fondoffouettes

I'm glad to have seen Bourrée Fantasque for the first time this evening. I thought it was a hoot, and I'd happily watch it again! Nadon was great in the first movement, and I think Zuniga did well for a debut, with room to grow; he lacked stage presence. Gerrity and Bolden were lovely in the second movement and pulled off all the tricky partnering very well. Abreu seems to have worked out the kinks; no mishaps between him and von Enck. The costumes for the women in the second movement are some of my all-time favorite Karinksa costumes I've ever seen -- wow. One detail I love is the little black bows where the straps connect with the back of the bodices. Fairchild and Ulbricht were very good in Steadfast Tin Soldier, but I'd happily never see this ballet again. Luckily, it's short. It looked awkward when Fairchild climbed into the fireplace at the end. Is it ever executed in a way that makes it look like the ballerina has actually been blown into the fireplace? I haven't seen this ballet in maybe 15 years, so I'm just not sure. Nadon was magnetic in Errante and commanded the stage in her solo. Her flexible back and slinky arms were gorgeous. One thing I really appreciate about Nadon is that you never really see her working to achieve an effect, and she doesn't overdo things (no vamping). Yet, she's endlessly fascinating to watch. It was so good to see Sanz back and looking so well; I really enjoyed him. Overall, it's not a great ballet, and the corps feels sort of superfluous, but it was a great vehicle for Nadon. The boho tops for the corps girls are so awkward! They are not flowy enough to look like real boho tops, so they just end up looking like ill-fitting baggy bodices. Tonight's Symphony in C felt off to me, almost dull (and I can't believe I'm calling a Symphony in C performance dull). The energy and incisiveness just wasn't there for me. Gerrity was just fine in the first movement, though I enjoyed her much more in Bourrée Fantasque. Chan was pretty good, though somehow I expected more from him. I was pretty disappointed with Phelan. She seemed rather tense for much of the adagio; there was no majesty, no depth, no individualized interpretation. I feel like management is putting her in these roles because of her look -- beautiful lines, very pretty face -- but she just doesn't bring any inner life to them. Knight was fine, though he made some of the partnering look effortful. I'm glad he's stopped bleaching his hair, but all the volume he has toward the back of his head just makes his proportions look weird; it makes him look shorter than he is. Takahashi seemed to lose steam toward the end of the third movement (I kept wishing Mejia were there to tear up the stage). It was great to see Macgill again. She danced very well, though during all the turns where she holds one arm above her head, I wished she'd shaped her arm and hand better; it just looked sloppy and not fully shaped. There was one time when she pulled off a really impressive multiple pirouette and did hold her arm above her head in a nice position, and it looked fantastic! So, oddly enough, I enjoyed tonight's Bourrée Fantasque more than Symphony in C. Who would have thunk it?

Their link to learn more about Barry Hughson and his vision for ABT just goes to ABT's homepage. And there's nothing more about him and his vision if you go to the ABT News page, either. Great job, ABT.

Yes, she is in the performance of Symphony in C in Paris that was filmed for PBS' Great Performances (dancing the third movement beautifully, opposite Huxley). I only really know her from that video since I haven't had the opportunity to see her this season, but her performance in that video made a great impression on me. Has she essentially been absent or mostly absent since around that time? I believe injury was mentioned up-thread. @abatt, you mentioned Mira Nadon in Scotch Symphony earlier. I didn't see her SAB performance live, but I was thrilled that Lincoln Center released the film of it during the pandemic. I could see why everyone had been raving. She performed like a fully fledged ballerina, not a pre-professional dancer. Riccardo was good, but you could see the contrast between him and Nadon; he was dancing more like an apprentice/student (albeit an extremely promising one). If you can still find the video floating around somewhere, I highly recommend it.

I've only experienced the Balanchine era via video, but I've overall found 4Ts to be very well-danced by the company over the past several seasons, with some performances being particularly exhilarating/moving. I think they've generally cast the ballet well. Serenade has been more of a mixed bag, with several of the female leads not quite doing it for me, for whatever reason. I'd look forward to seeing some new dancers breathe life into the work. Emma Von Enck as the Russian Girl? Nadon as Dark Angel?

One reason I appreciated the Ratmansky Nutcracker at BAM was that it was so much more affordable than the NYCB Nutcracker, and it was a great opportunity to see dancers like Murphy, Part, Hallberg, etc., in their prime, as @FauxPas has noted. I'm pretty sure I always paid under $100 to sit somewhere relatively decent in the mezzanine. I wish ABT could have used that price point to its advantage in sustaining its Nutcracker at BAM. However, I have family in Southern CA and am delighted that they have the opportunity to see a company like ABT perform Nutcracker. I do wonder how ballets with more niche appeal, like Woolf Works, manage to perform ticket-wise at the Segerstrom. I love both LA and Orange County, but as @California says, it's a tough region for ballet. (On a tangentially related note, it makes me very happy that Kathryn Morgan and her husband have established her dance studio in Huntington Beach!)

Whelan, Craig Hall, and others have described the debut as historic. Is Bradley the first Black dancer at NYCB to dance Dewdrop? Whelan often posts positive comments about NYCB dancers' performances on social, and it's given me pause, as well. They seem more like the posts of a fellow dancer rather than someone who's in a management position. Part of me likes that she seems very warm and encouraging toward the dancers, but I could see how it could easily be perceived as favoritism. She seems to spread the love pretty broadly, but still...

I had no idea he used to be a PNB dancer. Kathryn Morgan dances with him a lot for gigs; you can probably find footage of them dancing together on her YouTube account if you're curious.

At some point, she needs to see the writing on the wall. She has been guesting in Pennsylvania Regional Ballet's Nutcracker this week and her partner, Sean Rollofson, posted some rehearsal footage: https://www.instagram.com/p/C0SW_EIPDZV/. I suppose she may still be cast as Sugarplum in the final two weeks of NYCB's run, though I think Dewdrop is out of the question.

In her Instagram stories, Mearns confirms that she's not dancing Nutcracker due to tears in her deltoid ligament. She says she's aiming to be back for the winter season.

I wonder if she's planning to forgo Nutcracker this year. I feel like she's spoken a lot on social media about how she's experienced injuries and subsequently mental health issues relating to The Nutcracker. Will Bouder reemerge for Nutcracker? I thought it might be one of the few assignments given to her.

I agree. This may be the least excited I've ever been for a spring ABT season (and last season was pretty bad). I was very underwhelmed with Onegin when ABT last staged it and found the choreography unimaginative and at times cringy. So I'm really finding little to look forward to. ABT has often announced retirements separately from its season announcement. I think it's entirely possible Gillian may still retire this season, though I did expect her retirement to be well-planned in advance and perhaps included in the season announcement. All signs point to Copeland never returning to ABT, and I'm not sad about it.

R&J is also a good retirement backup for Murphy, who I assume will be retiring this season. Yes, I know O/O is her signature role, but she's been quite injury-prone the past few seasons and had to pull out of Swan Lake last year, so having an alternative retirement vehicle for her may be advantageous. I do think programming a work like R&J for a third year straight comes down to financial considerations. If Copeland retires and dances the ballet once or twice during the run, all the better for the box office. I'm still doubtful she'll come back for the spring season, but I could imagine Woolf Works and R&J being possibilities for her. Having her name (and her comeback) associated with a new work like Woolf Works could help it from floundering at the box office.

Thanks for posting this. I'm kind of surprised he's thinking about dancing for the next few seasons, but at the same time, the quality of his dancing is still higher than some fellow principals, so I can't blame him. At this rate, we may see Stearns or Whiteside retire before Cornejo. I love Giselle but am glad to hear it's getting a rest after being programmed so much recently. It gives me hope we may see a full-length like Sleeping Beauty or some Ashton next spring.

He's 44. I get the impression from his social media and the company's website that he's fully transitioned to administration and is no longer dancing with the company. I'm glad to learn he's landed a permanent post after serving as artistic advisor to the company.

Corps member Katie Boren must be leaving the company. Carlos Gonzalez congratulates her on her career in his Instagram stories.