BalanchineFan

On 8/12/2023 at 4:01 PM, cubanmiamiboy said:

I sort of like the idea that he's using a word many can't seem to accept as a reality: QUOTA.

If you're a minority in today's America, you SHOULD ask yourself if you're being part of a quota at your job place without being told you are.

Why would we do that? Would that imply anything about our worth?

3 hours ago, Papagena said:

Olivia Boisson - I hope she has a future as an Emeralds lead. She's been in the company a while though, so not sure what her trajectory will look like in the coming years. I still remember her 'prayer' variation in Coppelia from way back so fondly - absolutely lovely. 

Olivia Boisson didn't dance for a few seasons due to an injury, which must impact one's trajectory. She's only been back a year or two.

23 hours ago, cobweb said:

Emma von Enck not only stole the evening, she may have stolen the whole season! Like others above, a friend and I were sitting at intermission wondering what other big roles they can put her in. I see she's debuting 3rd movement of Symphony in C, MHO they should give her the first movement.

I find they often cast dancers in a hierarchy, like getting 3rd movement Bizet before first, or (in SB) doing Bluebird before the leads. I look forward to seeing Emma Von Enck in Symphony in C! I think she’ll be great and spritely with all those jumps. 
 

I’m also not surprised to hear that Isabelle LaFreniere was beautiful and expansive in Diamonds. Iirc, she was slated to debut the role with Zachary Catazaro (back when he was with NYCB). There’s an IG post with both of them in studio, in costume, somewhere. She’s a beautiful dancer and she’s been working on Diamonds for years. 

1 hour ago, FayBallet said:

Does anyone who went on Tuesday know which alum wearing pink was running to her seat after one of the intermissions (eliciting laughs from the audience)?

I’m so glad Janzen gets to retire with Diamonds. He and Sara made magic on Tuesday.

I thought the pink clad intermission lover was Marika Anderson. I don't have any confirmation, but I thought the woman looked and acted like her.

Also, Domenika Afanasenkov danced both Emeralds and Diamonds on Tuesday!

On 9/19/2023 at 11:42 PM, LadyCap said:

These IG stories from rehearsal and performance from the wings are wonderful! I want them to do this for every program! (And very interesting to see Ashley Bouder in rehearsal after all the discussion about her.)

Does anyone know, please: for Jewels, do many of the corps de ballet dance in more than one segment? Surely not all three?

A few dancers are in the corps of Emeralds and Diamonds. India Bradley often has that assignment. The corps in Diamonds tends to be taller dancers. 

11 hours ago, Papagena said:

I suppose there are no shortage of musicians in NYC able to fill in any empty spots - does anyone know how that works at nycb? 

I feel a bit shallow saying 'oh, phew' but I cannot imagine Jewels without a live orchestra. 

The orchestra is not on strike. They are playing for all performances.  The orchestra reached an agreement with management that lasts through the end of this fall season. They were demonstrating in front of the theater and a crew from Eyewitness News was there to cover it. 
 

The evening was really magnificent. Fabulous debits from Indiana Woodward and Tyler Angle in  Emeralds. Wendy said there were 250 alums there and they all came onstage for the final bow. In the front Suzanne Farrell was in a white jacket, next to Lourdes Lopez in a long red dress. Heather Watts in black with sensible shoes. 
Merrill Ashley led Patricia McBride who was helping Edward Villella. Suki Schorer and Kay Mazzo were also among those in the front. I saw Amar Ramasar, Nikolai Hubbe, Alexei Ratmansky , Darla Hoover and Christopher Wheeldon in the audience but I couldn’t name all 250!

If you pass by the theater before Oct 1, the slow motion films run beginning at 7 pm each night. 

6 hours ago, Puck said:

I believe Darla Hoover took a "buyout" and signed an NDA which is why no one knows why she is leaving. The treatment of Suzy Pilarre was horrifying. Anyone else think Stafford is a meglomaniac?

I do NOT think Stafford is a megalomaniac. Not at all. It’s a large school. I’m sure many different factors with staff come into play. IIRC, SAB’s statement said Hoover asked to leave. If you have information from another public facing source you should cite it. 
 

from upthread:

“SAB just sent out email that elaborates (slightly) on some of the staff changes discussed here. Of special note: Suzanne Farrell will be a visiting teacher!”

Chair of Faculty Darla Hoover informed us in August that she was stepping down from her position and ending her tenure on SAB’s faculty effective with the start of this Winter Term. We extend our sincere thanks to Darla for her leadership and wish her all the best in her next steps.

12 hours ago, bellawood said:

They still do "T. Peck" even though Justin retired at least five years ago, right? And T. Angle is still T. Angle. 

Maria Kowrowski returned to perform once after her retirement. So did Robert LaFosse (more then once!). Maybe, once you’re T. Peck, you’re always T. Peck. I suppose it’s not out of the question that Justin Peck might also set foot onstage again, in some role or another. 

57 minutes ago, pirouette said:

They're listed in her repertoire, but maybe she has stopped performing them? 

I don't see Stars & Stripes listed in her NYCB rep. Did I miss it? I've also googled "tiler peck" and tarantella and I only get results from Vail, but maybe I missed the NYCB performances, too.

19 hours ago, pirouette said:

I noticed that Tiler Peck is not casted at all for Week 2. I wonder if she's taking a break this season to be with family — she's been posting on Instagram regarding her dad's health issues. She's still on the Week 1 casting sheet, but I'm not sure if that will be updated.

There's not SO much in week 2 that I would consider to be in her regular rep: Agon, Slaughter, Bourree Fantasque, Western Symphony.

Does she usually dance Stars & Stripes or Tarantella?

15 hours ago, cobweb said:

Lots to look forward to in the new casting. I’m kind of surprised to see Christina Clark as the “tall girl” in Rubies. She is probably the tallest woman in the company right now, but I think of her as more languid, without the force needed for this role. Ashley Hod and Miriam Miller seem much more obvious candidates, as well as some others I would pick from the corps (MT MacKinnon, Corti). But wishing her well! I’ll be there and look forward to it. 

It’s not like Tall Girl has a lot of petit allegro. Christina Clark was so lovely in the Haieff, I’m glad she’s getting more roles. 

On 9/3/2023 at 11:26 PM, Quiggin said:

Justin Peck nicely switched a male/female solo role at Vail last year (can't remember specifically who for who). Drew and I may indeed be switching roles here, or I may be just contradicting myself.

 

Peck has cast The Times Are Racing without regards to gender. Both the tap "couple" and another couple in the piece (two roles) have been both same -sex coupled and cis coupled.

3 hours ago, Balletwannabe said:

As a parent of an SAB student I can say that we're all dumbfounded by how SAB chose to reference Pilarre's departure (the students loved her) when they had many nice things to say about Darla & Ware leaving.  This is the exact line about Pilarre, nothing more or less: "Susan Pilarre will not be returning to the faculty for the 2023-24 Winter Term"

What information did you get about Darla Hoover and Sheryl Ware leaving? I'm an SAB patron and I don't think I've been sent anything. Are they looking for a new person to replace Darla Hoover? I was looking forward to her tenure.

On 9/1/2023 at 2:58 PM, abatt said:

Agreed.  Tyler Angle's casting has become a real problem due to weight issues.  

 

I disagree. I also find it strange to assume so much personal preference goes into casting. I've run a dance company and sometimes you're just looking around for someone who can do the role that won't eat up all of your available rehearsal time. Or you have young women debuting the role who need a steady and experienced partner. Aren't we getting a lot of debuts this season?

I love Tyler Angle and I'm glad he's dancing with his bald head onstage whatever his weight!!!!!!!

On 9/3/2023 at 1:12 AM, On Pointe said:

There are not enough positions at NYCB for the many good dancers in the world who are not "larger".   If there was a  "massive untapped world of fantastic ballet dancers" out in the world,  they'd be all over YouTube.    Somebody somewhere would have seen them.   

People are finding dancers on YouTube, but not ballet companies. Beyonce found many of her dancers in her current tour from YouTube (ballet trained). Twyla Tharp cast a few young dancers for her City Center season (2022 or 2021 I believe) from YouTube. There were also dancers featured at Vail that Heather and Damian found on YouTube.

5 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

And Jonathan Stafford has taken on her title of "chief of faculty," it looks like? The fact that they eliminated an executive-level position and apparently laid off a long-time faculty member makes we wonder if, sadly, these are cost-saving measures. 

SAB still has the announcement that Darla Hoover was hired, though. I thought this would be her first full season heading things.
 

https://sab.org/school-of-american-ballet-appoints-new-leaders/

This is entirely speculation but Susan Pilarre doesn’t seem to be listed in SAB’s current faculty. Maybe I’m just missing her name, but she definitely taught there until last spring and would qualify as chosen by Balanchine. I hope she is well. 
 

https://sab.org/faculty/

https://m.facebook.com/SABNYC/videos/30-seconds-with-suzy-pilarre/3021531621416150/

17 hours ago, pirouette said:

Some more rehearsal footage on KJ Takahashi's Instagram story of him and Nadon in what I think is Bourree Fantasque.

Fabulous pairing for that ballet! I bet it's the first movement. Did he dance the first movement for SAB workshop? I think Savannah Durham did it, but there were two casts.

11 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

She has danced the first ballerina in Emeralds, though I think it's been a while. My hunch is that Bouder is winding down rather than staging a comeback. Though I can also imagine NYCB allowing her to hang on for a while dancing a much-reduced repertoire. 

I think it's a good role for her. Not too much jumping, IIRC.

On 8/27/2023 at 3:57 PM, matilda said:

Laracey has danced Polyhymnia. I think she debuted it only last year. Totally agree that LaFreniere could make a great Terpischore--Nadon and Miller too. Phelan debuted it last fall, I believe, and is likely to dance it again this year. 

Did Unity dance Apollo with Adrian? I know she’s done the ppd at Vail with Calvin Royal.

I’m also wondering who LaFreniere’s Apollo would be. Any clues, ideas or premonitions out there?

Jovani Furlan rehearsing Rubies with Emma Von Enck. So many casting nuggets going up on IG  

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwQLveAgoji/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

On 8/15/2023 at 11:11 PM, cobweb said:

If both Nadon and LaFreniere are now in Diamonds, does that mean they won't do the Tall Girl in Rubies? If so, that only leaves Kikta; they will need a new Tall Girl or two. 

I'm hoping Savannah Durham gets a go. I think she'd be a great Tall Girl.

15 hours ago, duffster said:

I performed the Glinka pas de trois with Marina Eglevsky and Fernando Bujones at the Brooklyn Academy of Music many years ago . We were dancing with the small Eglevsky company shortly after the Harkness folded. As I recall it had an entree, then a slow adagio with all three dancers, two variations for everyone, then the coda which finished with twelve brise vole, traveling on a diagonal downstage to finish. Quite tough to dance but very exciting and joyful. Andre(Eglevsky) rehearsed us and I can still remember how excited he was coaching Fernando, who was absolutely brilliant. It was a gift to perform this, and everytime I hear the music, it makes me smile.

There’s a short clip of Balanchine and Danilova rehearsing three dancers in a pas de trois in the film In Balanchine’s Classroom. The man is Bujones. I think Connie Hochman is one of the women. Now I wonder if they’re rehearsing this Glinka pas de Trois. 
 

also, thank you to all who posted links to the livestream from Vail. I particularly enjoyed Jeffrey Cirio in the new Kyle Abraham, If You Run, I Might Fall.  In and out of the floor like butter, and then triple pirouettes and gargouillades.  WATCH IT BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS!
 

It’s so nice to see K Abraham choreographing to Bach! I hope it turns into a study for a longer piece, it seems to just end when it could go on and on. 

On 7/28/2023 at 6:26 PM, FauxPas said:

If Gabe Stone Shayer was informed back in December that his contract was not being renewed, that puts his op-ed piece in the New York Times (during ABT's Summer Met Season) in a wholly different light.  

And his long blonde braids, too. 

1 hour ago, California said:

went to the opening weekend of Nutcracker at Segerstrom in 2015. (Was that the first year on the west coast?) At the afternoon dress rehearsal, Gorak apparently freaked out over the Cavalier role and there was a long wait for Whiteside to come out in practice clothes and finish the rehearsal.

I saw Whiteside twice this season. Once with Hurlin in SL and once with Murphy in R&J. I have to say that R&J really suits him. He and Murphy were great together. I love her in everything! There's a moment in the first act, after Juliet has been playing with the doll and her Nurse, where Murphy discovers that she has a bosom. So funny and touching.

Whiteside seems much more free as Romeo. Very full with his emotions, beautiful dancing! He turns and spins (which Romeo does more than Prince Siegfried, IIRC) and his jumps seemed easier and more assured. I also think the drama gives Whiteside more to sink his teeth into. 

In 1976 I saw Nureyev dance R&J at the Met. I can't remember if he was with Royal or a guest with ABT. Is this that same, exact production?

On 7/8/2023 at 10:16 PM, ABT Fan said:

I'll have to miss most of SL as I'll be out town, but looking forward to Saturday's performance. As always, I'll look forward to reading everyone's reviews throughout the week, for not just O/O and Siegfried but also VR and the peasant pas de trios, etc. Really wish I could see Hurlin's. 

Hurlin was amazing. I saw it last night. Fully realized, resplendent, gorgeous upper back and port de bras as both Odette and Odile, quite different in each role, technically assured. Whiteside looks good in the role, but I didn't feel there was a great connection between them. The corps de ballet is splendid, particularly in the white swan lakeside scenes.

Hurlin does the fouettés straightforwardly, musically and building to a climax. She had a fabulous balance as Odile, but mostly you just want to watch her when she's onstage. She seemed to be enjoying her power as Odile, which was great to see.