spinning2night

According to Melissa Thomas' Facebook page, her husband, Grant DeLong, is leaving the company. That's sad to hear. No mention if where he is going elsewhere or doing something else.

Renata Pavam's IG page has indicated that a handful of corps dancers are either retiring or leaving for other companies...not sure which ones have been mentioned here and how "official" these are but since it is being publicly shared: Adrienne Schulte, Luciana Voltolini, and Marian Butler.

Add those to departures to Leann Underwood (Forster) and the one posted above, ABT's roster will be missing a few familiar faces next year.

btw, WHY did we have to bring up Eric Tamm's departure...STILL hurts too much

Yes, it seems like Boylston's issues can be corrected with some good coaching. A diamond in the rough.

yes agreed. It appears as there's a disconnect between her shoulders and arms from the rest of her body when she dances -- it's like she moves them independently/separately rather than treating each position and move as one entity -- no idea if that explanation makes sense, but that's the way I see it. She has the skills and is actually quite a strong dancer, but the sloppiness can be distracting at times for an educated/trained audience member.

IMO, it just seems she hasn't put all the pieces together yet to have her body continuously move through each position to create "photo/picture perfect" moments. (That how I was taught dance -- no "ugly" positions, you want every moment to be photo-ready).

That being said, what's up with her wrists/hands? More often than not I feel like they hang limply and just dangle...I feel like that's something that's easy to correct, and she should be getting comments about them in the studio.

random question -- how tall are Misty and Stella -- I'm under the impression that Misty is on the shorter side, and Stella's right in that "mid-height" category where she could be partnered by anyone -- is that right? Regular ABT goers, can you give a more concrete comparison to other dancers in the company? and who do you think they would most likely to be partnered with?

ps -- thrilled that yesterday wasn't a dream!

Wait. "Sub par performances"? Asked to do a role she's not ready for? Isn't that why a dancer is promoted in the first place? That they are totally ready to do any role asked and it is assumed said dancer will give a more than acceptable performance. I always thought that was the criteria.

let's be real, the track record for the newer female principals at the moment isn't the greatest or cleanest...

that being said, I'd just honestly like to see that ALL of these newly promoted dancers gets a chance to grow and develop into their new roles (and stage and in the company) first before they get pushed into doing more than they can handle -- I don't doubt Misty's talent, but I feel she lost a few good years of development due to past injuries and getting stuck in "pointless" soloist roles (cough the "old" SB...) Perhaps she's gotten more opportunities of late bc of PR, etc but I do want to see her genuinely succeed and not succumb to the pressures/attention that her promotion brings -- i'm just not convinced that she's 100% ready (especially when you compare her to the likes of Stella)

Today's promotions should (hopefully) yield benefits for fans and the company alike. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the big motivators was filling seats at ABT performances. With the promotions of Misty and Stella to the rank of principal, the company fills its two major needs in regards to the roster, a dancer people will pay to see and a dancer people want to see. (Granted the 3 retirements this year also played a big role in terms of $ and roster space). Disappointing that Lane, was not included, but not surprising at all...it seems every one of her opportunities have come out of "obligation" of giving Simkin a partner rather than actually giving HER the opportunity.

So say whatever you want about Misty's track record, but her performances will get butts in those seats, especially audience members who are not "regulars" or normally wouldn't go to a ballet. I'm hoping she doesn't get pushed on the Seo principal track -- where she gets far more than she's ready for...and she gets a chance to develop as an artist and gets comfortable dancing larger roles. I don't doubt that she has talent, but she's going to keep giving sub-par performances if she's asked to do a role before she's ready -- and if she's going to be bringing more people to the ballet, I (for pure selfish reasons) want them to see GOOD ballet.

Stella is a homegrown talent that most ABT fans/regulars -- myself included -- have been waiting to see more often. Her Giselle this season was proof of that, we will fill those seats, we will pay to see her, and more than anything, we've been waiting far too long...since she is in her mid/later 30s now (but had at least a 2 yr hiatus due to injury), she dances with exuberance but a polished maturity and artistry that I'd like to see grace the stage for many more years. I'd imagine her principal role repertoire with the company will expand in the next 2-3? seasons, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is some restraint there in order to ensure her career doesn't get cut short due to injury, etc. I agree that Nikiya and O/O would be fantastic additions for her. She'd be great as Juliet -- but ABT does not/should not be putting that on the schedule that regularly...it'll be interesting to see what she gets since she' a very versatile ballerina.

Side Note: I'm interested to see what direction the company's program goes in for the next few years. Losing Kent, Herrera, and Reyes, gives the company as a whole a chance to introduce "new" works and/or other non-story ballets...

alright, the "trying hard to be subjective" hat is coming off...STELLA!!!!! AHHHHHH!!! IT FINALLY HAPPENED!!!!

I'm so upset that I'm abroad right now and missed Stella's Giselle...both the announcement of her casting AND the glorious performance...I've been without internet for almost two weeks! I've always promised myself that even if I wasn't planning on being in NYC for the Met season, I'd do whatever I can to get my butt to NYC for Stella's Giselle at whatever cost...so here's to hoping KM gives her at least one performance of Giselle in the coming years bc it sounds as if she's proved what everyone of us have been hoping for all along when she finally had her moment! It fills my heart that she was as fantastic as we all knew she would be, and that the audience was so appreciative and happy for her.

I'm really sad to have missed it (and disappointed that other than a few performances, this season has been a mess) -- probably why I didn't bother trying to keep up when the first week rolled around...however, I'll keep hoping there will be positives coming from this (and I'll keep my fingers crossed!) at the end of the season -- KM, promotion please! -- and most casting opportunities for Stella, as everyone's under-appreciated ballerina. Here's to hoping that single performance was enough...if not, here's to hoping there are many voices of influence in her corner. (As over the years, it's clear that Stella just simply loves to dance, so I'm sure a promotion is not her top priority per se, but I really want to see a great dancer and beautiful artist rewarded and recognized for her hard work...it's been a long road back for her since she lost her original Giselle debut with that terrible injury, do I really hope she still has many good, long years of her career to go!)

1. interesting to see that Gomes is actually doing Purple Von Rothbart TWICE this season...never thought I'd see the day when he's be cast in the role again that many times, barring injuries to other dancers...but I guess that's what happens after the departures of Radetsky and Matthews

2. there's a 3 evening stretch of R&J that I'm VERY intrigued by (W, Th, F evening)...if i were to be in NYC that week, i guess that's where all my money will go...oh and the i'll need lots of tissues too!

3. FINALLY!!!!! Thrilled to see Sarah and Stella get principals roles...BOO there aren't more. At this point, I get the sense that Sarah is just not KM's type, as for Stella, I wonder if she's personally chosen to not push harder -- I mean, her husband has "retired" and she has other interests and endeavors. SB for Sarah is LONG overdue. Cinderella for Stella is PERFECT.

Yes, I those of us on this board would give A LOT to see a SB or Giselle for Stella too, but if this year was a perfect time with the new SB, and she doesn't get an Aurora...I don't think that's going to happen. I'll personally, still hold out for Giselle since with the THREE retirements this season, there are some openings for that role (Kent, Herrera, and Reyes have one each this year)...provided of course that the ballet will remain as an "annual" Met season full-length -- will KM give her a chance? (when will he start realizing that she often outshines the lead/principal when she's in secondary/soloist roles?) -- I get Giselle isn't SL or even SB or R&J...but does it sell well to the general public?

I'm thrilled by this decision, as there is much in ABT's history that should be preserved and shared, and based on the NYT piece it seems that much of the material going to the Library of Congress is much more historical -- things that would have easily been lost regarding the history and development of the company and those associated it with it. As I'm not a dance scholar I can't really reflect on how the respective collections at NYCPL and in DC will differ in usage and "worth" to the dance community and general public. All in all, I think only positives can come of this. You have trained archivists and librarians helping and leading a project that will preserve much of ABT's history and art -- and it's their top priority too! I hope with this partnership with the Library of Congress much more about America's National Ballet Company will become accessible to the rest of the country.

I really hope Sascha will pursue writing in some capacity after his dancing/acting days are over. His twitter is full of his musings and reactions to currently writers and their works -- it's quite clear he understands and appreciates the medium, and has his own personal thoughts about it. I really think there is a place for his voice should he choose to fully explore it.

Here's a pretty interesting interview with him regarding the subject as well as a full compilation of his published writings thus far (aside from the Vogue pieces) -- all of which are wonderful reads! I think the interview may have been shared on this forum previously? or maybe not... http://balletfocus.com/sascha-radetsky-writing/

Clips have been posted on YouTube.

been somewhat preoccupied with other things the past 2 weeks...

signed on just now to alert you all to the YouTube clips...but as usual, Dale is on top of it!

in case anyone missed it - Sascha's own account of his farewell performance evening...from leaks and floods at the Met, to why he'd been absent for 2 weeks prior, and a really awesome retirement gift from ABT! -- and a very appropriate one if you ask me, aptly fits him, his passion and career

http://www.vogue.com/culture/article/american-ballet-theatre-sascha-radetsky-last-performance/#1

The Mariinsky Ballet administrators will weep when they see what they lost in Veronika Part.

now we all better hope they don't try to get her back!

Bring in Fabrice Calmels to dance with Veronika Part and Polina Semionova!

I found a picture on his Pinterest account of him and Part dancing SL:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/455919162247480236/

Does anyone know when/where this took place? He makes Part look tiny!

Would love to know what performance that was too. He is 6'5"/maybe even 6'6" which makes for a very compelling and striking image if he had the opportunity to dance with Veronika more frequently. That being said, he is very happy in Chicago/at Joffrey, but I wonder if ABT will look into at least building an occasional guest wrist relationship wih him. The Joffrey doesn't do as many traditional classical full-length ballets so it could be a beneficial relationship.

I too am going to hold out on writing Stella off...perhaps no promotion, but the roles absolutely have to come if she stays. And that means I will absolutely be there for evey single one (and I don't even live on the east coast...)

Welcome RStorms -- we're glad you decided to join in the discussion.

You can't post a photo as an attachment, but if it's published to a public-facing website, you can link to it.

Aha.

Photo of the audience in the orchestra section- the other sections appeared to be relatively full as well

Photo of Stella Abrera & Radetsky

RStorms - thanks for joining us and sharing!

I'm personally, looking forward to hearing from others about tomorrow's farewell performances (there's a part of me that's still in denial about Sascha, Yuriko, AND Jared's departure...WHY?!?!?!?)

ps - videos of curtain call are on YT now (3 parts) but here's that final bow when the audience just wouldn't let him go! It's nice to see that he got a warm goodbye and that the respect between the audience and Sascha goes both ways as he sincerely mouths "thank you" several times.

Golden Idol, haha! I think most of us would agree!

Speaking of which I hope that the final three shows of Coppelia sold well and there won't be a bunch of empty seats. With the company saying goodbye to three great dancers who all in a way are part of the identity of ABT many if us know, Sascha, Yuriko, and Jared all deserve to say goodbye to from the Met stage in front of all their adoring fans. It will be interesting to see if the holiday/long weekend affects this positively or negatively.

Anyone going tonight? Would love to hear about Radetsky's farewell.

Ditto! Actually reflections and thoughts on any (and all) of the farewell performances will be much appreciated!

Late to the board, but I went to the Boylston/Simkin Swan Lake on Thursday. It was generally well-done. I thought Simkin has matured A LOT in terms of his lyricism and he knows how to finish a movement now. His partnering has also gotten better, although still needs work; there were a couple of precarious lifts, including the overhead diagonal lift during the White pdd where Isabella went over his head and almost slid down his back. He also bobbled a supported turn in the Black pdd. I can see why ABT has been trying to pair the two, though. Isabella is so strong that she practically partners herself and can probably work with a weaker partner. She did well; definitely strongest in the technical parts, but had some nice, soft port-de-bras for the adagios. I think her acting can be projected a little more. Very high swan dives at the end from both of them.

The PdT was Kajiya/Gorak/Lane. Very, very lovely. Joseph Gorak really showed that he is soloist (principal!) material--long lines, gorgeous lyricism, perfect technique, and terrific musicality. Both Kajiya and Lane gave clean, bright solos.

James Whiteside was purple Rothbart; it was a good part for him.

Corps got a little sloppy in the second act, which was surprising, considering that most of the ladies could probably dance SL in their sleep.

It wasn't a terribly moving performance for me overall, but mostly well-executed. It was my first time seeing any of these dancers in their roles (except Kajiya/Lane), so it was a interesting evening for me. (I may have focused too much on the steps because of it and spent too much time comparing/contrasting, hence the emotional disconnect.)

thanks for the report on the Boylston and Simkin performance. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for this partnership to work out, I feel like they can grow and develop together to really complement each other. With Isabella's promotion today, it will be interesting to see if they give her time to develop the roles she's already performed OR have her learn and dance more next year...

i'd love to see R&J and The Bright Stream back on the program. I think pushing more mixed bill performances will help ABT transition through roster changes as well as keeping audiences interested. I'm always more Tharp and other repertory works that are quintessentially ABT...and I kind of selfishly want The Dream again just because I couldn't catch it this year, and I've been waiting for a chance to catch it! Regardless, there are enough versatile dancers at ABT that greater variety in programing will allow more individual dancers to be showcased.

I would ABSOLUTELY love to see Paloma retire with Don Q. It's the role most people think of when you mention her. I know it's easy to point out that Herrera never quite developed as much artistically as she could have considering her amazing physical talents, but to think that she can STILL dance the role of Kitri 2 decades after her bring the younger ever principal at ABT -- I can't think for a better way for her to retire! That being said, who then will be her Basilio? (We can hope for Marcelo, but it's been a while since they've danced together...although, I suppose she has some say in this, right?)

Side note, can ABT afford to put Don Q so late in the Met season with its limited roster and potential injuries/casting changes? It will be interesting to see how the company approaches scheduling next year, they have to play it safe, but there are never guarantees...I always found it remarkable that the 2012 season was scheduled the way it was...Swan Lake in the second to last week for Angel, and Le Corsaire in the final week for Ethan's farewell (but if I'm not mistaken they did 2 half-week runs for some of the classics that year to minimize the risk...it'll be interesting to see if they employ that method more going forward). There were some raised eyebrows when that schedule came out -- as it didn't seem the most intelligent, and I was definitely crossing my fingers in hopes of the season ending with a flourish in the best imaginable way for two of ABT's most recognizable principals. I'd like to see it end that way for Paloma too!

I'm definitely trying to see the positives of this large group of promotions, but I also just realized that this group of promotions only covers the expected departures for this year and next (4 soloists -- Kristi, Yuriko, Jared, and Sacha at the end of this year, 1 principal -- Paloma in 2015). One could argue also that Maria Ricetto and Simone Messmer's departures have yet to covered (Boylston covered one temporarily but with her promotion to principal, both of those roster spots are now "open" again)...these promotions are the "immediate fix," but it still doesn't help the company long term.

Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, the current core of principals and soloists who carry the weight of the Met season are aging, and there will be a point when they won't be able to dance the full repertoire (we've already seen that this year...ABT is short of dancers who are available to cover all roles if there are injuries/medical issues).

I personally have always found it odd that the company doesn't have more soloists dancing principal roles throughout the season/or at least prepared to be scheduled when there are injuries. It causes a cycle of sub-par performances due to fatigue or lack of preparation coupled with the risk of injuring MORE dancers due to the increased workload (in this regard, Marcelo really has been a god the past few seasons...) Obviously, the company tried to cover the holes in the roster with regards of workload with the planned and scheduled guest artists, but at the same time, when so many of the performances/principal castings have at least 1-2 guests for each week of the Met season, those guest dancers who have other commitments are also not available at short notice to cover roles as they aren't based in NYC...

It will be interesting to see if the company makes a move to have soloists (and perhaps even corps) dancers occupy principal roles during the Met season. That being said, if that move is made, it will be long overdue. ABT has lost several solid and good soloists who should have long ago gotten these chances as they were more than deserving. (Joseph, Yuriko, Jared, Simone, and one could argue Maria. With Sascha, I feel like he still has a few good years left, but he also sought out Flesh & Bone as a reason to push up his retirement from ABT because of his lack of opportunity within the company -- that's SIX quality dancers, who other companies have snapped up in under two years!!!) To be completely honest, those individuals' talents were often ignored and taken for granted in the last 5-7 years, and the stubbornness (and dare I say, snobbiness) of the company to insist on casting "stars" rather than their own talent has now become a detriment on an even larger scale. Hopefully, this year's roster movement in the soloist rank has been a wake-up call, and we'll start/continue seeing changes and progress in the artistic direction of "America's national ballet company" for the betterment and benefit of the dancers and fans alike.

Ahhhh! How could I forgot Forster?!

All I want is an evening performance of SL and Bayadere for Veronika (she deserves it!), a Sarah Lane SB, and a Giselle for Stella.

WOW! Congrats to them all! Very glad to see Zhurbin get a promotion; didn't see that one coming.

BUT....not Eric Tamm??? He should have been promoted with all of the soloist/principal parts he's been dancing for a few years now. Am very unhappy he was left out.

Devon and Christine are very deserving of their promotions too. I agree about Eric Tamm...it seemed liked he was on the promotion track and then it stalled, but he's still getting all the roles and performances (and does them well).

Isabella's promotion = I'm not surprised...but do I think she's ready, no. But with Paloma retiring at the end of the 2015 season, Julie very limited in roles, Hee's need to solidify her technique, the company is needing another ballerina who can dance the entire companies repertoire. The promotion was definitely needed in therms of timing, but I do hope that other soloists (cough Stella cough) will get a chance to dance some principal roles during this time of transition for the company.

Overall, this list of promotions makes me happy as the company is indeed working to fill those holes in the roster, but it may still be a few years until we see true payoff.

Thank ypu Coleen for your review of Swsn Lake with Semianova/Stearns. I completely agree about Polina. And I am very glad to hear these good reports about Cory's dramatic involvement. We need him to get better in that department because we need him to partner these spectacular large women like Semianova and Part.

Yes! I remember when Cory was first promoted, very few of us felt he was ready. But over the past few seasons he's improved his partnering and solidified his technical performances. Considering he's coming back an injury this season it doesn't surprise me that he had a somewhat tough start. But it does seem that Cory is indeed growing as an artist and each performance is a little better than the next. If he continues this dramatic growth, I'd like to see him partnering Veronika in more ballets in evening performances.

We've debated the question of sponsorship, in the case of ABT official sponsorship, before, including whether having one influences management's decisions. In fact it is the business of donors and ticket buyers as to whether money behind dancers determines who the audience sees in what or doesn't see. It may matter to some and not to others, and to those it matters, how they let their patronage do the talking (and walking), but there's a chicken-and-egg problem: does opportunity beget sponsors or do sponsors beget opportunity? The samples aren't large enough. Would an outside sponsor's money be any more "distasteful" or insidious than the entrenched nepotism in ballet?

You don't have to go back to Kschessinskaya or to more recent "friends of the right general" spouses-of-AD's to talk about sponsorship in high places: Joy Womack said she was told to get a sponsor if she wanted to be cast.

Stella Abrera is a grown-up. She's been at ABT since 1996. She's stayed for whatever trade-offs she made. Perhaps (if there are no other personal concerns keeping her in NYC), with her husband retiring this week, they can pick up and move somewhere where she'll get more opportunities and will be appreciated. Or not, if she prefers to stay at ABT.

I've always been under the impression that Stella and Sascha would venture back West once their time in NYC was done -- in a way, I always assumed it would be a joint retirement...but alas, such is not the case. However, if I'm not mistaken, Flesh & Bone films in NYC so I doubt Stella will be leaving ABT until she calls it a career.

Regardless, as long as she keeps giving the kinds of performances we on this board have come to enjoy and love so much, I'll keep the hope that she'll continue to get opportunities to share her technique and artistry with us. Yes, the chances for regular principal roles probably have come and perhaps gone, but I don't doubt the chance for her to retire in a principal role -- i mean next week's Coppélia's are all farewell's of some sort...(but, PLEASE let it be a Giselle for Stella!). And correct me if I'm wrong, she's one of the soloists with a relatively "heavy" schedule during the Met season, as it seems rare to not have her dancing on the Met stage even in smaller demi-solos...this obviously has to do with the fact that she's been with the company since 1996 and her repertoire is expansive.

i'm not sure about currently, but a few years ago both she and Sascha had sponsors (the same sponsorship fund)...there isn't anything on the website, but it's usually tucked into one of the sections of the playbill.