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BalletFan

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  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    Fan
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    New York
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    NY

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  1. The only Monday performance: July 1st (Swan Lake). All the other weeks start on a Tuesday. I'm also surprised that the gala will take place in May. But I suppose this makes sense since many donors will be out of town during the summer.
  2. Do we know for sure that the summer 2024 season will only be four weeks? I'm hoping it will be longer.
  3. I traveled from NYC to see this and really enjoyed it. Oh... the passion and energy of this ballet--just amazing! I especially loved the incredible lifts--many that I've never seen before in ballet. The story is told in a flashback. The first scene is Don Jose sitting in a jail cell, remembering how he got there. I just wish the performance had been longer. The running time is only 1 hour and 15 mins (including one intermission), which I found kind of disappointing. Nonetheless, the ballet is beautifully choreographed and danced. The cast I saw included Oksana Maslova as Carmen, Zecheng Liang as Don Jose and Isaac Hollis as Escamillo. Everyone was great, but Zecheng Liang really stood out to me. What a talented dancer with a nice stage presence. I really like what Angel Corella has done with the company and became a subscriber this year. I live too far away to see this again this time around, but hopefully, Carmen will remain in the company's repertoire.
  4. I used to travel to the Kennedy Center about once a year, but I agree that since Covid, the offerings have been very unimpressive. I've been attending the Philadelphia Ballet more and more. I like what Angel Corella is doing with the company, and for the first time ever, I purchased a subscription to the 2023-24 season.
  5. Yes, Skylar and Herman were magical tonight. I have seen many Swan Lakes over the years, and I really think this was one of the best. And yes, the audience was extremely enthusiastic. There was sooo much energy in the theater. It was a wonderful evening!
  6. I saw four performances of Giselle this week with four different casts: Teuscher/Bell; Brandt/Cornejo; Boylston/Ahn; & Murphy/Forster. Maybe they have lost some of their technical skills, but Gillian Murphy was my favorite Giselle and Herman Cornejo was by far my favorite Albrecht. They drew me in from the very beginning, and Herman's performance, in particular, brought tears to my eyes. Thomas Forster has never been one of my favorites, but he was surprisingly good as Albrecht. I am now looking forward to seeing him dance other roles. And Jarod Curley was excellent as Hilarion. He is an immensely talented young dancer with great technique as well as great stage presence. Andrii Ischuk, another promising young dancer, was also very good as Hilarion. Also, while I thought that Devon Teuscher was a very good Giselle, she was an even better Myrta. I agree with NinaFan that when I go to see a company like ABT, I expect the complete package--both technical and artistic excellence. I saw Cassandra's debut as Giselle in 2021. Normally, she is one of my favorites dancers, but I remember being disappointed in her interpretation and some of her dancing. To be honest, perhaps Giselle is just not the right role for her. Management should not continue to gloss over her mistakes, in my opinion.
  7. I wasn't expecting to, but I very much enjoyed LWFC. I reluctantly attended my first performance because it was the gala and I never miss ABT's spring/summer gala. To my surprise, I enjoyed LWFC much more than I thought I would, and I ended up going back for two more performances. Altogether, I saw two casts: Trenary & Cornejo and Teuscher & Ahn. (Both casts were good, but Trenary & Cornejo really had a special magic.) The three performances I saw were all well attended and very well received. I heard nothing but positive comments from the people around me. Personally, I wasn't crazy about the music, but I heard several people say that they loved the music. Do I wish there had been more actual dancing, particularly in the first act? Yes. Nonetheless, I thought the overall story was very moving. I realize that LWFC isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I applaud ABT for taking a big risk and putting on a production of such high quality. It's obvious that a lot of care and thought went into this ballet. I really hope it does come back next year or maybe the year after, with perhaps a few minor tweaks.
  8. Hi Buddy, Per the brochure, single tickets go on sale April 24, 2023.
  9. Re Roster: I no longer see April Giangeruso's name on ABT's website. She never officially announced any retirement plans, but I remember an Instagram post near the end of the Met summer season showing a solitary bouquet of flowers. It was very vague, but I wondered at the time if she was alluding to leaving the company. April is the founder of a dancewear and activewear company called Chameleon, which she is very involved in. She also got married a few years ago and has a young toddler. So, I'm sure she has other priorities now. But I always liked her dancing and will miss her.
  10. Jose made his debut as Purple Rothbart back in 2019. I think he's very good in the role. https://www.instagram.com/p/BzG-TrAAusf/?hl=en
  11. I've always liked Stephanie and have followed her on Instagram for years. Her announcement really caught me by surprise because she seemed so happy and grateful to be at ABT. Also, it’s very unusual for a dancer to quit at this time of the year. (I could be wrong, but I always thought that contracts come up for renewal at ABT in the late summer.) Like FauxPas, I tend to think that trying to juggle ABT's touring schedule with being a first-time mom was just too difficult. So, she chose her family. Or, maybe Stephanie is leaving to take a new position elsewhere. Or, maybe her husband wanted to leave NYC. Of course, I have no inside knowledge. This is all pure speculation on my part. We shall see. But I think being a mother and a dancer at a company that does a lot of tours, like ABT, must be very hard. I will miss her, too!
  12. I would love to see Irina and Max as co-Artistic Directors.
  13. I was very fortunate to see Hee Seo's debut as Juliet in Detroit back in 2009. (Cory Stearns was Romeo.) I was blown away. She was absolutely magical! It was one of those performances that I will never forget. However, that is the one and only time that I was impressed by her dancing. I don't know what happened. She’s a good dancer, but something is missing. In my opinion, she’s never been able to recreate that magic since then.
  14. I'm very excited about the Spring Season... but absolutely shocked about Cassie! Is she getting any performances at all? The calendar is working for me, but I don't see her name listed anywhere.
  15. Misty was the opening speaker at last night's gala. So she's around. However, she did not perform.
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