matilda

Agree with some of the above discussion, but wanted to add a few thoughts... Serenade After Plato's Symposium has 7 lead roles for men. Presumably there will be two casts, so that's a lot of potential spots for up-and-comers like Miyake and Robare. Push Comes to Shove also has a few female leads that are TBA, and Tharp will have sway over those decisions. I'm not going to read too much into Jaffe's Aurora casting. Teuscher, Boylston, and Seo have danced this ballet before, and the company doesn't have endless time and resources to teach dancers new roles. Senior ballerinas aren't just going to be kicked out of prestigious roles. I'm sure we'll see new casts when the full-length comes back. There's a ton of newly revived rep throughout the season that nobody, or few people, in the company has ever danced, with the vast majority of debuts going to the younger generation. It looks like a daunting season to put on, but in an exciting way! There's some rehearsal footage of "Have We Met?" on Juliano Nunes' Instagram featuring Brady Farrar and Alejandro Valera: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJhWe7bILF7/?hl=en Jarod Curley has light casting post-surgery but I'm hoping he's understudying T&V for Bell. With the exception of Ahn, I think the T&V casting is exciting. NYCB casts this ballet with shorter dancers so ABT's leggier approach will make for a fun contrast. No clue why Camargo isn't utilized more. I've never seen Les Syphides. Sounds like Seo/Stearns is the most promising cast for this romantic style, but open to suggestions!

Granlund must be doing the second pas de trois variation nowadays, since Beyer is dancing the first variation in her Instagram story. Granlund did the first variation when I saw her in this back in 2022.

de la Nuez pulled out of Winter's Tale for unknown reasons, and I didn't notice if he was in the Sylvia corps the following week. He did dance in Swan Lake last night as one of the Act I corps guys though.

I got caught in the torrential downpour on the way to the theater and sat through tonight's Swan Lake sopping wet on my red velvet seat. Oh well. I attended this performance because 1) I wanted to check out Hernandez in a full length, and 2) I haven't caught a Hurlin performance all season. Hernandez didn't disappoint — he's an exciting virtuoso solo dancer with a big presence. There were a few times where he almost lost control, but his jumps had beautiful elevation and lines. He's a welcome and needed addition to the ABT roster considering how few prime Siegfrieds the company currently has. Hurlin is a natural Odile and was more in her element in the ballroom scene. I was disappointed that she skipped the fouettés, but the manège was still thrilling — a category 5 Hurricane. Hurlin's Odette is lovely but lacks that liquidy quality and tragic drama of a top-tier swan. I didn't feel any chemistry between her and Hernandez, although I know it's a new partnership. Roxander, Seo, and Fléytoux did the pas de trois and were absolutely top tier. A brilliant performance from all three. Seo seems to have come out of nowhere, and I wouldn't be surprised if she got promoted this season. Ishchuk was good theatrically as Von Rothbart but didn't look entirely comfortable with the technical elements. I don't really see him getting promoted given the current competition in the company. I know a lot of people hate the Martins Swan Lake but having watched it only months before McKenzie's this year, the Martins ending does feel a lot more climactic.

Yoon Jung Seo posted that she's dancing pas de trois tonight. I think her partners in June were Gonzalez and Li?

It is a standard step, but it almost feels out of place in the sequence after a long stretch of hops on point. Bussell's version looks smoother than some of what I saw on stage this week though; I'm guessing it takes time for the dancer to finesse to the point where it looks seamless in this particular choreography.

Brandt looks better in roles the more she gets comfortable with them, like any dancer. Her Giselle is top-tier. Three out of the five Sylvias this week unfortunately only got one show to give it all they've got. (At NYCB, all of the ballerinas get at least two Swan Lakes, two Sleeping Beauties, etc. and in most cases reports of the second performance are more positive.) That said, I do think the Sylvia choreography is better suited to a taller ballerina, so Brandt was already at a disadvantage regardless of her performance. I've noticed some comments about ballerinas falling off pointe, but after three shows, I think at least some of it is part of the choreography? If we are thinking of the same moments. One example: when I saw Shevchenko in the pizzicato, I thought she unintentionally came off pointe at the end of the backward hops on pointe sequence, but then Misseldine and Brandt did the same. You can see Darcy Bussell going onto flat feet in the same manner starting at the 20 second mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We7KAkWJow8

Even though Aminta isn't the meatiest of lead danseur roles, I thought Roxander had an excellent debut with characteristically soaring jumps and clean finishes. He's clearly worked very hard on his partnering, because for a young soloist he didn't look uncomfortable with that difficult pas de deux, including the lifts and catches. His Act III solo was a marvel. Although I mostly went to this performance for Roxander's debut, I'm a big Brandt fan and enjoyed her performance as well. She has the ability to make incredibly difficult steps look easy, and I thought her pizzicato was the sharpest of the three I saw this week. That said, Brandt's dancing doesn't have the grandeur, articulation, or impact of Misseldine's, my favorite of the week (did not see Hurlin or Boylston). Some of this is size-related; she was shorter than most of her hunting pals. Although I agree with the above comment that her dancing can look hard and unnatural at times, her wonderful Giselle, plus her great debut as Perdita last week, are proof that she's capable of artistry and depth beyond raw technique. Anytime Miyake is cast is luxury casting. Loved his goat. Whiteside was by far the most effective Orion I saw this week in dancing, partnering, and acting.

Agree with this. Sierra Armstrong was similarly impactful on Wednesday. Sierra's dancing was a bit stronger but Claire nailed the steely Amazon demeanor. Makes me wonder why neither was cast as Myrta. I also think Joseph Markey would have been wonderful as Orion. I get the impression that Jaffe is trying to spread the wealth as much as possible though, and Davison, Armstrong, and Markey have gotten other notable roles this season.

Misseldine was a brilliant Sylvia tonight with bold attack in Act I, slinky elegance in Act II, and grandeur in Act III. She looked more comfortable with some of the choreography than Shevchenko yesterday and with more articulate positioning. She held some breathtaking balances and has crazy extensions/flexibility. I feel like she's the kind of all-around, full-package, adagio-and-allegro, capital-B Ballerina that's been missing from ABT for the last decade or so. I don't think I've seen a more beautiful pairing than her with Clarke. Wonderful performance and one of my favorites of the entire year, close to the level of Mira Nadon's Swan Lake. Where oh where has this brilliant ballet been all these years? The house was full tonight so they can't say people don't show up for classical. Eager for less contemporary and more Ashton! I spotted Ratmansky in the audience.

I recall in 2019, when he was still in the corps but on the rise, Bell had to sub for someone as Desiré in Sleeping Beauty despite apparently being injured, so his solo was completely cut from that performance. Not good for him, nor for the audience.

They haven't announced the Fall 2025 programming yet but I expect it to be announced next week based on last year's timing. The ad in the current season does indicate that Rodeo will be programmed. And Jaffe has said in past interviews that the season will include "classics" from the era of the company's founding (hence Rodeo), plus Tharp works.

ABT's social media marketing has gotten better this season, and it's great that they post more rehearsal footage now, but I wish we could see more snippets of performances like NYCB puts out. I get full-length video productions cost money and they don't want to deal with the union logistics, but it would be worth the effort. I pretty much only know about the Royal Ballet's dancers from filmed performances; no doubt someone like Marianela Nunez is an international star in large part because people can access her dancing via film. That ABT Swan Lake from 2005 undoubtedly boosted Gilliian Murphy's global recognition too. ABT's campaign art direction is overall quite dated looking and doesn't do the company any favors. NYCB's campaigns make ballet look hip and current whereas ABT's can feel fussy and old-fashioned. There's a particularly terrible promo pic for Rodeo this fall in the current season program. Not sure how long the existing marketing team has been in place but the powers that be might want to rethink the current approach.

Yeah, Balanchine's Coppélia borrows from the Sylvia music for the male solo variation, and also the coda / finale where the whole ensemble dances and Swanilda jumps into a backwards fish dive.

Lovely afternoon at the ballet -- Clarke is worth the hype with big, beautiful, weightless jumps for someone of his height (he even towered over Whiteside), plus clean landings and long lines. He partnered Shevchenko beautifully. He's that "unicorn" type of male danseur who has it all. The ballerina choreography was treacherously difficult, some of the hardest I've ever witnessed, and it even tested technical-master Shevchenko at times. Despite a bobble or two, she looked great. I don't find her as compelling of an artist as some do here, but no doubt she has technique, artistry, and presence to spare in any lead ballerina role. Whiteside was delightfully campy as Orion; he's amazing at these villain roles. Miyake is gradually developing more presence to complement his incredible technique each time I see him. Fleytoux's crisp dancing as the goat was a real highlight. One day she will get promoted to principal, and who will make such an impact in these minor roles? I loved this ballet and look forward to seeing it two more times this week. Hope to see more Ashton and other old-school classical works programmed in upcoming seasons.