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I would love to see someone like Joseph Gordon or even Anthony Huxely dance in Mozartiana. Chase Finley was constantly running behind the music and omitted so many steps. At least Tyler Angle did all the steps(not the best looking arabesque though). 

23 minutes ago, abatt said:

I had a friend who was on track from childhood in the professional school of Boston Ballet.  As she grew up into her teenage years, her instructor told her that her hips were made for child rearing, not ballet.  She quit ballet shortly thereafter. (By the way, this woman was and still is as thin as a rail.)  This is the reality of how professional ballet companies work.  Comments are hurtful, and instructors often are not nice people.  However, making such a comment does not constitute harassment or misconduct.

And this is exactly why there are fewer ballet students nowadays. Such comments will be considered as harassment everywhere else. 

38 minutes ago, Balletwannabe said:

Gillian Murphy's post was liked by abtofficial! 

ABT official Instagram account is actually being managed by the ABT dancers so I wouldn't assume it's the actual support coming from the ABT management or marketing team. 

I would add Piano Concerto No 2. or Ballet Imperial to the must see list. It would've been wonderful if they performed it for 2 weeks instead of Martin's Swan Lake.

It would've been nice to see Shevchenko as Nikiya instead of Lane. Teauscher is an obvious choice but I wanted to see both Shevchenko and Teauscher alternating Nikiya/Gamzatti. Perhaps I'm asking too much from the newly promoted dancers. This could've been solved by giving one less Nikiya for Boylston (IMO a huge miscast but who knows). I'm sure Lane will get her Juliet some day for sure. I think Lane's Kitri will be much better than most people expect from her. Seo's return to Kitri is a wasted opportunity as it could've gone to either Brandt or Shevchenko. Super excited for Shevchenko's O/O.... althought it's a wed mat performance.

I'm a little disappointed about seeing less Cirio again this year. Cirio is one of the most versatile dancers within ABT but he's kept being typecasted.  

Looking at the casting again, It seems like they had to pull Lane from Juliet only to have Copeland paired with two different Romeos (Cornejo, Simkin)... Sigh

Korea's Universal Ballet is financially backed by the Unification Church(they have the ownership of the ballet company to be exact) so if high salary is what Womack wants, they can afford it. There are several former Vaganova graduates and Mariinsky dancers in Universal Ballet (Konstantin Novoselov, Anna Tolmacheva, Yekaterina Krasyuk). Semion Chudin also had danced at Universal Ballet early in his career. 

6 hours ago, angelica said:

 

Last season, when Teuscher debuted in Swan Lake in New York, I felt that she showed no individuality, nothing that would have made her performance distinctive. I didn't say anything at that time because it seemed everyone was applauding her technique, especially her ability to execute turns, and everyone was excited by her promotion. So I'm especially thankful that you posted about her this season, an opinion that validates my own. To me, the great dancers are completely different from one another; a ballet danced by someone one night will be a completely different ballet to my eyes with a different cast the next.

 

I wonder whether individuality is inborn, or something that can be developed with coaching. 

I got the same impression about Teuscher as well. I thought she did well as a "soloist" but as a principal she still has long way to go. I hope she doesn't end up becoming like Michele Wiles. Wiles had the techniques but she never fully matured as an artist. 

To my surprise, Skorik was wonderful on Wednesday. Her arabesque penchee en pointe wasn't as secure as Tereshina's but I liked her overall performance. I think someone mentioned that she has the most beautiful hands in ballet and I kind of agree. I've seen her many years ago once and she wasn't that impressive then. I think she's learned how to display her physicality without looking like a contortionist. The only time I was distracted was when she took an extra time to stretch out her penche to 180 degrees. Why Yermakov isn't a principal yet is the biggest mystery to me. His partnering was flawless (unlike Kim who made a major mistake on Tuesday). 

On Tuesday, Tereshkina looked a little fatigued by the end of 3rd act. I believe she will perform better this weekend after some rest. This might offend some people on this board but to me Kim isn't the most elegant dancer. Obviously he has much to improve on his epaulement and mime in a more noble manner.  

For some reason Kolegova dyed her hair in Blonde as Gamzatti which I thought was odd(Matvienko didn't dye her hair on Tuesday). Nevertheless she was a beautiful Gamzatti and nailed most of the technical aspects (a small mistake on jete en tournant). I'd love to see her as Nikiya some day. 

The 3rd act was wonderful on both days and it's totally worth the trip just for the shades. The fact that Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra is way better than ABT Orchestra does help a lot. Bravo to the concert master who nailed those difficult violin solos. 

I hope Skorik isn't injured since Kolegova can't sub for her in DC- They are cast as Nikiya and Gamzatti on the same dates(Wed, Sat Mat).  

My favorite of the evening was Fairchild. She just made all the steps look like a walk in the park. Although I absolutely can't stand Peter Martin's SL, it seems like training for Odette did have some positive affect on her overall dancing as well. Her upper body looked more open with arms extended. 

That's what I loved about San Francisco Ballet's segment. I think most of it was live including the smaller segments of other companies (Ballet West etc). 

I had no idea that the entire NBC segment was recorded. The whole thing? Even Bolshoi streamed some segments in live. 

I for one can't wait for this SL run to end. I gave myself 6 opportunities for appreciate this production with 6 different casts and I still don't like it. It seems like the they rushed the tempo to hide the dancers' weakness. Can they slow it down a bit so that everyone can land in clean 5th? Throughout the shows I couldn't help but to notice how stiff their epaulment is. Also, do they really have to perform  every single ballet with so called "Balanchine tentacles"? They reminded me of Boylston's hands.

Although I have to admit that Sara Mearns won me over at the end(did not like her in act 2 though). With her level of artistry I can appreciate this production as a nice "swan themed ballet" sans Petipa. 

Lastly, the ugly backdrop and costume have to go. 

1 hour ago, nanushka said:

 

Was she? Is this just based on the fact that she was being cast 3 times a week throughout several Met seasons? I never imagined that was because all the guys were clamoring to dance with her.

I was actually referring to the time when she was still a soloist (at that point she was dancing the principal roles though)

2 minutes ago, vipa said:

As far as partnering goes. Casting is a jigsaw puzzle. It's not as simple as giving a bunch of shows to the woman who a lot of men like to partner.

As far as I know, ABT's AD actually did ask some male principals who they'd prefer to parner up with and it did affect casting. However, this was a few seasons ago so their "partnering system" could be different now. 

Regarding Lane, I wasn't trying to offend any of her fans(I'm one of them). Just wanted to say that there are people out there who'd rather see Kochetkova(or any dancer with Russian training) than Lane. 

I know Kochetkova isn't that popular in this forum but I've met multiple audience members who were appalled at seeing Lane instead of Kochetkova. Plus, you never know who the male dancers prefer to dance with. Some dancers are just easier to partner and has better partnering skill. At one point Seo was the most popular partner among the tallish dancers in ABT.

I completely agree regarding the tall male principals. Now that Bolle, Hallberg, Gomes aren't dancing as much or retiring certain roles, ABT has to coach Royal, Hoven, and Forster in case of emergency. There will be mayhem if either Whiteside or Stearns get injured. 

I'm wondering whether Ferri will be back for R&J. If she performs twice and the other usuals get 1each(Murphy, Abrera, Seo, Boylston, Copeland), there's 1 slot left for Juliet (possibly Lane or Kochetkova's). Of course ABT might decide to give Misty 2 Juliets and that will result in 0 debuts. 

If Ferri doesn't come back, then ABT can afford to give Copeland 2 perforances and there will be still 2 more slots left for everyone. 

I'm actually more curious to know who will be dancing in La Bayadere. I think this is one ballet where I'm totally fine with guest artists. I wonder whether they will cast Boylston as Nikiya... I hope they won't... Teuscher/Nikiya and Shevchenko/Gamzatti sounds great. 

Oct 15th will be his last performance with NYCB. I kind of saw this coming...

27 minutes ago, angelica said:

 

You won't regret your decision if you remember that you are not going to see ballets, you are going to see dancers. They really are two different perspectives.

That's my approach as well. Martin's SL puts me into a REM sleep each time I see it. The only time I actually pay attention is when O/O is on stage. I also have lower expectation level for the NYCB dancers when they perform Petipa ballets. I just plan to see their own interpretation of the character. 

3 hours ago, abatt said:

The casting is quite a departure for NYCB.  Martins has only been casting medium to tall ballerinas as O/O in SL up until this point.  Casting "short girls" in the role like Megan and Tiler is a new path at NYCB. 

 

Where  is Robbie Fairchild in this casting news?  He is in New York.  (He will be appearing at the  Chita Rivera Dance Awards ceremony in Manhattan  on Sept 11.) He has done Siegfried before, and he has become an audience favorite.  And yet he is not cast.

 

I had a feeling Jared Angle would give up the role of Siegfried.   The technical demands of the solos are too much for him at this stage of the game. 

Believe it or not, Hyltin is shorter than Peck. Peck's greatest weakness has always been her proportion. My none ballet fan friends often regarded Peck as "the really short one". In fact, Peck is 5'6". Same thing for Bouder. She is about the same height as Hyltin but fans often think that she is extra short. 

Hyltin is my favorite in NYCB's swan lake and Reichlen is close second. To me, Hyltin is a true all rounder along with Fairchild. While I love Peck in pretty much everything, she isn't my first pick for a full length classical rep. I'm very excited to see her in SL regardless. 

I've decided to see all 6 casts as I'm on a vacation. Hopefully I don't regret my decision after the first one. 

Also, Sara Lane posted several videos of her practicing the grand pas in DonQ with her husband on Instagram and Instagram stories. I think she will be debuting in the role! (Her attitude turns in the video is quite impressive btw.)

I'm glad that she is finally learning the principal roles!!

You can also watch some short clips of Kitri variation and 32 fouettes in Sarah's Instagram Stories. I don't know how to upload those...

When Bolshoi visited last time with Swan Lake my two favorites were Tsvirko(he somehow reminds me of Gomes) as jester and Lantratov as evil genius. So I had to see them together in The Taming despite the bad review.... 

The good thing is the ballet is short and music is great. And there really isn't much to say about the dancing because there aren't many. Maybe I should've seen it one more time with a different cast to observe it better. 

I was looking at the program and noticed that it listed Russell Janzen, Lauren Lovette, and Andrew Veyette as the participants in the Lincoln Center Festival. I guess they are the 2nd cast on Rubies and Diamonds (Janzen's partner is probably Reichlen). 

I actually did not like Bolshoi's Diamonds until yesterday evening when they finally performed it in the "NYCB tempo"- except pas de deux. The tempo for pas de deux was still so slow for my taste. Chudin once again missed his timing to kiss Smirnova's hand on time at the end. Other than that I loved every moment, especially the scherzo section. Smirnova managed to do most of the steps on time with the music (especially the chaine turns! She looked more confident with the faster tempo yesterday than Thursday). She didn't have the time to luxuriate her port de bras in each movements but I do appreciate the fact that Bolshoi at least performed with the standard tempo. The demi soloists were very musical and they only got better after each performance. 

Enough has been said about Emeralds and Rubies so I won't elaborate more. I thought all PoB dancers looked too cautious. I actually felt a little nervous watching them.

19 minutes ago, Drew said:

 

That's not just an accent, that's the pas de deux 'signature'-- is it possible they just did it in some very, very soft way that obscured it? (Either way...disconcerting to read.)

Heymann did it very softly but I could still see that he is doing the choreography. With Ould-Braham I barely noticed it.

To me, the highlight of yesterday was (drumroll.....) NYCB dancing Rubies. Surprise, surprise!!

5 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

 

After years of theater going I rarely use websites to purchase tickets.  I usually go to the venue, 99% of the cases within the very same day of the performance.  They all usually offer a variety of deals-(rush tickets...student tickets...standing up tickets...discounts etc).. On winter I scored a $15 rush ticket to see Placido Domingo in Nabucco the very day of the performance...right in orchestra. If I have to relay on online tickets, I then go to the venue website-(as with the upcoming Mariinsky Bayaderes). 

As far as I know, pretty much everyone under 60 prefers to buy tickets online.