ABT Fan

So, Paulina Waski has returned to the company from Boston and will be dancing Flower girls this week: https://www.instagram.com/p/CepUbqxM5uA/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Omg, that SNL skit is a hoot! Yes, thanks for posting. Volcanohunter, I haven’t seen the new film but your comments are exactly how I felt about La La Land. I made it through about 10 minutes, which was 10 minutes too long.

Yeah, that is odd. Seems as if Abrera is only taking this on for the 22-23 academic year while they search for a permanent replacement, which could turn out to her in the end I suppose.

T&V casting has finally been posted: Shevchenko/Bell: 7/7 and 7/9 (evening Teuscher/Ahn: 7/8 Brandt/Cornejo: 7/9 (matinee) I'm surprised, but pleased, that Shevchenko got 2 shows. I would have expected AD fav Teuscher to get that. https://www.abt.org/performances/master-calendar/

Yes! Such a distraction. And, the thick puffy collars. Most of the women look swallowed up as if they were playing dress up. Especially bad on the smaller dancers.

thank you!

California, where is the clip of them rehearsing? That link takes me here: Virtual Summer Aesthetics Festival Announces Programs Thursday, June 2, 2022 Posted by: Julie Van Camp Share| The 2022 Virtual Summer Aesthetics Festival is pleased to announce programs in June and July. The Festival is co-sponsored by the American Society for Aesthetics, the British Society of Aesthetics, and the Kent Centre for Aesthetics. Attendance is free and open to all. June 3: The Aesthetic Value of Scientific Experiments (panel) https://aesthetics-online.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1621636&group= June 8: Does Kant Really Have an Account of Humour? https://aesthetics-online.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1626358&group= June 10: The Ethics of Cover Songs (panel) https://aesthetics-online.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1626071&group= July 5: Aesthetic causes of epistemic underestimation and the banality objection to aesthetic cognitivism https://aesthetics-online.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1645377&group= Do you have a proposal for the Festival? Guidelines: https://aesthetics-online.org/news/news.asp?id=590512

There was a live stream?? (Only for donors or something I guess?) Thanks for letting us know. Maybe Bell has a wedding to go to (or some other random thing that caused this casting shuffle...).

If Bell is injured, maybe it is minor enough that he believes he can get through Act I at the gala but not risk the entire ballet. Certainly hope he is not injured. If he needs to be replaced in several ballets, Ahn is the most likely replacement as he has the least to do. With Whiteside already out, they do not have a deep bench to pull from. As of right now, nothing posted on Bell's IG.

Such a pet peeve when the Met opera has updated casting but ABT’s own site does not. 😒 Nice to see two more corps dancers get a shot at Purple VR. I know Royal is doing two Siegfried’s but I still wish he was cast; his interpretation is so good.

Thank you. Did anyone happen to notice the shows that are mostly listed? Nearly all of Seo's: one of her SL's, both of her R&J's, both of her Love/Rage. Yikes.

Yep, but many, many years ago. It was Raymonda Divertissements (Kolpakova/McKenzie) from California's list above. Remember the hate the new costumes got? I'll admit I didn't love them but it was a hot topic on this site. Here's a YouTube video of the bows from one performance (Teuscher wasn't at this performance). Teuscher had just been promoted to soloist. We might have been at the same performance - I remember how extraordinarily (and effortlessly) she handled some of the prickliest choreography I've seen. Men were shouting "brava" before her solo was finished. At the time, I remember thinking that no principal woman could have done it half as well as this relatively unknown dancer (except Murphy). She doesn't bring it in terms of artistry for me, but technique-wise she blew me away at that performance.

Trenary has a recent IG story showing her working on a new contemporary piece with Jenn Freeman. I've been wondering if she'll decide to leave ballet and immerse herself fully in contemporary. Of course, having outside contemporary (or other) pursuits doesn't mean she will, but it's certainly a passion of hers that she's been exploring for years now. The double-hitter you mention is actually June 29, which unfortunately is a Wednesday, a week day and work day, otherwise I could not pass that up.

Shevchenko/Royal have two shows - Wednesday matinee and the July 4th matinee. But, I wish she would have been given at least one evening performance. Also, I agree that she is arguably their best O/O. I really thought she'd be a star by this point, but alas she is clearly not a favorite of management's. *Edited to add: JuliaJ, I just realized that you did write Shev has two shows, both matinees. The rest of my point remains the same i.e. I agree with you. https://www.abt.org/performances/master-calendar/

Not as of yet.

Yes, but to have a coaching session with Irina means just more than a heads up as I highly doubt Irina has time for extra coaching. We’ll just have to wait and see. Maybe McKenzie paid attention to what recently happened at NYCB with all of the injuries and illnesses wrecking havoc on casting and is prepping Trenary now. Though she certainly deserves her own show in her own right….

Sooooo….potential big news. Trenary has just posted clips of herself rehearsing SL with Irina on her IG. No mention of any casting dates and I see nothing on ABT’s site. Do understudies usually get 1:1 time with Irina? I’d think not as she’s stretched pretty thin. SL is a month out and there are no TBA’s. Perhaps someone is already injured and they’re getting her ready. Hmmmm…. https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd_tz6NJ1hC/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

I’ll expect Hurlin to be promoted after the Met season. She’s debuting Kitri now on tour and O/O at the Met - unless something catastrophic happens, I think it would look odd if she’s not promoted after that. And, I think McKenzie would want to promote her before he leaves - an up and comer, and arguably next future star, who trained at the JKO school since she was little and came up through the ranks. It would look good for him. She’s destined to become a principal regardless from what I’ve seen.

This is great news!

Also agree, those 3 are glorious. Would also add Trenary.

While I know this will sound harsh, I do hope a bit of cleaning house will happen. There are 3 soloists whose work is mediocre at best and whose roles at this point should be given to more talented and deserving corps dancers. There is a bottleneck at the soloist rank and I think of several corps dancers who have been stuck in the corps way too long, dancers who have been performing soloist and even some principal roles for awhile now. And, yes there are principal issues as well. I’m surprised that at least one retirement isn’t happening this summer.

I was not expecting Jaffe! Wow. I feel rather neutral on this decision, though I’m pleased they chose a woman and someone who has a long history with the company, and many illustrious years as a principal. (So many other possible choices that would have been disastrous imo…)

Re: Gorak. I'm surprised he hasn't left as he's hardly cast in anything anymore (understandably, for many reasons), Shevchenko also did T&V last time around - I'd be very surprised and disappointed if she wasn't cast. Not surprised about Brandt, but really didn't think Cornejo had T&V in his legs anymore. Was hoping Trenary would get it - I think she'd be amazing and as we know she's hardly cast in anything for some reason.

I somehow missed “full length” in the article. Wowza. I’m guessing they’re trying to capitalize on his West Side Story success. But, I agree with others that this is a huge gamble and I have my doubts…

Thank you for posting this, California. With ABT doing R&J there next year, it’s safe to assume they’ll do it again at the Met next year too (and, they’re performing it this Met season).