BalanchineFan

17 hours ago, Roberta said:

Wendy DID program Farley. No complaints with NYCB on that front. Only complaints about the rest, such as Nelson and Bell. Hope Boykin and the raised fists at ABT Studio. That sort of thing.

 

Isn't it about time to sift the wheat from the chaff? An end to calling exclusively on choreographers who fill an Affirmative Action agenda. USA ballet companies in general should end Woke Racism, please. Just go for choreographers of quality - the best, regardless of gender, color of skin, nationality, etc.

How would they know a choreographer is "of quality" until they've created the ballet? I imagine we ALL went better ballets ALL the time, even the choreographers. The questions remain: how do you get there? And what makes a good ballet?  I don't feel the need to label ballets I don't like with a political tag, and my dislikes are generally larger than one single category of anything.

I would be quite happy NEVER to see another Peter Martins ballet, for example. Even he seemed to admit, at a certain point, that choreography need not be his greatest contribution to NYCB. He began one of the most significant programs nurturing emerging ballet choreographers, the NY Choreographic Institute, which continues today.  I believe choreographers can choose from the NYCB company members and create works on them during weeks the company doesn't work. The dancers work for scale. It allows choreographers who may not be familiar with ballet, or other younger ballet dancers, to begin working on choreography with very well trained dancers. Everyone gets a chance to develop their skills. Any individual may not like the resulting ballets, of course.

What makes for good ballets is another matter, and open to a great deal of interpretation. That's why I keep going to see what they're doing.

On 6/12/2022 at 5:47 AM, Roberta said:

Correct. We, as they paying public, can chose to not open our wallets to further fund mediocrity...beyond what's extracted from our income in the form of taxes.

But there was zero mediocrity on view at last night's Midsummer Dream, which played before a full house, shouting "bravos" to the fabulous dancers.

Roman Mejia, as Oberon, danced with such gusto that the gold combs came flying off his white wig! The other stand-outs were:

• Emily Kikta's explosive Hippolyta!
• The  ladies of the corps de ballet - each and everyone a beauty straight out of Botticelli's Primavera!
• The kids as bugs, so adorable...and in synch!
• Tiler and Tyler, sublimely leading the A2 Diverts!

 

And to whoever above mentioned that the Visionary Voices was the only triple bill during the NYCB Spring Season in NY...absolutely not the case. I went to NYC on Amtrak several times during the past two months to enjoy many traditional beloved ballets in mixed bills - two 'Masters' bills of only Balanchine and Robbins masterworks + two of the  Stravinsky Festival bills, such as the Gala Opening Night that included an enjoyable and substantive NEW work - Architects of Time  -  by Silas Farley...who happens to be a gentleman of color. I've been totally impressed by what I've seen from Farley so far (Wash Ballet's Werner Sonata  last summer, as well as another online piece for ABT, to Arvo Part music - Collage and Creed). 

I wonder why Silas Farley's beautiful work was not programed, if they wanted to showcase a talented choreographer of color?

 

Maybe you could write Wendy and ask why they're not programming more Silas Farley? I'm sure he would appreciate it. I didn't care for his new piece. I saw a piece he did at the Metropolitan Museum a few years ago and that was more interesting to me. I thought the recent NYCB ballet had too many people onstage and too spread out. It lacked visual focus. I would have asked him to divide his group up into fewer dancers more often and look that they were arranged onstage in more varied groupings.

I love seeing new work. I love the Balanchine and Robbins, too, of course. But I like seeing what the choreographers are doing, I like being in on the ground floor of something new, and I LOVE seeing how different dancers respond and develop when shown in something that only THEY have performed. I thought Megan Fairchild was a revelation last season, dancing in ... I can't remember if it was Sidra Bell or Andrea Miler. The ballet had bizarre, neon colored costumes and by the end Megan danced in just a leotard and pointe shoes. She started out with a lime green hat the obscured her face and a long diaphanous coat. Ms Tschaikovsky tutu in a leotard ballet!

5 hours ago, bellawood said:

Instagram is giving a few hints on who is rehearsing what: Unity and Jovani in second movement Glass Pieces and KJ Takahashi has rehearsal footage of Chris Grant doing Sanguinic — who knows what the actual casting will be! 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfzh2W9lMna/

I"m not good with links, but that should be Jovani Furlan's post of himself and Unity Phelan rehearsing Glass Pieces. It's not a Story, so it shouldn't disappear.

On 4/30/2022 at 9:22 AM, Kathleen O'Connell said:

The dissenting Justice, David Friedman, makes this observation in the conclusion to his dissent:

"By no means do I deprecate the serious social problem of digital harassment, which the New York City Council addressed by enacting Administrative Code § 10-180. Section 10-180, however, imposes liability on the perpetrators of digital harassment, not on their employers. In extending liability to such an employer in this case, the majority imposes upon every employer a heretofore unknown duty to monitor the private behavior of its employees, even though that private behavior is not made possible, or even more likely, by the circumstances of the employment and bears only an incidental connection to the employment. I believe that the invention of this new duty will have a deleterious effect upon employers and employees alike."

Justice Friedman appears to be focussing on the specific act of employees sharing images on their private devices and whether an employer can be held responsible for that act simply because the activity took place on its premises. 

I agree that if employers can be held liable for what their employees do with their private devices, particularly when the private behavior is not made possible by the employment, it will be bad for employers and employees alike.

On 5/31/2022 at 8:57 AM, abatt said:

Nice tribute, canbelto. 

I'm not sure exactly who in the Company determined that Ramasar should be fired (it was probably a group decision).  I suspect they may have been advised by their counsel all along that the termination of Catazaro and Ramasar would likely be reversed if it went to arbitration, but the Company went ahead and fired them in order to publicly align themselves with the "me too" movement and improve the public image of management.  

At any rate, Ramasar did not appear to hold any ill will towards Stafford or Whelan.   I guess he had to make peace with management  in order to keep working at the Company that wrongfully terminated him.  Wishing him well in the next chapter, whatever that may be.

IIRC they were fired before there was a complete resolution of the Peter Martins situation. That may have played a part in the decision. Waterbury had named NYCB in her suit so that, too, was ongoing. It wasn't just public relations. I saw NYCB as trying to limit their liability. 

That said, I was overjoyed when Ramasar was reinstated, and he was dancing better than ever all season. He has always seemed apologetic and eager to make amends.

The people I recognized in order (with blanks):

Peter Martins (in orchestra seating), Jonathan Stafford, woman in red dress, man in blue suit, woman in purple sweater, woman in black suit with trim (probably his early ballet teacher Olga Kostritsky), Susan Pilarre (white dress w big red flowers), Indiana Woodward, Megan Fairchild, Unity Phelan, Sterling Hyltiin, Maria Kowroski, Alexei Ratmansky, Tyler Angle, Adrian D-W, Joseph Gordon, man in black pants & white shirt (probably a NYCB dancer, Sean Suozzi?), Jared Angle, Daniel Ulbricht, woman in pink dress with Wendy Whelan (white pants), Harrison Ball, Zach Catazaro, Peter Walker, woman in dress, Sebastian Villarini-Velez (w flag), Megan LeCrone, Chun Wai Chan, Justin Peck, woman, J-P Frohlich, Ashley Laracey and Troy Schumacher, Jovani Furlan, Preston Chamblee & Emily Kikta & Isabelle LaFreniere, Emilie Gerrity, Ashley Hod, Kathleen Tracey & Lisa Jackson, Dena Abergel, woman in white pants/black shirt, Sara Mearns, Andy Veyette, Clotilde Otrano, Gonzalo Garcia & Joaquin DeLuz, Alexa Maxwell, 3 family members, person in black, red headed woman, Marika Molnar (as glitter begins)

14 hours ago, bellawood said:

The farewells were numerous. He jumped off the stage to hug Peter Martins in the aisle first thing. Almost every principal dancer was there, and some old faces: Maria, Joachim, Gonzalo, and Zach Catazaro was also there. I always felt that Amar paid a very steep price for what he did, and I was glad to see him so embraced by his fellow dancers and the crowd. 

The performance was sublime. 

I was in the first ring wondering who Amar was jumping out into the audience to embrace. Glad to know. It was a great farewell performance and the house was, indeed, full of love and admiration, up to the Fifth Ring. He was so warm and full of energy with people, doing dance steps with Ashley Hod and again with Joaquin de Luz and Gonzalo Garcia. He's one of my favorite dancers and will be sorely missed. Marika Molnar (the brilliant Physical Therapist) was the last person to come out after what I'm assuming were Amar's parents.

23 hours ago, tutu said:

This wasn’t directed to me, but these are such fun questions so I’ll answer.

On 5/27/2022 at 8:43 AM, BalanchineFan said:

What makes you want to watch a dancer? What makes you think they should (or should not) be promoted.

My question was directed at absolutely everyone! And thank you for the terrific replies.

I, too, love Davide Riccardo and am watching closely to see how he develops.  He danced a nice Agon a few weeks back!.  Roman Mejia is a shoo-in for principal and international star of the ballet, imo.  I miss Lydia Wellington and wish her the best in Monte Carlo (or wherever she goes, forever). I also love to see Mira Nadon onstage. She always seems fully in control of what she's doing. Fully realized, fully formed, completely living in the ballets she dances and expanding their possibilities. 

I am thrilled that Amar (and NYCB) have found a way for him to dance tomorrow, in some part of Midsummer and I'm really looking forward to it.

This season has seemed like a changing of the guard for NYCB. With Reichlen's retirement (following Kowroski, Lovette, et al), Bouder's injury, Mearns partial absence, and Hyltin's announced retirement there have been a lot of opportunities for "next generation" women. It's been exciting to see what that means more precisely. Who is ready to take on which roles, and how they have fared. NYCB has always had an abundance of talent, a deep bench as some say, and a willingness to throw youngsters into the spotlight. The time is full of possibilities.

12 minutes ago, JuliaJ said:

Mejia is always a thrilling dancer to watch, and it was nice to see him in an acting role. He doesn't have the delicate fairy quality of, say, Huxley, but I was more than happy to watch him tackle those tricky solos with his ultra-high jump and rock-solid turns. It was a successful debut IMO.

Schumacher was fine, competent. His Puck was appropriately impish but did not have anything close to that otherworldly beauty you see with Harrison Ball's interpretation, which I was lucky to catch in 2019.

So, Mejia was Oberon and Schumacher was Puck?

I was just wondering, what qualities a dancer should possess to make you feel they should be promoted? Do you have a particular criteria in mind when you (each of you) start to clamor for the promotion of one or another dancer?

For me, I don't care if dancers fall. I'm interested to know what happened on a given night, but falls usually indicate energy and commitment to doing something exciting. Other times it's just a weird mishap, an unexpected bit of sweat on the stage, or the like. I want to see dancers that make me want to watch them more than other people onstage. Dancers who command with their presence and phrasing. Dancers that somehow take you on a journey throughout the ballet. Yes, they should technically fulfill the choreography (be in the right place at the right time doing the correct steps, feet pointed, etc), but I feel you have to WANT to watch someone. They have to be interesting and hold your attention. Often it's because they're dancing big, but it could be delicacy, subtlety, how they connect the steps, how they surprise you or an engine whirring away in their gut, something less tangible. 

Additionally, In boxing people refer to boxers "hitting above their weight class" and I think it applies to promotions. When I'm consistently excited to see someone dancing onstage, when they have blown me over in a wide variety of ballets over a period of time, when they are consistently excelling in the repertory and workload of a higher rank I start to think "PROMOTE." 

What makes you want to watch a dancer? What makes you think they should (or should not) be promoted.

deleted.

1 hour ago, abatt said:

Many, many people moved out of NYC during the pandemic.  There isn't anything unusual about what Woodward and Coll did.  No sense in paying exorbitant rents while not earning an income.  There was such a large exodus that rent rates in Manhattan dropped significantly during the pandemic.  Now people have returned and the rents are back up to their prior extremely high levels in Manhattan.

Well, for the record, I think highly of everyone who had to do that and is now back succeeding in their chosen profession, unusual or not. I also think everything about the pandemic is unusual.

I have to say that I am enthralled by Indiana Woodward and Harrison Coll all the more knowing they had to move out of NYC and in with her family during the pandemic. 

On 5/22/2022 at 2:05 PM, abatt said:

Kind of sad that we now have to rely on the lobby casting sheet for info, simply because the company is too lazy to update the online version. 

NYCB furloughed A LOT of people during the pandemic and my guess is that some of them ran the online casting sheet. Depending on how it's set up, it might not be easy to update, or the people work by the hour, or the contract didn't take multiple changes into account, and what with all the changes due to Covid and injury I'm sure they're doing the best they can. Laziness? Really? They need one of those boards, like Broadway shows, where you slip in a plank with the understudy's name on it.

I myself have a website that cannot easily be updated. I could make a new one, of course, but it's been several years of me waiting to have the time. 

22 hours ago, cobweb said:

Great idea bellawood... and hopefully already under consideration. But let's put someone besides Veyette in there. When I saw him in Fall in Four Seasons, not looking so great. Maybe Furlan, he was beautiful with Sterling Hyltin last night. 

I saw Veyette on Sunday in Midsummer, soft landings to all his jumps, clean turns. He looks better than ever to me.

On 5/20/2022 at 6:18 PM, yukionna4869 said:

Very strange. Megan Fairchild is also recovering from an injury, but she is also currently in Copenhagen, so I don't know whether she'll be dancing next week either. 

I hope Amar will still be able to dance his retirement performance. 

I think all of  Megan Fairchild's Midsummer performances are next week. Please correct me if I'm wrong.  She's not a likely Titania, and they've got enough women for the Divertissement (T. Peck, Sterling Hyltin, etc) to get them through the first weekend. Her IG said she did her first performances back from injury in Copenhagen.

Mira Nadon was aglow in Summer in Four Seasons.  Fully formed, phrasing and sensuality. I went Friday  and also loved LaFreniere and Phelan in Piano Pieces. Peter Walker was great with LaFreniere. He's really bulked out (for him) into a danseur noble type. He was super skinny and (just my opinion) insubstantial looking before. He really inhabits the stage now, and the last moment of their duet when he offers LaFreniere his hand was quite moving. Alec Knight also drew my attention favorably. Lots of changing of the guard. 

I feel so badly for Amar. I have tickets today and to the last performance. I hope he's healthy and can do it safely. He's been dancing so very well.

I wonder if they give any thought to having variety in the principal ranks. One review of Violin Concerto mentioned how Phelan and Laracey are similar (i don't agree, but they're certainly more similar than Mazzo and von Aroldingen). Maybe certain dancers are overlooked for principal because they are too similar to other principals. There was a lot of diversity of style and look during Balanchine's day. You would never confuse one dancer with another, not based on how they looked, not based on how they danced. I think that's a good thing to develop in a company, a way of treating the audience to more.

Still, I vote for Emilie Gerrity, Isabella LaFreniere and (soon) Mira Nadon for principal.

4 hours ago, springnemesia said:

Hello all! Long-time lurker but finally made an account

I saw Wednesday's Apollo/Orpheus/Agon program -- was so pleased to have an extra surprise chance to see Hyltin even though I wasn't all that thrilled by Orpheus otherwise. All of the ballet newbies were raving about the Agon pas de deux as they were leaving the theater. It was fun to sit near folks who didn't know what was coming and kept gasping at some of the really tense moments. 

The $30 under 30 program going online because of COVID really is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me and it feels way too good to be true. I always manage to grab a front-row seat at least once a week and I feel like I own the place squeezing past the folks who paid $260. I hope they never go back to the in-person rush system. (Yes, I'm bragging about this here because none of my real-life friends get why this is a big deal 😎)

I'm really excited Mira Nadon is back! Can't wait to see her in Rubies tomorrow. 

I'd like to wish you a warm welcome, @springnemesia and congrats on not being a lurker. Glad you can take advantage of the $30 under 30.

13 hours ago, vipa said:

It would seem that overall, programming is a problem for many of us, in terms of attending. Interesting question about start times and intermissions. There was a time when all evening shows began at 8pm, and at some point, the weekday shows were changed to a 7:30 start time. I wonder if TPTB would consider 7pm. I think it's a good idea, but there may be issues I'm not thinking of. I also liked the no intermission shows, but fully recognize the limitations it imposes on programing because of needing time to put in a set etc. That said, I've seen programs in which a 20 minute intermission was inserted for no reason that I could see except for tradition and perhaps concession sales. Maybe management can rethink the whole intermission thing and use them as needed. Perhaps this is already happening. I was pleasantly surprised last Sunday, when the only intermission was after Pulchinella Variations, and after that just pauses.

For a theater that seats 2500+ audience members I wouldn't think a handful of comments here constitute a quorum, no matter how knowledgable we are. Many people work office hours (10-6, or even 11-7 pm) and would have trouble making a 7 pm curtain. Some want to dine beforehand, too. I do like the 7:30 pm curtains, but mostly I go to the ballet on the weekends when I can choose a matinee and get home during daylight. I work early.

42 minutes ago, MarzipanShepherdess said:

Still, I was glad to have the chance to see Sterling dance Eurydice since it's not one that will come again. She was, predictably, glorious. I'd never seen Orpheus before and loved the sets and costumes, but had mixed feelings about the ballet as a whole. It reminded me of Balanchine's Firebird, in some ways: visually, it's so striking but I'm left hungry for more dance-wise (even though it has more exciting choreography than Firebird). Sterling was definitely the highlight for me. 

Thank you for the account @MarzipanShepherdess!! I wish I could have been there.

I think Orpheus is a ballet that could use additional coaching. Many writers have commented on how its impact is not what it was in other decades. I've often found Euridice's death mishandled by the way things work with the curtain. I remember seeing it in the 80's and it was like the curtain billowed and she disappeared suddenly, tragically.  Recent viewings have been less dramatic (once I could even see the people pull her under the curtain) and it makes me question whether other... nuances, shall we say, have been lost. I'n not sure i've seen the ballet since the pandemic, but I'm looking forward to seeing it this weekend.

Any thoughts on Unity and Amar in Agon?  Wasn't it her debut in that role? 

Has Joseph Gordon danced Apollo yet? He would be my next pick!

15 minutes ago, Jacqueline said:

Ashley Laracey also reported on her Instagram story that she has COVID and will have to miss her debuts in Orpheus and Apollo this week.

It's knocking people out like bowling pins. I was at a Broadway show over the weekend and two understudies were on for actors with Covid. I think the cases are fairly mild, thank goodness.

I was delighted a few years back to see Balanchine's Harlequinade. I'd never seen it. It's family friendly, there are even roles for children, IIRC. There's a drunken dance for some sailors on leave and two great leading roles. I hope it gets revived again. Not sure if it could take the place of Midsummer in anyone's heart, but very delightful and not performed that often.

6 hours ago, cobweb said:

Same. I am sorry to miss Laracey and Phelan, and of course especially Ramasar. But I just could not spend on a ticket when I only wanted to see one piece on the program.

They have SAB students performing Scherzo a la Russe which added to my enjoyment. I missed Divert 15 and 4T when they were performed and I've been dying to see them. [I had to go out of town]. I'd go regardless of programming, but I'm dying to see some of the larger ballets, the Bizet, for instance. I also miss Liebeslieder, 

deleted by author

I was wondering if it was Ramasar’s last performance of Violin Concerto and that was the reason for the extra bow. He and Phelan were great, tho!

I always wish I could see Pulcinella variations without costumes. They are beautiful but so distracting. You can’t see any of the dancers lines. Unison movement is even hard to distinguish. 

On 2/13/2022 at 8:28 PM, miliosr said:

How was the chapter about the collapse of his original Los Angeles Ballet? If you read John Clifford's Instagram feed, he's always blaming Nancy Reagan and/or the Los Angeles Times. But if you read contemporaneous accounts from the Los Angeles Times and Dance Magazine, there were very real problems in terms of funding, management and repertory (largely Balanchine and Clifford).

The problems with Los Angeles Ballet are not entirely separate. It seems there was a prominent socialite (possibly Nancy Reagan, but I think it was someone else) working against Clifford telling her wealthy friends not to fund him. That woman (whose name I can't recall) didn't like that Clifford had declined to choose her pick for ... something; a management job, a choreographic commission. The details escape me, though I read the book a few months ago.

In any case, I can see how he would present it as he did, and how a newspaper or magazine would present it in a different way.  I find his IG feed displays his healthy ego, in the book it is somewhat tempered. The only issue I had was how he writes about the Suzanne Farrell situation. He seems willfully blind, and to overestimate his understanding. He obviously has not thought through the events from her point of view (maybe no man of his generation is capable) and thinks that because he was there, or nearby, physically on the day she gave her ultimatum and left, that he has "valuable" insight. He doesn't. His views serve as a counterpoint to what's useful, and proof of the need for further education.

3 hours ago, cobweb said:

Hey BalanchineFan, was this last night's performance? I was at today's matinee and the casting was slightly different. 

Yes, I was there Friday night. Wendy Whelan sat behind me.

Also, yes, Balanchine's Firebird is a costume festival at the end with the kids running around offering those quilted plates of food. All of the Chagall designs are amazing, breathtakingly gorgeous, but by then it's just music and decor, not what I call dancing.