NinaFan

You have every right to offer criticism. One does not need be a choreographer or dancer to be a critic, and I did not mean to imply otherwise. What I was really commenting on was that you feel all of his work should be removed, and thus presumed just about everyone agrees with you. And since I am quite happy with Martins’ versions, I am just voicing that I am one of those people who does not want his ballets removed from the rep. Interestingly your recent response implies that you now don’t include Sleeping Beauty and La Sylphide for removal because he mostly stuck with traditional choreography? Thank you for the interesting link on La Sylphide. The article also says “Martins not only removes the intermission, thus shortening the performance time, he also accelerates the pace of the events. It feels as if the story rushes at you with a kind of animated vigor, acquiring a comic spirit in the process. In fact, in this production, a chain of misfortunes that occur to the young James feels less like a drama and more like a comedy, albeit with an unfortunate, tragic end. As such, the production, danced to perfection on both nights I attended, is stimulating and utterly entertaining but devoid of any sense of Romantic poetry, nuance and nostalgia.” While the above changes may not be everyone’s cup of tea, they are indeed changes to the production. And quite honestly, I prefer the original more Romantic version, but that’s not to say I don’t enjoy Martins’ as well. Ditto on Sleeping Beauty, which as you mentioned earlier, has similar cuts and fast pacing. I personally like the fast pacing, but not the cuts. But it still doesn’t stop me from enjoying it. I see other versions elsewhere. I can never get enough ballet, and I don’t have to settle for just the one version. I understand you wanting to see different versions of Swan Lake and R&J at NYCB, just as I’d like to see ABT replace their Swan Lake. But what you seem to forget is that NYCB had no full length Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, La Sylphide, or Romeo & Juliet until Martins added them. Give the man some credit.

I'd miss Martins' works. What a shame that you detest his choreography so much. While he is not Balanchine, I think he’s done especially well with his full length ballets. I find myself already missing his La Sylphide, which only ran for a short time. As far as his one act ballets, those are more hit and miss, but there are a number which I have thoroughly enjoyed over the years. Unless you can choreograph better yourself, best not to throw such hateful stones at an entire body of work. I’ve seen many performances of R&J over the past thirty years. Most were MacMillan’s version at ABT and Royal Ballet, which continues to be my favorite version. Having said that, I feel there’s always room for new versions of any ballet, just like there’s room for new flavors of ice cream. I found Saturdays’ matinee of R&J with Hyltin and Coll to be the better of the two casts I saw this week. Sterling and Harrison had wonderful chemistry, which seemed to grow even more by the second act. Both danced with technical precision and intense passion. Their death scene left me drained and in tears. As always, Ulbricht’s Mercutio was spectacular, as was the rest of the cast. Apparently the audience loved the performance as well, as they gave a much deserved standing ovation. The house appeared to be sold out or close to it, with people even sitting in the fifth ring.

I saw McRae dance in Don Q and Giselle and adored him in both.

I was hoping to report on this, but we wound up skipping the performance at the last minute due to the lousy weather. It didn’t help that we’re unfamiliar with the area, and weren’t sure how far we’d have to park from the venue and walk in the pouring rain. Of course, now we’re sorry that we missed it.

Thank you nanushka! I just ordered tickets!

Cortege Hongrois is actually one of "my" personal favorites. I'll never forget the first time I saw the ballet with then corps member Damian Woetzel. He totally blew me away. Anyway, I'm so glad you enjoyed the program. I'm looking forward to seeing it next week.

$185 is the regular price for NYCB's best orchestra seats. I've never seen dynamic pricing at NYCB, however it is standard practice when ABT performs at the MET.

I guess to each his/her own. I'm actually very excited about the new ballet.

How strange. When I click on your link, I get Duo at the end of the program. When I access the pdf directly from NYCB's website I get Duo sandwiched between two ballets. The only difference I can see in the URL is that the one below appears to be version V19. Could that have superseded V18? http://www.nycballet.com/NYCB/media/NYCBMediaLibrary/PDFs/SubscriptionDocuments/3517-FY18-FallCalendar_V19.pdf

Looks like Fourth Ring rows A and B just opened for Sunday, Oct 15.

I just received an e-mail from NYCB as follows: News Alert It has just been announced that Principal Dancer Robert Fairchild, who took leave of absence from NYCB to make his Broadway and West End debuts in An American in Paris, has decided to conclude his New York City Ballet career this fall to pursue other opportunities in musical theater and film. Robert Fairchild and Sterling Hyltin in Duo Concertant In celebration of Robert's NYCB career, Peter Martins has added Duo Concertant to the All Balanchine program on the final two matinees of the fall, where Robert is scheduled to appear alongside Principal Dancer Sterling Hyltin. We anticipate high demand for these performances, and we encourage you to purchase tickets now if you would like to be in attendance. We hope you’ll join us in thanking Robert for sharing his extraordinary talent while at NYCB, and in wishing him the best as he moves on to the next phase of his career.

Yes, I agree that they must have added it for him. I didn't even realize that it wasn't part of the original program until you mentioned it.

I can't say it is a total surprise either, but I had hoped he'd do a few more seasons before a total departure. I'm so glad that I already have tickets for one of his last performances.

Per today's NY Times, Robert Fairchild is leaving NYCB. His final performances are the matinees of Oct. 14 and 15, dancing “Duo Concertant,” with Sterling Hyltin. I am so upset. First Simkin at ABT, and now Robbie!

I am so upset about Simkin's departure. Since this is effective for 2018/2019, I am keeping my fingers crossed that he dances a full 2018 MET season. I was looking at the Staatballett Berlin website, and it looks like their spring seasons overlap, so I don't know how much he would/could be available to dance at ABT.

Ditto. I agree about it being really creepy.

I just got an e-mail with the casting as well! I'm so excited!

Thanks for the update! I have tickets for one of those performances. I've been checking NYCB website daily, but they haven't posted any castings yet. Can't wait for the Fall season!

What a shame that you hate the production so much. Of course to each his own, but I guess I don’t understand your comment with regard to Von Rothbart. If you are skipping NYCB’s Swan Lake because of Von Rothbart casting, then I have to assume that you also skip ABT’s Swan Lake. Just for the record, it was an absolute joy to see ABT’s Calvin Royal III dancing Von Rothbart this year. He’s a handsome and thrilling dancer. I can’t wait to see more of him dancing lead roles. In the meantime, I am going through ballet withdrawal, and look forward to NYCB's fall season, which for me, includes Martins Swan Lake.

I wouldn’t miss Swan Lake. While it is not my favorite production, ABT and the Bolshoi’s Swan Lakes have their problems as well. At least with NYCB, you can always count on seeing outstanding dancers at every performance. Sure, I prefer some dancers over others, but I never have to worry about getting stuck getting with “Cast D”. NYCB is chock full of remarkable dancers these days.

I would love to see the Golden Age and Legend of Love !!!!!! I remember Ivan the Terrible, not so much for it's score, but for it's high drama. But I'd take Golden Age over it any day. And you are so right about great roles for two ballerinas! So I second your nominations of both ballets!!!!! Bolshoi Ballet, are you listening?

I saw Taming of the Shrew on Sunday. Since there were so many negative reviews on BA, my expectations were pretty low. But I figured that if the ballet wasn’t any good, at least I was getting to see some top Bolshoi dancers. Well, I seem to be in the minority here, as I thought the ballet was witty and entertaining! We had a magnificent cast which included Krysanova, Lantratov, Smirnova, and Chudin. The women were great, and OMG what a wonderful group of male dancers doing impressively high leaps and fast turns. This ballet is apparently not everyone’s cup of tea (okay, pun intended re: the ballet’s cute take on two for tea), but I enjoyed the ballet so much that I actually hated to see it end. If you want to see this story as Shakespeare intended, then go to see the play, but if you want to see a fun ballet, with lots of great dancing, then you can’t go wrong with this top Bolshoi cast in Taming. And I loved the music. Sure, I’d like to see them bring Spartacus, Don Q, Ivan the Terrible , etc. next time, but I am soooo glad I didn’t miss this!

KarenAG - Thank you for sharing! I'm going through NYCB withdrawal, and have to wait until September when they're back at the Koch. We came close to going to Saratoga for a few days, and after reading your reviews, wish we had. Enjoy the rest of the performances, and please continue to share your reviews!

Me too! I can't stop screaming and clapping!

Congrats to Sarah, Devon, Christine and Calvin! The promotions are so well deserved! I'm so happy for all four of them! Like others on here, I was also hoping that Gabe would finally get soloist this year.