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2014 Farewell Performances


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I just received the email from NYCB:

We wanted you to be among the first to know that this season Jenifer Ringer, Janie Taylor, Sébastien Marcovici, and Jonathan Stafford will mark their retirements from the stage at three special farewell performances. New York City Ballet will celebrate the careers of these four principal dancers who have touched us with their dynamic performances full of dramatic passion and elegant chivalry.

Seats for these performances are usually in high demand. Should you decide to purchase tickets to these events, we want to remind you, as a friend of the Company, that these performances are already on sale:

JENIFER RINGER

Sunday, February 9 at 3 PM

Scheduled to appear in:

Dances at a Gathering

Union Jack

JANIE TAYLOR &

SÉBASTIEN MARCOVICI

Saturday, March 1 at 8 PM

Scheduled to appear in:

Afternoon of a Faun

La Valse

JONATHAN STAFFORD

Sunday, May 25 at 3 PM

Scheduled to appear in:

Emeralds

Diamonds

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The L.A. Dance Project sounds like an unstable prospect. I have my doubts as to whether that company will last long term.

LA does not have a history of great support for dance, but they might find opportunities there -- e.g., Los Angeles Ballet (http://losangelesballet.org/) and Melissa Barak's new venture (http://barakballet.org/). They might also find some teaching opportunities at the new USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, which admits its first students in fall 2014: http://kaufman.usc.edu/

And there are at least part-time teaching possibilities at the huge number of colleges and universities in greater LA.

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The L.A. Dance Project sounds like an unstable prospect. I have my doubts as to whether that company will last long term.

LA does not have a history of great support for dance, but they might find opportunities there -- e.g., Los Angeles Ballet (http://losangelesballet.org/) and Melissa Barak's new venture (http://barakballet.org/). They might also find some teaching opportunities at the new USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, which admits its first students in fall 2014: http://kaufman.usc.edu/

And there are at least part-time teaching possibilities at the huge number of colleges and universities in greater LA.

The NY Times article on the subject mentions only that, "Ms. Taylor and Mr. Marcovici, who wed in 2012, will dance their final performances with the company together on March 1, in Robbins’s Afternoon of a Faun and Balanchine’s La Valse. They plan to move to Los Angeles, where Mr. Marcovici will become a ballet master with L.A. Dance Project, which was co-founded in 2012 by Benjamin Millepied, the former City Ballet dancer who will become the director of dance at the Paris Opera Ballet in September."

So we don't know yet what Janie Taylor has planned exactly, other than accompanying her husband to LA.

I agree that Southern Cal has a poor reputation for classical dance opportunities. Unless Mr. Marcovici is particularly interested in the L.A. Dance Project, I would rather see them work their way into the SFB or PNB staffs (and they're both young enough to continue dancing).

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It's interesting that Barak, as well as Neary and Christensen (co-directors of the LA Ballet) are all former NYCB dancers. I don't know if there will be any opportunities for performing or teaching there, but it seems at least a possibility.

CORRECTION: My mistake - the first students at the USC Kaufman school will enter in fall 2015, not fall 2014. Other than hiring a dean (Jodie Gates), I don't see any recruitment announcements for faculty, but that might present more teaching opportunities, at least part-time.

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Taylor is one of the most consistently interesting dancers in the company. Her performances are original and unpredictable and, the ones I've seen recently, rather wondrous. A real loss.

Ringer has long been one of my absolute favorites. It may be the right time for her to retire, but I'm sad I haven't see more of her recently. I remember when she was still in the corps and I had no idea who she was: one evening watching Robbins Moves and Donizetti Variations in a single program I found myself trying to figure out who a particular corps dancer was; all I knew was that she had been featured in Moves (but wasn't one of the principals singled out in program) and danced in the ensemble in the Donizetti. I studied my program intently, seeing overlap between dancers in the two works, ruling out certain dancers who also appeared in the third work on the program in which she didn't appear, and finally arrived at "Jenifer Ringer." She has been a favorite ever since.

Two particularly ravishing and memorable Ringer performances: her daring and even ecstatic second movement in Brahms Schoenberg Quartet with James Fayette and her exquisitely shaped and altogether enchanting Sugar Plum Fairy. I believe it's considered pretense when ballet fans say that Nutcracker bores them, but I really am bored by the greater part of it. Still, I would sit through it a hundred times and more to see Ringer's Sugar Plum again as she danced the one time I saw her in it (ca. 2005).

Oh wait two others! Her wonderful Aurora, which I saw in her debut when it was already one of the best Auroras I had the good fortune to see (and not just an "NYCB" Aurora, but one that would work in other productions as well) and her alluring, smoking--literally smoking that is--seductress in Namouna.

...and others...

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The L.A. Dance Project sounds like an unstable prospect. I have my doubts as to whether that company will last long term.

LA does not have a history of great support for dance, but they might find opportunities there -- e.g., Los Angeles Ballet (http://losangelesballet.org/) and Melissa Barak's new venture (http://barakballet.org/). They might also find some teaching opportunities at the new USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, which admits its first students in fall 2014: http://kaufman.usc.edu/

And there are at least part-time teaching possibilities at the huge number of colleges and universities in greater LA.

Taylor and Marcovici could also work their way over to Ballet San Jose, for any number of things. A few NYCB dancers were featured in their recent gala and with Carreno now directing the company, he might want to snatch up some first rate talent for teaching, coaching, whatever.

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Oh, I'm so sad about Jenny and Janie leaving. The first time I saw Jenifer dance was at SPAC in Scotch Symphony as the opening Highland dancer - so beautiful. It brought tears to my eyes. And her Sugarplum was lovely. I have to say I haven't seen her dance a lot, however. But she's terrific, anyway. I know she teaches a lot and I'll bet she'll be dedicating a lot of her time to that. She's been involved in the summer arts scene up here in the Capital District, too.

I just saw Janie dance LaSonambula and she was especially ethereal. I really like her dancing - i saw her dance In the Night a couple of years ago and loved her in it. I'm quite upset right now personally because my NYCB subscription has me at the March 1 matinee (same program as the evening program)!!!! So I'm thinking of changing but I bet I won't get the 1st ring Section C seat I have for the matinee if I decide to switch. HUMMMMHHH Maybe I should just stay on for the eve perf, although I'm doing that in January, too. I live in Albany so its difficult to stay for the evening and then come home so late on the bus, but I'm sure it will be worth it. Decisions, decisions.....

I don't really have a good sense of Sebastien Marcovici's dancing and Jonathan is pleasing. Best of luck to all the retirees ~ Karen

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Sébastien, what will your job at L.A. Dance Project involve?

Benjamin is not leaving his position. I'm going to be teaching and taking care of the ballets. The person who was ballet master before was also a dancer with the company, and it was too much work for one person.

Janie, will you be dancing with the company?

I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to be doing yet. As of now I don't have plans to join another ballet company, but I want to give myself a little time to figure it all out.

http://www.pointemagazine.com/blogs/janie-taylor-and-s%C3%A9bastien-marcovici-life-after-nycb

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The article on Janie Taylor in the Weekly Standard explains in detail about her health problems, and makes it clear that she couldn't really continue on dancing at the pace expected of a principal.

She looks forward to a life without pain, however: “I can’t remember the last time I just felt great, so that’ll be a nice relief.” Then she smiles to herself: “Or it’ll be, like, ‘Well, this hurts, but who cares? It doesn’t matter!’ I think that’ll be nice.”
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