FPF

It looks like it's typically around April 15th, so I would guess that you don't have too much longer to wait.

The NYT has a new "Speaking in Dance" on the solo from Ratmansky's Solitifude with Joseph Gordon. Hope this free link works: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/25/arts/dance/nyc-ballet-ukraine-solo.html?ugrp=m&unlocked_article_code=1.fk0.iJYv.NEgTrk_9l-_s&smid=url-share I'm happy to have seen this since I haven't seen the ballet yet, but not a fan of this new format for Speaking In Dance where the dance is chopped up into individual clips rather than a single, continuous performance. I would also have preferred to see Gordon's entire body--there are a number of shots that cut off his legs.

As per ABT email, all have been promoted to soloist. Congratulations to all of them!

Not sure that the rep for London includes roles that Mira has been doing--they're only doing Rotunda, Duo Concertante, Gustave Le Gray, and Love Letter (on shuffle).

My sense from the articles is that she trained as a dancer but has not been dancing professionally. One of the articles I read says that she's an esthetician working at a spa in Beverly Hills.

At that price, there should be.

Dance writer Eric Taub's (aka manhattnik) obituary was just posted today: https://saratogatodaynewspaper.com/news/obituaries/item/21226-eric-simon-taub https://johnj.sanvidgefuneralhome.com/tribute/details/2163/Eric-Taub/obituary.htmI I found his writing very entertaining, both on sites like Ballet News and on his blog http://demicontretemps.blogspot.com.

It's usually not sweltering, but it does happen occasionally--the range is from sweltering to chilly. And even when it's warm, the temperature often drops considerably after the sun goes down. The cancelled Coppelia matinee was, I think, the only time that's happened in my ~20 years of coming to SPAC. The temperatures were predicted to be over 100 ° that day, which is very unusual here.

SPAC has just announced the upcoming NYCB summer season. I am somewhat underwhelmed by the programming--I would have like to have the new Ratmansky on the contemporary program, rather than another round of Red Angels or The Times are Racing, or to see the full Coppelia, not just excerpts. I also still don't like that they are still taking what could be a full performance slot for NYCB On and Off Stage. Tickets are on sale for members February 9 and for the public on February 22. Programming details below: NYCB On and Off Stage TUESDAY, JULY 9 | 7:30PM NYCB principal dancers host a unique “behind the curtain” experience featuring excerpts from the week’s ballets. A compelling evening for newcomers and aficionados alike! After the performance, stay for the dance party in the Hall of Springs! Jewels WEDNESDAY, JULY 10 | 7:30PM THURSDAY, JULY 11 | 2:00PM Experience George Balanchine’s three-part masterpiece Jewels featuring Fauré’s elegant Emeralds, Stravinsky’s jazz-inflected Rubies, and Tschaikovsky’s symphonic Diamonds. Contemporary Choreography THURSDAY, JULY 11 | 7:30PM SATURDAY, JULY 13 | 7:30PM A celebration of contemporary choreographers featuring a new work by Amy Hall Garner; Gustave le Gray No. 1, a SPAC debut choreographed by Pam Tanowitz and set to the music of Caroline Shaw; Ulysses Dove’s dynamically charged Red Angels, set to a riveting score for electric violin, and Justin Peck’s The Times are Racing. Swan Lake & Stars and Stripes FRIDAY, JULY 12 | 7:30PM SATURDAY, JULY 13 | 2PM Three beloved Balanchine works, Swan Lake, Stars and Stripes, and The Steadfast Tin Soldier return, as well as additional scenes from Coppélia celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Other Dances premiered at ABT (5/9/76) with the original cast of Baryshnikov and Makarova before it premiered at NYCB 6 months later (11/26/76) with Martins and Farrell, and it has been showing up in the ABT rep periodically since. Gillian Murphy and Marcelo Gomes danced it in an ABT performance I saw a while back at the Fisher Center. As long as the dancers are capable of their roles, I think it's nice to have other companies participate in the NYCB 75th anniversary celebration.

There were also multiple guest artists for the 1993 Balanchine Celebration, and I don't recall any in the following years--I remember Elizabeth Loscavio from SFB, Darcey Bussell from the Royal Ballet, Patricia Barker from PNB, and I think there were others. I think this is just something NYCB does to celebrate.

He's listed for Polyphonia on January 25th.

I also get the emails, I assume because I went in 2020 because I happened to be in NYC for other reasons that day. I am middle-aged and not a subscriber. The performance I went to was almost completely sold out and lots of people (us included) lingered for a while afterwards to see the art and enjoy the other entertainment. The friend who went with me was very surprised at how much she liked it--she is more of a modern dance fan and it opened her eyes to see that ballet was not necessarily old-fashioned and stuffy--and I don't think she would have bought a ticket at the regular prices.

I would love it if ABT came back to the Fisher Center-. A while back, they would have a weekend of performances there every few years and they seemed to sell very well. But nothing since 2015, I think. The programs (I saw them there 3 different years) were all mixed bills though, with no elaborate scenery.

This is apparently part of the 75th anniversary celebration. Here is an article about this and a number of other guest artists who will be appearing with NYCB this year: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Terrence-Mann-More-to-Join-New-York-City-Ballets-75th-Anniversary-Performances-20231128