BalanchineFan

I can’t imagine the orchestra would agree to that. Nor their union.

Do they announce it at the beginning of the season? See the Music is certainly on the schedule by the time casting is announced. That's enough time to exchange your tickets, if that is of interest.

They could definitely let people know earlier. At a certain point they know when they’re going to schedule See the Music. NYCB used to have more programs run by docents and volunteers. They would do 4th Ring talks during intermissions and talks before certain performances. I seem to remember they got rid of the staff person who ran these programs during the pandemic. Not sure they replaced them.

They should rethink that, if time is the issue. Just my opinion. A few hours in the studio and try someone else. They had a week. Also, Merrill Ashley is pretty tall. Height should not be an impediment to Isabelle LaFreniere dancing Square Dance at some point.

I'm sad to hear people don't enjoy See the Music. I loved Andrew Litton and his talk about Stravinsky. Most orchestras only play 4 Stravinsky works (Firebird, L'Histoire du Soldat, Petrushka, Sacre du Printemps ) while NYCB has, IIRC, 37 Stravinsky pieces in regular repertory and, has performed 61 ballets to his music in company history. People know the breadth of Stravinsky's work largely because Balanchine choreographed it! He said Symphony in Three Movements requires a lot of orchestra rehearsal and that orchestras can't spend that much time rehearsing a piece that is an "opener." We probably hear more Stravinsky than anywhere else. I also remember Litton's See the Music on Midsummer. They played the musical themes for different characters. Was See the Music focused on the Debussy or on another piece of music?

I think it's Wheeldon's work on An American in Paris that they're hoping will help in NYC. It's similar in the film-adapted-into-ballet genre, even though it also has singing and a spoken narrative.

There was a week's notice for some of the Square Dance performances. Too bad they didn't have at least one additional woman performing Square Dance. I wonder who the third cast would have been. Glad to hear reports of Emily KIkta. I'm looking forward to seeing her this season.

IMO, Orpheus would benefit from coaching from some of the original dancers (if any are still living), or people who danced it under Balanchine. I remember it being shocking (particularly Eurydice's death) twenty or thirty years ago, and it has seemed much less so in recent years. Of course, I've also changed. Perhaps I'm not as shockable.

Bourree Fantasque is a ballet in several movements. One movement was choreographed on Tanaquil LeClerq and Jerome Robbins and has a lot of "tall woman, short man" jokes in the partnering that are quite funny. SAB did the ballet in full several years ago. It may be an opportunity for dancers like Emily Kikta and Isabella LaFreniere as they can be partnered by any shorter man.

I am really looking forward to Sunday!! NYCB has been giving lots of dancers debuts during their farewells and farewell seasons. Lauren Lovett debuted in After the Rain. Sterling Hyltin debuted in Vienna Waltzes shortly before her farewell. Wendy Whelan and Maria Kowrowski had new ballets made for them. It's counterintuitive programming but makes for a very exciting last performance.

Me too. If there were paper slips they must have had a bit of lead time. I’m thinking it probably wasn’t a last minute injury.

It doesn’t bother me when dancers slip, fall or fall off pointe. A performance is so much more than that. If someone is dancing well or dancing fully and has a mishap I find it’s easy to get (or stay) absorbed in the ballet. Bore me, however, and it’s a totally different story. I much prefer daring and accident prone to safe and dull. There are entire companies I avoid because they’re safe and dull.

I agree with this. Homans shows us Balanchine's drawings of himself as a mouse and different women (was it LeClerq or Zorina or both?) as the cat. In a weird way, it seemed that Balanchine was bringing it up. Small, private, a craftsman and ballet master rather than an Artistic Director. I thought she leaned on the "cloud in trousers" metaphor much more. One thing I loved about the book, which I hadn't considered, even with all the other Balanchine material I've read, is Homans' idea that he swallowed up dying cultures right before their demise, and got out before they fell. Russia and the Russian Imperial School - he left before Stalin cracked down and made that impossible. Berlin at the height of the Weimar era - she goes through many artistic influences there. Paris in the late 1920's and early 1930's and again, by the time Nazi-ism came to the fore to end that golden era Balanchine was in NYC. It was a great device to place him in the twentieth century and show how the major events of the century shaped his life and career. It's so enlightening to read multiple accounts of the same events. One can evaluate the accounts against each other and (hopefully) get a more nuanced, fuller picture of the events.

Emilie Gerrity's picture DEFINITELY needs an update. She's a beautiful woman and it doesn't even look much like her. You'd never recognize her onstage after seeing it. She needs a picture with her hair off her face. I saw Sara Mearns' return in Concerto Barocco. So good to see her back. She did seem a touch tight in the beginning. I thought it could be nerves, her past injury, or the fact that she'd done the other role (for years) and was fighting her muscle memory with that music. She was so glorious in the ppd! I was also reminded why I was so in favor of Isabelle LaFreniere's promotion. She wants to move. You can see her enthusiasm for the movement from the audience, she revels in it, and dances big all the time. Full, daring phrasing, space devouring, all lovely lines and positions. I see new things in Kammermusik every time. I don't think I remembered the two ppd at all, though I've seen the ballet numerous times. The juxtaposition with Concerto Barocco was lovely. Both have a corps of eight, as @vipa noted upthread. Balanchine does such phenomenal things arranging the corps on stage, each ballet completely different. Barocco is like turning a kaleidescope. Kammermusik is more organic with the men in a tangle at times, holding hands with each other and stepping over the clasped hands. Emilie Gerrity and Mira Nadon were great foils to each other. In some ways their dance in canon with each other was more significant than with their male partners. Raymonda was lovely. Tiler Peck must have nerves of steel because I've seen her in a number of role debuts and it never, never shows. She is commanding, musical, at ease, playing with her phrasing and with her partner. You'd think she'd been doing this ballet for years. I thought the women's variations all went well. They are pretty and tricky. (The Marnee Morris solo seems like the dancer is knitting a sweater with her legs... in a gorgeous dancing kind of way. It's the piqués, passé, tight sousus and en dedans turns at unexpected moments) I particularly liked Malory Lundgren, partly because she wasn't too smiley. She let her legs (and body) do the talking and left the audience to marvel without telling them what to feel. Joseph Gordon was beautiful, plush jumps and turns, lovely bearing. I love him in these roles. It was a fantastic night back at the ballet.

I would advise new ballet goers to choose programs based on the music they enjoy. Still, you can hardly beat the following programs Balanchine IV: Concerto Barocco, Prodigal Son, Symphony in C Balanchine V: Serenade, Orpheus, Theme & Variation Balanchine III: Apollo, La Sonambula, Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto #2

In Merrill Ashley’s book she goes through the rehearsal process and her injury shortly before the premiere.

Thank you. I"m glad to hear how it worked for you. Fingers crossed.

I"m a subscriber. I clicked on "Renew" in order to see what was in my subscription (It's like 12 performances). Then there's a countdown clock saying that if I don't purchase in 18 minutes my seats will be released. Is this correct? I've had those seats for YEARS! It's a huge outlay of money and I usually have months to figure out exactly which subscriptions I'm going to purchase. Has anyone else had this issue? Is the time clock just some weird left over feature that doesn't apply to subscriptions? (I'm hoping)

You are triggering my own memories! They danced Square Dance the very first time I saw NYCB as well, back in 1979 or so. Merrill Ashley was the lead and she was amazing. I believe Balanchine remounted the ballet for her. She has said in interviews that it felt like he was choreographing it on her, on her body. I was hooked.

I agree wholeheartedly! I find it sad to see a highly trained 17 year old stepping into B plus and proclaiming in mime "I am a peasant, here is my harvest." It's not on any schedule, just my imagination.

Ooh, Spring 2024 maybe we'll get Indiana Woodward and Emma Von Enck in Coppelia! Soubrette central.

New promo for spring.

Hi @vipa could you talk more about your take on Homan’s treatment of von Aroldingen? I just finished the book. I didn’t find it unsympathetic, just interesting to hear how people configure their lives.

Olivia Bell was invited to Vail (and performed there) as an apprentice. That may be a sign of her “up and comer” status. Bell also has more followers on IG than Mira Nadon (who doesn’t have that many; 6k). She was part of “Rising Stars” at Kaatsbaan while at SAB. I guess WWD is repeating the name. Stafford’s comments about “energy” reminded me of my own experience in rehearsal. There are people that lift everyone up with their dancing, their attitude and their energy (for lack of another word). They make other people want to dance better, they understand what the choreographer is going for, they further the creative process in the studio. You want them around. Different people describe it differently. Of course technique is important, but IMO, they all have that. Or could demonstrate it on a given day. Do they elevate those around them? Do they still do it 5 minutes before the end of a 12 hour rehearsal day? also: @matilda mentions three big hits with sold out houses and huge social media presence in 6 months. ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!

I also loved LaFreniere in the Sunday performance of SB (her 2nd one). She was assured and radiant. I loved her Danses a Grande Vitesse (a previous season, fall? spring?). Commanding. She had such enthusiasm for the movement and dove into the partnering and the lifts. So musical. For all the doubters, the people promoting have watched these dancers day in and day out. Seen what they could do in rehearsal, seen how they work back from injuries (or what they are capable of right before an injury). Sometimes I think the audience sees dancers at their worst (in performance). Of course performers have a responsibility to deliver in performance, but if you've seen someone killing it in rehearsal (and class) A LOT you can be excited at the prospect that they'll pull it together onstage. Especially if you are impressed with their preparation and mindset. In NYCB, imo, 80% of the dancers have soloist level skill. Though I may disagree at times, I'm not sure they can make REALLY bad promotions. *Also, looking forward to news of Kikta's a debut in Kammermusik. I wrote earlier that she needed a few more Balanchine roles under her belt. Neither she nor Miriam Miller have been forgotten.