ABT Fan

For me it was a blizzard.

I went to this Saturday night (in a blizzard) and as others have said, $25 is pennies to spend to see Ferri and Cornejo. Granted they didn't "dance" much but their acting was superb. Cornejo, in what I'd call "the second half" of the show, nearly broke my heart; I felt he beautifully showed his torment between duty and love and the emotional aftereffects of war. I've always felt he was a good actor, but as abatt mentioned above his portrayals sometimes get lost on the huge Met stage. I was sitting in the 2nd row and could see every nuance. The choreography was not always impressive though (too many embraces and vertical lifts). Amy Irving was lovely. The scenery was impressive including the effect with the mirror.

One embarrassing note: I got to meet Cornejo after the show (very briefly) and gushed like a giggly teenager. But, totally worth it!

Thanks Aurora. What a gorgeous photo of him!

Worst - ABT's The Tempest (exception: dancing by Lane and Gorak)

Best - casting/dancing by some of ABT's up-and-comers in major roles: Gorak in Les Sylphides; Royal III in Piano Concerto #1; Boylston as Odette/Odile and Gorak in the pas de trois in Swan Lake; Shayer in Clear. And, fabulous performance by seasoned Part, Seo, Stearns and Zhurbin in Moor's Pavane.

Thanks for posting the link California. Nice to read that so many dance companies across the country get at least something.

One of the most incredible and disturbing films I've ever seen. Hard to breathe during certain parts. I couldn't stop thinking about it for several days after. Couldn't recommend it highly enough.

Not exactly a specific casting wish list, but ... I'd like to see ABT extend its fall season at the Theater Formerly Known as State (TFKS) by several weeks so that we can see more dancers from the corps and soloist ranks in featured roles and in ensembles from rep other than story ballet warhorses. This fall's season there was a delight, but there just wasn't enough of it.

Absolutely agree! Adding that to my wish list too.

My wish list for ABT.

I think this reflects what's been going on in the rest of the world - entertainers (singers, movie stars) have been forging their own brands too.

Dancers are now capitalizing on this.

As far as dancers or companies losing their "style", I can see both sides of the argument for and against it. In general (and literally "in general"; I'm not saying this is a definite) a lack of style (or mannerisms even) can make it easier for dancers to pick up choreography more quickly, especially more modern choreography and make it easier on the choreographer in that he/she might have an easier time teaching it. However, if style is lost completely, we certainly lose the lovely nuances that each "style" provides.

A more homogenized look, style, way of talking, way of dressing, etc. is certainly an affect of globalization in every area of life now.

That's all I can muster at the moment.

Kent took two leaves-of-absences to have both of her children. But, since she was still an employee of the company, how can that slow down her seniority track and affect her salary? Is that a union thing?

Actually, if these salaries are based only on seniority and level, Kent should be earning more than Herrera (Kent joined the co earlier and has been a principal longer).

I'm surprised Ratmansky earns so much in comparison to McKenzie, and I'm also surprised that Victor Barbee, the associate AD, isn't in the highest paid list.

Anyone know who Rachel Pivnick is? Her name isn't listed on ABT's staff on their website.

Those are some pretty high raises for some folks, from 2010 to 2011.

If it were up to me, Gomes would be the highest paid because he is the single most valuable member of the principal team for ABT.

I couldn't agree more!

I have my speculations.

I'd have to search for the link, but I read an article in Forbes years ago that said Julie Kent made about 175k then.

The L.A. Dance Project sounds like an unstable prospect. I have my doubts as to whether that company will last long term.

LA does not have a history of great support for dance, but they might find opportunities there -- e.g., Los Angeles Ballet (http://losangelesballet.org/) and Melissa Barak's new venture (http://barakballet.org/). They might also find some teaching opportunities at the new USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, which admits its first students in fall 2014: http://kaufman.usc.edu/

And there are at least part-time teaching possibilities at the huge number of colleges and universities in greater LA.

Taylor and Marcovici could also work their way over to Ballet San Jose, for any number of things. A few NYCB dancers were featured in their recent gala and with Carreno now directing the company, he might want to snatch up some first rate talent for teaching, coaching, whatever.

Very surprising news. Taylor and Stafford are still quite young, but Taylor has plans to relocate so that makes sense.

I am pretty certain that SJP was never a professional ballet dancer. She studied at SAB, but that's it.

At the Friends luncheon panel a year ago, she mentioned that she was briefly a member of the ABT corps. She made a comment about being in awe of Baryshnikov as a dancer during that time. But she apparently didn't stay long and I can't find exact dates anywhere. I was looking for an on-line source and this one mentions the ABT experience: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/celebrity/sarah_jessica_parker/biography.html

I find that bio confusing... Says she was born in '65 and the family moved to Nj in '76 when but shegot a part in a Broadwaybshow, but she joined Cincinnati Ballet before following her family to NYC? Hunh? She joined Cincinnati Ballet when she was 11? Her wikipedia entry makes more sense and does not mention ABT. Probably some reporter got SAB & ABT mixed up? ABT used to have open classes at their school but I suspect she was too young to have studied there and certainly not while she was at SAB. (?)

That's what I thought. I've sometimes seen journalists write that a dancer danced or is dancing with "ABC" company when in fact that dancer is/was only a student with the ballet company's school. Unless back in 1976 Cincinnati Ballet was a pre-professional ballet company, she wouldn't have joined the company at the age of 11. (This isn't the Diaghilev era!) That bio was poorly written anyway, which leads me to think that the writer was most likely confused.

SJP's bio on Wikipedia says she was a student at SAB: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Jessica_Parker.

I don't find Wikipedia the most reliable source, but I've read that in several other places.

This is the first time I've heard that she was actually a professional ballet dancer.

I am pretty certain that SJP was never a professional ballet dancer. She studied at SAB, but that's it.

This ABT Fall season and the one last year at City Center have been superior to the seasons that they previously presented. They are no longer wasting money and time on garbage new commissions that will end up in the trash bin as soon as the curtain comes down (Citizen comes readily to mind, although there have been many other commissioned duds over the years that will never, thankfully, see the light of day again). Tempest is a substantive work that while not perfect, is not an insult to the intelligence of the audience. Remember one City Center season when ABT took the cheapo route and only presented works that didn't require an orchestra! This season was loaded with masterworks, and even the mediocre works (Clear) were not disasters.

I agree abatt that their fall season this year was outstanding (even though I did not like Tempest). I wish I had seen Part in Sylphides since everyone has raved about her performance (even Macauley). I think most everyone danced superbly in the 2 shows I saw. I believe many of us have discussed this before, but it would suit the dancers well (and many in the audience) if ABT did more rep during the Met season. It's hard to grow if you spend most of your 8 weeks waving a flower back-and-forth (so to speak). I actually loved Citizen from a few fall seasons back; guess I'm in the minority. Would be great if they could also extend their fall season, but that might conflict with Nutcracker rehearsals.

I was at last night's performance and it was fantastic.

"The nominees for the fourth annual Clive Barnes Awards for young actors and dancers were announced Tuesday by the Clive Barnes Foundation, which was established in 2009 to administer the prize."

"The dance nominees are Talli Jackson, of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Lloyd Mayor and Xiaochuan Xie, both of the Martha Graham Dance Company, and Calvin Royal III, of American Ballet Theater."

Congratulations to all the nominees! Mr. Royal is surely on the up-and-up.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/nominees-named-for-clive-barnes-awards/?ref=dance

Simkin used white make-up Saturday night. Since Ariel is a spirit it made sense to me, and wearing a white unitard so he was all one color. I assume Shayer wore the white unitard too? I'm so glad to hear Shayer was so great in this role; he was so impressive in Clear. It's not easy to follow Simkin.

Puppytreats, it was fruit, a cornucopia. But again, why?

I was there Saturday night and left with mixed feelings.

T&V was anticlimactic. Seminova was lovely but not fantastic. Stearns struggled with stamina and strength more than technique I thought. Near the end he had a pained smile on his face. Even when he'd exit the stage he'd drop his form and energy before being fully off the stage. Yuriko Kajiya as a Demi-soloist was beautiful. Eric Tamm in the corps looked good but his long hair flopped around so much it was distracting. I liked the new gold costumes for the leads but not the red for the corps; they looked garish.

I love Clear and remembered it well from a performance at City Center years ago. Radetsky was very good but his technique has diminished; I'd say he's past his prime. He's had some knee problems so perhaps that's the problem. I also think he's overdone the upper body weight lifting. His shoulders and trap muscles are too bulky and lack the suppleness ballet dancers need. Being shirtless only accentuates this of course. Craig Salstein was excellent - very sharp and full of personality. Gabe Shayer, wow! What leaps, technique, and maturity for a 20 yr old! Thomas Forster - I finally see what others have been raving about. He has an enormous jump that's plush and very controlled. Beautiful feet. Wonderful technique. I've just not seen him dance much to get a good look at him before. I also like the costumes and don't think they make anyone look fat. Great innovative choreography.

Tempest- don't know what else I can add that others haven't already said. I did not like it. A great disappointment. The music was awful, mostly undanceable. There were sections with an organ and the choir singing "Ahhhhhhhhhhh" that drove me insane. It was grating. The organ was completely unmelodic. Despite reading the program notes several times before the piece started, the story was very unclear on stage. The set of the ship wreck kept moving around the stage every once in awhile for no reason other than to create movement or action. Marcelo Gomes looked like a very buff Jesus Christ with the wig and beard and especially when he put the crown on near the end. But he danced and partnered Sarah Lane wonderfully, as usual. Lane was terrific. She always is. Lovely, musical, technically assured. Joseph Gorak was perfect as the young suitor. Why oh why hasn't he been promoted yet? Herman Cornejo did what he could. He danced well but this didn't show off his talents to their best. Daniil Simkin was the star of this piece deservedly. The character and quicksilver choreography laced with dizzying leaps suited him well. He stayed in character throughout. But I felt embarrassed for him when he had to come out wearing the female breast plate - that made no sense to me. But I guess neither did most of the piece! I really want to see Dream in the spring but can't bear the thought of sitting through Tempest again.

Not showing in NYC, bummer.

There are two sides to every story, and I for one don't know the RB's version.

If Cojocaru left because of Mason, they why did she go a year after Mason retired? Because O'Hare was/is consistent with Mason's policies and wouldn't cast her much either? If so, then why wasn't O'Hare also mentioned for her reason for leaving? Maybe she felt such bad blood that even a change in leadership wouldn't help and a fresh start was the only way she could move forward? I'm just a little skeptical when someone claims that the reason why they left a company didn't even exist anymore by the time that they did.

Nevertheless, if she was told by Mason that the reason for her not being cast as Aurora was because of her lack of the "Royal Ballet style", that is utter hogwash for the reasons Helene already mentioned.