Josette

ABT danced the one-act Paquita, the divertissement of the last act, several decades ago. I have a video of it with Cynthia Gregory and Bujones as the leads, and Susan Jaffe dancing her solo memorably.

Last week, Vanessa Zahorian, Davit Karatpetyan, and Lorena Feijoo were dancing at the Ballet Stars Gala in Taipei. Vito Mazzeo (former SFB but now Dutch National principal dancer) was also performing.

On another topic, the casting for Iceland this weekend is up and it indicates who will be cast in Trio and Within the Golden Hour next season. Joan Boada and Gennadi Nedvigin are dancing this weekend.

Did SFB do the entire Paquita? Isn't it a two-act ballet? I've only seen the entire ballet on DVD with the Paris Opera Ballet.

Did SFB do the entire Paquita? Isn't it a two-act ballet? I've only seen the entire ballet on DVD with the Paris Opera Ballet.

I'm looking forward to having Van Patten back on stage.

Are young dance students used in his Paquita? I assume that donor money from O.C. has to be tied in with the William Gillespie dance school associated with ABT.

The season mailer for SCFTA states: "To celebrate American Ballet Theatre's 25th visit to the Center, ABT will premiere a program never before performed by the Company or seen at the Center." Any thoughts what it might be?

Thank you for the correction, milosr. Aaron Robison also danced with the Birmingham Royal Ballet and Corella Ballet before joining Houston Ballet.

New principal dancer Aaron Robison has most recently been a principal dancer with Houston Ballet. New soloist Angelo Greco has been dancing with La Scala Ballet.

At the final performance curtain calls, Grace Shibley was one of two female dancers pulled forward to the front by Ruben Martin Cintas for a special acknowledgement while the company on stage was applauding with the audience.

Congratulations to all the promoted dancers! So happy for all of them!

This is a gem! Love Conrad Ludlow and the muses, and it's great to four dancers with no tension in their hands, no pointy bird-of-paradise fingers. Thank you!

I agree with everything Sal wrote. I, too, saw the Saturday night performance with Vanessa Zahorian as Tatiana, Davit Karapetyan as Onegin, Sasha De Sola as Olga, Myles Thatcher as Lensky, and Ruben Martin Cintos as Prince Gremin. All the principals danced with grace and unbroken heartfelt emotion. The opening dance sequence with De Sola and Thatcher radiated with love. Karapetyan and Vanessa Zahorian's portrayals had great depth and were beautifully danced. Zahorian's ability to turn with incredible speed and then stop on a dime made the pas de deux particularly exciting and gave an emotional force. The performances were flawless and real. I attended the Saturday and Sunday matinee performances as well, with Carlo Di Lanno and Mathilde Froustey. I feel that Carlo Di Lanno did an admirable performance that was extremely well danced and thought out, but he presently lacks the depth that a more experienced artist can give Onegin. Di Lanno made all the right gestures and made appropriate faces, but his Onegin was cruel, boorish, and callous -- beyond arrogant - and I think that this is a matter of his not yet having the "life experience" to bring to the role that so many of the dancers who have danced Onegin talk about. It is hard to understand why anyone would be so blind so not to see this Onegin's cruel character. Not a hint of Di Lanno's natural charm that we see in other ballets surfaced in the role, so it was a bit of a one-note performance. I did not care for Mathilde Froustey in the role of Tatiana, thought her miscast and did not think she dances Cranko choreography with any distinction or understanding. The Saturday matinee had Tiit Helimets as Prince Gremin, who gave a subtle but charismatic performance, and he was handsome. The Sunday matinee was Gennadi Nedvigin's final performance and he was superb. His Olga was the beautiful Lauren Strongin, who I feel would have been an effective Tatiana given her range of expression and beautiful footwork in the Cranko choreography. But it was Nedvigin's show all the way from his entrance to the curtain calls. It was a very emotional ending to the season in San Francisco.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Scarlett's Frankenstein several times in the 2017 season irrespective of the mixed reviews and comments I've been reading in various forums. We shall see . . .

Thank you for letting us know!

I am happy that I will get to see Gennadi Nedvigin as Lensky in the final show.

Casting is posted on the SFB website for the first two performances of Onegin. For opening night, it shows Gennadi Nedvigin as Lensky, which is no surprise, but also Joan Boada as Prince Gremin.

GREAT NEWS!!

I'll go for Joseph Walsh!

There could still be considered to be an oral contract between Kobberg and the company, as surely there were material terms bargained for, agreed upon and executed, such as compensation and duty, regardless as to whether there was a formal job title. Kobberg's duties would not come under the job description of any similar person at the company. That's depending on what the civil statutes are Romania. It all is very underhanded and artistically stupid.

I will be interested in learning who will be cast in The Prodigal Son. It is such a plum role.

What a find this footage is!

I checked online and learned that no female dancer was promoted from sujet to premiere danseuse that year, which I believe means that no one dancer got a majority of points from the judges to be promoted. Two of the other female sujets that year who were competing, Laura Hecquet and Alice Renavand, were later promoted to premiere danseuse in other concours and then named etoiles. There is so much talent and accomplishment among the dancers at POB.

The strapontin seats were less expensive than the other orchestra seats. If you had one, you had to stand during intermissions so other patrons could pass through.