nycvillager

Mearns & Janzen were both great tonight, as good as Tuesday night's performance I thought. Diamonds is such a wonderful ballet for him to finish up with. I'm catching all of his final performances this season, and can't believe he only has one more left. Very sad to see him go so soon. The fourth ring was open tonight and the house felt very full, and the performance didn't start til almost 8:15 with all the people trickling in way past 8.

At the season preview in the spring, they mentioned a performance in which all the tickets would be a certain amount reflecting the 75th anniversary - $19.48 if I remember correctly. I don't remember when they said it would be. It is different from the art series in the winter season. Maybe this could be the one? They said they'd market it carefully, probably with the intention of bringing in new audiences and not existing subscribers/donors.

I also thought I wouldn't be charged $4 + $8 in fees on each ticket as a subscriber. It was disappointing as that adds up quickly! I purchased tickets for opening night, Russell Janzen's farewell, and the 75th Anniversary. I encountered a few issues on the website, but was solved by just signing out and back in. I did buy them all in one transaction vs. multiple.

Totally agree, only made it twice this season. I will save my money for the 75th anniversary NYCB season and hopefully some good programming by ABT in the fall. With summer travel and a shorter season with only 4 ballets, it just didn't work out this year. I would like to see to see either more than 4 ballets offered next year or if only 4, then some different ones. I think of when I used to plan to see 4 Giselle's in 4 days and now struggle to find casts I really want to see. Going to check out Aran Bell in R+J tonight, hoping it's a great performance!

I was there on Thursday, and totally agree! During Square Dance, my eye kept going to Alexa Maxwell but also Claire von Enck. Huxley was fantastic. I do enjoy the See the Music and love having the orchestra raised up. It was not a long program, but I noticed many people running out as soon as the curtain went down on Donizetti. Maybe they had a train to catch. I've been unable to attend the spring season til this week and so while I was just happy to be there, it would have been a subdued, subpar evening had it not finished with Donizetti. I saw Veyette in this during the winter season and was pleasantly surprised with his performance then. This performance was just as good, if not better.

I just tried to renew on a Flex package, which is what I've had for the past few years. I tried to add Sept 19, opening night, of Jewels and only see dates available starting on the 20th. Does this mean it's already sold out? Or is just not available to me as Flex subscriber?

Would love to hear about Jared’s farewell from anyone who attends! With such short notice, I’m unable to attend.

I enjoyed last night's Allegro. Tyler Angle danced well, despite no longer being at his peak. Megan Fairchild was very enjoyable to watch, but she doesn't quite bring the thrill of Tiler's performance. Emma von Enck was probably the biggest star last night. Ashley Hod's Firebird was good for her debut, and I believe she'll improve over time. I wish I could have seen LaFreniere instead though, as her Firebird last spring was what actually made me a fan of hers. I found that Hod looks very stiff at times, as her back is not as flexible as others and she turns her hip out more to raise her leg higher. It was my last time seeing Jared Angle as I'm unable to attend his farewell. I appreciate all his dancing over the years and while I believe it's time for him to retire, will miss him. I also really enjoyed listening to the podcast episode in which he interviews Tiler about Allegro. He's very down to earth and charming.

I thought the debuts in Episodes were all strong with the standouts being Chan and Gerrity. Sara Mearns looked great too. With so many retirements recently, especially from dancers who hadn't really deteriorated, like Reichlen and Hyltin, I really hope we get to keep watching her for many years to come. Vienna Waltzes isn't my favorite, although it's beautiful. While not listed in the program, I noticed Roman Mejia and Sebastian Villarini-Velez among the faces in the last part. It was such a wonderful night to see Sterling and Robbie back on stage together. They were really enjoying the moment. At the very end, Robbie brought Sterling out in front of the curtain and presented her with a bouquet. Such a sweet moment. She's looked amazing all season, and I'm sad to see her go soon. Also, Claire Kretzschmar retires this weekend and danced in both Episodes and Vienna Waltzes tonight.

@aurora Very much agree. I've been looking to supplement my initial subscription with a few more performances to see Sterling a few more times, but the $80 ticket ($70 subscriber) is a bit of a turn off. There are hardly any $38 tickets available at all. It's discouraging. Also, it makes it harder to invite friends along at a higher price point without feeling that I need to subsidize their ticket or treat them to get them to check it out for the first time.

I am excited about The Dream! I missed the last time ABT performed it, but loved seeing The Royal Ballet perform it at the Koch in 2015. While Whipped Cream isn't my favorite, I would be happy to see it again as it is visually pleasing, although I wish I could see Simkin and Hallberg in it again. I had hoped to see more T&V, but this programming looks pretty good to me.

Oh no, I had specifically gotten a ticket to see Cornejo with Trenary too. I was really looking forward to it, as he was still in fine form this season and didn't expect that this past weekend would be the last time I'd see him this season. I'll probably still go to see Trenary as I didn't get to see much of her this season, but not particularly excited about Royal.

Agreed. They need to develop their men because they’ve demonstrated that when they’re down a few with injuries, they really struggle to put together a strong showing all around. They have the talent but do not seem to prepare them enough for prime time to allow them to really shine. It’s like they expect them to toil in the corps for years then immediately churn out principal level performances. They need a few more male soloists that can develop into the leading roles. Shayer is the only youngish one besides Han, and he is not the full package and on the shorter side. I don’t seem him reaching Cornejo or Simkin level performances.

Surprised about Coker and Curley too, hoping they’ll be in the next cycle whenever that will be. Congrats to all!

Curley replaces Bell in ZigZag at today’s matinee