Kaysta

Just added the Sunday matinee performance to my trip. Looking forward to seeing Teuscher's debut!

Congrats on the new baby (she's beautiful!) and the new job!

I don't hate Kochetkova, but she's just not my cup of tea for O/O. I liked her in the Shostakovich trilogy last year. I think some of the bitterness regarding Kochetkova has to do with the fact that she does partner with the shorter men, and some folks feel they could have used Sarah Lane for those roles. Although that is on McKenzie, not Kochetkova.

My impatience got the best of me and I just ended up booking my DC SL tickets yesterday, without casting. I'm hoping it doesn't backfire on me, because I really do not want to see Hee Seo or Kochetkova. I'm going to the Friday night and both Saturday performances. I'll be super happy if I get to see either Veronica Part, Gillian Murphy, or Devon's debut. I'd be okay with seeing Boylston or Copeland. Also booked my subscription for the fall season. Now I can start the countdown until Sarah Lane's Giselle debut.

One last thing I am excited about. I finally get to see a Part Swan Lake. Saturday matinees are the easiest time slot for me to make the trip into NYC, so I'm happy I get to see her in this role. I hope she gets a good partner.

Abatt, I totally glossed over the fact that Murphy is getting a Giselle! I am going to be seeing a lot of Giselle that week. That's 3 performances I definitely want to check out. I was hoping for a Trenary debut. She isn't getting any new debuts in the spring, but at least Shevchenko and Teuscher have some. I also want to check out the Ferri/Bolle Onegin, as I've never seen Ferri live in person (only via YouTube videos).

Oh, and an Abrera/Gomes Giselle is also super awesome. I think I'm going to ask for the week off at work. Wish we were getting an Abrera O/O, but I'm looking forward to seeing Teuscher.

A Sarah Lane Giselle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so darn excited, I started screeching at work.

I'll have a full report later, but Baca is a star.

Sterling Baca's prinicpal debut is tonight in Cinderella. I've never seen Stevenson's version, so I'm looking forward to attending.

I didn't know she was injured. Hope she heals up and gets back to a company soon. She is so talented, I'd really like to see her progress through a company. Same with Juliet Doherty. I didn't realize she was no longer at SFBS.

So Miko is no longer on the Birmingham website. Anyone know what happened to her? I hope I'm wrong but I fear that she is more into being a "celebrity" ballet dancer on instagram/social media, then she is in working her way up a company. Hope that is not the case because she is very talented.

Just listened to Lauren Fadeley Veyette's podcast on A Fairy's Kiss. Ratamansky is in Miami right now, choreographing a completely new ballet, so it is a world premiere. It sounds really interesting, so I think I might try to get down to Miami to see the premiere. Here is the link to her podcast: Rediscovering the Dream-Working with Ratmansky

I'm not a huge Copeland fan, so I can't answer your last question. I can say that Seo, in general, is much better in more lyrical roles. I find her Juliet quite lovely, but will never pay money to see her in a classic again. I really did not enjoy her in La Bayadere, Swan Lake or Sylvia. To me, she isn't a strong technical dancer and she has a tendency to get swallowed by the stage in the more technical roles. Thanks for the awesome review though, I really enjoyed reading it. I love Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty, so I'm glad to see others appreciate it as well!

Those short clips of Trenary look fantastic. She certainly looks the part. Really hope I get to see her in this role at some point, though SB might not be back for the Met season with it having gone two years in a row already, right? If it doesn't come back this spring, I hope they give her other opportunities. Would love to see her in Giselle.

I'm a little disappointed that I'm seeing Seo in Prodigal Son. She doesn't seem to fit the role of the Siren to me. Too bad I can't get to NY on the days Part is doing the Siren.

Thanks! Bertinshaw was also very good.

I'm so jealous of those who got to see Lobsanova. She is one of my favorites. I am still haunted by her Juliet last year.

I went to the matinee and I really enjoyed it. I thought the whole cast was fantastic. Guillame Cote and Sonia Rodriguez were Leontes and Hermione. While Cote didn't quite reach the same level of craziness (especially in the eyes) as Watson, I still thought he gave a haunting performance. This was my first time seeing Rodriguez and she was beautiful. The program says it was her debut, which is surprising to me because I thought she gave a very nuanced performance. Rui Huang and Skylar Campbell were Perdita and Florizel. Again, I thought they were both fantastic. I'm not sure who the young shepardess who danced with Brother Clown was, but she has a very lovely stage presence. Every time she was on the stage, my eyes went to her.

Great, thank you so much!

Just got my tickets for the fall. Quick question regarding the fall gala: Do they get through the performances pretty quickly, and then move on to the dinner, or is there a lot of talking/breaks during the performances and then the dinner. The reason I ask is I have to work the next day and want to know how soon the performance aspect will be over, as I will not be going to the dinner/dancing part of the evening (just the performance). That night is my only opportunity to see symphonic variations.

Thanks, Mussel!!!! These videos are the perfect post-wisdom surgery activity!

Every time I see Theresa Reichlen, I'm blown away. She's gorgeous in Symphony in C.

Boylston's Swan Lake was basically sold out, so I think plenty of people wanted to see it. Her Ratmansky Sleeping Beauty was almost sold out as well even though according to you that should have been empty, what with a Boylston and Ratmansky pairing.

Also agree with both you and Olga. It might not be true, but sometimes it seems like Ratmansky is the only one coaching the dancers. From the outside, it appears he is more hands on with his work and gives more direction to them. Obviously this is a complete outsiders perspective, so I may be off base. I hope parts of the Shostakovich trilogy come back for the fall. As well as Plato's symposium.