ABT Fan

As noted on the Met Season's thread, Lendorf has slowly been removed from all casting in 2019 (all of the tours and the Met season). I expect his bio to disappear from the ABT site soon. So, with Lendorf possibly leaving (not confirmed), Bolle retiring this coming year (but he only ever danced one/two perf's anyway), Hallberg only dancing about 3x at the Met and no tours, Simkin splitting his time with Berlin, we only have 3 full-time year-round male principals: Cornejo, Stearns and Whiteside (with Cornejo unfortunately injury-prone). At least Simkin is joining the winter tours and is scheduled for 8 performances at the Met; compared with 12 for Stearns and 14 for Whiteside, though I suspect those numbers for Stearns/Whiteside will increase even more once Purple von Rothbart and Tharp casting is released. So, three male principals for eight women?! (Seven, if you remove Murphy who is on maternity till next Fall.) Do they even have a PLAN? The male principal roster has been a problem for a few years, and it keeps getting worse. Clearly, they are grooming Bell, who is taking on big debuts in the full-lengths this year, but he's still in the corps. Heaven help them if Stearns and/or Whiteside gets injured.

I saw on Lane's Instagram that Gorak was replacing Hoven (but it was never updated on the company's site). I'm sure that's because Hoven was needed to replace Cornejo with Copeland (and how could he do five performances?). Gorak has done this role before, but not in a few years and he may not have had much rehearsal time. Even so, based on other's reports it seems that he always had trouble with the partnering and the torch lift, which may be why he was taken out of this role (except now, being needed as a sub). Who did Chinese and how were they?

Depending on someone's family, that may improve things... I always have to watch White Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life. Danny Kaye never fails to make me laugh, and I love the dance skit mocking Martha Graham.

In addition to Murphy not dancing this Met season (though for a very happy reason!), Lendorf has been replaced in Harlequinade by corps dancer Carlos Gonzalez. Good for Gonzalez though. He’s also scheduled for a debut in Corsaire, so he’s a new one to watch. Lendorf isn’t scheduled for anything else during the Met, so is he leaving? Right now he’s still doing the winter tour. Also just noticed that Trenary and K Williams will be making their debuts as Gulnare (replacing Murphy and Teuscher, respectively) and Teuscher is now debuting Medora. I’m sure there are other changes (Manon, mentioned on another thread) but that’s all i see right his second. Happy for the additional debuts.

Ditto.

Hallberg with Copeland????

Casting re-shuffling continues. Hoven has replaced Cornejo in all three of his performances. He's still dancing w/ Lane, so Hoven is doing five (!) Nuts.

Aran Bell has been replaced in his debut. Whiteside fills in w/ Abrera at the matinee on the 22nd. I think Abrera/Bell had their first show at the matinee on the 16th (?), but Abrera is no longer listed there. Seo/Stearns now are.

Boylston has replaced Murphy at the 7pm 12/15 performance (with Whiteside).

I don’t see an announcement on ABT’s site about any guest artists so I don’t think we know yet. Either the Met made a crazy error or let the cat out of the bag.

I'm relieved that Abrera has been "restored". Am hopeful that Shayer will get some (most) of the male TBA's.

Her ceremony gown is absolutely stunning!

Yikes, is right. I was considering getting a ticket. Glad I didn't!

Yes, ABT's site is correct. It's the Met Opera's site that isn't, and what several of us are referencing: https://www.metopera.org/season/2019-abt/

Not quite. Shayer is still listed for Gulnare and others. Maybe i need to clear my cache.

Very disappointing evening tonight. Scotch Symphony - a ballet I never need to see again. No masterpiece. Why on earth did San Fran bring this ballet when there are so many greats to choose from? The Scottish accents became tiresome quickly. I don't understand what the story was. Who was the girl in pink and why did the corps men keep protecting her? Froustey was too girlish for my taste (perhaps she's suppose to be) and I found her hand mannerisms distracting. One corps woman took a nasty fall but recovered well. The ballet did answer one important question for me. Scottish men really *do* wear something under their kilts. 😉 Tschai pas - now perhaps this isn't fair, but Tereshkina and Kim got nothin' on Peck and De Luz. There was no charm, playfulness, musicality or daring. Or great chemistry. Tereshkina did a study in delicacy. She held a balance (show boating really) in a strange place, while bringing her leg down from a develope. She fell out of her fouettes at the beginning and the rest of them were strained and off. Kim's jumps were breathtaking of course, but he was devoid of personality. The fish dives were safe and unexciting, rather by the numbers. Midsummer Night's pas - one of the most beautiful pas that exists to me. Park and Marchand did well and had some lovely moments, but Merrill Ashley remains the gold standard that no one has ever come close to that I've seen. Four Temperaments - Joffrey doesn't have the style (and in many cases the talent) to pull this off. There was no punch. Most of the dancers looked really uncomfortable. The forward-moving grand battements lacked attack and purpose. During Melancholic, I kept picturing Anthony Huxley. Not helpful throughout the evening were the folks I was surrounded by - using their phones and taking pictures, constant talking, loud gum chewing, and a few people coming or going during the performance. Just not a good night.

LOL! Well, mystery solved!

I hope the issue isn’t because Shevchenko is replacing Abrera in a role or two, because Abrera was assigned so little to begin with, and someone mixed up the names. Hopefully, this site is fixed soon. I agree - it doesn't make sense to have a guest artist come in for so many roles, and some secondary roles to boot.

I haven't received anything (oh, but I believe you mean only for subscription renewals, and I'm not a subscriber). I did just get an email from them about renewing, the upcoming season, etc. If there were any additional announcements to be made (i.e. Smirnova, more retirements), I'd think they'd be listed in there. But, then again.....

Yes, the Met's site is often ahead of ABT's, but this is crazy. A guest artist, and Smirnova to boot, doing that many performances? (Unless, she's joining as a principal.) And, as Princess Tea Flower and Pierrette? At least part of this has to be an error. McKenzie can be heartless, but I can't believe he'd totally remove Abrera. One Corsaire show for Brandt/Lane/Cornejo has also been removed to accommodate Smirnova. Also, the Met has Teuscher w/ only one SL, on the 29th, and Boylston w/ two. On ABT's site, it's the other way around.

Lane posted on an Instagram story that she'll also be doing the Le Corsaire pas de trois with Herman Cornejo and Brooklyn Mack and Sinatra Suite with Cornejo on 11/2 in Hong Kong. (I'm unclear if those performances are also "with" Hong Kong Ballet.)

Yes, that is odd it wasn't mentioned in the press release. I sure hope they're not discontinuing the celebrations. I'd have voted for it to be held during one of his Des Grieux performances (since it's his debut and he recently said that that was always a role he wanted to dance), but Bolle is retiring in the same role. So, that may overshadow him. Sleeping Beauty?

Very sorry to hear about Copeland's family situation. Tonight was a good night. I was pleasantly surprised. Symphonie Concertante was overall excellent. Shevchenko and Teuscher were gorgeous, each demonstrating superb technique and some impressive balances. Shevchenko though projects so much more - she has grandeur, elegance, command. Teuscher's presentation tends to fall flat; she's rather one note. Forster was an ardent partner and rallied his long limbs to keep up with the fast footwork. His pirouettes were clean and beautiful. The demi-soloists were very good and strong (Post not so much). Standouts were the new soloists Hurlin (especially) and Williams. It was nice to see Paris back on stage following her maternity leave. I've always liked her. But, her pointe shoes were a disaster. It looked like she removed nearly the entire shank from both shoes to accentuate her arches to the extreme and softened the toes into mush. At the beginning of the ballet, she rolled off of her right pointe and stumbled slightly (that shoe looked the worst). When she bourreed you could tell she had virtually no support in her shoes. It was distracting and I was worried she was going to really hurt herself. Other Dances with Lane and Cornejo was ballet heaven. They were technique-wise outstanding, plus soulful, charming, witty, gracious. Perfect casting. What more can I say? AFTERITE. I was prepared to hate it or be offended by it given what some people have said about it. But, I actually want to see it again so I can hopefully better understand what was going on. Why was that room set up like a greenhouse? Did it signify "nature" per the program? What were the diagrams on the floor, train tracks? Why did the group let one girl run away? I really liked the choreography; it was different, challenging, interesting. Stravinsky's score - what else is there to say about that stroke of genius. Cornejo, Royal, Boylston, Hoven were standouts. Corps dancer, Garegin Pogossian, whom I've never noticed before, was an exceptional dancer. He held his own partnering with Cornejo. Ferri was stronger than I was expecting. I can't imagine Teuscher in that role with her lack of flexibility. Obviously this is a dark, intense piece, but I liked it, as strange as it was to see ABT doing it and right after tutus and sweet Other Dances. I understand why so many of the dancers have posted on social media their appreciation to McGregor and how grateful they are for the challenge and sense of community they've gotten from the process. If I was still dancing, I think I'd feel the same. I will say that the audience was completely silent, after non-stop coughing throughout the theatre during the first two pieces. Maybe the coughers left before AFTERITE. Maybe people were shocked into silence. I can definitely understand why some people don't like this piece, and it's very un-ABT, so no surprise it's not selling well. The orchestra looked reasonably full, but there were a lot of empty seats in the first ring where I was, and further up.

Yes, you're right. I didn't notice that one. For a short fall season, there have unfortunately been a lot of injuries/illnesses.

As curious as I am about seeing Bell's debut, I don't think I can sit through Teuscher's boring portrayal again (complete with lack of extension, loss of iconic O/O poses, etc.). I've liked her very much in other ballets, but not this, and I don't understand her continually getting two SL's every year. And, as much as I'd love to see Lane given an O/O again, if there was a Hurlin/Royal debut, I'd be very excited about that! Maybe next year. I just don't see Trenary as O/O; same with Brandt.