Kathleen O'Connell

Congrats to Gordon, Applebaum, Coll, Kretzschmar,  Sanz, Villarini-Velez, and Walker.

But especially to Applebaum, whose been a corps stalwart+ for over a decade and well deserves the promotion. 

1 hour ago, fondoffouettes said:

I wonder if anyone can shed light on the career trajectory of Ashley Laracey, who spent ten years in the corps before being promoted to soloist.  ...  I'd love to see her in more principal roles, and for her to be promoted, as well. 

Well, she's debuting in Stravinsky Violin Concerto (Kay Mazzo's role) on October 19th in Shanghai, which is a promising sign. It's the kind of role that should showcase what's really special about her dancing.

1 hour ago, lmspear said:

 

Here's some disqualifying info. from the time of one of his own companies folded.

http://articles.latimes.com/1996-06-29/entertainment/ca-19543_1_los-angeles-ballet

I think the phrase "a legend in his own mind" applies to Clifford.

Oy. Thanks for finding this and providing the link. 

1 hour ago, nanushka said:

Thanks. Is it in the written comments on one of the posts?

It's in one of Clifford's written responses in the comments section to the post linked below. You have to scroll down a bit. I believe that SAB has already implemented many (if not all) of  the solutions Clifford proposes in his various comments. He is perhaps not as up-to-speed on what has been done and what remains to do as a candidate might ideally be.

1 hour ago, DC Export said:

I enjoy the the historical aspect of many of his older posts (Kurt Froman is excellent for this as well), but Clifford's lack of self-awareness in his campaign to replace Martins makes me feel like I'm watching a train crash. I can't subject myself to that kind of cringe-worthy discomfort!

I gave up when he used the term "colored dancers" while opining about diversity.  We stopped using "colored" when we took it off the water fountains 50 years ago.

I don't expect the next AD to be a Social Justice Warrior, but I do expect that AD not to be tone-deaf when it comes to matters of race, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity.

(And lest someone cite Clifford's age by way of excuse, he is only about seven or eight years older than I am.)

OK. Now I will go be cranky elsewhere.

You know, I'm interested in what Clifford has to say, but Lordy I can't wade through all those IG posts. How many little video spiels are we up to now? Do the comments add up to a 6500 word essay yet?

Ah, yes. Those things that older men of a certain generation did that were quite common. It was predation then and it's predation now, no matter how nice they are to you after you say no.

33 minutes ago, NinaFan said:

Kathleen, I’m so glad I listened to you!  The dancing was absolutely spectacular in Runaway, with the entire cast dancing with incredible abandon and yet stunning precision.  And as you said, Taylor Stanley’s performance alone was worth the price of admission.  WOW!  Did he have a solo curtain call at your performance?  He did yesterday.  I’m guessing his fellow dancers pushed him out in front of the curtain.  The audience roared their appreciation!    

Whew! 

Glad you enjoyed the performance! And yes, if I recall correctly, Stanley took a (well deserved!) solo curtain call at the performance I attended as well. 

8 minutes ago, KayDenmark said:

Well, I think it's a bit passive-aggressive to say, "You've done something wrong, and you need to atone for it, but I'm not going to tell you how to atone for it. Just guess!"

Fortunately there is an active discussion about what apology and atonement for sexual harassment would ideally look like. And although sexual harassment isn't as horrific as genocide, some of the insights that have come out of successful Truth and Reconciliation efforts can inform our thinking around what constitutes appropriate restitution for its victims adn redemption for its perpetrators. 

In her brief article "How Not to Apologize for Sexual Harassment" Madeleine Aggeler provides a brief outline of what redemption would look like:

"It’s easy to issue an apology. It’s harder to implement change. In the coming months and years, these men will be judged not on their statements of regret, but on the actions they took, or did not take, to undo the damage they did and to change the society from which they profited."

It's a start.

I linked to some current "how to apologize for sexual harassment" way upthread. I'll provide some links again for convenience.

How to apologize for sexual harassment

He harassed her. She called him out. He broadcast his apology. She accepted. (The link below contains a recording of his apology.)

Dan Harmon revealing how he destroyed another human being because she didn't return his affection.

14 minutes ago, DC Export said:

Per Brittany Pollack's instagram, Megan Johnson is also retiring after this evening's performance. 

Already? How time flies! I remember her seeing her as the lead in Concerto Barocco very shortly after she joined the company — she might even have still been an apprentice — and thought she was lovely in the role. And lovely she remained! She'll be missed too.

Just now, yukionna4869 said:

Megan Mann is retiring. Based on the hashtags, she might be teaching at SAB?

Nooooooo! She's been one of my corps favorites for a long time and I'd always hoped she'd get promoted; whenever she got a solo opportunity she looked just terrific. 

Well, I wish her the best, of course, and I certainly hope she can pass on the qualities that made her a bright spot in the crowd.

10 minutes ago, NinaFan said:

Kathleen - Thank you so much for the great review and links!  You convinced me to keep the tickets for Saturday!

I'll feel just awful if you regret it! I think Runaway is the real keeper from the Fall Gala ballets, although Gianna Reisen's new work "Judah" confirms every bit of promise in "Composer's Holiday." I had to keep reminding myself that she's just 19. 

From what I've seen touring the reviews, critical opinion is split on the new Abraham. Marina Harss was mostly positive: http://dancetabs.com/2018/09/new-york-city-ballet-fall-gala-the-exchange-judah-the-runaway-new-york/ It may depend on one's ability to tolerate Kanye.

ETA: I'm not a huge fan of Fearful Symmetries, but the mostly all-debut cast listed for the 10/6 matinee looks mighty interesting.

1 hour ago, abatt said:

Major program change, folks.  For the Sat Oct 6 matinee, they have replaced the Ratmansky masterpiece Concerto DSCH with the decidedly NON-masterpiece New Kyle Abraham work.  The Concerto DSCH was the main  draw on that program.  (See updated casting sheet posted today.) 

I actually liked the new Abraham work a lot, although of course your mileage may vary! It's worth the price of admission just to see Taylor Stanley, but I think it flatters the rest of the cast, too, especially the men. I love the ruffs; I love the headpieces. The only costume I'm iffy on is Ashley Bouder's; it makes her look just a little too much like a fuzzy caterpillar.  

One thing I liked  was the way Abraham interleaved a phrase of not-ballet with a phrase of most-definitely ballet, rather than trying to atom-smash them together into some kind of new dance compound. When the dancers were given ballet steps to do, they by and large got them in complete phrases and did them the way ballet dancers would. And they got real steps: like Pam Tanowitz, Abraham seems to have more respect for the possibilities of petite allegro than Christopher Wheeldon does. The dancers' movement had a different inflection in the not-ballet passages, of course, although it was fun to see a characteristic bit of Abraham resolve into a beautiful, poised croisé. 

Check out the samples on the work's repertory page on the NYCB website: https://www.nycballet.com/season-tickets/18-19-season/winter/feb-10-2019-new-combinations/new-abraham.aspx

They appear to have taken down one of my favorite bits of "flash footage" wherein Roman Mejia unleashes a demented barrage of petite allegro to the equally demented "I Love Kanye."

ETA: I will make every effort to see The Runaway again, although I probably won't get a chance this season, alas. 

40 minutes ago, FPF said:

Also, though, NYCB is not known for the uniformity of its corps. 

And never has been. Martins actually tidied things up a bit. 

55 minutes ago, On Pointe said:

Which makes it all the more curious that evidently the very first time Ms. Waterbury asked to use Finlay's computer,  he was in a cab on his way to the airport.

From the interview:

"AW: I was literally just checking my email. I had slept over the night before, and he had to leave for the airport early in the morning. He had given me the password to his computer — I have the text where he sent the password to me. A message popped up on screen and it was…pretty vulgar."

I dunno. It doesn't sound to me like this was necessarily the first time Waterbury had asked to use Finlay's computer. Nor does she say when he texted her the password: it could've been that morning, it could have been some other morning. Or, it might have been the first time he wasn't around to enter the password himself to unlock it for her. Or, she might have forgotten it and had to ask for it again. Or, he might have changed it and forgotten to give her the new one before he left. 

I'm not sure why it matters. He appears to have given her the password willingly and she used it. Am I missing something?

Oh if only someone had danced phosphorylation at me when I first took biology!

Cool site! It looks like some real care went into building it!

I had no idea this existed! For once social media has added more to my day than it subtracted.

TIL (Today I Learned) that Science magazine and the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) sponsors an annual "Dance Your Ph.D." competition. From the competition website:

"The party is just getting started when the dreaded question comes: “So, what’s your Ph.D. research about?” You launch into the explanation, trying to judge the level of interest as you go deeper. It takes about a minute before someone changes the subject.

At times like this, don’t you wish you lived in a world where you could just ask people to pull out their phones to watch an online video explaining your Ph.D. research through interpretive dance?

You do live in that world! Not only can you have such a video, you can win $1000, achieve geek fame on the internet, and be recognized by Science for your effort.

This is the 11th year of the “Dance Your Ph.D.” contest sponsored by AAAS and Science, challenging scientists to explain their research without PowerPoint slides or jargon—in fact with no talking at all. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting your Ph.D. or you completed it decades ago. All science should be explained with dance."

Here's a link to last year's winner:

Here's a link to a playlist of all of 2017's entrants: 

NYCB Principal Adrian Danchig-Waring will host three free Robbins Centennial events at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (NYPLPA):

1) Monday 11/19/18 at 6PM: Robbins' the Dancer:

"Joined by NYCB colleagues and other special guests, Danchig-Waring will screen and discuss rare, historic footage from Robbins’ own dancing career, including Ballet Theater’s “lost” production of Antony Tudor’s Romeo and Juliet, a 1944 performance of the original cast of Fancy Free, plus poignant footage of Robbins’ demonstrating and coaching in New York City Ballet rehearsal studios late in his life."

2) Monday 12/10/18 at 6PM: Robbins' New York Portraits:

 "New York City Ballet principal dancer Adrian Danchig-Waring, along with the company’s resident choreographer Justin Peck and scholar Julia Foulkes, watch and casually discuss Glass Pieces and New York Export: Opus Jazz. Pausing, rewinding, and zooming in, they will marvel at and analyze, react to, and remember the choreographic genius of Jerome Robbins and his enduring fascination with New York City."

3) Monday 1/14/19 at 6PM: Robbins' Judaica: 

"Throughout his life, Jerome Robbins’ struggled with alienation, faith, and his Jewish heritage. New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Adrian Danchig-Waring hosts a final evening celebration of Robbins’ ballets, this time focused on Robbin’s Jewish themed works Dybbuk and Les Noce. While screening performance footage from the Library’s collections, Danchig-Waring and other special guests will pause, re-watch, and discuss, dissecting the traditions, innovations, and individual flourishes embedded in some of Robbins’ most deeply personal creations."

The events are free, but you need to get tickets in advance. Each of the links above will take you to the Eventbrite page for that program, where, beginning one month before each event,  you can reserve tickets. 

10 minutes ago, On Pointe said:

I know very little about electronic devices beyond the basics.  Can someone tell me,  considering that according to the interview,  Ms. Waterbury had her phone with her and the battery was not dead (she was able to take screenshots) why would she need to access Finlay's computer to "check her email?  

If given a choice between dealing with my email on my phone and dealing with it on a computer with a keyboard, I would choose the computer every time, and I'm pretty adept at typing on glass with my thumbs. 

3 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux was the shot of a adrenaline it should be. I actually thought Ball looked somewhat tense from the beginning, which isn't surprising given his long absence from the stage, but he was technically very strong. Bouder was very exciting, and her fish dives were everything you'd hope for -- she truly launches herself into them.

Well ... if I had to catch anyone in fish dives — much less Ashley Bouder at full velocity — I'd look a bit tense too. 😉

I'm glad Ball did well. He's a terrific Puck — not just technically, but in terms of the persona he creates (less cutesy and more faerie) — and is excellent in the Emeralds pas de trois too. I'd like to see him break out into other kinds of roles.

Jewels - Wed 9/19/18 

This performance was really all about the debuts, so I'll take them in order of appearance.

Emeralds — Tiler Peck & Taylor Stanley (debut); Unity Phelan (debut) & Adrian Danchig-Waring; Sara Adams, Meagan Mann, & Sean Suozzi.

Probably one of the best all-around performances of Emeralds I've seen in a while. Both debuts (Stanley and Phelan) were all that might have been asked for and more, and the rest of the cast brought their A game. 

With regard to Stanley, I can only ask "what took them so long?" — his elegance, musicality, and beautiful pliancy, plus his ability to evoke reverie and an inward gaze while still being very much present (a quality he shares with Wendy Whelan) would seem to make him a natural for the world of Emeralds. He's not one of the company's demon pyrotechnicians, but I like his approach to bravura steps: rather than just punching them out, he folds them into the music and the contours of his line. He was an excellent foil for Tiler Peck: there's a passage in the opening section where the ballerina takes her partner by the hand and runs across the stage in front of the corps, swirls around him a few times, and skims off in the other direction with her danseur still in tow. Often enough it looks like a bit of running hither and thither to fill out the music and whip up a nice froth of tulle. Without any kind of undue fuss, Stanley made something more of it: it really looked like he was letting her lead him into some secret, magical realm, — a place where only she could take him. 

Unity Phelan's debut in Mimi Paul's role was just gorgeous, especially her Sicilienne solo, which was was hands down the best dancing I've seen from her yet: she was musical and focussed, with  a genuine perfume and an interpretive and stylistic throughline that I haven't seen from her before. If I hadn't known it was a debut I would have thought her solo was the product of more than a few seasons of thoughtful refinement. I cannot say enough good things about it, and frankly, I thought she pretty much walked off with what I had expected to be Tiler Peck's show. 

Phelan was also lovely in the "Walking" pas de deux (with Adrian Danchig-Waring), though I still prefer Ashley Laracey (again with Danchig-Waring) in that pas. Laracey and Danchig-Waring dance it like they are already halfway through the portal to the vanished world that Emeralds becomes in its final, elegiac moments; they are so other-worldy that they put me in mind of Ashton's Monotones, of all things. Phelan's approach had a bit more flesh-and-blood yearning to it, but was still a lovely interpretation.

My only reservation about last night's performance of Emeralds concerns Sean Suozzi. I have no complaints about his dancing per se, but his style is and always has been a bit brusque. It serves him very well in his best roles — e.g., Agon and the hat and boots guy in Cortège Hongrois — but seems out of place in the world of Balanchine's Emeralds. 

Rubies —  Sterling Hyltin, Andrew Veyette, and Claire Kretzschmar.

Sterling Hiltin was absolutely terrific: fast, funny, expansive, and endearing. Andrew Veyette did a decent job of emulating bravura. He seems to have recovered from whatever was so grievously amiss last season, but has lost some of the easy flair he brought to this role half a decade ago. 

As was noted further up-thread, Claire Kretzschmar debuted as a last-minute substitute for Isabella LaFreniere as the Tall Girl. (Fingers crossed that it's nothing serious! LaFreniere had to scrub her big debut in Firebird a few seasons ago; I hope she doesn't have to scrub this one too.) Simply by virtue of her dynamism, verve, and bold attack, Kretzschmar should be an ideal Tall Girl, but she's just not quite tall enough to be a natural fit for the role. Some uneasiness in the big, unsupported arabesques aside (which I will chalk up to Surprise! You're debuting tonight! nerves), she danced well, and was just as saucy and cheeky as I would have liked. She wasn't notably taller than some of the women in the corps, however, and sometimes got lost in the crowd. I'm not sure the choreography can really accommodate an Almost-Tall Girl who otherwise nails the steps, even if she does so as vividly as Kretzschmar surely can. I've seen her take center stage with authority, though, so I'm hoping she and the ballet masters can get this one sorted out.  

Diamonds - Cast: Sara Mearns & Joseph Gordon (debut).

Bravo, Joseph Gordon! He rightly brought the house down with his solos, which were more than a display of pyrotechnics: he danced his bravura jumps and turns like a poised and confident Prince rather than hurling himself through them like a circus showboat. Although Gordon did comport himself like a prince — albeit a young one — and certainly seemed to be a capable and gracious partner, I think he and Mearns are something of a mismatch: they looked a bit like the Marschallin and Octavian, and I was half expecting Sophie to put in an appearance. They nonetheless seemed to have a genuine rapport, and I think much credit is due to Mearns for making sure Gordon's debut was a success. I want to see them both in Diamonds again, but maybe with different partners. And of course, I'd like to see Gordon in about 50 other things, too!

So, last night it seemed like everything really is beautiful at the ballet.

38 minutes ago, jessa_sissonne said:

Does anyone know if Mira Nadon is still dancing as an apprentice? I really enjoyed her in the Workshop performance of Scotch Symphony and noticed she wasn't in the last batch of promotions to corps.

She danced in the corps of Diamonds last night with the apprentice "+" after her name.

Apprentices listed in the program as dancing last night:

Naomi Corti, Lily-Frances Cosgrove, Jonathan Fahoury, Ally Helman, Mira Nadon, Maxwell Read, Davide Riccardo, and Lily Zerivitz, 

What a nice feature! Knight is a total stage animal, and I mean that as a compliment. (He also happens to have a fine line and a strong technique.) He's only been in the corps for about two years, but has already made a great impression in a couple of featured roles, notably in the Third Variation of Four Temperaments. Tonight in Diamonds he looked like the happiest man in NYC, and considering that he was sharing the stage with Silas Farley — one of those dancers who brims with joy night after night —  that's saying something. I'm looking forward to watching his career grow. 

7 minutes ago, kylara7 said:

One of my first mentors when I was entering the workplace advised that company policies, "rules and regulations" and HR functions were about conflict resolution and not about justice or fairness and that "resolution" usually rests in the eye of the company/leadership. It was helpful advice that I have kept in mind ever since.

The judicial system could also be characterized similarly, which is why the results are often unsatisfying or fail to tie up all the loose ends of a given case.

The union contract/representation is probably much the same. The union is tasked with resolving conflicts between management and employees, and not serving up truth and justice. Whatever happens with this case, I'm sure it won't answer all of the questions or please everyone. I just hope that NYCB can ride out this turmoil and that the #metoo era marks the beginning of deep cultural change at every level. To borrow words from writer Roxane Gay, "I'm not optimistic, but I am hopeful."

Very well put, kylara7.