Kathleen O'Connell

Oh you would definitely have to rip my ticket out of my cold, dead hands. And I would have crawled over hot coals and broken glass to get it. (Alas, life as conspired to make it absolutely impossible for me to see her dance the role this season ... )

Mozartiana has been reframed every which way from Sunday to accommodate the dancers NYCB happens to have at its disposal. For instance, the role for the male soloist, which was originally choreographed on tall, elegant Victor Castelli, has been handed off to shorter men, many of whom have treated it more like a jester role. The company tended to cast taller ballerinas in the lead role—and not always successfully—until the advent of Sterling Hyltin. (She was delightful in it; her partner, Chase Finely, was not.) IMO, Nadon is more evocative of the role's originator, Suzanne Farrell, than any of the principals or soloists currently on the company's roster. Casting her in it may be a recapturing rather than a reframing.

I'm not surprised: based on what I've seen, Nadon seems a natural choice for Suzanne Farrell's signature roles.

That's her height per Wikipedia. The footnoted source is this 2013 Time article, which might be inaccurate, of course. I don't know how old she was when you encountered her, but as an older woman who was once 5'7" and is now 5'5" (barely ...), I can attest that osteoporosis comes for us all. 😡

I'd like to see a tall cast, too. Van Hamel was 5'7''; Maria Tallchief, who originated the ballerina's role, was 5'9". I think Isabella LaFreniere might be lovely in the role.

There's a direct through line from Merce Cunningham to Pam Tanowitz. If you like Cunningham, chances are you'll find much in her work to like as well. Cunningham is among my favorite choreographers, and I do enjoy watching how Tanowitz mines that tradition in her own choreography. I happen to like Gustave Le Gray, but I'm not sure seeing it live will change your appreciation of it if that flavor of dance isn't something that appeals to you generally ETA: Gustave Le Gray the person was one of the premiere French photographers of the 1850's. You can see examples of his work and read more about him here.

🙄 I haven't read the article yet, but has Devann actually tried to dance any of Martha Graham's choreography? It too remains out of reach for many.

That's a problem that's far easier to solve than trying to work around the constraints of an uncongenial performance venue. Regular blocks of three to four weeks in both the fall and the summer at the Koch augmented with a couple of weeks of Swan Lake and [fill in your butts-in-seats crowd pleaser here] at the Met should be easy enough for the audience to keep track of.

Per ABT's 12/31/21 audited financial statements (the most recent ones I can find), its agreement to use the Metropolitan Opera House runs through August 31, 2025. I don't know if it would be possible for them to terminate the arrangement early, but it could be they're simply locked in to the Met until 2025. Here's the full text from the accountants' report, which also covers their agreement with the Koch: "The Foundation entered into an agreement with the MET that provides for up to eight weeks of performances through August 31, 2020 and five weeks of performances through August 31, 2025, whereby, the Foundation reimburses the MET for facilities, personnel, services and operations provided by the MET. Per the agreement, the Foundation pays an annual license fee to the MET of approximately $496,000 through August 31, 2020 and $310,000 from September 1, 2020 through August 31, 2025. Due to the current pandemic and resulting inability to perform the 2020 and 2021 MET Seasons, it was mutually agreed that the 2020 and 2021 license fees would be waived. Additionally, the Foundation entered into an agreement with the David H. Koch Theater for the right to use the facilities for performances. The term of the agreement is from October 16, 2017 through October 29, 2023 and provides up to two weeks of performances from 2017 through 2020 and up to four weeks of performances from 2021 through 2023, whereby, the Foundation reimburses the Koch Theater for facilities, personnel, services and operations provided by the Koch Theater. The Foundation also pays an annual license fee to the Koch Theater of approximately $185,000 through November 1, 2020 and up to $400,000 through October 29, 2023 (if the Foundation performs for four weeks in any given year). The Foundation was not able to perform its Fall Season at the Koch Theater in 2020 due to the pandemic, and therefore did not incur the 2020 annual license fee of approximately $185,000. The Foundation negotiated the license fee for 2021 and paid $165,400 for its two-week performance in the Fall of 2021." Note that "the Foundation" is Ballet Theatre Foundation, Inc., the non-profit that houses the dance company and the school.

If The Theater Formerly Known as State (aka The Theater Across the Plaza) will remain (mostly) dark from early June through September, it's time for ABT to move there and claim the space already. The Lincoln Center Festival used to program events there during the summer months, but now that it's been permanently discontinued, not much is going on there. Summer for the City, the Lincoln Center programming that replaces Mostly Mozart, Midsummer Night Swing, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, and The Lincoln Center Festival, will only use the theater for four BAAND together performances this year.

I thought ABT's Met season was shortened to 5 weeks from 8 because the Met extended its own opera season into June after it decided to go dark in February—i.e., that it wasn't ABT's choice.

IMO, the Met is simply not congenial for dance. The house is too big; tickets for the few seats that have genuinely good views of the stage cost a fortune; the stage itself is best suited to eye-popping spectacles; etc etc etc. It takes a special talent to command that space—even very good dancers can seem diminished there and intimate works that aren't showpieces can fall flat. I can't help but think that some of the jewels in ABT's rep would shine brighter in a smaller, more dance-friendly theater, and that the combination of a better theater and a more varied rep would allow the company to better cultivate its talent.

Agreed! She's been cast in at least one ballet in every performance I've attended this season, and was a joy to watch. I'd hoped we'd get to see more of her.

Which Olivia? There are three in the company. Is "Lauren" Lauren Collett?

Based on what I've seen her do this season, I think she's a good candidate for the Rubies Tall Girl.