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Soloists: Tess Reichlen, Daniel Ullbricht, Adam Hendrickson

Principals: Ashley Bouder, Megan Fairchild, Janie Taylor, Joaquin de Luz, Stephen Hanna

a toast to all of them for their artistry and hard work! May they stay healthy and grace us with many more years of wonderful dancing!!!!

Eight cheers!!!!!!!!!! :wacko:

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Wow. I so did not see many of those comings... yet I certainly thought Bouder and Reichlen on their way to promotions this or next season, but, wow.

While I certainly think Hendrickson and Ulbricht deserving, it seems odd to promote them when they have been dancing so little lately. But, bravo for them.

To others-- has there been another time where three dancers were promoted to soloist together only to be promoted to principal together within a year?

-amanda

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This is my first time posting on this board. I was referred here by my sister, who is a regular poster. I look forward to talking about ballet with all of you!

That's an awful lot of promotions at once! I have seen Reichlen several times, and she's never failed to blow me away with her jumps, extension, and command of the stage. I've spent a long time wondering how she was still in the corps. Janie Taylor's promotion is also very well deserved, IMO. She has great extension and line. I've liked de Luz since he was with ABT.

The only promotion that I disagree with is Fairchild's. From what I've seen of her, she's a pleasant and technically secure dancer with exceptionally crisp and clear steps. But her arm movements need a lot of work. They seem choppy and brittle at times, and when the steps get fast, her shoulders start to slack sometimes. Overall, I think her dancing lacks maturity and fluidity. I don't see her being able to dance a wide range of roles and command the stage the way that other principal dancers can. I can think of many corps members who have shown greater maturity and polish in their dancing. Korbes, Arthurs, Reichlen (now a Soloist) and Edge come to mind. And among the soloists, van Kipnis is a far more versatile and refined dancer.

This isn't to say that Fairchild isn't an extremely talented dancer--she's only 20! But I feel that promoting her to principal with less than a year of Soloist experience is premature. In time, she will undoubtedly become a world-class dancer, but right now there are other dancers more deserving of a promotion.

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I'm thrilled, thrilled with all of the promotions. But especially with Ashley Bouder's. In yesterday's matinee she was the second in La Source, but she was the one who took my breath away. (I kept thinking, now if only Ashley could get the lead. . .) And Tess was simply superb in yesterday's Agon -- another dancer you can't take your eyes off. Break open the champagne!!!

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For someone who is making their debut here, who've gotten off to a great start. Because like Oberon, everything I wanted to say about the promotions, Tomatonose you already said it. Welcome to board!

As for all these promotions I'm happy but totally surprise. I think mainly because Peter Martins is very well known at taking his time in promoting his dancers. Then he does this. Completely out of left field.

23 principals not including Jock Soto and Peter Boal. Seem rather top heavy for me. Which makes my worried nature starting to think terrible thoughts. Does Mr. Martins knows something we don't know. Like more retirements in the not so distant future.

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I should add a general congrats to all the dancers. I was so taken aback that I forgot my manners!

Like bobbi, I'm especially thrilled with Bouder's promotion. I was selfishly hoping Bouder would get a promotion without others... as I'm one of those who sees her in a league of her own.

Tomatonose-- I echo the others when i say that you captured my sentiments about what a promotion that seems premature (In an interview last year after her soloist promotion, Fairchild seemed to imply she felt her soloist promotion came too soon). Welcome to the board!

Was 1989 the last time so many dancers were promoted at once?

-amanda

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NEW YORK CITY BALLET PROMOTES

EIGHT DANCERS

Ashley Bouder, Megan Fairchild, Janie Taylor,

Joaquin De Luz and Stephen Hanna Named Principal Dancers

Teresa Reichlen, Adam Hendrickson and Daniel Ulbricht

Promoted to Soloist

New York City Ballet announced today that soloists Ashley Bouder, Megan Fairchild, Janie Taylor, Joaquin De Luz and Stephen Hanna have been promoted to principal dancers, and corps de ballet members Teresa Reichlen, Adam Hendrickson and Daniel Ulbricht have been promoted to soloists.

The promotions were announced on the anniversary of NYCB Co-founder George Balanchine’s birth (January 22, 1904), which also marks the company’s annual New Combinations Evening, an annual tribute to Mr. Balanchine’s birthday featuring the presentation of world premiere ballets. All of the promotions are effective immediately.

Ashley Bouder was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and began her ballet training at the age of six at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet with Marcia Dale Weary. After attending the 1999 Summer Program at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, she was invited by SAB to continue her training during the Winter Session. Ms. Bouder was named an apprentice with New York City Ballet in June 2000 and became a member of the corps de ballet that October. She was promoted to the rank of soloist in February 2004. At the SAB, Ms. Bouder was the Mae L. Wien Award recipient for 2000 and was NYCB’s Janice Levin Dancer Honoree for 2002-2003 season.

Megan Fairchild was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and began her dance training at the age of four, studying with Judy Levitre at Dance Concepts in Sandy, Utah; with Karen Chatterton at the Academy of Ballet Arts, also in Sandy; and at the Ballet West Conservatory in Salt Lake City with Sharee Lane, Deborah Dobson, and Maureen Laird. While at the Ballet West Conservatory, Ms. Fairchild was also a Ballet West trainee. Ms. Fairchild entered the School of American Ballet in the fall of 2000. In November 2001, Ms. Fairchild became an apprentice with New York City Ballet, and in October 2002 she joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. Ms. Fairchild was promoted to the rank of soloist in February 2004. At SAB, Ms. Fairchild was the 2001 recipient of the Mae L. Wien Award.

Janie Taylor was born in Houston, Texas, where she began her ballet training at age four. At age 12, she moved to New Orleans and trained at the Giacobbe Academy of Dance. She entered the School of American Ballet full time in the fall of 1995. In June 1998, Ms. Taylor received the Mae L. Wien Award at the SAB Annual Workshop and was invited to become an apprentice with New York City Ballet. A month later, Ms. Taylor became a member of NYCB’s corps de ballet. She was promoted to the rank of soloist in February 2001.

Joaquin De Luz was born in Madrid and received his training at the Victor Ullate School of Ballet. He danced with the Victor Ullate Ballet Company from 1992 until 1995. In March 1996, Mr. De Luz won the Gold Medal at the Second Nureyev International Ballet Competition in Budapest, Hungary, and in August of that year, he joined the Pennsylvania Ballet as a soloist. Mr. De Luz joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in 1997 and was promoted to soloist in 1998. He joined New York City Ballet as a soloist in 2003.

Stephen Hanna was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He entered the School of American Ballet in the fall of 1992. Mr. Hanna became an apprentice with New York City Ballet in 1997, and later that year he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. Mr. Hanna was promoted to the rank of soloist in February 2004.

Teresa Reichlen was born in Clifton, Virginia. She began her dance training at the age of 10 at the Russell School of Ballet with Thomas and Illona Russell, Mary Rogers, and Margaret McGarry. In 1999, Ms. Reichlen studied at the summer program of the School of American Ballet, and she entered SAB full time in the fall of the same year. In October 2000, Ms. Reichlen became an apprentice with New York City Ballet, and in October 2001 she joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. Ms. Reichlen is NYCB’s Janice Levin Dancer Honoree for the 2004/2005 season.

Adam Hendrickson was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and began his ballet training at the age of six with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. In 1996, he received the Rudolf Nureyev Scholarship and was invited to continue his studies at the winter session of the School of American Ballet. In the spring of 1998 he became an apprentice with New York City Ballet, and in the summer of 1998, Mr. Hendrickson became a member of the corps de ballet.

Daniel Ulbricht was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, and began his dance training at the age of 11 at the Judith Lee Johnson Studio of Dance, studying with Lenny Holmes. He also studied at Les Jeunes Danseurs with Javier Dubraq and attended the Chautauqua Summer Dance Program, training with Jean Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride. In 1999, Mr. Ulbricht was invited by the School of American Ballet to continue his training during their Winter Program. In December 2000, he became an apprentice with New York City Ballet and in November 2001 he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet.

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I saw Janie Taylor in SQUARE DANCE ON Saturday night. I'm not a fan of hers but she looked radiant (big smile almost all the time) probably from having been told of her promotion. I may become a fan.

I agree with the thoughts about Megan Fairchild. She does everything techinally correct and very well, but it doesn't come from her heart-all mechanical.

While seeing "After the Rain" I thought the male dancers Chris used would be the next principles (Edward Liang and Ask La Cour).

I can't add much of anything to what has been said about Ashley. Offstage she can walk right by you and you wouldn't notice her (maybe it is her hat). But onstage she blinds you. I must remember to bring my sunglasses to her next performance.

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I look at these promotions as investments for the future, even if they deliever dividends now. Several dancers are set to retire, with more, I'm sure, doing so in the future.

Bouder is a no-brainer. She is a dancer I want to see in everything (even things you wouldn't think right for her), just to see what she does. Her command, technique and musicality is astonishing.

Fairchild brightens the stage with her crystalline dancing. While it couldn't hurt for her to stay a soloist for a bit longer, she has the goods now. In sports, managers sometimes put a young talented player into the starting lineup and they blossom further.

Taylor is the trickier choice in my eyes, although she's been a soloist longer. She has a very special talent and needs care. But again, sometimes just gaining the confidence of the title "principal" helps calm a dancer down. In Square Dance over the weekend, she looked more like the dancer who wowed us in La Valse.

Hanna looks to be riding the same train Neal did -- tall, good partner, solid dancer. He also has been gaining confidence since his promotion to soloist last year.

De Luz's rise is not a surprise. He is a bit limited (even Fairchild is a bit too tall for him to partner comfortably) but he is one of the few male dancers to show technical pizzazz and I've been happy with several of his performances.

I think that Ullbricht also is limited. And while I have been impressed with some of his technical feats, he tends to oversell. Maybe the title will settle him down too and he'll fill the Tom Gold position.

I adore Reichlen so I'm happy about her promotion, as I am about Hendrickson. I'd love to see him do even more. A thoughtful dancer.

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I really have to jump in here in defense of Megan Fairchild, a lovely young woman with outstanding technique and a huge heart--I see her dancing straight from that heart every time she steps on the stage.

In Saratoga in summer 2003 Megan did five Swanhildas in three days, including two mat/eve combinations. At the time she was a corps member and it was her Coppelia debut. The entire town was talking about her grit and determination, not to mention that she was utterly adorable in the role.

That feat, in and of itself would have made me a Megan fan. But I must say that I have enjoyed everything that I have seen her do: even the Robert LaFosse mess of Opening Night 2002 was salvaged by her. I am one of the few balletomanes to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed "Double Feature" and look forward to seeing it again. My enjoyment was enhanced by Megan, playing the "bad girl" and I hope she does it again.

This past summer she was given a opportunity to perform Calliope in Saratoga. I admit to a bit of doubt as to whether she was ready for this challenge, and am happy to say that she held her own. She has a way to go with that role and with others, but she showed me a side of herself that I had not seen, and I look forward to more opportunities to see this brand-new principal dancer as she reveals more facets of her personality.

I am utterly charmed by her, having had the chance to chat with her briefly in Saratoga and having been awed by her lovely clean technique and radiant smile.

Congratulations Megan.

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Very exciting news to read! Having formerly been a subscriber to NYCB, but not now, I am especially looking forward to this season - though I'll have to pick and choose this time around.

Congratulations to all the dancers who've been promoted. I can't imagine the feelings of accomplishment and excitement they all must have.

rkoreztky, thank you for your insightful post and I have to agree with Dale who wrote

Fairchild brightens the stage with her crystalline dancing. While it couldn't hurt for her to stay a soloist for a bit longer, she has the goods now. In sports, managers sometimes put in a young talented player into the starting lineup and they blossom further.
Thank goodness promotions don't wait until the bloom is off the rose. :dry:
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rkoretzky, thanks for reminding me about those Fairchild performances. I too thought she was one of the best things about Double Feature. It takes an excellent dancer to pretend to be a bad dancer and have comic timing. She was THE best thing about Land of Nod. And I was very impressed with the way she filled the stage as Pierrette in Harliquinade. She brings warmth and clarity to roles, such as Princess Florine.

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And thank YOU Dale, for the reminder about Pierette. I intended to include that , as well as to say that I hope Megan will be given a chance at Columbine in spring season. (Although I did love, love love Alexandra in that role).

And hooray hooray! We will have Harlequinade in Saratoga this summer, for the first time in I don't know how many years. I know that my 20 year old daughter, who has literally spent every summer of her life at SPAC, had not seen it until last winter season.

And another hooray hooray for Ballo being on our schedule. Now I'm just crossing my fingers that my other favorite new principal (yes Dale I agree with you, Ashley Bouder is a dancer that I want to see in everything, every night) will be doing it here. I was grieving that I couldn't manage a way into the city to see it this season......

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Jennifer Dunning, in the course of her review of Saturday afternoon's program, mentioned the promotions of Teresa Reichlen, Steven Hanna, Ashley Bouder, and Janie Taylor. But since Daniel Ulbricht, Megan Fairchild, Adam Henrickson, and Joaquin de Luz didn't take part in that program, they went unmentioned. I hope their promotions will eventually be recorded by what used to be "the newspaper of record." In the meantime, thank goodness for Ballet Alert for giving us the full story.

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Taylor and Bouder would probably both have been principals earlier had not injury and illness caused setbacks for them. I am so happy that they both emerged with flying colours and I think we can look forward to many years of watching them in a huge variety of roles.

Clearly there will be changes beyond the departures of Soto & Boal in the next year or two. What a treat that we have Janie & Ashley, along with Ansanelli (another survivor, come to think of it) bringing a new generation of talent to the fore. Stephen Hanna has "prince" written all over him, he's also very interesting in the black & white ballets, both facially & physically. I think Edwaard Liang is a fascinating dancer, so vibrant and everything always so perfectly placed...I do hope he is the next promotion. LaCour will be of real value because of his height, to say nothing of his expressive face...Reichlin is going to need her own cavalier, just as Kowroski has Askegard. LaCour may need more technical refinement, but I think he & Tess would be a good pairing.

If Ellen Bar continues on her current trajectory it would not surprise me to see her moving up...she is tall..and glamourous. Then there's Rebecca Krohn...

Overall, things are looking good.

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Some of the comments about Megan's promotion sound like echoes of the time when Darci became principal. In both cases, the dancers were extremely young and had not yet developed a sizable rep. It wasn't long before Darci proved herself worthy.

We never know what goes on in the studio. Obviously, Megan's shown herself willing to go out there and just do it (to coin a phrase) when the scheduled dancer wasn't available, perhaps without the preparation she would have liked. That kind of dancer is indispensible. While she is very unlike Darci at that age (or now), they do share that special and unteachable quality that rkoretzky identified: dancing from the heart.

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In my initial post I only went out of my way to single out Ashley, but I just want to express how happy I am with both Janie and Megan. My main criteria for dancers is that they make me see the music, and both Janie and Megan fit the bill. These two dancers grow right before your eyes each time you see them. Megan in particular has a very good technique and gives 100% in performance. It's easy to forget how young she is because her performances are so very polished. Her Square Dance was terrific.

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:):)

Soloists:  Tess Reichlen, Daniel Ullbricht, Adam Hendrickson

Principals:  Ashley Bouder, Megan Fairchild, Janie Taylor, Joaquin de Luz, Stephen Hanna

a toast to all of them for their artistry and hard work!  May they stay healthy and grace us with many more years of wonderful dancing!!!!

Eight cheers!!!!!!!!!! :yahoo:

Absolutely. Readers know I love Janie, and I am elated. Good for all of the great dancers. This was very good news.

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