LadyBubbles

Actually, Sarah will be part of the International Ballet Festival at the Kremlin Palace. Starting today until Sept. 29 there will be a different production performed every day. All the principal roles are done by guests (Polina Semionova and Nicoletta Manni are among them, and of course Sarah Lane will be there for Swan Lake next Friday. Lane will be dancing with Vadim Muntagirov from the Royal Ballet).

Anyway, Lane's (and everybody else's) show has nothing to do with the current or future tenure status of anyone from the Kremlin Ballet, so not really relevant to Womack's relationship (or lack thereof, should that be the case) with the theater.

For more info:

http://kremlinpalace.org/en/content/calendar

http://kremlinpalace.org/en/events/vi-international-ballet-festival-kremlin-swan-lake

Truth be told, some people would rather see any ballerina who is Russian than a ballerina from any other nationality. I know this because a very dear friend of mine is one of those people. Now, when I ask her to explain the reason she is so pro-Russia other than the fact that she, herself, is Russian, she has no answer. It's not really about the ballet itself, or the quality of ballet presented, but rather the person on stage.

Different strokes for different folks, obviously. Same goes for those who adore Copeland and claim that she's the absolute best O/O, Giselle, and/or Kitri they've ever seen in their entire life, even if she's the only O/O, Giselle, and/or Kitri they've actually seen in their entire life. It's their opinion and their entitled to it.

I think Brandt will get a Kitri this time. She probably should have been given one last spring. She can actually do the steps so....

It's sad to say but I expect both Murphy and Abrera to start retiring certain roles in the near future. Abrera has been fine health wise these last few years (unlike Murphy), but they're both getting close to the point where injuries happen faster, take longer to heal, and the complications from dancing full out while injured could be difficult to recover from. Hopefully they'll be able to dance all of their roles next spring.

And yes, I fully expect Copeland to get two shows of everything and everything regardless of the technical and artistic demands of the roles. ABT wants money, and they've made us well aware of it.

Ribagorda left ABT after Nutcracker 2014.

Wow, I didn't even notice that Salestein was gone from the roster. I thought the soloist page looked super empty, but I assumed it was because of the three ladies promoted. That's odd, ABT made no mention of him leaving the company (they mentioned all the corps members who, for various reasons, were leaving at the end of the MET season).

The ABT roster website has been updated. A few things:

• Kochetkova is still there. I guess she's not going anywhere anytime soon.
• Luis Ribagorda is listed again as a corps dancer. Is he really coming back? Interesting. I hope so.
• Of the remaining apprentices at the end of the MET season (aka those who were not promoted in May), Nastia Alexandrova is now in the corps, Gabrielle Perkins has left the company (she's joining a European company, I believe), and Xuelan Lu remains an apprentice.

So nice to see Lane's name among the principals. Finally.

1 hour ago, fondoffouettes said:

Or there's Semionova. It looks like she's dancing in one of Roberto Bolle's galas at the moment, so she has returned from maternity leave but has not been reengaged by ABT (unless they have plans to do so next season).

 

My bet is on Kotchetkova, though. Lane and Brandt are both filling the short girl role. And perhaps even Shevchenko could be partnered by Simkin, Cornejo or Cirio. She was partnered by Shayer in the Shostakovich Trilogy, and he seems rather short.

I was thinking Semionova. But "firing" someone during pregnancy/mat leave, is that even legal? My guess is she decided to leave NYC and return to Europe full time.

There have been questions about Shevchenko's height for a few days now. While I don't have an exact number, when standing straight and with good posture she looks almost as tall as Teuscher. Maybe an inch or so shorter. I noticed that in casual photos she tends to slouch a little bit (or just bend her body in a weird way, not sure what's up with that) so she tends to look short in pictures. I don't see her being partnered by the short guys in a full length with lots of partnering and lifts. Also, since the beginning she's been cast in "tall" roles, so I expect her to continue with that. Teuscher and Shevchenko will cover the tall principal slots now that we have two very tall ladies out (Semionova and Part) and two others approaching 40.

As per Instagram, corps member Simon Wexler is leaving ABT.

He will be attending Columbia University starting this fall.

All the best to him in his new journey at Columbia.

Yes, this could definitely hurt Part. I know others have mentioned that dancers are not responsible for what their fans might do (and I agree), BUT she's certainly not helping the situation by posting on the organizers FB page. If anything, she should be flat out demanding that they don't do anything about t and just ask for support on Saturday. I know, who am I to say what she "should" do? But if I were a director I wouldn't want to risk having a riot at a performance if I make a decision that upsets the fans. Again, my .02

I just realized that there will officially be no tall soloists next year on the women's side. Yeah, definitely expect tall corps ladies to get solo roles. We still have 3 short soloists, so they're covered.

I hope to see lots of corps dancers promoted next year (a repeat of 2015 hopefully).

I feel bad for Hammoudi, but he hasn't done himself any favors. I think it's time for ABT to give Forster and Hoven opportunities in full length principal roles. I'm sure they'll deliver.

I knew Skylar's instagram story post was up to something (the caption "fab 4" on a picture that includes people who have long been speculated to be promoted this year, I got suspicious. So glad it was true!!!).

So happy for Lane (finally!!!). Not surprised about Teuscher, but a little wee bit surprised about Schevchenko. I'm not undermining her, but I thought this year a bit too soon. Oh well, she deserves it. I'm sure her phenomenal performances of this season had a lot to do with this decision. Also, they have promoted two tall soloists to replace to tall ballerinas. Looks like they take their numbers seriously lol. Congrats to all three ladies.

Also happy for Royal. I haven't seen enough from him, but judging on everyone's comments it looks like it was a well deserved promotion.

I was expecting more corps to soloist promotions. Hopefully next year.

Wow, okay. I don't mean to be rude to the organizer and/or to Part's fans, but isn't that a little too much?

It's always hard to maintain a good relationship with a former employer when you get fired, but this could bring the situation to a whole new level of animosity between the two parties involved. What if McKenzie is gone in a year or two and the new director wants to work with Part? I doubt the board would welcome her back after a public protest.

Scenario 2: imagine that the protest works and she is able to stay. I can't even imagine how awkward everything would be with management and even some dancers next year. I would much rather see her elsewhere and happy than at ABT and being totally miserable.

My .02. Again, I don't mean to offend anyone.

Nothing yet. I realize Wednesday is not ideal to announce promotions in class because you'd want to avoid disappointed dancers at the matinee show (only like 2 or so hours after class), but the wait is killing me. I just want to know, but at the same time I'm scared to find out. I'm scared of, yet again, being disappointed because of certain dancer possibly being left behind.

Agreed, I'm not sure 100 people (or 200, or even 300) signing a petition would be able to sway a decision that has, apparently, already been made. I'll sign it just to show my support but I doubt it will do much. If anything, it might possibly cause some additional beef between the two parties involved. I don't think ABT would appreciate the controversy or drama. But I agree with Drew, hopefully Part sees the petition as people supporting her and letting her know they're there for her.

1 hour ago, vipa said:

I can't believe that would happen without an announcement and a big send off. 

Unless she's pulling a Michele Wiles. IIRC she didn't even tell her SL partner until right before bows.

Yeah, I agree. Regardless of the role and regardless of the dancer, I can't imagine McKenzie actually doing something like that. Not on stage. Not tonight, not ever.

Well it's after 4pm in New York and there has been no announcement. I assume we have to wait till next week to learn about the promotions (hopefully).

Not gonna lie, I thought of that. I guess we won't know until promotions are announced in the next few days (hopefully).

I certainly hope it doesn't mean that no one will get promoted. Also, I noticed that Part is not listed on the announcement. I hope it's a preliminary announcement and not final.

Now if we scrutinize the announcement, it does say "Principal dancers INCLUDE", so it could mean that there will be others. But as I said, we won't know until some time next week (again, hopefully).

Actually last year was a slow year as far as promotions go. Only Hoven and Cirio got promoted (to soloist and principal respectively). However, 2015 had a ton of promotions.

Don't be surprised if Hammoudi gets promoted. They probably shouldn't, but they might be a little desperate with their current tall male principal problem (Bolle and Gomes and getting old, Hallberg is slowly coming back). I think they should groom some of the tall corps dancers instead. I think Aran Bell has definite prince potential, and he's quite tall now. The problem is that he's very young, and you know ABT doesn't like young male principals anymore. I hope ABT doesn't let his talent (and others') go to waste.

Apprentice to corps promotions usually happen around late May to mid June (and early December to January). Congrats to the young artists who got promoted.

I believe Kiely Groenewegen is a fairly new apprentice. She was still listed as a Studio Company dancer on the ABT website until very recently (in fact she's not even listed as an apprentice on the website, because it takes forever to update).

Possibly this week or early next week. The trend lately IIRC has been to announce them on the last week of the MET season. I'm hoping for this week for sure, but at the same time I'm scared

I think nothing will happen with Kochetkova as far as her tenure with ABT, unless she voluntarily leaves the company (she's a busy ballerina).

Having said that, ABT could terminate any dancer's contract if they believe that the dancer is not doing enough for/with the company and/or is not needed anymore. I'm convinced the only reason they keep Bolle in the roster is because he is Bolle and because they already have a shortage of tall men who can do the roles without much notice. He didn't dance much this season, but he can still do a lot of the classics. He could have easily done Swan Lake if he didn't have the guest performances in the UK so close to the SL runs. Same with Giselle, and we all know he can do R&J half asleep if it makes a comeback next year.

Same with Kochetkova. She doesn't dance much with the company due to her busy schedule (no tours, no Nutcracker, no fall season this past fall) but they'll probably keep her in the roster because she's Kochetkova and she's short. About the latter, however, we have three short soloists ready to step up at anytime....

1 hour ago, Natalia said:

 

Adding to the above: in that 2005 film, Sarah Lane can be spotted among the "aristocratic ladies" in A1(blue gown), then among the swan corps during bows, just behind Murphy. Dreams come true tonight, as she becomes the star of this very production! Please report, lucky attendees.  

Also at the end of act IV after Rothbart dies and the swans do their final dance and bow to the sun. I remember watching the video and saying "who is that tiny ballerina in there"? Years later I rewatched and realized "OMG it's Sarah Lane".

In not so great news, I just watched Lane's Instagram story and apparently she's sick with a cold (but will dance tonight). I hope she finds something that makes her feel better, but not something that will make her drowsy (*ahem* honey and lemon in warm water work wonders). I second all the toi toi toi Sarah!!!

I must confess I'm a little apprehensive about Sarah Lane subbing in so late. I'm not saying that I think she's not capable of a great O/O, in fact I think she is totally right for the role. But let's face it, she probably hasn't had much rehearsal time (surely not nearly as much as she did with Giselle, considering she knew it would be her big role of the season since last year), and there's also the fact that unlike Devon Teuscher, she hasn't had the chance of performing it prior to tomorrow (yes, I know she danced it in Barcelona but that was a different version and it was more than 5 years ago).

I hope it goes well. Her technique is good and her acting has improved. Her nerves are what worry me. I hope the confidence that she has demonstrated all this season shows in her O/O debut.

I feel bad for Murphy. She's dealt with injuries the last couple of years, but even with a nagging calf injury she was able to finish the MET season last year after only a few days off. When it comes to technically challenging roles like O/O you never know when you'll be dancing it for the last time. I think she really wanted to dance Giselle with Hallberg, although she probably should have skipped that one too.

I hope she can come back from this and continue dancing for a few more years.

Now I'm nervous about Part. Not sure what type of injury she has, but she's either already 39 or turning 39 this year and she's very tall (those two together are not a great combination when dealing with injuries). She's my favorite Odette at ABT, I hope she can recover and is able to dance next week.

1 minute ago, Natalia said:

 

Thanks...I meant Thursday! Still thinking about the Wed matinee last week for Sarah's Giselle, LOL. Next week would involve a very late bus back to DC, then trying to stay awake on Friday during the day. 

Actually, Lane's surprise Giselle was in the evening lol. Her scheduled one with Simkin was Saturday matinee.

I don't want to jinx it, but Natalia, I REALLY HOPE that you'll be working remotely next week