NinaFan

Sarah’s Giselle was one of the finest Giselles I've ever seen as well, which makes it all the more absurd to give her a Wednesday matinee. I remember when Nina Ananiashvili was given a Wednesday matinee for her one and only Juliet. What was Kevin thinking? Needless to say, I took the day off from work to see my cherished Nina, Nina, Ballerina.

That totally makes sense. He is going to be in the right place at the right time.

I totally agree that Sarah should get one of Teuscher's Swan Lakes. It's only fair! As far as Bolyston, I guess I am in the minority here, as I enjoy her dancing. She is a very strong dancer with an incredible jump. Swan Lake may not be her best role, but her Odile continues to very exciting (I am not counting when she danced it injured last year).

I thought the same when he was brought in. Why did they even bother.......

Yes, I saw him with Abrera the following year too! I believe he did the lift including walking down the stairs as well.

I loved Gorak in his first Cinderella (was that with Reyes?), and I had had high hopes for him. But then everything just fizzled out and he never seemed to grow out of being a light weight.

I agree with everything you said about Gorak and Lendorf. I find Lendorf a delight to watch, but like you, I thought he was a little bit off on the comedic panache in Don Q last year. I think Don Q was the first week of performances, which may have had something to do with it. When I saw him about a week or so later in Corsaire (which is total fun and is as silly as Don Q), I thought he was a perfect fit. He totally redeemed himself. Fingers crossed that we get to see him in everything he is cast in this year.

Sarah did dance O/O with ABT. I saw her last year when she was a last minute sub for Maria Kochetkova last Spring at the MET. She was breathtaking. What I don’t understand, is why she is not being cast again this year either on tour or at the MET.

Thanks nysusan. It looks like the minimum level is $750 for "Advanced Access" which is a way higher membership level than I've ever had at ABT. I'll just have to wait!

Thanks angelica and nanushka. I just called the MET, and they said no. I was told pre-sale tickets without seat assignments were available before March 25. But I'll be at the Koch (for Paul Taylor) twice during the exchange week, so I may walk over and try it anyway (assuming there aren't stupid lines).

I’ve never tried it before, but I think I’ve heard some of you say that subscribers are able to buy single tickets during exchange week. So far this year I have only bought a “create your own” series for ABT, but I still have a subscription card for exchanging tickets. Does anyone know if I can just buy additional tickets at the box office during the exchange week? As of now, I don’t want to trade in any of my subscription tickets so I can’t combine it with an exchange transaction. Like many of you, I don’t want to get stuck with too many cast changes. I’m not planning to buy all of my tickets at once but I wanted to get a jump on a few more tickets which may sell heavily or go up in price. Thanks!

Craig Salstein seems to have been removed from ABT's website, making it appear that this is not just a leave of absence. Perhaps they would not give him the leave? As we all know, NYCB has been very generous giving leave of absences to their dancers for Broadway (and KC) runs. I am very excited to see Craig, Brittany and Amar in Carousel! I have tickets for the show in early April.

I could watch Tchaikovsky PDD over and over as well. And Tarantella too! That recent image of Veyette in Valse Fantaisie was probably from 2011. Not sure if it has been done since then.

I agree that Forster and Hoven should be given a chance to develop. And as you point out, last year's injuries gave us a chance to see some pretty amazing debuts among the women.

I'm also confused as to why they didn't give Lane a Swan Lake. I agree, her debut was very good, except for the fouettes, which as you point out was probably due to lack of prep time. And if I recall correctly she was under the weather with a cold. I especially loved her Odette. If ABT decides to give her another Swan Lake I would go as well. Ditto on doubts about Forster for the principal roles. He is nice and tall, but I just can't visualize him dancing the "prince" roles. If Lendorf is still injured (which I hope he's not), I certainly hope that ABT brings in a guest or two, rather than subbing with dancers who are not up to the task. In fact, they should bring in at least one to replace Gomes anyway. Prices are just too high to be spending on mediocre performances.

I agree that the ballet is performed way too often. Yes, it's cute, but it needs to have longer breaks between seasons. I loved Fairchild and Hyltin as well. It was not the first time I enjoyed the ballet, however it was probably my favorite partnership. Watching Robbie for the last time at NYCB made it all the more special.

I agree, I can't imagine all the cast shuffling either. I really hope Lendorf doesn't miss the MET Season. I am so looking forward to seeing him in a number of ballets, and most especially with Shevchenko.

MadameP and FireDancer - Wow, I am so jealous! I'd love to see both of those casts in Ivan! I'm a huge Grigorovich fan, and love the lead dancers you are both seeing this week. I saw Ivan the Terrible years ago with Alexei Fadeyechev as Ivan, and would love to see it again with your exact casts!

Ditto on Behind the China Dogs. Actually the first time I saw it, I didn't care for it, but I began to appreciate it by the second time I saw it.

I saw Mejia in the Four Seasons a couple of weeks ago, and he stole the show there as well. Like others on here, I can't wait to see more of him!

Yes, I believe that's the one! I just found a review of The Unanswered Question, and it refers to Maria slithering down a trap door after partnering Damian Woetzel. Now that I think about it, she did slither in both directions, plus Woetzel was her partner at the performance. So that has to be the ballet. How many ballets could have a ballerina slithering in and out of a hole, but then again as Canbelto points out, Musagete had something similar.....

Speaking of boring or inferior choreography….I recall a really dreadful ballet at NYCB which I believe was choreographed by a guest choreographer. It was so terrible that I couldn’t wait for it to end. Then halfway through the ballet Maria Kowroski made a sort of slithering entrance through a hole in the floor which made the ballet just slightly more tolerable. Does this ring a bell with anyone, and do you have any idea which ballet this was?

And of course a ballet can be better or worse depending on the cast. To compare in a way to figure skating…. it's also about the moment. Still, how sad that the dancers didn’t get a respectable amount of applause. But I have to admit, I’m more tepid with applause after an uninspiring program.

I feel the same way.

Emma - That must be rough missing an entire year of ballet! Peck/Catazaro were the other lead cast and they danced beautifully. I think Catazaro is really coming into his own. He was also marvelous in The Four Seasons last week.