choriamb

Ashley Bouder's daughter: Ratmansky fan. (As are Katie Williams and Kaho Ogawa.)

My pleasure. Regarding Seo, I wonder if this was meant to stretch her a bit. Setting aside technical bobbles and stamina (which seem to be resolving), she's been most successful in roles that involve heavy interaction with other cast members. Ones that involve a lot of outward projection and intentionally-placed epaulment are her weak spot: almost the exact opposite of the problem that a lot of "competition babies" face. (Earlier this year, I saw PNB rehearse the same ballerina in both Prodigal Son and the von Aroldingen role in Stravinsky Violin Concerto in quick succession and was struck by how much they required the same sort of projection, placement, and shadow-like male partner.) I've never singled out Forster, but a lot of folks I respect like him. Is he one of those slow burners who takes longer to ease into roles? (In retrospect, I've only seen him in roles near the beginning of runs.)

Mostly agreed with abatt and Kaysta. I do think Kochetkova is more than "blandly efficient" although she doesn't delve as deeply into a work's style or interpretation as I would like. However, I think the stagecraft aspect of her partnering--the nuanced ways that she interacts with her partners and enables them to look more engaged, too--is what makes her worthwhile. It's not just chemistry: it's a skill. And with the exception of Trenary, the other short pairings often look uncomfortable or TOO comfortable. (Kitri and Basilio should not look like an old married couple from the getgo.)

None of the dancers are really in performance mode in these two Instagram clips, but you may find them interesting. (I don't admire Abrera in everything, but she and Gorak were mesmerizing in Monotones I when I saw it last fall. I didn't see Copeland in performance, but I think the latter half of that clip shows some of the stretch that you mention.) and

I was also a bit surprised not to see more listings for Hammoudi, Gorak, Scott, Royal, and Shayer. But I suspect all of the male TBAs are contingent on developments at La Scala and how Anderson casts Onegin, as that's ABT's showpiece of choice for up-and-coming men still acclimating to the spotlight. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Scott/Brandt match-up as Espada/Mercedes in that highly-visible Don Q with Copeland. Like a lot of other posters, I'm very happy that Murphy is getting her Giselle after carrying a lot of the same repertory load for the past few seasons: very well-deserved. And I'm pleasantly surprised at Shevchenko and Teuscher's casting. I thought they'd both receive a Swan Lake matinee...but this casting nicely emphasizes their major points of differentiation: Shevchenko's effervescence and Teuscher's gravity. (And I'm relieved that Shevchenko will be partnered by Lendorf for her Kitri debut: I've lost fingernails watching two newbies debut simultaneously.) I think Trenary and Brandt are being well-served too (in addition to their appearances in Cockerel, Trenary's receiving leads in Whipped Cream and the entirety of the Tchaikovsky week; Brandt is surely a shoe-in for Olga.) It's also a sign of strength (and of how little room there was for internal growth in past years), that two relatively late changes--the need to leave slack in case Bolle is required for a new role at La Scala and Semionova's pregnancy--haven't upset the applecart. I agree with worries about Whipped Cream: it still seems far more appropriate for POB in terms of both their audience's tolerance for sophisticated political commentary and their financial ability to take a hit. That having been said, if it's fully funded...

It's so lovely to be introduced to a new poet to read: thank you for this, dirac.

BTW, SAM now has a page naming the sculptures where each dance will occur within the park ( http://summer.site.seattleartmuseum.org/thu-aug-11/) and a PDF map showing where those sculptures are located ( http://seattleartmuseum.org/Documents/4016_OSP_Map_and_Guide_2016_r2_6-15-16.pdf ). I plan to attend...if anyone would like to meet up, just direct message me.

Especially contrasted with the union-approved paragraph below. (On US non-profit's site, the text would be suspiciously sweeping and artificial while the image would neutral and bureaucratic.)

I'm as surprised as everyone else...but from a marketing perspective, it's a very intelligent gamble (and presumably made with Ratmansky's blessing). The worst-case scenario--a bland performance--isn't actually that bad: the production itself is the star of this particular Beauty. When lead performances have been only solid (rather than world-class), the news media's focus has been on the production's decor and history. But the best-case scenario--a triumph of the sort that she had at the Met--would mean lashings of articles in the French media about a newly-minted (and, incidentally, exceedingly camera-ready) soloist who was unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight on a world stage...and a set of Parisian balletomanes who suddenly felt like her fairy godmother. And a dancer who might be cast in Millepied's Daphnis and Chloe. And then take one of those "exchange artist" jaunts to POB. And suddenly become in some ways ABT's honorary Parisienne. And arrive at the Met season armed with all the glamor that international success conveys (with the added benefit of a set of London balletomanes across the Channel on the alert for future tours as well). It may seem preemptive to give her a bid for stardom this early in her career...but if ABT wants to have a sustainable roster of homegrown stars by the time Abrera and Murphy retire, it must aggressively market some women under the age of thirty NOW. If NYCB's audience can be slight cool to non-U.S. dancers (Sofiane Sylve, I'm looking at you), ABT's audience can seem equally disintered in homegrown types. Great ballerinas are made by artistic integrity...but stars are made by marketing. (Trenary, I think, may be both.)

I love the Markova quote, too.

I know, Mme. Hermine, I'm sentimental about 'em too. VHS and cassette recording in the days before boringly reliable timers always had an aspect of butterfly-hunting: you were always jolted into action by something unexpectedly fabulous happening or poised panther-like over the VCR waiting for some planned-for show to begin. I use all of the digital recording tools nowadays and curate Youtube links...but when you recorded on tape, you actually felt the thrill of the hunt. (The Shazam music app is the closest thing to that nowadays.)

If she does decide not to return, I'll miss her. She never had the effortless-looking classical line of some dancers, but her energy and intensity made up for it....she really commands the stage in modern/contemporary rep. (Skylar Brandt reminds me of her in a lot of ways.)

I usually prefer leggy Sirens, but I'd love to see Paris in this (preferably with Scott). (No idea about the casting of the Tharp, sandik.)

It's a pity: Brahms-Hayden is a fun ride. That said, I don't know whether its technical demands (or Tharp's stager) required it, but despite the number of roles (10 featured soloist and 4 demi-soloist parts), it wasn't used to introduce new contenders from the corps last autumn. The featured parts were cast almost exclusively with soloists and principals. (The corps members who did appear--Hoven, Baca, Royal, and Giangeruso--were already known quantities.)

Great minds think alike...I was typing at exactly the same time.

I hope I'm in town for this: the photos/reviews of the Millepied work were interesting, Lang has been getting rave reviews in England, and I've always wondered about Symphonic Variations. I'll be curious to see the casting for this run. Lots of demands on male solo technique: Gorak will be dancing a lot. Also, with the possible exception of the Lang and the Millepied works, there don't seem to be any stage-y ensemble pieces like The Green Table or Rodeo with relatively unexposed demi-soloist opportunities for promising corps members: everything else only contains roles that are either technically or dramatically exposed. If a corps member does land, say, in Symphonic Variations, management must be quite serious about them.

Thanks, Helene!

As far as guest-star-to-home-grown ratios are concerned, I think it's useful to remember that Semionova, Lendorf, and Hallberg--all bona fide international stars--were all initially scheduled for this year. A main reason the home-grown team loomed larger this year is that McKenzie replaced them with the home-grown folks rather than hiring in replacement stars (as he has in years past).

Well, the overall quality of our current favorites may have changed, but I think we still have the high feelings covered...at least if all the blisteringly heated threads we've had on this board about Lane, Abrera, Copeland, and Part are any measure! ;)

Congrats to Hoven. Since he returned from his surgery a few years ago, he's become very consistent technically and dramatically: it's a pleasure to see him onstage.

"I will be reconstructing another Petipa ballet in New York" sounds like he's beginning a reconstruction from scratch, rather than one that he's done before...Raymonda?

It's so odd to think that Frankenstein predates Swan Lake by 60 years: it feels like the monstrous or blood-and-guts versions of the macabre should be of more recent vintage.

Me too.

Age is just a number...provided that a dancer's technique is impeccable and they're continuing to grow artistically. Murphy, Abrera, or Bolle are still at the front of the pack on both fronts. If they were to let either slip, I would immediately change my opinion of them. The other, departed dancers mentioned are...well...gone. (And if their departures came at the suggestion of management, perhaps management came to agree with you.) While I wouldn't be shocked to see Ferri come back for one more hot-ticket night with Cornejo, do we really expect ABT to seriously invest any more in someone entering an age that liable to injury? Frankly, the fact that McKenzie has thrown Seo into so many gut-cruncher roles suggests to me that the administration has learned its lesson about letting a certain type of dancer slip into a strictly lyrical rep at the expense of their instrument.

At this point, the male solo bravura rep seems well covered (Scott, Simkin, Cirio, Gorak, Salstein, and Cornejo). As they have Mercutios/Bluebirds/Alis for days, I can't imagine McKenzie promoting any man at this point who isn't a demonstrably good, *consistent* partner (regardless of his height or dramatic prowess). Despite their heights, Cirio and Shayer are the only up-and-comers I've heard praised recently in that respect. (Hoven was consistently solid, as a partner when I saw him in the fall... but I haven't seen him this spring.)