ABT Fan

Lendorf has been replaced in Bayadere with Cirio!

With the casting of Bell as Romeo (and Ahn as Solor), this signals to me that, one, the company has finally decided to put to rest any hope that Hammoudi has what it takes to be a leading man/principal (he's hardly cast this year but this seals the deal). And, two, that they are finally taking the tall male principal issue seriously. Though both of these guys are untested (Bell has only been in the corps for a year!, and was an apprentice for a year before that) they have a lot of potential and are big guys so we'll be able to gauge their potential for the future. I normally don't go for such a sink or swim scenario, but I applaud the company for giving more opportunities to the inhouse/youngen's. I'd much rather see them cast than Hammoudi or a guest artist (though I'm all for Kim as Solor; that's a great use of a guest artist, but, let's leave it at that). Also, Don Q casting was finally sorted as well and Zhong-Jing Fang has been cast twice as Mercedes, a debut for her too! Another great opportunity gone to a corps dancer. Abrera has been put back on the schedule and will dance Mercedes with Lane's Kitri - yay! Hallberg hasn't done Purple Rothbart in years so I doubt that'll happen, but why is that casting taking so long? I'd love to see Royal, but it'll depend on when he's slotted; several O/O's/Siegfried's I want to avoid.

Holy cow, Aran! That’s a shocker. And, I completely agree about Hurlin!

LOL! Definitely for the partnering, but I think he'd lag on the dancing at this stage in his career. But, his partnering and charisma would probably make up for it. Didn't he do Tschai Pas a year or two ago w/ Tiler Peck in Vail?* *Edit: nevermind. It was Allegro Brilliante.

Who would be the ideal partner for Mearns in this piece, who can not only handle the difficult partnering but also the virtuoso dancing?

Thank you for that! Never saw that. But, even that link is hard to find. It's not visible on the "Master Calendar" page (which is where I always go). You have to go to the "Spring Season Calendar".

If they do that, then I could see them giving it to Seo (who is already scheduled but two days later) w/ Hammoudi. Both of them have done this ballet together before. Otherwise, I don't see any other option. Unless, they go w/ debuts.

This makes sense, regarding Lendorf. But, this performance is June 13, still plenty of time to learn the role, unless he's still not recovered from his injury and isn't rehearsing yet. If he doesn't do Romeo, I'm wondering who could replace him? Stearns is already doing two, and Whiteside is already scheduled for the day after, so I can't imagine it would be either of them. Obviously no for Simkin/Cornejo and Hallberg is already doing two as well and would be ill-suited to partner Teuscher. That leaves Hammoudi, for someone else who has already done the role (so has Gorak, but he's too small for Teuscher). Unless, they go for another debut and say cast Ahn, who is already partnering Teuscher in Bayadere.

Um, did they really think most folks hadn't noticed this yet? I realize they'd want to give a shout out to the designer and the donor, but they should have released this a month ago, when the site actually launched. I guess given their delay in releasing casting, I shouldn't be surprised. But, it's still hilarious.

The Green Table is one of the greats, but, it's not performed that often for some reason. I'd like to see ABT bring this back for their fall season. But, I wonder if it would be viewed as too political for our current times.

What excellent news!!

Wow, I didn't think Baryshnikov did any coaching - at any company. Concerto Barocco is one of my favorite ballets and is my favorite by Balanchine. I have loved it since I was a young ballet student. It's the perfect marriage of choreography and music and if I could go back in time and perform one ballet, I think this would be it. So, it was thrilling to watch Laracey's debut - spritely, confident and full of attack. I liked her better than Reichlen actually, who needed a better partner than la Cour; he struggled with the consecutive lifts on the diagonal, barely getting her above his chest at the end. My only critique of Laracey would be that I wish she had more forward reach with her arm and upper body during the backwards-sliding arabesques during the opening sequence. I thought Angle did a fine job in his debut in Agon and the prickly plunging arabesque was done well despite some arm straining. But, he always looks out of shape to me. Kowroski is strong as steel; my goodness was she gorgeous. Coll and Gordon were the other standouts. Four Temperaments was all about Huxley. His Melancholic was expansive, lush, with gorgeous backbends. It was nice to finally see Miller after reading so much about her; she's lovely and her potential is clear. Simultaneously, having her on stage with Lowery was an interesting contrast. After reading so much about Lowery on this site I can understand why some folks do not care for her; she's a different sort of ballet dancer. But, in this piece I thought her strength, boldness, and uniqueness was well suited.

Boy, are you right. I didn't even consider that. Just looked at the site and there are a ton of seats available for both of Kim's performances. But, same for both of Copeland's shows, so I guess it's the ballet and not the dancer's.

I just received an email from the company promoting Kim in Bayadere, so he's still coming.

Nope. Very curious about that too. And, the rest of the TBA's are driving me crazy (including who the Purple Rothbart's will be). Too many unknowns so close to the start of the season.

It sure is. I'm not sure I like it. Maybe because I'm just used to the "tattered and dirty" original. It is an old sculpture, after all. This looks so new.

Waski took over ABT's Instagram stories tonight for their fundraiser at the Hudson Yards, and in the last story I just watched she was wearing a boot on her right foot. So, she's clearly injured. I feel bad for her and was looking forward to hearing about her debut. Hopefully, she won't miss out on the entire Met season. Like others, I am glad that Wiliams is getting a shot in her place.

Interesting. Hope he's fully recovered. By other dancers' Instagrams, Harlequinade rehearsals have been in full swing, which of course they should be so close to the start of the season, so I wonder how his cast has been learning/rehearsing this new ballet without him. He's a pro, so I guess as long as he arrives in NY really soon, he can pick this up with enough time. Still have my eye on the casting, though.....

I noticed that Kim wasn't listed in the brochure as well. I didn't take that to mean that he's no longer cast, but that the brochures were printed up before he confirmed as a guest artist. Their brochures are typically inaccurate in terms of casting because of the print timing. And, as California noted, he's still listed on their website (and on the Met Opera's website, which is usually more up-to-date than ABT's website.)

I remember reading this as well. I also wonder if Kochetkova will go to Berlin with Simkin. They already do a lot of guesting and galas together. She seems to already have a busy guesting schedule, so maybe she'll just freelance.

LOL. I'm way overdue to see Concerto Barocco again, one of my favorite ballets ever.

No new Lovette?

I saw them do Bolero last October when they performed at the Hearts for Houston benefit here in NYC. It was incredible and the dancers killed it! I highly recommend seeing that piece.

I'd be very surprised if Marcelo Gomes was not one of them.

That IS a great choice. What wonderful news!