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ABT Fall Performances


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Thanks, vipa

October 2

New Ratmansky Work

J. Kent

X. Reyes

S. Abrera

A. Hammoudi

H. Cornejo

G. Saveliev

New Barton Work

Company

Other Dances

Cast to be announced

New Millepied Work

I. Boylston

M. Gomes

October 3, M

New Ratmansky Work

H. Seo

S. Lane

Y. Kajiya

J. Matthews

J. Phillips

C. Lopez

New Barton Work

Company

Some Assembly Required

I. Boylston

I. Stappas

New Millepied Work

S. Abrera

C. Stearns

October 3, E

J. Kent

X. Reyes

S. Abrera

A. Hammoudi

H. Cornejo

G. Saveliev

New Barton Work

Company

Some Assembly Required

J. Matthews

M. Riccetto

New Millepied Work

I. Boylston

M. Gomes

October 4, M

New Ratmansky Work

H. Seo

S. Lane

Y. Kajiya

J. Matthews

J. Phillips

C. Lopez

New Barton Work

Company

Other Dances

Cast to be announced

New Millepied Work

S. Abrera

C. Stearns

Check ABT's calendar for updates and changes and, it's safe to guess, the Avery Fisher casting coming soon.

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Casting for Avery Fisher season:

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S

FALL SEASON AT AVERY FISHER HALL,

OCTOBER 7-10, 2009

Opening Night to be Highlighted by the New York City Premieres of New Works by Alexei Ratmansky, Aszure Barton and Benjamin Millepied

Casting for American Ballet Theatre’s 2009 Fall Season at Avery Fisher Hall was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. The engagement marks the Company’s first appearance at Avery Fisher Hall.

The Opening Night Gala performance at 6:30 P.M. will feature the debut of David Hallberg in a new work by Alexei Ratmansky. The six-member opening night ensemble also includes Julie Kent, Xiomara Reyes, Stella Abrera, Herman Cornejo and Gennadi Saveliev. Set to Domenico Scarlatti’s Keyboard Sonatas, the new Ratmansky ballet will receive its World Premiere at the Richard B. Fisher Center’s Sosnoff Theater at Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, New York on October 2, 2009. Costumes for Ratmansky’s new work are by Holly Hynes and lighting is by Brad Fields.

A new work by Aszure Barton, set to Maurice Ravel’s Violin Sonata in G, will also receive its New York City premiere on Opening Night, October 7. The new Barton ballet features costumes by Yannik Larivée and lighting by Brad Fields.

Isabella Boylston and Marcelo Gomes will lead the opening night cast of the New York City Premiere of a new work by Benjamin Millepied. Set to music by composer David Lang, the new ballet features costumes by Karen Young and lighting by Brad Fields. The new ballets by Aszure Barton and Benjamin Millepied will receive their World Premieres at the Richard B. Fisher Center’s Sosnoff Theater at Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, New York on October 2, 2009.

American Ballet Theatre’s Opening Night will also feature a performance by Veronika Part in Michel Fokine’s The Dying Swan. Set to music from Charles Camille Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals, The Dying Swan was created by Fokine for Anna Pavlova and given its World Premiere in 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Isabella Boylston and Isaac Stappas will make their New York City debuts in the Revival Premiere of Clark Tippet’s Some Assembly Required at the Friday, October 9 matinee, at 2:00 P.M. Maria Riccetto and Jared Matthews will make their New York City debuts in the roles on Saturday evening, October 10.

Superfund Asset Management, Inc. is the sponsor of American Ballet Theatre’s Fall Gala at Avery Fisher Hall. Saks Fifth Avenue is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of American Ballet Theatre's Costume Fund. J.P. Morgan is the leading corporate sponsor of Make a Ballet. American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre. Northern Trust is the leading underwriter of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onnasis School at American Ballet Theatre. The 2009 Fall Season is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. ABT acknowledges The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund for its generous support of the 2009 Avery Fisher Hall season.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s Fall season at Avery Fisher Hall, priced $20-$135, are available at Avery Fisher Hall’s box office at 212-721-6500. Avery Fisher Hall is located at the northern end of the Lincoln Center Plaza, at the corner of Broadway and 65th Street. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.abt.org <http://www.abt.org> .

AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

Avery Fisher Hall 2009

Wed. Eve., Oct. 7, 6:30 P.M. GALA PROGRAM

NEW RATMANSKY (New York City Premiere) – Kent, Reyes,

Abrera, Hallberg*, Cornejo, Saveliev

NEW BARTON (New York City Premiere) - Company

THE DYING SWAN - Part

NEW MILLEPIED (New York City Premiere) – Boylston, Gomes

Thurs. Eve., Oct 8. , 7:30 P.M. NEW RATMANSKY – Seo+, Lane+, Kajiya+, Matthews+, Phillips+,

Lopez+

NEW BARTON - Company

OTHER DANCES – TBA

NEW MILLEPIED – Boylston, Gomes

Fri.. Mat., Oct. 9, 2 P.M. NEW RATMANSKY – Shevchenko*, Reyes, Abrera,

Hammoudi+, Cornejo, Saveliev

NEW BARTON - Company

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED – Boylston+, Stappas+

NEW MILLEPIED – Abrera+, Stearns+

Fri. Eve., Oct. 9, 8 P.M. NEW RATMANSKY – Kent, Reyes, Abrera, Hallberg, Cornejo,

Saveliev

OTHER DANCES – TBA

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED – Boylston, Stappas

NEW MILLEPIED – Abrera, Stearns

Sat. Mat., Oct. 10, 2 P.M. NEW RATMANSKY – Seo, Lane, Kajiya, Matthews, Phillips,

Lopez

NEW BARTON - Company

OTHER DANCES - TBA

NEW MILLEPIED – Boylston, Gomes

Sat. Eve., Oct. 10, 8 P.M. NEW RATMANSKY – Kent, Reyes, Abrera, Hallberg, Cornejo,

Saveliev

NEW BARTON - Company

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED – Riccetto+, Matthews+

NEW MILLEPIED – Boylston, Gomes

*Editors please note: First time in a role

Wed. Eve., Oct. 7 –Hallberg in New Ratmansky

Fri. Mat., Oct. 9 – Shevchenko in New Ratmansky

+Editors please note: First time in a role in New York City

Thurs. Oct. 8 – Seo, Lane, Kajiya, Matthews, Phillips, Lopez in New Ratmansky;

Fri. Mat., Oct 9 – Hammoudi in New Ratmansky; Boylston, Stappas in Some Assembly Required;

Abrera, Stearns in New Millepied

Sat. Eve., Oct. 10 – Riccetto, Matthews in Some Assembly Required

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Part in Dying Swan!! That makes it worth the price of admission even if all the new works turn out to be awful. Yippie. Please Please give Part an opportunity to perform Other Dances too. Does anyone else find it odd that Paloma, Gillian and Michelle are not listed for any roles. I thought they were appearing with the company at Avery Fisher.

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Part in Dying Swan!! That makes it worth the price of admission even if all the new works turn out to be awful. Yippie. Please Please give Part an opportunity to perform Other Dances too. Does anyone else find it odd that Paloma, Gillian and Michelle are not listed for any roles. I thought they were appearing with the company at Avery Fisher.

Respectfully disagree about Dying Swan. I think it quite strange that it is thrown into the program. I really don't want to see it with Part or anyone. On the other hand Part in Other Dances would be intriguing.

I too wonder about Paloma, Gillian & Michelle. Are they not there? Why would Reyes be there and not the others?

I hate the listing of a cast as "company." Couldn't they please say who is dancing even if it is 8 or 10 or 12 people.

Looks like good opportunities for Boylston. Good for her. I have loved her in some things and found her not quite up to the task in others, but definitely a talented young lady - one to watch.

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Fri.. Mat., Oct. 9, 2 P.M. NEW RATMANSKY – Shevchenko*, Reyes, Abrera,

Hammoudi+, Cornejo, Saveliev

Interesting -- Shevchenko joined the corps only during the summer of last year.

http://www.abt.org/dancers/detail.asp?Dancer_ID=179

Yes, I was excited to see Shevchenko on that cast list! She's young and new and I've only seen her on video (clips from her performances at the Moscow Ballet Competition, where she took the gold medal), but from what I can tell she's a potential star. Incredibly strong technique and a certain regality and elegance that belies her age.

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Casting is up for Other Dances at Bard and at Avery. Casts are Part/Gomes and Murphy/Halberg.

When I checked last night, October 4's "Other Dances" at Bart was Murphy/Hallberg, and I bought a ticket. However, by this morning, the same performance is indicated to be Murphy/Gomes :P

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This is so frustrating! I've had my Oct 4th Bard tickets for a long time hoping for a Hallberg performance and was delighted to see the casting for Other Dances. After waiting so long to post the Other Dances casting and then to change it overnight - why??? Of course I'm never sad to see Gomes!

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This is so frustrating! I've had my Oct 4th Bard tickets for a long time hoping for a Hallberg performance and was delighted to see the casting for Other Dances. After waiting so long to post the Other Dances casting and then to change it overnight - why??? Of course I'm never sad to see Gomes!

I of course don't know the reasons, but here are one possibility:

Switching to Gomes gives Gomes another performance, which may be helpful in maintaining Gomes' involvement at a more meaningful level this fall when Hallberg is getting some many prominent performances during this period. Hallberg is already the male lead in the "first team" of the new Ratmansky work, and has several Avery Fisher performances of that. Hallberg also has several "Other Dances" performances at Avery Fisher.

Gomes "only" (relative to Hallberg) has the danseur role in some of the new Millepied work's performances and his role in "Other Dances" this fall at the ABT. (I appreciate Gomes was the lead danseur in the On The Dnieper piece, the last new Ratmansky but Hallberg was also featured in that piece in the fiance role. Note I am not suggesting competitiveness between Gomes and Hallberg, but noting the above just as a matter of maintaining equilibrium between two leading ABT "younger" principals.)

I appreciate that Hallberg and Gomes each have an abundance of riches when it comes to being cast in various ABT performances, in contrast to somebody like, Cornejo, who only appears as the second-listed danseur role in the new Ratmansky work, behind the featured Hallberg. But I think Hallberg deserves this prominence! :P (As does Gomes, not that Cornejo doesn't.)

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I just noticed that the title of every work which ABT is doing at Bard and AFH (exc. Dying Swan @ gala) refers, at least obliquely, to quantity: Seven Sonatas (Ratmansky), One of Three (Barton), Other Dances, and Everything Doesn't Happen at Once (Millepied).

I wonder how those theme programmers at NYCB would have titled this one!

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I just noticed that the title of every work which ABT is doing at Bard and AFH (exc. Dying Swan @ gala) refers, at least obliquely, to quantity: Seven Sonatas (Ratmansky), One of Three (Barton), Other Dances, and Everything Doesn't Happen at Once (Millepied).

I wonder how those theme programmers at NYCB would have titled this one!

How about SOME Assembly Required?????

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The Fall 2009 ABT "On Point" leaflet contains some observations from the three choreos about their respective premiere works for the ABT fall season and the impact of the Avery Fisher venue. Not sure if this has been described before, but just in case it has not been... :huh:

Ratmansky: "I envision the ballet as a chamber piece for four to six dancers. When considering music for a ballet, something must click. I was inspired to use the music of Domenico Scarlatti from a favorite recording of several of the composer's sonatas by Vladimir Horowitz. The simple stage setting -- no stage curtain -- will affect the ballet, but I hope for the better. On the other hand, there may be less theatrical 'magic' without sets; on the other hand, the relationship between the music, choreography, dancers, and audience is direct and more immediate. Holly Hynes, with whom I've previously worked, will design the costumes for the ballet."

Millepied: "Avery Fisher's particular stage dimensions will definitely affect the construction of the ballet. The work is planned for 24 dancers; I imagine their movement on stage in architectural terms. Similarly, the costumes by Karen Young will be modern in sensibility, and will have a graphic, architectural quality. Lighting will define the dance sapce [brad Fields is creating the lighting design for the three premieres]. [Foregoing brackets in original]. The three pieces by David Lang -- Stick Figure, Short Fall, and Cheating, Lying, Stealing -- will be played live by a small group of musicians. I heard Lang's music for the first time in 2006 at performances of a dance work by Edouard Lock at the Paris Opera. Since then, I have been listening to his music, hoping to use it in a ballet. I am a bit fan."

A Barton: "I have worked in many different environments, including my own site-specific installtions. Avery Fisher's stage -- narrow at back, wider down front -- is a piece of the puzzle. It will be good to think of the ballet in less symmetrical terms, and working on that stage as with other aspects of the project -- dancers, the Company -- will all be new. Everything will factor in. I have chosen 11 dancers because I feel the physical setting for the piece will necessarily be a little irregular. Their roles are all equal. The violinist and pianist who perform the Ravel are also a part of the scene. I love the idea of having them on stage. Costumes for this piece are by Yannick Larivee, a stage designed based in Toronto and a incredibly gifted artist."

The leaflet includes a beautiful cover shot with Hee Seo and Marcelo Gomes in James Kudelka's Desir. The shot shows Gomes lifting Seo, who has her toes beautifully pointed. They are both clad in shades of evocative purple, and, to a lesser extent, burgundy, and the lighting is appropriate. :wink: There are various promo articles, including a piece on Part's promotion to principal, and a sweet picture from the Nina A farwell.

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The Fall 2009 ABT "On Point" leaflet .... The leaflet includes a beautiful cover shot with Hee Seo and Marcelo Gomes in James Kudelka's Desir. The shot shows Gomes lifting Seo, who has her toes beautifully pointed. They are both clad in shades of evocative purple, and, to a lesser extent, burgundy, and the lighting is appropriate. :) ...

The same picture is on the table of conents page of the October/November 2009 "Pointe" magazine. Furthermore, Hee Seo solo is on the cover of the Pointe magazine, in a radiant photo and with the caption "A Prima is Born. ABT's Radiant Seo". Some aspects of the article in the magazine:

-- Kevin McKenzie says: "Beyond her ballet-friendly physique, she has a point of view and sensitivity that leads her towards roles like La Sylphide and Juliet."

-- The article companies Seo to a young Natalia Makarova, because of the "plasticity of her body", with "all movement emanating from a supple spine and technique that spellbinds with its combination of tensile strength, lightness and fluidity". The article says Seo "has a dramatic quality that radiates from her soul."

-- She says John Meehan, the then director of ABT II, "was like a dad to me".

-- In 2008, she had "sharp pains in her back (doctors never delivered a definitive diagnosis)".

-- Seo says of C Stearns: "If you really understand and know him, you have to love him".

-- The article says: "Seo speculates that some of her ability to inhabit dramatic roles stems from her own experience. 'Because I left home when I was so young, I never could be childish. I had to be an adult. I had to grow up.'"

Accompanying the Seo article is a half-page piece on Cory Stearns, subtitled "The Other Side of the Partnership". Stearns is quoted as saying, in the general context of their collaboration on Romeo & Juliet: "Hee and I have a natural chemistry. What I love about her is how she feels the role; she doesn't overthink it. I'm trying to adapt right along with her, to be a 16-year-old Italian boy."

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Recent article from NY Observer on Benjamin Millepied: http://ow.ly/s5b8

Quote:

Everything Doesn’t Happen at Once features music by David Lang, the co-founder of Bang on a Can who won a Pulitzer Prize for music last year. Mr. Millepied approached him about using his music months ago, and after meeting Mr. Millepied, Mr. Lang was eager to help. “He’s incredibly friendly, a pleasure to be around,” Mr. Lang said. “And he’s beautiful.” Mr. Millepied has a soccer player’s lean, compact body, a finely chiseled jaw and large, blue eyes, bearing a faint resemblance to Jude Law. An abstract tattoo runs up the left side of his stomach, inspired by the Bauhaus painter Oskar Schlemmer. When he smiles, which is often, you get the sense that he is confiding in you—a secret maybe, an insider’s joke.

ABT couldn’t afford to commission a new score, so Mr. Millepied chose three works Mr. Lang had already composed—“Cheating, Lying, Stealing,” “Stick Figure” and “Short Fall.” Taken together, the music balances a wintery, emotional tenderness with heavy propulsive rhythms. Urban and modern, it is a strange if entirely welcome choice for ABT, often criticized for its focus on fusty period fairy tales.

“I think Ben’s being courageous, bringing my music into the ballet,” Mr. Lang said. Kevin McKenzie, the artistic director of ABT who commissioned Mr. Millepied, agreed: “I’ve been following him for a while now and I thought that, if nothing else, this guy is daring.”

Endquote

The article also mentions that Millepied recently vacationed to the Caribbean with his girlfriend Isabella Boylston. Such fun ballet news! It is a big season for Miss Boylston, and I look forward to seeing her confront the pressure. I've enjoyed what I've seen so far.

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The article also mentions that Millepied recently vacationed to the Caribbean with his girlfriend Isabella Boylston. Such fun ballet news! It is a big season for Miss Boylston, and I look forward to seeing her confront the pressure. I've enjoyed what I've seen so far.

DeCoster -- I didn't know until I read your post that Boylston is dating Millepied. I don't like to sound cynical, but I can't believe that that had nothing to do with the lead pair in Millepied's new work being Bolyston and Gomes. :) Especially when a principal like M Wiles, who normally participated in prior years' City Center performances, has no stated role in the Avery Fisher programs this year.

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Ms. Boylston also danced in Ben's small company (they were at the Joyce earlier this year). And there is an alternative cast to his new ballet (check out the ABT website).

Choreographers have always had their favorites and their muses. Sometimes there might be a romantic involvement; most of the time (I'm guessing) there isn't. Ms. Boylston is a very talented up and coming ABT corps member; it's nice that she's getting

a piece created on her (boyfriend or not).

I'm attending Wednesday night and Sat. afternoon and am really looking forward to it.

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And there is an alternative cast to his new ballet (check out the ABT website).

DeborahB:

I wasn't saying I Bolyston isn't talented (I really haven't decided that, for myself). I was just saying that the cynic in me would think that her status as B Millepied's girlfriend was probably not irrelevant. How she got her role in his ABT work and whether she is talented aren't necessarily connected.

I'm aware there is another cast for the work, but, when your danseur is Gomes, and the other pair is Abrera/Stearns, you kind of know you are the "first team" pair for the work. :clapping: Also, when you perform the work six times, as compared to the alternate team's three times, when combining Bart and Avery Fisher performances, you are doing pretty well. :lol: When there are two teams, it's obvious which is the "first team". Just take the Ramantsky work. Do you think the "first team" has Hee Seo/J Mathews leading it, or Julie Kent/David Hallberg?

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