ABT Fan

On 5/28/2022 at 12:46 PM, angelica said:

I love Ternary, despite the 2 strikes against her: (1) She poorly executed the hops on pointe during her Giselle performance last Fall at the Koch, and (2) she seems to have many gigs that she arranges outside the auspices of ABT that allow her to do contemporary work, unlike Shevchanko and Brandt, who are, currently, at the top of my own personal roster. Speaking of which, if you're willing to do a double header, on July 29th Shevchenko is dancing O/O at the matinee and Brandt is dancing the same role in the evening. How can anyone pass up that opportunity?

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.

4 hours ago, JuliaJ said:

On a separate note I can't believe ABT's arguably best current Odette/Odile, Shevchenko, is only cast for the the weekday matinee Swan Lakes, including on the 4th of July when most people are not looking to sit inside a theater all afternoon. 

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/

15 hours ago, vipa said:

Is casting for Theme out. I'd like to know before I buy a ticket.

Not as of yet.

10 hours ago, canbelto said:

Skylar Brandt said in an interview with Megan Fairchild that Kevin McKenzie gives you a heads up to be ready for a certain role, with the high likelihood that you'll get a performance because of either an injury or other reasons. You can either learn the role on your own volition, or you can actually wait to be cast.

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=

38 minutes ago, MoMo said:

I agree with your thoughts. I do think they will promote, as they had promotions in 2020 during the pandemic, even though the dancers weren’t performing. It will be Kevin’s last hurrah. 

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.

13 hours ago, DPell said:

Patrick Frenette is debuting Benno this season. I'm glad he's getting roles like this following his Hilarion in the fall. https://www.instagram.com/tv/CdEj984pfno/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 

This is great news!

49 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Several however are glorious dancers - Christine Schevchenko, Skyler Brandt and Aran Bell are wonderful dancers.  I haven’t seen enough of the recently promoted principals in lead roles to judge them.  
We’ll see what happens.  
 

I love the fact that dancers are being taken into the company from the JKO school and promoted to soloist and principal dancers. However, let’s say if Olga Smirnova decided to join ABT now that she has left Russia and is settled in Europe, I would be thrilled.  

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

1 hour ago, abatt said:

I don't think so.  ABT's past glories were based on its roster of  dancers, and unfortunately a number of principal and soloist dancers in the current roster are  not glorious dancers. 

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…)

7 hours ago, DPell said:

He is. I think Ahn and Boylston also did T&V Fall 2019.

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.

16 hours ago, abatt said:

For me, the idea of a full length Justin Peck work set to Aaron Copland music is not enticing at all. 

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). 

7 hours ago, California said:

I saw the debuts of Aran Bell and Catherine Hurlin at the Saturday afternoon performance of Don Quixote. A few observations:

• Bell is the real deal. Superb technique and presence, wonderful technical mastery, great comedic and dramatic flare. Best: he's only 23 years old! So we can look forward to another 15-20 years of continued growth as an artist. The one-armed lifts in the first act were solid and he walked quite a distance in the second.
• Hurlin is nicknamed "Hurricane," as I understand. She has a sparkling interpretation of Kitri, but some unfortunate technical limitations. She is not able to hold unsupported balances, even briefly, a weakness made more glaring by comparison with Boylan and Brandt in the preceding two performances. Her hops on point in the dream sequence were painful to watch. The conductor noticeably sped up the tempo just for those--to get them over with as fast as possible? She barely travelled a few feet while others covered most of the stage on the diagonal. She was fine in the fouettes, starting with a few doubles, then solid singles, which seems to be the pattern with all the Kitri's.
• Chloe Misseldine, in her debut as a Bridesmaid, exuded the confidence and aplomb of a seasoned veteran. (Someone asked me to take note of her and I confess I don't usually pay much attention to the lesser roles. Bridesmaid in this production is a very challenging role in all three acts and a nice opportunity for a young corps member to shine.)

Thanks for your thoughts.

No surprise to hear this about Bell. He is indeed a rare talent, from what I've seen, with a maturity way beyond his years.

Very surprised about Hurlin. I wonder if any of these limitations you saw were due to nerves. She's done the leads in Nutcracker and Love & Rage, but this is her first major principal role in a full length. This makes wonder what her O/O debut will be like. She was supposed to debut Aurora at the Met in 2020, so if she cannot hold unsupported balances or do any hops on pointe, it makes me wonder why Ratmansky would cast her.

Misseldine posted a clip of her performance as Flower Girl on her IG, and from that short video she demonstrated everything you said. She was featured a lot on their tours last year. I have a feeling she's going to be a star sooner rather than later.

And, re: your comments on Stearns - he's always been blah, and yes, serviceable at best. I've never understood his promotion to principal - 10 years ago maybe the thinking/hope was that he'd improve or maybe they needed a tall principal. He is very handsome and "princely" looking - perhaps that's another reason. The only thing I saw that he was good in was The Moor's Pavane, opposite Roman Zhurbin. I think Zhurbin's extraordinary dramatic abilities must have pulled something out of Stearns, because he electric. 

9 minutes ago, California said:

A huge crowd was waiting outside the stage door Thursday night, presumably for Simkin. Without printed programs, I wonder what he signed? 

I’m sure the fans wanted selfies…

12 minutes ago, California said:

I'm seeing the KenCen performances. The ballet is a real "upper" for me and I get to see five different casts -- all quite wonderful. Trying to make up for lost time during COVID!

Wow, 5! Please share your reports after, especially for any debuts like Hurlin and Brandt.

Gosh, I didn’t realize she was still living. An end of an era.

5 minutes ago, California said:

I know nothing about her in particular, but after 10 years in the corps I have to wonder how people might respond if told: sorry, no promotion to soloist for you this year or probably ever. (I have no idea if she was told this, just wondering...)

Or perhaps people see the handwriting on the wall and start making alternative plans on their own. What makes this more complicated is the end of McKenzie's tenure as AD. I haven't seen any hint anywhere of likely successors, but once that person is named, I would guess many will rethink their own futures. 

This, and also much of the tour and Met casting has already been determined (subject to change of course). If a 10-year corp dancer wasn’t cast in any soloist roles following Myrta from last year that would give them pause as well. Of course, I don’t know if that happened, just providing another angle.

22 minutes ago, ECat said:

I concur about his performance as Hilarion. It was so powerful and amazing.

Wasn’t it? I can’t imagine anyone else in that role. Certainly there could be another dancer who would also do an extraordinary job. But, it’s hard to picture anyone else coming close to what Cirio did with it.

Great news that Simkin will also join them on tour.

Im not familiar with Camargo. Has anyone seen him dance?

Wow! Helene, I agree. His Hilarion in Akram Khan’s Giselle is one of the most amazing performances I’ve ever seen. Lucky Boston to get him back.

47 minutes ago, nanushka said:

It was Reichlen's request, per the recent article in the NYTimes:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/17/arts/dance/teresa-reichlen-retiring-from-new-york-city-ballet.html

I loved reading that part of the article.

Thank you for this, I missed that article. She’s so classy.

Is it a NYCB retirement thing to only give the dancer a single rose? Or is that a pandemic thing? A flower shortage thing (which is a real thing right now)? I’m so used to ABT retirements where each person coming out gives a bouquet. I suppose that is wasteful but this looks so skimpy to me, especially for a dancer of Reichlen’s caliber.

Wow. I too hope this means Simkin will appear at the Met.

Wow, that’s big news, especially for Sisk. I remember her well from Breaking Pointe (gosh, that was 10 years ago?!). A gorgeous dancer. Congrats to them both!