smiling at people on stage with some missing teeth. Hint: Use a sharpie. Seriously.)
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