its the mom

Houston will give Angelo more opportunities to dance. With Hernandez brothers getting top billing and Rojo bringing in soloists from ENB, I am sure he felt it would be a better career move. Houston is a wonderful company with very talented dancers.

Many times, it's the theatre that requests the ballet(s) to be performed. Perhaps it was Teatro Real's choice?

I am thrilled that Boston will be performing this piece next season. Enjoy!

Boston Ballet 2024-2025 Season (balletherald.com) Some exciting works here. Looking forward to seeing something in each program.

Performers now listed. She is dancing with Jeffrey Cirio. Bns | Ballet Nacional de Sodre

Who retired to make room for the other three?

I agree. And I think what is also appealing is the type of rep that other companies do.

San Fran has nine programs, but there are 31 Nutcracker performances and 64 other performances. Boston Ballet does 40-45 Nutcracker performances and 5-6 programs per year. Each program has 9 to 12 shows. Houston is similar to Boston. Perhaps ABT has the same number of shows, but I believe the issue (and this has been discussed before) is the lack of opportunity to perform a role in a run more than once or twice. The positive I see for Bell, Curley and Roxander is that there will be principals retiring soon. Cornejo does not have much time left, nor do Stearns and Whiteside.

Seventh executive leadership role of his career.

It's a gorgeous piece. I saw ENB perform it at the Royal Opera House for the MacMillan Celebration back in 2017, I believe. It is one of the most moving pieces I have seen. For those in San Francisco, it's not to be missed.

Boston Ballet opened their season last night with four works. I will write more later, but was absolutely gutted by Akram Khan’s Vertical Road. I cannot stop thinking about it. I felt as though my heart was going to beat outside of my body. The house/audience erupted like I have never seen before at any performance anywhere. It was a piece of work that everyone seated around me said they did not want to end. Moving, heart-rending … not enough adjectives to describe it. If you can, get there.

I know that others have talked about this before (and in light of the dancers mentioned above), but do you think it would benefit the company and the dancers to add one more rank, i.e., second soloist?

Whiteside was hired September 2012 and promoted to principal in October 2013. Cirio was hired as a soloist for September 2015 and was promoted at the end of June 2016 when Hoven was promoted to soloist. So, there are exceptions to that June/July promotion time.

I just saw this. They have five Kitris. Ji Young Chae, Lia Cirio, Vika Kapitonova, Chyrstyn Fentroy and Chisako Oga.

Did anyone attend last night’s opening of Boston’s ChoreograpHER program? Five female choreographers, three of them women of color … I can’t wait to get there next week. Anxious to hear about it. Choreographers included Lia Cirio, Shantell Martin, Tiler Peck, Claudia Schreier, and Melissa Toogood.

I think the way this is worded makes it sound as though she commissioned 40 works by women, but I believe it is more accurate that there are 40 works choreographed by women in the repertoire of ENB. From "The Guardian:" "The acclaimed dancer – who has introduced groundbreaking works into the ENB’s repertoire, including more than 40 works choreographed by women – will step down in late 2022 to take up the role of artistic director at San Francisco Ballet, where her husband, Isaac Hernández, was recently appointed a principal dancer." I am trying to verify this. Maybe someone more familiar with the company can, but 40 seems a pretty high number for her tenure. Also, somewhere earlier in this thread, it spoke of her saying she never "poached" dancers, I believe there were several she invited as "guest artists" and they ended up joining the company. I am sure there are others, but those that come to mind are Jurgita Dronina, Jeffrey Cirio, Gabriele Frola, and Emma Hawes.

I think it was a joyous occasion to be back on stage this fall and for Nutcracker. I, for one, was so excited to be back in the theatre! It appears that Boston finished their run of Nutcracker unscathed. Many companies have not. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2021/economy-2021/?fbclid=IwAR1IsNoDs_rkucNE5Tsqy0ZU5SIUbo-IuLbIZwIIy_z-YFUtyfpGGgs9WqI

Very happy for Chyrstyn. But I have to say that Boston has always been at the forefront of hiring persons of color. While there has not been a black principal since Tai Jimenez, there are other minority principals, as well as a healthy number of minority dancers through all of the ranks. https://www.bostonballet.org/Home/The-Company/Dancers/FullCompany.aspx

This certainly was a trip down memory lane. Plan to B is iconic Elo, and while it was enjoyable, my favorite iteration of this ballet was performed by Sabi Varga, John Lam, Whitney Jensen, Lia Cirio, Jeffrey Cirio, and Bo Busby. They were, for a long time, the cast to see in the many places this ballet was performed. Their performances were electric. But, I digress. There was much to see here, including Elo's Bach Cello Suites and Close to Chuck, two of my favorites. I hope we get to see Close to Chuck once again at some time in the future. Additionally, a portion of Elo Experience with Larissa Ponomarenko and Jeffrey Cirio brought back amazing memories. Performed in 2011, I remember that they performed every performance of that work. Along with Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, they were sublime. It was evident to me throughout that there were dancers who truly embodied Elo's work - James Whiteside, Sabi Varga, John Lam, Kathleen Breen-Combes, Whitney Jensen, and Jeffrey and Lia Cirio. I don't know if the current crop of dancers can match them. It will be interesting to see if they develop the "quirks" necessary for his work. The World Premiere was somewhat confusing. It appears to be an extension of the couple (Cirio and Ponomarenko) in Elo Experience, but the attempt to make the work an artistic film left me feeling confused. It will be hard to match the innocence of Cirio (who was probably all of 18 or 19 at the time) and the inestimable Ponomarenko in that work. All in all, I really enjoyed this program which contained much more dancing than previous digital performances. It made me long to be back in the theatre again. Congratulations to Jorma Elo and Boston Ballet for 15 years of collaboration!

Season starts tonight! https://www.bostonballet.org/Home/Tickets-Performances/Subscription-Information/Virtual-Subscriptions

David Hallberg just announced his new Directorship at Australian Ballet on his Instagram!

I just looked at my program, and you are right, Amy. The casting in the program was all mixed up.

Funny, Agon was probably best received as a whole that first evening. I think the blonde was Dawn Atkins the second evening, but I do believe that the casting for Agon was correct in the program. I could be wrong. The two men in the pas de trois are probably a little more inexperienced, hence the toss not quite as successful as the previous night. You are so right about the movement quality in Agon - that’s a great way to put it. “Not punched or muddled.” On another note, I am sad that PA ballet has changed rather drastically. I know there are those who prefer it now, but I miss the days of gorgeous Balanchine work without having to drive to NYC.

I saw opening night and Friday night. Glass Pieces is one of my favorites, and paired with Balanchine and Forsythe ... well, for me, it does not get much better. The first night of Glass Pieces felt a little under rehearsed, but the second evening did not disappoint. I could watch that ballet time and again and not tire of it. I love the patterns and that music! It was also good to see John Lam dance the central pas. Agon was beautifully danced on opening night. Cirio and Arrais (back on stage after a long injury recovery) danced the pas. There was audible gasping in the audience while they danced, and enthusiastic applause when they finished the pas and during bows. Both Cirio and Ji Young Chae seem to be very highlighted in this run of shows. In the Middle felt a little odd on opening night. I have seen this ballet several times, and I felt almost on Thursday as if the ballet was outdated (strange because the other works are older, but feel timeless.) Paul Craig seemed to be the most at home in the movement the first evening. He is such a musical dancer anyway. Friday night’s cast with Cirio and Fentroy, Yocum, Rines and Silva brought a whole different feel. The ballet suddenly felt contemporary again. This is probably one of my favorite programs Boston has done. If you can get there, do so. I am seeing one more because I am sure they will not repeat Glass Pieces any time soon!

One very major difference is ABT’s large lay-off period which enables the dancers to pursue other projects. In most other companies, these larger periods of lay-off are not common. With class, and six-hour rehearsal days, and with some companies working 5-1/2 to 6 days a week, pursuing outside coaching would be a challenge. During the summer, when most companies are on lay-off or holiday, there would obviously be more time to pursue outside coaching. However, most dancers are working other jobs - summer projects, teaching, etc. Brandt is blessed with that luxury. Good for her, but I don’t believe most dancers have that luxury. I also know that several of the directors Helene lists (in her post above of the major companies) do not look kindly on even taking class elsewhere, let alone coaching.