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ABT fall season 2014


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I hope KM's involvement in Raymonda Div. is minimal and it's a precursor to a new full length version staged by Kolpakova. I don't hate Ann Marie Holmes version but I found it lacking, why go to Holmes when you have Kolpakova in-house.

Thanks for the performane calendar. They are skipping a performance on Friday of the second week, but doubling up with two shows on Sunday of the second week,

They're skipping Halloween, as they did last year. Hard to compete with the other festivities in town, I guess.

Is Halloween really such an 800-pound gorilla you need to keep clear? Or ABT could turn lemon into lemonade by scheduling an one-time only Halloween-themed ballet like Giselle with Vishneva and Gomes, it'd finish at 9:45pm, and people still have plenty of time to go to a graveyard to be chased by real wilis.

I'm pleasantly surprised that Hallberg will dance in the fall season.

He got injured shortly after he joined Bolshoi and had a longish hiatus, may be he felt obligated to put in more time with Bolshoi after he recovered? Now that the due is paid, he may feel free to spend more time with ABT.

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Well, Halloween is on a Friday this year, which means 1) turnout for the annual Greenwich Village Halloween parade* will likely be higher than it might be if Halloween were on a weeknight, 2) which in turn means transport in to, out of, and around the city will be packed and streets and roads will be congested; and 3) people with children (and many without) will be dealing in some way, shape, or form with trick-or-treating. Taking Halloween off is not the dumbest idea ABT's ever had.

* I believe something like 50,000 people participate and 2 million more line up to watch. I sing in a chorus that rehearses in the Village; if a rehearsal happens to fall on Halloween, we cancel it.

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This year the Career Transition gala is on Monday Oct 6. It's always on a Monday because most performers have Mondays off. No conflict with ABT. By the way, the quality of the CTFD galas has gone way down. I used to attend every year from the time when they had the galas at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, but I have skipped it the past few years. It is now geared toward presenting cheerleading groups, novelty acts and some Broadway performers. They used to present numerous important ballet dancers and modern dance performances. Different people in charge, I guess.

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Has anyone seen the ticket prices? They are IMO outrageous : $152 for prime orchestra & first ring; $122 for orchestra "B". At least NYCB offers it's subscribers a 15% discount on extra seats they want during season and, if you subscribe, you get the discount up front. Also NYCB seating is more nuanced so you can pay $29 for an orchestra seat if you're willing to sit far over on the side.

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Last year, ABT did offer inexpensive tickets for the extreme sides of the orchestra at the Koch. I can't recall if they were as inexpensive as $29, but they were maybe in the $40-50 range. ABT was happy to have huge swathes of the orchestra section unsold at the Met this summer, all while charging circa $100 at some performances for the extreme sides of the orchestra.They also excluded a ton of dates from their 18-29 club, including every single Swan Lake, and many of these performances didn't sell well. I really can't understand why they don't institute a more nuanced pricing scheme, as you suggest.

The $29 tickets at NYCB have been my saving grace. I know its akin to heresy to enjoy a Balanchine ballet from such a skewed perspective, but I've had consistently horrendous experiences in rings 2 and 3. The ushers let in every latecomer no matter when they arrive during a ballet, and they allow them mill around in the aisles for the entire performance or push through the already seated audience members to find their seats. They don't even wait for a pause in the ballet to let people in. The ushering at the Koch seems like such an amateur act compared to the Met, I'm afraid to say. The Met ushers may seem uptight, but they do everything possible to ensure a pleasurable viewing experience.

If anyone has suggestions for seating at the Koch, I'd really appreciate it. I remember having very positive viewing experiences from the upper rings many years ago, when I was able to buy student tickets, but the past four or five times I've gone, it has been a three-ring circus up there (excuse the bad pun) due to lax ushers and incredibly rude audience members.

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Why on earth are they doing Sinatra Suite in Chicago? Hasn't Hubbard Street done that to death yet? (or has it been out of rep for a while now?)

It looks like the Hubbard Street/Tharp connection has been much less tight for several years. They no longer seem to be her default archive, which I think is too bad. I spent a little time a couple years ago looking at how her rep is being staged, and much of it is going to ballet companies now, with the big choices being Sinatra, Golden Section, Upper Room, and Baker's Dozen. I love those pieces, but there's a lot of other work that will fade away if it's not staged somewhere.

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That is unfortunate because back under Lou Conte they were superbly suited to it... The rep seems to be getting performed elsewhere, but it is nice when there is a "home company" for a particular set of dances, and the company certainly performed the rep frequently enough to keep it present in their bodies... The big ballet companies may do adequate performances of it, but it is not the same thing as when a company keeps it in constant performance.

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I agree, both about the specific quality of the performances, and the breadth of the repertory. I do love the ballet-oriented works in the Tharp rep, but I worry about the more jazz-inflected works like Bix Pieces and 8 Jelly Rolls. I don't want them to get lost.

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No info on any discount if you buy multiple performances. I assume there will not be any such discount. Also, these tickets will be subject to the per ticket Koch theater facility fee. It is strange that they skip Halloween.

I certainly hope there are some discounts offered soon. Someone posted the prices on twitter and they are very high -$152 for center orchestra and first ring. I don't understand why ABT's prices are so much higher than any other company (including NYCB) that performs at the Koch. Really, at those prices, the house will be half full.

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Where are the prices listed. Nothing on the Koch website yet. Is this from a mailed brochure?

As I said in another post, someone on twitter posted the prices. She took a snapshot of the prices, maybe they are posted at the Koch box office. I don't know what her source was.

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The prices that ABT charges for orchestra at the Koch seem to be even higher than the price they charge at the Met for the orchestra, i believe.

Anyone who thinks that ABT should move to the Koch for all performances instead of the Met should take note of the price structure. It appears that they are trying to make up for the fact that there are fewer seats in high priced sections at the Koch (orchestra, first ring as compared to orchestra and Grand Tier at the Met) by charging more per ticket at the Koch. If you sit in the "good seats" it is more expensive to attend at the Koch.

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The prices that ABT charges for orchestra at the Koch seem to be even higher than the price they charge at the Met for the orchestra, i believe.

Anyone who thinks that ABT should move to the Koch for all performances instead of the Met should take note of the price structure. It appears that they are trying to make up for the fact that there are fewer seats in high priced sections at the Koch (orchestra, first ring as compared to orchestra and Grand Tier at the Met) by charging more per ticket at the Koch. If you sit in the "good seats" it is more expensive to attend at the Koch.

Except there are fewer "bad seats" at the State Theater than at the Met. One seems closer to the stage no matter where one sits, and there are ways to get around the higher prices at the State. I never sit in the orchestra, because I like to sit "up" for dance. And yes, center sections of any area will be more. But if one is lucky, one can buy the seats just off the aisle (on either side of the center section) and the price drops. This is true for all the rings. And in this theater, it's OK . The view is still just fine. At the Met, all seats in the tiers (even the ones on the far sides) are the same, except during the "dynamic pricing times". A front row subscription ticket at the Met is the same as Row G. I just purchased my Fall ABT tickets and by going one seat off the aisle I got the front row and the price dropped $20.00 per ticket. I've sat in this seat many times (the last being for Boston Ballet), and one sees equally as well as sitting in the Center Section. And Front Row means no one's head is in front of you. While I probably wouldn't go "down the sides" at the State in the rings, still I have sat there on occasion and one still sees quite well. And those prices are a lot lower. I know there are many who really must sit in the orchestra, but in this house especially, the Rings are a better deal.

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There are plenty of excellent seats at $59 or below. Unless you want front row center in orchestra or 1st ring then you pay the top price, otherwise, the off-center to side seats are very reasonable priced and the best bang for the buck, they're also selling the 4th ring rows A & B right away.

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There are plenty of excellent seats at $59 or below. Unless you want front row center in orchestra or 1st ring then you pay the top price, otherwise, the off-center to side seats are very reasonable priced and the best bang for the buck, they're also selling the 4th ring rows A & B right away.

Thank you mussel. I just bought tickets for 4th ring row A. I love those seats and am always happy when NYCB opens it up. I am a happy person. I just got my NYCB subscription squared away and tickets to 2 of ABT's fall season purchased.

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I wanted to reply to the queries about where to sit in the Koch Theater. I am a subscriber to NYCBALLET and have sat almost everywhere in the orchestra and first ring. The redesigned theater gives good views from just about everywhere, including the far sides of the orchestra. By accident, when pricier tickets were not available for a performance I took a $29 seat and it was great! Why pay more? I just purchased $39 seats in the orchestra for ABT's fall season and know I will see very well. These tickets are in the rear orchestra. So don't lament the high cost of prime orchestra tickets--you will see well from anywhere in that section. The key is to purchase your tickets as early as you can to give you the most choice.

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Last year, ABT did offer inexpensive tickets for the extreme sides of the orchestra at the Koch. I can't recall if they were as inexpensive as $29, but they were maybe in the $40-50 range. ABT was happy to have huge swathes of the orchestra section unsold at the Met this summer, all while charging circa $100 at some performances for the extreme sides of the orchestra.They also excluded a ton of dates from their 18-29 club, including every single Swan Lake, and many of these performances didn't sell well. I really can't understand why they don't institute a more nuanced pricing scheme, as you suggest.

The $29 tickets at NYCB have been my saving grace. I know its akin to heresy to enjoy a Balanchine ballet from such a skewed perspective, but I've had consistently horrendous experiences in rings 2 and 3. The ushers let in every latecomer no matter when they arrive during a ballet, and they allow them mill around in the aisles for the entire performance or push through the already seated audience members to find their seats. They don't even wait for a pause in the ballet to let people in. The ushering at the Koch seems like such an amateur act compared to the Met, I'm afraid to say. The Met ushers may seem uptight, but they do everything possible to ensure a pleasurable viewing experience.

If anyone has suggestions for seating at the Koch, I'd really appreciate it. I remember having very positive viewing experiences from the upper rings many years ago, when I was able to buy student tickets, but the past four or five times I've gone, it has been a three-ring circus up there (excuse the bad pun) due to lax ushers and incredibly rude audience members.

I agree completely w/ your comments re: pricing. I have had better seats at the Kennedy Center for under $100, than I have paying $200 at Lincoln Center. Perhaps others have different experiences, but I would not recommend off center ring seats (for which I paid the aforementioned $200!) at Koch Theatre, though I do welcome input from others who have been attending the ballet there for far longer than I have. I preferred orchestra off center, semi close, although I am trying to chose seat specifically by ballet (and dancers) now. You rec the $29 tickets for NYCB? Any other ones? I haven't seen them since I was a child and am looking forward to going whenever possible this year, but I'd like to be economical and save up for ABT next June and whatever the Kennedy Center is offering throughout the year (and perhaps the ballet on trips abroad!).

By the way, I was shocked that the ushers let in a large-ish group of latecomers in to *prime orchestra seats* during applause from the transition between the ending of one song (movement?) and the beginning of another at the Met last month. I think they should have waited for a scene change, at least. The twinkling of flashlights and shuffling of feet and gowns was quite distracting, especially from above.

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By the way, I was shocked that the ushers let in a large-ish group of latecomers in to *prime orchestra seats* during applause from the transition between the ending of one song (movement?) and the beginning of another at the Met last month. I think they should have waited for a scene change, at least. The twinkling of flashlights and shuffling of feet and gowns was quite distracting, especially from above.

I've never experienced this at the Met; I've always found them to be very strict there, not letting anyone in until intermission (which makes sense, because they have the theater where you can watch a live stream). But at the Koch, they let people come in and stand around on the edges of the rings, making noise and moving around very disruptively. When the ushers aren't watching, these people then inevitably go in to their seats, again very disruptively. I really wish the Koch would reconsider their policy and keep things as strict as the Met.

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