hyacinthhippo

IMO, ABT has done a poor job in cultivating young patrons. Other companies such as Paris Opera Ballet and NYCB have done such a great job with their young patron programs and keeping them engage and interested. On the other hand, ABT Junior Council program has continuously disintegrate in the past four years especially, not offering any value with young patrons. In addition for non JC members, ABT has removed their 18-29 programs which is their discounted tickets for young people. This is a really backward move from ABT's part, how else are they going to motivate new young audiences to be invested in their future. If ABT continue to rely on their old patron, this company will dissolve sooner sadly. Therefore, I see much value in individual dancers being proactive in reaching out to new and younger audience through social media, social engagements and other means. Personally, I have been a long time member for JC and considering canceling my membership this year. I feel less and less invested in ABT as a company and more invested in seeing my favorite dancers such as Abrera, Cornejo, Lendorf, Boylston, Cirio, Murphy, Teuscher, and Whiteside.

Au contraire mes * .... I found Bella to be most desirable. She’s so dynamic on stage and her power seems to be endless. In addition, off-stage I find her to be the most relatable with strong social media presence, other cool projects and edgy fashun forward lewks henny..... on the the other hand, Lane portrays a more old-fashion air, traveling around with her dogs and complaining about accommodations. That’s all I’m gonna say about her, otherwise the Lane dan club gonna attack me this Sunday at the box office....heheheh anywho, I still find Copeland important for grabbing new audiences and the fight for equality. Boylston is so so very relevant to the masses... especially for me and my fellow millennials, the ones who will bring ballet forward to the 23rd century.

Felicias.... I suggest we rename this forum topic to the “Sarah Lane Fan Club and Defenders”

Has anyone noticed.... Alastair took down his original insta post on this topic.... wonder why?

Since casting has been posted for a while, does anyone know why Marcelo Gomes is not dancing for fall season? Is he doing other projects?

I’m just going to go straight to the point and address all the negative comments. There’s so much more to dancing than just 32 fouettés. 1. We all know for a fact that she can do the fouettés. The only reason she didn’t do it is because she is still recovering. In fact, after the performance she graces the junior council crowd on stage with her presence and addressed the topic. She said that she was still recovering and almost pulled out from the performance, but she did it anyways and the only thing she still couldn’t do is the fouettés. So kudos to her for still dancing and kudos to her in Giselle to finish the performance even after she got injured. 2. She absolutely did not dumb down the choreography. We all know that there is one who dumbs down the choreography and it’s definitely not Bella. On the other hand, IMO I don’t understand why everyone gushing over you-know-who and she never even done 32 fouettés EVER. 3. Doing 32 turning relevés on one leg is hard enough on a completely healthy ankle. Just because you can dance the rest of the at beautifully does not mean you can put that sustained pressure for the fouettés. Plus, she executed her piqué coupé-jeté beautifully with so much bravado. The chemistry between Bella and Alban was really strong. I wish they will continue to nurture this partnership. The PDD in act 1 was sooooo good. The audience was in complete silence and I can hear them all breathing along with the dancing. Alban is a strong partner and Bella really let herself go in his hand. He is such a good partner dancer that at one point IMO he just disappeared and all I see is her floating around on stage with total abandonment. Her penchés after those pirouettes were next level. Alban's dancing is so contained and controlled, it's like a classic pair of Ferragamo, absolutely not vulgar. I love watching him land from his high jumps. His big KFC original recipe thighs so beautiful when he plié so deeply to absorb the shock. I can feel the continuous circular energy. Overall, I would say that his is one of the most memorable SL in the last couple of years. Bella is a new wave of dancers with huge youth followings that will become the future of this art. Alban has the charisma to win the american crowd, he just needs to learn to deal with the crazy fans here. That's all (*insert Miranda Priestly voice)

Is this a thread about Giselle or Sarah Lane... bye felicia

Disagree. IMO. Last night was my fourth Giselle this week. Felicia. I saw it already with Gillian/David, Isabella/James and Marcelo/Stella. Out of the four performances, I found Lane performance to be the least exciting. I personally did not feel the strong star presence from her as I do with Gillian and Stella. She does not have the commanding presence to stand out in the midst of all the corps. Thankfully, Schevenko also lacks some stage presence compare to Veronika and Stella as Myrta. Therefore, the only star last night was Herman. His acting was en pointe and his beautiful feet really carved the floor beautifully.

I have to admit even stronger that I do not agree with the negative review of Stella. Her performance in Giselle is genuine and heartfelt. Out of all the principal dancers in this role at ABT, she has the best qualities to portray Giselle. Felicia. Her beautiful long lines, neck and limbs really brought Giselle to life. Her movement has quality of softness that no other dancer has currently in the roster. She embodied the character fully and conveyed the artistry of the dancing. I find her acting to be immaculate. Gurl…. srsly? Have you seen her as Lady Capulet… the best acting I have ever seen!!! And it was no different last night at the end of Act I. Marcy is ABT’s most warm and genuine dancer. C’est une legende! As he was trained at the Paris Opera Ballet, he is one dancer that would not sacrifice technique. What other dancers do for crowd pleaser is called tricks. Felicia. Dance is an art form, not a sport. Technicality does not equal to tricks. In fact, Marcelo executed perfect technique with supreme acting. During the entrechat jumps, I can feel the audience breathing a long with him, as if we were all fighting to stay alive. I can feel every breath, movement and eye blink have true meaning, because they come from his center, his chi, his heart, his soul and it was all genuine. C'est un artiste avec un talent incroyable!

Just saw Giselle with James and Bella aka The Cindies (as they refer to themselves). This is my second Giselle for the week, I watched Saturday with Gillian/David. Something odd happened tonight, Bella and James did not do a curtain bow tonight. Does any body know the reason behind this? I have been to more than 100 ABT performances felicia and I have never not have a curtain bow after the show.

Aran is really tall now. In fact he was the tallest matador last night. I assume he's 6' or taller. This week is his first performances in NYC as full on corps member. Felicia. IMO, he has a great potential to move up fast. He has a strong body and seems to make a good partner. So far, he has not smiled once in stage and has a very serious face on stage. I am hope he will relax once he feels more comfortable on stage and gain more artistry as the years go on.

Breaking news: Herman did not finish DonQ tonight. He abruptly did not finish his 3rd act. This is my second DonQ of the week, I went one on Wednesday with Bella and Daniil. Up to this point I have to say that the performance is so much better than Wednesday in terms of chemistry and energy. Felicia. Even the orchestra sounds to have more bravado. So here's the play by play. Herman was supposed to come out to do his Basilio solo, however there was a long pause. Long enough for the audience to notice to know that something is not as usual. Then 60 second later, Maria came out buying some time playing with her fan. The conductor then instructed the orchestra to flip the page and they all did. Then she starts doing her variation. Then Blaine came out to finish the coda variation for Basilio. I want to say BRAVO to Blaine for stepping up to the plate. IMO, I knew that he was ready for a promotion after his performance as the Standard Bearer in The Green Table on October 25, 2015. and moreover his Aminta debut on May 11, 2016. So happy and pround of Blaine! He made it work and improvise till the end. True professional. Back to Herman, he unfortunately did not even come out for the bows at the end. I really do wish him the best. He is one of my favorite dancers in the roster. He has high jumps, controlled pirouettes, and the sexiest latin flair that brings so much characterization to the role, IMO.

I was a the evening performance last night (Simkin/Boylston). IMO, I was disappointed with the odd pairing. I found there seems to be a lack of connection between Isabella and Daniil. I would like to see Daniil to be more giving and caring to his partner instead of just focusing on his jumps and tricks. Stella was beautiful as Mercedes/QofD. She was fully in character the entire ballet and her Italian fouettés was executed nicely. Hammoudi looked handsome last night as Espada and was a strong partner to Stella. Felicia. However, his solo part seems to lack energy. Felicia. IMO, I want more from those rond verse in the 3rd act

After the Rain was originally choreographed for Wendy and Jack. In my opinion, next to Wendy, Maria is the best current principal who can present this beautiful PDD in the most artistic way. I can't think of another dancer dancing this role (and I have seen other dancers doing it). I saw her dancing it two times this season and her movements is so genuine and heartfelt. The breaths of the port de bra is articulately effortless that I can't help myself but to be hypnotized by her movement. Felicia just my opinion. So fortunate to be able to see this in person again, especially after the New Beginnings' YouTube page got so much attention.

In my opinion, Maria Kowroski performed a beautifuly yesterday afternoon in Symphony in C. I have to disagree with @CTballetfan. Felicia. In fact, she brought another level of artistry to the adagio section. Her beautiful long lines really hypnotized the audience. She also did an extra bow and pleased the wild applause of the audience. For the grand finale, not only that she kept up with the other dancers but she stood out like a true queen. This is my second time seeing her this week in Symphony in C (this time in 4th ring, first time in Orchestra). Even from the cheap seats, I can feel her dancing.