Olga

I love the final staircase scene.

Pamela - That's exactly what I said this morning: Leonard Cohen.

The times they are a changing.

Thanks for the link. Wish I was in Miami for this.

Having trouble quoting but I so agree with Vipa --  as I was watching Emeralds, after having just seen the Gala ballets and Everywhere We Go, I was once again wowed by how endlessly inventive and fascinating Balanchine's choreography is.

Is ABT definitely doing Giselle in the Spring? I saw that film of Gillian in Giselle at New Zealand but walked out on it too soon to say defintively what her performance was like. 

I think the role was created on Igor Kolb.

https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/news1/news2/10_232june/

Thanks for posting the Synphony in C!

I can't resist saying that Xander Parish was not the best Mariinsky has to offer.

From the July 2016 Dance Europe interview with Kevin McKenzie:

Did you pass on Ratmansky's other reconstructions, like Swan Lake? Would you be interested in bringing other reconstructions to ABT?

Yes, I would, but probably not Swan Lake. I have my own production that works and is iconic to the company now.

Not surprised he feels that way. In any event, I believe Ratmansky said in a recent interview he was working on another reconstruction for New York.

DeCoster - so true. And I also skipped Corsaire!

Another factor in the low attendance at the beginning of the season is that the first three weeks overlapped with NYCB. Those weeks included both Ashton's and a lot of Ratmansky's. Definitely though, ABT could have done a lot more to promote Cockerel.

My recent post got me thinking, or I should say hoping. Wouldn't it be grand if ABT ditched its current Swan Lake and brought Ratmansky's in. The Met should be large enough to do the full scale La Scala production -- making good use of the cavernous Met stage. Additionally, it would be great for the dancers. One of the noticeable aspects of Ratmansky is that he gets great performances out of his dancers. I think it would be very helpful for them to be coached by him in that role.

I think, overall, Ratmansky is the best thing to have happened to ABT in recent years. ABT lost a lot of talent in the last decade. They can try to replenish it by importing rent a Russians, which will keep the fans of Russian ballet buying tickets, or they can choose to grow the company from within and eventually build their own stars. While the second option may be slower and more painful, it's better for the long term health of the company. At this point, the company is well used to Ratmansky's style and it's what is keeping this company fresh and artistically relevant.

If someone would rather see Zakharova and her sky high ostentatious extensions in another warhorse, to each their own. Personally, I will take seeing ABTs dancers in the Shostakovich Trilogy, the highlight of the Met season for me.

I agree that Ratmansky is the best thing going at ABT and that the Shostakovich Trilogy was the highlight of this

ABT season. And I would also say that Serenade/Symposium was stunning, Cockerel was fascinating and Sleeping Beauty was much more enjoyable than last year. As I've said elsewhere on this board, we in New York City are incredibly fortunate to have Ratmansky choreographing for both NYCB and ABT. I'm looking forward to the Spring seasons when we will be treated to more new work and also to both companies performing some of his older. I saw both the Ashtons: I thought Sylvia just didn't work, very flat performances, and I don't feel I can comment fairly on the other one because it just isn't my cup of tea. As for ABT's Swan Lake...I hope Ratmansky's version goes to Pennsylvania or Boston so it will be relatively easy for me to see.

My point being that perhaps some of the principals could dance the leads in fewer ballets which would give some of the up and comings more opportunity. It would be a departure but it might actually also increase ticket sales. The original Ratmansky ballets in ABT's rep, as opposed to his revivals, also tend to have a good number of major roles. They are of course more on the mixed bill model.

There are so many reasons why a particular dancer might or might not want to dance at ABT, including the options available to him or her. I wonder though, whether other companies with a lot of full lengths also feature so many of the same dancers in so many of the productions. My occasional glance at Russian company schedules suggests to me that some of the principals, even the major ones, may not dance quite as often in them. Is that correct?

This gets close to the heart of the issue. The other companies mentioned all have close ties to Balanchine and City Ballet. Their structure is completely different than ABT's. But there is a place for ABT precisely because of these differences -- and I say that as someone more in the City Ballet camp. ABT's Spring season full length classical rep provides a valuable contribution to the domestic scene. I think the problem is more a fall off in quality. They have relied on imported stars for years and if they are going to stop that practice there is going to have to be a difficult transitional period. Personally I felt the stars also made a valuable contribution to the domestic scene. Others disagree, I know. I'm not saying that is the only problem this season or with the company from an institutional perspective. It will be interesting to see what the company does next spring, and also how Ratmansky's role evolves.

A problem with ABT and giving opportunities to dancers, is the number of full length ballets they do. At NYCB many performances are rep of 3 or 4 ballets. In one performance you see maybe 6 to 8 principals, a number of soloists and corps member thrown into this or that. At ABT if you put promising corps members in Swan Lake pas de trois you are taking the opportunity from soloists desperate to dance. Then once those corps members have that opportunity where does it take them? I've know many dancers who've moved to "lesser" companies for the opportunity to dance. If you can go elsewhere and do Balachine, Forsythe, etc. and just dance more, why would you stay at ABT? SFB, PNB, Boston Ballet would all be more attractive to a lot of dancers than ABT. Think about the weeks of Romeo and Juliet and The Golden Cockerel - how many people really dance?

In terms of Ratmansky, it's interesting to read the divergent opinions here. I see about twice the ballets I used to see since he came to ABT. I used to attend at least 4 performances with my mother. Now I find myself doing standing-room a couple times a week for a Ratmansky premiere, and buying tickets to 2 or 3 additional evenings with my husband (also a fan), all in addition to my matinees with mom. His choreography has rejuvenated the company, in my opinion. Shostakovich Trio was critical and audience success, underwritten by a billionaire. (ticket sales aren't everything, and Ratmanksy seems to bring in the philanthropists.) Although Sleeping Beauty gets panned here, I found my fellow audience goers to be very appreciative, and it seemed to sell well too.

Great point -- there are more ways to get money than ticket sales. Touche!

I, too, was being somewhat oblique - so I'm happy to see so many on this board are basically thinking along the same lines, even if I'm sorry about the underlying state of affairs.

The problem you noted about inexpensive seats being hard to get at NYCB once casting goes up is becoming very bothersome. That must mean the company is making more $, but it's tough on us. On the other hand, ABT posts casting way in advance but then has to make changes, which everyone complains about.

That being said, while NYCB is closest to my heart, I enjoy seeing a wide range of dance, including the 19th Century romantic classic. I, too, go to see dancers )as well as ballets), and unfortunately at this time there are not too many ABT principals I would put in that category. I personally miss the foreign headliners they brought in in the past. My opinion. They do have some great younger people coming up - we'll see where it goes. So far this season other than the Ratmansky has been uninspired and uninspiring.

It's hard to put my finger on the precise differences, and generalizations are problematic. The most fundamental one is the overarching presence of Balanchine's taste, theories and interests, which are reflected in the people who follow NYCB and which inform many of their opinions. City Ballet actually has quite a few full length story ballets at this point, thanks to some extent to Martins. Midsummer (which I would classify as more neoclassical than romantic) and Nutcracker also sell out. Even Martins' Swan Lake did extremely well last year. So it's not just that. I think the full length story ballets at both companies pick up extra, non-core audience, though they seem to go more to the core of ABT at present. Of course, NYCB has a very large rep and a long season(s) so there is still more room for variation. But there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm at ABT for the experimental and even for the neoclassical - which I would define here as a focus on choreographic structure rather than story.

Olga, this is interesting to me. How would you characterize the differences between the NYCB audience and the ABT audience? I'm definitely an ABT person, but I don't know how to characterize myself, other than to say that I don't go to see ballets, I go to see dancers.

If anyone else would like to join this discussion, Moderators, please feel free to open a new topic.

I think I do know what Vipa means. Nina was the good old days. The most interesting thing about ABT now is Ratmansky. But Swan Lake sells tickets. As does Misty. ABT has a somewhat different audience than NYCB.