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I saw the film on Netflix recently. I love the footage of Albert Evans. It's obvious he was loved for being a nurturing advocate for dancers as well as peace-maker. Even more touching was his brief cameo in "Restless Creatures" when he runs down the hallway to greet Wendy, tears streaming down his cheeks. I can't help but think that Albert Evans would have been great to run the interim team at NYCB if he was still alive.

This instagram post indicates she's still on the DL list: In the comments section: lainehabonyGonna miss you out there!! lexi_maxwell@lainehabony I know!!! I miss it too!!!!! blondi_yogi❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ jptynycI concur

Hi laurel thanks for this review! What you point out about Ratmansky's Nutcracker (that the dark, melancholy undertones have disappeared) I've noticed happen to several of his ballets over time. For instance when Odessa premiered I recall being shocked at the violent and fractious relationships depicted onstage. When I saw it again this fall the darkness was very nearly gone and it seemed just more like romantic musical chairs. I also saw earlier versions of Ratmansky's Cinderella for the Mariinsky that were rather dark and then I saw the Mariinsky do it in 2015 and besides the industrial set the edge was almost all gone and it became, for better or worse, just another Cinderella story. Since he personally supervises as many revivals as possible and retains tight control over casting I assume these changes in accents and tone are also his choice.

The NYTimes posted this video of one of the Nutcracker Princes doing the famous mime:

Uh not making excuses for the board but it really was a different time back then. When Nicole Simpson was murdered after many years of an abusive relationship/marriage, it came out in the wash that the police were well aware of OJ's violent tendencies and had gotten calls to the house a number of times. I remember my hair curling listening to one of Nicole's 911 calls as you heard OJ screaming in the background. But his lawyers were still able to convince 12 jurors that the domestic violence and pattern of abuse didn't mean he killed her because it was a "private matter." Today I think police are much more pro-active about arresting abusers if they're called to the home, and some states have laws that require charges to be pressed even if the victim declines to cooperate. If anything, the #metoo movement has shown that times have changed and what was considered tolerable is not considered tolerable anymore. Harvey Weinstein, Bill O'Reilly, Charlie Rose, Roy Moore, James Levine, Larry Nassar (the USAGymnastics doctor), Kevin Spacey, and others brought down by #metoo charges had been behaving this way for decades. It's only now that people feel empowered enough to speak out.

She was one of the flowers last night. But I think she's coming back from a bad injury because last year she was set to make her debut in Firebird and had to withdraw and didn't dance the spring or fall season.

Also the company just several new soloists (Gerrity, Woodward, Phelan) and two new male principals (Janzen and Catazaro) and they have to be given their slot of roles.

There have been a few. Indiana Woodward, Claire Kretzschmar and Miriam Miller are making their Dewdrop debuts. Roman Mejia just got accepted into the corps and is dancing Tea. Some Coffee debuts too.

Well amid all the turmoil I did see 6 separate Nutcracker casts and my thoughts are here: http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2017/12/nutcracker-season-sweets-amid-turmoil.html

I think the most damaging part of the NYTimes story is the story of the Nutcracker rehearsal. Other than the fact that being so rough with little kids is horrible*, part of it has to do with branding. The NYCB aggressively markets their Nutcracker as the whole family experience, and uses as a selling point all those adorable SAB kids who year after year are just too cute for words. They CANNOT afford to lose that image as Nutcracker is their big cash cow. So from that corporate perspective, Martins has to go. *I mean I think he should go because physical abuse, especially repeated patterns of abuse, should be grounds for dismissal. But from a marketing perspective it's a nightmare too.

I'm speechless. If this involves a dancer still within the company that IMO Martins is done and might explain why the leave of absence was so sudden as was the installation of the new team. Not all of Morgan's video was wise but the fact that she says that these four people have calm, nurturing temperaments IMO says a lot. Clearly the board is working to fix this ASAP and that means a new team where not one person has all the control and four people all are known as calm , stabilizing influences.

Moved from another thread: Hmm I've seen Mearns in Dewdrop and other roles and I definitely think that after her big injury a couple of years ago jumps became more of an issue with her and so I could see her having the role retired for her (whether it was her choice or not is unclear). But Mearns has carved out such a big part of the repertoire for herself anyway. I saw her as Sugarplum Fairy this year and while it had some of the extravagant mannerisms she definitely had a majesty and grandeur that was very special. In other news, anyone noticed how Bouder has been cast as Dewdrop a bunch but no longer as SPF this season?

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/arts/pennsylvania-ballet-christmas-magic-nutcracker-balanchine-philadelphia-20171210.html This article mentions that "Also, DiPiazza and Hussey danced slightly different steps in part of the Sugar Plum pas de deux (Balanchine encouraged changes that worked for each dancer)." Anyone know what those "different steps" were?

While we are on gargouillades I don't feel they are essential for T&V because it's only in the version he set for Kirkland. I think they ARE essential for Square Dance though, as in the original version the caller even says "have your feet go wickety whack."

I just checked the Balanchine Bible (Repertory in Review) and the gargouillades were specifically added for Kirkland who of course had amazing elevation and jumps.

She's put up part 3:

There's a video of Merrill Ashley and Sean Lavery doing T&V on YT and they were both certainly coached by Balanchine and Merrill doesn't do the gargouillades.

Brittany Pollack is taking a leave of absence soon to do Carousel on B'way. So in the short term ... not much.

Veronika Part has put up two videos on Instagram of her dancing to Sara Bareilles' "She Used to be Mine."

Lots of people might have wanted to sleep with him, but that doesn't the people he coerced or threatened in a quid pro quo relationship wanted to sleep with him. (If that is indeed what happened -- right now the details of the case and allegations are not very clear.) I also don't see what his physical appearance has to do with anything. Ted Bundy was a good-looking guy.

Hmm well some versions do not have the gargouillades in the choreography (Balanchine for instance). And I have seen some ballerinas do them but so poorly that I wish there had been a substituted step. For instance Lauren Cuthbertson's attempt at the gargouillades is so sluggish and off the music that I wish she had gone for pas de chat.

In a way NYCB is "lucky" that it is a very strong institution right now. It is financially solvent, has a widening fanbase, and a number of excellent modern choreographers like Ratmansky willing to choreograph for the company. It's not like the old days when after Balanchine's death there was uncertainty and inconsistency of the performances. In other words, NYCB can survive the loss of Peter Martins.

I was at tonight's performance. It was actually a tense, rather joyless performance. Indiana Woodward in particular looked nervous and constrained which is unusual. She's usually so energetic and bubbly. Understandable but for the first time I felt like the dancers were just getting through the ballet. There are exceptions: Tess's Dewdrop was gorgeous, Emily Kikta's Coffee continues to amaze and she still is the only one I've seen in so long to do those bent leg pirouettes in the finale, and the Marie and Prince (Maria Kashvili and Tenzin Niles) were a sadder, more soulful pairing than the other Marie/Prince.

I was at the performance last night and I agree that there were some mishaps (perhaps most shocking was Tiler slipping and actually falling off pointe). But I thought that overall the performance level was still high -- Harrison Coll as Candy Cane, Sterling Hyltin and Andrew Veyette as SPF and Cavalier, and the dancing of the SAB students was wonderful. The lowlight for me was the Tea variation. It's been this way all season -- this is my 4th Nutcracker.