AB'sMom

Everything about this man rubs me the wrong way for so many reasons. His arrogance is astounding. It’s not the job of a white man to tell a minority woman the appropriate response to racist imagery. He also commented on one of Skylar Brandt’s Instagram videos (of her doing pirouettes) that her placement was wrong but that he could help her fix it. 

This is just a different section. The same clip is posted on Aran Bell’s Instagram and Isabella commented, “...still shook that you got me up in that torch.”

In addition to being the new Artistic Director of the Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet summer intensive program for students, she has started a Pro Studio program there as well. Last year it was run concurrently with the last session of the summer intensive but will be a stand alone program this year. Attendees were memebers of the ABT Studio Company and some members of the Corp. 

Mariinsky needs supers for La Bayadère at Segerstrom if anyone is interested. Men over 5’7” (no dance experience needed), women under 5’5” (dance experience not necessary but helpful). Audition/Casting 10/14 at 7pm at Judy Morr Theatre at Segerstrom. 

I don’t know if anyone is interested, but if you join the Pas de Deux Guild at Segerstrom (which supports the ABT Gillespie School) you get two tickets to the Nutcracker dress rehearsal. 

I think they do, but but I can’t remember if it works on the mobile site. When you see the little camera icon on the seating chart it shows the view from that spot, but obviously that’s not a view from every seat, just from some general areas. I find the view in person always looks better than what the “camera view” shows. 

I’ve never sat closer than row D—and that was because my daughter was on stage and I wanted to see every facial expression. If it helps at all, when ABT comes Kevin McKenzie and Alexei Ratmansky sit in row L or M. The seating chart can mislead a little because as you get further back the section angles. Once you get to row K and further back you want to sit as far to the right (looking at the website seating chart) as possible if you like to be in the center. 

Apparently the students at SAB’s summer program were scheduled to attend the Saturday matinee. It’s too bad the weather just wouldn’t cooperate. 

Individual tickets are on sale now for all shows in the dance series at Segerstrom. 

Sorry I didn’t mention Scout Forsythe in my post. I didn’t know if she was letting the news slip too early. 

An ABT dancer’s Instagram story today said, “Congratulations on a great career at ABT, Gemma Bond,” and showed Gemma standing at the front of the room reading something and the whole company applauding. Is she officially retiring?

Looks like Paulina Waski is going to Boston Ballet. Scout Forsythe referred to it on her Instagram story and some of Paulina’s posts refer to her “last ...”

ABT hasn’t yet posted anything about where the Studio Company dancers are going, but according to the Ballet West website Grace Anne Pierce is joining the corps de ballet. 

Forster and Hoven to Principals, Shayer and Bell to Soloists? I know Shayer is injured, but it seems like he put in the work in previous years. I think it would sting if Bell was promoted before him. 

Even by baby standards, which are quite high, that’s a beautiful baby. 

I guess that’s what I was trying to get at when I said there was a bottleneck. Corp members can’t leapfrog over the soloist position, but there are already plenty of male soloists. If none of them are promoted to principal then what happens? Can they just swell the ranks of male soloists for a few years?

I wonder if the men are feeling a bit like it’s one long audition season. Clearly ABT needs more full time principal men and there is a bit of a bottleneck at the soloist level. 

I don’t know of any other way to get individual tickets earlier, but I’ve never had a problem getting good seats when the general sale opens. 

I was thinking the same thing. While it seems to be in line with the amount of classical ballet programming we’ve been getting, is this really all the dance programming for the season?

Still no email, but it’s popping up in the Segerstrom Instagram feed. 

That tattoo very much resembles the neo-Nazi black sun imagery. 

I can’t imagine he’d apologize, because he has newer posts where he tries to convey the same opinions in a slightly sanitized way. (Not sure if his Keanu Reeves post is still there. Poor Keanu, it probably wasn’t even his words). It will be interesting to see how other dancers react to dancing with him. I’ve seen plenty in the U.S. expressing their disgust (with his words—not having to dance with him).

The announcement said James Whiteside was ill and the kids in the show confirmed it. 

Skylar Brandt just posted that she and Daniil Simkin are going on tonight instead of Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside. I’m not sure why. Isabelle and James were here rehearsing yesterday. I already have tickets for tonight and planned to see Brandt/Simkin Saturday afternoon. They are still doing that show as well, so I may go Sunday afternoon for my second show instead. 

David LaChapelle commented on some of his posts.