Helene

Villwock wrote on her social media (posted in one of the NYCB season threads) that she would join PNB as of Nutcracker season, joining her husband, Villalobos, who joined PNB during last season, to become Ballet Master after Paul Gibson left the Company. Henry Cotton wasn't on the roster starting with the opening program, and I do miss his dancing.

Casting is up through the Christmas Eve performance on December 24 at 12:30pm: https://www.pnb.org/nutcracker/ Link to the downloadable spreadsheet. (Warning: it's wide, with the upcoming three weeks on top and the weeks gone by below.) Nutcracker 2019_12_10.xlsx Some changes from this week's performances previously posted: Elizabeth Murphy replaces Margaret Mullin as Sugar Plum Fairy, and Cecilia Iliesiu replaces Murphy as Dewdrop on Friday, Dec 13. Angelica Generosa replaces Noelani Pantastico as Sugar Plum Fairy on Saturday, Dec 14 at 7:30pm. Noelani Pantastico replaces Margaret Mullin as Dewdrop on Sunday, Dec 15 at 12:30pm. Angelica Generosa replaces Noelani Pantastico as Sugar Plum Fairy on Sunday, and Yuki Takahashi debuts as Marzipan, replacing Generosa on Dec 15 at 5:30pm/ Some more debuts in Weeks 3-5: Christian Poppe dances Cavalier, Mark Cuddihee dances his first Tea, and Calista Ruat dances her first Hot Chocolate on Saturday, Dec 14 at 2pm. Mark Cuddihee dances his first Candy Cane on Sunday, Dec 15 at 12:30pm. Clara Ruf Maldonado dances Sugar Plum Fairy on Wednesday, Dec 18 at 7:30pm. Genevieve Waldorf dances Dewdrop on Friday, Dec 20 at 7:30pm.

Hmmm, there are Belgian figure skaters who capitalize the "v" in "van"/"Van," like Kevin Van der Perren.

Villwock is now on the PNB roster (in corps) and, unless there were changes from the printed program, was Grandmother in last night's Nutcracker (Fri, Dec 7).

Casting for Week 3 is up: https://www.pnb.org/nutcracker/ Juliet Prine makes her debut as Dewdrop a day earlier at tomorrow's evening performance (Saturday, December 7 at 7:30pm). In the same performance, Angelica Generosa and Price Suddarth will dance Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier in place of Margaret Mullin, who didn't dance Spanish tonight, and Steven Loch. Link to the downloadable spreadsheet: Nutcracker 2019_12_07.xlsx There must be something in the water here, because lately, I've seen the best Coffee performances in many decades, first Angeli Mamon last season or the year before, Calista Ruat last season, and tonight, Nancy Casciano, who was stellar in it. Which is appropriate, because this is Seattle, after all, home of the caffeinated.

[Admin Beanie On] Come on people, you've all been on this board long enough to know not to post what I've had to remove, nor to take the bait to reply. [Admin Beanie Off]

Sorry, my mistake: I was thinking about the fouettes in the coda . Ashley wrote in her book that Balanchine gave a ton of hops en pointe in class, and there were lots of bruised toes. IIRC, it was right after a big break, too. I don't remember if that was also right after she scraped her feel on coral reef in Hawaii.

But the Ballo ones don't turn one element into a litmus test, they are short and sweet and ride the momentum. Plus, they were originally pique turns in a circle that didn't work for teevee, and Balanchine switched to the tele-friendly fouttes. Are they en dedans as well?

My reaction to his post is the same as California's.

Word.

And Marzipan goes on and on... (Although I think Kent Stowell's Commedia trio is the best I've seen.) I always thought it should go between Tea and Candy Cane, because the energy is so high after Candy Cane.

Many thanks for writing about these dancers and performances. There are a lot of dancers who never get their due in North American because they don't dance in NYC or from a handful of companies that fight to be considered part of the big three.

Sylve was wonderful in Diamonds, and Tina Le Blanc's Rubies lead is still one of my all-time favorites. I haven't seen SFB dance Jewels since then. It's such a mixed bag, and it depends not only on the stager, and who coached/taught/trained them, but also what kind of training the dancers have had, and whether Balanchine was checking a box or whether it really resonates. (It's hard to find large and mid-sized US companies where a majority of the dancers didn't at least dip their toes into SAB's summer program.) Is the company (still) committed to Balanchine, or has it shifted? Has the Balanchine rep shifted? Does the Artistic Director has special relationships with particular stagers? Depending on the company outside the US, if it has an international roster of dancers who have different training, from what I've seen, more dancers dance Balanchine idiomatically. Companies with elite schools like the Mariinsky, Bolshoi, all of the Vaganova satellites throughout Russia and Eastern Europe, and, for the Bolshoi, Brazil, and Paris Opera are more likely to inprint their style on Balanchine. Jewels is great because you can see when specific dancers get it.

Happy US Thanksgiving to all!

Week 2 casting is up: https://www.pnb.org/nutcracker/ A major debut for Juliet Prine as Dewdrop on Sunday, December 8 at 5:30pm! Here's a link to the downloadable spreadsheet: Nutcracker 2019_11_27.xlsx