balletlover08

Brandt of course has her roles that seem like natural fits for her! Like Medora, Aurora (i do believe she will be great at that role!) but there were others like Giselle that people didn't think were natural for her. Well, look at how well her debut went! At the end of the day we just don't know how great these dancers can be at certain roles if they don't try! And even better for McKenzie, Brandt is using her own resources to seek outside coaching to learn these new roles. I think if she waited around for ABT  she probably wouldn't have gotten Giselle, might not get SL in the future etc. Mckenzie in particular seems to me like an AD that needs to be shown some proof before he will cast you (unless you are Misty, Seo etc). 

Another thought I had is that nowadays, social media is a real thing that affects ballerinas! Look at Misty, yeah her dancing is not up to par with the other principles in classical roles & she shouldn't be getting O/O's at all but she's there because of propaganda and clever usage of it. Khoreva is a young promising dancer herself but I'm sure without her social media followers wouldn't have advanced nearly so fast up the ranks. Social Media is now a big factor in this society and soon I think it will start to impact which ballerinas are "famous" if it hasn't already. 

And finally, she's just investing in her future using her own resources and there is NOTHING wrong with that! 

1 hour ago, LadyBubbles said:

"For fun", sure sure. We'll pretend we bought that line. Is Misty going to do another "pass the baton" post this spring?

 

 

I love sky but yeah because everyone spends $$ to rehearse swan lake(that she's never done b4) for fun! I would rather see Sky in Swan Lake than Misty though..so I'm okay with it. 

3 minutes ago, Lena C. said:

Just saw that Skylar Brandt is learning Swan Lake with coaches Irina and Max. In her words, "for fun." I wouldn't be surprised if Brandt is the new Copeland Swan Lake understudy. 

Exactly what I was thinking! I guess it makes sense since Copeland is paired with Cornejo right? I thought Skylar did great for her first few times running through it! I'm sure she will be great if she gets the chance! 

I saw on Skylar's last instagram post with Aran Bell that she is hoping to perform Giselle in DC next year...so hopefully that is true and we will get to see her debut in it next year! 

I actually messaged Skylar about posting the Giselle videos to her story which she replied immediately being like GREAT idea. She's such a sweet and talented ballerina I hope to see her as Giselle one day! 

So is stella not getting sleeping beauty this year? I didn't see her on the list but I wasn't sure. 

On 10/5/2018 at 10:18 AM, ABT Fan said:

Realizing that this list is only a prediction, still, I can imagine some principal-level movement with these ballets.

If, and I'm not wishing it, Murphy and/or Abrera are going to retire this year, it would make sense for Murphy to go out with SL (one of her signature roles). And, I could see Abrera going out with SB (though Giselle is more likely I think...).

And, Brandt/Trenary could be set up nicely with a slew of principal roles/debuts foreshadowing their promotions (would need Abrera/Murphy to retire to make room, though):

We all remember the very-last-minute and extraordinary debut that Brandt gave in Corsaire a few years ago. So she would of course dance Medora again, along with Columbine and Princess Praline. And, maybe she'd get a debut as Aurora.

Trenary, who got rave reviews for her Aurora, would reprise that role along with Columbine and Princess Praline as well. Perhaps she'd get a debut as Medora or Gulnare (preferably).

And, I want to see Lane get an O/O this year (with appropriate rehearsal time this go around), though I'm sure that's just very wishful thinking since she didn't get it this past season.

For the guys, I suspect we'll see more big debuts for Bell. I could see SB.

Hoping for a major role for Forster. I'd have preferred Albrecht, but I'll take Siegfried.

I'd also like to see a big debut for Royal. Looking at his rep, I guess he hasn't taken any of the leads in Corsaire. How about Conrad (which I thought he'd done) or Lankendem. And, would love a SL with Hurlin some day (ongoing wish list).

I wonder if Shayer will get Harlequin again, since Maloney is doing it on tour instead of him. He better be promoted this year, otherwise he should leave, IMO.

I see Stella retiring before Gillian, and even then she might want to stay on a few more years since she had such a short time as principal. Unless of course, McKenzie treats her the same way as Part. Gillian, still has fabulous technique and barring injury I think she could dance for a few more years(have you seen her insane turn videos on instagram?). I can see her start to retire certain roles or perform less in a season but for now I don't think she has any intention of retiring.

Though, I would love to see Brandt and Trenary get promoted soon! Brandt is just electric and I would love to see her as Medora, Aurora, Kitri! 

4 hours ago, vipa said:

I agree that it's a new low for Lane. It makes it seem possible that she won't be renewed after the Met season. Over the last two Met seasons she's given outstanding performances of Giselle, a mixed but basically good SL on short notice, and had good to excellent premiere performances in Harlequinade, Bayadere and Don Q. She had a pretty big mess up as a Shade in Bayadere but Hee Seo and Misty Copeland have had many, many mess-ups. I just don't see the AD keeping her on much longer unless.

But didn't he literally JUST promote her to principle 2 seasons ago? Like why promote her if you don't want to cast her in anything? But maybe Lane will leave instead...if I'm Lane I would leave. 

I hope I'm allowed to post videos in here! But here are two videos I found of Zakahrova-Rodkin and Kovaleva-Tissi. Please keep discussions about the video civil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6JRIjwydjg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWuoyM4OD-o

9 hours ago, Birdsall said:

Last night Kovalyova, Tissi, and Kretova thrilled the crowd, and the audience didn’t seem to want them to leave. Tissi, of course, was beloved, but it also felt like I was watching a star being born for Kovalyova! Kretova too! It was like watching 3 stars being born!

I actually saw Kovalyova’s debut via a private video and thought she was too young and inexperienced for Nikiya...I was actually disappointed when I watched the video, but last night she impressed me, so I assume she’s been working on the role. Where she was weak in her debut seeming to barely act when the High Brahmin accosted her, she was more emphatic in her rejection last night. However, she looks to me to be a sweet and gentle soul where anger or rejecting someone comes harder than for someone like Zakharova. She has the flowing Vaganova arms that I love, and all night she seemed like a woman in love. Her turns with the scarf looked more assured than Zakharova’s! 

But the biggest thing that made me love this performance was that all three main characters seemed fresh, young, alive, and the dancers looked like they LOVED what they were doing at every moment.

Kretova’s acting was outstanding. She looked desperate when she thought she might lose Solor, and she was very imperious and angry after the cat fight bringing her fist down powerfully. After the snake bite and Nikiya accuses her she looked scared. Technically I found no fault either. Her Italian fouettés and regular fouettés were great! 

Tissi was hard not to love. I am sure part of the excitement in the theatre was due to his being Italian. However, he delivered and added so many little balances or poses that were beautiful and expressive of the moment. It was like he wanted so much to give the most to the performance. His first solo, however, had a slight jerkiness to it, as he prepared to jump, but all other moments were gorgeous. His cambres in the first act as Nikiya circles around him were deep and beautiful.

Basically, this was the performance I thought I would like the least, but it ended up knocking my socks off! Everyone was “on” and you truly believed in the plight of these young people! 

It is so rare for all the main dancers to be so exciting.

Glad you enjoyed it! I've been following along on instagram trying to see videos and there are some videos on insta stories and posts that I have downloaded. If anyone wants to see it feel free to PM me! Also, Carla Fracci and miuccia prada and other fashion designers were also in attendance last night which is pretty cool!

From what I have seen on social media, it seems that Tissi and Alena have grown closer over this last year. They often hang out together (via insta stories) and his family often comments on her instagram which leads me to think they are actively trying to build a relationship which can only be good for us ballet viewers! Since, Kovalyova is so tall her partners are quite limited so a good relationship with Tissi is important I think! 

I think for Tissi, it was special for him because he's from Italy, this was where he danced until he came to the Bolshoi so it was a homecoming of sorts for him so I'm sure it was very emotional for him. In the clips I've seen, he looks better here than he did in their debut! 

Also, do you still have a way to view her debut? I would love to see it to compare it to the little tidbits from this time to see the improvement you speak of. Thanks! 

I see on Instagram (Grishkoworld posted) & on the official Bolshoi website that Alyona has been promoted to first soloist & Jacopo Tissi to Leading soloist! Congrats to both ❤️ . 

I'm pretty sure Alyona has been promoted because she was a soloist last year correct?  

1 hour ago, Inge said:

I have a feeling they are keeping Shevchenko in the wings (metaphorically speaking) tomorrow just in case. But I think it's fine. If social media is any indication, Murphy seems excited to dance Swan Lake. 

For Don Q, they would definitely give Shevchenko one of Murphy's shows if doesn't feel up to the role. The second slot would probably go to Seo, but I also wouldn't be surprised if Brandt has been learning Kitri as well. Then again it is ABT. They're pretty bad at being prepared (see: the infamous three Sylvias incident in 2016). 

I follow Brandt on instagram, and her latest story today had the caption "When Basillio shows off for kitri" and she was sitting off to the side. It seems like she is at least understudying Kitri? (Does she not have a performance of Kitri?) Also, if you guys follow Sarah Lane she just posted videos on her story of her rehearsing Don Q! 

Did anyone get a chance to see Gillian Murphy's Juliet?  I know is the past that hasn't been one of her "signature" roles but i was wondering if it maybe got better this year? 

http://melmoth.blog/post/173892865283/there-was-an-interview-posted-by-телеканал#notes Here's a translation since it seems most of us can't understand Russian! 

On 5/8/2018 at 8:30 PM, Buddy said:

I found this interview of Alena where she speaks about her time at the Bolshoi. I don't speak Russian but if you do it might be a nice interview to watch. Her part starts at around 37 minutes. 

 

At least on the subject of Diamonds I feel that Alyona was ready. She performed Diamonds in NYC in front of critics who are well versed in Balachine and most called her sensational and wrote rave reviews about her performance. They even elevated her above the NYCB principals who also performed that night. 

I thought with Swan Lake, I highly enjoyed her Odette but agreed that her Odile needs more work to be more convincing! But again, that is something that comes with age. She might be too young now to fully embrace the Odile role imho. Also, yes I did see some technical mishaps such as the famous fouettes in black swan. They were not done extremely confident but passable in my opinion. I hope she works on that step quite a bit before performing next as I'm sure her great height is a challenge in fouettes. 

With La Bayadere, I quite like what she portrayed and I thought she did a good job emoting. On the subject of emotional portrayal, I do not come from a ballet background but instead from a classical music background. In my honest opinion, as long as the dancer seriously discusses with herself on the portrayal and commits I am happy. What I mean by that is, there are a thousand ways to interpret a piece or role so as long as serious effort was made to portray an appropriate emotion. 

I would love other people's thoughts on above! I am a big fan of Alyona, I generally follow more NYCB, ABT dancers since I live in America but I saw her post on some random ballet instagram and immediately had to look her up. Once I did, I fell in love with her dancing!