Texan

16 hours ago, aurora said:

I don't think it is fair to say that re: Jared. I do agree he would have done well as a principal and was sorry to see him leave. But he had stalled for some years and really not delivered in his roles. He then got back in form but with both him and his fiancee (who I also loved) wanting principal status moving back to his home town where they could both have that is kind of a no brainer.

 

I really AM VERY sorry they left but I don't see that it was due to any fault by McKenzie

Coincidentally, I just saw Jared perform Siegfried in Houston this weekend.  I was really disappointed.  

Yuriko Kajiya seems to have maintained her classical techniques after leaving ABT, but I am not sure about her fiancee.

Whatever the allegation may be, I will always remember Gomes and Vishneva standing together, supporting each other, during curtain call of her farewell night with ABT.

On 6/26/2017 at 5:22 PM, miliosr said:

Bringing in Veyette to replace an injured Cory Stearns in Theme was every bit as controversial in its way as the decision to turn American Ballet Theatre into Ardani Ballet Theatre was. Stearns went down weeks before Theme was set to go on. By bringing in Veyette when there was plenty of time to cast and rehearse a ranking soloist (i.e. Jared Mathews), McKenzie was, in effect, saying to his male soloists and corps members that he had no confidence in them. Lo and behold, It was right around this time that Mathews announced he was leaving for Houston Ballet. I can't prove the two events were connected as Mathews' decision to leave may have already been in the works when the Theme decision was made. But I absolutely believe that said decision must have confirmed for Mathews that he was making the right decision. (And then, to add insult to injury, McKenzie gave him that token Giselle w/ Reyes when he had one ballet slipper out the door.)

 

The guest star business is a tricky one because it can have all sorts of consequences independent of how good the incoming guest may be.

I only see ABT several times per year, and I did not know about Stearns/Veyette in Theme at ABT until I read this post.  I just wanted to note here that, after Jared Matthews arrived at Houston Ballet, he was still passed over in Ballo della Regina .  Two different artistic directors (McKenzie at ABT and Welch at Houston Ballet) might have a similar view on Matthews in Balanchine.

I saw two different casts of Onegin at ABT last week; I wonder whether Matthews would ever be given Onegin if Houston Ballet were to revive it, of if he had stayed with ABT.  I know he is becoming a mature dancer, but I am not sure if he would grow out of Lensky-type roles into Onegin-type roles.  So far in Houston, he has been passed over for Des Grieux, Prospero, and Oberon.  Maybe I am discounting him too much for his boyish good looks.  

Charles Louis Yoshiyama was promoted to Principal after Giselle performance on June 11, 2016. Well done and congratulations.