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Has anyone heard reports of what the music will be for each piece for next week's gala? I've heard conflicting reports on the Neenan and Reisen ballets and am having trouble compiling my playlists of Spotify. (FYI if anyone wants to follow along: I keep playlists for most of the ballets that have been seen in NYCB rep (and, generally in the Balanchine cannon) to familiarize myself with the music. Here is the link: https://open.spotify.com/user/mayrea?si=FVETa4cBTtibjf0RXn4RVQ)

Claire Kretzschmar is debuting the same role later in the week. Glad she's also being given more opportunities, always reminds me of Whelan.

Very much agree. I think Martins' vice grip of control was largely strengthened by the length of his tenure. Nothing wrong with asking an (older) Balanchine original to help steady the ship and infuse the organization with more of its own history. (That would also lend enough time to Woetzel to fulfill his obligations to Julliard.)

Several Ballet Arizona company members were part of Suzanne Farrell Ballet-- I always thought a lot of their dancing.

I adore Heather Ogden-- her "Meditation" pas with Suzanne Farrell Ballet had me near tears it was so touching.

All of these are huge production numbers that I can't recall being performed in the past several seasons. (I want to say that Liebeslieder was the most recently performed... somewhere around Fall 2015 when Jennie Somogyi retired?) I make the assumption that without an AD in place, the leadership team doesn't feel equipped to rehearse new folks for the principal/corps roles and stage the production in general?

It's almost as if we saw the same performance! I really wish she would commit herself to being more invested in this ballet, and from what I've heard from fellow BAers: almost every ballet.

Just got back from opening night at the Kennedy Center. Overall it was a great evening, progressively getting to the best parts of the program. Divertimento 15: I loved this piece, such charming choreography that complimented the music so well. The Mozart really brings out how incredible that Kennedy Center Orchestra is-- violin to dream on! Of those cast in the principal roles, Ashley Laracey (grace, poise, and such a strong ability to use her line to draw out the music), Lauren King (technical wonder with such a light-hearted demeanor), and Ashley Bouder (all the normal Ashley Bouder qualities: cheeky and sharp) were tops. This is the first time I had seen Abi Stafford so I really don't have much to say about her quite yet, Erica Pereira continues to fall short for me... I'll say more on that later. Of the men, only Daniel Applebaum stood out in a noticeably positive way-- I really feel that he's underutilized. Chase Finlay fell short (others have enumerated dissatisfaction in the past so I don't feel the need to repeat) and Andrew Scordato just needs a little more time to marinate. On another note: my husband felt that costumes need an uplift, the colors just don't pop the way they need to. (I will confess that I could do without the Prince Charming getup.) Zakouski: Megan Fairchild was replaced with Indiana Woodward. Things looked a little shaky for her and DeLuz on partnering, in rushing her in to debut a day early I doubt they had much time to rehearse. I also am not convinced that they're a good match for one another, even though I know they've danced together before. DeLuz was tremendous as always, his technical sharpness and calm showyness were perfect here. My companions for the evening really enjoyed the choreography, to me it is very "Peter Martins does Tarantella." (High marks for music selection though, each piece is a joy to listen to and pairs well with the others.) Pulcinella Variations: Since Fairchild was out of Zakouski, Woodward was out in Pulcinella-- replaced by Lydia Wellington. Per usual for Justin Peck, the community sense in the group numbers is wonderful. I wish there had been a little more humor snuck in to lighten up the more serious pas. Mears, J. Angle, Tiler Peck, and Huxley were wonderful. I especially noticed Claire Kretzschmar's sunny maturity in her line (wish we saw more of her in principal roles outside of the Peck rep), and Emilie Gerrity. (I know she's a favorite of a few of you-- I see why now.) Costumes and set were just lovely for this ballet, completely transporting to a new whimsy world. I really think this is a good example of how costuming can make us see classical works in a fresh way... I'm not suggesting that the company through the Karinska collection in the trash... but certain ballets could use even just an ounce of this kind of brightness. Tschai Pas: How has Tyler Angle never danced this role? Today was his debut and, all things considering, he did well. You can tell that the partnering is not yet in his bones, but his solo bits were lovely and he did a good job in securing his partner in those daring moves throughout. Tiler Peck truly considers the Kennedy Center to be a home-away-from-home since she's often down here with Damien Woetzel and was here longterm for previews of the never-made-it-to-Broadway "Little Dancer." You can tell she feels incredibly comfortable on the KC Stage-- kills it every time and the audience goes wild. Sometimes I think the choreography here is a little showy on the "tricks," and I prefer a little more subtlety: my favorite parts are when the male dancer takes his hands off the ballerina so she can show off and hold her balances, almost as if she was performing an illusion. Ok, last plug on costumes: The ballerina costume's flowiness is fabulous (even if the peach color is a little dated), but the Little Lord Fauntleroy shirt needs to go! Symphony in Three Movements: I saw this piece last month in NYC and wasn't completely in love with it, but this performance made it jump considerably higher on my Balanchine's Best List. Most of the cast was identical to the one I saw: Erica Peirera as the jumping girl, Daniel Ulbrict as her partner, Megan LeCrone with Sean Souzzi (saw Joe Gordon in NYC), but the pas pair was new for me. Sterling Hyltin and Adrian Danchig-Waring were simply incredible. So much of that pas is smaller movements in the hands-- it felt like they took up the entire stage with their detached devotion to the pas. Danchig-Waring was so Phlematic and calm, keeping that natural tension high. On the other hand... Erica Pereira and Megan LeCrone just don't do it for me. I feel when I'm watching Pereira that she doesn't have the mature fluidity to make an impact. Her stage aura is diminutive-- her jumps aren't impactful and it feels like she is taking up the least possible room both space-wise and in terms of her ability to command space for the audience's attention. Megan LeCrone is someone who I have always wanted to see more from, but I have continually been disappointed. While Pereira falls short in her physical capability, LeCrone seemingly only suffers from lack of confidence. She did have a tiny fall at the beginning of her pas, but quickly recovered-- but I know from seeing her in this role last month that her flaws tonight weren't because of the fall. Instead of buying into her own abrasiveness, she dumbs her body and movements down-- never fully using what you can clearly see is in here. Her jogs were "cute" instead of serious, and she just lacks a sharpness. If she went for broke and just attacked, I have no doubt she'd be an entirely new dancer. I hope to see that one day!

Ballet is my happy place, away from the political world in which I work. I want to make sure everyone who reads this knows that this is just me giving extra information that I'm not making any kind of political endorsement or trying to start a political conversation. I begrudge no one for continuing to use "State Theater," (and frequently use the title myself), but I do think it's important that our society should be informed of who we're talking about--- Just as folks should know that it's not the Ed Koch Theater. Whatever your politics, David Koch is one of the largest donors to non-political charitable organizations in the entire world. He is frequently cited as having been a major leader in keeping arts organizations afloat during the recession that threatened to shut so many institutions down. I think there also might be some misunderstandings about his actual politics as well. David Koch ran for VP in the 1980 election on the Libertarian ticket, and a major one of his platform promises was equal rights between men, women, and folks of all sexual orientations. He was (and continues to be) outspokenly pro-choice. This was decades before those initiatives were part the platform of any major political party's platform. I completely understand why some folks are anxious about the magnitude of influence of his PAC, but I think it's important for us to keep in mind that without people like David Koch, the art that we so enjoy would not have the platform that it currently does.

I have only seen Tess in the Agon Pas live, but have been intrigued by the idea of LeCrone in the role after seeing this video several years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCtwWY9byQE

Did anyone see the new Walker ballet, "dance odyssey," last night?

Head is spinning on the number of debuts here. Interested to hear how Peter Walker fares as Romeo... I was extremely taken with him in the corps of Glass Pieces last year-- so much power and intention in his movement. I can't imagine how he would learn a title role like this on top of debuting his own choreography (tonight).

Have we any evidence of this other than his "Last Cavalier" instagram post? Going back and rereading, it still seems ambiguous.

A Kowroski debut! So glad she continues to expand her rep. Also, seems that LaFreniere is back in action in week two. I know there are many fans of hers on this thread. Does anyone know what music Peter Walker is using for his new piece? Not sure if it's commissioned from Oliver Davis, or adapted from previously published music?

Indiana Woodward debuting Apollo as well, that's exciting for her.

Nice change of pace I'm coming up to the city in February and am crossing my fingers for '30 for 30' tickets to the Balanchine-Stravinsky matinee on the 24th. The whole program looks great, especially looking forward to Duo and Symphony in Three.

This is interesting... Helene do you have a link on this? Bobbi-- Did you see this last month at the KC? Meditation was also on the program and I was in near tears at the end. It is a true tragedy for Balanchine's legacy that it isn't in the NYCB rep anymore.

Casting is posted on the website about two weeks before the performance (usually on Wednesdays). Here is the link: https://www.nycballet.com/Season-Tickets/Casting.aspx

Good intell. Thanks Canbelto!

I haven't seen the production, but it looks like the past Juliet ball costume is shorter?

I think the Fayette-Ringer partnership would be an attractive option for the board-- both artistic and administrative experience. I think the only negative is that neither worked with Balanchine (not many candidates will have that bonus though) and that Fayette's background with the artists union. (He was the company's representative to the AGMA while he was still with the company, and went to work for AGMA after his retirement.) That could go either way though-- on one hand, he has experience in the workplace negotiations world, on the other, he doesn't appear to have used that leverage to advocate for better treatment during his tenure there. Strong history in both administration and coaching for both... but would they give up the California sunshine if asked though?

You are not confused. The age of consent is the age at which someone can consent to partaking sexual acts. It remains to be seen if the "dating" referenced in previous articles included a sexual relationship. (Reminder that the age of consent in New York might have been even younger at the time of the relationship.)

Exactly my point: We need to protect what deserves protecting: the history and legacy of the dances. The art form can't survive and progress if we tear down the entire institution because of the flaws of the people who contribute to its creation and continuation. That includes Balanchine, Robbins, and now, Martins.

Something that I think that we need to consider, as balletomanes, is that we need our moment in the mirror as well. I’m not suggesting that it’s our fault that dancers were abused and the administrative wing of the company turned a blind eye-- But I think there does need to be a reckoning for balletgoers on the contradiction of what ballet is, a multi-dimensional aesthetic art form which highly values beauty and youth, and the cultural values of today. Most of the folks on this forum are devotees of Balanchine. We love Balanchine. We are upset when there isn’t more of his choreography on the program and when his birthday isn’t properly celebrated (35 years after his death). If we are going to go to such great lengths to discredit Martins’s accomplishments, relationships, leadership, and intellectual property, won’t we also need to scrub his predecessors whose example he followed? Robbins was mentally abusive, Balanchine leveraged his power to seduce his employees. So goodbye to the legacy of their genius? Goodbye Dances at a Gathering and Serenade? I say no. If we are going to judge folks on their past failures, we need to look at our own past failures. Darci’s call to the police, Kirkland’s story of Heather Watts being dragged down the stairs-- none of this is new. They were widely available for public consumption and we need to take some responsibility that as ticketholders and fans, we too didn’t speak up about this behavior being unacceptable either. What we can do, today, is move on, define what our standards are in terms of workplace conduct, and stop being complicit ourselves when others don’t support that standard.

I agree Helene. Not only are there more opportunities for other kind of activities, but I think there is almost a parental shunning of stereotypical feminine activities for young women. While that will hopefully mean more women in positions of leadership and the de-gendering of certain professions, it certainly doesn't keep enrollment numbers up in ballet programs.