Syzygy

This is why it was so surprising to hear how many rehearsals she wasn't even called into. If they did in fact expect her weight to go down with a full dance schedule, wouldn't they, you know, get her a FULL dance schedule? I feel terribly for her, too. And I hate to think that her hiring was a PR move—who would be that callous? But if the story about pulling her from a piece in front of the whole company is true, well, that leaves a pretty sour taste in a mouth. It's the second time I've been a bit perplexed by Lopez in the past year (the first was when she cast a student as Dew Drop and we weren't clear on whether or not she was getting paid paid or "paid" in experience—not to mention what that must have done for company morale), which is disappointing. I've always held her in such high regard.

Abi Stafford wrote an essay for Dance Magazine to give some insight into her anxiety disorder—as well her thoughts on how companies could help dancers deal the the stresses of the job. Her concrete solutions feel a bit like a brainstorm draft ("Artistic management could send out anonymous surveys to assess what areas need improvement. Companies could hold talk-back sessions with dancers to open up the lines of communication about what's working and what's not."), but still, I found this to be a quick, interesting read for someone wondering how losing a performance opportunity might feel for an NYCB principal.

I know Bianca Bulle left after one season despite getting some principal casting (Stravinsky Violin Concerto, maybe some others, I'm not too sure). According to her Instagram she's retiring from dancing all together. Here's a quick transcript of what Kathryn Morgan said to Jim Nowakowski for those of you who don't use social media: I haven’t spoken very publicly about this, but […] I left Miami City Ballet, I am no longer there. And for my mental well-being and physical well-being, I am still going to dance, I still have plans—COVID got in the way—but, I left, you know, friends would say, “it’s a top five company, why would you leave?” […] Mental well-bing, physical well-being. It was not a great work environment for me. Nine of us left this year. So, yeah, it was, you know, as wonderful as it was and as grateful as I am because I got back on stage there […] that title of being in that company is not worth mentally what I was going through.

I'm using Chrome if you want to give it another go.

Thanks for that video, @volcanohunter. I had only ever seen her on Instagram, so the full-length was much appreciated! I was surprised to learn she's only 25-years-old after watching -- she seems mature beyond her years. Strange, it's working fine for me. (I'm in California, if that matters.)

Ohh, I second this. She's never been my thing -- mostly because her movement quality doesn't seem particularly thoughtful, but that's exactly what I liked about her solo: some real devil-may-care dancing.

Thank you for this review @California! As you said, dance criticism has dried up in Colorado, so it's nice to be able to hear your thoughts. I was also unfamiliar with Julia Adam, but, as you mention, it looks like she's choreographed for San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theater, Atlanta Ballet, Nashville Ballet and The Joffrey Ballet? And was a principal with San Francisco Ballet? I had no idea. I love female choreographers, but more than that I love theatrical choreographers who have a sense of humor (minimal and angsty is certainly in vogue in the Bay Area -- it's nice to see something different from someone who earned their stripes there). If you say the dancers looked like they were fun, I'm all in. Here's her bio for anyone who is curious. Not entirely related to this program, but Conversations on Dance recently released an interview with Gill Boggs, AD at Colorado Ballet. They talk about many things, but I was struck by how surprisingly candid he was when talking about taking the company over after Martin Fredmann was ousted. Anyone who was following that story when it happened might be interested in listening.

Wow, I didn't expect to see this at all. How sad for his family.

Whoa! I had always secretly hoped that Sylve would run SFB be someday, but this is a nice step in that direction. Where did Dresden Semperoper Ballet make this announcement?

My thoughts exactly. Yes, but I try not to use names when I'm talking about someone's body when they aren't the ones starting the conversation. 😬 For the record, Fadeley looks great! I only mentioned her to point out that there are a few in the company who don't fit into the teeny-tiny mold — and it never struck me as a big deal.

Me too!

From this New York Times "David Hallberg to Run the Australian Ballet" piece: “Mr. Hallberg said he had some performance commitments through 2021, including “a proper farewell performance” during Ballet Theater’s 2021 Metropolitan Opera House season. But he has no plans to dance with the Australian Ballet. “My shows are numbered,” he said. “There are lots of things I never got around to as a dancer, but it’s time to accept that and move on.” I’ll miss his dancing, but I admit it’s such a relief to me when dancers don’t feel the need to perform with the companies they direct.

I’ve only seen the company a few times, but agree that most of the dancers are very tiny. What struck me, though, was that there were several exceptions (maybe four? — including one principal soloist who is significantly larger) so I sort of assumed that it would be a fine fit for Morgan. Meaning if Lopez was comfortable with including a few women who stuck out, she’d be comfortable with Morgan joining in as one of the “bigger”* dancers. *Bigger in comparison to the others. Obviously Morgan and the other dancers look fine and healthy. Is it possible that Morgan being told she was “out of shape” didn’t exclusively mean her weight? “Out of shape” in my mind could refer to, you know, an eight year break. Or the calf injury, or a stamina issue, or a million other things. I trust Morgan is telling the truth about why she was pulled, but I also think it’s very possible she only heard comments about her weight in a case that Lopez meant to be more constructive. Both women are smart and thoughtful, but that doesn’t mean that they will always walk away from a conversation with the same understanding of what was discussed. Either way, I do love that it opens up a conversation to younger dancers about how life isn’t over when you don’t get cast for one reason or another!

I, too, am abnormal, I suppose.

As am I! Maybe you saw it, but Laura Cappelle wrote an op-ed in response for Dance Magazine called "The Letter to Lyon Opera Ballet Shows How Much Further We Have to Go to Support #MeToo Victims."

A new video from Works & Process at the Guggenheim featuring Pennsylvania Ballet: Set in the grand temples of mystical India and featuring the doomed temple dancer Nikiya, her rival Gamzatti, and the warrior Solor, "La Bayadère" has been an epic tale of love and godly revenge since 1877. Prior to its world premiere, Pennsylvania Ballet Artistic Director and former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Angel Corella discussed his brand-new restaging of the classic ballet with an eye to changing cultural mores. Company dancers performed selections from the program. PANEL Angel Corella, The Ruth & A. Morris Williams, Jr. Artistic Director of Pennsylvania Ballet Linda Murray, Moderator, Curator, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, NYPL Phil Chan, Co-Founder of Final Bow for Yellowface DANCERS Oksana Maslova, The Dr. Morris H. & Esther Kean Principal Dancer Zecheng Liang, The Ping Lan Principal Dancer Albert Gordon, First Soloist Ashton Roxander, Soloist Martha Koeneman, The Greapentrog Principal Pianist Leadership support for this Works & Process program provided by David Hoffman and Judith M. Hoffman

Are you implying that one who violates another must be aware of their prey’s pain, or remorseful, or not on high on drugs (etc., etc.)…or else it doesn’t count? I hate to break it to you...

A new Instagram story says the Today Show is doing a segment on her. But has anyone seen her dance? @cubanmiamiboy did you see her at the beginning of the season in Slaughter on Tenth Ave.?

Ha! Exactly, what could go wrong? Very strange...

A little European dance shenanigan in the news today… The organizers of a letter in support of Yorgos Loukos, former AD of the Lyon Opera Ballet, publicly apologized (partially) in a New York Times piece for including signatures of people who did not agree to sign. In the original letter published by the French paper Libération, a number of dance professionals threatened to pull their work from the company’s rep unless Loukos, who was fired over the handling of dancer’s return from maternity leave, was given his job back — but it sounds like some of the signatures (Benjamin Millepied, William Forsythe, and Didier Dechamps of the National Theater of Dance in Paris, Brigitte Lefèvre of the Festival of Dance in Cannes) were added without permission . I guess it all boils down to the miscommunication or sloppiness of Maguy Marin (French choreographer) and Ariane Mnouchkine (a theater director) who organized the letter?…which is embarrassing. Here’s the NYT piece and here’s the letter.

CRINGE. The PR person in me wants to take away her phone and hide it. Even if the post has nothing to do Skylar or Misty it certainly reads like a jab — which is not a very gracious look. And don't get me started on the quote. This!

I'm not privy to the casting. Who danced the peasant pas on Tuesday?

This.

It's ok to care about ballet, too. I can multitask. 😉