236 replies to this topic

[vipa]

abatt, on 19 June 2011 - 04:58 PM, said:

christine174, on 19 June 2011 - 12:45 PM, said:

Puppytreats please don't stop posting.

Ardent ballet fans are all over the house front and back.
I just know that my ballet budget can't be extended any further, so if prices go up in the fourth ring I will be at that many fewer performances and there will be an empty seat where there could have been one very happy balletgoer.

Hi puppytreats.  Don't stop posting.  The only point we were trying to make is that committed fans sometimes have poor seating locations.  Thank you for clarifying your point.

Agreed - please don't stop posting.  We all have our ticket buying habits/restrictions.  Ballet fans can be found in all sections.

[bart]

And please don't forget those of us who live far from such ballet-rich localities as New York City.  You have such a big and varied ballet menu to choose from.  

Most of us (even when we have excellent and artistically ambitious local companies like Miami or Pacific Northwest, Arizona or Boston) get only 4-6 different programs a year,  performed 3 - 10 times per venue.  International guest artists are a rarity..  

Going to the ballet costs a lot here too, though not of course as much as in New York City.  On the other hand, we have less of it, which imposes a kind of Forced Savings Plan on us.  (Kind of like war-time rationing.)

One of the difficulties of ticket buying in NYC is, essentially, TOO MANY CHOICES.  We should ALL have a problem like that..

[Trini]

I am new to this forum and am glad I found it.  I am a very long time 3rd ring NYCB subscriber and my subscrition price is increasing 75%!  It is about the only thing (apart from health care) that has increased this much in recent memory.  So I cannot afford to attend NYCB anymore after 20 plus years.  I realize that ballet is expensive to produce but as a fan I sat in seats now deemed the worst (based on current pricing) at the same price as the best seats and worked my way up as the years went by. An increase I understand ($10 at most per year) but 75%?  I also do not understand why the prices were not sent with the first mailing and the need to call in.  Then just got a second mailing with a long letter of explanation which was, in my opinion, just a post hoc way of trying to appease angry subscribers. angry not at the need for some increase, but for the way it was handled, and the unjust manner of the increase.  By the way, the reasons in the letter for the drastic increases in 3rd and 4th ring appear to be a try to come up with reasons and were illogical.  It is clear that NYCB is now angling for patronage from only a higher income level of persons, and time for me to explore other happenings in my local area.  I enjoyed going to the NYCB ballet, may still go off and on, treasured seeing wonderful dancers and especially the Balanchine ballets in their home company, but this has opened up an opportunity for me to move on.

Cheers!

[Eileen]

I just got off the phone with Dan Wakin of the New York Times. I had written him on the subject of City Ballet price increases, and he is preparing an article on the subject for the Times. Keep an eye out for his article!

[Eileen]

Dan Wakin told me City Ballet is phasing out the use of the 3rd and 4th ring - in effect closing them. Apparently they were not filling their house. They will only open the third and fourth ring for certain performances - I guess for the big sellers, like Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Romeo & Juliet. That is NEWS.

[abatt]

Eileen, on 20 June 2011 - 11:17 AM, said:

Dan Wakin told me City Ballet is phasing out the use of the 3rd and 4th ring - in effect closing them. Apparently they were not filling their house. They will only open the third and fourth ring for certain performances - I guess for the big sellers, like Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Romeo & Juliet. That is NEWS.

So they are trying to limit the supply of seats, thereby (theoretically) increasing demand (and ticket prices) for the seats they are willing to sell. Get rid of the cheaper seats (fourth ring) and suddenly everyone will be willing to buy expensive seats elsewhere in the house.  Not happening, folks.  I know they are touting all these $26 seat locations, but in reality there are very, very few such seats, and a good deal of them are in bizarro obstructed/horrible view locations.  I guess I will be "phasing out" my attendance at NYCB.

[Eileen]

abatt, on 20 June 2011 - 11:54 AM, said:

Eileen, on 20 June 2011 - 11:17 AM, said:

Dan Wakin told me City Ballet is phasing out the use of the 3rd and 4th ring - in effect closing them. Apparently they were not filling their house. They will only open the third and fourth ring for certain performances - I guess for the big sellers, like Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Romeo & Juliet. That is NEWS.

So they are trying to limit the supply of seats, thereby (theoretically) increasing demand (and ticket prices) for the seats they are willing to sell. I guess I will be phasing out my attendance at NYCB.

They are trying to fill the house, and it was I guess demoralizing to see swaths of empty seats. I called the subscription department and the lady very patiently explained to me exactly which rows of the orchestra constituted which price sections. She said diplomatically that they are reserving certain sections of orchestra and 1st and 2nd ring (the least desirable seats in my interpretation) at low prices - $49 - so the 3rd and 4th ring subscribers can move down. I think single ticket buyers are very disadvantaged by this system, as our prices are going up substantially.

[Eileen]

Trini, on 20 June 2011 - 10:45 AM, said:

I am new to this forum and am glad I found it.  I am a very long time 3rd ring NYCB subscriber and my subscrition price is increasing 75%!  It is about the only thing (apart from health care) that has increased this much in recent memory.  So I cannot afford to attend NYCB anymore after 20 plus years.  I realize that ballet is expensive to produce but as a fan I sat in seats now deemed the worst (based on current pricing) at the same price as the best seats and worked my way up as the years went by. An increase I understand ($10 at most per year) but 75%?  I also do not understand why the prices were not sent with the first mailing and the need to call in.  Then just got a second mailing with a long letter of explanation which was, in my opinion, just a post hoc way of trying to appease angry subscribers. angry not at the need for some increase, but for the way it was handled, and the unjust manner of the increase.  By the way, the reasons in the letter for the drastic increases in 3rd and 4th ring appear to be a try to come up with reasons and were illogical.  It is clear that NYCB is now angling for patronage from only a higher income level of persons, and time for me to explore other happenings in my local area.  I enjoyed going to the NYCB ballet, may still go off and on, treasured seeing wonderful dancers and especially the Balanchine ballets in their home company, but this has opened up an opportunity for me to move on.

Cheers!

You have perfectly expressed my own feelings. Time for me to move on. Balanchine ballet has nourished my soul for many years, but it is now too expensive for me. I think I will explore chamber music next season.

[ViolinConcerto]

Like many of you, I have been a loyal NYCB fan -- to the point of being exclusive -- for many years.  My mother started taking me when I was 6 to City Center, and after moving back to NYC in the late 70's, I started going a few times a season ("Oh boy!  Three performances!  How extravagant!")

I learned about the fourth ring "AA" seats overhearing someone on the single tickets line, back in the days when the line would form very early in the a.m. the first day the Box Office opened.  Some years (especially when Barishnikov was there) someone would give out numbers, so you could go get coffee  while waiting for the Box Office to open.  

In the 80's and 90's I went 3 to 4 times a week.  When the 4th Ring society came into existence, things were a bit brighter.  But I haven't been able to go as frequently for a long time now, especially since I moved out of town.

BUT STILL.....  when the beauty of Balanchine (especially) has infected your soul, there's nothing that can substitute.  I have long defined my passion as an addiction:  I get "high" going, and I go through "withdrawal" when the Company is not dancing....  and now it looks like I'll be going cold turkey because I won't be able to cough up what it takes to get   a "fix."

Someone emailed me the link to the Administration names on the website.  But guess what, NO LINKS, NO EMAIL ADDRESSES!!  Sure makes it seem as if they don't want to hear what we have say (good or bad)!

Here it is, just for the record:  http://www.nycballet...nistration.html

I can't decide whether to be angry or depressed.

[Leigh Witchel]

It's sad to hear this - and makes me realize how disconnected I have been from that reality for a while.

When I was a dance student, the reason I went to NYCB so much was because I could afford it. I wouldn't have the job I have today without that access - writing about the very company that is unwittingly cutting off a future generation of artists and writers.

Fall for Dance packs its house because the ticket prices are affordable. Dancers' Choice sells out in part because of the low seat prices. Even revenue on the Boston T went up when they lowered the price instead of raising it.

NYCB was originally aligned with Morton Baum - and is in the State Theater, as a "people's theater" with accessible prices. I recognize that fiscal responsibility is an issue, but a ballet company's product is the development of culture, not ticket sales. If you start making the first responsibility to make a profit, pretty soon the art is going to look that way as well, with no risks and no experimentation, except what seems trendy enough to be commercially viable.

[Marga]

ViolinConcerto, on 20 June 2011 - 07:37 PM, said:

Someone emailed me the link to the Administration names on the website.  But guess what, NO LINKS, NO EMAIL ADDRESSES!!  Sure makes it seem as if they don't want to hear what we have say (good or bad)!

Here it is, just for the record:  http://www.nycballet...nistration.html

I can't decide whether to be angry or depressed.

There is a "Contact Us" at the very bottom of the page. It opens to the following page (an email address, street address, and lots of 'important' phone numbers):

Contact NYCB

[Helene]

Eileen, on 20 June 2011 - 11:17 AM, said:

Dan Wakin told me City Ballet is phasing out the use of the 3rd and 4th ring - in effect closing them. Apparently they were not filling their house. They will only open the third and fourth ring for certain performances - I guess for the big sellers, like Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Romeo & Juliet. That is NEWS.

Pacific Northwest Ballet started to do this a couple of years ago, particularly for the triple bills that weren't selling like the full-lengths.  I'm not sure if they did it this past season, because I saw at least a couple of performances from the Second Tier (the highest in the house).

Eileen, on 20 June 2011 - 12:01 PM, said:

She said diplomatically that they are reserving certain sections of orchestra and 1st and 2nd ring (the least desirable seats in my interpretation) at low prices - $49 - so the 3rd and 4th ring subscribers can move down. I think single ticket buyers are very disadvantaged by this system, as our prices are going up substantially.

I think this was PNB's intent as well -- to move the subscribers down, so that the bottom of the house would be filled.

[Eileen]

An article in today's Wall Street Journal highlights the long term benefits of loyalty and the negative effects of infidelity, both in marriage and at work. I draw a parallel to our relationship with NYC Ballet - many of us have long term loyalty to the company, and the raising of prices of single tickets is to me an act of betrayal of trust, of infidelity. It is healthy to stay with one long term relationship, and NYCB has added so much to my life. But I can no longer afford it. See the Wall Street Journal article at:

http://online.wsj.co...WhatsNewsSecond

[YID]

Slant, on 18 June 2011 - 08:08 PM, said:

Let's see. Premium orchestra seats at the Met can go for more than $200-300 depending on location. Lower box seats at a Yankees game go for more than that. Top tickets to Wicked are over $300 at the box office. Other top broadway show orchestra seats run $150-175. So the most expensive ticket at City Ballet goes for $119 for a subscriber, or $149 for single sale. Considering all that, I feel City Ballet is a good investment for seeing a world-renown performing arts company.

Let me ask you - how many times can you watch Wiched or the same broadway show. Over my 10 year in NYC, and probably over 15 broadway shows sees, only Phantom is the only one i've seen twice, and Chicago may be on a list of repeats.
HOWEVER, as a NYC dweller, i refuse to pay the full price for broadway, with tons of promotions and corporate discounts offered i never paid the full price. And Baseball? - isn't it a billion dollar industry - one doesn't think of billion dollar industries when it comes to arts. And MET has standing section, where you can get (yes a standing "Seat" sounds funny) for $20-35.
I am happy that you can afford your increased subscription... But i FEEL the pain of everyone posting here...

[ViolinConcerto]

Marga, on 20 June 2011 - 09:13 PM, said:

There is a "Contact Us" at the very bottom of the page. It opens to the following page (an email address, street address, and lots of 'important' phone numbers):

Contact NYCB

Thanks, Marga -- I looked, and it IS there, in a very, very pale shade of grey..... and the list has only titles, and phone numbers no names, , no email addresses and no administrators.  I don't consider it particularly helpful.  Of course, may corporate websites are notoriously dense and obfuscate these issues as well.