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Did I miss the announcement of Tess Reichlen retirement? I do remember having read about Maria Kowroski, Gonzalo Garcia and Amar Ramasar, but I am surprised to learn that Ms. Reichlen has retired.

Thank you, BalanchineFan. Most times I chose seats in the second ring (and occasionally the first) for the same reasons you mentioned: good slope, unobstructed view. This time I felt like trying something different, so I purchased a seat in row R. We'll see (either the dancers or someone's head).

Thank you nysusan! I'll take a look at those seats!

Great advice. Many thanks canbelto and cobweb!

At the present time I'm planning a trip to NYC for next January and I'm also thinking of attending a performance at David Koch Teater. From what I can see at the NYCB website, the price for the last rows of Orchestra (R, S, T, U and V) is USD 110, which is what I intend to spend. Any opinions about those rows? Is there a good slope, so people sitted in the previous rows won't obstruct your view? Is that too far from the scenery? For that price would you rather choose a central seat in the second ring? Thank you in advance for any replies.

Thank you so much, Helene. That's a lot of information!

Thank you sf_herminator. I think it's a beautiful way to recognize the departing dancers This video brought back to my mind som questions I’ve often wondered. We all have read in this forums about that: dancers leaving a company for a lot of different reasons. In some cases (particularly with some principals in ABT) I remember having read about dancers that were “shown the exit” rather than having made the decission by themselves. What I wonder is how that works in less notorious cases, like corps members. Are they told in advance that they won’t get a new contract? Are they told that their dancing abilities are not anymore at the level the company requires? Do different companies have different policies about that? I am not aware about other companies, but in the case of NYCB I think every year there are some new apprentices, and also every year some of them get contracts to join the company, right? Is there a similar number of corps de ballet members who leave the company every year? Do those dancers leave by their own will or in some cases the company just don’t renew their contracts and that’s it? I do realize that this is off topic here, but I'm not sure where this questions should be posted, so I apologize in advance for that.

Although I didn't really like the excerpts shown, I was amazed by Taylor Stanley and Lauren Lovette. Sometimes I thought her dancing was bland, but not in this piece.

Agree with you, Helene. I always thought that the Diamonds ballerina features quite regal manners, which I relate to Raymonda.

Thank you pherank. I totally understand what you said and I remember having read about the idea of Balanchine about each chapter of Jewels. What I meant is that seeing Nuñez and Soares in this pdd reminded me of Swan Lake. That didn't happen when I saw the same pdd danced by the NYCBallet or the POB (the latter, in video).

Thank you for that! I loved the Rubies pas de deux!!! Is it a misperception of mine or the Diamonds pas de deux danced by Nuñez and Soares looks quite SwanLakeish?

Thank you, maps. I stand corrected.

The Dance in America Ballo never engaged me. I found the ballet much more interesting in the actual stage version currently available at www.nycballet.com. Opposite to what nanushka said, I really liked Megan Fairchild in this, and also Catazaro. Definitely, watching this helped me to see many of the things you pointed at when I asked about Balanchine style. One more time, thank you all for that!

I just read that Willy Burmann passed away in New York City. According to the news, he was 80 years old and Covid 19 was the cause of his death.

Thank you, Jeff-sh! You’re so right about the smiles in Emeralds! I really disliked them!

Loved especially the four corps gentlemen in Rubies and the gentleman in the Emeralds pas de trois.

Thank you volcanohunter. What you say is what I was interested in, since I do think that the debate about rules and exceptions needs some data to support any conclusion. Although I realize South America is very often below the radar, in this part of the world three out of four of the most prominent ballet companies feature female AD: Cecilia Kerche and Ana Botafogo in Theatro Municipal (Rio de Janeiro), Marcia Haydee in Teatro Municipal (Santiago de Chile) and Paloma Herrera in Buenos Aires (Teatro Colón). The fourth company I have in mind is Sodre Ballet in Uruguay, where after doing a great job rebuilding the company, Julio Bocca passed the baton to Igor Yebra.

Do we have any figures to support any of the points in this debate? I haven't got any, but IMHO it's not a minor detail that some of these women are AD of relevant ballet companies in the world, like Paris Opera Ballet, English National Ballet and NYCBallet (even though Wendy Whelan is Associate AD).

Copeland and Herman Cornejo were announced as guest dancers for Lacotte's La Sylphide last year. He arrived to Buenos Aires several days in advance in order to work with the repetiteurs. She arrived to Buenos Aires four days before opening night. After she worked with Cornejo and the repetiteurs for a couple of days, her manager Gilda Sqare stated Misty was injured and therefore wouldn't dance. On the other hand, there was an article in a major local newspaper suggesting she hadn't learnt the part. There's some more details in the Dancers section of the forums (Misty Copeland, part deux, pages 17 and 18).

Copeland and Cory Stearns have been announced as a guests for La fille mal gardée at Teatro Colón next July. I'm a bit surprised about that after the Sylphyde affair last season. Let's see what happens.

I guess most of us have watched the video of the ABT suite of Paquita staged by Makarova. As much as I enjoy the variations danced by Susan Jaffe and Cynthia Harvey, I dislike the variation for Paquita. I find it uninteresting. Perhaps I'm missing something?

I thought that variation was weak, in particular compared to the male variation, until I saw Ludmila Semenyaka dance it!

I particularly remember her in the first theme of The four temperaments.

Thank you Helene! I see what you mean, especially about Ashley (I never had the chance to see von Aroldingen). Sometimes people enjoy that kind of challenges: try what doesn't seem obvious. Or even further: try what looks obviously a non fit for someone. I've seen that in a law firm (assigning cases to different people) with varying degrees of success. Any chances Mr. Balanchine might have seen it that way? In many different ways, I see him as a challenger.

I guess I have missed something, Helene. My apologies. Would you please care to explain what you mean when you mention that casting for Emeralds by Balanchine?