ABT Fan

Hooray! They must have just posted it because I had checked this morning. Such great news. There are still a lot of seats available for that performance on every level, but I expect that'll change drastically very soon.

vipa, I agree with you. Paris definitely gets fewer roles than other female soloists and I've often wondered why she was promoted (what did management have in mind). I've always been a fan of hers too but she's not really being utilized, or certainly not in the same way the other soloists are. Perhaps LadyBubbles you're right in that McKenzie never promoted her with the intention of giving her better roles, but as a reward for what she's already accomplished. And, I agree that given her bio she's probably in her late 30's as well. I imagine that not every promotion to soloist is with the intention or hope that that person will become a principal. Take Roman Zhurbin. He's a good dancer but a better actor (the best actor they have) so I assume (again, this is my assumption only) his promotion was recognition for that very important artistic contribution. But, I seriously doubt they would have envisioned him as a principal candidate with that promotion since he performs mainly character roles and some demi-soloist dance roles but no principal/lead dance roles. I am glad they were both promoted. I wish I saw Paris get a few more soloist roles, but since it looks like they're grooming several soloists for possible principal status, there's only so many opportunities to go around.

I agree that Herman Cornejo is exquisite in this role. Gorgeous, airy, light jumps and perfectly shaped arms. Just sublime.

Don Q casting for Espada and Mercedes on May 16 (Royal and Paris) and the eve of May 20 (Forster and Shevchenko) has now been posted: http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=5/1/2017 And, Scott has now been cast in Mozartiana on July 6 and the matinee on July 8. http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=7/1/2017 Still eagerly awaiting Albrecht casting on the eve of May 27 with Murphy and all of the Purple von Rothbart's for the run of SL.

I agree - Copeland and Cornejo would be a better match in R&J than Copeland and Gorak, or even Simkin. I didn't catch Gorak's debut as Romeo but I believe I remember reading mixed reviews. Though he seems to have stalled in casting and his acting and partnering still needs work, I believe he has great potential that I hope with the right coaching will be met. I see a beautiful Romeo in him someday and Lane would make an exquisite Juliet. Even though I hated The Tempest, they were gorgeous together and had such natural chemistry that I can only imagine how that'll translate into R&J. Trenary and Cirio would also make a very nice R&J. Usually the ballets they tour with earlier in the year are an indication of what is to come at the Met, though I don't know if that's always been the case.

I forgot about that. Well, maybe he'll get another shot.

Hopefully we'll see a debut or two (Lane, Trenary, Gorak) that'll lead into the Met season.

I wish they'd bring back Robbin's Antique Epigraphs. I feel like I'm the only person who likes that ballet.

Here's a clip of Lane's rehearsal in Oman. Murphy only has a clip from an earlier rehearsal in N.C., below.

With Gomes, too. Small sacrifice. Congrats to all of the nominees!

This photo from Oman today has me even more excited for the Met season to start next month! Here's hoping Hallberg will reprise Albrecht.

That is my hope and assumption if all goes well for Hallberg in Oman next week. That date is still marked TBA on their website.

Murphy and Hallberg are doing Giselle in Oman next week, so assuming (and hoping) that goes well for him, he'll be cast for May 27.

That's the one I'm leaning towards!

I agree with California. That site is awful, not user friendly. They should make it easier to buy more than one ticket at a time. Just got my Lane/Simkin and Abrera/Gomes Giselle tickets. Hooray! Now to decide on which Whipped Cream cast (I wish Hallberg was in another performance other than the gala).

I saw this photo on Simkin's Instagram, and you can kind of see his gold costume here. I thought the shorts looked really short but given his position in the air I thought they just rode up. Guess not. But, the boy gets married? I'm sorry, but that's just weird. https://www.instagram.com/p/BRrIZschJ5X/?taken-by=daniil&hl=en

Thank you Josette, I can't wait to read more of your review.

I wonder what she'll be doing here in NYC.

Agree. She's also done his Seven Sonatas and Clara in his Nutcracker. And, since she's finally being given Giselle this season, I have my fingers crossed too.

Here's a little snippet of Sarah Lane rehearsing Princess Praline in her costume:

That's a very important assessment. How do they manage Nutcracker? I haven't seen Balanchine's production in years, so I can't recall how that adult cast compares with a SB. I assume they'd use the dancers from PA II for these large productions (?). Their website doesn't list a number, but there are 12 dancers in the PA II photo. If that's the correct number, then that would make 54 dancers total (including 8 apprentices) between the two companies. Does anyone remember if PA has announced an intention to increase their number of dancers for next year?

I just checked availability again, and I'm shocked at how many unsold seats there are. I really hope somehow that changes in the next day or so, though that seems unlikely.

Ha! Couldn't agree more. Although, on that note, I doubt they'll be able to import Andrew Veyette for T&V if they find themselves in a casting emergency like ABT once did, given the "history". This line up reads to me like Corella desperately needs a home-run season and so is stocking that with crowd-pleasers and plenty of Balanchine to appease Philly. After all of the (ugly) housekeeping and bad press, I hope it's successful.

Natalia, thank you for this. I agree that Ratmansky isn't one to shirk from political commentary, but, he's usually reflecting on the past (I'm basing this on what I've seen of his, which certainly isn't everything). Since I'm not familiar with the original synopsis, since you say it emphasizes "impoverished European citizens" that need to be "calmed down" by the government, I would understand his desire to leave that out and lighten it up. There could be a lot of assumptions that ABT is making geo-political statements about our current world with such a ballet, and I would understand them not wanting to invite that criticism or turn away patrons. Yes, art often (and, I think, should) reflect life, but these are very unpredictable times as evidenced by our other thread on the NEA. And, I think that no matter which side of political fence you sit on, one thing everyone seems to be able to agree on is the stress most of us feel every day due to the never-ending onslaught of negative news and world events. So I understand the desire to "lighten things up" if only for sanity's sake.

The NEA should recognize good programs around the country so I don't see that as being politically motivated. If they wanted to send it all to NYC, that would be a shame. There's a reason why it's called The National Endowment of the Arts, and not The New York Endowment...