Emma

I understand finances may dictate otherwise, but I would truly hate for City Ballet to change its programming to better suit the taste of DC audiences. ABT and Mariinsky already bring story ballets annually. I love that City Ballet's programming mixes up the DC dance scene and its shows, along with Suzanne Farrell Ballet's, are the highlight of my DC ballet going year.

I'm sure many of you have already seen these clips but just in case you haven't, City Ballet has posted a short clip of each swan on Facebook, including Tiler Peck's marvelous fouettés and Megan Fairchild's heartbreaking Act IV. Never thought I'd enjoy fouettés so much! https://www.facebook.com/pg/nycballet/videos/?ref=page_internal (main page)

This is so awesome! Thank you!

What does B2B mean (in the context of arts programming)? As an audience member, I've noticed ABT sells much better than City Ballet at the Kennedy Center. The DC audience appears to be more interested in story ballets than mixed bills, but I hope City Ballet continues to bring predominately Balanchine mixed bills. I will say it's easier for me to get non-balletomane DC friends to go to ABT or Mariinsky than any other company.

Thank you for sharing Kathleen! I appreciate your insight and the comedy video is so cute. Now that I think about it, I do like a lot of story ballets -- La Fille Mal Gardée was adorable, I had so much fun at Onegin, and La Sylphide grew on me the second time I saw it (as did Sleeping Beauty but I first saw the Ratmansky, then the Martins). I've been trying to get to Midsummer's but the timing hasn't worked out yet. And I'm a cliché but my favorite ballet is the Balanchine Nutcracker...but IMO this is very light on story and heavy on Tchaikovsky and dancing. I think I have to reevaluate my stance! It must be the Giselles, Don Qs, and Corsaires I grew up with that color my view.

I saw Swan Lake live for the first time last night. (I had previously been 0/3 in my attempts to see it and had been crossing my fingers all day there wouldn't be a storm/subway fail/etc.) I thought Sara was absolutely incredible and I loved both white acts and the ballroom act as well. The first act has been rightfully panned above/every time I read SL reviews and I can't understand why they don't replace those horrible costumes. I agree it felt like "City Ballet dances a swan-themed ballet," but this is why I loved it! I'm not crazy about story ballets -- I find mime to be rather boring and the stories generally contrived. This was beautiful music and beautiful dancing. I thought the orchestra played wonderfully. Sara had minor technical issues but her characterization and fluidity were even better than I had expected and I had high expectations. I felt real emotion at the end of Act IV. I was shocked. Sara was that compelling.

I think I've said this elsewhere, but I've been so impressed with Megan lately. She is really performing -- not just executing the steps. I'm happy her growth is paying off with new roles! I'll try to finally see Swan Lake live this year -- I always seem to have the flu/there's a major storm/something else during City Ballet's Swan Lake run.

I'm rather confused about ABT's apprentice-corps promotions. Nastia Alexandrova has been listed in the programs as a member of the corps since at least early June while the other Met Season apprentices were listed as apprentices (including Carlos Gonzalez, Kiely Groenewegen, Anabel Katsnelson, and Xuelan Lu). Yet she was just moved on the website from apprentice to corps and the website now says she was promoted in August.

I studied in Paris at one of the universities/grand écoles with students who came from across France. I actually loved the class itself -- it focused on more delicate footwork than I normally do in the US so that was really fun for me. However the dancing of the French students was much more rigid (it was more about hitting each position than moving through positions) and the dancing much smaller (not nearly as much traveling even in grand allegro). As I write this perhaps my preference for Balanchine style is coming through! And then more technical things as well -- not as high extensions, as many pirouettes, as pointed feet as my similarly situated peers in the US. I now wonder if perhaps the more serious dancers at my school in France took class at a Parisian equivalent of Steps instead...

I'm not sure whether my limited experience in France is indicative of broader trends but given the discussion of training in France I thought I might share. Most generally, training may be more rigorous at the lower levels in the United States, at least for students with no hope to dance professionally. Perhaps this feeds up through the highest levels. I danced casually in the United States since I was a child and continued to take class through college. I was never going to be a professional but girls I grew up with and went to college with had potential, even if they ultimately chose another career. When I studied in France for a year, I continued to take class. However, my peers in France were weaker technically than my peers in the US, even though they trained at Conservatoires across France. Obviously, this is hugely generalized with a rather small sample size but I always thought it was interesting.

Wishing Krohn well! I haven't seen her much but each time I have I've always been impressed with her exquisite lines. Regarding the soloists, I recently saw Woodward in Dances at a Gathering and felt she held her own with the principals and I love the energy she brings to each of her roles. I've also been very impressed with Sara Adams since her promotion -- she seems to be bringing new enthusiasm to her dancing. I haven't seen much of Isaacs but I did see her Russian Girl debut a few years back. It had promise but felt forceful, not the polish and refinement I normally expect in the role. I hope she's progressing well as I haven't seen much of her lately. Has she been injured? It seems I'm in the minority but while I find Pollack to be technically proficient, I don't find her particularly exciting. It's wonderful to have so many incredibly talented dancers and the vast repertory we're exposed to at City Ballet!

It seems like it should be a snippet in the Times' Dance in NYC This Week column.

Macaulay's discussion thread (which morphed into discussion about the Times dwindling Arts coverage) is here: I appreciate your insight!

I completely agree. I have to add I was extremely unimpressed with the choreography and costumes for the corps. I saw Brandt and thought she was fantastic -- this was the first time I saw her in a featured role and bought a last minute student ticket when her casting was announced. However, the production itself was not my cup of tea even before considering the offensive story line. IMO it would be best to keep the Act II pas de trois for galas and dispose of the rest.

FYI the Kennedy Center's Facebook page has a 20m video of Joaquin De Luz and Indiana Woodward rehearsing Tarantella. Wish I could be in DC!

Don't know why I remembered this existed but it helps! "When Boal offered Generosa a PNB apprenticeship (from SAB), he suggested she spend a few months in the PNB School’s professional division to help her adapt to the company’s style" http://www.dancemagazine.com/on_the_rise_angelica_generosa-2306926573.html

I'm sad about Morgann Rose. I haven't seen her dance much but I loved her in Tharp's Sinatra piece. She was fiery and sassy and really got Tharp -- by far my favorite dancer in the piece.

I haven't seen this program (yet -- perhaps I might grab a ticket for tomorrow's mat), but I've been feeling this way for the last two programs (Forsythe/Peck/Kylian and Allegro Brillante/Seven Sonatas/Sinatra). One the one hand, I like that the Washington Ballet is moving in new direction and bringing mixed bills from a variety of choreographers to DC. We mostly get full lengths at the Kennedy Center. On the other hand, Washington is not far from NY and this programming feels (and IMO is danced) like ABT-lite. I understand Julie Kent had very little time to design the season and while I appreciate the dancing I was not exceedingly impressed. I miss how innovative and different the programming for the Washington Ballet was under Webre. This feels like an extended ABT fall season instead of something all its own.

That's exactly what they do in Eisenhower. Last year I asked the box office about whether Suzanne Farrell would have live music before buying tickets and they looked at the seating chart to answer. Also looking forward to more live music at WB performances!

I agree. I generally like the Classic NYCB programs that have this mix. I remember seeing Walpurgisnacht, 4Ts and Everywhere We Go on the same program. It was great!

https://www.nycballet.com/NYCB/media/NYCBMediaLibrary/PDFs/SubscriptionDocuments/Fall18-RepCalendar.pdf https://www.nycballet.com/NYCB/media/NYCBMediaLibrary/PDFs/SubscriptionDocuments/Winter18-RepCalendar.pdf https://www.nycballet.com/NYCB/media/NYCBMediaLibrary/PDFs/SubscriptionDocuments/Spring18-RepCalendar.pdf Please let me know if they no longer work.

Hah! This must be true. I now live in DC and subscribed to the New Yorker a few months ago (they targeted me with an offer of 12 issues for $6. How could I refuse?). I would appreciate more dance coverage as well.

I'm confused -- the link to both Suzanne Farrell and ABT have Opera House as the location.

Does WB ever release casting before the performance? Edit: In addition to providing a lovely review of the preview, you also stated casting! So thank you. Also I need to read better. In any case, is casting publicly available pre-performance/where can I find it is perhaps a much better question.

Thank you for your review! It sounds like a wonderful program. I wonder if the blonde was apprentice Emma von Enck, sister of Claire (a corps dancer). She was very cute in that specific role last fall.