Alexandra

I sympathize, Drew. In one way, as you said, it doesn't matter, but in another, it does. Especially if one admires a dancer, one doesn't want to spend ten years thinking that that person is someone he or she is not!

Updated casting, January 28, 2004: NEW YORK CITY BALLET PRINCIPAL CASTING FOR THE WEEK OF JAN. 27 – FEB. 1, 2004 TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 27, 7:30 P.M. (Conductors: Quinn, Kaplow) CHOPINIANA: Students from the School of American Ballet [McDill] PRODIGAL SON: Boal, Kistler, Fayette, Golbin, Abergel, Suozzi, Hendrickson [Q] TSCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2: Somogyi, Askegard, Reichlen, Tinsley, Rutherford, J. Stafford, Ramasar [K] [Walters] WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 28, 8:00 P.M. (Conductor: Kaplow) SWAN LAKE: ODETTE/ODILE: Kowroski; SIEGFRIED: Askegard; VON ROTBART: Fayette; QUEEN: Abergel; JESTER: Hendrickson; BENNO: Hanna; PAS DE TROIS: Mandradjieff, Fairchild; PAS DE QUATRE: Ringer, van Kipnis, *Tinsley, Neal; HUNGARIAN: Rutherford, la Cour (replaces Fowler); RUSSIAN: Borree, Evans (replaces Hübbe); SPANISH: Beskow, Muller, Seth, J. Stafford; NEAPOLITAN: Edge, Gold; PRINCESSES: Keenan (replaces Golbin), Hanson, Körbes, *Barak, Krohn, Arthurs THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 29, 8:00 P.M. (Conductor: Quinn) SWAN LAKE: ODETTE/ODILE: Caroline Cavallo+ (replaces Somogyi); SIEGFRIED: Martins; VON ROTBART: Evans; QUEEN: Muller; JESTER: Ulbricht; BENNO: *Orza; PAS DE TROIS: Tinsley, van Kipnis; PAS DE QUATRE: Borree, Riggins, Mandradjieff, Millepied; HUNGARIAN: *Lowery, la Cour; RUSSIAN: Ansanelli, Fayette; SPANISH: Beskow, Abergel, Seth, J. Stafford; NEAPOLITAN: Fairchild, Carmena; PRINCESSES: Keenan (replaces Golbin), Hanson, Hankes, Barak, Krohn, Arthurs FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 30, 8:00 P.M. (Conductors: Moredock, Quinn, Fiorato) DONIZETTI VARIATIONS: Ringer Neal [M] APOLLO: Hübbe, Kistler, Bouder (replaces Sylve), van Kipnis (replaces Weese) [Q] SERENADE: Nichols, Borree, Kowroski, Askegard, Fayette [F] SATURDAY MATINEE, JANUARY 31, 2:00 P.M. (Conductor: Kaplow) SWAN LAKE: ODETTE/ODILE: Kowroski; SIEGFRIED: Askegard; VON ROTBART: Fayette; QUEEN: Abergel; JESTER: Hendrickson; BENNO: Hanna; PAS DE TROIS: Mandradjieff, Fairchild; PAS DE QUATRE: Ringer, van Kipnis, Tinsley, Neal; HUNGARIAN: Rutherford, la Cour (Fowler); RUSSIAN: Borree, Evans (replaces Hübbe); SPANISH: Beskow, Muller, Seth, J. Stafford; NEAPOLITAN: Edge, Gold; PRINCESSES: Keenan (replaces Golbin), Hanson, Körbes, Barak, Krohn, Arthurs SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 31, 8:00 P.M. (Conductors: Moredock, Kaplow) DONIZETTI VARIATIONS: Ringer *Millepied [M] SCOTCH SYMPHONY: Nichols, Martins, van Kipnis [M] TSCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2: Caroline Cavallo+ (replaces Weese), Neal, Bouder, Tinsley, Rutherford, Orza, Veyette [K] [Walters] SUNDAY MATINEE, FEBRUARY 1, 3:00 P.M. (Conductor: Quinn) SWAN LAKE: ODETTE/ODILE: Caroline Cavallo+ (replaces Somogyi); SIEGFRIED: Martins; VON ROTBART: Evans; QUEEN: Muller; JESTER: Ulbricht; BENNO: Orza; PAS DE TROIS: Tinsley, van Kipnis; PAS DE QUATRE: Borree, Riggins, Mandradjieff, Millepied; HUNGARIAN: Lowery, la Cour; RUSSIAN: Ansanelli, Fayette; SPANISH: Beskow, Abergel, Seth, J. Stafford; NEAPOLITAN: Fairchild, Carmena; PRINCESSES: Keenan (replaces Golbin), Hanson, Hankes, Barak, Krohn, Arthurs * First Time in Role + Guest Artist PROGRAM AND CASTING SUBJECT TO CHANGE (1/28/04)

This just in from NYCB: CAROLINE CAVALLO PRINCIPAL DANCER WITH THE ROYAL DANISH BALLET TO APPEAR WITH NEW YORK CITY BALLET THIS WEEK New York City Ballet announced today that Caroline Cavallo, a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet, will dance the role of Odette/Odile in Peter Martins’ Swan Lake on Thursday, January 29 at 8 p.m. and on Sunday, February 1 at 3 p.m. Ms. Cavallo will perform for the previously announced Jennie Somogyi, who is unable to dance due to injury. Nilas Martins will dance the role of Prince Siegfried at both performances. In addition, Ms. Cavallo will dance the leading ballerina role in George Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 on Saturday, January 31 at 8 p.m. in place of the previously announced Miranda Weese, who is unable to perform due to illness. These performances will mark the first time that Ms. Cavallo has danced with New York City Ballet. Ms. Cavallo, who grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, joined the Royal Danish Ballet in 1989 after studying at the Atlanta School of Ballet and at the School of American Ballet. In 1992 Ms. Cavallo was appointed a soloist with the Royal Danish Ballet and in 1997 she was made a principal dancer. Ms. Cavallo’s repertory with the Royal Danish Ballet includes the title roles in Romeo and Juliet, La Sylphide, Giselle, and The Merry Widow, as well as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Kitri in Don Quixote, Teresina in Napoli, and Tatjana in Onegin. For the Royal Danish Ballet she has also danced the leading ballerina role in Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 and Odette/Odile in Mr. Martins’ Swan Lake, which was created for the Danish company in 1996. New York City Ballet’s 2004 winter repertory season continues through Sunday, February 29, and is an exploration of George Balanchine’s classical heritage as part of New York City Ballet’s year-long celebration of the centennial of George Balanchine’s birth. Tickets for all winter season performances are on sale now at the New York State Theater box office, through Ticketmaster at 212-307-4100, or online at nycballet.com. The New York State Theater is located on the Lincoln Center Plaza at Columbus Avenue at 63rd Street. For information on any NYCB performance call 212-870-5570.

Greve is tall, too -- although I wonder if she really made the tour? She was not in D.C. and Kenneth Greve was injured and also didn't come. Again, the best way to check is to go to the company's web site and look at the mug shots Go here and click on the Staff link in the lefthand nav bar. That takes you to a page with a list of the rankings -- you can find principals, soloists, corps, and if you click on the dancer's name, there will be a photo.

We don't have a response on Tewsley yet, I'm afraid, but Jennie Somogyi was injured last night and this news just in about cast changes for this weekend. Caroline Cavallo (principal with tihe Royal Danish Ballet) will replace Jennie Somogyi in Swan Lake and Miranda Weese in Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto.

I've been told that Somogyi was injured last night, but how seriously or what kind of injury I don't know. She has been replaced in "Swan Lake" for Saturday evening and Sundaymatinee. I'll make a post on cast changes in a minute. Thanks for the report, Hal!!

Here, the Four Princes are often the fourth-but-one tallest boys in the corps (the tallest man being the King, just like we did in kindergarten) And often young men without good partnering skills, which gives you some awful Rose Adagios, where they all are stacked up like vertical pancakes, back to chest, and she has 13 seconds to let go of one and grab the next. Hans has that Lopokhov quote in his sig line, so HE may be able to put it in context, which I can't.

Perhaps they sent out the press releases first? I happened to be on line when it came in and posted it immediately here. I'm sure it will be up soon

I think it's Lopokhov who said "forward to Petipa" and he said it at a time of experimental choreography; so he was saying to go forward is to look back. He was also roundly criticized at the time, by some, for wrecking Petipa. The Rose Adagio is a very old form -- it's one of the few pas d'actions still in repertory. In Russia, the four Princes are usually, still, principals, Princes, and one will often read, in American reviews, at least (and hear from fans) "Oh, what a waste! They don't do any dancing." Again, it depends on your definition of dancing. I don't mean at all that Wright is trying to revive Noverre or takes him literally, just that he's read him and is familiar with that world. I'd like to see the Wright production -- thanks for telling us about it. It sounds as though it's one of the "traditional" stagings that still works.

There's a real divide over the Stroman piece -- some people love it, some people don't. I know there are all kinds of shades of opinion, but I'd be interested to see a simple thumbs up, thumbs down on this one. (Please don't vote unless you've actually seen the ballet!!)

Thanks! I was wondering who "one very short guest ballerina" was

NEW YORK CITY BALLET PRINCIPAL CASTING FOR THE WEEK OF FEB. 3 – FEB. 8, 2004 TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 3, 7:30 P.M. (Conductor: Quinn) DOUBLE FEATURE (New Stroman) ACT I – THE BLUE NECKLACE: DOROTHY BROOKS: Kowroski; BILLY RANDOLPH: Woetzel; MRS. GRIFFITH: Nichols; MABEL: Bouder; MR. GRIFFITH: Fowler; FLORENCE: Fairchild ACT II – MAKIN’ WHOOPEE!: ANNE WINDSOR: Ansanelli; JIMMIE SHANNON: Gold; JOE DOHERTY: Evans; EDWARD MEEKIN: Orza; GARRISON: Higgins WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 4, 8:00 P.M. (Conductor: Quinn) DOUBLE FEATURE (New Stroman) ACT I – THE BLUE NECKLACE: DOROTHY BROOKS: Kowroski; BILLY RANDOLPH: Woetzel; MRS. GRIFFITH: Nichols; MABEL: Bouder; MR. GRIFFITH: Fowler; FLORENCE: Fairchild ACT II – MAKIN’ WHOOPEE!: ANNE WINDSOR: Ansanelli; JIMMIE SHANNON: Gold; JOE DOHERTY: Evans; EDWARD MEEKIN: Orza; GARRISON: Higgins THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 5, 8:00 P.M. (Conductor: Quinn) DOUBLE FEATURE (New Stroman) ACT I – THE BLUE NECKLACE: DOROTHY BROOKS: Kowroski; BILLY RANDOLPH: Woetzel; MRS. GRIFFITH: Nichols; MABEL: Bouder; MR. GRIFFITH: Fowler; FLORENCE: Fairchild ACT II – MAKIN’ WHOOPEE!: ANNE WINDSOR: Ansanelli; JIMMIE SHANNON: Gold; JOE DOHERTY: Evans; EDWARD MEEKIN: Orza; GARRISON: Higgins FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 6, 8:00 P.M. (Conductor: Quinn) JEWELS EMERALDS: Weese, *Hanna, *Ringer, Fayette, Tinsley, van Kipnis, Higgins RUBIES: Borree, Woetzel, Kowroski [Grant] DIAMONDS: Nichols, Neal SATURDAY MATINEE, FEBRUARY 7, 2:00 P.M. (Conductors: Kaplow, Fiorato, Moredock) DONIZETTI VARIATIONS: Ringer, Millepied [K] CONCERTO BAROCCO: Borree, Somogyi, Hübbe [F] SCOTCH SYMPHONY: Nichols, Martins, van Kipnis [M] SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 7, 8:00 P.M. (Conductor: Quinn) JEWELS EMERALDS: Weese, Hanna, Ringer, Fayette, Tinsley, van Kipnis, Higgins RUBIES: *Somogyi, Boal, *Reichlen [Grant] DIAMONDS: Kistler, Askegard SUNDAY MATINEE, FEBRUARY 8, 3:00 P.M. (Conductor: Quinn) JEWELS EMERALDS: Weese, Hanna, Ringer, Fayette, Tinsley, van Kipnis, Higgins RUBIES: Borree, Woetzel, Kowroski [Grant] DIAMONDS: Nichols, Neal * First Time in Role PROGRAM AND CASTING SUBJECT TO CHANGE (1/27/04)

THE WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF BALLET APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR Former American Ballet Theatre Soloist Rebecca Wright Assumes Post August, 2004 (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Board President of The Washington Ballet, Kay Kendall announced today the appointment of Rebecca Wright to the position of Director of The Washington School of Ballet. Wright succeeds legendary ballet teacher Mary Day, who has served as the School’s Director for its entire 60-year history and will retire in the summer of 2004. Wright will assume her duties as Director of The Washington School of Ballet in August 2004. Wright’s career as a dancer, teacher and choreographer is vast and highly celebrated. She was a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet from 1966 to 1975 and a soloist with American Ballet Theatre (ABT) from 1975 to 1982. In addition, Wright has appeared in numerous television presentations including “Live from Lincoln Center” as well as the Emmy-award winning CBS Television special “Harlequin” with Edward Villella. She starred on Broadway in the musical “Merlin” for which she received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. Wright has been invited to choreograph for the prestigious Carlisle Project and has created numerous works for California State University, Long Beach, where she was a professor from 1987 to 1993. Wright’s teaching and leadership credits include Director of Adelphi University’s Dance program and Chair of the Joffrey/New School Univerisity B.F.A. Program in Dance. She is currently the Director of St. Paul’s School Dance program in Concord, New Hampshire and the Artistic Director of ABT’s Summer Training Programs in New York, Tuscaloosa, Detroit, Austin and Orange County, California. “Mary Day’s Washington School of Ballet has had 60 wonderful years of delivering generations of some of the world’s finest dancers to the ballet world,” says Webre. “Under Rebecca’s stewardship, the School will continue this great legacy of Mary Day.” “I have long admired Rebecca’s work and I have a great respect for her classical ideals,” says Day. “She will undoubtedly carry on and propel forward the fine training, professionalism and strong reputation we’ve established at the School.” “Rebecca impressed the Board with her ability to combine artistic acumen with business savvy and a strong feel for administration,” says Kendall. “Her philosophy is based on always placing the student first. We are thrilled to have her aboard.” Wright officially takes the helm of the School on August 23, 2004. Over the next six months, she will meet regularly with Webre and Day to collaborate on a multi-year strategic plan, integrate with the staff and faculty and gradually take on the day-to-day operations of the School.

EVERY critic I talked to who saw her noticed Hojlund and most wrote about it. I think it would have made a difference in Napoli if Hojlund and Lund had opened, or if they'd been given the Friday night show, when all the NY cirtics were down (which was predictable!) Instead, they danced Thursday, and so only half the critics saw her. The audience liked her too

Thank you for that, Drew -- I'm also glad you liked Tina Hojlund! I've been puzzled why four directors have overlooked her, giving her very few soloist parts (she was an aspirant in 1992 and a lot of people were noticing her then. Several dancers I'm in contact with consider her the finest Bournonville dancer now in the company.) It is hard to judge a company from a small group of soloists, but what you write sounds pretty much like what we got -- if you'd seen this "Napoli" I think you'd have noticed that it wasn't like the Ib Andersen-Kehlet days too. For identification purposes -- if Schandorff danced, she'd have been the tallest woman in the group, although you may have only noticed that in curtain calls.

That is good news! I thought it had been popular, though -- so I'm surprised. Is the alternative Nutcracker the "hip hop Nutcracker" that was such a hit this year? That had RDB dancers in it too, I believe.

chauffeur, thank you for posting this. I've been on 3 weeks of constant deadlines and missed this when it first went up but it is a lovely review. There's a great divide on Baryshnikov's new shows, as you've found -- some people go and are disappointed at what they aren't seeing (even though I don't see how anyone can go thinking they're going to see Don Q pas de deux!) and others are still mesmerized by him. You've caught why, very well. Thank you!

But she's not a-hoppin' and a-turnin' It's the "long clear lines" that says "danseuse noble," to me.

Thank you for that Gabby -- living three blocks from a theater, I hope you will go to more performance and tell us about them! Bad lighting and taped music isn't good news, though. It's all too common now, and of course, it's because of lack of funds, but still...I'm glad you could enjoy the performance despite the problems!

I saw this link on ballet.co and read the article with great interest. I'd seen Farruquito a few years ago, when he was still a teenager, and he's one of the most interesting dancers I've ever seen. I'm thrilled, of course, to read a young dancer who honors his grandfather (also a great Flamenco dancer) but his own dancing makes its own case. If anyone sees this, I hope you'll write about it -- and if you have the chance to see him, please take it! His group is called Alma Vieja. I saw him when he was a guest with a "street flamenco" group, which I also found very interesting. I am by no means an expert on Spanish dancing! But some skills cross boundaries of styles, and power is power. Blood on the dancefloor

Thanks, Jeannie. We've missed you

I can certainly undertand how that sounds odd. However, it sounds as though PW is an ardent Noverrist -- again, placing the ballet in the context of its time, that it was an 19th century version of an 18th century ballet feerie. Noverre (and his contemporaries) assigned the most important roles to the noble genre, and they carried the story through mime. He believed that dance was divertissement, mime was to express the emotions. And so the most important characters did not "dance" in the way that we understand dancing. (The "all dance" 20th century has, in some ways, broadened our view of what dance is, and in others narrowed it.) Also, there's an oral tradition that the original Lilac Fairy variation wasn't much of a variation, and the assumption was made that this was because Marie Petipa "couldn't dance" or "was only a character dancer" (implying that Marius had put his inept daughter into an important role because of nepotism). The "noble genre" roles often LOOK simple because they were about line and placement and had to be danced perfectly; it was the perfection, the quality, that was judged, not the quantity of terms. Because the noble genre had been lost in Western Europe, it was reinterpreted as "character dance" in the 20th century. This is, I believe, an error. The dances in the second act of Sleeping Beauty, for example, are court dances, not character dances.

Here are the cast changes (from a knowledgeable viiewer, not from the company): in KONSERVATORIET C.Cavallo danced in place of S.Schandorff in the SYLPHIDE selections Femke Molbach Slot was replaced by Claire Still. in NOMADE the central couple was Tina Hojlund and Mads Blangstrup in TRIPLEX the dancers were: Diana Cuni, Dawid Kupinski and (as givem) Nikolai Hansen the FLOWER FESTIVAL p.d.d. was danced by Hojlund and Kristoffer Sakurai Liebs, Kristoffer Sakurai is tall with dark hair. Dawid Lupinski is tall with very short blond hair. I don't know whether that helps or not!

When the company was here, Femke Molbach Slot alternated with Schandorff as the blue girl in Napoli and she has reddish hair, if that's any help. I've asked someone who saw the performance to email me if he can identify the dancers.

Thank you for that, liebs. A friend called me earlier today to tell me about the cast changes and inaccuracies. Apparently Schandorff didn't dance. She's quite tall, with auburn hair now (those who saw her in the 90s might remember a blonde.) I might have this wrong, but I think I was told that Conservatoriet was danced by Cavallo and Diana Cuni. She's a small, dark-haired soloist (and a very good dancer, I think). I can't help untangle any of the others, I'm afraid. There are photos on the RDB's web site here Then click on Staff (left), then there are the rankings, and eventually photos.