ABT Fan

No they don't perform Bayadere every year. They haven't announced next year's season yet so no telling if they'll do it next year too. They'll rest a war horse ballet every now and then for a few seasons before bringing it out again. Bayadere sells well (esp with all the big guest artists who are cast in most of the principal roles) so if you want to see it you should go this season since we won't know for months if it'll come back next year.

Are they allowed to "reimagine" Balanchine's Midsummer with new/different sets and costumes? I thought that altering any aspects of Mr. B's ballets was prohibited under his trust.

But either way, I think it's fair to say that what the ballerina does with her arms during the balances is optional.

As long as they don't flap wildly in attempt to stay on balance.

I just looked up this episode on imdb.com and Stephen Hanna will star in it.

Sterling Baca has been given the TBA slot in Fancy Free (formerly Hallberg's) for May 13 and 16. Good for him!

What a lovely video. Thanks for posting that.

Does the dancer really not know it's coming?

I've skimmed this thread and can't find mention of who I'm thinking of.

There was a male NYCB dancer who died of AIDS probably in the early 90's. He was considered a rising star at the time. Anyone remember who this was?

Who is going to Kennedy Center performances? I'm seeing Julie Kent and Marcello the 28th and going back for more the next day. Pretty excited to see Julie one last time!

Please share your reviews with us after the performances!

If anyone goes tomorrow night, I'd love to hear how Gorak does in his first T&V.

I was certain that Firebird was created on Copeland and she was the first cast (but I see ABT's site says it was Osipova). It was a big deal (at least to me) that a newly created work by Ratmansky had a soloist as its first cast principal. Maybe Copeland was first cast at the Met and that's what I'm thinking of?

Also, let's not forget that McKenzie denied Corella's fans an opportunity to say farewell. Wiles and Malakhov just left with no special goodbye. How does a dancer like Herrera go from dancing Bayadere, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Don Q and Giselle last season to dancing one Giselle matinee this season? Something is very, very wrong with this picture.

Does ABT have marketing department? If so, how could they allow McKenzie to release such a sour statement about Herrera changing her mind about Sleeping Beauty? How unprofessional for an artistic director to criticize his own company member in that way, no matter who may truly be at fault.

Corella did get a farewell. He performed SL. I was there.

Usually dancers don't get farewells at ABT unless they're retiring and Wiles didn't retire. She left to start her own company so I didn't find it odd. Last Met season was unusual in that 3 soloists were given farewells. I've never heard of a soloist being given a farewell before. And only Radetsky was retiring; Matthews and Kajiya went to Houston. I personally think they were give farewells to try to appease some of the public outcry over the company's treatment of their homegrown dancers vs guest artists and their not being promoted or given better roles and hence their departures.

McKenzie's statement in the WP was unprofessional and disrespectful to Herrera. I can understand why she changed her mind after performing SB once and why Bolle withdrawing would be the final straw. She's been extremely loyal to this company and deserves better.

Reyes joined as a soloist so she didn't work her way up from the corps, but she still had to work to get promoted.

I've always liked Kent (though I think she should have retired years ago) but she's clearly gotten better treatment then Reyes and especially Herrera for obvious reasons.

Casting update: Thomas Forster has been given the "TBA" in Les Sylphides on May 11 and 14. Hooray!

What? What is the reason behind this I wonder (since the article doesn't say)? Anything to do with the recent change in artistic leadership?

And, the dancers were really fined for making mistakes during performances??

I'm so glad to see Abrera performing this role again, but if only in NY...

For what it's worth, according to the Australian Ballet's website, she is the only female guest artist who will be performing Giselle in Sydney, in two out of twenty performances.

Have McRae and Osipova danced together before?

Here is Eric Tamm's:

http://www.libertyboardofrealtors.org/NET/Agents/Agent.aspx?id=13787

Forster should have been developed into this role long ago. I'm crossing my fingers that he'll get at least one of the TBA spots in Les Sylphides since he's done the role before.

What would have made sense would have been to move Hee Seo from the opening night "Giselle" to the Wednesday matinee. Then Herrera's farewell would have been on the Friday opening night.

Absolutely agree.

But there are all kinds of interlocking elements in this kind of schedule, and it may be, at this point in the process, the only option they had was the one they took.

Maybe. And I'm sure we'll never know the reason why this is playing out this way. But these two casts (Seo/Stearns and Herrera/Whiteside) are all full-time principals who are dancing the entire Met season, not part-timers or guest artists who have other engagements that need to be taken into consideration in regards to scheduling. So in this instance I don't see the difficulty in swapping them out of respect to Herrera.

What would have made sense would have been to move Hee Seo from the opening night "Giselle" to the Wednesday matinee. Then Herrera's farewell would have been on the Friday opening night.

Absolutely agree.

Outrageous. How insulting for Paloma and her fans. She learned the new SB role, so why did she suddenly have a change of heart now. No adequate partner for her?

This may be her choice. She might want to finish in a work she knows well.

This is very surprising, but I agree it may have been her choice after performing it in CA last week. She may not feel comfortable in it and wants to give the best farewell performance possible.

But, I agree this is an awkward announcement and an even more awkward scheduling choice. Two retirements on the same day? I imagine some of her fans work during the day and will have a hard getting to this now.

I suggest seeing either Murphy or Lane. I'm going to see Lane myself, but if my wallet allows I might see both!

Gillian Murphy posted a charming photo from her debut last night: https://instagram.com/p/z2j2ItHVSV/

May is soooo far away. It's going to be hard to decide which cast to see.

Thanks to everyone for their reviews! Very exciting to read all of this. Please keep them coming.

And, look at this close up of the Silver Fairy's crown posted by Lauren Post:

https://instagram.com/p/zyaZ-0s-OU/?modal=true

Marcelo Gomes just posted this close up picture from last night. Much easier to see the costume details. Gorgeous.

https://instagram.com/p/z0Idx4iuYa/

Hallberg's spots in Fancy Free are also now TBA's.

Seo's partner in SL is now TBA due to the Hallberg switcheroo's. Wonder if they'll try Hammoudi again? He's only scheduled for 2 Purple Von Rothbart's.