stuben
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Posts posted by stuben
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7 hours ago, lmspear said:
I was there as well. Her Odile was extremely glamorous. I've reminded of the film I've seen of Tamara Toumanova. Her Odette made me think of our beloved Stella Abrera. May Misseldine have a career unhindered by injury and bad management decisions.
Isn't her mother Yan Chen, who was with the company and now teaching at JKO? So I am it helps to have her mother there and most likely we can be sure she will be watched closely unlike most of the other dancers with similar unfortunate luck as mentioned during their potential strike.
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15 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:
Thank you, stuben, for posting these links.
The teen vogue article is especially eye opening. Quotes from dancers Basmagy and Williams and a few anonymous dancers were both informative and disturbing to read. Anyone who wants more information about what is at stake and what the dancers have been dealing with should read this.
Indeed disturbing and I would think this should be an embarrassment to the upper management and even the board! I also just saw this on Dance Edit (not sure if anyone subscribes to this) and in the same breath Dance Edit announced the $60M that SFB just received! Now why can't ABT have a generous board like the West Coast?! And if they do get significant funding then they should realize without dancers or stage managers there would be nobody on stage!
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On 2/7/2024 at 10:55 AM, MarzipanShepherdess said:
AGMA just posted on Instagram that ABT's artists have authorized a strike, with 95% of the artists voting in favor. Good timing what with the sold-out KC run of Swan Lake, which the post mentions is now in jeopardy. Hoping for a speedy and just resolution for the dancers!
I wonder what is going to happen to the DC shows since it seems a strike is imminent based on these articles that AGMA has been posting, looks like word is spreading. I wish the dancers and stage managers good luck and management understands without them the stage will be empty! I did what the dancers have asked audiences to do, I called and told them I would not purchase any tickets to their shows until their management agreed to put the money where it is most needed - dancers and stage managers! I hope more of us here will do likewise - to support this effort.
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/american-ballet-theatre-dancers-and-stage-managers-voted-to-strike
https://dailyfreepress.com/2024/02/14/let-us-not-forget-what-we-live-for/
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20 hours ago, matilda said:
Thank you for this link, based on what this shows I do wonder if they now save some money by not having an executive director or if that now goes to Jaffe, since she is stepping in to be both. Also, has anyone looked at the website lately? It seems there is no CFO either, so does that mean it is a savings and where is that going? And, I do agree with some comments about the six figures (I would consider them to be high six) for upper management while dancers are trying to make ends meet. Plus, I think this sounds like something that has been building up since McKenzie's days, and I do wonder if he saw this coming and ran!? It is easier to let someone else take the heat. And, does the Expenses include the production of new work? It must be extremely costly to put up elaborate ballets like that of Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty, Whipped Cream, and even the recent Like Water for Chocolate with all the costumes and sets. I am just wondering if this was an ongoing financial issue, then someone should have looked into paying these artists and stage managers first before they spend more money on new work. I would not mind simpler sets or bringing back the works from the Golden Years of ABT, so they can use funding for salaries first. Just IMHO.
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8 hours ago, YouOverThere said:
All 7 performances are now sold out - 3 weeks in advance.
Well, I hope this will help resolve their contract issues (based on other thread discussions) for these dancers and musicians.
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23 hours ago, On Pointe said:
As a member of SAG, I can assure you that members nationwide had to scramble to make ends meet during the long strike, as well as members of other professional unions that don't get paid if actors aren't working. The general public has no idea how little most actors, writers and yes, athletes, make. (Just a pet peeve of mine, but I hate it when dancers are referred to as "athletes".) You hear about big stars making millions per film, but not much about Oscar winners like Hilary Swank who didn't make enough one year to maintain her union prescription drug coverage. A Go Fund Me for " rich" performers is a non-starter. Many New Yorkers make a lot less than ABT dancers.
I apologize if you misunderstood my point, I support SAG and all unions and I am sure members in SAG were scrambling, as I too know a few members, actors, and writer friends, who did have that issue. We are all glad it ended with a positive agreement. I am not sure what the ballet dancers make and cannot assume they are all well off, except for perhaps a selected few. Plus a company like ABT doesn't seem to be working all 12 months, so I do wonder how this affects their lives with the cost of living being so high in NYC. Anyway, I am hoping the union can get what they need to live on. Pro-Union here 🙂
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22 hours ago, AB'sMom said:
I was wondering the same and assumed they are just working and being paid under the terms of the old contract. I guess it isn’t shocking that they aren’t striking because they probably can’t afford to. The AGMA situation seems unique compared to other unions because each company has different terms so the entire community of AGMA dancers doesn’t strike to support dancers at an individual company and there doesn’t seem to be a fund to support dancers if they want to strike.
It is indeed different unlike SAG where they had the support from all actors nationwide, and it is unfortunate I think for dancers and musicians. It is unfortunate for the dancers who most likely don't have wages to meet the living standards, especially in a place like NYC. Per your funding support thought, perhaps they will come up with a "GoFundMe" for audiences & fans to chip in or something. I guess I just feel bad for performers (actors, dancers) who give us so much on stage yet they have to struggle to make a decent living wage, unlike other athletes like football, etc.
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Since many are still questioning and there is no word so far, I decided to do a bit of social media sleuthing, I decided to be bold and just ask the question on the AGMA Instagram account and learned that .... interestingly enough .... they are "still in negotiations". Whatever this means and assuming no contracts yet. I do wonder then if the dancers have all been working without a contract since last year, and does this include the orchestra and stagehands? How does this work and is this legal? If so, this is unfortunate and I feel for those who need the financial help with living in NYC and surrounding areas, it can't be cheap!
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22 hours ago, On Pointe said:
I did not find the ABT class especially interesting, which is fine. Company class isn't a performance. That said, considering that this was for World Ballet Day, seen around the world and some viewers first glimpse of the company, the apparent lack of preparation was surprising. Susan Jaffe appeared to be making it up as they went along, which is a common practice, but her barre and center exercises were a bit disconnected and even dull. Her teaching outfit however was not. It was, as they say, definitely a look. I've never before seen anyone teach class in clogs.
Jaffe seemed to give the men a lot more personal attention than the women. Whole groups were ignored while she gave detailed corrections to one dancer at a time. But maybe that was just this class. Lots of diversity of size and body type in the current company. All in all, they looked quite good, although they didn't put much effort into accurately performing the combinations as given.
17 hours ago, Drew said:Perhaps ABT fans of Marcelo Gomes are all aware of his World Ballet Day class for Dresden Semperoper Ballett--but in case not:
Thank you for this video Drew and totally agree with On Pointe!! Guess ABT doesn’t care about best foot forward these days. This video of Marcelo made me miss those golden years even more 😔 when dancers can actually act vs just being acrobats. Good technique is great but I’ve always loved a dancer who can draw me into the performance with good theatrical ability, and why I miss Gomes, Part, Kent, Reyes, and never forget Hallberg! Something that’s lacking these days.
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12 minutes ago, abatt said:
It is their choice to work for ABT. NYCB works many more weeks per year, which is part of the reason their compensation is higher than what the ABT union could negotiate for ABT's dancers. Paul Taylor dance company, when it didn't have enough work, would intentionally lay off their workers so that they could collect unemployment during the off season. Unfortunately, if the dancer chooses to perform with a company that has far less than 52 weeks of employment, they may need to find supplementary income from gigs, teaching (a la Bouder at Steps) or other means. To say that they don't earn a living wage is an insult to all of those workers who are killing themselves in multiple minimum wage jobs to earn a living.
By no means I was trying to insult anyone. That’s putting words in my mouth and I’m sorry you’re misunderstanding my thoughts. It would be nice that these dancers would get enough weeks so they don’t need to go and find other means to live on and that’s all. I’m a supporter of these dancers and that’s all.
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30 minutes ago, abatt said:
Given that they only work for a fraction of the year, is it really fair to say that they are working for less than a living wage?
And is that their fault when many companies work more days? Someone up thread mentioned many have to do gigs etc to make ends meet.
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27 minutes ago, nanushka said:
They performed for under 2 weeks at the Koch, and they're doing much of the same rep in China (plus Giselle, which they've performed a lot in the last few years). I think they're probably ready.
Sorry I meant ready in terms of getting their own traveling things. I know I’d have to pack and knowing how China might be these days, there must be regulations etc to be ready?
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Seems the company didn’t give much time for the dancers to get ready for this tour!? So last show was Sunday and they’re already onto China? And from social media posts it looks like their contract situation hasn’t been resolved! That’s just seems ridiculous and much like what the writers and actors were and still are dealing with. We, the audience can compliment or criticize but in the end we have to realize these artists are all working for less than living wage just to entertain us, I wish the powers that be do the right thing and take care of their dancers!
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11 hours ago, Helene said:
All of these reports of noise on the floor make me think of tap and Flamenco dancers whose boards are often miked.
With so many agreeing on the sound issues, I wonder if this accentuated the squeaky wheels from those black dresses in Petite Mort, I just can't get that noise out of my head, they were so distracting.
12 hours ago, WLH said:Misseldine has beautiful feet and legs, good stage presence, but her expression was sort of frozen and peppy the whole way through? from the first ring it was somewhat distracting.
That was my issue in regard to her expression (or lack thereof) when I saw Like Water For Chocolate, I thought that was expected for the particular role. Her technique is there but totally agree these are distractions. As for standing out, it is easy to stand out when a dancer is doing a solo on stage, however, I saw Études and didn't realize she was dancing a corps role, and thought several others were standouts.
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55 minutes ago, FauxPas said:
Just a quick mention that the opening Lauren Lovette pièce d'occasion for the ABT school and studio company was charming and seemed to be modeled on "Etudes" showing the development of dancers from beginner child students learning the basics to more advanced levels as teenagers and young adults. The music was the Saint-Saëns' "Carnival of the Animals" excerpts. Of course, "Etudes" finished the evening as the last piece, so it was a lovely bookend to the whole evening.
I must also mention that in the classical pas de deuxs from "Sleeping Beauty" and "Don Quixote" they only performed the opening entrée and pas de deux and then the coda, no solos.
Takumi Miyake was impressive. Also Madison Brown, a young African-American ballerina was prominently featured in both the Lovette piece and also was interviewed in a film that was shown before the gala. Katie Kouric was honored at the gala for her support of the company as was Diana Phillips, president of the Schubert Foundation which has given unrestricted grants to the company since 1977. Susan Jaffe is a good speaker and poised onstage and her introduction was just long enough.
My question about the grants - why are they not reflected towards the dancers’ benefits and income? With all this money flowing in with these celebs I would think they’re thinking of the dancers! IMHO, It’s unconscionable how this “National” company that’s supposed to represent this country act like this towards their dancers, as if they’re slaves to the very rich!
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8 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:
I really feel for the dancers. To have their retirement contribution slashed in half and still not have it restored is awful, especially given their short careers. I have no doubt that many are struggling to make ends meet, as the letter says. And I can't believe some have not received cost-of-living increases. The cost of living in NYC is absolutely insane right now. I wonder what financial resources ABT actually has on hand to fulfill any of these demands. In the more recent letter, there is no mention of the company's financial status, as there was in AGMA's letters regarding NYCB's orchestra members. The general impression I get is that ABT is trying to operate beyond its means and maintain artistic excellence even if they don't have the money to properly support it.
Edited to add: In the past, ABT has declared its commitment to diversity and established the Plie Project. You cannot have true diversity if you don't pay dancers a living wage. It limits a ballet career to those with inherited wealth or outside support from family or a spouse, and in our society, that limits racial diversity. (The 2017 letter describes junior corps members relying on family support.)
Completely agree and how can management expect these artists to perform and be at the top of their game when they won’t budge to help them? It would definitely be interesting to see what management wages are compared to the artists. Either way it’s just ridiculous to have to even talk about this! Pay these artists already!
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Had originally posted this by error on Fall Season thread. Anyway I saw the latest social media stories from many of the dancers about this and feel it’s just terrible how the artists who literally do all the work can’t get what they need to live on (only a select few may not have an issue) with skyrocketing rent, especially in NYC! I wonder if strike is on the horizon like the writers Union and SAG is still on strike! With all the millionaire donors you’d think they’d have a heart!
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1 hour ago, Helene said:
Not anymore, with the demise of New York City Opera. But when the theater opened, both companies moved from City Center, and they alternated seasons, with NYCO opening in early Fall — or maybe in very late August — and then returning between NYCB’s Winter and Spring seasons.
Thank you Helene, so the issue with noisy shoes and squeaky wheels, especially in Petite Mort at the State theatre shouldn’t have been a flooring.
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13 hours ago, cobweb said:
It wasn’t just the women, the men were also making A LOT of noise in their landings. The noise level is very noticeably different from NYCB and I conclude there is something different about the stage floor.
11 hours ago, Helene said:The floors were built for Balanchine: it was his design for a sprung floor. They may have taken them up for the opera to avoid having holes drilled into them. I'm not sure if the theater has traps.
I don't know what the scenery was like, but some sets reverb a lot of sound, whereas other deaden it.
Sorry for my ignorance but is the opera performed at the State (Koch) theatre? The issue with squeaky wheels and loud shoes for me is this Fall season, so I’m not sure if we’re addressing the same venue or just in general.
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I am not sure if anyone noticed this but my two cents about Petite Mort: The wheels for those black dresses probably needed some oiling! The silence made those squeaky wheels sound even louder, I felt like I was in the basement of a horror film listening to what the squeaky wheels were going to turn up around the corner 😂 I am sorry but that just stuck in my mind.
Also, I know there are lots of Misseldine fans here and I don't disagree however she was in the corps for the Etudes I saw, and I didn't feel she stood out much with stage presence, I know a corps needs to blend in but facial expressions usually help a corp member to "stand out from the crowd", and IMHO I thought Waski did a pretty good job as she was center stage alongside Misseldine. The two of them actually looked pretty good together due to their height. It is always easier, I assume, to "stand out" if a dancer is alone on stage. Good to know about Ballet Imperial as I will be seeing that this week.
I am also wondering if anyone knows what happened to ZJ Fang, she has not been cast in anything this season, is she injured?
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21 minutes ago, NinaFan said:
I'm with you.
I was reading some of the posts above with regard to acting vs technique with much surprise. Yes, acting is very important, but it is never a substitute for ballet technique.
I go to the ballet for ballet and at a company such as ABT, I expect the classics to be danced without major flubs or glaring omissions. It seems like this has been going on for a while. When did such a practice ever become the acceptable norm at ABT? It was always assumed that one could see a ballet danced cleanly and in it’s entirety regardless of cast. The stage is not a rehearsal space.
My thoughts exactly NinaFan - substitute indeed, especially for the classics. And based on the timeliness of the NYTimes article, I feel it was released as a precursor of what to expect (or not expect) for that performance. Don't get me wrong she is a wonderful contemporary dancer but I have second thoughts about her classical limitations for the "traditional ballet" parts. Totally agree with your thought that the stage should not be a rehearsal space! Paying big dollars to watch a "rehearsal" isn't helping the Covid return.
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17 hours ago, abatt said:
Trenarys technique is weaker than any of the other GIselles at abt this week. Even the much maligned hee seo was far better.
I know there are lots of Trenary fans and trust me, I wanted so much to love her performance but I would have to agree with Abatt here. And, IMHO I find it timely that this article came out on the day she is to depute, it is almost getting the audience ready to accept the changes. I understand most feel her acting can supersede her technique, however, if we are going to watch acting then I would go to the movies and perhaps they should do a Giselle movie. This is a classic and I would hope a principal can deliver all, the techniques and act as Lane, Gomes, etc. She is after all a principal and should be ready for all without the excuses. Nobody mentioned Whiteside and I have to give him the benefit of his injury but I found his energy low as well, in Act 1 I actually thought he was engaging as a brother more than a love interest to Giselle, his acting picked up in Act 2 but I was disappointed not to see the entré chats as others did in his position, the drama of that was lost with the ending.
On another note, I ended up purchasing a last-minute ticket to watch the evening show since it was dedicated to Lupe Serrano, there were many past dancers there as was her family. The historical film footages were wonderful and a beautiful tribute to see of her dancing yet I found it interesting that out of all the young company dancers she taught, they chose Lall as the only corps member to interview, I guess it was to show diversity (exactly the issue and what Shayer mentioned in his article).
I found the evening show 10X better than the matinee, Murphy and Forster was a treat! And they truly did Lupe's tribute justice, his partnering is wonderful and he did do the entré chats (even though they were a bit weak) they were beautiful and gave an impact for the end as many of us expect. I am just happy I decided to catch this show since it made up for the earlier one.
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7 hours ago, abatt said:
Misseldine was the eldest sister, not the mother. The mother was Claire Davison. Claire missed her big moment of cursing Pedro. She is supposed to touch the top of his head. at the end of Act II. She was too tall on that contraption that she was being wheeled around on, and the best she could do was wave her arms around the vicinity of Pedro's (Carmago's) head.
I definitely agree with the post above that Of Love and Rage had considerably more classical ballet than LWFC. LWFC is balle Light. Is it a sacrilege to say I preferred Carmago. Cornejo was good, but Carmago was better. I was less impressed with Park. The role requires better acting, and she lacks experience compared to Trenary. I thought Brandt was all wrong for the feisty middle sister in the second cast. Her dinner table orgy scene was disjointed and awkward. In Hurlin's hands it flowed more seamlessly and looked sexy. Also, whose bright idea was is to pair Aran Bell with Brandt in the campfire scene. He looked like a giant and she looked like a midget.
Yes, Wheeldon relies heavily on special effects and other bells and whistles instead of creating choreography. Maybe this is what audiences prefer. I'm not sure.
Agree and I’m glad you made the correction, and if I might add IMO I thought Misseldine was miscasted as well, no doubt she’s a good dancer but she also lacks the maturity for a role like Rosaura.
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12 minutes ago, Papagena said:
Pretty sure that was not much of a consideration ... a white choreographer, composer, and (from what I can tell) not a single lead with Mexican heritage (although Cornejo + Carmago are Latin American).
I was thinking the same about the lack of a female Mexican/Hispanic lead, and Wheeldon's admittance that he didn't draw his choreography based on steps from the Mexican folk tradition, the story is a Mexican story, no?!
Along with this bit from Wheeldon's response in the Times article seems a bit patronizing IMHO, especially when it comes to the NYC audience, I hope with ballet companies from around the globe and with companies within NY, that audiences know what "ballet' is :
“People are sometimes afraid because they don’t know exactly what ballet is,” he said. “But maybe we can bring in new audiences because they think they’re going to get a theatrical and dynamic experience. Maybe they’ll be able to experience ballet through the art of storytelling, which is more accessible.”
ABT Met Season 2024
in American Ballet Theatre
Posted
Curious how the season will sell, my selfish reasons I wish there would be some oldies but goodies like Coppélia or something fun! I don't know how many SL, R&J, and LWFC I can handle! Even Wheeldon's Alice In Wonderland with the colors and fun characters, seems more family-friendly IMHO.