ABT Fan
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Posts posted by ABT Fan
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Thrilled to see Moreno and Tyson getting the award. Wonder who will dance the West Side Story number (that I assume and would want to be a part of her acknowledgement).
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Prodigal with Cornejo and Murphy as the Siren = dream casting
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Oh no not Spectre de la Rose!! Why?
It's a lead role for Simkin for one (who had very little to do during the Met season). Not suggesting that's the reason or the only reason they're doing it. I can see Lane or one of the new soloists, Trenary or Brandt, doing the ballerina role. Maybe Scott or Shayer will also get a shot. But Cornejo has also done this role in the past.
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Tamm and Ribagorda are now both real estate agents at the same firm in NJ.
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ITA. Tamm leaving was the absolute low point of the season for me. I am still in mourning.
Agree. But not sure I agree that he would have been promoted, but I feel he should have been. He was a gem and I still miss his dancing.
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I'm very anxious to hear about the Fall Season as well. Some ballets are to be assumed at this point but it would be nice to get the actual announcement.
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I never thought I'd say this, but this flood of promotions has renewed my faith in ABT. Maybe they listened to all of the criticism about not nurturing homegrown talent enough. Who knows. But, seeing a swath of promotions for dancers who have toiled away for many years at the same level is inspiring. Abrera was a soloist for 14 years! Paris was in the corps for 14 and Scott was in the corps for 11. Copeland a soloist for 8 and Forster in the corps for 8. I noticed several Twitter and Instagram comments from fellow dancers regarding Abrera with the hashtags #perserverance and #homegrown or #homegrowntalent. Yes, new blood every now and again (like Cirio, though I'm sure that must frustrate some of the corps men who were passed over) is good for the company. But, there's nothing like seeing someone work their way up, especially over many years.
Speaking of Cirio, I've never seen him dance but I've read that he's an amazing dancer so I'll look forward to seeing him hopefully in the fall. I wonder if he'll go the way of Whiteside? One year as a soloist then get promoted. From where I sit now, bringing him in seems smart. They need another Cornejo, a short principal who's a virtuoso and a good partner to short ballerinas. Brandt and Trenary are small (though I'm not sure about the height differences bet Cirio and those 2 ladies) and I could see KM fast tracking them and giving them Juliet, Aurora and other lead roles for which they'll need a partner. Cornejo will have Kochekova and he's also frequently injured it seems. Simkin is small but too slight and not strong enough to partner for most lead roles. And since Cirio was a principal he's already performed a lot of these lead roles (like Whiteside).
Anyway....did anyone else in NYC happen to see the awesome fireworks display last night over western Queens/Randall's Island? I caught it by chance and I thought it was a wonderful celebration for the homegrown promotions!
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Wow!! Congrats!! Abrera was finally promoted?! Never thought I'd see the day. And glad Scott and Forster got their due too. Am happy for everyone but these three in particular since they've been waiting for so long and deserve it so much. Oh happy day! (But disappointed Royal wasn't also included and very surprised Hammoudi was left out. I was sure they'd promote him this year.)
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Marian Butler is leaving? I'm sad to learn that. According to her bio she's actually been there 20 years. I believe she's the most senior female corps dancer. She was always a charming Cowgirl in Rodeo but she hasn't danced that role in years.
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Was anyone at last night's performance? I'd love to hear how Baca did in his NY Purple Rothbart debut.
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I'm not convinced she was lying, but what I'd be interested to know is, having (mistakenly or deceitfully) made that a part of her narrative, has she ever later acknowledged the truth? I don't know the timeline of when people began pushing back on the idea that she was the first -- and whether, for instance, her 2012 Glamour interview came after that or not. Is there anything in the public record about her correcting this often-made (by her and others) assertion about her?
I don't know when this was added to her website, but on the bio page of her website it reads "in 2007...Copeland [became] the third African American female soloist and first in two decades at American Ballet Theatre."
You can see it here: http://www.mistycopeland.com/home.html
Of course that's not a correction per se, of any earlier misstatements (or whatever you want to call them) given to any specific publications or made during any interviews.
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Wow. That's great news. Congrats to her!
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I just posted this in another thread about Marcelo Gomes, but as this pertains to ABT's Fall Season....
Gomes' ballet, Aftereffect, will be part of the Koch season in October:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1355162704/broadway-dance-lab-cycle-3/posts/1274037
Edited to add: Here's a YT video showing a snippet of the ballet:
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Marcelo Gomes has joined Broadway Dance Lab as a guest choreographer:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1355162704/broadway-dance-lab-cycle-3/posts/1274037
The article also states that "his newest work, Aftereffect, will enter the repertoire of ABT in October 2015 at the David H Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City."
Edited to add: Here's a YT snippet of that ballet:
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Going back to Copeland's matinee, can someone who was there say if there was an announcement of any kind regarding Anderson and Wilkinson coming out at the bows? Or was there anything in the program (am guessing no)? I remember Anderson quite well from her dancing days, but if I was there I might not have recognized her and I'm sure I wouldn't have known that was Wilkinson. It would have been really nice for them to have been identified for the audience.
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I really wish I could have been there last night.
Gomes posted this funny little video on his Instagram, featuring the 2 Rothbart's: https://instagram.com/p/4VmCMYCuTj/
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I could see Vladimir Malakov playing Nureyev. But, I have no idea if he can act.
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Program reads "Toman Zhurbin's and Alexander Hammoudi" for the two Rothbarts. Since Purple is the major role, assume Zhurbin???? Or Hammoudi.
The program would break down the casting for all of the acts. I'm sure it says Hammoudi for Purple Rothbart in Act III.
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Zhurbin has always danced the other Rothbart (whom I call Swamp Monster). Did he really do PR?
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In addition to Leeann Forster's hinted at departure via Tommy's Instagram, Luciana Voltolini has made similar statements on her public Instagram account. Maybe too many Bathildes for her too. A shame.
Voltolini says explicitly that this is her last Met season w/ ABT. She's joining Staatsballett Berlin. https://instagram.com/p/2d_CuWjT2f/?taken-by=lucianavoltolini
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Sorry, but ABT is just not the company that it once was with regard to in house talent anymore. I can’t believe that I am alone in being totally disgusted.
You're not alone. I too am disgusted for all of the reasons you stated (and I'm certain, given other's comments on this board, that there are more of us).
I'm absolutely dreading the next few weeks when we'll see the latest crop of departures and promotions (or lack thereof).
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The apprentices have been moved over to the corps. Changes are a-coming! Hoping the promotions will be announced soon!
Wow, that's quite a handful. It's making me dread seeing which other corps members are leaving that must have warranted so many additions so soon.
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So, here's a question:
How is it that some of ABT's dancers have websites of their own that are FAR superior (more sophisticated, visual, etc.) than ABT's website? Whether or not these dancers funded the creation/management of the sites themselves or someone volunteered to do it, if they can find the means then why can't ABT do the same?
http://www.isabellaboylston.com/
http://www.jameswhiteside.org/
http://www.mistycopeland.com/home.html
Maybe their Head of Marketing or their Online Media Manager should get one of these dancers to hook them up with whoever did their website. Copeland's was done by http://www.starvingartistwebdesign.com/ which is a do-it-yourself'er. Their elite plan only costs $12.99/month for crying out loud.
ABT, renew yourself by gettin' with the program.
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Regarding Lane/Cornejo doing the fish dives:
How do we know they didn't do them because they were NOT able to..? That was my impression, and it could perfectly be the reason. We probably will never know. As per the choreography being not original, it is true that the fish dives are not part of the Petipa's original scheme, but as Ratmansky was rather following the London production, and the fish dives were originated by Olga for that very production, it makes sense that they would preserve them. As per myself I don't want to see them substituted by now.
Because Lane/Cornejo have done the fish dives in performance before, in the old Kirkland SB for one, without any difficulties.
Radetsky and Selya Among Fall 2015 Fellows at NYU's CBA
in American Ballet Theatre
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I can't imagine Radetsky would write a tell-all sort of book about ABT. He's got too much class for that. I've also enjoyed his writing immensely and can't wait to read more of it.