Fleurfairy

Loved Camargo. I didn't notice the manic smiling. He's a great addition to the principal roster but ABT still sorely needs capable principal and soloist men. I hope Jaffe has a plan to fill the pipeline with some of the corps men that deserve to move ahead. 

Gillian's best days are behind her, I'm sad to say. Her Titania was lovely in aura, but the strength and technique are not there anymore.  And I agree, the lower extensions were not fitting of the role. 

Coker was the true standout of the night both in The Dream and in The Seasons. She's headed for big, big things. 

I find Ratmansky's choreography frenetic in general. It always seems like too many steps are crammed into too little space physically and in the music.

On 10/12/2022 at 9:37 PM, cobweb said:

Unfortunately the same cannot be said of Ashley Bouder, dancing with Joseph Gordon in Voices of Spring. The young ladies behind her looked far more appealing, and really they should give this role to Emma von Enck, who would dance the heck out of it. It is painful to see a great dancer like Ashley Bouder in such diminished form. Just painful. J

Truly. I was there the other night as well. There is something to be said for retiring too early rather than too late. 

She has also announced via IG that she will perform Swan Lake with Houston Ballet in Houston in the spring of 2023, as well as performing Nutcracker in December. 

Hallelujah!

This article does her absolutely no favors. Whelan and Ratmansky's issues were absolutely valid and I did not see anything wrong with how he worded his response/reasoning to her. She was out of commission for years it seemed first with maternity leave then long bouts of injuries, etc. Maybe the better thing to do was retire gracefully before her relationship with her brother reached a breaking point. But grace was completely thrown out the window with this article. 

Whelan  very vocally complained about Martins taking her out of roles after she reached a certain age. Interesting and ironic that now she is on the receiving end of casting complaints. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. 

On 4/30/2022 at 2:01 PM, ABT Fan said:

Was hoping Trenary would get it - I think she'd be amazing and as we know she's hardly cast in anything for some reason.

Management does love to play favorites.

Yeah I doubt she'd be interested, even if she was qualified. My guess is, she'll retire soon and make the move out to Hollywood. 

I have always liked Peter Martins' Swan Lake ending. Siegfried made a huge mistake and he'll have to live with that. Much more haunting than double suicide, in my opinion.  

Just thinking of the newly promoted soloists and wondered what had happened with Alston Macgill. Seems she was a major up and comer before the pandemic. I haven't seen her cast in any soloists roles this season. 

Yeah that was a mistake to turn down that principal contract with SFB and I’m sure she regrets it given how her career at ABT turned out. Having to sub as Odile in a Copeland/Cornejo SL (with no SL if her own) couldn’t have improved matters and it seems her partnership with Cornejo broke down right after that. 

Enlightening, as always with Sarah. Company politics have ruined ABT. I say good on her for refusing to keep quiet in order to dance a consolation-prize Juliet. She’s a rare dancer and I hope she keeps performing. 

This decision came about 10 years too late. A lot of wonderful dancers had their careers hindered under his helm. 
 

I doubt Sarah would return. In 2022 she’ll be what, 38? Sad as it is, I think she’s too old to be offered another contract, but of course stranger things have happened. 

So sad. What might have been if she had been at another company where her gifts were truly appreciated...

Hard pass. If that is the best ABT can offer (a stale video of Ferri past her prime) maybe they deserve to go under. Sorry to be harsh but these are harsh times. 

Very unprofessional. 

Oh that’s sad. He always seemed like a dancer everyone in the company loved. 

What fabulous programming! 

I think this was just a ballet suited to taller dancers. And Hurlin seems to be the new company golden girl so they want to capitalize on that. 
 

Re: Lane’s photo and caption...Strange that Lane is not cast in The Seasons although she created the role. And why a “TBA” in its place? Doesn’t make sense. 

This is very poor practice on ABT's part to cast Copeland in these roles knowing that she will most likely not be able to dance them. Especially the two Swan Lakes at the Met. Selling tickets under false pretenses and disappointing many young fans. No matter how good the understudy is, they want to see Misty. And to not give the deserving dancers their own casting, instead of being thrown on as a sub. 

2 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

I would much rather see Trenary in SL (or as a sub) than Brandt. Trenary recently did Dying Swan for a side gig, or maybe it was ABT’s cruise gig, but she had clips on her Instagram that were extraordinary. 

Same. Sad to think Trenary may get passed over for big roles that truly suit her because of this huge social media push and a ton of money being spent by Brandt. I know that that is the name of the game these days, but it does leave a bad taste in my mouth. 

We'd all like to think the ballet world has changed but it hasn't. Look at the Russian superstars that everyone adores, one more skeletal than the next. I don't doubt Morgan was taken out of the role because of her body. What disappoints me is that they hired her knowing her body type and her illness and that she would never be stick thin again. What were they trying to accomplish? 

Yeah I don’t like that mostly because by that time, Giselle is sweaty and mushing her hair around her face is gross as inevitably it sticks to the skin and is incredibly distracting. But then again, people with hair constantly falling in their face bothers me in everyday life too. 

6 minutes ago, Roberta said:

To me, it sounds as if we are witnessing the beginning of the "PART-ing" (as in Veronika Part) of Sarah Lane. How sad to inject bitterness into the matter. I hope that we are all dead wrong.

Certainly seems that way. I hope she has a Plan B in place.

I agree about Gillian looking too sturdy to be Giselle. She's never had the typical "ballet body" and it's very pronounced as Giselle. I didn't understand the casting either, she's been at ABT for 20 years so maybe McKenzie wanted to throw her a bone but at this late stage, and after she's been away for while on maternity leave it seems like a waste to keep casting her when a younger up and comer could take on the role. But then I've never understood an ounce of what goes through McKenzie's mind.