spinning2night

I actually think that this is a great opportunity for Kevin McKenzie to reach out to his soloists and senior corps de ballet dancers and give them an opportunity to move up within the company. ABT does not change dancer's rankings to often and this may give some of the senior soloists a cahnce to bump up and explore Principal roles. I like to see this as more of an opportunity than a loss, although ABT is definitely losing some amazing dancers. I agree with you but I'm not hopeful. The same "opportunity" existed during the Spring-Summer season when so many principals went down with injuries or just plain flaked out (Steifel). And yet, McKenzie didn't avail himself of it. Sigh. Marcelo will have to be like Atlas and carry the weight of the "company" on his shoulders. I feel bad for Marcelo b/c of the pressure this situation puts him in from a yearly perspective as he's the only male principal on the roster solely committed to ABT now with the full repertoire, it'll be interesting to see how the situation is handled. I'm thinking that it there will be any promotions for 2011-2012 they will happen after fall and the Nutcracker...many of us hoped that some announcement would come at the end of the MET season especially with what happened this year...but no news at all. Personally, I hope Kevin is mindful of the time needed to prep dancers for the transition, but I'm not the most optimistic. I'm waiting to see what ABT's reaction is...has there been an official announcement/statement from them yet?

Oooo! Good point about the Bolshoi cinema broadcasts. This makes me even more excited (for solely selfish reasons)

I think you've just said it all . . . and not to Kevin McKenzie's credit! HAHA! so much truth in this statement. I'm really excited for David, and I feel like he's pursuing this move mainly for the growth that he'll get as an artist dancing with the Bolshoi. I'm sad that we'll be seeing less of him in the states, but that will make his performances that much better...While the news is/was surprising in its timing BUT the fact that this is happening for David is not only incredible but almost expected. On another note, I'm surprised that fall is right around the corner and there hasn't been movement in the ABT roster...I really wonder how Kevin will tackle this going forward since the gaping holes are starting to become bigger and more apparent

you are correct in that assessment in regards to the Ballet Danseur role. When casting first went up for the spring season, all but two were complete cast listings...the incomplete two were for the Ballet Danseur role, which was listed as "TBD" Simkin ended up getting both of those open slots...that leads me to believe, another male was supposed to dance in the role, but it just didn't work out...but that means it was a shorter male dancers too if Daniil could fill-in. So, ABT may find itself in a bind if Hallberg if not completely healed...however, keep in mind however, Hallberg can get away without doing all the pointe-work since it is supposed to be a parody anyways...

also, since the thread should be discussing the men... does anyone know exactly what Herman's injury is?

i guess, the thing that's bothered me about Lane is she appears too young on stage. She delivers the goods, but it seems to appear as though she isn't completely mentally engaged in what she's doing. It isn't that she lacks emotion, but rather that she can be one-dimensional at times. I'm sure through a promotion, she could develop this further, but I guess I personally don't see what's so special about her. In regards to Ricetto, I've really likes her all the times I have seen her, but it seems she has consistency issues. Also, I can definitely see that even if she has a "good" performance, she doesn't possess the standout star-quality that commands your attention (i.e. when i saw her as the LIlac Fairy, I found myself watching the other fairies when all of them were on stage on only zoned in a Ricetto when she had a solo).

we can all hope and pray. the fact that he's at least returned to classical ballet is a start! canbelto, you put it best when pointing out that ABT has a problem with it's female principal roster toom, but they've been fortunate to not have missed large portions of the season due to injury and other commitments. I too don't think Ricetto or Lane are ready for promotions. Obviously, as I have previously expressed, I think Abrera is more than ready and deserving of a promotion (for years...), and while her history with injuries are worrisome, she's been healthy since taking that whole year off. And in fact, is a dancer's history with injuries really a good enough reason to NOT promote them, especially when they have shown that they are worthy when healthy? How quickly ABT addresses this problem as a whole and how ready the dancers who get transitioned actually are to fill those shoes will affect the company as a whole greatly for years to come. Here's to hoping Kevin sees what's right in front of him and does something about it.

Even though Stella and Sascha are good friends of Stiefel's, I really can't see them jumping ship, but I wouldn't be surprised if they guested and worked with Stiefel/NZ for better opportunities. Both of them have guested in productions across the country as well as the world, and I get the sense that both of them want to share what they love with the world and take these opportunities in stride. The two of them have stuck around at ABT this long already, I think it would take A LOT to keep them away. That being said, in regards to Stella's status in ABT not being changed, that is a likely possibility since as every year passes that door closes more and more. However, she is the soloist (male OR female) who has shown that she is most ready for a promotion, and an opportunity like this one that could work in her favor...hopefully, Kevin pays attention this time around. Although with the number of corps to soloist promotions Kevin has made in the last 2 years...i'd like to think a promotion to principal is about happen, and most (both here at BA and around other blogs/sites) agree that it should be Stella (crossing my fingers!)...although this does nothing for the issue at hand, which is the male roster at ABT as a whole...

I wouldn't be surprised if Hallberg's overall flexibility is the main issue he has to deal with for lifts. Without having to go into the anatomy and kinesthetic aspects of what he would have to deal with when securing an overhead lift, I can essentially say that it's a physical problem that in all honesty does not have a solution. (It's kind of what Ferri discussed previously about her ankles, she has to work twice as hard as most ballerinas to maintain a balance b/c she has to fight what her body wants to do naturally in order to maintain a strong position) Hallberg probably works within the realm of his limits, and should, at this point in his career, know what he needs to do in order to execute a lift properly (i.e. where he should support the ballerina - to maintain a balance point, how extended his arms should be - to prevent dislocation, etc.) However, as we all know, nothing in dance is 100% guaranteed during a performance, and one little thing that is not exact could end disastrously, which means that for Hallberg a lift takes significantly more effort mentally and physically even when you take away the physical/upper body strength factor.

why? where? and out of curiosity does this affect Kristi Boone's status with the company? also, in regards to the lack of roles available in full-length ballets, that is definitely true, but ABT doesn't operate with the ideo to maintain permanent partnerships, which means that in order to find immediate principal success, one must be very adaptable and confident before even trying to dance a principal role b/c you probably won't also be working with the same person, who will always know your idiosyncrasies. Also, ABT has not had a full fall season for years, which is usually when soloists and corps members get a chance to "try things out" and the MET season has just completely dominated by the "popular" ballets with established principals. I think the main reason for this has been the economy. ABT needs to make sure it brings in enough money. And the only way to guarantee that it is perform the popular stuff so fan continue to come and those who are not as familiar with ballet will at least stop in to "check it out." Furthermore, a part of me thinks that the abundance of guest artists in recent years has been an economic move as well. While it definitely cost money to get international stars to come, ABT's reputation and the pay-off of have a fuller-house is these difficult financial times, are things that the company has had to take into consideration, and I doubt that Kevin's the only or even the person who has any true say and the financial aspects of running a world-renowned ballet company. As a result, I'm developing and promoting dancers has fallen somewhat on the wayside. When you look at the size of the ABT roster compared to the staff/coaches available, its a wonder how everything gets done. The corps looks ragged at times, and sometimes soloists don't seem as ready as they could be, but overall the productivity of the company is very impressive. I was just on the ABT site, trying to look for diamonds in the rough in the corps, specifically for the men (and in case you were curious, I support promotions of Phillips, Hoven, int he near future)...but i noticed that the roster as a whole seems to have shrunk somewhat compared to the end of 2010...have there been any "disappearances" unaccounted for? also, I made a relatively disturbing revelation. ABT doesn't just have a male principal problem OR a male solist problem...ABT has a male dancer problem... Has the male coprs always been so small? It almost seems that ABT doesn't have the "resources" available for promotions...ugh, this is becoming increasingly frustrating! as an aside, how is it that the Norwegian Ballet has managed to snag all these great dancers in the couple years?

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Did Stella have a back injury? I was only aware of her really serious leg injury that kept her out for almost 2 years (both of those Giselle debuts) as for the lack of up and coming stars in the company in their 20s, i think most of the dancers how would have had the potential have moved on when the realized how crowded it was at the top, but now many dancers who are with the company are either older and ok with their position in the company or too young to promote this soon. Kevin's reluctance to promote (with the exception of Stearns...which I'm still trying to figure out why - at least as quickly as he did) makes me wonder if that's the reason he's lost many good dancers in the past 2 years...specifically C Lopez this year... also, b/c I'm a huge fan of Danny Tidwell, why did he have to leave??? He made it into the corps at the same time as hallberg.

so happy to hear that tonight's SL lived up/ perhaps exceeded expectations even with the casting change! I definitely can't wait to hear more. Also, if anyone has anything to offer on Carreno's "true" last performance with the company, would love to hear

when i read the bit about Marcelo teaching a class on partnering, i actually almost started laughing as I remember reading somewhere that he didn't start partnering until later in the schooling years (someone correct me if i'm wrong). That makes me wonder if Marcelo has a better understanding of partnering and is much more mentally engaged in what he does when dancing WITH someone b/c of his steeper learning curve. Marcelo is the most reliable male principal in the company if not the most in the world. He partners with so little effort but so much care that it makes everything the female he is dancing with effortless. in your comment, you bring up a lot of good points. And trying to get Sarabia would be a good start IMO, ABT's male roster has been heading to this point for years, it's just surprising that Kevin hasn't pushed to start filling the holes that would start appearing. He could have easily masked these issues, but when almost all the wheels came off this season, EVERYONE saw that Kevin's going to be scrambling to try to make the male principal roster look the way it once did. I do think Kevin needs to look abroad to get at least one mare male principal that can fill a hole for the foreseeable future who can truly commit to ABT and make ABT his primary company. I think for long term, Kevin should l promote from within. As you point out, he only has 5 male soloists, and with the standard that ABT men are held to, expecting a corps member to reach that point in their careers in the next few years, is wishful thinking on Kevin's part so he needs to fins quick fixes while providing enough time and incentive for dancers to develop and go after this opportunity that has presented itself. I assume one day Simkin will make it to the top ranks, but it shouldn't happen now. As many of us know, Radetsky is a popular dancer and has many principals in his repertoire mainly because of his time with DNB. I don't think it's a far stretch to say that Radetsky went abroad to try and gain experience and develop those roles (and I'd like to think that Kevin took notice). That being said, Radetsky could have easily stayed abroad, but instead he came back to his home company (and while being apart from Stella was part of the reason), I think it's pretty telling that he eventually returned to ABT. It's been a few years since his brief absence, and as you pointed out, Kevin hasn't done anything to encourage further development from Radetsky, who has basically dance every male role in all full-length ballets with ABT EXCEPT the principal ones (if i were him, i'd be frustrated beyond belief). While Radetsky is now 34, Kevin won't get a lot of years out of him, but 5 good years isn't a far stretch. Radetsky guests with other companies because of his fame from Center Stage, but he has proven that he can deliver. I think promoting him will provide ABT with the perfect quick fix that fills on of the holes and still lets everyone know that you still can be promoted from within while giving Kevin some time to continue to develop dancers. It's really puzzling that several female principal roles as debuted every year, but none for the men. On that note, I think Kevin should consider promoting a female soloist to principal as he has several capable women to work with. WIth Wiles leaving, and Gillian's future commitments uncertain, the scarcity of Vishneva AND Kent's age, Kevin's going to have his hands full if he starts finding holes in his female roster...that being said, to be frank, age will slowly become an issue for Paloma and Xiomara in the next few years and Part's limited repertoire should not be over-looked. I really hope that this season has been eye-opening to Kevin as well as the dancers in the company (as well as those outside the company) who will work to do all they can to prevent this from happening again.

so lovely to hear the Jose's farewell was everything it should have been. I definitely wish I could have been there, but seeing as I'm in the middle of a transcontinental move, being in NYC just wasn't going to work out.

I think that may have happened under Baryshnikov (Susan Jaffee?) but never under Kevin. IMO his slowness to promote dancers to principal (especially women) is terrible & may prompt some worthy dancers to leave ABT. What's the point of being promoted to principal when you're past your prime? At NYCB principals are generally around 20 yrs.old. At ABT it's more like 30 yrs old. The quick promotion of Boylston is a step in the right direction. Hope Simkin named principal soon! Based on my observations on Kevin's tendencies and the casting over the past coupe of years, it's not that Kevin is entirely slow and reluctant to promote dancers but rather that he insists on staying with the cookie cutter definitions of "principal" and "soloist." He only promotes dancers to principal if they will be able to carry a somewhat complete principal repertoire, with some exceptions. Furthermore, he also doesn't give lower ranking dancers (especially men) an opportunity to expand their repertoire with the company even if they have danced said roles as guests elsewhere. Cornejo is the last dancer that I can think of who wasn't forced into the mold of "principal," he was promoted based on his dance ability and the quality of work he produced rather than what the company needed. Stearns promotion was fast tracked from not having major roles to several in a season only to have him become principal within the year. You make a great point however, about how dancers closer to 30 won't have as many good years so Kevin should focus on younger dancers who have potential. It disheartening to think that most of the current soloists probably won't get to be a principal even though many could have easily been just because they are approaching the "later years," even if they are a ways off. I think M Wiles raise a red flag for Kevin though. It was too much too fast and she hasn't produced what many expected. I hope that the much more frequent promotions we've seen in the last 2 or so years means that steps are being taken to prepare more dancers for the possibility of additional promotions or expanded repertoire just for the sake of having more casting varieties.

this is the one ballet that i REALLY wanted to see this year, granted there are some performances that i would love to attend, mostly for the casting/dancing by certain principals...but i would have gladly attended ANY showing of this ballet just the see the work and intricacies Ratmansky has incorporated. It's great to hear that you all have enjoyed the performances thus far and I can't wait to hear more!

she's definitely proved herself over this past year. Now it will be interesting to see how she develops. I've always thought Boylston had the technique and presence to be more than a corps dancer, and it's nice to see that she's been recognized for that! I wonder how this will translate for possible soloist --> principal promotions in the long run...do more established principals get leap-frogged (think Stearns' rapid accent) or is this MacKenzie's way of hinting at other possible promotions? I can't wait to hear/see how this promotions affects everyone, who continues to progress and impress and who stagnates. Promotions have been a hot topic this season and it'll be fun to see if there are anymore down the line this season...especially with the male dancers...

not only that, but "Bright Stream" is later this week and they can't afford any injuries for that

thanks for all the reviews of the matinee yesterday. It sounds like Hee did a good job and that everyone else brought their A-game too! This run of Giselle (minus Murphy's injury) is turning out to be quite a treat for us ABT fans (especially those of you who are in NYC and have been able to attend)

did any one attend the matinee? I'd love to hear how Hee Seo was in her debut as Giselle (although if her twitter is any indication, she had the time of her life!)

EEEK!! This doesn't sound good...but hopefully their just trying to be careful and giving Gillian the week off to recover since their enough dancers who have Myrta in their repertoire that can cover for her in the rotation.

NOOO!!!! Out of curiosity who replaced her?

I had assumed he was okay since he performed in Troika, but doing Troika is shades away from a full length ballet if there are still some lingering issues. I don't have anything against guest artists used appropriately and judiciously...I am a huge fan of the Vishneva/Gomes partnership and I thought it was wonderful to invite Sarabia to do DQ, especially since Carreno is retiring and it felt like a continuation of ABT's Cuban roots (also I wish someone would hire Sarabia full-time). But the fact remains that the company is losing a lot of talent (Carreno, Corella's odd situation) and the talent they do have is aging (Maxim, Kent) plus you have the potential impending issues with Murphy and Stiefel and the NZ Ballet. There will be no ABT if they do not curate several new in-house male and female principals. They can clearly fit in debuts and the promotion of individuals when they want to(see the rapid accession of Stearns)--I just personally feel they are missing a lot of opportunities (since there seems to be more injuries than not!) this year to push people forward. What happens if another principal goes down? How many more people can they fly in? It's just not a good situation, and I can't imagine how it works out financially--guest artists don't necessarily come cheap. Re: Radetsky - If I'm not mistaken, he did not dance in the Wheeldon as planned this week, which has actual partnering work. That leads me to believe that while he can dance and perform without lingering issues and causing more harm he's not ready to be back full for for a true classical pas de deux. I always assumed that ABT had a long term plan in the works as to how to fill the one or two open principal spots every couple of years, perhaps not necessarily which dancers would get those opportunities, but at least that every year a few opportunities/internal substitues would be prepped. That being said, with the unpredictability of the human body as well as dancers as individuals, I don't think there was an true way ABT could have prepared for what's going on right now. The core of the male principals, prior to the promotions of Gomes and Hallberg, at ABT for years (Ethan, Jose, Max, Angel) are of the "same generation," which means essentially they all peaked at about the same time and sustained that level for a long time, but no one would have been able to predict when that "era" would end or how would it end. Would these dancers move on gradually, one by one, decrease their repertoire bit by bit, or would it all happen at once? Clearly, ABT was anticipating these men to move on one at a time, beginning with Jose, but considering how this season as started it looks as though ABT should have followed the adage "hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." They are doing a good job filling the holes for the time being, but it's becoming increasingly evident by the fact that all of the substitues are NOT internal that ABT isn't ready to tackle "the worst." It's actually kind of scary that ABT only has 3 male principals - Gomes, Hallberg, Stearns - this season who will do the whole Met season (barring any other injuries). The issue ABT faces I think is that the male principals are grouped "generationally." whereas the women are more spread out and have far more varying experiences and repertoires which creates balance. That being said, I hope that ABT recognizes the female talent they do currently have on their solorist and corps rosters and uses that to their advantage. Also because of this "generational" issue, ABT roster for the men seemed to be (and was) locked for years, which must have been frustrating for men in the lower ranks as they knew they would have to wait for quite a while before getting a shot at a promotion. This definitely makes the retention of talented younger male dancers difficult, and I'm sure they all had to deal with the pressure of being held to a certain standard of excellence in order to move up when ABT's male principals were considered "the best." ABT is lucky they were able to keep and promote Gomes and Hallberg at the times that they did because I can't imagine ABT today without them. I've lost track/didn't keep up with the roster enough over the past decade to figure out how many dancers who have left ABT are now higher ranked dancers in other companies. Also, I hate to say it, but a small part of me thinks that the majority of the current male soloists have kind of plateaued in their careers and are "satisfied" being ABT soloist, which means that I think most eventual principal promotions will come from the corps, like Stearns but hopefully not at the speed his promotion happened though. As I've mentioned previously, Simkin is the only true exception to this idea. Radetsky, I'm on the fence about as I feel like his 2 year stint with DNB re-motivated him and also indicates that he does want more out of his career, and I hope he gets that shot with ABT. ---- on a slight off topic note, Danny Tidwell is now with Norwegian National Ballet. Glad to see that he's back in ballet, but slightly frustrating in light of what's going on right now...had he stayed at ABT instead of leaving back in 2003...one can only wonder

Ridiculous as in ABT's unable or unwilling to find an in-house replacement? I don't know why ABT can't find an in-house sub, I know Hallberg and Gomes have their plates full, but there are still plenty of other male principals can fill in. I don't think Kobborg's box office draw is a consideration as the 5/28 matinee is almost sold-out. There are signs that ABT's top male ranks are running thin but I marvel ABT's clout to draw stars, especially in such short notice. Yes, the unwillingness. There are plenty of male soloists who could fill in too...Sascha Radetsky performed Albrecht with the DNB when he was a principal, and I'm sure there are others who know the role already (it's not like Albrecht is some obscure part), aside from the male principals. IMO, Kobborg and Dvorovenko don't even make sense as a pairing when you look at their dancing styles/acting styles. I wouldn't marvel so much at their clout...both Kobborg and Vasiliev were probably already in town or planning to be in town see Cojocaru and Osipova. I understand using guest artists to liven the season and to showcase some talent usually not seen in New York, but when the season becomes entirely about the guest artists, there is a problem. Radetsky did indeed dance Albrecht with DNB, and from the clips I've seen, he was GREAT. However, Sascha's injured right now too (he was pulled from all his week one performances and he only did Troika this week...) so he wasn't really an option. Although, I'd like to believe that had Radetsky NOT been injured, he would have gotten the chance to perform in Saturday's matinee. I really hope that this Met season serves as a wake up call for ABT. It's time to get a move on impending promotions. ABT has done a pretty good job of developing female corps dancers and soloists for promotions down the road...not so much for the men. When was the last time ABT had a non-principal male debut in a full-length during the Met season, aside from Cory Stearns since he leap-frogged everyone out of nowhere? (and Simkin doesn't really count b/c we all knew that when he was added to the roster, he'd one day be principal...and it sounds like he's really stepped up this season and improved his partnering) I'd like to believe that in the next two years or so we will see S Abrera, S Lane, S Radetsky, D Simkin get promoted. These dancers aren't getting any younger and the longer ABT waits the longer the development period will be if the miss out on some of these opportunities.