California

Ballet West has 40 on their web page. I think San Francisco is the third largest company in the country, and they have 72 (excluding apprentices and character dancers). It does make 51 seem all the more unusual in a small city.

I was surprised to read in the news report posted elsewhere that the company is downsizing that it had 51 dancers on contract last year, although it doesn't say for how many weeks. (I remember a story a couple of years back in a dance magazine about how dancers survive on small salaries - one dancer at Sarasota was a barista at Starbucks.) As that news report says, regional companies typically have 45 or less. Colorado Ballet has 25-30, not counting apprentices or studio company. I wonder if this is another example of a mismatch between artistic visions and fiscal realities.

Pennsylvania Ballet has added two "Pas de deux Previews" (Black Swan and Sleeping Beauty) to the program next weekend. In the 2017-18 season, they are doing their own Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Complete casting for the weekend: http://paballet.org/sites/default/files/general/ReAction Casting_for website 5.3.17.pdf?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FY17-Re%2FActionCastingAnnouncement&utm_content=version_A I keep getting notices that they are extending the deadline for subscriptions and wonder how they are doing on advance ticket sales. These additions look like a good way to entice local audiences to the coming season.

I can't find this back, but it was explained on an Instagram posting that he is going home -- to the English National Ballet.

I had understood that the ENB version was in the round at the London Coliseum, so I'm interested in how it's adapted. I hope Yosvani can give us some insights into that.

Ramos did the Deane version when he was with ENB years ago, but that might be a coincidence.

Speaking of Segerstrom, they have announced the 2017-18 season for several art forms - but not dance. Am I missing something?

I never saw the company in the Fredmann era. Gil Boggs has been artistic director since 2006 and I have been impressed with his programming choices -- some programs that appeal to newbies in Denver and others that are much-loved by serious balletomanes. He also guided the company through the national fiscal crisis of 2008 and oversaw the move to a spectacular new building in the Santa Fe arts district. I also appreciate some of his hiring decisions (e.g., Yosvani Ramos and Alexei Tyukov as principals, and Francisco Estevez and Tracy Jones as corps members-now soloists). Unlike directors at certain (unnamed) companies, he has never exhibited any interest in choreographing new work for the sake of choreographing. Eleven years is a long time in the life of any company. I'm not sure which dancers pre-date him (although I suppose I could figure that out from the company bios), but the company is in very good shape for a smaller, but professional company. (Considerable credit also goes to a very loyal, committed, and generous board.) http://www.coloradoballet.org/company-dancers/gil-boggs

It would violate the protocol of Friends open rehearsals to say anything about Ratmansky's new Odessa, which premieres at the gala Thursday night, so I will just say this: GO SEE IT, IF YOU CAN.

Pleased to see ABT's Bayadere in 2018. Presumably will also be at the Met that spring.

Yes - it was announced in the program at University of Denver that Dyer and Valdés have retired. Already announced retirements : Maria Mosina and Alexei Tyukov, my two favorite Russians.

Wheeldon posted this today on his Instagram:

The Denver Art Museum just announced a Degas Exhibit February 11-May 20, 2018. It appears this will be the only exhibition in North America. http://denverartmuseum.org/exhibitions/degas-passion-perfection?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=SEE MORE&utm_campaign=Member Email 2017.4.26 If you're in Denver, you can also see the Colorado Ballet's Romeo & Juliet at the historic Opera House a few blocks away, February 16-25, 2018 (Deane choreography, Prokofiev score, live orchestra): http://www.coloradoballet.org/performances/romeoandjuliet Or, see the NEA-funded performances of Tudor's Pillar of Fire and Tharp's Brief Fling, March 30-April 1, 2018, at the University of Denver: http://www.coloradoballet.org/performances/ballet-directors-choice-2018

I didn't know that about Martins. It reminds me of the much-publicized escapades of actress Sean Young and her attempts to be cast as Catwoman. Admittedly, her career trajectory and accomplishments have not exactly paralleled Martins' but one wonders how men are treated in similar situations. Here's one of many on-line reports about her: http://ew.com/article/2007/01/30/agony-and-ecstasy-sean-young/

Ratmansky just posted this to his Facebook page: "if the question about women choreographers was part of the discussion conducted by the NYTimes, I am sure each of us - Christopher, Justin and myself - would have more to say about the subject. but it wasn't. it was added post factum and I had to text in response between the rehearsals. why not to have a proper conversation? if my words were unclear I am glad to elaborate. just don't like reading comments that turn what I meant upside down." The reporter should have let us know that the question was NOT part of the in-person interviews, but came later by e-mail.

Your disappointment in LeCrone reminded me of a similar comment I made about her in spring 2016 in Symphony in 3 Movements: "Biggest disappointment: Megan LeCrone. I know she has a lot of fans on this board, but...I was near the front on Friday night and her pasted-on grin was appalling. Her variations alone were limp and uncommitted. In this ballet, as with many others, Balanchine interwove non-ballet moves with classical steps and positions -- jogging, arm pumping, odd shapes, etc. LeCrone almost seemed embarrassed to be doing them. Saturday afternoon, the grin was dialed back, but the movements were just as limp and uncommitted. She needs to OWN that choreography and I just didn't see it. Joseph Gordon had the thankless task of partnering her, but couldn't compensate for her flaccid performance, to my mind. Sorry!" How much coaching do these people get?

On Instagram, she seemed ecstatic about performing this four times this season.

Even Balanchine had some clunkers - PAMGG, e.g. (I actually wish we could see it - can't find any trace on YouTube or elsewhere.)

Oh no! I was so hoping to see a lot more of him at SFB.

All the more disturbing, as the 2017-18 schedule includes the Balanchine Nutcracker, Jewels, and T&V. http://www.paballet.org/upcoming-programs Doesn't the Trust send somebody out to rehearse works, even if the company already knows them? And one wonders how many of the continuing dancers do know all of these.

Kyra Nichols and her husband David Gray are leaving the Pennsylvania Ballet: http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/peter_dobrin/Pennsylvania-Ballet-leaders-husband-and-wife-stepping-down.html They won't say just yet where they are going. And the company isn't clear that she will be replaced.

Very glad I had already bought a ticket for this performance. Such a treat to look forward to!

Although Balanchine choreographed La Valse in 1951, the music harkens to the ominous mood in Europe before each of the two world wars. In the classic biography of Balanchine, the narrator mentions the dark mood in Europe. https://www.amazon.com/Balanchine-George/dp/B00019G8BA/ref=sr_1_9?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1492703784&sr=1-9&keywords=balanchine Fascinating history on the Balanchine Trust site: http://balanchine.com/la-valse/ Seems scarily appropriate for our times!

The Lew Christensen Trust has a web page. Looks like several things have been staged in recent years: http://lewchristensen.org/

I appreciate Gottlieb's concern, but the one element overlooked in these discussions is the typical audience. How many people who attend regional companies have the means and the time to see other companies on a regular basis? There is very little touring nowadays, thanks to the demise of NEA support from earlier decades, and precious little on PBS. Yes, DVDs exist in abundance, but to see a dance company live in the theater is special. I don't know if the data exist, but I have to wonder how many audience members in cities like Kansas City or Denver or Atlanta or...anything other than New York...have ever seen or will ever see NYCB or ABT or international companies visiting NYC and the Kennedy Center. A few people (including many on this board!) are fortunate to be able to jump on airplanes several times a year to see other companies, but what percentage of the national audience is that? Miniscule, I'd guess. I'd much prefer that these audiences around the country see a little Petipa, a little Balanchine, something contemporary, something experimental - than worry about regional companies having a unique and special identity that would make the NYC critics happy!