CTballetfan

Thank you, California, for this clip of Nunez in Manon. She is so pliant and dramatic as well. I've seen Manon with three different ballerinas (Ferri, Kent,and Vishneva, I think) and I don't remember the lift triple twists. Here they are breathtaking--all they are missing is the throw that pairs figure skaters do after the triple twist. I wonder which came first--this ballet move or the signature throw triple twist that all world class figure skating pairs have to execute successfully.

I want to thank all of you who have posted about the ABT spring season now concluding and about the NYCB spring season now concluded. I was not able to come in for performances this season but your comments kept me in the loop and I learned a lot from all of you, especially those with much more knowledge about technique than I have. I expect to get tickets for some performances of both companies' fall seasons at the Koch and I know I will view the performances with more insight than I had before, thanks to the lively discussion on this board. I'll continue to follow what you have to say over the summer and look forward to more discussions when the fall season gets underway. Happy summer, all!

I love it! How prescient of him. He knew what he wanted at 9 years old and he made it come true.

I wonder what factors went into some of these promotions/additions to the company. I have been wondering who might someday follow in Marcelo Gomes's shoes. Might that be Lendorf? I have not seen him dance but just checked out a clip of him on YouTube and I look forward to seeing him dance, maybe in the fall week at the Koch? Very happy about Stella's long deserved promotion. Misty'spromotion will be good visibility for ballet--she is already bringing new audiences to classical ballet. So congratulations to McKenzie for making a strong effort here to reinvigorate the company.

Netflix has added this video to its streaming service and I watched it today.

The publicity generated by Copeland's camp that some folks in these parts see as so intolerably vulgar, doesn't hurt ballet in any way.

All your favortie performers are still dancing your favorite pieces and are still getting an overwhelming majority of the attention of those people who write about classical dance.

Has someone on this board called Misty's publicity "intolerably vulgar"? In fact, she and her publicity agent are doing no more than other celebrities do to capture the public's attention. The Times is not immune to au courant culture.

Misty above and below the fold of the Weekend Arts section of today's NYTimes in a huge color photo as Odette, with James Whiteside, with the photo caption "A Swan is Born." It's the same article that appeared in the digital edition last evening. All I can say is Get me her publicity agent! Even the Times has gotten on the Misty publicity bandwagon.

Thank you for the info.

I've become aware that Robbie Fairchild is starting to take days off from AiP here and there. There is no set schedule of the shows he does not perform, but the AiP website now indicates that someone else is doing Robbie's role at some performances. (Sorry, don't recalll the person's name.) Given that the show performs 8 times per week, I'm glad Robbie is finally getting some well deserved rest, but I know that people who arrive at the theater are quite disappointed to learn of his absence. I think it would be beneficial to all if the website provided more specific info to consumers about which shows he will miss. Have not heard any info about whether Cope is also skipping some shows.

I agree. I have an opportunity to go in from CT with a group to see the July 22 matinee but for me the main reason to see the show is Robbie and if they would announce well in advance which shows he'll miss, that would be helpful.

What do those of you who saw Misty's performance yesterday make of Macauley's review just posted to the NYTimes digital site?

Curtain calls...crowd squealing bravos foriisty!

Spectacular black swan pdd, despite a few piques after halfway through fouettés. Gorgeous!

Kudos too to Zhurbin's purple Rothbart!

Does this performance indicate that she has earned her promotion on merit, not just on self-promotion and audience building (I understand her performances were sold out early)?

if the above post refers to SWAN LAKE as performed by ABT on Mon. Jun. 22, 2015, it was not Macaulay's by-line - he was not at the Met last night, he was presenting an evening historic Royal Ballet films from the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the NYPL's Bruno Walter Auditorium. the writer of the NYTimes review of ABT's opening SWAN LAKE, 2015 was Gia Kourlas.

Yes I just checked and you are right. It was Gia Kourlas who wrote the review.

Just read Alastair Macauley's review of opening night SL, and he reminded us about last year when she was injured after Act II and Hee Seo came on for the rest of the performance, much to Marcelo's relief. I was there and Gillian was incandescent. Hee Seo was competent but I thought that Marcelo carried her the rest of the way. At the curtain calls he was all adoration for her effort. Sorry I could not be there Monday evening. This is a great role for Gillian.

Miliosr, what about Kochetkova? She apparently spilled the beans that she is now a principal at ABT.

Expecting people to weigh in on The Tempest and Firebird? Ok, I thought The Tempest was terrible, esp. the last scene on the boat. It was also a waste of Marcelo's talent on the night I saw it. BUT I saw Osipova dance Firebird and it was an electric performance. Memorable!

This has been a long thread to follow, with many cogent points and ideas to consider. Maybe we will get some idea of how KM plans to pick up the pieces of this less than stellar season when he announces the fall program at the Koch. I realize it will be a mixed bill rather than story ballets, but I hope he will select iconic and exciting pieces, the best of the past, with a few contemporary pieces to indicate a path to the future. Maybe he will give some up-and-coming corps members a chance to lead. Maybe he and the new CEO will realize that the business plan of the last few years has not served the company, as America's major company, well, and will come up with some fresh thinking and direction.....or maybe not. More of the same would be too bad.

As for the problem of principals who have not risen to the status of great interpretive artists, that takes time. I remember when Gillian Murphy was a newly minted principal. During those early years she had the technique down cold but lacked the dramatic skill she has now. Her Juliet was wooden and her O/O not a great interpretation. Last spring I had the privilege of seeing her in SL, and was transported by her characterization. She has truly become a great ballerina. Maybe Hee Seo will do the same. Some of you think she is already up there with her Juliet. But principals, and soloists, need multiple opportunities to rise to the occasion before audiences at the Met, so I would hope that rather than over relying on imported "stars," KM would give multiple opportunities to his own dancers--and I don't mean selecting one dancer to pick up all the pieces when other principals or guest artists have to cancel. I do feel sorry for the heavy work load imposed on Hee Seo this spring.

Something needs to be done! I want to have that delicious feeling of anticipation when I take my seat at the Met that I am so privileged to embark on a transporting experience. That's how I used to feel and the reason I became a subscriber for years. Let's hope somebody gets the message.

Thank you, onxmyxtoes, for the video of Julie's farewell. This is great!

Some 17 minutes of bows at Julie Kent's farewell have just been posted by YouTuber "La Karsavina"!

2015-06-20 - ABT - Julie Kent farewell

LaKarsavina 10 views

Somebody pls post actual link. I could only copy above title. "Brrrrravvvvvaaaaaa!"

Yes please post the link. All I could find on You tube is a video by someone else taken from so far away and above and so blurry that I could not make out the faces of those who came on stage to greet Julie.

Mazurka, ABT is giving free tickets to children accompanied by adults at the June 29 matinee of Cinderella. Don't know whether the many children in the audience will affect your decision of which cast to see.

Sorry, I got the date wrong. The free tickets for kids are for the Wednesday July 1 matinee.

Mazurka, ABT is giving free tickets to children accompanied by adults at the June 29 matinee of Cinderella. Don't know whether the many children in the audience will affect your decision of which cast to see.

Abatt, did you turn in your tickets to the box office so that they could resell them? Doesn't ABT give you a letter acknowledging your contribution so that you can claim a tax credit? I have done this several times with NYCB.

Megan is expected to return. Robbie is not expected to be part of the fall season.

Thank you.

Are Robert Fairchild and Megan Fairchild expected back with the company for the fall 2015 season?

Would someone please video the curtain calls and tributes to Julie Kent tomorrow evening and post them? I so enjoyed watching the tributes to Reyes and Herrera on this board. I can't come to the performance and I would love to partake in the spirit of the evening, if just a little. Many thanks!

I hope the next director can put this company back together again, because it's badly broken at this point. Under McKenzie's reign during the late 90s and through about 2008 or so, ABT was the envy of the ballet world. Their artists were incredible, and they were not guest artists. They were members of a unified company, and they performed throughout the year with ABT, not just dropping by for a show or two. Carreno, Corella, Bocca, Steifel, Malhakov, Jaffe, McKerrow, Ananiashvilli, Ferri, Vishneva were all major league bold face names. Who are the bold face names now? The de facto guest artists who show up for four shows during an 8 week season? The guest artists who fly in for one show? Somehow, the company has been driven into the ground over these last few years. I suspect part of that has to do with Moore's managment, and ABt's recently developed business model, which was discussed on a youtube video and then obliterated from existence after people got wind of it. To the extent that Moore has played a role in the artistic demise of ABT, I'm happy to see her go.

What is ABT's recently developed business model and can you explain why Moore is more responsible for the current reliance on guest artists than McKenzie? Does he not make the decisions of who to hire?