cobweb

That picture of T&V is unfortunate, not doing any favors to De Luz or anyone. And totally agree about the Tom Cruise comparison... maybe we could flip it around and say that Cruise is the Joaquin De Luz of movies?

Yes to Woodward. Yes also to Laracey, Phelan, Gerrity, and more of the bafflingly neglected Pazcoguin. So much talent!

It looks like the Shanghai casting has been updated, although I’m a little confused because it’s dated 10/01/18, and I know I looked at it yesterday. Anyway La Cour is out of the tour, resulting in casting shuffling and debuts for Applebaum and Janzen in Serenade. Already the company is benefitting from the Applebaum promotion! He is a stalwart.

Totally. With his unique stage magnetism and his ability to etch out astonishingly clear forms, I think has the makings of a very memorable Apollo. He may be against type, but to me this is a no-brainer.

That is Sascha Radetsky at 4:39. It was disheartening to see Adrian DW on crutches. Will he be ready for January? They need to be rehearsing another Apollo.

I thoroughly enjoyed this afternoon's performance. The program was well chosen to show off de Luz's versatility, star power, and technical ability. He and Tiler were glorious in T&V, seemingly sailing through the choreography with ease, pleasingly affectionate with each other, and projecting up to the rafters. Concerto Barocco suffered a little by comparison, pleasant enough but wan (although I loved Janzen). I don't believe I've seen A Suite of Dances before. I found it charming, but my feeling is that it takes someone like de Luz to make it worthwhile, totally giving himself over to the movement and with with a big enough stage presence to carry the audience along. Also never seen Todos Buenos Aires before. I won't miss it if I never see it again, but it was entertaining to see people like Andrew Veyette dancing with a Spanish flair, and again, well chosen to showcase de Luz. The sendoff was heartening. I was wondering if Peter Martins would make an appearance, but no. From where I was sitting I had trouble seeing the faces of those who came onstage to say goodbye, so if any of you can identify more of them (besides the current dancers, of course), I'd be curious to know who more of them were.

I have only been attending City Ballet since 2011. I first noticed Ashley Laracey that year, as one of the lead flowers in Nutcracker. I was floored by her beauty, and at that point, totally new to the company, I was scouring the program and pictures on the website to figure out who she was. I do not know anything about her career trajectory before then. I was and remain baffled about why she is not dancing the great ballerina roles that no doubt she would be exquisite in, such as second movement, Symphony in C. Kathleen, thanks for spelling out the cast listing for Swan Lake!

Kathleen, thanks for calling my attention to the Shanghai casting. There are some interesting debuts in there - for Laracey in Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Lovette in Serenade, and other debuts for Sanz, Kretzschmar, Chamblee, Scordato, and Gerrity. Re the Swan Lake, can anyone list out what are the principal roles, listed in which order? After the two leads, what are the three roles listed?

Definitely they needed to shore up the male ranks and develop more of a pipeline at the soloist level. Even if Ramasar and Catazaro are reinstated after the AGMA appeal, a stronger male contingent is needed, and there is a lot of potential in this group. Harrison Coll should already have been promoted, and Sebastian Villarini-Velez is ready. I haven't seen Peter Walker in enough featured roles (didn't see Romeo & Juliet), so I'm a little surprised. Aaron Sanz is someone I find absolutely magnetic much of the time, but could look more authoritative and confident. Daniel Applebaum will probably remain as a "flagship soloist," but his dependability and strength are absolutely needed. He's already been functioning as a reliable soloist, so I'm glad he's getting the promotion and the pay raise. Maybe Spartak Hoxha will be promoted in the next round, or Chamblee or Farley. I liked Claire Kretzschmar in Episodes a few years back, but otherwise I haven't found her very interesting, and especially her Tall Girl in "Rubies" was disappointing. Hopefully I'll like her more as time goes on. Disappointed about Emily Kikta not getting promoted, I find her way more intriguing than Kretzschmar.

It would seem there are promotions. See the website. Joseph Gordon to principal. Coll, Villarini-Velez, Applebaum, Sanz, Walker, and Kretzschmar to soloist.

I just spent some time in the Jerome Robbins exhibition at the Performing Arts library. There is some archival footage including Kay Mazzo and John Jones in Afternoon of a Faun. Makes me sorry I missed seeing it last week, especially with the new casting (Kennard Henson, Lauren Lovette, Joseph Gordon). If anyone saw it, I’d love a report.

My goodness. She will be missed too. Anyone else?!

I felt the same, and also seeing Anthony Huxley paired with Megan LeCrone. But the characters don’t really dance together that much, it’s not like there’s any complex partnering. And I guess they don’t want to be rehearsing two new Effie’s, especially when both King and LeCrone are so good at this role. Who else did it last time? I missed Indiana Woodward’s sylph last time and was sorry she wasn’t cast again.

Yes. Totally agree. Thanks for the reference to The Crucible. The Scarlet Letter also occurred to me.

Megan Mann will definitely be missed. She is a serene, gracious, shining presence. I hope she can pass those qualities on to the next generation.

If anyone attends tonight’s performance I would love to get a report on the Pereira-Huxley Allegro Brillante.

Abatt, it seems like that must be a typo, but it's an odd one. Maybe all the injuries are necessitating a change in programming. That's rare, but I guess it does happen. Last time I can think of was a couple of years ago when Claire von Enck was suddenly thrown into Tarantella (although I can't remember what it replaced, or why).

That makes a lot of sense, abatt. Thanks for the explanation. If that was the case, however, then they definitely should have axed "See the Music." I agree about the noble Tyler Angle being an odd choice for the rough and rude Billy Bigelow.

A few thoughts about yesterday's performances of La Sylphide. At the matinee, I thought Sterling Hyltin was the most perfect sylph imaginable, lithe, quicksilver and otherworldly, teasing without being coy. In the evening, I didn't expect to like Ashley Bouder, but she toned down the grin considerably (to be fair, very considerably) and turned in some stunning dancing with a soft, lilting quality that I don't think I've ever seen from her. Both Joaquin de Luz and Anthony Huxley were engaging as the dreamy James, although I found de Luz warmer, and therefore, his ending felt more tragic. Huxley's crystalline dancing was beautiful. Both Lauren King at the matinee and Megan LeCrone in the evening, as Effie, proved to be absolutely wonderful, subtle actresses. Harrison Ball, as Gurn in the evening, also surprised me. He had none of the noble hauteur he does so well, and instead appeared as a warm, humble youth, in love, earnest, and even goofy. So great to see Ball back on the stage! Daniel Ulbricht, who doesn't dance nearly enough, also did a warm Gurn. I find some aspects of the production confusing. I don't know if it intends to be a comedy or a tragedy. James' end is poignant enough, although it's tempered by the relief (in me, at least) that Effie dodged a bullet and wound up with the right guy. There also seems to be a comic, mocking element, such as when Gurn is imitating the Sylphide, or Madge is pushing Gurn to propose to Effie. This is played for laughs, like it's not serious. Thanks to vipa for that footage of the lovely Debra Austin as the Sylphide. What a beautiful, ethereal, springy quality she has.

Just back after the all-day project of both matinee and evening performances. Allegro Brillante, Easy, Carousel, and La Sylphide. First off, this is a long program. I’m not sure Carousel adds anything except for making the program too long (with an extra intermission and all). I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before, and as someone fresh off several performances of the Broadway show, which I found intense and moving, I found this ballet totally dull, a lifeless exercise. I missed the lush orchestrations and, especially, the singing of the Broadway show. I don’t need to see this one again. I chose these two performances based on the casting of Allegro Brillante. Mearns and Tyler Angle at the matinee were riveting. In the evening was Tiler Peck and the (for me) must-see debut of young sensation Roman Mejia. Tiler was everything we have come to expect from her – astonishing. Mejia mostly looked terrific. He is short but he dances really big. Despite being distinctly shorter than the tall male corps contingent, not to mention much younger and far less experienced than those guys, he looked totally at his ease. Great form, great command of the stage. There were some noticeable partnering glitches, including one where I thought he was about to let Tiler drop to the floor. But, I got the feeling that while he’s still working out the timing and technique of partnering, he has no evident inhibitions or anxiety about partnering, the way so many young guys betray. I look forward to seeing more of him. I see that Pereira and Huxley are debuting this piece on Tuesday. I would love nothing more than to see Anthony Huxley, but I have low expectations for Pereira (if it were Indiana Woodward debuting, I would definitely be there), and I don’t really need to see this overall program again. But I look forward to any reports. Finally, Easy. I'm on the same page as vipa and her husband. This was my first time seeing it. Inter-Export-Story is a perfect way of describing it. And I too would not seek this one out again, but I wouldn't avoid it either. And, I'll add that I enjoyed meeting vipa and her husband. As for La Sylphide, I’ll try to post more tomorrow.

No new casting up. Adrian Danchig-Waring still listed for tonight and more. Please reports from tonight. Maybe just wishful thinking, but I certainly hope last night was not as bad as it seemed. I always hope to see him perform. Before he went out, I thought he and Kowroski looked absolutely fantastic. At this age, I like her better in leotard roles versus tutu. She looked limber, fresh, and commanding. A few other random thoughts from last night. Troy Schumacher in the fourth movement of Symphony in C, who/which I saw for the second time, looked totally bright and sharp. To me this looks like a new high for Troy, vindication of his promotion (which I questioned), and promising more for him. Villarini-Velez again looked incredible in the third movement, performing way beyond his pay grade, and begging for bigger roles. I was thrilled to see Mearns and J. Angle in the second movement, which is why I bought this ticket after seeing a couple of performances of this program, and glad I did. Finally, as I've said in previous posts, I'm in love with Joseph Gordon, first movement. As sappho said up-thread, Tiler Peck and Joaquin de Luz seemed to get a little sloppy. They looked sentimental, very fond of dancing with each other, and a little teary. The audience sentiment sent them over the edge. But I think everyone went away happy.

Adrian DW did not dance the finale or appear for the curtain call.

A few quick notes about last night's performance, before I head to tonight's. I saw the new cast of Emeralds, with Lauren King, Megan LeCrone, Andrew Scordato, and Daniel Applebaum. I didn't think any of them brought anything new or special to the role, although Scordato was elegant and courtly. I'm not sure if Harrison Ball is new to the pas de trois, but he looked great, and boy is it good to see him back in action. I loved Lauren Lovette and Gonzalo Garcia in Rubies. Reminiscent of his very fun performances with Megan Fairchild (last year?). Lovette and Garcia seemed to be having a lot of fun, great rapport, and both so so warm and sexy. Kretzschmar making the best of Tall Girl, but I just think she's miscast. Do they tend to cast corps women in the role? Where in the ranks were Reichlen and Lowery when first cast, anyone know? Because I'm trying to figure out why they thought Kretzschmar would be a good fit for this role, overlooking someone who seems a much more obvious choice - Emilie Gerrity, tall and fierce. Reichlen and Janzen were cool, composed, and serene for Diamonds. I loved them, although if I had to choose favorites, I prefer the warmth and human-ness of Mearns and Joseph Gordon. On to tonight...

Week 4 casting is up. I'm intrigued to see new debuts in Afternoon of a Faun: Lauren Lovette and Kennard Henson. This may tempt me to see a program I would otherwise skip. Henson seems very promising. In my past week of marathon performances, I've noticed his elegance, and the especially wide and elegant line of his arms.

I was also there last night, the third performance in 24 hours. I'm just in love with Joseph Gordon. Most striking is the grand, confident, self-possessed way he is carrying himself. Harrison Ball, who I was very happy to see after his long absence, has something of the same bearing (although he is a little more cool and remote). For all those talented corps men, and I have been heartened to see several over the past week, who might aspire to bigger roles and promotion, they would do well to cultivate that grand, confident bearing. Talent and technique are essential, of course, but that grand bearing goes a long way toward making you look like an inevitable principal. Kowroski was in trouble, but she and Tyler saved the day. I wasn't necessarily going to go to the final performance of this program, but I really want to see Sara Mearns in this role, so maybe... As for the corps of Concerto Barocco, I'm trying to remember if I've seen Miriam Miller in the corps here, or is she new to this piece? She stood out, and not in a good way. Noticeably taller than the others, and she at times seemed to be having trouble managing her very long limbs and keeping up the the timing of the other women.