uptowner

Its typical to have an executive director and an artistic director (New York City Ballet has that structure too, as do the other large companies I've looked at). Or do they have two executive directors at ABT?

Solitude was stunning.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3DRqx5u4fm/?igsh=MTFhMWVraHh2cDhwaw== link to the Instagram post from AGMA

FYI, I am seeing NYCB on TDF: 1/27 and 1/31 "Wheedon+Martins+Peck" (Polyphonia, Barber Violin Concerto and Times are Racing) 02/02 and 02/04 "New Combinations" (new T Peck, Odesa, Rotunda)

“Gift” link for the NYT obit (should be unlocked) https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/07/obituaries/joan-acocella-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ME0.i0SM.aQXdj87za8gX&smid=url-share

...dancers have said those shenanigans are no longer permitted on NYE. (I guess this is close to hearsay because I cannot think of a citation for it but I am sure it was in public comments, interviews etc). T Peck throwing snow sounds like a nod to those old days. They do sound fun!

well I'm not particularly young, nor am I a subscriber, but I have bought art series tickets before, so maybe that is why I got an email. The art series are generally not part of subscriptions, as I understand it-- I think they want to keep it open until closer to the date. I am sure it is intended to get people to come out who might be new to the ballet audience so they don't want all those tickets to be taken months ago! Unlike 30-for-30 there is no restriction on who can buy it. In the past, they also opened up the space for people to just come see the installation (free of charge), which is fun and a different way to experience the theater. I first went when JR had a big installation of life-size photographs, when you went up to the top levels and looked down they made the shape of an eye. https://www.nycballet.com/discover/nycb-art-series/art-series-2014-jr/ This here says that was the second annual art series, so I guess its been going on for over a decade.

I got an email, but I believe they just go on sale to the general public at noon on Friday Jan 5. No special codes or anything as far as I know. All the tickets in the house are $40.

The "art series" tickets go on sale Friday January 5 at noon-- all tickets in the house are $40. Performances are Feb 3 (Wheeldon, Martins, Peck), 8 (New Combinations) and 23 (Innovators and Icons). https://www.nycballet.com/discover/nycb-art-series/davidmichalek/

https://www.instagram.com/p/C1Zji38giTc/?igsh=bG41NWlncnU5eXB5 Bolden posted pics and videos of himself as cavalier with various sugar plums

I don’t think we have to frame that as cultural stereotype; most kids don’t stay at SAB into high school because the ballet training becomes incompatible with rigorous academics (yes there are some examples of exceptions but it’s very hard to maintain both and a “traditional” school still won’t work). But the ~120 kids who are cast in nutcracker every year have this iconic, unforgettable nyc kid experience even if that’s as far as they go with it. Speaking of nutcracker: any reports from this last week??

NYCB has significantly fewer foreign-trained dancers in general because they draw so heavily from their own school, which means most of the recruiting happens when the dancers are still very young. Also my sense is that neither the school nor the company recruit from competitions (which one way to ease the process of getting an "extraordinary ability" visa, someone told me. Is that really true?). That does make the roster at NYCB somewhat different than "sister" companies. The upper level students at SAB, and thus who has a shot at the company, reflects the "onramp" to ballet for American kids, and the aspirations/priorities/resources of their parents. In the US we have vanishingly few programs that actively recruit for ballet (I can think of some like Ballet Tech, the MCB Ballet Bus... more than "outreach" which a lot of companies do, but rather actively looking for kids who might not have even considered ballet and really supporting their training in practical ways). The only dancers currently on the roster who I can think of who didn't come to SAB for at least a little while are Furlan and Chan. Its great to see Nutcracker selling so well, hopefully the company is making tons of money and can promote some more dancers 😉 There are 10 performances left, but no tickets at all to buy except for a couple of ADA seats for some dates (though oddly I am still getting advertisements from the company-- I guess they already paid for them and are running them anyway?) Upthread someone mentioned standing room and I ended up seeing it with a standing room ticket last week. So I am just repeating that it is an option-- day of, in person purchase only. I called ahead and the box office was able to confirm availability. You do actually have to stand the whole time, but there is a sturdy ledge you can lean on.

In the ten years that I’ve been paying attention to NYCB it has certainly become more visibly diverse, but very much “bottom up” so if you look at the younger corps especially. I guess another 10 years will tell whether this approach will build a more inclusive and diverse company up and down the ranks— are these dancers going to thrive, are they going to stay in the profession? How well are they mentored and supported? who will be promoted? But I do not agree that it’s necessarily exploitative to feature corps dancers in promotional materials, whether they are “on track” for promotion or not. Most dancers are corps, and they should be featured— the corps does a ton of dancing in that company (just look at nutcracker— unlike the soloists or principals, most corps are in every single show). Current leadership seems committed to changing things, even as they have to also celebrate and build on their legacy. And part of it will be PR and projecting a particular public image. Some of the work began under Martins, but he’s no longer at the helm to explain his intentions etc.

I went to the 5PM show in standing room-- thanks to folks here for mentioning it because it seems to be a bit of a secret. $44 to stand behind the very last row of the 5th ring. But given what the 5th ring tickets cost, it feels like a good deal. You have to buy the tickets in person, day of. I did call ahead to make sure they were available. There were not many people up there in the standing room section. I am not sure how many performances I would want to see from that high up but it is a great view of snow and flowers. At the end of party scene, a child was wailing (I think saying that they didn't want to leave) and absolutely filled the theater with their laments until, presumably, they were taken out. It was pretty funny timing, almost mimicking the onstage action, and people were laughing. The theater was absolutely packed, lots of families, lots of people dressed up, a very festive feeling. Last minute casting change for sugar plum (Ashley Hod, in place of Emily Gerrity).

I agree that Whelan's instagram seems quite spontaneous-- & really not like its supervised by a PR dept. Having followed her for a while now, I really doubt this is how she is signaling management priorities and artistic direction. I am sure the dancers see this too (and its hard to imagine anyone is begrudging attention to Bradley on a historic debut, I think they are glad to see it).

https://www.nycballet.com/discover/stories/studio-visit-india-bradley/ NYCB posted an interview (and some photos) with India Bradley about the debut.

Nutcracker runs through 12/31, so there will still be one more week...

https://res.cloudinary.com/new-york-city-ballet/image/upload/v1701811572/Documents/Casting/2023 Winter/NYCB_Casting_Dec_19-24_2023_lobby.pdf (Week 5 casting is posted)

Sounds like there were several substitutions and shuffling of the cast for Friday night-- including last-minute substitution of Mira Nadon for Dewdrop https://www.instagram.com/stories/mira_nadon/3248634773131829563/ (Nadon's instagram "story" which will expire soon, she also shares some unauthorized audience video if you want to catch a glimpse) Seems like some of the casting changes are reflected on the digital casting sheet, others not: https://res.cloudinary.com/new-york-city-ballet/image/upload/v1701273327/Documents/Casting/NYCB_Casting_Nov_28-Dec_3_2023_lobby_20231128.pdf

NYCB Instagram is posting quite a bit of stage rehearsal footage in “stories” today (11/24)

Great to read this, I wanted to go but it seemed like all the tickets were taken when I tried to purchase (or maybe they were releasing them in small batches or something?) I hope it returns.

Yes, when a large arts organization travels there are significant logistics around transportation, like shipping & insurance. This is true for domestic travel as well (though it is less expensive and they aren't dealing with customs and border control). ABT travels regularly, I am sure they have staff who handle this and know what needs to be done. Tour dates are set well in advance and the logistics are planned out months ahead of time. As for the visas for the dancers (and other staff): surely the company is also helping with that (for example, my spouse recently traveled to Shanghai for work, as an employee of an arts organization, and the visa process was involved but was completed before travel).

There were 4 male apprentices in Diamonds corps (and four female apprentices in Emeralds corps).

FYI they've opened 3rd ring at least for Jewels.

A post— with pictures!— of three dancers recently promoted to corps. https://www.nycballet.com/discover/stories/meet-the-newest-members-of-the-company