Fleurfairy

Darn, that is a shame laurel. I think Lane's nerves are her Achilles heel. And it seems to be a vicious cycle - she is disregarded by the AD, so then gets too "in her head" so to speak and lets the anxiety of proving herself get the better of her. Gorak not being able to lift a tiny dancer like Lane is ridiculous. 

Very demoralizing. I hope she knows how much the audience loves her.

Still think it's strange that Sarah Lane is not dancing with Herman for his 20th anniversary night. A quick Instagram story showed Skylar Brandt rehearsing for "A Gathering of Ghosts". One would think if Sarah was also rehearsing for that piece, there would be evidence for it or, as a principal, she would be mentioned in the casting sheet for any of the three ballets. 

She looks quite good. Maybe more work to go on extensions and the flexibility in her back, as she looks slightly tight. But that will come with time. 

14 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

Very surprised to see Copeland isn't cast at all. 

I'm wondering if Swan lake is beyond her abilities now, considering Lane had to fill in as Odile this past Met season. 

10 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

Same here. Especially regarding a role that would be a debut. I like her dancing very much, but I find her (in my view) very public campaign on Instagram for the role to be in poor taste. She's posted a lot of videos of herself before, and rehearsing roles that she wasn't cast in (perhaps she was an understudy), but not to such a degree as with her rehearsing Giselle. These videos didn't appear until the casting was released along with the TBA's and now she's publicly commented that she hopes to be cast. I don't think I've ever seen a dancer do this before, which in and of itself doesn't mean that what Brandt is doing is right or wrong. But, it certainly took me by surprise. I realize self-promotion is the name of the game on Instagram, but for a particular role? I just find it really tacky.

Ditto. Not a fan of self-promotion. Especially when she hasn't paid her dues in the company like many other dancers who have been there a lot longer and are quietly toiling away. 

Between not being cast in on this tour and getting shoved into two Saturday matinees performances for Nutcracker, I'm still hoping Lane leaves ABT. She has always gotten the short shrift at this company. I know all the reasons why she has stayed, but she has bigger reasons to leave. She's till at the top of her game, technique-wise. Probably the best she's ever been. It's just so frustrating.

I'm surprised Abrera was cast as Giselle again -- during the 2018 season, there were quite a few reviews on this forum that she looked very wobbly and unsure in that role. I think she has aged out, I think Murphy has too TBH. 

I'm surprised Sarah Lane isn't included among the dancers on Herman's 20th anniversary. Unless she is in the yet-to-be-announced Piece d'occasion.

I wonder if it will be guest artists. 

Yeah I just don't get Giselle vibe from Skylar. I can't say why, I just don't. 

Very interested to see how this turns out....being just a face in the corps at this point in her life. We shall see.

When will casting go up? Does anyone remember from last year? 

That’s too bad about Melanie as I really enjoy her dancing and think she has a lovely stage presence. My eye was always drawn to her. But I guess after having s child and being plagued with injuries, she’s ready to move on. 

8 minutes ago, BalletFan said:

Let me start off by saying that Misty is very good in some roles, such as Juliet and Manon. However, I was shocked when she didn't make any attempt at the fouettes on Saturday evening. I know that Misty has a huge fan base and the house is basically sold out when she's in Swan Lake. So, I understand why management gave her two Swan Lakes. But IMHO, if a dancer can't do the steps, then maybe he/she shouldn't get the starring role. Plus, she had already bowed out of Act III on Wednesday evening. Call me old-fashioned, or naive, or whatever... but I for one was very disappointed.

Sarah, on the other hand, was truly a revelation. For me, Sarah’s performance as the Black Swan was the highlight of Swan Lake week.

I think this is a common complaint re Misty Copeland. If a dancer can't do the steps, how/why are they cast? How can that happen in what is supposed to one of the best companies in the world? It brings the quality and integrity of the entire company into serious question.

I think the demi-pointe chaines look better on dancers with small feet. Long or big feet tend to look like floppy fish. Ditto those dancers who wear Gaynor Mindens -- on the whole, they aren't a flattering shoe in demi-pointe. 

2 hours ago, nanushka said:

Her backbend balance looks breathtaking, and Herman looks fantastic in his variation.

Yes it looks like she’s floating! Just exquisite. 

I think this production tends to suit smaller dancers in general.

I don’t that fish dive in the video above of Trenary and Gorak looks particularly graceful or precise so if that’s what they look like, I have no problem with their omission. 

This whole ABT Met season has been mostly devoid of performance reviews from the NYT. What happened to Siebert?

3 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Anyway, if those seats remain available and it's announced by ABT or someone reliable that Lane is stepping in again.....I can hear the Ballet Alert stampede now. 

As fabulous as that would be, have Hallberg and Lane ever danced together? The height difference is significant as well. My guess is they would sub in Seo or Boylston. OR Hallberg might pull out with Misty and then they would sub in Lane/Cornejo. But Hallberg/Lane seems unlikely.

6 minutes ago, vagansmom said:

I've always thought that McKenzie had done his best to dilute Lane's career and that it has something to do with her Black Swan comments years ago.

 Up through two years ago, I wasn't a big Lane fan because I thought she "sat" in the music which, despite beautiful technique, I find bland. But after having seen her a couple more times last year and reading the comments from this year, I believe her growth has been astounding and she is full-tilt international star level.

I don't understand why McKenzie casts Teuscher over Lane. I've never been able to get the least bit excited over her dancing; I'm always disappointed. As someone said upthread, she hasn't shown growth in her weak areas over the past 2 years. And here is Lane on fire! McKenzie should capitalize on that and give her an SL. I would feel badly for whomever he would remove from her second SL, but perhaps that could be a good motivator to that individual to work harder on expression or technique (depending on which is the weakness).  

What kind of director of a supposedly world-class ballet company in financial difficulties would sit out the dancer with the biggest buzz and momentum? 

It defies explanation. Her comments about Natalie Portman and Black Swan is certainly a possibility, but what did McKenzie himself or the company have to do with the film? Benjamin Millepied has little to do with ABT beyond a couple ballets in the past few years that it certainly cannot be his influence that held her back?? It makes no sense. Lane always seemed like a dancer that held her nose to the grindstone and worked extremely hard and was a team player. Just makes no sense from an outsider's perspective.

3 minutes ago, abatt said:

Lane could have danced with SL Simkin, as she did in her debut SL two years ago.  All kinds of casting choices were possible, but instead McKenzie decided that Hee Seo and Misty both had to have two SL shows.  In summary, the two weakest technicians in the company are each given two performances of one of the most difficult roles in the classical rep.  That's what I call brilliant planning.

I'm not convinced that these developments are due to an injury.  It is equally likely that general deterioration due to age is the cause of Misty's limitations.

I would love to know if Misty herself decided to withdraw from Act III, or if McKenzie determined that she was unfit to dance Act III.

I understand why Misty has two shows. She's a box office draw and ABT can little afford to throw that away. She'll be like the dying swan out there, still dancing until she has nothing left.

8 hours ago, FauxPas said:

BTW: the production is starting to look tired with musty wrinkled backdrops.  With great casts like Nina Ananiashvili and Julio Bocca or Veronika Part and Marcelo Gomes, the oddities and missteps of McKenzie's production didn't matter much against the success of the evening.  With less authoritative superstar principals, the production looks trite, rushed and flat with silly details standing out more.  Given the current weak male roster, Purple Pimp Rothbart is a star turn that usually lacks a star - it was designed for the "Born to Be Wild" male dream team that has passed on into history.

I imagine it's only a matter of time before they bring in Ratmansky's Swan Lake..?

3 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Just over:  Sarah Lane was a scintillating glittering Odile who completed the fouettés and brought down the house.  Herman caught fire.  

Fuller report to come soon.  

So sad to have missed this!!

I believe the company dancers are the ones that manage the ABT Instagram account so they are obviously given a lot more leeway. Which is why I enjoy ABT’s Instagram so much more than NYCB’s (which is just basically used as an ad campaign). ABT’s gives us a lot of behind the scenes perspective.