nanushka

Sorry, last one I swear! Betsy McBride writes that in 2004 she danced as one of the little girls with Veronika as the Mozartiana ballerina. Very cool!

And a gorgeous photo on ABT's official account. (Swipe for two others.)

Another tribute, this one from Sarah:

There are some backstage videos and photos from immediately after the bow that are posted by a few other dancers (Forsythe, Brandt, Boylston, etc) on Instagram as "stories" –– which I don't know how to link to here, but which are public under their official accounts. These confirm your impressions of what you saw from afar, Golden Idol, in terms of Veronika's demeanor.

Oh certainly. I included the comment only because it clarified that he's not leaving by choice.

A very nice tribute from Scout Forsythe:

It seems that Veronika Part was not the only casualty this year: In the comments he goes on to write: I've been let go because I'm "too old". Onwards and upwards!!! May take some time to recover from 15 years of abuse. Ballet companies don't appreciate artists that actually think for themselves. I never knew how to be submissive.

Kochetkova at least, until this season (when, as I understand, injury was an issue), has appeared somewhat regularly, whereas Bolle and Vishneva have only been appearing a few times each spring. What are the benefits for the company of spending all the money to put those sorts of dancers on the roster as non-guest principals? Is it just the prestige for the company of having them on the list, on the website, in the program, even when they're not dancing? Is it primarily to ensure that they will keep coming back for at least those few times year after year, whereas as guests they'd have to be more proactively lured back for each engagement? Some other reason? I'm just curious about whether and how this could be viewed (even if, we think, incorrectly) as making good business sense. (And BTW I completely agree with you, Natalia. I hope to see Bolle and Kochetkova both dropped from the roster. For different reasons: Bolle is a fine artist, but he doesn't deserve a permanent position for the reasons expressed above; Kochetkova just bores me, though I completely understand some others view her differently.)

Did he languish? He joined in August 2015, and now he's going to Columbia. (He'd have had to start making plans for that after not much more than a year with the company.) Perhaps he just discovered he had a passion for something else?

I noticed they were among the first to enthusiastically comment on the newly promoted dancers' posts on IG today.

This is also a classic line slapped on introverts by a social and professional world dominated by extroverts. Sometimes it's a real indication of problematic behavior; sometimes it's just a difference in temperament that gets misinterpreted. I'm not sure we can know which is the case, given our limited knowledge of what's happened behind the scenes. As I said above, though, I agree with most of what you say.

I agree pretty much completely with everything else you say, FauxPas, but this part seems rather extreme. The exact quote from Veronika on FB is "you can do whatever you want!" I agree that's the wrong approach to take, but I have seen no evidence that she's behaving like "a petty prima donna."

That's very disappointing.

Yes! Stella and Devon both. That role needs LEGS!

But now that the Lilac Fairy is a significantly diminished role, in terms of actual dancing, I would hope that wouldn't be viewed as such an alternative end-point (in the manner of Myrta). Veronika always danced both Aurora and Lilac in the previous production.

I can imagine Devon and Christine as two very different Auroras.

To those who do attend: the rest of us will be relying on you for updates –– hopefully just on the performance and anything positive that follows, but also on whatever else may transpire!

Yeah, let's get moving on both of them, then, but most urgently Hoven. His Mozartiana performance showed that he's really ready for more.

I have just posted on the "Videos" forum a link to a new video of Veronika's Dying Swan from an event at Michigan Opera Theatre in May. More info on my post there, but I hope it's okay to reference here as well for those fans who may be interested and might otherwise not see it.

There is now a complete video up here of a Michigan Opera Theatre event from May 2017 at which Veronika Part danced The Dying Swan. To view, you'll have to enter a name and email address, then there's a chapter selection on the video; the segment is under "The Swan," I believe. There's far too much time spent with the camera on the instrumentalists, and the stage is tiny, but there is so little good video of Veronika's dancing available that I thought it was worth sharing.

Does anyone know Hoven's and Forster's approximate ages? Just curious.

I think this is the first year in quite some time that I have felt that every promotion given was exactly the right move.

Yes, this has all just reaffirmed my decision not to go, which was a difficult one to make. In the end, I decided that the last two performances I saw (Swan Lake and Monday's Mozartiana) were just such positive, fulfilling experiences that I'd prefer to just leave it at that. I'm terribly disappointed that I won't get to see her dance more in the coming years, but I've enjoyed many wonderful performances from her and I just don't want to be there for whatever happens on Saturday, even if it's a total anticlimax –– which would be sad enough on its own (because Veronika deserves a true farewell celebration –– though I understand she may not even want that).

Yes, they have been very generous in giving Hammoudi opportunities, and it's really past time now to start giving them to others.

She was back on Wednesday, though, and looked really great as the Diamond fairy!