Drew

Nanushka--I think we were posting at the same time regarding Sylvia. I now rather wish I had written what you just wrote .

I especially remember one evening at the second to last run of Sylvia when I was surrounded by ecstatic elderly subscribers--decidedly not balletomanes--one of whom declared it the best ballet she had ever seen. (I concede that it was a very 'on' performance.) Both Fille and Sylvia should suit a conservative audience just fine. And if it's true that there is no way to lure ABT's mainstream New York audience to ballets other than those you list--I'm not altogether convinced--then it would be beyond depressing. I still think the size of the Met is well to keep in mind. A relatively full house at the Koch theater would still look a little lame at the Met. (When it comes to box office, I suspect Fille suffers from the fact that its title is in French. The Royal Ballet website now also calls it "The Wayward Daughter." Of course, I don't know if that makes a difference, but presumably the marketers at the Royal Opera House think so.)

Sounds like a fantastic trip all around!!

I attended multiple performances of the last two past runs of Sylvia and many around me in the audience were enthralled. It seems kind of a shame that they aren't turning out for it in greater force this year. The Met is huge. In a way, half full is a pretty decent sized audience...only not at the Met. In that sense ABT does need dancers that generate huge excitement. Or, I guess, ballets considered "must see" events (for good or ill).

Thanks for this report. I recently watched some youtube video of a very recent Alexandrova performance of the Pas Des Eventails in the Burlaka/Ratmansky Corsaire and, though I remain a bit of a video skeptic, I found her ravishing in it. Really special. The performance was full of the details and musicality that only a genuine ballerina can bring to choreography. (I saw her in this production of Corsaire live some years ago and loved it too, but that was pre-injury.)

This does sound rather a fun evening! I've seen Don Quixote shared as a result of cast changes. (Harvey and Tcherkassky split it up--someone can help me here perhaps but I think Tcherkassky did I and III and Harvey II.)

Well, actually, if I had to guess, I think you might prefer it to Anna Karenina. I only saw it once and don't have the best memory in the world, but I found the choreography and structure of the ballet not only more traditional but also somewhat more accessible and appealing than the choreography for Ratmansky's Anna (which I also saw just once). The music too. Think of the ballet as a children's fairy tale staged somewhat ironically: it's full of pantomime and comedy plus some lively dance groupings--villagers and even firebirds. It also has clever and quite virtuoso choreography for the hero. (That aspect of the ballet I think you would probably like.) I'm afraid my memory is a bit sketchy otherwise. Some of the costumes are very quirky, and the sets I don't remember at all. So, it's hard to say. But there must be video you can check out. And others with better memories than I have may weigh in! Maybe two full-length Ratmansky ballets in a week would be too much if you don't like his work. (For ME, Lopatkina is always unmissable so I certainly envy you your Anna Karenina ticket even if the ballet isn't my favorite.)

That all sounds wonderful. I wish I could be at ALL of those performances, especially the Lopatkina Diamonds. I think you will have a great time. As you probably know, the Mikhailovsky Swan Lake is the Asaf Messerer version. I saw it in London some years ago--it is Soviet-quirky in ways I enjoyed, but I can't help but remember your horror some years back at a Russian touring company that had a production in which Rothbart entered with the Spanish dancers in Act III. Well...steel yourself. Even the white acts have some unusual modifications in the corps de ballet groupings. I found it a production well worth seeing and, as best I remember, preferred it to the current Grigorovich version the Bolshoi dances. (Likewise, if you haven't seen the Ratmansky Anna Karenina before or heard the score then you might want to prepare yourself.) Looking forward to reading your reports on what you see.

My thought also. Of course, I am hoping Murphy (one of my favorites) is not out for too long, though obviously one wants her to heal fully.

A Peck/Huxley match in Ballo sounds a lovely idea. Certainly it's something I would want to see. (Re partnering sizes, though, I don't think the Midsummer example tells one much. Balanchine wanted a short Oberon with a taller Titania and had a cavalier rather than Oberon actually partner her.)

I don't tear up exactly but I am sometimes just overcome at the ballet with "just seeing how wonderful" it is. I first had a chance to see Maxwell in a featured role last year -- in Common Ground -- I couldn't get over how fabulous she was. I'm hoping she has a featured role in one of the performances I see this spring.

Thank you--I should keep better track of what's on DVD etc.

Muntagirov danced a solo (reconstructed I assume) from Le Train Bleu as part of the collection of pas de deux/solos/excerpts the Royal included in its second program at the Koch theater last year. It was quite clever, but I take it the whole ballet is not revivable. I would be happy to see it. I saw Les Biches with the Royal--it must have been the 2005 revival mentioned by Ashton Fan--and I, too, loved Yanowsky. I also saw it many years ago with the Dance Theater of Harlem. Neither time do I recall seeing a moment that I had read about (probably in Kochno's book) in which a couch is turned around to reveal two women together, Don't know if the descriotion was wrong or if Nijinska excised the moment when she revived the ballet. It does seem to me a ballet that should absolutely be kept alive.

Yes, thanks for the news. Hope I will be able to see Taming of the Shrew. (A little sorry New York can't get the kind of Bolshoi seasons London gets.)

I remember discovering her videos a couple of years ago--sad news. RIP...

When Millepied took the director position he specified in an interview that he wanted the company to do more ballet-based contemporary work as opposed to the non-ballet based contemporary work which they were dancing (at least that's how I read it); that would have been a step in a more ballet-centric direction even if neo-classical. But for good or bad, and whatever the reasons, he didn't really have a chance to move the company in any direction. 18-19 of the 20 past years were Lefevre.

I agree with Emma--certainly as far as Serenade goes. Is this what the dancers Balanchine trained and coached looked like in Serenade? Not in my experience. Edited to add: if the ballerina pictured moves musically and beautifully -- well, that might prove more important to me in performance than my problem with the hyperextension.

Tumbled over this today--a Russian television feature on the Shklyarov-Shirinkina family with cute baby photos included. The feature also includes several glimpses of their dancing in Romeo and Juliet and some other clips. I don't know Russian ... but I enjoyed this.

For me, I suppose it might well depend on the role. I wasn't crazy about her Nikiya but liked her Aurora quite a bit--preferred it to Boylston's.

Does the ABT corps de ballet look overcoached? For the rest...I come from out of town for performances and this is the first year I chose my ABT Met dates before casts were announced and did so solely with an eye on repertory (though casts were known by the time tickets went on sale). The repertory? All Ratmansky mixed bill, Shostakovich Trilogy, and Fille. But, of course, that's not what I usually do and I would hate for ABT to change its policy of announcing casts before tickets go on sale--even allowing for the risks involved. And I have sat through my share of disappointing cast changes. NYCB is one kind of company; ABT another...I'm a fan of difference. (NYCB in full-length 19th-century rep? Having satisfied my curiousity concerning particular productions...I would prefer to know casts for those too. But I don't consider that rep to be NYCB's calling card. The day that it is.... ) Re Seo: she wouldn't be my first choice for Sylvia, but I can easily picture her as very good in Acts II and III--less sure about Act I--and will be interested to hear how she actually does in the whole ballet.

Courage means different things in different contexts, and I think I understand your point, but I also think that a dancer who lacked courage would not have made the leap after a decade--and a quite successful decade dancing prominent roles--at ABT.

I would just keep checking. I have seen White Nights performances announced in the past a bit before the tickets went on sale.

Re Hallberg-this was posted by Fort Wayne Ballet about two weeks ago: https://www.facebook.com/AuerAcademyofFWB/photos/a.934925266605503.1073741830.927004520730911/951189758312387/?type=3&fref=nf

The Moor's Pavane (Limon). I enjoyed Stearns in Ashton's A Month in the Country and am hoping to see his Colas.

For me this seems like a good 'season.' I'm especially curious about the Possokhov Hero of Our Time. I saw Golden Age many years ago--with Semenyaka. You can bet I wasn't complaining. But I have few memories of it now. I will definitely try to see that broadcast too. And probably at least one or two others.