KarenAG

This is the clip I mentioned today. It’s from Dancing for Mr B: Six Ballerinas, a great documentary from Anne Belle. 

21 minutes ago, rkoretzky said:

I’m glad to have anything but greatly disappointed with the SPAC administration who seem to have it in for NYCB no matter who is sitting in the offices. The Philadelphia Orchestra also loses money every year but their season remains at 3 weeks. Not that I want to see either of our resident companies slashed, but why has NYCB been cut to 3 weeks  in 1979, eliminated and then restored in 2005, cut to two weeks in 2009, cut further in 2013, restored to 2 weeks in 2015, and now this for the second consecutive year . 

Now let’s hope that someone at SPAC has the knowledge to negotiate for better programming: more Balanchine, more Robbins and different rep for each matinee. 

I couldn’t agree more, rkorestzky. With 7 performances, one of the mats could have had mixed rep, instead of a 3rd R&J.  For example, a Balanchine,  a Robbins and perhaps Pulcinella Variations, which would have thematically worked well. It’s very frustrating, disheartening and sad that NYCB is given short-shrift with this new director.  

20 minutes ago, FPF said:

Last night was the end of the NYCB summer season at SPAC.

Good news: they will be back next year. 😁 Bad news:  1 week only.😢

Before the performance, Joaquin de Luz was honored for his final SPAC appearance. He was given a bouquet and got a big ovation from the audience.

I'll have more thoughts on the performances later.

I didn’t hear that! When was that announced, FPF? I was hoping to hear at the opening of the evening; all I heard was Sobol’s welcome and her salute to Joaquin DeLuz. 

One week again? Truly sad. What are they thinking?? Ugh. 

Thank you for the information. 

21 minutes ago, nanushka said:

That is good news! Was it announced from the stage?

Yes, it is good news - we’ve all been worried NYCB would be cut out completely. 

18 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Yes, following the SAB original, they premiered the work for Ballet Society, with Todd Bolender.

Though it's not in the active repertoire at NYCB, there is a rep page for the work on their website here.

Thank you, Nanushka.  

The programs I’d love to see are Program II, Thu eve, and Program VI, Sun matinee.  It would be fun to see two different companies dance Tchai Pas, see no less than 5 new companies (Royal, Mariinsky, SFB, Joffrey and POB!), besides being able to cheer on our own beloved NYCB and ABT. I think I can only do one of them, living in Albany, and it will probably be the matinee, but I’d love to make that work!! Could also do both matinees, repeating 4Ts.

15 minutes ago, KarenAG said:

Is Symphonie Concertante the piece Maria Tallchief talks about that she and Tanny danced, one a viola and the other a violin? 

I need to do better homework on the thread - I see the work is indeed for  violin and viola and I do believe Maria and Tanny danced it. Thank you if anyone wants to confirm. 

On 6/22/2018 at 3:09 PM, Rick said:

Apologies if this is the wrong forum but does anyone recall a recent ABT performance of Balanchine's Symphonie Concertante (Mozart)? I'm just trying to anticipate possible casting for November 3 and 4. Thank you.

https://www.nycitycenter.org/pdps/2018-2019/Balanchine/?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DEV18BalanchineAnnounceMEM&utm_content=version_A

Edit: oops, never mind, the photo shows Gillian Murphy and Stella Abrera.

Is Symphonie Concertante the piece Maria Tallchief talks about that she and Tanny danced, one a viola and the other a violin? 

Hi FPF, 

Thank you and I will reply regarding a contact when I’m on my way up to Saratoga.  I appreciate your weighing in on the Gala as this is my first and I’ve been seeing this company at SPAC since 1980!  I received the 25% thank you for attending Ballet Nacional de Cuba in June and attending Tue night. The discounts showed up in my email the day after my first attended performance. (I saw BNC twice and the Balanchine twice). 

I hope we all enjoy tonight’s performance. Looking most forward to Four Seasons and Other Dances.  Wish I’d seen the Pulcinella Suite Thu night. 

Re my post above, I must qualify my B+ grade on Square Dance Tue and Wed.  After thinking about it more,  these dancers deserve an A.  It just wasn’t the crispest I’ve seen Square Dance danced. I remember a perfect Ashley Bouder once, and the PBS of Miami City Ballet dancing it is seared in my memory and is probably the benchmark for all subsequent performances of this stunning ballet for me. Jeanette Delgado and Renan Cerdeiro - heaven. 

 Who the heck am I to rate these dancers with ‘grades’, anyway! 

Best to everyone. 

Greetings, All,

It has indeed been a wonderful, albeit extremely brief, summer season at SPAC with our beloved NYCB.  I cannot call it a residency, which is what it's supposed to be, with just seven performances.  Hopefully, the company will be back for two weeks next year.  I haven't heard much on that front.  The two evenings of Balanchine were terrific, especially Four Temperaments and Symphony in C.  How I love both of those works, both musically and choreographically - well, I love the Corelli and Vivaldi of Square Dance, too!  Unfortunately, I had to leave Wed night during 3rd movement Symphony in C because of the long drive home (30-ish miles), which I was doing alone, so I bypassed the big wait to get out and on the road before I was truly tired. My husband joined me for Tuesday night and the company has not disappointed in any of the performances I've seen.  Someone on BA said Square Dance was good and that Ms. Pereira doesn't project especially, (with which I agree, but I like her dancing, nonetheless), and I thought the company danced the piece well overall.  So I'd give it a B+ 😊.      

As usual, I'm strapped for time, so I'll continue in this meandering style.  I saw yesterday's matinee of Romeo + Juliet with Lauren Lovette and, cast change, Peter Walker, I believe, in place of Taylor Stanley as Romeo.  I hope Mr Stanley hasn't injured himself.   Lauren Lovette was superb, so beautiful and projecting a girlish, on-the-brink-of-womanhood Juliet, full of her famous resolve and steely character.  I also loved Peter Walker, and the duo had a good chemistry, I think.  I don't particularly love this production, but I found good things to enjoy and love about it, wishing I could have seen Friday night's performance with Sterling Hyltin and Harrison Coll.  Everyone danced so great.  Tonight it's the Gala, which I usually avoid, but I received a 25% coupon and I am intrigued to see Four Seasons and again Other Dances and the new Peck.  From everything I've read about Something To Dance About, I'm not expecting a great ballet, although I will go with an open mind and heart.  it seems a little frenetic, lots of cast and costume changes, as Elizabeth Sobol of SPAC said:   "There's a closing piece called Something to Dance About and it's like 30 dancers in 30 minutes and 130 costume changes."  Whew.  

Speaking of SPAC, I wish they'd organize their box office better.  Instead of dedicated Will Call, this performance and then other performances lines, they just had everyone in line, no matter what their needs.  Hence, I waited TWENTY minutes to buy my R&J ticket, missing the first 15 minutes of the performance. I couldn't arrive at SPAC sooner due other appointments. Boy, was I annoyed. 

Anyway, I am (as are others on this forum) fervently hoping for two weeks next year.  I have emailed SPAC already once earlier in the spring and will again to voice my opinion.  New York City Ballet is the beloved jewel in SPAC's crown and they would be so short-sighted and wrong to keep the season at one week.  Have a great day.

On May 16, 2018 at 7:06 AM, cargill said:

I agree.  Stingy is a perfect word and I wish I had thought of it!  Mary

Agreed, Cargill, and well said, Eduardo, and an interesting description. 

Thank you, Angelica. 

Hello, 
Everyone.  I see some of you will be at Giselle 2 pm tomorrow.  So will I!!!  Should we meet up near 'Christian's Bar' (that's the Met bar, correct?). I have a seat in Row G - thought of changing it, after reading above, but they want $30 dollars to exchange!  Unbelievable.  I'll live with it. I do hope my sight view won't be impeded.  I'm very excited about my trip down and can't wait to see Sarah and Danil dance!   

How beautiful.  It brought tears to my eyes.  Thank you for posting this , maps.  It also filled me with sweet anticipation for tomorrow's performance of Sarah Lane in Giselle!    Woopee!!!  

Oh, I've been offline a bit and just hearing about Nini. What a beautiful life force she was! I loved her im Ballets Russes and her performance in Midsummer is breathtaking to me. It makes me cry. Reat in Peace, Ms Theilade. 

This is such sad news. I saw Sean dance many times. Rest In Peace, dear Sean.

Thank you, Alexandra, Helene, and all the administrators who give their time and energy to Ballrt Alert! 

So very late to this, but thank you, Helene, for a lovely Christmas t blessing.  Happy New Year to our Ballet Alert! community.    

4 hours ago, balletforme said:

This all reminds me of the defense of Jerry Sadusky.   Everyone jumping in to the defend a beloved organization. 

YES Vagansmom!!  That's right, consistent discussions are  usually not purely fabricated. 

Yes, sexual harassment is hard to prove and yes a corps member told to "stand out" could be interpreted multiple ways.  So dispose of that report.

But now we have 3 verifiable reports of assault:  a) Kelly Cass (and another dancer who verified seeing Martin over Cass) b) Gelsely Kirkland (Understandably not super reliable c) Darcie Kistler-- who did "report it"--to no avail; and d) an anonymous letter writer.  If we want to stick to facts, there you go. 

And, well, it seems pretty reasonable that someone would want to remain anonymous?   

And yes,  there are resources. There are places to go.   But where is the empathy?  Think about your 22 year old self and think about what you might have done.  

No someone's career should not be dismantled based on hearsay and innuendo but that's not the deal here.

If this were an occasional mistake wouldn't people want to defend Martins? Radio silence.  There is not one dancer male or female who is stepping forward to defend him. 

 

 

And the WaPo's statement about possible physical abuse of Heather Watts. 

7 hours ago, abatt said:

I found the accusation in the NYTimes laughable.  I'm referring to the corps member who asked Martins what she had to do to get promoted to soloist, and he reportedly replied that she had to make him notice her. She  twisted those words in her mind and took that as a proposition for sex.    Having been an audience member of NYCB for about 20 years, I know exactly what those words convey in the context of NYCB dancers: awesome technician and/or charismatic stage presence.     Without more - a LOT more - this accuser's allegation is simply not  a reasonable interpretation of his alleged words.  I'm no great fan of Peter Martins, but this one is a real whopper. 

Yes, I agree, abatt. When I read that (admittedly in the wee hours of the morn and so, not yet fully awake), I was confused at this being an example of abuse.,

On 12/6/2017 at 9:24 AM, DC Export said:

Do we think that Woetzel would step away from his commitment from taking the reigns at Julliard? That has been such a big slow roll out, I would think it would be difficult to extract himself from that situation. While Watts clearly has hit a goldmine in being able to foster new talent while remaining  dedicated to Balanchine, I am not convinced that the Woetzel-Watts partnership would be able to split their shared artistic vision into two distinct artistic houses.

I do not think Woetzel would leave his Julliard post, that's why said he was a longshot. But before he was appointed to it, I'd thought he would be a strong contender to lead NYCB when Martins retired. 

38 minutes ago, KarenAG said:

Oh, how I wish Suzanne would return to the company in some important way!! Tiler is just so great! 

As I think about it more, the timing couldn't be better for Suzanne to come on board to serve a critical need, coaching or otherwise. 

On 12/6/2017 at 10:58 AM, Birdsall said:

 

As for the Nutcrackers, I absolutely loved Tiler Peck's Dewdrop. Oh, my God!!!!! Her chaine turns that speed up so much at the end right before going into the wings.......STUNNING!!!!! To me she stole the show. Her off balance balances were amazing. Tess Reichlen, on the next night, was more regal in the role and exciting in her own way too. Loved her attitudes. Sara Mearns was a very dramatic Sugarplum Fairy and I liked her a lot in it using very dramatic arm gestures when falling back in the cavalier's arms or making many other moves. In contrast, I also loved the super sweet Megan Fairchild who was a more dainty and cute Sugarplum Fairy on the next night.

 

 

6 hours ago, canbelto said:

I was at tonight's performance. It was actually a tense, rather joyless performance. Indiana Woodward in particular looked nervous and constrained which is unusual. She's usually so energetic and bubbly. Understandable but for the first time I felt like the dancers were just getting through the ballet. There are exceptions: Tess's Dewdrop was gorgeous, Emily Kikta's Coffee continues to amaze and she still is the only one I've seen in so long to do those bent leg pirouettes in the finale, and the Marie and Prince (Maria Kashvili and Tenzin Niles) were a sadder, more soulful pairing than the other Marie/Prince. 

Hi Birdsall and canbelto! My first live NYCB Nutcracker (2011?) had Tiler Peck dancing Dewdrop and she was the highlight for me, in a Nutcracker performance that really blew me away overall.  She was stunning then so I am happy to hear these reports. I would LOVE to see Sterling in SPF - she is so tiny and exquisite. And Tess as Dewdrop, too, I'm sure is a treat. 

6 hours ago, canbelto said:

I was at tonight's performance. It was actually a tense, rather joyless performance. Indiana Woodward in particular looked nervous and constrained which is unusual. She's usually so energetic and bubbly. Understandable but for the first time I felt like the dancers were just getting through the ballet. There are exceptions: Tess's Dewdrop was gorgeous, Emily Kikta's Coffee continues to amaze and she still is the only one I've seen in so long to do those bent leg pirouettes in the finale, and the Marie and Prince (Maria Kashvili and Tenzin Niles) were a sadder, more soulful pairing than the other Marie/Prince. 

To this and cobweb's comment about the performances,  I'm sure everyone is feeling demoralized and uncertain, given the Martins news. Best thing that could happen is for an interim director to be appointed immediately for leadership needs and whoever assumes AD permanently is well-chosen and a great fit, and not hastily installed as a reaction to this shake-up. 

5 hours ago, Drew said:

I might wish Tiler Peck could go back in a time machine and coach Heather Watts...but the other way round?  I suppose coaching is its own separate skill and in this case...I hope so.

(Over the years I've been a Martins defender--with caveats--but maybe soon it will become possible to have a Farrell coach the Tiler Pecks of the company.)

Oh, how I wish Suzanne would return to the company in some important way!! Tiler is just so great! 

Just now, KarenAG said:

I can't see Darci Kistler at all in this equation. 

 

I guess because Darci is Martins' wife and because she hasn't, as far as I know, evinced any interest in leading the company.  My comment  is not intended to slight her in any way; I just don't see this as a possibility.  

10 hours ago, Helene said:

Even if Martins had decided to resign on his own without any of the allegations being aired, the only way Kistler would have been considered, IMO, is if they specifically wanted continuity, with the assumption, being that he would be highly influential.  This was one of the big issues at Miami City Ballet, where a former company dancer was viewed as "more of the same" rather than a change from it, whether the person making the judgement was for or against a continuation of the Villella regime.

Now were she to be installed, I think the assumption would be that she was a front-person, with him still pulling the strings from the background.  

I can't see Darci Kistler at all in this equation.