Fleurfairy

Yes I have no idea why they’d have female guest artist come in. Well maybe for the publicity. But they are already have too many able females to fill those roles.

Exactly. Whelan has no experience running a company at all, let alone one of the biggest companies in the world. I hope the Board uses common sense in this regard not  political correctness. I think the interim team is doing a good job so far and wouldn’t be upset if they remained the Artistic Team permanently. 

Stella was held back for the same reason that Sarah was — the revolving door of international guest artists that took the lead roles. It was a system that destroyed company morale and contributed to a big decline in audience esteem. It’s still going on to an extent with the men, with part-time Hallberg, Bolle, Simkin and Lendorf. Copeland  would have probably been stalled as soloist a lot longer, if indefinitely, if she hadn’t created her own marketing and publicity and made herself into a household name. 

A lot of Ratmansky. Overkill, in my opinion. Wish we'd get some Ashton instead. I guess McKenzie really did not like Lane in Swan Lake, did he? Very disappointing but at least she got a Manon and good time slots for Sleeping Beauty. 

Sarah Lane just posted Instagram stories of her rehearsing Nutcracker Pas de Deux with Aran Bell. I wonder if she's replacing Misty on Saturday.

The chances of John Clifford getting the job are nil. He was in the company for only 7 years, he failed to direct any lasting companies since (and had very sketchy dealings with two LA companies he directed), he hasn't been to see NYCB perform in years, he's probably never met any of the interim directors....maybe Stafford? It's just ludicrous. Yes we all want the halcyon days of our youth. That doesn't mean we believe they can be magically achieved again. If he cared that much about NYCB, he would have stayed in the company and continued to work under Balanchine. He just didn't want to play second fiddle to Peter Martins. 

I think Clifford is forgetting that if Balanchine wanted him to be his successor, he would have appointed him. Like Clifford wouldn't have given up his second tier company to come back to NYC and run City Ballet? Please. Quite frankly, this social media campaign is embarrassing. And tagging dancers (some of whom he's probably never met) in posts and commenting on their social media pages is not only unprofessional, it's creepy. Especially in light of the scandals going on at NYCB this past year.

What makes you all think Jane Eyre will come to ABT? Was there an announcement I missed?

TBH, I’m not optimistic re casting or programming. ABT has a way of disappointing me in that regard. Seems like audiences kind of need a break from the Ratmansky full-lengths. Golden Cockerel was a fail and Harlequinade didn’t seem to sell well either but maybe I’m wrong. But if they are doing the 2 years on, 1 year off, wouldn’t Sleeping Beauty be on tap for 2019? 

I’d like to see some Ashton and Tudor but I am doubting very much we will see either.

As for Bolle, if he does retire I think we can count on seeing him in either Giselle or R&J. If it’s R&J, I doubt ABT would pass up the opportunity for a Bolle/Copeland performance. 

15 hours ago, vipa said:

How demoralizing that must be for Lane. I see no reason she couldn't have been cast more.

I wonder what’s going on. For a principal dancer, there really should be no reason she hasn’t been cast. I wonder if ABT is giving her the Veronika treatment, or if she’s in the process of leaving of her own accord. I never stop hoping she finds another company who appreciates her. 

17 hours ago, FPF said:

For my personal convenience, I suggest SPAC, which seats 5,200 (plus lawn). Whenever they've brought in non-NYCB ballet companies, it's been for full-lengths (Giselle, DonQ, Peony Pavilion), so their standard rep should work there. It would need to be after the Met season, as it would probably be too cold earlier.

For selfish reasons, I would love that. It’s a short drive from my town. 

I agree that this doesn’t bode well for those dancers that already only get one performance per ballet during Met Season. Very disheartening. 

The dismal ticket sales reflect the dismal programming. There is nothing I want to see. I would have gone to the Lane/Cornejo Other Dances but it's paired with two other ballets that I do not want to see. It's a shame. ABT could have used all the turmoil across the plaza to their advantage for those balletgoers that are reticent to give money to NYCB right now. Instead they have a season of lackluster ballets and boring casting. 

It would seem that Alexa Maxwell was also complicit given she was a recipient of photos of Waterbury. Dark days for City Ballet. 

35 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Casting is up! Not for everything though: premieres, Other Dancers, AfterRite...

Disappointed Lane didn't get a Symphonie Concertante. Surprised Abrera did.

Glad Royal and Forster were given debuts in Fancy Free. I think they'll both be great.

Also, Shayer was not given Songs of Bukovina w/ Boylston, even though he stepped in last year to replace Lendorf. She's paired with Hoven instead.

Speaking of, no Lendorf on the schedule yet.

https://www.abt.org/performances/master-calendar/

Lane didn't get anything. One performance of Other Dances. Even if she's in the new Jessica Lang, is that enough to keep her at ABT?

Good lord. Others on the ABT board were speculating that Catazaro might leave NYCB for ABT given the shortage of male principals over there. Maybe Finlay will try that now. I can’t imagine staying at a job where I was suspended. Talk about a blow to the morale. 

Glad Forster is getting a chance! Exciting to see Lane/Hoven cast together.

On 6/24/2018 at 2:31 AM, pherank said:

I don't think there were any hard feelings about leaving SFB - it was just something she needed to do. However, I'm pretty sure it wasn't her idea to leave ABT. The New York audience just didn't care enough, her good friend Daniil Simkin was leaving for Berlin, and the ABT senior staff has been under a lot of pressure to promote in-house dancers (for good reason). I think they wanted that principal position back. It's a hard business.

 

Yeah she came to ABT at the wrong time. Audiences were growing extremely frustrated by the revolving door of Russian guest artist imports at that point, especially because so many of them had cancelled performances (ie Semionova). Then Kochetkova missed two big performances at the Met: Giselle and Swan Lake (both of which Sarah Lane subbed in last minute and excelled). So ABT realized they didn't need her. Rightly so. 

12 hours ago, Gdsathena said:

I’m so sad about Gisele Bethea. I had no idea she was injured. Was she really? She never came across as such. I was always confused why she wasn’t dancing in the met season but present for the fall. I have been following her posts and someone had made a comment Cole (her new husband) he was going to be a daddy. She is terribly young, if this is true. I’m very elated for her marriage, but selfishly wants her back dancing. I am in love with her abilities. I just can’t imagine all that training being a child prodigy and all, then to not fulfill what she was destined to pursue. .... 

Oh dear. Yes, she seems incredibly young. But judging by her Instagram, she is Mormon and that is the Mormon way I suppose. 

Maybe this has been discussed here or elsewhere but I'm astounded that Froman is able to post these clips. Wasn't it a couple years ago that Devin Alberda was famously disciplined (multiple times) for taking still photos of rehearsals and performances?? Why the change in  attitude? Was it Martins that kept the lid on tightly? I always assumed the Balanchine Trust oversaw all media and was the final word in what the public was allowed to see. 

She looks stage ready that is for sure. I know she hasn't had an easy time of it in life, professionally or personally so I am rooting for her. If by some miracle they offer her a position at NYCB, that would be the best news. Unfortunately, I think it's unlikely. Peter Martins may have rejected her, but he seemed like one of her biggest supporters. If even he couldn't find a place for her, then it must not be possible. That and the fact that getting back into the class/rehearsal/performance routine might be a huge obstacle for someone that is now 30 years old and hasn't danced in a company for 8 years.

3 hours ago, lmspear said:

By the way what is Robert LaFosse up to these days?

 

I don't know but that is a great suggestion.

Casting is taking forever to post. I won't buy any tickets until I know who is in the cast. I wonder if there's any huge benefit to ABT when it comes to ticket sales before casting goes up? I guess for audience members who aren't familiar with the company dancers and just want a night at the ballet. But there are way too many dancers I want to avoid.

3 hours ago, FauxPas said:

 Also, Roberto Bolle has recently been given one shot one role seasonal contracts - I say give him more to do with multiple roles, he has still got it. 

I don't think he wants more than one role. I'm sure ABT would love to have him full-on during the Met season but I'm inclined to think he's not interested in doing anything but a one-off with Alessandra Ferri or Hee Seo every now and then. Which then begs the question, why is he still taking up space on the male principal roster when they could put someone in that slot that is fully committed? They desperately need someone.

They need probably three, two at the least. One of them must be on the shorter side or experienced in partnering short ballerinas because there's only Herman to partner Lane and Copeland right now. And Trenary and Brandt if they are cast in lead roles. A very bad situation to be in right now since Herman is advanced in years, career-wise. 

I wonder when she will retire. She missed another Met season with injury. Promotion looks bleak. And she's got a small child with a boyfriend that is forever on the go. It's a shame because I always enjoyed her dancing when she was on stage.