vipa

I agree, and although Fairchild still looks great, she has already retired at least one role, and there will probably be more to come. The needs of the company and rep play a big part in promotions.

She is so ready! Any other promotions announced?

Emma Von Enck should be great as Butterfly. Hippolyta is a terrific opportunity for Corti.

I doubt that Bouder's employment is in question. The issue for her will be casting. A technically easy role in DAAG is all she's been given this season. She doesn't seem technically able to reclaim her old rep. This means management has to find new rep for her in order to cast her. This can be problematic. I recall an interview with Merrill Ashley in which she said that towards the end of her career, when she was plagued by injuries, she asked for easier rep, and ran into an issue because other dancers had those ballets in their rep. Casting is a zero sum game.

In this respect, it's unfortunate that Bouder was the only dancer/mother interviewed. She seems to be at a difficult point in her career with a mix of issues and grievances. A number of dancers have young daughters, and there are many professional dancers whose mothers were dancers. It would have been nice to hear from some of them to get a fuller perspective. Of course I don't know the author's intent or how the piece came to be written, but a variety of voices would have made a better piece IMO.

After seeing her on stage recently I'd say that her weight gain is obvious, but to my eye her lack of fitness and the decline in her technique is more the issue. Unfortunately, in her statements and in these articles, she doesn't address the current quality of her dancing or seem to see it as a factor in not being cast.

I agree @matilda. And I don't see what incentive NYCB has in investing in a new SL. The Martins version seems to sell out, as does his Sleeping Beauty.

I agree with what others have said about the dancers in this ballet. Miriam Miller's role was the most noteworthy. I noticed Chun Wei Chan because of a small solo section in the beginning and Emma VE for her precision. Even in Emma Von Enck's case, a section she posted on instagarm, for some reason, looked much more impressive to me out of context on instagram, than it did in the ballet. https://www.instagram.com/p/C6qpkASAbrg/

Just to clarify, if I can. At the very end of Rubies something seemed off about what would be heard as the last musical cue. Nadon actually looked disconcerted for an instant and there was a ragged feel to it. I don't want to overstate this. It was an instant at the end that felt a bit off to me.

I was at the afternoon show. Anyone else? Rubies with Fairchild, Huxley and Nadon was terrific. Megan Fairchild was playful and assured. She still looks great in this role. Nadon is great in the "big girl" role. As others have said she's very different from Kikta. I enjoy both approaches. Nadon adds a touch of sultry to her power. There was a blooper, that I think was the conductor's error. I believe there is supposed to be a breath before the very last note. It wasn't there so everyone on stage quickly moved to the last pose, a bit late. Dig the Say, is a Justin Peck vehicle for Mejia and Tiler Peck. It's fine as such, but I'd rather see Mejia/Peck in something else! I didn't really get the playing with the ball gimmick in the first part, and I'm really tired of the gimmick of dancers walking one and off like pedestrians. The choreography had the usual Justin Peck trademarks: quick changes of direction, tilted turns with the knee turned in, flicking legs. These steps were interspersed with things like fouettes and a la seconde turns. It was as if Justin Peck told them to pick flashy ballet steps they were good at. Tiler Peck did a fouette combo I've seen her do in Tsai Pas. My first viewing of Justin Peck's In Creases. Frankly I don't need to see this one again. It seemed like a little of this and a little of that, and a little of something else and repeat. My thought is that with Phillip Glass music you really have to create a strong choreographic structure, or there is nothing really to hang on to. I think Robbins was very successful in Glass Pieces. Underneath, There Is Light. Choreography by Amy Hall Garner. I wish this had been the opening ballet. It would have been a decent opener, and I wouldn't have come to it worn down by 2 Justin Peck ballets. 4 sections, each a different composer. Very uneven IMO. Some sections or parts of sections were engaging, and some of the dancers were shown to their advantage particularly: Chun Wei Chan, Gil bert, Bolden, MT MacKinnon, Emma Von Enck, and in particular Miriam Miller. On the other hand the piece didn't seem particularly musical. At one point it crossed my mind that any music could be playing. At another points the fact the the music was a fugue was ignored. I'm not saying the dance had to have a fugue structure, but it felt odd hearing a fugue and watching movement that had no relationship to that structure. The other thought that occurred to me was about the pointe work. For the most. part it seemed pointe shoes were not needed. I wonder what Garner's experience with the pointe shoe is. At the same time, sections were pleasant and compelling. I'd give this one another viewing. The lesson of the day for me was, good choreography is hard and great choreography harder. I would have. been happier if the Garner piece opened and Rubies closed.

I too look forward to reports on the gala. Alastair Macaulay had an interesting comment on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6go9P2AB_w/?img_index=1.

Adding my welcome @SaraBW. I look forward to reading your future posts. This is a great forum with a lot of very thoughtful people.

It's sad IMO. This query to the "dance community" is designed to stir up trouble, and push people to take sides. Airing grievances on social media is rarely a path to solving problems. On another note, when I saw her dance recently she was far from at the level of a NYCB principal. She seems to not realize that.

This is an unfortunate statement IMO. She seems to have a big need to go public with personal grievances.

I see that Megan LeCrone is cast in Symphony in 3. She said on social media that she is fully recovered from an injury. That explains her absence from the stage.