FayBallet

Just saw a 30-second ad for Tiler's new ballet for the first time. It was set in a school auditorium/gym with shots in a restroom. Looked like Zac Posen was in it as well. Wonder when the ads started? I'm very interested to hear what the turnout is like for the New Combinations program.

No debuts for the final week, but it looks like they're giving Emma Von Enck a chance to get comfortable in the Dewdrop role with two more performances. https://res.cloudinary.com/new-york-city-ballet/image/upload/v1702486925/Documents/Casting/NYCB_Casting_Dec_26-31_2023_lobby.pdf

Thanks!

I noticed that NYCB is doing a sensory-friendly performance this spring. I don't remember seeing that before. Seems like a great idea. I wonder why Scènes de Ballet and Glass Pieces were chosen for this program.

Yes, Pilarre was there, but I don’t know if she went on stage. I went to a book talk on Wednesday about Serenade. Toni Bentley brought three of her friends, including Pilarre. Bentley called out Pilarre by name, but I don’t know if she named the others. They all said they were there, but one of them noted that she didn’t go on stage. By the way, Bentley said she greatly enjoyed Tuesday night. She also said she had concerns with some of the technique she’d seen lately. I don’t know if that comment was about Tuesday. Does anyone who went on Tuesday know which alum wearing pink was running to her seat after one of the intermissions (eliciting laughs from the audience)? I’m so glad Janzen gets to retire with Diamonds. He and Sara made magic on Tuesday.

And under TPC2, it's listed as May 29, 1941 in Rio de Janeiro: Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 | New York City Ballet (nycballet.com)

Just noticed that there are different dates listed for the American Ballet Caravan premiere of Ballet Imperial. Does anyone know the reason? NYCB has the premiere listed as June 25, 1941 in Rio De Janeiro - Ballet Imperial | New York City Ballet (nycballet.com) ABT has the premiere listed as May 27, 1941 in New York - ABT - Ballet Imperial

Thanks for sharing. The anecdote Grace Scheffel told about Megan Fairchild was really sweet.

Yes, maybe it depends on the usher. Also, I think for practical reasons, the ushers generally don't keep as much as a watchful eye in the boxes (I was in the balcony boxes). Many phones were out all over and that's not so uncommon, but witnessing someone browsing the photo app throughout Acts II and III was a new experience for me. The phone was alight for the majority of the performance. Why take pictures to memorialize an event that you didn't watch? Anyway, I'll stop being a Negative Nancy now. At least there wasn't too much leaning over the edge.

So happy to see a full house, but some of the audience behavior makes me wish it weren’t so full. I understand the desire to document a night out, but taking multiple photos and SCROLLING through them during the show boggles the mind. The social contract is in the shredder.

Yes, those dancers along with Ahn and Bell were promoted to principal at the same time.

This part made me sad. There's really no need to speak on others here.

My friend and I didn’t have slips! How bizarre.

It would’ve been nice to have had an announcement. Knowing that Woodward was stepping in unexpectedly right after Haieff gave me a different appreciation for her while watching the performance. I wonder how many people in the audience left thinking they’d seen Megan.

Agreed. I don't love the Hindemith, but I did love the See the Music demonstration! I listened to the podcast episode earlier this week, which made me go into the night planning to focus on the corps, but I found myself focusing almost entirely on Mira and Emilie.

True. Not longer at all, but seeing the March and June dates made it seem that way to me.

Seems like a long season or at least a late one

Davidsbundlertanze was paired with Union Jack in Spring 2014, so repeating that program would kill two birds with one stone!

Yes, Tess Reichlen used to dance it as well.

I see that there's a 7:00 p.m. Sleeping Beauty performance on Sunday, 02/19. Does anyone know what the occasion is?

[Admin note: these quote swas from the Ashley Bouder on Body Shaming thread] NYT: City Ballet Fires Two Male Dancers Named in Photo Sharing Scandal Here is one example from 2018. The article is about Ramasar and Catazaro being fired, but they chose a photo of Ramasar for the cover image. Yes, there is a photo of Catazaro included later, but it isn't the prominent image of the article; it's only seen after you open and scroll. This article came out before Catazaro went to Europe. I won't say anyone was let off the hook, but I do think Ramasar was made the face of the situation before it made sense to do so (if it ever did).

You wrote, "I just kept thinking how incredibly blessed I was that I got to follow her career for so many years." I agree. Sometimes when a dancer announces a retirement, I feel sorry that I hadn't seen them as much as I could have over the years. Sometimes, people praise a particular dancer for years, but it takes a while for me to see what others have seen; the dancer has to grow on me. Other times, I'm sorry they weren't cast to my liking over the years. Not the case here. It didn't take me long to love Sterling's dancing and I feel very grateful to have appreciated her talents before it was too late. She was very much in her element yesterday and I'm glad she's retired on her own terms.

It's not the makeup. I thought Frenette danced beautifully. So glad he's been having such a great season. I'm usually freezing in there. I agree that last night was warmer than usual, but I was very happy about it. I also couldn't hear the substitutions from last night, so if anyone knows them, please share! After reading all the positive feedback, I'm excited to see Calvin Royal III's Siegfried in the future.

Thank you both!

Did anyone attend last night? Please share your thoughts!