nycvillager

Very glad to see the promotion for Kikta, so very deserved, and Chamblee. I am in agreement with you on Segin. Happy for them all though.

I agree with the posts above. After the high coming off NYCB's fall season and Maria K's farewell, I admit that I am not excited about ABT this fall. I'll go to one Giselle performance to see Gillian Murphy and Tom Forster. Unless you all go and come back with raving reviews about the mixed programs, I think I'll save my money for more NYCB this winter. In general, I wish ABT would stop doing so many works by choreographers like Jessica Lang and Cathy Marston, even though they are female. The programming just leaves so much to be desired and it's likely hard to attract new attendees if regular attendees and subscribers aren't even excited about the programs.

To me it looked like he was just too late and by the time he did, she was already falling.

Although Agon wasn't perfect last night, I didn't want it to end. I love, love Maria K and Ramasar dancing Agon together. I tried to savor seeing those beautiful lines from Maria with her endless flexibility and grace one last time. Ramasar was my favorite male dancer at NYCB for years and although we missed him the last few years, Agon is one in which he really shines. I thought he still performed well. Anthony Huxley is just wonderful in every aspect and I just don't get to see him dance enough! The rest of the cast, especially Ashley Hod, Sara Adams and Sebastian Villarini-Velez, looked great as well. I don't pull out my phone to record during the applause, but wish I had last night to capture that moment. I agree with posters above re: After the Rain. It does need a break. Beautiful dancers but it just didn't have the same effect on me as it has in the past. I enjoyed Other Dances with Mejia and Peck, as they both felt like a good fit with each other and the piece. I tried to imagine seeing Bouder there instead of Peck with Mejia, and I think this pairing was better. Mejia really deserved his promotion, and I'm excited to see where his career goes. He appears joyful and so full of enthusiasm, so I hope they continue to give him more. I had not seen La Valse before and it was pleasantly surprised. It was good to see Lauren King once more, as well as Andrew Veyette. I'd barely seen him in years.

You all - I am so excited! Finally got everything settled for my tickets. I know it will be an adjustment being back in the theater with whatever protocols they'll have in place and being surrounded by a whole theater of people again. I got tickets for all the farewells except Lovette's and la Cour's since they are on the same day and that day doesn't work for me.

I can't say that I'm surprised. While she didn't possess the strongest technique or the depth that others did, I am sad to see her go as she still had a lot to offer as a dancer. I saw her in the December 2019 in The Nutcracker and she was beautiful and warm, very charming. I haven't been wowed yet by any of her choreography. I do think that with more time and focus dedicated to it, she'll produce some great work. She's still young and establishing herself. Once live theater performances are on again, I'd definitely go see a new work by her. Wishing her great success in her new endeavors!

Wow, I was surprised to see this news. I thought Silas was promising and I had expected to watch him in the years to come. I'll continue to listen to the podcast and his educational talks.

Agreed!

Thanks for sharing. I teared up watching it. It was a short farewell and nowhere near what she deserved onstage. I saw many Instagram posts from corps members, soloists, principals and former dancers that indicate how respected and loved she is at ABT. I'm sad that we won't see her again on the Met stage and wish her the best, as she will be missed. She has been my favorite since I started going to see ABT.

I think they feel good that they put something out there to see, but it wasn't much. I do feel for the dancers who aren't wealthy or don't have tons of resources and are in a pinch, but this did not make me feel more engaged with ABT or want to donate to their relief fund. I've had enough of the promotional videos, videos of dancers in their homes and playing on social media, and celebrities supporting ABT. We want to appreciate the art form and this isn't it. There are plenty of fantastic performances to stream from NYCB, SFB, PNB, ENB, Royal Ballet, Royal Danish, Mariinsky, etc. and I love being able to see classic full lengths and newer choreographers. I'm saving money since I don't have tickets to buy right now and don't mind giving a few donations if I'm seeing a full length ballet from a company across the country or across the world that I normally wouldn't be able to see. I'm intrigued by these other companies and their dancers. I watched SFB's Romeo and Juliet and liked seeing the full ballet with a few conversations and insights with dancers and artistic staff throughout the performance. It would be great if ABT could offer the behind the scenes and insights alongside the actual performance. They are letting their dancers down by not showcasing them in full performances.

Yes Napoli here

Thanks for posting. I watched Ballo Della Regina after watching NYCB’s and Napoli. Miss seeing Alban Lendorf at ABT in NYC...

Same here...received by NYCB refund quickly and nothing from ABT after nearly 2 weeks. The email said it could take 30 days. I was not planning to request a refund from NYCB but as closures have extended, I changed my mind due to more uncertainty. Once things are running again, I'm happy to use it for tickets again though. For ABT, it was just too much to wait over a year for since there's no way I could use all my ticket credits for a short fall season if that even happens. I really would love to see some full lengths from ABT online though because I do miss them. When NYCB is on, I'm totally engrossed and in love with the neoclassical and vice versa when ABT is on with classics. Without some real content from ABT, I'm really favoring NYCB right now and if I do make a donation, will likely be to them.

I was just coming here to see if there was an update since this forum is always well informed. I had emailed ABT and Met Opera yesterday to check on the status of the season and my tickets, as I have not been able to check my mail in the city. I'm not surprised by the news, but had hoped that there would be some season even if later in the summer. I really do hope for a proper farewell for Stella, as she has been my favorite female ABT dancer since I started attending. I was looking forward to a few things this season: Gillian back, Osipova, Hallberg, Simkin, Kimin Kim, Sarah Lane, and T&V. I don't get very excited about their short fall season, but I'll probably try to attend more this year. Hope all the dancers can take this time to heal injuries and recharge and can be in great shape come fall and next year. It's unfortunate but not unexpected. I had just been thinking about how soon I'd be willing to sit in the Met Opera House or Koch Theater for several hours in close proximity to others and the coughs that typically annoy me would actually worry me. Hope you are all staying safe out there.

I noticed how cautious Tiler was tonight, but I loved loved seeing her back and was excited to see her perform all the fouettes without any issue. She looked great. Joseph Gordon was excellent - his spins and jumps looked effortless. He's really grown on me over the years, a confident and beautiful performer. I really wish I could go again this week, as it was a great night all around. Daniel Ulbricht was a standout tonight as well.

I attended programs B and C and then program D twice. Of the 3, I think I enjoyed Program D the most simply because of the dancers. I couldn't get enough of the four of them, especially Sarah Lamb and Edward Watson. I'd only see Watson once in 2015 and loved him. Overall, the programming as a whole did not blow me away, but reminded me of how little we actually see these dancers here. I am overdue to return to London again to see as many performances of The Royal Ballet as I can jam into a long weekend. It was a treat to see Robbie Fairchild in NYC, as I hadn't seen him since Brigadoon at City Center in 2017 after he retired from NYCB. As David Hallberg is barely at ABT anymore, I thoroughly enjoyed watching him dance with Joseph Gordon in the Bejart piece. At this point, I'll take anything in which I can see him. Of B and C, I was very impressed by Marcelino Sambé and Lauren Cuthbertson in "Two Sides Of" and Cassandra Trenary. I attended an event at which Trenary noted how much she loved MacMillan, so I was excited to see her in "Elite Syncopations" and she was great. Both of the Bond pieces that I saw were elegant and enjoyable, but not particularly memorable. The last piece in Program D was "Cristaux" and it reminded me of a magic show with the glittering crystal costumes, music and lights.