nanushka

You may have been wrong, you may not have been wrong. It's just impossible to know, without seeing those MRIs, talking to those doctors, getting a lot more details about exactly what Peck has experienced, etc. etc. There's a vast range of possibilities within any one named injury (different bodies, different details, different degrees, all sorts of particularities), making it impossible to say with any certainty what will or won't happen to her, what she should or shouldn't do. It can be useful to hear about other individuals' experiences with similar injuries (and I have my own story of multiple herniated discs I could share), but ultimately they are of limited diagnostic value.

Yes, this was announced as early as Sept. 2018 in a Times article: It was discussed on here at the time, though I'm not sure in which thread. It was also discussed, I believe, that ABT may split their spring season between the Koch (after NYCB clears out) and the Met. All things considered, May/June is better than August for attracting larger crowds in NYC, I would imagine.

I don’t think I’d recommend for any principal dancer who wants more opportunities to refuse his or her director when asked to perform for an almost guaranteed sold-out house at the Met. Lane is a professional dancer. I don’t think she’s a diva.

Well, science is not based on single anecdotal cases. There's simply no way one could diagnose Peck's condition with any degree of certainty based on the currently public information alone.

Oh I’m sure they won’t, but performers can often sense the feeling of an audience, and that can have an impact. And yes, I just meant new partner in this particular role. And on very short notice (though who knows when she first got word it was a possibility.)

I don’t envy Brandt making her debut in these circumstances (earlier than expected, disappointed crowd, new partner). But I have a feeling she’s got nerves of steel anyway.

Unfortunately for Carlos Gonzalez, this means he can’t debut in the Peasant PDD with Brandt as planned, per Copeland’s announcement.

Copeland writes that she is injured:

Maybe....though it would really depend on the nature of the struggle. Was there anything in particular that made it look like the choreography or staging might be at fault?

OTOH perhaps giving a member of the teaching staff a role in a prominent premiere is one way of motivating staff retention when they may not be able to pay highly competitive salaries. But yeah, seems a little unfortunate.

Please report back if you get a chance! Enjoy!

Who was it who once compared the Symphony in 3 PDD to an alien mating dance? That ballet was mentioned upthread in contrast with Bugaku.

Oh yes I know. Just meant to note that he was currently on a Bugaku kick since it was under discussion here.

Oh, very interesting. I had never heard nor thought of this as a common phenomenon before.

I haven't read any evidence here that directors (or administration more generally) actually as a general rule tend not to want their dancers getting outside coaching, but if it's true that they don't, I wonder if they wouldn't view taking outside classes as rather different (and more acceptable) than that. Isn't there a rather substantial difference between the two? (I have never been a dancer, so I don't know.)

They may have as much institutional power, but is there evidence that they, like Balanchine, don't as a general rule want their dancers working with outside coaches to supplement their in-company training, or that dancers who choose to do so have tended to face repercussions? Have dancers commented on this (e.g. in memoirs, interviews, etc.)? (I truly have no idea, which is why I ask.)

John Clifford has been advocating for Bugaku’s return to the repertory:

I know, she just cracks me up.

I think it's quite likely that Brandt will have a career as a principal if she stays at ABT.

That's obviously true, but what of it? Ballet is no different from any other part of life. Money brings advantages and opens up opportunities. In an ideal world maybe it wouldn't, but it does.

This is such terribly sad news. He had such remarkable talent and presence in The Seasons. At such a young age, he looked like a future star.

Hammoudi posted a photo of Brandt’s Giselle:

Thanks for the heads-up, I hadn't heard about this collection. The complete ToC can be viewed here.

My read of the article is that McKenzie told her at the end of last Met season that Giselle was a possibility for the next year. (This was heading into the summer break, when she wouldn't be getting company coaching for anything; he was specifically responding to her query about what she might choose to work on independently.) He then seems to have decided that this would not be the year for it after all. Given limited coaching resources, why is it ridiculous that he wouldn't invest in her learning the role? She didn't "have to" plead for one show. She obviously has tremendous drive and pretty substantial financial resources. (Instagram is full of posts documenting dancers' gatherings at the Brandts' Westchester estate, and her parents sit front row orchestra at virtually every Met performance she's in, whether for a leading role or not.) If she hadn't launched a major, sustained campaign (much commented on here on the board) for the role, the various Giselle runs would likely have gone on just fine without her. She obviously wasn't McKenzie's priority for the role (which is understandable — I personally think she'll be quite good in it, but even the article seems to acknowledge she's not an obvious fit), but she made it happen. Again, I don't see what's ridiculous in his actions. I don't think McKenzie is a great (or even particularly good) leader for ABT; but I also don't think this particular article points to anything very terrible about his management.

Why is her having only three days' notice to learn Corsaire remarkable? Wasn't she replacing an injured dancer? It sounds like she jumped at an opportunity when it arose. Sometimes there's a major injury and a company doesn't have someone at the ready. This is happening right now with NYCB and Siegfried. As for having to go in and push, I always thought that's just how it often goes in performance companies (not just in ballet) — or, at the very least, that it's not a particularly remarkable way for things to work in some cases. Was I wrong to think that?