Fleurfairy

Very. And it’s very anti-Balanchine who was all about giving young dancers big chances and fast promotions. Those “Baby Ballerinas” were the most exciting thing in ballet! Stafford would love it over at ABT where debuts and promotions happen at a glacial pace.

Chloe looks stunning in her rehearsal clips. I'm jealous of those that will see she and Bell!

I remember reading in Darci Kistler's biography how there was a tradition on the New Year's Eve show for dancers to go out onstage in legwarmers and party hats and various other shenanigans happening. Would have loved to see that.

He must be a strong one.

Yeah I'm not a fan of the constant complaining. I adore Sarah as an artist, she was my favorite dancer at ABT. But I don't like her habit of using media (both social and traditional) to rant at perceived wrongs.

The lack of dynamic casting for Nutcracker under Stafford/Whelan is truly perplexing. What is there to lose by trying some promising corps dancers in SPF/Dewdrop/Cavalier? Most of the audience just wants to have an evening at the ballet with their kids and could care less who is cast and the NYCB diehards would love to see some up and comers given the opportunities.

It doesn't surprise me that Bouder is not cast. Both principal roles are very technically challenging.

According to Megan Fairchild’s Instagram, she and Tyler Angle are kicking things off opening night.

True. Gelsey Kirkland's autobiography is filled with her frustrations at the lack of emotional depth or the lack of "story" in Balanchine's ballets and how she was constantly struggling to find deeper meaning and he would say things like "Just dance, dear". As a dancer, it must be hard to find the balance between emoting with the movement and not being too theatrical in the facial expressions.

Who Cares? is one of my favorites, but the costumes didn't add much to the choreography. I see these fashion galas as stunt casting in a way. Just serves the purpose to get the fashion crowd to come to the ballet for a night. Megan Fairchild's dancing is always a joy. It will be a huge loss when she retires. Tyler Angle should probably be thinking about wrapping it up. He looks old in comparison to Megan who always appears young and fresh even at 40. And nobody can top Tiler doing Fascinatin' Rhythm. I echo Cubanmiamiboy. Bouder looks out of place, both physically and in her dancing.

Unity Phelan is becoming the new Hee Seo, as we all used to joke ABT should be renamed Hee Seo Ballet Theatre. Cast in everything.

Ridiculous. The male principal shortage has been going on for YEARS now. How hard can it be to pluck some promising guys from the corps and thrown them on? That's how dancers are truly made! ABT is really an embarrassment at this point.

I tend to think of Liberty Bell as a soubrette role, so I don't understand the casting of Nadon.

I agree with @fondoffouettes about Brandt's Giselle. She does a lot of great gymnastic tricks and her technique is rock solid but something is seriously lacking. There's no there there. Her Giselle reminded me of a Kewpie doll with the giant eyes and open mouth. I felt the same way about her Odette. I just think she's better suited to the bravura roles like Don Quixote where she can smile and go for all the whiz-bang power-jumps and turns. Tragic creature, no. Cornejo...well it's time to retire. I hate seeing once glorious dancers try to eek out more time with lesser dancing. Misseldine is a star. I do love loud pointe shoes though. It brings me back to days in the studio.

This I don't care for. It's not like she was in the middle of a company season with a ton of performances on her plate to get through. It was a one-off performance that people had undoubtedly made plans for because her name was on the casting sheet. I guess I'm of the old-fashioned mind that she should have bucked-up and gone out there. Be sick tomorrow.

ABT suffers HUGELY from the lack of top level coaching. 90 year old Irina can't be expected to coach every principal and soloist the way they need to be coached. That should be Jaffe's #1 priority, getting excellent, knowledgeable coaches on the payroll.

I am one of Sarah's biggest fans but I do think she wasn't proactive enough in her own career. Especially when she suffered through years of the international guest artist era and it was clear she was being held back. In the 2021 Pointe Magazine interview, she mentions that she had been offered a principal contract at SFB when she was stuck in soloist purgatory at ABT. To not accept that offer was a huge mistake in my opinion. Yes, she would have been separated from her husband, but a dancer's career is so incredibly short. She stayed at ABT too long and with too little recognition. I agree with that the roster is mediocre. ABT was once one of the greatest companies in the world. I cannot say that it is now. Not even close. Which is embarrassing, as it calls itself "America's National Ballet Company".

I think we associate Aurora with small dancers because the tall ones tend to look older. So they aren't as convincing as 16 years old Aurora especially when they're pushing 30+ themselves. Same with Giselle. It just looks better with a small dancer because it better conveys the delicacy and youthfulness of the role.

Megan Fairchild is truly a wonder. Is there anything she can't do? I would take the train to the city to see her Aurora. Hoping for a lot of debuts in the Divertissement and Fairy roles.

Totally agree. I was never big on Ratmansky’s choreography. Case in point: His Sugarplum variation, which is like a lead balloon, very labored and just exhausting-looking. ABT desperately needs coaches. I hope Jaffe has some lined up.

She's going to be on the staff of SAB.

Oh yes, Fairchild is the current gold standard for Balanchine's Sugarplum.

Stafford doesn't seem to be as generous in his Nutcracker casting as Martins was. Martins' casting sheets were chock full of debuts for corps members (and sometimes apprentices) in big roles. I see only a few sprinkled here and there. Makes for a rather humdrum season.

Teuscher seems an odd choice for Giselle. Much like Murphy was/is.

Agree, dullsville. ABT just does not know how to get their programming right lately. And yes The Dream came back (for 3 paltry performances) but where's the rest of Ashton? I'd love to see La Fille Mal Gardee and Cinderella. Where has DeMille been???? I have been watching Ballet West's IG rehearsals clips of Rodeo and it makes me sad that NY hasn't seen this in at least a decade.