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  1. Today
  2. I thought Fang was excellent as Mama Elena in Like Water for Chocolate just this past summer. I'd be happy to see her name on the program in future. In any case, retirements can't be expected to solve deeper structural problems: ABT needs to be dancing much more. Until that lack of performing time is solved--more weeks in New York and/or more touring time--everything else seems something of a stop gap. The programming for the summer is disappointing...
  3. He seems very shy in presenting his achievements and personal life in the social media which is very admirable in these times IMO.
  4. Bell was featured in galas last year in Japan, Australia, and the Hamptons. He'll be featured at Vail in August. He danced with Boylston last weekend in Connecticut in Cinderella. He did Other Dances in August at the outdoor festival at Lincoln Center. But it was a mystery why he danced so little at the fall ABT season. He was listed for several things and then several of those disappeared. No hint ever of injury, fatigue, exhaustion. I do wish we had more opportunities to see him.
  5. Yesterday
  6. Casting posting is usually announced on their social media and then you can find it at the ticket page on the website- a week before, usually. But then things might possibly adjust and you’ll need to check on Instagram story and that sign in lobby! 😉
  7. I totally agree. I saw him dance with Chloe for her debut in Swan Lake and he is the whole package. He doesn't seem to have a high profile though. Not sure why that is.
  8. Anastasia Kolegova, who I thought was planning to retire several years ago, will be performing Carmen Suite tomorrow. In the first half, which I like, she should be vibrant, might even sizzle. https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2024/3/19/1_1901/ On March 23 she is dancing The Firebird. I’d love to see this one. She was the first ballerina, ever, to win my Mariinsky Sweetheart of the Year Award. 😊 Added: Her partner in Carmen Suite is a new and interesting name for me — Even Capitaine. First soloist Even Capitaine is a graduate of the Ballet School of the Opйra national de Paris (France), and the Belarusian State Choreographic College. Soloist with the ballet company of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus in 2016–2022. He made his debut at the Mariinsky Theatre in La Bayadère (Solor) in July 2022. In 2023 he joined the Mariinsky Theatre as the first soloist. https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet_mt_men/capitaine_even1/
  9. Don’t sell yourself short. Knowing the correct ballet vocabulary is not a requirement for enjoying ballet. You know what you like and you obviously have a good eye. However I disagree that Bell should be considered an up and comer when he has already more than proven himself in Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Don Q, Sleeping Beauty etc. He is at the height of his career, and I doubt many would disagree that he is the best male principal at ABT right now. As an aside, I’ve been following him since he was about 14 years old when he guested in a local ballet school’s Nutcracker and danced just about every other role. He blew me away then, and has continued to blow me away since joining ABT. I was beside myself when he joined ABT and often found myself watching him instead of the principal dancers. But fortunately, it wasn’t long before he began dancing principal roles himself.
  10. Can anyone tell me when does PB usually announce casting, and where can I find it on the website? I'm not seeing a link for "casting" on the website, and when I click on info for The Dream, it just takes me to buy a ticket.
  11. Back from a very fun arts weekend in Philadelphia, where I saw the Saturday evening performance of the "Dance Masterpieces" program -- The River, In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, and In the Upper Room. I had never seen either of the first two pieces before, and had barely seen the company before, so my comments are very general. Overall, IMO the company looks great. The level of dancing is very high and everything looked highly polished and well rehearsed. The roster of talent looks impressively deep, and notably, Corella seems to have assembled, or trained, a large contingent of powerful, athletic male dancers. I loved The River, but had mixed feelings about the Forsythe piece. I might have enjoyed it more had it not been quite as loud -- I saw a couple of people around me plugging their ears, it was so loud. I find In the Upper Room a real joy. After seeing the Tharp staging a year and a half ago at City Center, I was worried I would never be able to enjoy it again since seemingly those performances can never be equalled. Happily, that was not the case, and I succumbed to the exhilaration of the piece. I'll hold off on making comments about particular dancers until I know the company better, the exception being that I was on the lookout for Ashton Roxander, being curious about Jake's brother. Ashton is a beautiful dancer with an intriguing, compelling stage presence. I may make the trip to see The Dream next month just to see him (honestly I would be glad to see him in anything)! And I definitely envision a trip, or two, to see next year's programming. With Philadelphia Ballet looking so good, with ABT at a low ebb, and with Philly being so close to NY and such an attractive place to visit for the arts lover, Corella has an opportunity to grow the audience.
  12. I saw the 3/17 Sunday matinee, after having assumed I wouldn't be able to make any of the performances. It was SO much fun, and it felt like a dream cast, with Jennifer Stahl and Wei Wang as Titania/Oberon, Elizabeth Mateer/Stephen Morse and Frances Chung/Myles Thatcher as the lovers, Alexis Francisco Valdes as a surprisingly wonderful Puck, Nikisha Fogo/Daniel Deivison-Oliveira as Hypolyta/Theseus. Everything just seemed perfectly cast. I loved seeing Elizabeth Mateer ace the role of Helena. I hadn't realized before how funny it could be, the way a lovesick Helena drapes herself over a patently uninterested Demetrius. The laughter in the audience was unexpected (but fun!), and that's what I get for watching the streamed version 2x back in 2020, filmed without an audience, and thinking I "knew" the ballet. The orchestra was typically amazing and wonderful. They were the "artist" in the 1pm "Meet the Artist" series, and it was enlightening and enjoyable to hear Martin West dissect the score and talk about Mendelssohn (versus Mozart - a fascinating compare-and-contrasts of both composers' work from their teens) and see the orchestra actually playing, for once, instead of hidden in the pit. The costumes -- wow. Just dazzling. Boy, I'm SO grateful I got to see this program (and this performance) after all. What a fun treat. Oh, final shout out to Norika Matsuyama as the dazzling Butterfly. Just love her warmth and energy.
  13. I saw the eighth and final performance of Coppelia by Colorado Ballet this afternoon. It is a very nice production, with well-played comedy touches and pleasant dancing by all. It's not really fair to single out just a handful of dancers, as I didn't see the other casts, but two stand out: Liam Hogan was the lead in the Mazurka (partnering Sara Thomas). He is a new corps member from 2020 and I hadn't noticed him before. I have now! Presence up the gazoo! Very strong technique, commanding presence. I will be watching for him in the final program, a mixed bill, next month. https://coloradoballet.org/Liam-Hogan Principal Jennifer Grace was Swanhilda. She admirably knocked off several technical feats: Italian fouettes, turns a la seconde, super-fast chaines, more. She had a little trouble on those difficult turning balances at the opening of the wedding PdD, but got through them. She was partnered by principal Chris Moulton, a late sub for Mario Labrador. He has a strong presence and impressive technique, but seemed a bit tired, having danced this role just last night! https://coloradoballet.org/Jennifer-Grace
  14. Last week
  15. The NY Times article mentions that they considered having Jaffe continue in both Executive positions, but decided ultimately that it was too much for one person. That is what I was referring to.
  16. I have been watching ABT carefully for about 12 years as a fan, seeing full ABT ballets and performances live at the MET and other Lincoln Center venues, City Center, etc... during that time. While I am not an x-dancer and do not have the language to describe or best critique as many of you, the nuances of talent and individual performances, I definitely have my preferences. For me, the newer crop of women principals especially Brandt, Shevchenko and Hurlin (sorry for any misspellings) are all very strong and Trenary too (but seems ABT likes her in more limited types of roles). I see these 4 as the foundation for years to come with Misty C and Murphy soon to retire and probably Hee See not far off. Messeldine sure seems like a wonderful dancer to me, and seems favored by Jaffe, and will likely be promoted next year, given all the roles she is getting. Park is young and I am sure will rise to a promotion soon enough. I feel that it is the men that is more of a wild-card for me with Stearns getting up there and Cornejo nearing the end of his career. For the future, it seems to me that Bell and Roxander are the two up and comers. I see Bell dancing with all the principals but a great deal with Hurlin and I see Roxander perhaps matching up with Brandt after Cornejo retires. Royal to me is a beautiful dancer but perhaps not as clean and proficient from what I can tell (by my own eyes, admittedly not as skilled as most of yours, and the critics). I feel Calvin has work to do to be the level of a Cornejo or Camargo or Bell, but perhaps he can be. All in all, as the top is soon to retire on both the men and woman's side, I feel only the men's side needs the most reinforcement whether from their own ranks or outside.
  17. Dance Masterpieces was a fabulous program and I'm so glad I made the trip to see it. I went to the Friday & Sat matinees & evening performances. I love all 3 pieces but Upper Room is my favorite. It's the only one I was a little disappointed in, but more on that later. I've seen The River may times, most recently by the Ailey company but they don't dance it on point and I like it so much better with the women in point shoes - as Ailey choreographed it for ABT! I particularly liked Oksana Maslova in Meander, she put a very sensual spin on the choreography. Yuka Iseda danced Lake with Austin Eyler and Twin Cities with Arian Molina Soca at both matinees. Dayesi Torriente did Lake with Jack Thomas and Twin Cities with Sterling Baca on Friday and Sat evening. All of them were great and Iseda & Torriente were totally different. Iseda looks to be a small dancer, sinewy with very pliable back and torso. She brought a poignant vulnerability to Lake. Her partner, Austin Eyler, is big, tall & strong but still with a nice clean line. He was a great partner to her, making all of those difficult lifts look so easy. Torriente made a big impression on me years ago when I saw her as Myrtha in Giselle. I loved her Lake too, her take on it was strong and sweeping, more along the lines of the role's originator, Cynthia Gregory. The matinee cast of In the Middle was good, but the evening cast was great. Especially Nayara Lopes, Maslova, Iseda and Torriente. They threw themselves into those crazy attenuated extensions and twisty arabesques into attitudes that folded in and over. Loved this. In the Upper Room felt a tad low energy to me. That may not make sense since its such a high energy piece but this felt like maybe half a step down compared to what I'm used to seeing. I think part of it was the staging/lighting/haze. They used a scrim and the haze didn't move or change at all. The lighting changed, but not the haze. I've seen this often and recently (Tharp's own staging with her hand picked dancers at City Center last year) and I remember the haze billowing and retracting, swallowing up the dancers at some points, sometimes obscuring parts of them and allowing them to burst out of the haze at other times. Here they appeared from and disappeared into the haze at the back of the stage on their entrances and exits but that was about it. The billowing haze gives it a pulse that mirrors the propulsion in the music, sweeping the dance along. I didn't get that feeling here. The cast was the same in all 5 performances and while they were all very good, except for the last 10 minutes of the piece I didn't get the feeling that they were dancing full out. It looked like they were trying to hit perfect ballet positions rather than pushing through with abandon and I didn't quite get that feeling of euphoria and exhilaration from them. With other companies I felt that by the end they were completely exhausted and unable to take one more step but I didn't get that feeling here. It might have helped it they'd had 2 casts. But a less than perfect Upper Room is still great and I loved seeing it. I loved the company, they have some great dancers and there was not one I didn't like. I'm very much looking forward to seeing their Corsaire, La Sylphide and Swan Lake next year.
  18. I agree that too many older dancers are being allowed to hang on, however, they were already being allowed to hang on when McKenzie was still AD. He should have graciously let a few of them go before he retired (and that was only a little over a year ago). Jaffe let Shayer go. We don't know the circumstances that led to Gorak leaving last year nor Katie Williams retiring this year. How would everyone react if she pulled a "Corrella" and did a slash and burn all at once? The balletomanes and the press would have a field day. And, the company's morale would take a huge hit - I bet a bunch of dancers would leave. But, now that we're basically on year two of Jaffe's reign there needs to be more retirements - Hoven, Paris, Fang. That will also free up much needed space to promote Coker and maybe Frenette. I disagree about Murphy still dancing well - I've seen enough over the past year. Jaffe may be treading lightly there due to Murphy's stardom/tenure, but it's past time. Same with Copeland (just remove her name already). I also think Stearns needs to retire. He's always injured and when he is it takes him out for a long time. Now that Curley is a soloist they better be prepping him for Siegfried and Romeo as an understudy (if not his own show). We can't have Camargo doing 3 or 4 Romeos like last year. Regarding Park, she has not been getting the same old roles. She debuted Natalia in On the Dnipro last Fall and debuted Clara in Nutcracker in December. Of course, not on par with Misseldine's O/O, but what is? Again, with Murphy still on the roster that limits opportunities for others. Park could have debuted Juliet this year (or Brandt) but perhaps she will get an Olga in Onegin. I hope they wait another year before promoting Misseldine to principal. It'll no doubt happen (and, I believe it should) but she needs more time in more roles. Jaffe's programming last Fall was different - bringing back Etudes, Ballet Imperial, Petit Mort was a big deal. Some other repeats, but they don't have enough rehearsal time to do 7-8 new works. We all discussed here on a different thread the reasons why we may have too many repeats at the Met this year (licensing, etc) but whatever the reason I definitely agree that there's not enough variety. I hope Met 2025 will be vastly different.
  19. Just in from the Dance Masterpieces program. I will write more when I get back to NY on Monday and can type on an actual keyboard instead of my phone, but for now I’ll just say that this was a terrific program, the company looks great, and I will be back for more! And I fell in love with Ashton Roxander. What a beautiful, thrilling dancer.
  20. I agree on Misty. I think Gillian is still retiring semi soon but she's still dancing well. She does seem to spend a lot of time understandably with Ethan at ARB so I'm wondering if she might retire soon to join him there full time. Paris is retiring after this season (I believe) and I think Fang is on her way out also. Unsure about Hoven but I do think he's dancing less. I think Sunmi is getting new roles (perhaps Kitri soon) and she's been casted as the lead in Nutcracker and LWFC but those are probably lesser debuts than Chloe's O/O. I think if there are principal promotions after this met season it's likely only Chloe, if there are none then I could see the next principal promotions being both of them provided they both keep being cast in principal/leading roles.
  21. I imagine that from a logistical point of view NYCB tours have always been easier and less expensive to mount, given that they don't involve transporting big sets and multiple changes of elaborate costumes. (I would also point out that Hughson's current company, the National Ballet of Canada, tours precious little, often just three performances annually in Ottawa, 280 miles from Toronto. I'm not saying he doesn't have experience planning tours, just that he hasn't overseen a lot of them over the past ten years.)
  22. Its typical to have an executive director and an artistic director (New York City Ballet has that structure too, as do the other large companies I've looked at). Or do they have two executive directors at ABT?
  23. Yes, Merrill Ashley thought that. It doesn't mean it was true. I think he didn't promote her because he didn't feel she was ready. The transformation that happened when she started to relax onstage and respond to the music was MAJOR.
  24. I love what Stafford and Whelan are doing at NYCB. There was such excitement this winter with the rep and the casting, moving younger dancers into principal roles. Judging from the past, NYCB keeps artistic management forever (they have never fired an AD, not even Martins) and since it took two years to come up with the Stafford-Whelan combo, I don't see them changing unless Jonathan or Wendy kill someone on Fifth Avenue. They have just, just stabilized and are positioned to recover from the pandemic. It was interesting to see NYCB's plans to perform with a smaller group in London. In ABT's announcement of their new Executive Director, Barry Hughson, they said that their company was too large to tour as it used to. Or that's how I understood the following, from the NY Times: he hopes to re-examine the company’s touring model, long Ballet Theater’s lifeblood, so that tours can be “artistically vibrant but also economically viable.” NYCB seems to be leading the way in that respect. Stafford and Whelan came up with the Digital Seasons that we all watched during the pandemic. They had to negotiate with the unions to do them. Those were a huge hit and imo, contributed to NYCB's bounce back when theaters reopened. I've always imagined that Whelan was the visionary between the two of them, and that Stafford was the one to keep the Balanchine/Robbins rep, and the pathway from SAB to NYCB humming. I've seen him teach Advanced Partnering at SAB and never seen her teach there (not that she needs more to do). Also interesting that ABT feels the need to have two people doing the Executive jobs. That NY Times announcement is a marvel in not ruffling any feathers and in giving everyone (Jaffe, Rollé) their due.
  25. I think Misty is de facto retired even if they still keep her photo up on the website. Jaffe is allowing too many older dancers to hang around who have little or no value to the company anymore. I'm referring here to Hoven, Fang and Paris. Jaffe's tenure so far has been a big disappointment. The programming has far too much repetition. Chloe is the only soloist who is being given major opportunities. Park is obviously talented, but is still getting the same old roles.
  26. I saw Illinoise last night. The audience was very enthusiastic and gave a standing ovation. It may help if you're a fan of Sufjan Stevens and are familiar with the album that the songs came from, Illinois. I thought there was a lot of ingenuity in the story telling and that the dancers are all fabulous, but it didn't move me. It seems to be about teenagers who feel like tweens and all of their attendant puberty and hormonal angst. There are parts that I thought were beautifully staged, a car created out of steering wheel, lights and a door, but the lights kept flashing into the audience, in my eyes, which was annoying. It's worth seeing, if you're interested in the artists, but it was not to my taste. I also couldn't get past the dancers not speaking or singing. The costumes are unflatteringly homemade looking on purpose. Are they all teenage runaways? I'd read something that called it a "new musical" but it's not. I was misinformed. It's a dance piece with live band and live singers onstage, 1 hour 40 minutes, no intermission. The singers wear butterfly wings, and if you have any idea why (many posting in the NY Times comments loved this) you'll probably enjoy it more than I did. Positive review from Theater critic Jesse Green (it's his Critic's Theater Pick) https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/07/theater/illinoise-review-sufjan-stevens-justin-pick.html?searchResultPosition=3 Less positive review from Gia Kourlas https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/arts/dance/illinoise-dance-justin-peck.html?searchResultPosition=1
  27. This - Coker and another female corps member will probably be promoted together when Paris or Fang are out, and use this summer season to work out any post injury issues. Also ballet promotions are not dissimilar to promotions in any company or corporation, where they are not just based on someone deserving something, but also very much on need. With the women's ranks so packed, there just isn't room or need for another female soloist at the moment. The three men who were promoted were imo, the right choice and very much needed. They each cover a specific niche that ABT was sorely missing (Curley the tall danseur noble, Roxander the long-awaited star who fills the Siimkin void, Gonzales a reliable all-around asset who has a naturally warm and likable leading or secondary man presence). Promoting 5 men doesn't seem reasonable from a budget perspective. I'm still shocked Murphy did not opt to retire this year. Since Copeland is not retiring this year, 2024 would have given Murphy her the starring retirement treatment. That would also push Misseldine up and free up more space amongst the soloists.
  28. On Tuesday, April 2nd, the Paris Opera Ballet will livestream Don Quixote, starting at 19:30 CET/1:30 pm Eastern. After that it will be available on demand for 7 days. It is scheduled to star Sae Eun Park and Paul Marque. The stream costs €14.90 to rent. It is included in Paris Opera Play subscriptions. https://play.operadeparis.fr/en/p/don-quixote-2024
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