Natalia

Russian TV report on the actual graduation ceremony at the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, outside St-P. "Ballet Tsar" Tsiskaridze looks very comfy on the balcony. Боже, Царя храни! http://tvkultura.ru/video/show/episode_id/1516839/video_id/1645330/brand_id/19725/

Isn't Marcelo's debut as Prince Coffee this afternoon? I close my eyes and picture him slowly rising from the tin can. Wish I could be there. Reports, please!

Thanks, Peg! Please let us know how we may be able to access the audio, if you find out. I scanned the NYRB website but couldn't find a link or even a mention of the event.

I couldn't agree more, Bingham! I'd add Lane and Schevchenko for Principal, Royal and Shayer for Soloist. I guess that we'll find out in a week or so...during the Tchaikovsky Spectaculars! I hope that there are no departures.

If Lane is yet again passed over for promotion...that would be tantamount to what's happened to Emanuel Thibault at POB.

Not just in EasternEurope, Jayne. All over. I happen to (mostly) love Alastair's reviews because he's not afraid to be "anti PC." Too bad that he & other legit arts critics get less and less space to publish nowadays.

I can hear the screams now. That procession is wildly cheered, regardless of who is dancing; with Misty atop the yak, it must be doubled or tripled in intensity. Thanks so much for the report.

Even better...film of Osiel Gouneo & Viengsay Valdes in Alicia Alonso's version of the Diana & Acteaon pdd, during the most recent festival on Havana. His solo begins at 4:40...sassy walk and all. Wow! He is something else. I wish that he is finally settling down to a long-term company in Munich, after his quick stints in Norway & ENB. This brilliant dancer deserves to be a permanent Principal, rather than hopping to a different place every one or two years.

Whoopee, Mme P! Thanks for the news, clip and correction on Oscar's citizenship. He was so superb all those years at the Kirov - including his "first graduation" performance in the lead of KAB's Paquita Gnd Pas, May 23, 2015 - that we love to also claim him for ourselves. I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that he had gone to Vaganova in Jan/Feb 2016 for 16 months of "finishing school." Cheers, Oscar Frame! From the KAB Facebook...Oscar chose the Bolshoi among four offers, including the Mariinsky! https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=795835960584357&id=100004738810343&set=a.628960940605194.1073741826.100004738810343&source=48

Is the USA's Oscar Frame among them? I know Oscar from DC's Kirov Academy so am extra curious about his progress.

Any reports on Misty Copeland's long-awaited debut as Princess Praline last night? Did she appear atop the big white yak in the hospital-room procession in Act II?

Cheryl Yeager's lovely daughter, Hannah Marshall, is now in the ABT corps. I fondly recall Hannah's Swan solo in Ratmansky's Carnival of the Animals with JKO/ABT Studio in 2013.

Cheryl Yeager was a gorgeous Aurora in the Macmillan version...petite beauty, like Sarah Lane now. She and Amanda McKerrow were the two petite ballerinas of the '80s. Both were among the many ABT ballerinas of the 80s that had Washington DC-area connections...through either Washington Ballet or Maryland Youth Ballet, then in Bethesda, MD. That's before Kirov Academy existed.

Apparently, Osiel Gouneo danced as a guest star of the Nov 2016 25th Int'l Ballet Festival of Havana...Diana & Acteon pdd w/ Viengsay Valdes! So his departure must have been friendly, with ability to travel back & forth. http://www.festivalballethabana.cu/programa-detalle/19

Link to our thread on the 2011 Kennedy Center tour. Post #3 ISU report on Magia de la Danza...and Osiel...then Gounod!

Who is "Oseo"? He didn't also change his first name??? Cubanmiamiboy, Osiel Gounod and Osiel Gouneo are definitely the same wonderful dancer. What could be more artistic and soft sounding than Gounod? Goo-noh...two beautiful syllables? He was still Gounod during the last BNC tour to the Kennedy Center (2011?) when I "discovered" him at age 19 in Coppelia pdd in "Magia de la Danza." Neither he nor his partner Grettel Morejon were yet Principals...not even close to the first two ranks. They were the babes. Both turned out to be the highlights of that night. I'm sure that his departure was a huge shock to Cuba...just like Romel Frometa left a few years later...and other up-and-coming men before that. It seems that whenever a Cuban danseur in on the cusp of greatness, he leaves. The young lad who was being "pushed" during my working visit to Havana last March '16 was one Rafael Quenedit (assume related to other famous Cuban Quenedit dancers who left a long time ago?). Quite wonderful with the trademark Cuban endless pirouettes. Montage of solos of Rafael Quenedit, the 2nd-3rd excerpts being the Paquita segments in the performance that I attended March 2016. Remember, at this point, he was just into his 2nd season as a professional.

Absolutely. In the late 70s and through the 80s, many ABT aficionados complained about Leslie Browne's prominence despite relative tech weaknesses, just because she was a star of the hit film THE TURNING POINT early during her career. In the end, she built a nice specialized rep for herself in dramatic ballets, esp. the Tudors.

Why did Osiel change his name from Gounod to Gouneo after 2013? Did he want a more Spanish-sounding name? Yet, he did so after leaving Cuba for Europe.

Everyone must cheer extra loud when she stars in Mozartiana next week. Sending much love her way.

Agreed. Italy may be ahead of the USA in this regard. The first and ONLY commercial DVD of Misty Copeland in a full-evening-length classical ballet is her La Scala Romeo & Juliet, opposite Roberto Bolle. It's a beauty. For all the yak-yak and smug self congratulations for being PC, American public TV (PBS) has yet to program a live or taped full-length ballet starring Misty. We don't need more documentaries or 1-minute spots on TV.

You're most welcome, CTballetfan! Enjoy the show.

The titles differ slightly. Note spellings in the listing to the left of this page: http://www.abt.org/education/archive/index.html The first (short) version is Aftereffect. The longer, newer one is AfterEffect. Each has its own entry. The write-ups and dancers' names differ too...more dancers for AfterEffect. The latter entry is now missing the timing but it's a 38-40 minute orchestral work.

CTballetfan, I see your point and you are correct about WC. Both Golden Cockerell and Whipped Cream make for shortish "full evenings." So will Harlequinade which, at NYCB (with exact same length of the gorgeous 2-act Drigo score), is always followed by another ballet - usually The Concert or other light-hearted one acter. No worries with the Tchaikovsky evening, as I've explained above.

AfterEffect is actually quite long: about 40 minutes. Gomes initially choreographed an 11-minute version to one movement of the Souvenirs de Florence score. We'll be seeing the version with all four movements. The ABT web has separate descriptions for each version. Both Tchaikovsky mixed bills will be substantial. So your show should include about 95 minutes of dancing. With two 20-min intermissions, the full evening should run about 2 hrs, 15 mins...start at 7:30, end 9:45ish.

Just saw this press release with a segment on the upcoming Tchaikovsky program. The Ivans will dance to the Nutcracker Trepak. So the Aurora/Desire pdd will not be chopped, as happened in 1921-London (and other versions) to make room for the Ivanichki. Yay! http://www.abt.org/insideabt/news_display.asp?News_ID=562