ABT Fan

Casting has been announced on ABT's website. No huge surprises except that the Don Q pas has been added to Program A. Lane/Cornejo get one and Seo/Whiteside get the other. http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=2/1/2018

Thank you, laurel. That was lovely!

I missed that. Can you post the link or direct me to whose Insta feed it was?

"We're Uber-izing ballet"?! Doesn't that say it all.

Cirio and Lane were on stage together for Corsaire last season; Cirio as Ali and Lane as Gulnare. Just seeing them interact I wasn't struck by how they looked next to each other or sensed any chemistry that I thought would make them a good fit. (It was fine for their respective roles in Corsaire though.) Maybe I'd be pleasantly surprised if they were to dance together. However, Cirio and Brandt are a "wow" couple waiting to be born (she was Medora at the same performance) and I bet they'd be electrifying in Don Q (another missed opportunity.) Thanks it's the mom for doing the men's tally. It got way too late last night for me to do that one. I'm glad Cirio gets 3 Mercutios, but he's done that role before and it's not the lead. As someone wrote below, yep, we'd probably do a much better job with the casting. 😉 I guess we could always start a Fantasy Ballet thread!

Yes and no. First, Cirio is also getting two performances of The Boy in Whipped Cream, so that's two lead roles, but obviously that's still not sufficient for a principal. Second, Cirio did most of the full-lengths at Boston and I really thought this year, his second year as a principal, we'd see a new role or two for him (new role at ABT that is). I don't see why he and Lane (though not together, I don't see chemistry there) couldn't have been given a SL, making that an ABT debut for him and much deserved casting for both of them. Teuscher/Gomes have two SL's. So does Copeland (one with Cornejo and other is TBA but that'll most likely be Simkin), but we know she gets two of most everything so that's not going to change. Why couldn't they have given Teuscher just one performance, then pair Cirio with Copeland and give Lane either Cornejo or Simkin (and the other can be paired with Copeland for her second perf). I realize that means taking one perf away from Gomes, a very senior principal who no longer carries a heavy load, but you've got two principals with not a lot to do. I did an audit of the female principal's load and it's worse than I thought. (I included O/O, Giselle, Myrta, Kitri, Mercedes/QoD, Firebird and The Maiden, Nikiya and Gamzatti, Juliet and the two leads in Whipped Cream in the tally. Harlequinade's casting is not out yet, so that's not included.) Number of principal performances each: Copeland: 12 Boylston: 11 Teuscher:11 Seo: 10 Murphy: 9 Abrera: 9 Shevchenko: 8 Lane: 5 We know Lane will also get Harlequinade, but even if we assume she'll get two shows that only brings her up to 7. And, I bet Copeland will also be cast (along with Trenary, we know for sure, and probably Brandt). Clearly they're grooming Teuscher to take over for Murphy when she retires, but I'm still surprised at the number of shows she's been given as a new principal. Regarding Abrera, if you remove The Maiden from the tally, which isn't a lead role, she gets knocked down to 7. The one upside for Cirio is that he's still very young, in his mid-20's, but Simkin isn't leaving, he'll still dance during the Met season after he starts with Berlin. We just don't know how much yet. So, if McKenzie isn't going to make room for him *until* Simkin or Cornejo dial back during back the Met seasons, then that could be a problem. Can't help but wonder if when he found out about the casting from his flat in London (he's been there for months so assuming he was told once already there) did he think "Well, maybe I should just stay here". Not suggesting that's an option, I don't know, just sayin'. There is never going to be an equal number of roles given to everyone, but for Cirio and Lane this is skewed rather drastically.

Completely agree. I'm dumbfounded. No Juliet or O/O for Lane? Matinee for Giselle? So, in order for me (and I'm sure others) to see a truly breathtaking Giselle, I'll have to take the day off from work. She better get the opening night of Harlequinade. To be fair though, I think part of the problem is that Lane and Copeland share the same partners: Cornejo and Simkin. And, we all know who gets preferential casting, and usually two shows per ballet. Cornejo seems to be dialing down a bit and he's also been injured a lot, so he's being "saved" for Copeland it seems. But, that doesn't excuse a matinee. Separarely, I'm happy to see Waski get Myrta (I was wondering who'd get a shot this year since Part is gone) and Shayer and Klein get WC. Shayer also debuts as Mercutio so he really, truly better get promoted next year. And, Ahn as Solor?? Wow! Interesting Osipova is coming back, but her Giselle with Hallberg is extraordinary. I don't see Teuscher as Juliet at all. I wish Forster was getting more. I was hoping for a Siegfried or even an Albrecht for him.

Davis was awarded a heroism medal today from a NY state senator for his bravery: https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20171025/lincoln-square/ballet-dancer-awarded-highest-state-honor-after-rescuing-man-from-tracks.amp

This was a wonderful benefit tonight and it was so nice to see Yuriko Kajiya and Jared Matthews on stage again. I still miss them at ABT. Mattthews gave a few curtain speeches scattered in between ballets and the chairwoman of the Houston Ballet also spoke. They talked about the amount of damage that the hurricane had done including to the ballet's main theatre. She said that the amount of rain that had fallen (51 inches!) on Houston was enough water to supply NYC for the next 5 years. I gasped but I appreciated that fact since how does one really comprehend how much rain that really is? Anyway. Since this was a charity event and all of the artists donated their time, I won't critique, I'll just mention the highlights for me. Kajiya was absolutely gorgeous in the Madame Butterfly pas and the Prayer solo from Coppelia. Really pretty choreography in Butterfly with lovely lifts. Ashley Mayeux and Sean Aaron Carmon from Alvin Ailey did Fix Me Jesus by Ailey. It's been years since I've seen the Ailey co and I was reminded how powerful and graceful their dancers are and what strong stage presence they have. Daniel Ulbricht and Daniil Simkin performed solos that showed off their best skills with lots of high flying leaps, pirouettes and plenty of personality. Ask la Cour of NYCB and Jacquelin Harris of Ailey did After the Rain which was mesmerizing. And, dancers from The Washington Ballet did Ratmansky's Bolero which was wow, wow, wow! ABT should do this piece which was much better than Ratmansky's new work that I saw on Friday. Julie Kent, who was in the audience, is doing an amazing job with this company. They were so well rehearsed, super confident and they tore up the stage. A lot of inventive choreography with difficult lifts. Great solo choreography for the men to dance that showed off their athleticism. One woman took a nasty fall but recovered well. Besides Kent, Kevin McKenzie, Irina Kolpakova and a few ABT dancers were in the audience. Matthews said the United Way of Greater Houston (which 100% of the proceeds goes towards) is still accepting donations, so if anyone is interested you can check out Facebook.com/heartsforhouston2017 to find out how to donate.

Disappointing that Lane isn't listed, but maybe Simkin isn't available for this tour which is why she isn't cast. And, surprising Teuscher isn't given one either. But, happy for Shevchenko.

Apparently Craig Salstein did not retire. I just noticed a footnote in the back of my program from Friday. In the "Special Acknowledgements" section where the dancers' sponsors are listed, next to Salstein is the asterisk stating "leave of absence". I wonder when he'll return?

I'm sure Cirio will be given those classical opportunities at ABT in due time. He's a new principal and is ABT's newest principal, so there are seven other guys ahead of him in terms of seniority. I think with Simkin's responsibilities now split w/ Berlin (he'll still dance at the Met, but we don't know if that'll be the entire Met season or not), that might result in more roles being given to Cirio.

Simkin will be splitting his time between ABT and Berlin, and will be dancing in the Met season.

Mary Cochran, a former dancer with Paul Dancer for many years, was found dead in her apartment in the Bronx on October 6 (though the date she actually passed away is undetermined). She was 54. She was such a spitfire on stage with a luxurious quality that made her magnetic to watch. Cochran was one of my many teachers at the Taylor school, and she was detailed, exact and so, so nice (and so tiny!). I remember her bringing in photocopies of the pelvic girdle for each one of us to study so that we'd better understand one of her frequent alignment corrections. She was so committed to her students and so sweet and approachable. I'm very sorry to hear that she's passed away so young. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/15/obituaries/mary-cochran-dancer-who-lit-up-the-stage-dies-at-54.html?ribbon-ad-idx=6&rref=arts/dance&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Dance&pgtype=article

That was so insightful, thank you for sharing. I appreciated her frankness, esp regarding guest artists and how that affected her confidence as well as the boredom that ensues while doing some of the same parts for 15 years before she was promoted to principal (she was a soloist for 10, but noted she had been doing some soloist roles since she was in the corps; as gorgeous as she was in peasant pas, I'm sure she's happy to have finally moved on from that role).And, I was surprised she mentioned DQ, but maybe that will be a good challenge for her to do something so against type.

There will be a gala held at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theatre in NYC on October 22 to benefit the United Way of Greater Houston for hurricane relief. Dancers from Alvin Ailey, ABT, NYCB, Houston Ballet among others will be featured. https://www.instagram.com/heartsforhouston2017/?hl=en http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3101105

Thanks for pointing that out, because those sections do not look unavailable to me. Guess I'm not seeing something.

There are a ton of seats open in the orchestra and balcony. The Family Circle is pretty well sold, and the Ampitheatre is sold out. But, I agree, not great for opening night.

Good heavens...here we go again. Guess he didn't learn anything the first time around.

I loved "Jerome Robbins Broadway", but I'm not sure how I feel about this. If they advertise it well, targeting the Bway audience, it might bring in new patrons. I could see R. Fairchild making a guest appearance for a show or two, if his schedule allows.

Adorable photo of Trenary and Whiteside in a preview showing of Harlequinade. Not crazy about the beard with this, but I'm sure that won't be there at the Met.

Good orchestra seats for this Saturday's matinee are $185! Are prices this high because it's their Here/Now program? I don't go to City Ballet that often, but I'd like to see this program.

I don't think I can make the first wknd work either. And, I'd only want to see Sat night to see Baca.

Yep. I agree. Maybe to accommodate more families? And, turns out there's a big Harry Potter Festival happening in Philly that weekend, so a lot of hotels are either sold out or at $400+ night. So, I don't think this will happen for me. Too brutal to do it as a day-trip.

I got the two Saturday evening perf's switched up. Their first Sat eve (17th) is correctly listed in both places as 7pm, and the second Sat eve (21st, the one I think I can attend) is correctly listed as 5pm.