California

Off-topic for this thread...but where are you finding these hints of programming for spring 2014? Manon seems a safe guess, as they are doing it in Japan in February (as posted by the Japanese theater). If Giselle, I wonder if they'll let Gillian do it, after her success in New Zealand in their new production (and as it appears they are not bringing it to the US next year).

I saw Gillian Murphy and Denis Matvienko (replacing Hallberg, from the initial cast list last fall) in Don Q Wednesdsay night. Both were spectacular. I'm a big fan of Gillian and he was a wonderful surprise. I don't know if they have danced together before or very often (does anyone know?), but it seemed a very comfortable partnership. He was attentive and gracious to her throughout.She is secure in all her technique, and threw in a few extras - e.g., in the fouettes in Act III, she brought out a fan and would hold it overhead and flutter it down to her waist while turning! I haven't seen that one before. But the real hit - and welcome surprise - was Matvienko. He seemed to be having great fun all night. His characterization of Basilio was impish and detailed and brought back a hint of Baryshnikov's boyish charm in the DVD. He interacted convincingly with everyone on stage. And what a wonderful technique! He threw in his share of tricks in his variations, but he also had a beautiful line and refined presence that had been totally absent with Vasiliev. If this was an "audition," please bring him back! The audience loved him for all the right reasons and he was beaming. Stella Abrera did double-duty as Mercedes and Queen of the Dryads and was also the best so far this week. She knocked off the Italian fouettes without problem.

I saw the Osipova/Vasiiev Tuesday night and agree with much that was said. They offer a string of tricks that are truly thrilling -- a guilty pleasure for some of us -- and the crowd went wild again and again. He often throws an airborne split into his jumps that gives people an extra thrill. Her turns are so fast and so precise - hard to match. She skips the hopping on pointe with the fan in the Act III variation and substitutes very fast turns - that might be the alternate version others have mentioned. But I thought both interacted very nicely with the rest of the cast in many scenes -- "chatting" with townspeople, reassuring Don Q, etc. Her fouettes are thrilling but not as much as Semionova's the night before. She does a lot of multiples, but the arm never goes over the head. Misty managed all the Italian fouettes. She started with a feirce look on her face and swung that first leg up so forcefully, as if to say: "I am going to do these tonight, come hell or high water." In fairness to Seo Monday night, she did double-duty as Mercedes in I and III and Queen of the Dryads in II, so perhaps she was tired. But given her technical limitations, it seemed odd to ask her to do all of that in one night. On Tuesday, the roles were split again between two people. Re: jumping the shark: The Fonz was water skiing when a shark appeared and he jumped over it. I forgot to mention: On Monday, I did not see anything resembling the famous Plisetskaya leap in Act I. I was reminded of that seeing Osipova do several on Tuesday. Semionova does a big jete (much as Cynthia Harvey does in the Baryshnikov version on DVD), but that's all.

I bought this ticket when Hallberg was cast (as I assume many others did) and found Stearns a disappointment. There is something odd about his partnering. In supporting her pirouettes, he manhandles her like he was working one of those old-fashioned butter churners. At the end of an Act I sequence, she did a series of complicated turns into a fishdive and they almost lost it. The flying fishdives in Act II where she throws herself into him seemed ultra-cautious, like they didn't trust each other. But he did two one-armed lifts in Act I which seemed very secure and were held for a long time. His preparations for a multiple pirouette are so long and slowly drawn out they seem like he worries about it. The barrel turns in Act III were sloppy and close to the floor. Seo's Italian fouettes in Act II were the disaster others reported. She came down off pointe after two and just seemed to give up. Semionova saved the day. She held several long unsupported balances throughout the evening that were stunning. Her technique in the stabbing turns and hop sequences was flawless. When she came out in the Act III fouettes carrying a fan, she had a knowing look: "Wait until you see what I'm going to do with this." She held the arm with the fan over her head for the first several fouettes, threw in lots of multiples. Perhaps I was reading too much into things, but I didn't sense any chemistry between Semionova and Stearns - pasted-on smiles and looks. The house seemed about 80% full, but I wonder how many had bought tickets for Hallberg.

Important subject about which we understand far too little. I'm curious how much interaction the visiting dancers had with non-governmental people while abroad and how many KGB agents were "embedded" with the Soviet troupes. Now that the archives of the secret police have been (at least partially) opened up to scholars, there might be some really interesting tidbits there! And I hope you look at the export of ballet films by the Soviets in the 50s to smaller American cities. I don't know if the U.S. government had anything comparable to send in exchange. For Ballet Alert-ers interested in the issues, Naima Prevots has a book, Dance for Export, on a related topic that might be of interest (be sure to order it through the Amazon box on this site): http://www.amazon.com/Dance-Export-Studies-History-ebook/dp/B006VFCV50/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369578887&sr=1-1&keywords=naima+prevots

So is mine! Let's hope they get enough orders that they release the rest of the series ASAP - and perhaps a few other things from their wonderful collection.

He had been scheduled to do two Don Quixotes - May 27 (now replaced by Stearns) and May 29-eve (replaced by Matvienko). When those changes appeared on the ABT site, there was some discussion here about his very heavy performing schedule and recent injuries perhaps explaining his dialing back somewhat on commitments.

Actually, question should be - what are the Balanchine Essays? Thanks The Balanchine Foundation has a little more information: http://balanchine.org/balanchine/03/balanchineessays.html

As someone who complains endlessly about the limited availability of Balanchine videos for the general public, I am delighted to see that the Balanchine Foundation is now selling the "Balanchine Essays" on Amazon, or at least, the Arabesque tape. http://www.amazon.com/Balanchine-Essays-Arabesque/dp/B00CWKW66C/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1369348425&sr=8-21&keywords=balanchine+dvd I hope this is the start of a trend of selling to the public from their wonderful collection. The blurb under "editorial reviews" says they plan to release the entire 10-part series. And it looks like they have solved the physical media/storage problem: they will make these "on demand." PS: If you order it, be sure to start with the Amazon box on this site so Ballet Alert gets some $$ to support the site.

It would take hours to list all of them, but a few more lost causes: may vs. might, it's vs. its The principal-principle mistake is galling in this context, because we see so many principal dancers listed as "principles" nowadays. Apologies to copy-editors everywhere! It's just that Robert Gottlieb is such a brilliant writer and editor (Knopf, New Yorker) that it's hard to imagine him making that mistake! (And I recommend reading that review in full. The section on Hubbard is hysterically funny. How many other critics could get away with some of the things he says?)

My apologies for introducing such a trivial point, but is the distinction between principal and principle now a completely lost cause? I was stunned reading the review by Robert Gottlieb, editor (and critic) extraordinaire, to see this used incorrectly and just assumed a well-intentioned copy editor made the mistake: http://observer.com/2013/05/30-years-of-peter-martins-balanchines-successor-has-had-his-ups-and-downs/ I've been seeing this used incorrectly in more and more places, including many supposedly professional outlets for writing. In grade school, we learned a simple rule for keeping them straight: "The principal is my pal." So, "principal" is for persons in a leading role. "Principle is like a rule, both end in 'le.'" It's never a person. I blame texting shortcuts for the decline in spelling, but I also blame spell-check. As long as the word matches a correct spelling, it goes through, even if it's the wrong one. Oh well...chalk this up to lost causes, I guess.

If I could expand slightly on Helene's comment: I daresay most of us have held non-arts-related jobs where we were stunned at the incompetence of certain people promoted far beyond what they deserved. Such notions as "failing upwards" and "the Peter Principle" have currency because this is so common. We like to delude ourselves into thinking we live in a meritocracy, but does anybody believe GWB would have been admitted to Yale with his middling to mediocre SATs and GPA if his last name had been "Smith"?

As an out-of-towner who visits NYC periodically, I never buy subscriptions, as I can't pick out my own seats, but I do pounce on single ticket sales as soon as they become available. Then you can pick out your own seat, which I much prefer. I've never had any trouble getting great seats that way. I agree with your wife about orchestra -- it's a disaster and very risky for shorter people. I aim for First tier or first row-Second tier. Occasionally, I've gotten orchestra first row-side section and it's great fun to see it up close as a contrast to the tiers. Unlike some theaters (e.g., Vail!), you easily can see all their feet from the first row at the State Theater. (For anybody visiting Vail, avoid the first two rows, unless you enjoy dance only from the calf upwards...)

"Chamber Symphony" is the second of the new Ratmansky's that premiere next Friday. Interesting - no Hallberg on the tour. Calvin Royal of the Corps seems to be replacing him.

Actually, I've been hoping for a few hints in the NY Times Arts Blog about the fall 2013 season at the State Theatre! They seem to get the first public information. I can't remember when the fall 2012 season was announced, and that was a few weeks earlier in the fall. I'm guessing it won't be released until July.

Her Facebook statement sounds pretty final to me! Perhaps she has been told that it's being retired from the ABT rep for a few years. It sounds like ticket sales haven't been great, so that's plausible. It's also possible she doesn't plan to renew her contract with ABT. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diana-Vishneva/252826048061382?fref=ts

I heard a lecture-demo with Emery LeCrone last year and she mentioned that she had a "day job" at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet -- very important, she said, not only because it gave her a steady income, but also health benefits. It supported her while she tried to make her name as a choreographer. Those issues were discussed in this profile in Pointe magazine last year: http://www.pointemagazine.com/issues/junejuly-2012/company-life-choreographing-corps

I confess that I bought Brittany's mainly because she left on the ribbons, the kind with elastic insets. A year ago, I snagged a pair of Ana Sophia Scheller's with ribbons, also with elastic insets, in an unusual almost flesh-colored satin. But it's really hard to find any that leave on the ribbons nowadays. I asked the counter clerk if they had anything at all with ribbons and she brought out the Scheller shoes, so it's worth asking.

I think it's $100 (principals), $75 (soloists), $50 (corps), or something along those lines. I remember thinking I was lucky to buy a pair of Brittany Pollack's just before she was promoted to soloist. And they give you the 10% discount if you are a member of Friends (unlike ABT). At the end of the fall 2012 season at City Center, ABT had a big basket of shoes for $20 a pair, but they seemed to be things that weren't selling otherwise.

Excellent question, abatt! Long ago, PBS stopped broadcasting ballet for lack of funding. ABT could rally it's wealthy donors to fund recorded performances for DVD release. McKenzie should push this diligently. Think of all the great work that could be available to the general public? Not only the magnificent Vishneva-Gomes partnership, but so many from the past, such as the Ferri-Bocca partnership -- their R&J, Giselle, Bayadere. The list goes on and on. And if DVD release is too much, how about selling these as downloads on iTunes or something comparable. It galls me that we have such riches available on DVD from the European companies -- releases of recent recorded-live-in-performance (La Scala, Bolshoi, Royal Ballet, POB), but hardly anything from ABT or NYCB. And hardly anything from one of our very best male dancers, Marcelo Gomes.

My sister and I were in the first row of the balcony on Saturday night and had a very different experience. I wonder if there are issues with the acoustics/amplification in City Center. We loved Dvorovenko, could understand her perfectly (both accent and audio), and thought deLuz was hard to hear and failed to project appropriately. We loved the entire production, but had no basis for comparison, having never seen it on Broadway or the old film. I would have preferred seating in the first tier, but nothing remotely decent was available. The first row of the balcony has a major defect, namely, that the security bar in front of the seats cuts straight across your sightlines. So you have to either scooch down or sit up too high to catch the action. Second row looks like it would be much better, sightline-wise.

I don't know about the TKTS booth, but the TDF site (which often sells discounted NYCB tickets) seems to say that the revenue is funneled back to the theaters: http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=85& do=v And it does seem that ABT could use the $$. I just assume they fear that if people know they can get cheap tickets that way, they'll never buy at list price from the Met. But it's a trade-off, I would think, of getting people into the theater who would not otherwise attend.

Does ABT do a 1/2 price student/senior/military rush an hour before performance? Does NYCB? That's another great way to fill seats, get a little more $$, and open up the artform to people on very tight budgets, especially the young audiences that should be cultivated for the future of the artform. Nobody has mentioned whether the house sold well for Vishneva-Gomes. That's the dream casting for balletomanes, but I wonder how many casual ballet goers or tourists knew that.

Why doesn't ABT sell tickets through the TDF/half price booth? NYCB regularly does. Indeed, they have Saturday matinee 5/18 listed right now. With so many tourists in town, why not at least fill the hall and avoid embarrassment?

It saddens me to read comments like Trieste's. Most ballet companies do have outreach programs with free programs in parks and public spaces, student rush tickets at bargain basement prices, etc. And, as we've discussed in other forums, ballet used to be widely available on free network television in the 1950s and we enjoyed a wealth of great PBS programs, especially in the 1970s and 1980s (Live from Lincoln Center, Great Performances, etc.). We still have some available on PBS and, increasingly, great things on the Internet (posted legitimately!). I've also noticed fabulous DVD collections of ballet at public libraries I've frequented. But before people seek out those free or cheap options, they first have to love or at least like ballet or just know what it is. So programs that bring school children to dress rehearsals (which I have noticed at several companies) and outreach programs to less-well-off children help and are important to support. I'm also glad to see local sports heroes endorse ballet (as we saw in Miami recently). I don't think we'll see another dance boom of the 70s, with its heady mix of Cold War politics, glamour, and excitement bringing newcomers into the theater. We're also dealing with dramatic declines in government funding at both the state and Federal level.