alexL

I thought they would bring someone out of retirement but didn't expect that dancer to be Ferri (I was expecting Nina) It's a pleasant surprise! I too think that Bolle is better suited for her just because he's a better partner.

Does anyone know whether they are coming to NY in 2016? I hope they stop by after their performance at DC...

By looking at the program I'm quite sure that they will invite Osipova back for another year. I'm her fan so no complains! I haven't seen golden Cockrell so I'm excited about seeing something new! I thought they'd bring DonQ back this year though.

Alban is great in La Fill and Sleeping Beauty so i will definitely try to catch those performances.

I'm assuming that Vishneva will be performing in Shostakovich Trilogy, Sleeping Beauty, and Rom & Jul with Gomes. Also this program seems somewhat Simkin friendly (I can't believe I'm saying this). Again, I'm his fan so no complains from my side:)

Lastly, I wont miss Bolle in Sylvia! I just wonder who will be his partner.... Part sounds great but theyou haven't partnered up at ABT yet so I don't know (correct me if I'm wrong)

I'm so happy to see Tsvirko moving up! Considering his height I thought he's destined to play the jester or sidekick type characters. I hope he gets to perform the principal roles like Basilio more often.

Simkin's situation is similar to Daniel Ulbricht's across the plaza. Both are great technicians, but they are too short to play danseur noble roles. Also, Copeland's promotion is a fact - no need to put in in scare quotes. Also, I'd love to see this community retire the phrase " PR campaign."

Actually I think Simkin is better suited for noble roles than Cornejo. Height wise, he's definitely taller than Cornejo by at least 2".

What he needs is more experience. I remember when Cornejo was just a newbie principal and his partnering skill wasn't great at all. I still don't think his partnering is strong enough but he's definitely gotten better as the years progressed.

IMO, Simkin's youthful look is actually an advantage in a certain roles.

Btw, Stuttgart Ballet has 2 Korean principals, if it's considered as a "major ballet company". Soo Jin Kang will be retiring soon though.

I haven't followed ABT for very long, but was there another Asian ballerina principal before her?

Seo is the first East Asian principal with ABT.

Copeland isn't that taller than Lane actually. I've seen them dancing side by side many times and they are about the same height. Probably about 5'2"-3". Stella and Julie are about the same height (5'5") but I could be wrong.

This is irrelevant to this discussion but when I saw Copeland, Brandt, Lane, and Aihara dancing cygnettes, they all looked about the same height. But when they were on point, Aihara became noticeably taller than everyone else, and Copeland became a tiny bit taller than Lane and Brandt.

Alban Lendorf is an ABT principal?! it's totally unexpected but I'm dancing with joy!! He's amazing in any prince role. My only concern is... Lendorf is about Simkin's height and I feel like they have way too many short male principals now... That's why I thought ABT would import a tall principal this time. Hopefully Alban can partner up with either Lane or Brandt!

Also, I'm happy to see Stella finally getting her promotion!! I'll be waiting for her O/O too! I think ABT will take a break from La Bayadere next year since they had performed it two years in a row. They will probably bring DonQ or Le Corsaire back.

Not that it matters, but last year's promotions were announced on 6/30

Yes, I remember that as well. Gorak performed in Coppelia few days after the announcement was made- he looked extra happy! I hope to see Abrera with that expression on her face when she performs Cinderella next week!

I've been Simkin's fan since he won that award in Japan (forgot what it was). I just wish that he could improve on his partnering skill with Kochetkova. They'vedone sl before and I think his partnership with Maria is better that with Boylston.

Although I'm looking forward to seeing the Royal dance the Dream (and, fingers crossed, Osipova as Titania) it did occur to me that this was one Ashton that ABT does on a somewhat regular basis and, across different casts, does very well; in the case of certain cast members such as Cornejo as Puck, even....incomparably well.

Cornejo's Puck made me fall in love with this ballet. I'm not even kidding. He's magnificent in this role.

Anyway, I tried to convince my non ballet fan to go see RB instead of ABT's Swan Lake but she simply wasn't interested. She wanted to see "the Swan Lake" no matter how poor the staging is. If RB had came earlier or later this year, the sale could've been better.

I hope Osipova is performing as scheduled earlier. Thank you On Pointe for the review!

My main issue with Seo is that she performed poorly in almost every performance she substituted. Keep it in mind that the audience was expecting to see a dancer of Murphy and Cjocaru's caliber.

Two years ago I saw Reyes instead of Osipova in Sylvia. It was a last minute replacement but nevertheless I enjoyed the performance very much. I already miss Xiomara dearly.

Some rise into the occasion and some don't. When Murphy, Reyes, and Gomes were substituting for other stars, I don't have to worry about their possible fall during the performance. If the company had trained and prepared her better, I might had been less disappointed.

I think AD should find a solution to train these underdeveloped principals before giving them certain roles. From what I'm seeing, Seo and boylston are not ready to dance O/O.

If they are going to promote Copeland (duh), they better prep her well before next season begins. Same thing for Gorak- although I adore him, he still needs to work on his partnering skills.

I would love to see a double bill of Ratmansky's Firebird and Tempest -- though I realize I am in the minority on that!

I'd like to see that double bill as well!

ABT will be performing Firebird in their LA tour next year. I think it will probably be included in their Spring season as well.

She doesn't take the last *two* suitor's hands! There are only two promenades! And that first balance, while long, ends up almost crashing.

This is horrendous to watch indeed. Sleeping Beauty isn't Don Quixote! She can show off her skills elsewhere.

I had mixed feelings about Arron Scott as Mercutio--His dancing in the ball was meh. Not bad, but pretty low key. I was not impressed and thought him by far the worst of the three Mercutios I've seen (Craig, whose characterization is such a joy, and Daniil, whose dancing is so stunning). But he redeemed himself thoroughly in act II. He did a very very nice Mandolin dance (by the way he too "skipped" the final leapfrog, as has almost every dancer I've ever seen). And his death scene was glorious. The impish personality was there, but it was a death scene of real pathos, not as schizophrenic as it often seems. By far the best of the three.

I saw Arron Scott's Mercutio on Wednesday matinee and have exactly same opinion. Seems like he usually under performs in act 1 then redeems himself in 2nd.

Hernan doesn't skip the leaps in the mandolin dance... I've seen his Mercutio multiple times and he always does the last leap. Maybe I've been very lucky.

It was a magnificent performance. Definitely the best R&J I've seen this week. With Cornejo, Simkin, and Gorak, it was a star casting (at least for me) as well.

Simkin and Gorak were sometimes out of sync in the 2nd Act. Gorak dances right on the beat while Danil lingers on each pose a tiny bit longer. However, I think it's forgivable because it's not like they are dancing Big Swans.

Although he didn't get to show off his skills like Danil, Joey Gorak definitely drsaw my attention because of his clean technique. He looked effortlessly elegant even when he was waving at the harlots.

Amour already described how wonderful Obratzsova and Cornejo were so I won't repeat. Zhenya is definitely tailor-made for Juliet!

It'll be great if ABT can perform some selected divertissement for a few days- I'm not even asking for a week. Triple bill of Raymonda, Esmeralda, Paquita or Flames of Paris sounds great. Please don't hire any guest artists for these roles though.

Also, if they must hire guest artists, I wish to see Tereshkina and Shklyarov again in ANY role.

Promotion for Lane, Abrera, and C Royal is also on my wishlist. I'm certain that Gorak and Copeland will be promoted very soon.

The company is performing on October 9-11 at Richard B. Fisher Center. The repertoire is The Green Table, Company B, and Mark Morris World Premier so I assume at least one of them will be part of ABT's Fall season performance.

Olesya is petite? I had no idea... Is that why she isn't getting promoted?

Thank you for the great footage!

During the intermission of Reyes' farewell performance, two people tried to steal Kent and Barbee's seat. I don't think they knew it was their seat but I found it quite funny.

Also, there was one lady who kept taking photos in the middle of the performance. Everyone around her were telling her to stop but she continued. During the intermission she was escorted outside by the security guard. It was an eventful evening.

Regarding Kochetkova's photo, he's definitely not one of the principal dancers. I think it's Gorak but I could be wrong.

They may know the role, but I don't see the benefit for ABT in using RB dancers like Lamb, Cuthbertson or Marquez who are unknowns to the general NY ballet community. Nobody who bought a ticket to see Osipova is going to say "oh,we're seeing Marquez instead of Osipova, that's fine". Cojocaru or Vishneva are really the only appropriate substitutions, although I could see them using Kochetkova since she and Seo have been the go-to girls this season (and thats what I'm afraid of). I don't think height is really an issue here. Juliet is supposed to be young, so being small isn't a disadvantage and neither is a size difference between Romeo and Juliet - remember Ferri/Bolle?

Yes- that's why I wasn't a huge fan of that partnership. I didn't like Cojocaru/Hallberg partnership in last year's Giselle either. It's just my personal preference though!

I too think that Vishneva is the only option they have left but she doesn't usually sub. Whatever decision they make, I hope they post it asap.

If Kochetkova is stepping in, they will also have to replace Gomes due to their height difference. They will look more like a father and daughter rather than lovers. Cornejo is realistic choice if he's physically fit (he has to perform the next day with Obraztsova).

I'm still hoping Sara Lane to make her Juliet debut IF Cornejo can sub for Gomes.