Josette

I also saw Dupont in Chicago in "Suite en Blanc" and "Bolero" and found her superb. I have seen her as both Gamzatti and Nikiya in "La Bayadere" and would echo all the adjectives used by jsmu, except I find her subtle and never cold. She has a composure and an allure that I find beautiful.

But Simone Messmer danced "The Man I Love" pas de deux from "Who Cares" with Ruben Martin Cintas at the farewell performance tonight and I found her dancing lustrous, musical, and glowing. She is so distinct from the other female dancers. I've been struck during the last few performances I've attended with the dancing of Messmer, Froustey, and the beautiful Julia Rowe, as to how lush, full and fluid their dancing is. Buddy, I wish that you had seen Simone Messmer tonight!

We are getting closer to finding out whether Mlle Froustey will stay with SFB. I personally hope so.

They did MacMillan's Winter Dreams quite well a few seasons back, and then it disappeared after one season.

It would cost a lot of money to buy him out of his remaining contract. What was the board thinking?

I saw Program 7 last night and will report within a few days, but I must say that Hummingbird was outstanding and Lorena Feijoo's performance merits red roses lined up in front of her across the stage.

Buddy, Simone Messmer danced (with the wonderful Jaime Castilla Garcia as her partner) one of the leads in Hummingbird last night, which was a very recent replacement. She is a beautiful dancer and your fascination with her is completely understandable.

It's Mathilde Froustey throughout.

This is wonderful news!

Thank you, Quiggin, for the links in your post - a real treasure trove. I first saw Suite en Blanc in Paris in 1996, and then again three times in June 2012, when POB performed it in Chicago. I have since watched POB dancing it on YouTube several times, including last night! The POB Chicago performances were a revelation, particularly Dorothée Gilbert who danced La Flute with great beauty, musicality, and concentration - she was extraordinary, making it difficult for me to appreciate anyone else dance it (Gilbert was also a compelling Giselle). Also, Quiggin, I loved your discussion about your point of view with which you assimilate the choreography and take in dancers' qualities. Very interesting. Looking forward to seeing the Thursday and Friday shows and hearing others' views!

I'm very intrigued, Quiggin, with what you mean by W-shape hands. Maybe I'll understand when I see Ms. Mesmer perform on Friday night!

Hmm . . . I see that Dores Andre is dancing one of the leads in tonight's premiere of Liam Scarlett's Hummingbird and not Kochetkova, who is scheduled to dance it tomorrow night.

I agree about not there being not enough of Simone Messmer. This season, I have only seen her twice in the Nutcracker Waltz of the Flowers as the soloist, and then she did not dance as announced in the performance of Chamber Symphony (though Froustey was lyrical and expressive). Messmer is a beautiful, unique dancer. I will see her dancing the pas de cinq in Suite en Blanc on Friday, and am looking forward to that. From what I can tell from Vanessa Zahorian's facebook pages, she got her "boot" off a few weeks ago and is now doing exercises in water and keeping the faith. I hope that she will be able to dance on the Spoleto-Paris tour, but SFB is very careful about letting injured dancers back on stage until fully recovered. You probably know this, but Kochetkova has a performance in Don Q with Herman Cornejo with ABT in a couple of weeks. I keep wondering what the casting would have been if we had had V. Zahorian, D. Genshaft, and C. Blanco available this season.

Pherank, on Tuesday, you get to see Sofiane Sylve in both Agon and Glass Pieces. I noticed that Simone Messmer is dancing the second pas de trois in Agon on Saturday afternoon, and she should be terrific in it.

I'm going opening night and the following night to program 7. Aside from the Agon cast, I'm delighted to be seeing Yuan Yuan Tan and Damian Smith in Glass Pieces. I also got a ticket for the farewell performance on the 11th, as they are doing the After the Rain pas de deux and In the Night. Southwest Airlines' fares makes this all possible, for which I am grateful.

Thank you, PeggyR!!

PeggyR- Did the email about the May 11 farewell performance say when tickets would be available for non-subscribers?

You will find Mlle Froustey's recent Kitri with the Paris Opera Ballet in Tokyo on her Mathilde Froustey danseuse facebook page. Definitely worth a look!

Tomasson's R&J is his own choreography and has unique elements. (I liked the expanded death scene for Mercutio when you have a charismatic, poignant artist like Gennadi Nedvegin or Pascal Molat in the role.) Actually, I'm not sure what you mean by a "standard version" for Romeo and Juliet - Lavrovsky's? Ashton's? MacMillan's? Rudi van Dantzig's? Nureyev's? Etc.'s? Tomasson's Giselle has a pas de deux added for Giselle and Albrecht in the first act, but is otherwise substantially the "standard version," as is his Don Quixote. As for next season, I am looking forward to finally seeing The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude on stage. I love that title.

Well, I just bought a ticket for April 8th, primarily to see Jaime Garcia Castilla in Chamber Symphony, and, secondarily, to see Sofiane Sylve dance . . . anything.

The ABT premiere of Symphony No. 9 was on Oct. 18, 2012, at City Center Theatre in NY, and Simone Messmer created the role that she will be dancing with SFB.

From what I can tell on the ABT thread, Messmer danced in Symphony No. 9 only, and may have created one of the leads.

The Shostakovich Trilogy principal casting is on the SBF website. Froustey is dancing in all performances, either in Chamber Symphony or Symphony No. 9. Lorena Feijoo, Sarah Van Patten, and Simone Messmer are also each cast in two different parts of the Trilogy, dancing each night. I know from her facebook page that Vanessa Zahorian had been rehearsing for Chamber Symphony, but she is obviously still out with the foot injury.

I saw Cinderella on March 13 and 14, 2014. March 13 had Chung and Karapetyan as the leads, plus Diego Cruz's first performance as Benjamin (he was an absolute delight), and Elizabeth Powell as Edwina and Ellen Rose Hummel as Clementine for their first time. Powell and Hummel's execution of the complicated choreography together was beautifully synchronized. Hummel had such warmth and charm throughout, and Powell was more the very spoiled debutante than nasty and made the role her own. Sasha de Solo's phrasing in the Winter variation was remarkable, and she had an authority that quieted the audience- she continues to progress on every level since her promotion to soloist. I've seen this ballet now four times, and also watched it online in December of 2012 when it was available as performed around Christmas by the Dutch National Ballet. There are portions of it that now wear thin for me, though I admire the tremendous production values. The stand-out on March 13 was, for me, Davit Karapetyan, whose dancing was seamless and superb, and is a remarkable partner. He was simply wonderful. Sarah Van Patten and Tiit Helimets danced the leads on March 14. Van Patten, for me, is an amazing dance-actress. She has a natural emotive quality that is unique, and has a beautiful classical technique and she does not look like that she has been in a rehearsal room for days, struggling and sweating. Everything with her is effortless. I liked Helimets very much, and he, like Karapetyan, is a superb partner. There was one segment for them in the waltz that comes after the Act II pas de deux, where he lifts her about three times in which her right leg extends in a very low position devant and she carries low it to the side, then he lifts her to his right shoulder, followed by a series of about three breathtaking lifts over his back where she is in a jeté or split position - all this while the corps is dancing around them - but this passage was extraordinary as if in slow motion and in complete calm control, yet playful. It was incredible to see (and received spontaneous applause). That moment worth everything. I also constantly watched Damian Smith, as he will be retiring soon, and he will be missed. My next trek is May 1 and 2. I hope to hear from others about the Ratmansky evening. I've only seen the middle portion of it as danced by ABT last year.

Mlle. Froustey was cast in and received acclaim for her performance in Serenade with POB last season, which we who have danced it do not consider to be a soubrette role. My secret desire is that SFB revive The Sleeping Beauty next season, and I would take my vacation to see Froustey, Zahorian, Tan, Van Patten, and Kochetkova all dance Aurora. (It's important to dream!)