canbelto

2 hours ago, cobweb said:

I could nitpick one or two of the choices, but overall this is great news. I notice they are going tall. Kikta and Miller are two of the tallest women in the company, LaFreniere and Hod aren't far behind, and Nadon is on the taller side of medium. Only von Enck is bringing up the short side. I too would love to see Kristen Segin in there! I imagine this means we'll be seeing some retirements among the female soloists. Pazcoguin and Adams are clearly not favored, and Pereira has shown a failure to progress. I also wonder about Megan LeCrone and Ashley Laracey, although they are used more widely and I hope they can stick around awhile longer, Laracey especially. 

I think its because their principals right now are stacked with short women -- Hyltin, Peck, Fairchild, Woodward, Bouder, are all short.

Juliet is considered a big prestige role so I don't think Trenary is in trouble. 

1 hour ago, On Pointe said:

Well that was a pretty depressing read.  Sexual coercion is terrible,  but honestly,  I don't understand why anyone would tolerate being hit by a ballet teacher.  Didn't anyone hit back?  It's not like North Carolina was the greatest,  most influential ballet school in the world.  One can and should go elsewhere.

It's also often not the most prestigious schools that have the most abuse. Big schools - lots of prying eyes. Students so talented they can go elsewhere. 

When new leadership comes in there's always an adjustment period for dancers. New people in charge, they want different things than old leadership.

It kind of sounds like Lovette had a rougher time than most adjusting.

I am looking forward to seeing Sterling Hyltin's Mozartiana again.

Think it might have to do with NYCB wanting to attract parents bringing kids. Kids (under 12) are not eligible for boosters yet, but they can get the double-dose vaccine.

Vienna State Opera has maybe the most stringent vaccination requirements of all:

• Quote

   

  • A valid admission ticket, personalised in your name.
  • A »Booster proof« for all over the age of 15 years (3x vaccinated, also with Johnson & Johnson, or recovered and 2x vaccinated)
    You will find all details below - please read the instruction carefully
  • A negative PCR test, not older than 48 hours. The date and time of the test and the end of the presentation are valid.
  • An official photo ID
  • An FFP2 mask

   

Misty identifies herself as a "mom to be" in this article.

Congratulations to Misty!

Teachout could also be unbearably snobbish when he reviewed theater, very much like Croce and the rest of the National Review crew.

I think with the covid-shortened rehearsal period they might have just wanted people who already knew their roles.

First week of casting is up:

https://www.nycballet.com/season-and-tickets/principal-casting

Stella could do Lady Capulet I think. She danced that for years, in fact.

Helgi Tomasson himself cleaned house in a rather harsh way when he took over SFB. So did Angel Corella at Philly/PA Ballet. 

Even at NYCB where both Jon and Wendy had deep ties and connections to the company, there's been more departures than normal.

I also think Jovani Furlan could be good in this.

Tess for Mozartiana?

There's been another departure: veteran corps dancer Gretchen Smith no longer listed on the website.

She said goodbye on IG:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYLdnPVghli/

Neither is Ghaleb Kayali.

32 minutes ago, Quiggin said:

When was the last time the Balanchine (/Ivanov) Swan Lake was performed by City Ballet? Has it be danced since Martins' version was added to the repertory?

Yes I saw it like three years ago. Sterling Hyltin was exquisite in the Balanchine version.

26 minutes ago, vipa said:

So true. Also a rep season allows for more flexibility in many ways. Nutcracker is what it is, with a large cast and back stage crew. 

The kids also actually start rehearsal in September. The reason they look so polished and professional is because Dena Abergel actually rehearses them for months. Adult dancers at NYCB are often given days or even hours for throw-ons. 

6 minutes ago, cobweb said:

I don't see how a winter season is going to be possible. If they test everyone (not just symptomatic people) for COVID regularly (I assume a few times per week), and anyone who tests positive must quarantine, and given how transmissible omicron is -- it just doesn't add up to allowing for regular performances. Depressing. 

I THINK the difference is that the Winter Season doesn't need children in the production who are not company members, and who have stringent laws regarding how much they can work. NYCB only fields two "children" casts in Nutcracker. They cannot work every night. 

There are several NYCB dancers who have young children at home right now, and they are too young to be vaccinated. Off the top of my head, Jonathan Stafford/Brittany Pollack, Ashley Laracey, Sterling Hyltin, Megan Fairchild, Erica Pereira and Tess Reichlen all recently (less than 2 years ago) gave birth.

ETA: I think Omicron appears milder because many people who got it (that I know of) were vaccinated. I do know a few unvaccinated people who got it and one of them had a fever up to 107 degrees.

Yeah and Nutcracker is their big money-maker. If there was some way to keep it open, they would have.

Performing arts operations are surprisingly barebones behind the scenes. I went backstage to a famous, long-running Broadway show and was shocked that the costumes were handled just by one woman every night. She stood in the quick change area holding out costumes that performers needed.

We have no idea the extent of the outbreak, and whether it extended to the backstage crew. They might not have enough crew members to run the show, crazy as that sounds. It certainly happened to numerous Broadway shows where there were understudies for the performers but the shows were canceled when the crew also got it.

All remaining Nuts canceled

All remaining NYCB Nuts have been canceled.

Some cast changes for the final shortened week:

https://res.cloudinary.com/new-york-city-ballet/image/upload/v1640637225/Documents/Casting/NYCB-Casting_Dec-28-2021-Jan-2-2022