15 hours ago, Rock said:

Rubies ends in the air. The last note is the top of the jump. They land in silence.

 

Good point. I never thought of it in that way.

4 hours ago, vipa said:

Just to clarify, if I can. At the very end of Rubies something seemed off about what would be heard as the last musical cue. Nadon actually looks disconcerted for an instant and there was a ragged feel to it. I don't want to overstate this. It was an instant at the end that felt a bit off to me.

I didn't intend to make any mess with your post, vipa. It's just that what you described reminded me of my own questions about the end of Rubies.

6 hours ago, vipa said:

I believe there is supposed to be a breath before the very last note. It wasn't there so everyone on stage quickly moved to the last pose, a bit late.

I'm not sure whether this is what vipa is talking about. Since I saw Rubies for the first time, I've always thought that the music falls short to the choreography, i.e. the dancers are still moving when the music ends. I find that odd. Is that just my (maybe wrong) perception?

5 minutes ago, Tapfan said:

I thought we were primarily discussing racial diversity. Despite the fact that in the U.S., the word is frequently used to refer to people who identify as brown, according to my Latino friends, the term  is actually an ethnicity not a race. Many people who identify as Latino also identify as white.

I stand corrected. The Nutcracker title made me think it was a Nutcracker discussion.

Anyway, by no means I intended to hijack the thread. I just added one single name to the short list made by On Point upthread.

On 12/25/2023 at 4:00 AM, On Pointe said:

 I can only think of Lourdes Lopez and Monique Meunier.

I'd add Ana Sophia Scheller, who was a principal dancer when she left the company.

Disclaimer # 1: I live in South America and I don’ t visit NYC very often, but whenever possible I try to attend a NYCBallet performance, especially if they are dancing Balanchine. Disclaimer # 2: I’m not knowledgeable about ballet. I just enjoy it (I guess, in a more simple way than most forum members, based on  what I read here).
That being said, I couldn’t agree more with @cubanmiamiboy about Peck and Gordon today. I think she was incredible, but I also think she didn’t seem to connect with him at all. This is one of those things I don’t notice by myself, but after reading what cubanmiamiboy said I thought he is absolutely right!

On the other hand, I was amazed by Apollo. I love that ballet and I’ve been lucky enough to see it several times here. To my eyes it never looked as fresh as this afternoon. Sometimes I felt like the performers were dancing an early twentieth century choreography, something venerable but old, like a painting from an old master. Sure I thought the dancers in those performances were giving their best, but I felt they were not “living” the ballet (sometimes I’ve felt similar with my all time fav: 4Ts). Today I had a cmpletely different feeling, like it was a brand new work, in particular with Chan and Nadon. I had tears in my eyes when the curtain came down.

Unfortunately, 4Ts Isn’t part of this All Balanchine season, but I consider myself lucky that I’ll hace the chance of attending programs IV and V next week😊 

15 hours ago, MoMo said:

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall the “second lead man” was called “the turning boy”, in a production I saw. I saw David Hallberg perform it. 

I'm doubtful now, because in the video posted by @ABT Fan upthread, the male dancer who seems to be the one who partners the ballerina the most is also the turning man. Perhaps it is possible to switch different segments between both leading men because of the dancers' abilities/difficulties? I've seen that done for female dancers in the closing number of Suite en Blanc.

8 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

The first lead man is paired with the female lead for most of the partnering and pas. The second lead man dances mostly solo work (I can't recall just how much partnering of the lead female he does, as it's been a long time since I've seen the entire ballet, but it's less than the first lead man - if anyone else knows, please jump in).

Thank you, @ABT Fan! That video shows your point 👍 and also I realize that my favourite is the second lead man, especially for those beautiful jumps in the Mazurka.

On 9/22/2023 at 12:52 PM, ABT Fan said:

They’re basically doing that already to Jake Roxander. He’s doing the 2nd male lead in Etudes and one of the leads in Piano Concerto on Oct 20 (and, debuts for both). Who knows if he’s also doing Petit Mort on the same night, but even if he’s not, those 2 leads will be more than enough! A big test for him no doubt.

Pardon my ignorance. I didn't know that the two lead men are first and second. Would you please explain which one is the first?

4 hours ago, Papagena said:

Somehow I've actually never seen Fairchild in Rubies before. I hope she's years away from retirement because I just adore the impish quality (and sense of total technical control) she brings to her dancing. 

Agreed, but I'm astonished with the perfection of that Tall Girl, both in rehearsal and performance! 😲

On 9/3/2023 at 8:08 AM, fondoffouettes said:

I also find it very striking when the curtain rises on the opening tableau and the Tall Girl is the apex in the "necklace" of jewels. 

That's another great point I also missed. Thank you, @fondoffouettes!

4 hours ago, nanushka said:

I don't know about the history of the name, but as far as reasons inherent in the choreography I'd point to how she uses her long limbs, especially her legs, and the fact that she's partnered by four men (one on each limb) at once.

See? That's a great point. Thanx, nanushka! 

12 hours ago, Drew said:

From recent reports, shorter women have been cast in the 'tall girl' role in Rubies to give one example and people on this site seemed satisfied. Such experiments won't always work but sometimes do.  And the most gifted dancers break the mold. Balanchine experimented with casting against type himself (Ashley in Emeralds). As it happens, even if Bouder had not danced Emeralds already, then I would imagine her musicality would serve her well in that ballet.

What @Drew said raised one more time something I´ve always wondered. Is the "tall girl" a nickname that was born with the original cast, or perhaps because of tradition? I don't seem to find any reasons for having a tall dancer  in that role. Of course, I don't mean I'm right (I'm probably missing the reasons to say the opposite 🙃). Is it just a matter of contrast with the other main female role, who seems to be cast on the shorter side? Does it have to do with the "character" of the role?

4 hours ago, Oboerin said:

Abt just commented on his post stating they informed him in December 2022 verbally and in writing that his contract was not being renewed.

What I find surprising about that comment is that it was done with the account "abtofficial". If you look at that profile, it states clearly that it's "The official instagram of the Dancers of American Ballet Theatre", adding that "posts are our own opinion and not official statements of American Ballet Theatre".

So, I wonder whether that's an ABT statement.

Thank you, nanushka!

On 6/2/2023 at 10:24 AM, FauxPas said:

ABT used to do their Summer season at the NY State Theater (now Koch...🤢)

 

I do realize this is off topic and apologize for that.

As a foreigner who doesn't live in the US and knows nothing about that, I wonder why many people despise the fact that the former NY State Theatre has been renamed Koch Theatre.

Thank you so much, @Drew, for your detailed reply! I had no idea about that. Those days must have been very hard for everyone at the company, and I guess all those who were involved thought thew were right and the other/s were not.

10 hours ago, abatt said:

I've always wanted to see Tzigane.  It was never possible before because  Farrell and Martins were like oil and water, and she owned the rights.

Any particular reason for Farrell and Martins being "like oil and water"? I'm not much very knowledgeable about that. I recall having seen them dance together in the well known video of Chaconne.

On 11/8/2022 at 9:05 AM, NinaFan said:

The opera house looks absolutely gorgeous!     

Indeed! But I'm a local, so I might be biased.

On 11/8/2022 at 9:05 AM, NinaFan said:

Thanks again for all  of the information.  Hopefully I'll catch a performance soon.

My pleasure. About the chance of catching a future performance, I'd suggest you to look for announcements one or two days before December 18th. So far, that's the only performance of Nutcracker scheduled for a Sunday, so I bet that's the one that will be streamed. Guest dancers will be Maria Yakovleva and Davide Dato, from Wiener Staatsballett.

9 hours ago, NinaFan said:

Oh well, at least I saw the ending. 

ABT Fan - Thanks again for alerting us to the performance.  Wish I'd been on my phone or online as I would have seen your reminder!

eduardo - does Teatro Colon offer many live ballet performances? 

Nina, not sure whether your question is about the live performances or the live broadcasts, since the latter is the topic in this thread.

Live performances: about eight to ten performances of each program. During the current season we've had Giselle (IIRC, the live broadcast with Osipova and Camargo was mentioned here in BA); a mixed bill that included Sinfonietta; Cranko's Onegin; the current R&J and the last title of the season will be Nureyev's The Nutcracker next month (remember that, being in the southern hemisphere, we have inverted seasons, so our ballet and opera seasons are usually from mid or late March to mid or late December).

During the current season the live broadcasts have become regular for opera and ballet. They broadcast just one performance of each title, usually a Sunday afternoon performance (5 pm local time). Unfortunately, the announcements are released on very short notice. IMHO, for anyone that might be interested, the most reliable source to keep track of the broadcasts is their instagram.

Not sure whether it’s a matter of rights or any other reasons, but from my experience Teatro Colon’s offering is limited to the live broadcast. The video is not available once the performance ends.

Just in case, I just remember why I use youtube. For some reason I don't know, it works much better than teatro colon's own website.

4 hours ago, aurora said:

Thank you Eduardo! As nanuska said the links work, and I really appreciate the information!

My pleasure, aurora!

4 hours ago, nanushka said:

Thanks, @eduardo. It looks like the links work directly from what you posted above.

I didn't notice that, but you seem to be right! That'd be great for anyone interested! Thanx nanushka!

In case anyone is interested, I can forward that email, where you will find those links. Of course, they are in Spanish, but I guess that won't be a problem ("ver" means "watch"). Anyone can share his/her email address here or via private message and I will gladly forward the email.

23 hours ago, aurora said:

Will it just be streamed via that page? There is no information on the "how" of the streaming.

I apologize because of my limited knowledge about this, but from the email I received it will be possible to watch the performance through different platforms:

When you receive that email, you can click on any of those and that will open a new window where the streaming will be available. So far, I've only used youtube, in which there's a second window where a chat takes place (I don't enjoy that, but maybe some people do).

23 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

I also remember that when the theater began streaming on its own site a few years before that, they were crashing constantly.

 

Unfortunately, that's very true. From my latest experience, it seems to have improved 🤞