canbelto

That could explain why she's not dancing with ABT in the fall. But I hope she does NOT end up on tour. We don't need to see her Giselle and Don Q again especially if we see it like every year with the ABT.

Jeez you wonder if this tour will happen at all. Another change: Altynai Asylmuratova is no listed as part of the company, either.

Shapran is a top Vaganova graduate. She was considered the other star to graduate alongside Olga Smirnova.

I also think the requirements for male dancing have changed a lot since Petipa's time. The cavalier roles like Siegfried, Prince Florimund, or Solor were meant to be just that -- cavaliers. For instance in the reconstruction of Raymonda Jean de Brienne doesn't get a variation. Anna Pavlova danced Nikya with a Solor who was 60 years old -- Pavel Gerdt. Now maybe he was a very spry 60 year old, but it's safe to say he didn't dance the double assemble variation that was later inserted. Nowadays audience expectations for the cavalier roles are much different.

Glad you enjoyed it. Would be curious to see what you think of his dish on Suzanne Farrell. When I read it I was like ... wow. The estrangement Farrell continues to have with the NYCB alumni is depressing.

Whelan has had numerous injuries that have taken her out for long periods of time. I'd love to see her dance more but I don't think it's possible.

According to an interview with Guillem many years ago she said she does not want to be filmed dancing live.

Maybe I'm acting like a fuddy duddy but I really don't think Guillem's outfit was in any way appropriate for the occasion.

Guillem just walked out during the final curtain call -- in a loose lime green blouse, black capri leggings, and white sneakers. There wasn't the traditional bouquet presentation by other etoiles, and blink and you missed Clairemarie Osta and their kids. In fact overall I thought the farewell was a bit cold and lacking in feeling. I thought for a farewell program it was kind of fluffy and lacking in substance. I liked Le Jeunne Homme de Mort but Bolero's so overdone and cheesy. And the earlier excerpts were really short.

I just watched this. I am stunned Sylvie Guillem showed up to the farewell in black workout leggings and white sneakers.

I'll add that Cory Stearns remains a very frustrating dancer. He has beautiful lines, great posture, etc. etc. but just can't project beyond the footlights. His face is either just not a stage face, or he hasn't figured out a combo of makeup/acting that will project beyond the footlights. It hurts that he dances in the Met, where many seats are so far away. As of now he remains like a complete cavalier type dancer: solid, good partner, but nothing acting-wise. It really makes me miss Angel Corella and how he used to jump onstage and beam and the last row of the family circle could see it.

Per the instagrams of several ABT dancers, it appears as if Jared Matthews and Yuriko Kajiya recently got engaged. So congrats to the happy couple in the new phase of their careers.

I've had fairly good luck with Osipova, but one thing I learned about her ABT performances was to catch her early in the season. Her big cancellations have usually come towards the end of a season. There was one season she was scheduled for a SB, then she was supposed to fly to London for a R&J, then immediately back to aBT for a SB. She lost her visa or something but really, it was an insanely tight schedule, and she didn't show up for the SB. Then last season she cancelled some Sylvia's, also towards the end of the season. I caught her earlier in the season.

Wendy Whelan posted a beautiful photo on her Instagram too. It sounded like a nice send off.

I saw this afternoon's performance. I thought The Dream had a spectacular performance from Herman Cornejo. However Gillian looked a little more tentative than she usually does, and Cory Stearns is so frustrating. He has such a beautiful line and is a decent partner. However, he just doesn't project anything across the footlights. He doesn't have a stage face at all, and it's like seeing a completely blank slate onstage. Blaine Hoven was pretty funny as Bottom. I think Ashton's choreography is a little empty compared to Balanchine's. I always miss the flurry of SAB kids Balanchine so expertly used in his MSND, as well as the Titania/Bottom pas de deux. This was my first time seeing The Tempest. I think the piece works if you think of it like a mood piece, and not a straight adaptation of the play. I agree the music isn't really suited for dancing. More like a tone poem. However I did think that Ratmansky choreographs to the strengths of the company. For instance the lack of uniform training is less obvious when they dance a piece like The Tempest. He used Marcelo's amazing partnering skills to creative effects -- like him partnering Ariel and other men. I can't imagine a role more suited for Danil Simkin than Ariel. Ratmansky really capitalized on his androgynous, feline physique and dancing style. And the roles of Miranda and Ferdinand are the types that the primas at ABT won't dance, but they are great opportunities for the underutilized soloist/corps. I did think the storyline with Prospero's kinsmen was hard to follow and the piece does seem a little empty but Ratmansky does win brownie points for carefully considering the ABT dancers' individual strengths.

Per Danil Simkin's public instagram, Isabella Bolyston was promoted to principal, and Devon Teuscher, Joseph Gorak, Christine Shevchenko, and Roman Zhurbin to soloists.

The Durante/Solymosi/Dowell version has some of the same choreography but a very different production. The aesthetic was not to everyone's taste and I believe it was junked soon thereafter.

The Royal Ballet's DVD with Alina Cojocaru and Frederico Bonelli is excellent and the RB Sleeping Beauty considered to be a gold standard in terms of mime and authenticity of notation and steps.

I find all of this distasteful. If Stella wants to find a sponsor, she can find one. But to suggest to her (even indirectly, or on the boards, which I think we know dancers read) that she should find a sponsor and then she can get more roles that way is distasteful. It's frankly none of our business, and I find the whole idea of "sponsorship" somewhat sinister. It goes back to the bad bad old days when ballerinas felt they needed a wealthy patron to "support" them and there's all sorts of unsavory stories about what being "sponsored" meant. Mathilde Kschessinskaya was "sponsored" by the Czar. Anyway, Stella's dancing is strong enough on its own terms that she doesn't/shouldn't need a sponsor.

Ooh, anyone want to take a guess at who this can be? The list is pretty narrow ...

Zhongying Fang just posted on her public instagram that Nicola Curry will be departing the ABT after this final performance of Swan Lake. The corps de ballet departures continue.

I also don't see why PR has to be danced by another "princely" type. The solo is IMO perfect for shorter, demi-character dancers. They can adjust the cape or whatever. But no reason why Arron Scott or Luis Ribagorda can't dance PR. As it stands they are casting PR with dancers who can fill in as Siegfried (Hammoudi, Whiteside, Matthews). Also this kind of last minute casting changes/overdancing is just going to leave principals more vulnerable to injury.

ABT is like really stubborn about not dropping the PR solo, and also really stubborn that PR has to be danced by "stars." I mean it was still insisting a couple weeks ago that Marcelo Gomes dance PR. I agree that since PR is a short part, it would make more sense to give it to an up-and-coming corps member who could learn it quickly (Luis Ribagorda, for example) and then let the "star" PR's dance the more important role of Siegfried. But that would be breaking this very odd pecking order/totem pole thing that Kevin McKenzie seems to have in place which isn't really understood by anyone except for, well, Kevin McKenzie.

The ABT's Swan Lake casting problems are compounded by the Purple Rothbart issue. The production was designed at a time when the ABT had so many strong male principals that they felt the need to give Purple Rothbart a showy if unnecessary solo. Now they barely have enough dancers to fill in for Siegfried, and they still have to cast Purple Rothbart, so people who in a more traditional SL could have just been slotted into Siegfried (Jared Matthews, James Whiteside) have to dance PR. My how times have changed. ETA: Alina Cojocaru danced with Carreno and Corella. Both retired.

Well here's the thing. Robbins' homosexuality wasn't a state secret in the 1950's. In fact, Ed Sullivan used it to blackmail him into giving testimony for the HUAC. So it's not as if Tanny wouldn't have known about it, and the fact that she knew and was willing to have a close friendship with him says a lot about her personally, way more than simply presenting a love triangle. And actually, it says a lot about Balanchine too.