nanushka

I'm so disappointed to see this.

Too rare to see a true double tour:

Ahhhhh, thank you so much for posting this! Even with the marked steps, there are some truly lovely moments there. And so interesting to see it from the other side. It's a charming video.

Her ABT page says, "Her roles with the Company include..." Were either of those appearances with ABT? If not, she may have danced it on one or more other occasions as well.

It's listed in her repertoire, though I'm not sure from when. I don't recall her dancing it when they did it two years ago (though I very well could be wrong about that).

Got it, just providing the official confirmation that he has indeed been.

From the original season announcement:

Well, they're not forcing a charitable contribution — on the one hand no one is being forced to purchase the tickets, and on the other hand I'm not sure the fee would have to be categorized as a charitable contribution in the legal sense — so I imagine that, yes, it is legal.

I completely agree. Apollo and Theme and Variations — along with the return of Ratmansky's The Seasons — are the most welcome parts of the season, as far as I'm concerned. I've said here before that I'd rather see Balanchine imperfectly (or even quite far from perfectly) danced than a lot of other stuff, and T&V is a particular favorite. Bring it on. I also appreciate having the opportunity of seeing Apollo in its fuller (and IMO much superior) form. Speaking of Ashton, I was recently watching his Scènes de Ballet on DVD. I'd love to see ABT (and especially Sarah Lane, perhaps?) dance that.

I can't recall a recent ABT fall season when this hasn't been said by numerous people on here (including myself).

Interesting. He also didn't end up dancing what I believe was supposed to have been his final performance, the last The Times are Racing that was Ashly Isaacs final appearance.

Yeah, that's a new one. I feel like that's actually more annoying than if they just raised the ticket prices two dollars and put that money toward the same thing — but maybe their marketing research tells them I'm in the minority.

Why on earth should it be assumed that the only person who could intimidate potential accusers is the accused?

To not make that clear in the email itself, though, seems rather tacky. It’s not hard: make people feel fairly treated and valued and they’re more likely to be generous. The failure to send an earlier email immediately after cancellation — even if it had to say that refund procedures etc would be forthcoming — is bizarre and pretty much inexcusable.

Here's the post:

I'm not sure how that would be possible, considering that this is a show about Michael Jackson.

This is great news! I remember when ABT did the bedroom scene as part of an all-Tudor program at City Center back in the late aughts.

Harrison Ball of NYCB has an interesting post up today on Instagram (copied below), in which he announces that he is unfollowing everyone and intends "to use my account largely as a platform to show my work and to relate to my profession." I'm wondering how that will work out, as it seems like a lot of the reason audiences like to follow dancers on social media is because there's at least a degree of interconnectedness (with perhaps some portion of that degree being illusory). Presumably, when he says "show my work," Ball has his audience in mind. On a contemporary platform that's so structured by interactions, can an older style of one-way communication from artist to audience be sustained and impactful? ETA: Of course, just because he's choosing not to follow anyone doesn't mean he can't interact with fans, etc. in other ways on the platform. But it seems to indicate a pulling back of sorts.

Ah thanks, I hadn't recalled those — will take a look.

Thanks so much for posting that! I'd seen the DVDs on Amazon but hadn't realized they'd been put on YouTube. Excited to have access to them!

I'm having trouble getting the video to play, but I think yes, that would be around where it's at in the piece. I think they all do demi-pointe chaînés into a formation at stage left.

That would be great. I’d like to see the company establish more regular out-of-town gigs, like those in Southern California. That said, I do wonder if the week right after the grueling Met season is the best time for the dancers.

Kent Becker, a former non-professional dancer (who also takes and posts online excellent curtain call photos, especially of ABT performances) has a very useful “video dictionary” of ballet steps on YouTube and has also begun posting a series of shorter clips on Instagram illustrating key steps. For example: and I’ve found his YouTube videos to be enriching and I hope he’ll create more of these shorter-form posts on IG, as it seems a promising project. If anyone knows of any other such online video resources that are easily accessible and usable, I’d be glad to know of them. (I know ABT has an online ballet dictionary as well.)

I was just noticing that Balanchine uses chaînés on demi-pointe for his corps and first two soloists in the opening of the first movement of Divertimento No. 15 — and noticing especially how very much at home the step seems there (Balanchine being as always the unparalleled master of aesthetic decorum, when it comes to choice of steps). I imagine that, for Petipa's initial audience, the same step in Sleeping Beauty would have seemed every bit as at home.

Joe Gordon is getting ready for a steamy debut: