ABT Fan

Thought I'd add this here instead of starting a new thread...

Abrera will be performing After the Rain with Craig Hall on April 4 at City Center as part of the Breaking Barriers program.

The CC site doesn't mention what she'll be performing, but she discusses it on her Instagram feed that includes some gorgeous rehearsal photos. I'm dreaming about ABT acquiring this piece for the Fall season with Abrera and Gomes. Wow.

http://www.nycitycenter.org/tickets/productionNew.aspx?performanceNumber=9532#.VvVxFeIrLct

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDWXgVuMTI7/?taken-by=stellaabreradetsky&hl=en

I LOVE DTH's Creole Giselle. I had a VHS tape of it growing up that I nearly wore down from watching it so many times. Their re-visioning of Giselle completely worked for me and wasn't a mutilation of a classic in my eyes. Not every classic can be tinkered with, successfully. I'm usually a fan of leaving the classics alone, with few exceptions. Guess that makes me a purist.

I'm fairly certain she doesn't coach at ABT - what a loss! Thanks to all for confirming that was indeed Sally Wilson.

Gregory's ability to roll through her foot while she's in a la seconde and in arabesque is astonishing. Even today very few dancers have that kind of control. I was trying to make out who the other dancers were but at least on my iPad the quality was very grainy. Was that Sally Wilson as the Queen Mother?

I'll be looking forward to it!

I hope someone posts a review of this, especially one of Simone Messmer as Titania.

Right. Thanks. Weird that they don't mention that in the press release though.

If Parish is an exchange artist, then who at ABT is the exchange dancer? And, since he's only doing Sylvia, I wonder which dancers will fill the 3 TBA's in Corsaire?

They've made it official now on their site that Simkin is doing Romeo w/ Copeland on June 25. I realize Simkin is a principal, but I feel bad for Gorak that he's losing that role this season.

The video that Plisskin posted (thank you) is the first I've seen of Womack, so I can't judge completely. But, she clearly has technique and talent. There were some errors and bobbles, but dancing on a tiny stage may have contributed to some of those as she had to dance under herself at times (geez, I think my NYC apt is bigger than that stage). Not to mention her partner and the orchestra, both of which I can't criticize without sounding mean, so I'll just say that they were both not good.

I agree with you Tom. Male dancers are just as beautiful as female dancers, though in different ways at times. I love this photo from Marcelo Gomes' Instagram, from Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake. When most people think of SL, they picture a frail, delicate, lithe female. But, as some people know, in Bourne's version, the swans are male, and this photo is beautiful to me because of its quiet strength and intensity:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBJqLxWCue_/?taken-by=marcelua

Hammoudi has now been cast as Romeo with Murphy for the evening performance of June 22. Only Copeland's performance at the matinee on June 25 still has a TBA for Romeo. I'll feel really bad for Gorak if he isn't cast.

Wonderful clip! Thanks for posting.

Oh my! I can't wait.

Natalia, I don't know which makes me sadder, "guest artist" or "on leave". In either case, I hope that the last time I saw him dance wasn't the final time. On the other hand I think this is the better way to handle his absence rather than hoping for tbds or as in the past, casting him only to have that change.

I think "guest artist" is a better category for Hallberg given his infrequent performances with the company. But, I agree w/ abatt that Vishneva shouldn't be able to keep her status of principal either. Regardless, I too wonder if the last time I saw Hallberg dance will actually be the last. I sure hope not and hope he recovers well.

Very unfortunate news, but not surprising given their many woes. I feel really bad for the dancers who missed audition season and may be jobless for awhile. I also wonder if Carreno will come back East to ABT.

I think we might see an increase in ABT dancers coming into the Washington Ballet as guest artists. Last season we had Xiomara Reyes in Sleepy Hollow and a few years ago David Hallberg guested in La Sylphide.

Don't forget Copeland and her Swan Lake debut last year.

I believe that is a debut for Paris (and newly scheduled), so that's great news. I think she replaced Brandt.

I actually think this is a smart move on the part of Julie Kent and Victor Barbee.

They may be looking ahead to Kevin McKenzie's eventual retirement (by choice . . . or not) and wondering what their place would be under a new regime, particularly in the case of Barbee. When the ABT artistic director succession is discussed, Barbee's name is rarely mentioned. The two most frequently cited names are Alexei Ratmansky and Ethan Stiefel. I could see Barbee working under Ratmansky but, with Steifel, there's no guarantee that Stiefel wouldn't bring in someone from his own generation, like Sascha Radetsky or Marcelo Gomes, as his #2. In which case, Barbee would become the ABT equivalent of Laurent Hilaire -- the odd man out.

That being said, this is a big, big loss for ABT as Barbee has been with the company since the mid-70s and Kent has been a company member since the mid-80s. They know all the productions backwards and forwards. And long may Irina Kolpakova live but she will be 83 years old in 2016. That's another looming problem the company has.

Oooooooo.....I really like this idea: Stifel as AD, with Radetsky as the associate AD. Or, Gomes as AD, w/ Radetsky. For some reason, I'd never considered Radetsky in that mix, but it makes wonderful sense.

And, yes, it's a big loss with them leaving. As I mentioned upthread, Kent is a beloved teacher/coach, and I'm surprised she'd leave especially given her recent appointment to the summer intensive, but for the reasons you've mentioned I have to agree it's a smart move for them. I had thought Kent would become the next "Kolpakova" at ABT.

So who will get Victor Barbee's job? Would that be a good fit for Ethan Stiefel?

I'm betting Ratmansky. I view that role like the VP of the United States (maybe that's incorrect) so I don't see why he couldn't handle that plus fulfill all of his choreography commitments. He seems to have had a lot of influence on many dancers, giving big roles to corps and soloists, so it's an obvious choice to me.

I'm very, very surprised Kent is leaving ABT. She seems beloved by so many dancers there who really value her teaching and coaching. So much for her running the summer intensive. Can't imagine Mckenzie is thrilled. And I'm also surprised Barbee is going to take the associate role there, reporting to her basically. Congrats to her though. Good to see another woman appointed AD.

Copeland is now doing 3 Bluebirds, replacing Brandt at the matinee on 4/2. If Brandt is injured, I hope she recovers in time for the Met season.

OK. So I'm disappointed that Whiteside has inherited the Lendorf Colas performances. Why not someone like Aaron Scott for that role? I think he would be quite splendid. MO

I was wondering the exact same thing. Why not Scott? Or Forster?

Lane has also danced with Gorak, and quite successfully (Nutcracker, The Tempest....). If Cornejo has other commitments that now prevent him from dancing SB, why not pair Lane w/ Gorak, and partner Boylston with Forster. I think Forster may be a bit too tall for Lane and I think he'd make a wonderful Prince.

Pretty disappointing and confusing. I'm not surprised Hallberg still isn't scheduled, but there are still a few TBA's, though I'm not holding out hope. His social media sites are still quiet; no postings in months. I hope I'll get to see him dance again.

It doesn't make sense why the Lane/Cornejo SB would be removed, if Cornejo is still scheduled to dance earlier in the season. I hope that's an error on the site, and I'd sure hate to see Lane lose her Aurora. I'm surprised Gorak wasn't given a few of those recently staffed TBA's. Also, he did R&J w/ Copeland last year so I wonder why he isn't paired with her again this year (or at least with another ballerina, say with Boylston instead of Whiteside).

The website indicates a show has been added to Saturday afternoon:

http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=4/1/2016

Wow. And Trenary gets Aurora and her debut there. Great news for her. But, surprising that isn't going to Abrera, a principal.

ABT has now posted its Sleeping Beauty casting for Detroit, March 31-April 3.

Boylston, Lane, Seo and Murphy are the 4 Auroras, with Gorak, Cornejo, Gomes and Stearns respectively.

Very glad Lane is getting one on tour.

http://abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=3/1/2016

Aren't Sebastien Marcovici and possibly Janie Taylor too, employed at the POB as coaches? If so, I guess they'll be going back to LA Dance Project or was it the Colburn Academy with Jenifer Ringer?

They're both at the LA Dance project. Wonder if they'll still be needed there now.