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Looks like Maria Kochetkova will soon be performing La Bayadère with ABT: Tuesday, June 2, 2015, 7:30 pm LaMarche; Kochetkova, Cornejo, Copeland http://metopera.org/metopera/season/abt/la-bayadere

Has anyone on the forum been able to see a R&J performance? I'm unable to travel at this time myself. Maria Kochetkova has let slip that her performances with Davit Karapetyan are being filmed. Why those two, I'm not sure - Sarah Van Patten and Carlos Quenedit were the opening night leads. The reviews have been good for the most part - criticism has been mainly directed at the music, or sections of Tomasson's choreography, or the use of much mime acting.

"The truth is that today the real tradition of ballet, as it should be, is in America. Whether or not you like how the companies are dancing, they are the right size and the director can have a real impact on the dancing, starting in class. Here, with 154 dancers, seven company classes every day, two theaters, it’s very hard." It sounds like people are upset by Millepied's assertion that some of the Amercian ballet companies are better organized, or perhaps run better, than the POB. And changing the management model at POB would somehow "Americanize" the institution, as well as the style of dance and choreography. But that would be quite a leap. And I don't get the sense from his interviews that he's really looking for a duplication of say, NYCB's company organization (thank goodness), but he is thinking about how POB can be more streamlined, efficient and effective - how can POB be at the forefront of the art of ballet, rather than simply the "oldest ballet company in the world"? With the POB and the major Russian companies, there is so much emphasis placed on maintaining traditions that there often isn't sufficient energy and time being devoted to the creation of new artwork. That's obviously a big issue with Millepied, as he's coming from the side of the creators/choreographers. These statements may rub some people the wrong way, but I think there's a lot of truth in them. The last statement about injuries and lack of conditioning at POB has been talked about by Mathilde Froustey, who was amazed at the amount of services available to dancers at the much smaller SFB, and she's said that there's been definite improvement in her strength and general energy levels since joining in the extracurricular healthcare/training. Why these things haven't been important at POB is certainly a great mystery. The Concours - advancement by trial - is too flawed to be the only manner of promotion. It simply needs to be used differently: A.D.'s should absolutely be able to promote dancers they think are special talents, and, there should be a means by which less 'exciting' dancers (to the A.D.) who have paid their dues can also earn advancement. Neither way is perfect enough to be the only means of promotion, but they can be used together to create a more fair system.

Very sad news. A truly epic life. it did seem like she would be here forever.

I'm finally noticing this informational video about Yuri Possokhov's Swimmer - Yuri gives some background information about the ballet.

Yuan Yuan Tan talks about the Juliet role in this new video from SFB:

The editor in me noticed that they misspelled the word "benefit" on the titles. A worthy effort nonetheless. One of the problems with getting older is our increasing awareness of the fragility of life, and how difficult it can be to live a relatively long, fullfilling life.

Thanks Daniel, that does help. Aside from the obvious ones (Mitchell, Adams, Verdy and Bolendar), I don't really know the other dancers by their faces.

I ran into samples from Jamie Narushchen's 3 CDs here, and thought this might be of interest to some. Perhaps this belongs on the Ballet Talk for Dancers forum...but I'm not a part of that. Click on the CD cover thumbnails to get to the track demo lists: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/JamieNarushchen

Question: Does anyone know of a comprehensive cast list - by section - for the Vol. 2 Agon performance? This is the structure as reported by Wikipedia: I. Pas-de-quatre (4 male dancers) Double pas-de-quatre (8 female dancers) Triple pas-de-quatre (4 male + 8 female dancers) Prelude II. (First pas-de-trois: 1 male, 2 female dancers) Sarabande-step (1 male dancer) Gaillarde (2 female dancers) Coda (1 male, 2 female dancers) Interlude III. (Second pas-de-trois: 2 male, 1 female dancers) Bransle simple (2 male dancers) Bransle gay (1 female dancer) Bransle double (2 male, 1 female dancers) Interlude IV. Pas-de-deux (1 male, 1 female dancer) Four Duos (4 male, 4 female dancers) Four Trios (4 male, 8 female dancers)

Hong Kong's Phoenix TV names Ms. Tan "one of the most influential Chinese" http://en.yibada.com/articles/25355/20150409/hong-kong-s-phoenix-tv-names-influential-chinese.htm "Meanwhile, He Hui, China's operatic soprano, and Tan Yuanyuan, San Francisco Ballet's prime dancer, were both honored as the most influential Chinese in the world of art." A short article in San Francisco magazine online - be sure to click through the image gallery (Yuan Yuan Tan's comments are enjoyable): http://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/yuan-yuans-world

And I know from watching Ratmansky's Shostokovich Trilogy that ballet can still challenge the viewer's mind, and be emotionally thrilling, or at least engaging. That approach didn't die along with Balanchine.

And from her Twitter page: lapetitefrench_ Little casting problem : I'm doing Romeo today... I know Juliet's choreography better !!!!! vitomazzeo I know Juliet Coreography in case you need a partner! lapetitefrench_ @vitomazzeo that's perfect I'm dancing the same day as you, you can do Juliet for the matinee and Romeo for the evening show ! Perfecto !!!!

All good points, Vipa and Amy - I definitely wonder how Wheeldon, and Peck especially, are going to be creating quality ballets if they are constantly moving among companies to satisfy the demand. Art on demand generally doesn't turn out well. Although the large companies are monetarily in a better position to support riskier, and more diversified projects, they are often the last ones to take any actual artistic risks. Big companies have to make the "shareholders" happy. IMO, ABT is probably the biggest offender: it's "American" ballet, only it really isn't so very much. Reinforcing the European classics, and using mainly foreign-born dancers, is their stock in trade.

Two of the ballets I've hoped SFB would do are La Fille mal gardée (and Froustey at least has performed this before), and Tudor's Pillar of Fire. Fokine's Petrushka was perfromed by SFB a couple years ago, and Pascal Molat did a fine job as the lead. Since SFB performs Possokhov's Firebird, it's not likely we'll be seeing Fokine's orginal version. I've already made this gripe before, but why do Swan Lake again when there are other classics that need more attention?

It's worth noting that, after being sidelined for the 2014 season, Vanessa Zahorian has danced the entire 2015 season without any noticeable drop in ability or enthusiasm. Congratulations to Ms. Zahorian. SF_Herminator: it's good to hear that Jennifer Stahl is suffering no lasting troubles. When she hit the floor, there ws a definite pause, as if she was stunned by the fall (both physically and mentally), but she pulled herself back up and finished in good form (as you probably saw). I thought for a moment that she might have hit her face on the floor - it was hard to know just how bad a misshap had occur - it all happened so fast. But sometimes, luckily, a fall is only a moment of embarassment, and nothing more.

The term "superstar" is definitely overkill here - maybe someday - but Peck is certainly a man of the moment. I tend to agree with Quiggin and PeggyR that the 2016 season isn't as exciting as it could be. Replacing Swan Lake with a mixed program of Symphony #9 and Liebeslieder, and a section of American in Paris sounds good to me.

Re: De Sola - I've been seeing a fair amount of her dancing in the last year and she seems ready for this type of role, but Andre and Stahl are probably deserving too. Andre is a real work horse for the company. De Sola is injured, btw. She's been out for a number of weeks. Tiit Helimets is a Romeo in the Nordic sense. ? Seriously I'm not sure why he doesn't dance the role, but I presume the Principals can tell Helgi what they feel comfortable with (and he decides whether or not to override their preference). It seems pretty clear that Feijoo and Sylve are able to shape their participation level to make things more livable and presumably extend their careers.

Thanks for the reminder, PeggyR - I would expect one of the soloists - especially De Sola - to be offered an opportunity. But Sasha is out, so Andre or Stahl (but is she hurting after her fall?) would be a good bet. I have to assume that Helimets has taken himself out of the running to do other things, or he wouldn't have made the statement that his season was over.

Edit: Yuan Yuan and Vito are still listed as performing Saturday night and Sunday matinee - for some reason the 8pm casting is shown before the 2pm casting which is confusing things. I think I may mention that to the SFB webmaster. Tiit Helimets mentioned that his 2015 season had ended. And I thought that can't be, but the Romeo and Juliet run is pretty short, and there is plainly not enough principal roles to go round.

Thanks for letting us know - for some reason I haven't received this email yet. Perhaps because I didn't donate any extra money yet. ? I'm not crazy about the Swan Lake inclusion - there are just so many other harder to see ballets that deserve a chance. Ah well. I may go to the overlaps of Programs 4 & 5, and 7 & 8. If anyone has firsthand experience of any of the lesser known ballets listed, I think we would all like to hear about it.

Lucky you! Mazzeo is making a special appearance so perhaps he's only available for the one weekend. Then it's back to Europe. I agree that it's odd that Chung isn't participating. No Feijoo or Sylve either. I saw Feijoo in the audience for Shostakovich Trilogy, and Program 7 matinee the next day - with what looked to be visiting family. She may have a minor injury - who knows? It's that time of the season when a lot of dancers are hurting.

Why are Tan and Mazzeo performing at 8pm to 10:30pm, and then again the next day at the 2pm matinee? A self-destructive impulse? Froustey with Di Lanno could be an interesting pairing.

Swimmer performances are getting standing ovations so I figured Tomasson would bring it back - at least a portion of it. I hope Yuri puts some more work into the weak bits. I'd be happy to see Symphony #9 again too.

I agree, if you have the chance, go. And considering how badly the Putin government is getting along with the rest of the world, there may be no opportunities, soon. Russian ballet tours to Europe and the U.S. may cease in the near future. We shall see...