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A new listing just appeared for the Koch theatre: Stars of the 21st Century on 10/18/12:

http://www.davidhkoc...reinfo21st.html

Does anybody know anything about this group? Several familar names among the dancers, but no information yet about repertory or prices.

Too bad this will be competing with one evening of the ABT fall rep season at City Center (including the world premiere of the new Ratmansky)!

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The roster of "stars" looks a little slim. I can tell you from past experience that the price certainly will not be slim. They have not done one of these galas in some years. (In fact, the YAGP galas seem to have the greatest array of stars in recent years.) It's your typical gala fare of pdd and some solos. Let's hope that we don't get Radio and Juliet again from Matvienko. They use recorded music only at the gala.

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I don't think a roster with Graf, Smirnova, Zakharova, Merkuriev, Richardson, Shirinkina, Shklyarov, Matvienko, and Malakhov is slim, and the others I either have seen and liked, like Lamb and Underwood, or don't know. However, not knowing/having seen dancers is no reason to think I wouldn't like or love them.

I tend not to like gala rep so much, but there are names on there I wouldn't miss if I were in NYC.

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.... Let's hope that we don't get Radio and Juliet again from Matvienko. ....

ROTFL! I also predict 'Les Bourgeois' by Daniil Simkin, whether or not he's on the roster at present. Even if he's dancing in one of the ballets at City Center that night, he can hop in a cab and dance his 3-minute solo in an instant. :)

Olga Smirnova -- if she truly shows up -- alone would be worth the price of admission.

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Yes, Natalia, I thought the EXACT same thing about Simkin! However, I don't think any of the ABT dancers under contract for the ABT City Center engagement during Oct 16-20 will be permitted to perform at the gala. So I think we are at least safe from seeing Les Bourgeois. However, nothing would prevent Dvorovenko/Max B. from showing up and doing Splendid Isolation for the millionth time, as they are not appearing at City Center. These galas are a big, easy pay day for the dancers.

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Interesting to find Shklyarov & Shirinkina on the announced roaster - Mariinsky will be in DC at that time (will they hop on a train to come to NYC?) - just wondering. I was not impressed by Shirinkina (in prima roles) in Saint Petersburg this April

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Puppytreats, if you are taliking about Roberto Bolle, no I don't think he would be allowed to participate in this gala. He is under contract for the (simultaneous) ABT City Center season.

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Abbat, Max & Irina have another chestnut for galas: "Junk pdd"!

YID, Shirinkina doesn't dance Cinderella, although maybe she is being prepped to debut the role on tour in Scotland and/or DC? Schklyarov has danced the Prince in Cinderella but it's been a while. If they are programmed for a Cinderella in DC, then they can be programmed for any day but the 18th. NYC is just 4 hrs away, mas o menos.

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I've also seen the Irina and Max do the Junk pdd (at the last Stars fo the 21st Centruy gala several years ago, I think.) It looked NOTHING like the way Ethan Steifel and Susan Jaffe did it. They were fantastic. I've also seen Gomes do this role, and he was fantastic. Max was all wrong for the Junk pdd.

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What is the Junk pdd?

Are people referring to the Tharp piece?

The Junk pas de deux, excerpted from the ballet Known by Heart, embodies the essence of Twyla Tharp’s style–seriously crafted and irreverently delivered. In this duet, Tharp twists the formal structure of the classical pas de deux (adagio, two solos and a coda) into a postmodern match-up between partners that runs alternately witty, sly, comic and sexy. Tharp set the piece to the music of Donald Knaack, an American composer and percussionist who makes music on 100% recycled materials (hence the whimsical bang-on-a-can antics). Typically, Tharp combines classical ballet vocabulary with pedestrian movements–slides, kicks, squiggles, lunges, flexed feet and slithers.

http://www.nantucketatheneum.org/programs-events/benefit-events/nantucket-atheneum-dance-festival/july-24-28/program/program-notes/

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Yes, Natalia, I thought the EXACT same thing about Simkin! However, I don't think any of the ABT dancers under contract for the ABT City Center engagement during Oct 16-20 will be permitted to perform at the gala. So I think we are at least safe from seeing Les Bourgeois. However, nothing would prevent Dvorovenko/Max B. from showing up and doing Splendid Isolation for the millionth time, as they are not appearing at City Center. These galas are a big, easy pay day for the dancers.

The most recent example of a dancer danced 2 engagements at the same time in the same city that I can remember is Johan Kobborg who danced with ABT & the Royal Danish last year in NYC. I guess it all depends on whether there's a non-compete clause in the contract or whether a waiver can be obtained.

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OK - I am going tonight. And I am excited for a number of different reasons. First of all, this is the first Stars Gala in New York City since 2008. Second, I have not seen Svetlana Zakharova dance since the summer of 2005 when the Bolshoi was at the Met. Third, the chance to see Olga Smirnova after all the wonderful things that have been said about her. Fourth, to see Shrinkina and Shklyarov. And I am sure that there will be a few surprises. Hopefully, I will post tomorrow with a report.

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left my program at home - in two words - loved all classical (most classical pieces), and had to survive through, what my non-ballet-expert friends reffered to "lots of floor wrestling, with longest skirts on women - where you don't need decades of ballet training or ballet bodies". Overall, i am glad i went, more comments (hopefully) will follow.

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This was the most dreary gala I have ever been to, the only thing that kept me in my seat was the hope of seeing Smirnova and Chudin in the very last piece - Grand Pas Classic . They had also been scheduled to perform Petit's Thais pas de deux in the first half of the gala but it was skipped without comment so some of us questioned whether they would make any appearance at all. They did, and they were wonderful but this is hardly may favorite pdd. The only other classical pdd performed was from DQ, and it was not particularly well done. There were 2 by Balanchine , Tchai Pas with Shirinkina & Shklyarov and the Rubies pdd by Sara Lamb and Eric Underwood. Both were fine, but nothing to wow Mr B's home town crowd. Totally absent were McMillan and Ashton.

The rest of the evening, the bulk of the evening was just one dreary modern pdd after another. Most of them began with the dancers moving in silence before the music kicked in (was that novel once?). Most were angst riddled floor wresting pieces or man manipulating woman pieces set to mournful music - there were not many actual steps on display. I did enjoy seeing Lucia Lacarra, she can always make something out of this type of pas de deux.

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The Balanchine selections made me appreciate NYCB even more. I thought Shrinkina did a poor job with Tchai pdd. I think Desomond Richardson keeps performing the same solo choreography at every gala, but just changes the music and the lighting. Smirnova and Chudin were worth the wait. I didn't think Lucia Lacarra was still dancing. Seems like she's been around forever. Is Cyril Pierre retired?

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I didn't think Lucia Lacarra was still dancing. Seems like she's been around forever. Is Cyril Pierre retired?

I saw Lacarra in Neumeier's Swan Lake in Munich this past April and she was brilliant. She's 37. Cyril Pierre danced in Song of the Earth.

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