BalanchineFan

Ah yes, the redemptive power of love. Giselle and the White Swan are still dead. Both caddish princes live on in most versions of the ballets. I like that the Novice in the The Cage lives too, prevails. Women can be powerful and deadly, not just wispy sylphs floating on the wind. Ah! La Sylphide, another woman undone to death by a caddish prince! The Cage just barely starts to balance things out. I don't mean to be callous or disrespectful of other lines of thinking, but, fyi, when I was sexually assaulted while sleeping on a train in college, I got even with the guy before he left the train. I'd rather get even than die and forgive the guy. I guess my opinion comes from a deeply personal place. On a less personal note, art should explore a wide range of behaviors. I don't think anyone should stop performing ballets that people want to see just because the gender roles are problematic. Life is richer and more contradictory than that.

Personally, I much prefer The Cage to Giselle. I think it speaks to womens' power and is a necessary antidote to all the romantic heroines withering away in desperation because some guy did them wrong (Swan Lake and Giselle come to mind).

I was wondering why Olivia is now listed in casting as O. MacKinnon! That explains it.

I was there last night. Mearns as SPF, Jared Angle as the Cavalier, Sterling Hyltin just resplendant as Dewdrop. Spartak Hoxha killed it as Tea, but I'm confident Roman Mejia will do the same. I don't see Isabelle LaFreniere listed anywhere, not even in the Snowflakes or in Waltz of the Flowers. I was surprised they didn't do any curtain calls in front of the curtain, but it makes complete sense. The families aren't there for the adult casts.

There are statistics on domestic abuse that might help this conversation. Of the women who are killed by domestic partners, this says 75% are killed when they try to leave. During a domestic assault court case, I heard testimony that the % is actually higher, in the 90% range. My main point is that speaking out against an abuser can be physically dangerous and fatal. Just something to keep in mind as people are wondering about the cost of speaking out. From http://www.domesticabuseshelter.org/infodomesticviolence.htm DOMESTIC VIOLENCE STATISTICS One out of every three women will be abused at some point in her life. Battering is the single major cause of injury to women, exceeding rapes, muggings and auto accidents combined. A woman is more likely to be killed by a male partner (or former partner) than any other person. About 4,000 women die each year due to domestic violence. Of the total domestic violence homicides, about 75% of the victims were killed as they attempted to leave the relationship or after the relationship had ended.

I know I'm late posting, but according to NYTimes several dancers have said that Martins created a culture where he had affairs with dancers and those dancers then got better roles. That would go against the "preclude a reporting relationship" part of Lincoln Center policy, and justify the investigation of sexual harrassment even if the affairs were consensual. Because NYT said several dancers, and because these were affairs they can't be talking about Darci Kistler getting better roles after marrying Martins. The implication is that he cheated on her, and the women he cheated on her with got better roles. Also, these are not anonymous reports, just people who don't want their names in the newspaper.

I'm not surprised they gave Roman Mejia a contract. He was fabulous in the sab workshop in Martins' Hallelujah Junction... jumps, beats, real pirotechnics. I'd never enjoyed the ballet before. He also danced a lot this Fall.

Considering their Instagrams usually show them jetting to all parts of the country (or world - last year Ashley Bouder and Andrew Veyette went to Italy) very accommodating. I mean it's a cash cow and only hardcore balletomanes will care about casting. It's indestructible. I agree. Was it last year Martins put 8 (or was it 20) corps dancers in as sugar Plum Fairy? He said in the NYTimes that he wanted the principals to be able to guest. Can't do that every year, I suppose.

Didn't Balanchine accept Valentina Kozlova into the company? It's not recent, but she was trained at the Bolshoi. There are so many excellent, beautifully trained women coming out of SAB each year, why would they need to look elsewhere? Also, I'm curious about the "pure SAB" comment. If a dancer believes in or adheres to the SAB/Balanchine technique and also studies with other teachers does that necessarily make them less SAB trained?

Judging from McKenzie's press release he wants to focus on newer ballet choreographers. The list above is lovely, but only Morris, Ratmansky and Tharp remain among the living, and Ratmansky is well represented this fall. For better or worse he's looking to the future. I don't think it has to do with "hip" or "happening." Perhaps he wants the dancers to be in a situation of creating ... not recreating.

Hi Everyone, I've been really enjoying this thread and your discussion of swan Lake convinced me to sign up. I'm not usually this negative, but here's a bit I wrote about the NYCB costume gala... I saw the NYCB costume gala program (not on the gala night). I thought Justin Peck's Pulcinella was very well crafted. It's great to see him tackling Stravinsky, classicism and tutu ballets. In my opinion, the costume gala is always a gamble. One example is Liam Scarlett's duet where the woman is so dwarfed by her costume that the real drama onstage is her fight with her gown. Why cover a ballerina's feet? The yards of ruffles defeated poor Gretchen Smith, while Tiler Peck, even though she's shorter, was able to wrestle the gown to a draw. I'm torn between hoping the costumes for Pulcinella go the way of Kurt Seligmann's costumes for The Four Temperaments (Google it if you've never seen them) and thinking that they might just grow on me. At least in Pulcinella you can see the bodies. I've enjoyed Troy Schumacher's choreography in the past. Someone here said there's a sense of community in the structure of his pieces. I agree. For me, Where the Wind Blows (is that the title?) suffers from the community concept. It leads to a lack of visual and spatial structure. The ballet has too many dancers who are too frequently arranged onstage in seemingly random patterns. I remember one beautiful passage where the dancers lined up lying on the floor like rows and rows of train tracks, reminiscent of Paul Taylor's Esplanade. Aside from that brief section I was usually annoyed that there wasn't any direction about where to look. I distracted myself by trying to count the number of different costumes, as they added to the visual disorder. Some dancers wore dresses, others wore long slacks, others bare legged tunics, others (still with me?) shorts with tights. Color block, stripes, solids, both matte and shimmery fabrics were used. It looked like an entire fall collection rather than the costumes for one ballet. The corps de ballet dancers, as always, were so skilled. I wish someone would help Mr Schumacher with his choices. I teach dance composition, there are assignments that can help him structure the stage space better. He also needs to give the costume designers better instructions. If everyone wore the same thing it could help. Lauren Lovette's Not Our Fate was a relief after that. Black and white costumes; all the men in black pants and white Ts, all the women in fitted black jackets with white skirts. The dancers flew across the stage in swoopy movement full of suspensions and unexpected stops on a dime. The relationships between them were clear, and the partnering for Taylor Stanley and Preston Chamblee's duets truly moving. I hope it stays in the repertory for a bit, it is worth future viewings. Lovette has guts and skill as a choreographer. The NY Times article about same sex partnering and gender neutral casting was well deserved. It's more than a gimmick. It looks modern and revolutionary, as if ballet is finally coming into this century. I thought Lovette's description of the process really astute. She was looking for a movement quality, Taylor had it so she cast him. She said, "So I put two men together. Suddenly, they could just be themselves." Doesn't the best art reveal an unexplored truth?

I saw the NYCB costume gala program (not on the gala night). I thought Justin Peck's Pulcinella was very well crafted. It's great to see him tackling Stravinsky, classicism and tutu ballets. In my opinion, the costume gala is always a gamble. One example is Liam Scarlett's duet where the woman is so dwarfed by her costume that the real drama onstage is her fight with her gown. Why cover a ballerina's feet? The yards of ruffles defeated poor Gretchen Smith, while Tiler Peck, even though she's shorter, was able to wrestle the gown to a draw. I'm torn between hoping the costumes for Pulcinella go the way of Kurt Seligmann's costumes for The Four Temperaments (Google it if you've never seen them) and thinking that they might just grow on me. At least in Pulcinella you can see the bodies. I've enjoyed Troy Schumacher's choreography in the past. Someone here said there's a sense of community in the structure of his pieces. I agree. For me, Where the Wind Blows (is that the title?) suffers from the community concept. It leads to a lack of visual and spatial structure. The ballet has too many dancers who are too frequently arranged onstage in seemingly random patterns. I remember one beautiful passage where the dancers lined up lying on the floor like rows and rows of train tracks, reminiscent of Paul Taylor's Esplanade. Aside from that brief section I was usually annoyed that there wasn't any direction about where to look. I distracted myself by trying to count the number of different costumes, as they added to the visual disorder. Some dancers wore dresses, others wore long slacks, others bare legged tunics, others (still with me?) shorts with tights. Color block, stripes, solids, both matte and shimmery fabrics were used. It looked like an entire fall collection rather than the costumes for one ballet. The corps de ballet dancers, as always, were so skilled. I wish someone would help Mr Schumacher with his choices. I teach dance composition, there are assignments that can help him structure the stage space better. He also needs to give the costume designers better instructions. If everyone wore the same thing it could help. Lauren Lovette's Not Our Fate was a relief after that. Black and white costumes; all the men in black pants and white Ts, all the women in fitted black jackets with white skirts. The dancers flew across the stage in swoopy movement full of suspensions and unexpected stops on a dime. The relationships between them were clear, and the partnering for Taylor Stanley and Preston Chamblee's duets truly moving. I hope it stays in the repertory for a bit, it is worth future viewings. Lovette has guts and skill as a choreographer. The NY Times article about same sex partnering and gender neutral casting was well deserved. It's more than a gimmick. It looks modern and revolutionary, as if ballet is finally coming into this century. I thought Lovette's description of the process really astute. She was looking for a movement quality, Taylor had it so she cast him. She said, "So I put two men together. Suddenly, they could just be themselves." Doesn't the best art reveal an unexplored truth? There's a slight risk Taylor and Preston might get pigeonholed with casting, but they both dance so beautifully that I don't really see that happening.

Hello Everyone I’ve been enjoying reading your posts (NYCB Fall 2017 mostly) and since I’m a big NYCB fan and go often I thought I’d join. I’m a dancer, I say that even though I don’t perform much anymore, but I had a satisfying performing career and now teach in fitness and the arts. I saw a lot of NYCB’s fall season. Loved Tiler Peck’s SL debut and I’m sure she’ll continue to grow in the role. I’m a huge fan of Unity Phelan. I first noticed her in the corps during a rehearsal (I donate) for Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto 2. The corps moves around so much I had a hard time asking who she was. Plus you’re not supposed to talk during the rehearsals. I’m also enjoying Indiana Woodward’s rise through the ranks. I was sad to see Rebecca Krohn retire, and remain absolutely bereft at Robbie Fairchild’s retirement from NYCB (though it seems right for HIM for both professional and personal reasons). What beautiful dancers in a company that’s positively bursting with talent. I’m planning to write more but it’s proving difficult on my phone. Ps LOVED the Swan Lake discussion!