California

Thanks for the correction. I didn't see her on the 2017 schedule for The Golden Cockerel and forgot about the others.

So sorry I won't be able to see Lane's ABT debut. It doesn't look like Kochetkova has anything left in this season. Must be a big disappointment for her. It also seems she never is cast in any of the Ratmansky pieces, new or reconstructed. She's been very quiet on Instagram, which is unusual for her. What a tough profession!

As I mentioned in the thread on Pennsylvania Ballet's Corsaire earlier this spring, they changed Aili to a "servant," not a "slave," in the program, but he behaved exactly the same as in other versions. At least we know they were aware of the awkwardness of that one character.

It's certainly possible Kochetkova will dance and they're readying a possible replacement, just in case. The Russian expat community doesn't have much to choose from this season -- Part, Kochetkova, and Vishneva -- so it would make sense to keep her on the schedule as long as possible. We know K. is in NYC because of her Instagram account (a shot in front of the Koons ballerina at Rockefeller Center), although nothing in rehearsal right now.

In the Gomes documentary, he says his performance of La Bayadere with Vishneva in Japan is the last time he will do that role -- and that was filmed several years ago. He did the first act of Don Quixote at the Alonso birthday celebration (was that in 2010?) and I'm pretty sure he hasn't done it since. Corella said recently that Don Q is a young man's role

ABT Friends are having a dress rehearsal today. Who's rehearsing and who's missing?

Thank you! Such a treat to see. And for people on the east coast, this company is definitely worth seeing in person if you're in Seattle someday. I've been fortunate to see them in several programs in recent years. And they perform in a lovely new theater with great sightlines.

They're not making it easy to find! I tried their YouTube channel-nothing. I tried their Facebook page-nothing. I tried the links above. "Learn more" takes me to: https://www.pnb.org/season/subscriptions/16-17-season-packages/ Nothing anywhere on that page about "Watch season encore...." My suggestion: redundancy helps on the Internet. Get the link that goes directly to the video of this performance and then post it everywhere -- web page, YouTube, Facebook. Somehow we'll get to it that way. Apparently it will be available until July 11, so we have more time to search. Does anybody here have the direct link to the the video? Please paste it in. Thanks!

I get this: Sorry, this content isn't available right now The link you followed may have expired, or the page may only be visible to an audience you're not in. Somewhere, they said they'll post a recording later on their Facebook page. Judging from the many comments, I'm not the only one who can't get to the live stream. Too bad!

I can't seem to find the livestream -- I've been clicking all over their web site and Facebook page. Any ideas about where to find it?

As most readers of this site probably know, that was in the Smuin era. He was fired by SFB in 1985 and replaced with Tomasson. Here's just one article of many about that: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1985/05/12/michael-smuin-controversy-38/cfa8d616-6092-4eca-b269-e41e4fbdc296/?utm_term=.8aa8c4fde3af

I just looked at Onegin week tickets. The only cast that's selling well is Vishneva-Gomes, especially her final performance Friday night. Hallberg, Bolle, Ferri, Abrera - nobody seems to be bringing them in, in great numbers. In previous seasons, the local community of Russian expats seemed loyal to any Russian dancer, but they haven't had much to choose from this season.

Here's the link - what a treat!

Part cancelled on opening night of Nutcracker at Segerstrom in December 2015. Murphy subbed and did her own performance a couple of days later.

Mystery solved: She's joining San Francisco Ballet as a principal. SFB just sent out an e-mail announcement: http://archive.skem1.com/csb/Public/show/gsx76--cimyo-1hpenb52

Apparently this is the dance subscription for 2017-18: Mariinsky + one modern, one Tango, Ailey: https://www.scfta.org/Subscriptions/Packages.aspx?seasonID=577

In the PBS documentary, they do characterize it as Balanchine's take on the Sylphide story. I suppose I just meant that it seems like middle-of-the-road Balanchine, well-done but not a breakthrough, not astonishing, not something on anybody's top-ten list. An evening paired with Martins' Sylphide would be interesting!

I saw the dress rehearsal Friday afternoon. It's not fair to comment on performances from that, but I did want to make note of one thing that was very striking: the racial/cultural diversity among the young men in all three works! SAB has a very impressive program to recruit boys and provide all with tuition-free classes. I understand they do serious recruiting from the region. It was especially striking in comparison with the mostly white girls, although a few were other races. I don't know how many of these young dancers will make it as professionals, but SAB does seem to be grooming a large number of young men that might well replenish companies elsewhere in the country, without having to recruit from Cuba and Russia! I was mainly interested in seeing Scotch Symphony. Brief clips of that were featured in the PBS bio/documentary on Balanchine many years ago when they performed it on Sunday afternoon live TV in the 60s. I confess that it did seem dated, and I can see why NYCB doesn't perform it often (if at all, at this point). Still, it's part of the Balanchine legacy and worth seeing for that reason alone.

Just a few things to add...I saw the last six Giselles. For me, Lane was the best, by far -- both interpretation and technique. So many outstanding Albrecht's -- Simkin, Cornejo, Lendorf, Gomes, Hallberg -- impossible to pick. Even Whiteside surprised me with his gallantry. Act II-overhead horizontal/table-top lifts: Others have noted the problem with the first one by Lane-Cornejo. It seemed they held the second one longer than usual to make amends. The biggest disaster I saw was Copeland-Lendorf Wednesday afternoon. They were so shaky on the first one I thought he might drop her and she put her right arm down on his shoulder. Their second one was fine. Final lift of Act I: There is an important dramatic detail at the very end that many Giselles missed. Albrecht lifts her up at the waist and she falls to the ground dead. But when he lifts her, she should look skyward and raise her right arm with the two-finger pledge to love him eternally. It's a link back to his insincere declaration early in the Act and it explains why she is so loyal and determined to save him in Act II. Lane got it right. Boylston and Copeland looked upward but just flailed their arms to the side with no declaration. We need that closure to explain why she saves him in Act II after her mad scene. Hillarion sharing her grave: Hillarion's red-shirted arms were too visible again on Wednesday pulling her into the grave. Perhaps, after he danced to his death, he figured out where she is buried and crawled in first to spend eternity with her, as he always wanted! Really, it's a detail that could easily be fixed.

Kochetkova, normally very active on Instagram, hasn't said anything yet. She has two Corsaires next week, as does Murphy. The ABT schedule is up-to-date on all these changes. (And the new site looks great!)

Holy moly! I bought a ticket long ago to see Cornejo -- what a treat! For those who didn't see her Saturday, don't miss this one!

I think you might mean the pas de poisson (step of the fish) -- that thing looks so clumsy and strained by almost everybody, it must be extraordinarily difficult. Boylston and Lane both looked great in the "floating" steps with lifts from the partners so they seem to be just skimming the floor. When you see how poorly those can be done, you appreciate the good ones all the more.

I got an e-mail for the spring season events on January 27. The frustration for out-of-towners is that few seem to coincide with programs I want to see. Do respond quickly when you get one of those, as they usually run out of space. One big advantage at NYCB for friends: they do friends rehearsals four afternoons a week when they are in residence (Tuesday-Friday); depending on your level of Friend, you get different numbers of rehearsal passes. ABT does other things for friends: studio rehearsals, donor dance classes taught by a company member, seminars, etc. But unless you're in town for a non-dance reason, those don't work for out-of-towners. I suppose they schedule like that to maintain interest from their NYC audience. Those Kennedy Center rehearsals for $15 also sell out quickly.

I am also surprised to learn Boylston was injured. There was just one place where her technique seemed surprisingly low-energy, a rapid series of jetes on the diagonal to exit, when she seemed to barely leave the ground. I actually wondered if Whiteside had been injured near the end; the usual acting to show exhaustion seemed too real and he seemed to writhe a little more than usual on the floor. Her technique overall was quite spectacular -- fast, high, controlled. Whiteside was a gallant, excellent partner throughout, although I'm not usually a fan of his. A few minor details others haven't mentioned: brises vs. entrechats: I much prefer the brises. Albrecht is travelling on the diagonal, clearly under Myrtha's spell, moving toward her. The entrechats just don't make sense to me dramatically, as he comes out center stage facing the audience, while Myrtha almost disappears from sight at the side of the stage. Simkin's brises were fast, but I can't shake the memory of Baryshnikov, in his 1977 performance with Makarova on Live from Lincoln Center (later released on tape). Baryshnikov started from the farthest back corner and covered the stage. Simkin started well onto the stage and didn't cover nearly as much ground in the same musical space - good, but not great. Hallberg and Whiteside both did the jumping-jack-like entrechats, impressive, but dramatically out of place. overhead lifts in the lilies pas de deux: Lane-Simkin and Boylston-Whiteside did the horizontal "table-top" version twice, which is so impressive. Lane-Simkin wobbled a little side-to-side on both, but I was glad to see them try. Boylston-Whiteside seemed to have the tiniest wobble at the beginning of the first, but looked great after that. Murphy-Hallberg did a lift with her in a vertical position, one leg pulled up. I assume that's a lot simpler and it's certainly less awe-inspiring, but in looking at a lot of other famous pairings, it's actually fairly common, even among the greats. Giselle's return to the grave: I like the way she leans back and seems to disappear into her grave in a reclining position, a chilling reminder that she is returning to eternity in that grave. But a small detail, visible from several places in the theater, mars that, namely, Hilarion's red shirt as he catches her, presumably intended to be out-of-sight. That made for an unintended plot complication, that HiIlarion is the one helping her rest in peace at the very end. Is there no one in dark clothing who could catch her and not be identifiable? Although all three performances were superb, I must single out Simkin's Albrecht. His spectacular technique was used well, with jumps and turns that were higher, faster, more breathtaking than usual in that choreography. His attention to dramatic nuance and detail was impressive. His partnering seemed much improved. Of the three Albrecht's I've seen this season, he's actually the one I would most like to see again.

Is POB performing at the Lincoln Center Festival in 2018? Other locations?