Helene

Whenever I see big extensions and distorted lines in classical ballet, I feel like a stegasaurus. I don't care how beautiful the back is.

I respect her for walking the walk.

LOL!!!! I'm not sure I would have been that more interested in dancers' breakfasts than I am now, but I've always loved those "on the road" news and book photos. My favorite Balanchine story is how he sat with the dancers and made Christmas ornaments out of orange peels. Today a photo of it would be on Audreygram. Part of it is that so much of the dance I watched was not glamorpus stuff. I expected full-blooded Amazons and Paul Taylor, Merce Cunningham, Susan Marshall, Mark Morris etc. dancers. I saw my share of tiaras and Wilis, but my expectations about who dancers were were a lot different. Marine van Hamel was my idea of a classical ballerina.

I was lucky to have seen him dance. What sad news. Rest in peace, Mr. Renvall.

Copeland has attracted new followers on social media as a result of mainstream media coverage, and the number of followers does not always tie directly to how much engagement with social media the account owner has or the type of content. Kochetkova's content has been constant, with a lot of backstage and personal content that Herrera criticizes generally in this interview. I follow a lot of people and companies on social media, and fame often does not tie to the amount or steadiness of content delivered. Inconsistency is considered the kiss of death in social media -- it's a beast that requires constant feeding -- except among people who get plenty of mainstream coverage, like Copeland.

There's a difference between the media and social media. Copeland isn't particularly notable for being on social media, like, for example, Kochetkova: she has been embraced by the mainstream media. That is not to deny that she has done the interviews, written the book, done the book tours, endorsed a sportswear line, made appearances, and become part of outreach programs, but people in the media and business were the ones who were interested and willing to give her pixels and contracts, and to publish and publicize her book. Herrera, in her early career, got what was for the time a lot of press attention, both as a phenom and as part of a contingent of dancers, mostly men, from Latin and South America who became the core of ABT. That is different from social media self-promotion, but it was an important part of her career and important to ABT. Where she misses the mark is that popularity, name recognition, real-life partners, and stage partners have always played a part in dancers' careers, as well as luck and timing. That early publicity, plus being able to promote a young dancer quickly through the ranks and take credit for his talent-spotting ability that is catnip for AD's, gave her a big advantage. (Ah, if only we were back in the pure times of the '80's, when godlike and objective critics spotted talent, and talent was all that mattered.) She was often seen throughout her later career as a dancer who didn't grow much beyond those youthful performances, and she watched other dancers seize the spotlight, some through mainstream media, some through social media, and some through both. Her specific criticisms of social media *content* to gain popularity and recognition are different. Hers seem to be a minority view, but not an outlier view. As far as taint is concerned, she could easily feel that dancing should be separate and viewed on its own terms, and that what she does after her dancer career has no retroactive impact on her dance career or reputation as a dancer: the reviews aren't going to change themselves retroactively because of what one thinks of her clothing line, for better or worse. She's also launching a line in her own country, where she is a national cultural hero because of her dance career, which is highly unlikely to change. As far as her farewell performance, it's clear from her telling that McKenzie tried to convince her on "Sleeping Beauty" through a combination of the importance -- it got a huge amount of attention that nothing else in the rep did -- and the personal -- Do it for Alexei -- and she was convinced to give it a shot, and then decided "No." It might have been complete self-interest on McKenzie's part, since Kent's farewell was clearly at the top of the hierarchy, but he didn't have to "waste" a plum role and limited resources in the most important production of the year on a dancer who was leaving and would neither dance it again or pass on the knowledge through coaching. It was tone deafness on his part that made him and the company look bad and ungrateful, but it wasn't as if he asked her to dance Younger Sister for her farewell.

I can't wait to see the stream of "Sylvia" -- many thanks for the heads up!

She said nothing against self-promotion. She said nothing against talking to the media. She did not say that dancers shouldn't give any inside information to their close supporters. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Putting words into someone's mouth and/or misrepresenting what they said is another story, but having that done comes with the turf, which is also nothing new.

In response to canbelto: Except that is neither what she said nor the issues that she raised. The examples she gave were dancers posting to social media during performances and tweeting about issues that affect their performances, and the audiences going straight to social media during intermission to read the posts. I see nothing inconsistent about what she said and creating a clothing line. Celebrities have had clothing lines, perfumes, shoes, jewelry, handbags, make-up lines etc. far longer than there was an internet and social media, and even were she to use social media to promote her clothing line, it's not what she had the problem with. You could decide it degrades her brand to have a clothing line, but she would clearly disagree. There are many people who think these things should not be published, that they affect the illusion of what happens on stage, and that the performance is what it is, and that there is no obligation to take a performer's injury, costume mishap, cramp into consideration, nor how long they had to learn the role. The way to avoid reading about these things is to not read them, although she might not be able to avoid being asked about them and why she doesn't do the same and/or her opinions about and relationship to social media. There's little way to avoid having the person blocking your exit in a theater from opening up his or her cell phone and announce to anyone within earshot that Dancer A tweeted that he pulled a muscle. Except to avoid live theater.

She was specifically talking about dancers who tweet during the performance and who give details about what went wrong during the performances. There is a simple answer to those who don't want to know: don't follow them on social media. As far as people opening up their cell phones at intermission, the only way to avoid that is to stay home, the same way you can avoid other people's perfume, talking during the performance, unwrapping candies, blocking your view, humming along with the music, or reaction/lack-of-reaction to the work.

Ashley Wheater announced that ten new dancers would be joining the Joffrey Ballet: https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwdance/article/Joffrey-Ballet-Announces-10-New-Dancers-to-International-Roster-20150820 Nicole Ciapponi: corps of San Francisco Ballet 2010-24 Valeriia Chaykina: Moscow Ballet, Miami City Ballet School Camila Ferrera: Joffrey Studio Company Anna Gerberich: Principal Dancer, Charlotte Ballet Stefan Goncalvez: Washington School of Ballet Luis Eduardo Gonzalez: Houston Ballet II, Orlando Ballet Hansol Jeong: Korean Ballet Theatre Gayeon Jung: Korea National University of the Arts Paulo Rodrigues: Paulista Dance Company, Joffrey school Trainee Joan Sebastián Zamora: English National Ballet

I loved Lisa Apple. She must have been beautiful in Aria II. Another dancer whose injury cut short her career. She was a stunning Titania and danced a beautiful Pas de Trois in "Swan Lake," among her roles.

She was a replacement just in that performance: she was cast in the others. I'm pretty sure Nakamura was back later in the run. Ideally we'd see Bouchard as Bee Man, but he's gone Maybe Renko, especially after "Carmina." I would love to see Benjamin Griffiths dance Prodigal Son, especially after seeing his Chicken Man in "Carmina." Sarah Ricard Orza and Jerome Tisserand were smoking in "Don Quixote" as Mercedes and Espada: I'd love to see them as Prodigal Son/Siren I suspect that Seth Orza may be cast, although bigger men usually aren't.

It sure will. Here are the dancers who've been cast in the roles in the past: "Square Dance", last performed April, 2010: Carrie Imler/Lucien Postlewaite (now with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo). This was ballet Nirvana. Rachel Foster/Benjamin Griffiths Mara Vinson (retired, co-AD of Olympic Ballet Theatre and school with husband Oleg Gorboulev)/Seth Orza Kaori Nakamura (retired, faculty PNBS)/Jonathan Porretta In 2007, Nakamura danced with Griffiths, and Imler, who was prepping for Ballet Imperial, took over partway through the ballet after Nakamura had a freak fall in one performance."Stravinsky Violin Concerto", premiered at PNB in 1986. I saw it in 1996 and 2001 (staged by Bart Cook and Karin von Aroldingen). I don't think Boal has programmed it before City Center. BA! didn't exist in 1996, and there is no other casting info in the 2001 thread other than the casts I saw. I saw Ariana Lallone (Teatro Zinzanni)/Ulrik Wivel (filmmaker) in Aria I and Barker (AD, Grand Rapids Ballet)/Stanton (Ballet Master, Oregon Ballet Theatre) in Aria II in 1996 and Imler/Paul Gibson (Ballet Master, PNB) in Aria I and Nadeau (faculty PNB)/Wevers (AD Whim W'him) in Aria II in 2001. Imler is the only one still in the company from those productions. I would not be surprised to see Laura Tisserand and Lindsi Dec cast in Aria I, Rachel Foster and Maria Chapman cast in Aria II, and Lesley Raush cast in either. "Prodigal Son", premiered at PNB in 1984. I saw PNB perform it in 2004 and 2007. Jonathan Porretta/Patricia Barker (2004) Jonathan Porretta/Lindsi Dec (2007) Jonathan Porretta/Laura Tisserand (2007) Lucien Postlewaite/Ariana Lallone (2004, 2007) James Moore/Carla Korbes (Associate AD, LA Dance Project and freelancer) (2007) Le Yin (faculty, International Ballet Theatre) was scheduled to perform the role, but needed knee surgery, per a Q&A reported by sandik on BA!. I don't know if he performed it in week one. It was a huge break for Postlewaite at the time. I loved Le Yin's dancing, and it was sad when injury cut short his career, although he does perform occasionally.)"Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude," PNB premiere 2015: Leta Biasucci/Margaret Mullen/Carrie Imler/Jonathan Porretta/Benjamin Griffiths Angelica Generosa/Rachel Foster/Chelsea Adomaitis/Kyle Davis/Price Suddarth Jahna Frantziskonis (now San Francisco Ballet)/Carli Samuelson/Elizabeth Murphy/Raphael Bouchard (now Les Ballet Canadiens)/Dylan Wald Edited to Add: The cast for Season Encore was Adomaitis/Foster/Frantziskonis/Bouchard/Suddarth. It was Frantziskonis and Bouchard's last performance with the company."A Million Kisses to My Skin," PNB Premiere 2012, also performed 2014-15: Multiple casts, including: Brittany Reid (retired)/, Elizabeth Murphy, Kylee Kitchens, Laura (Gilbreath) Tisserand, Carrie Imler, Margaret Mullin, Andrew Bartee (Ballet BC), Joshua Grant, Jerome Tisserand, Sarah Ricard Orza, Carla Korbes (LA Dance Project), Lindsi Dec, Maria Chapman/Lesley Rausch/Lucien Postlewaite (Les Ballets de Monte Carlo)/Seth Orza/Jonathan Porretta, Batkhurel Bold, Leta Biasucci, Elle Macy, Amanda Clark, Sarah Pasch, Emma Love Suddarth, William Lin-Yee, Charles McCall (left PNB at season end). "Emergence," PNB Premiere 2013, also performed for Season Encores in June 2014. It uses the whole company. There are five featured roles/groups in the casting sheet, but, annoyingly, although thematically sound, these are not listed in the programs. The three most prominent parts/sections are: Prologue:Rachel Foster/Joshua Grant Margaret Mullin/William Lin-Yee Elizabeth Murphy/Seth Orza Leah Merchant/Joshua Grant Grand PasLindsi Dec/Batkhurel Bold Carrie Imler/Jonathan Porretta Bee ManAndrew Bartee (Ballet BC) Kiyon Gaines (faculty, PNB, Next Step coordinator, choreographer, Renaissance Man)

Gia Kourlas wrote an article published today in "The New York Times" about different companies' attitudes about social media, with the company's explanation about what happened before Saratoga Springs this summer: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/arts/dance/ballet-life-unfiltered-and-uploaded-to-instagram.html

PNB got special rights to perform selections from "Liebeslieder Walzer" for Russell and Stowell's farewell. I seem to remember special permissions for at least part of "Symphony in C" for another special performance. Sometimes choreographers/trusts will agree for works to be performed for special occasions.

I saw Danilo Radojevic dance the Baryshnikov role, and either Baryshnikov was still dancing or it was not long after he stopped. I loved him.

And if you took out the fame, Fonteyn and Nureyev would have been fifth cast of the MacMillan Romeo and Juliet instead of Seymour and Gable, if they were cast at all.

The bloodless mime style and storytelling is so antithetical to the three-dimensional RDB style that I can understand the lack of enthusiasm for it in Copenhagen. In my opinion, it would be worth seeing if only for the sets and costumes, although I thought it was a terrific piece, once I got my head around it. I was expecting something quite different from a former member of the company: Ratmansky wasn't an outsider flavor-of-the-month with a commission. Drew, yes, I was thinking of Zhurbin. From all I've read, he would be wonderful in it. I wonder if Part has the range for Queen, because she's the first dancer I thought of. I saw Bojesen in Copenhagen. Although the thought of Copeland and Gomes sparks my interest.

There are four major roles in "The Golden Cockerel": King Dodon,, the Queen, the Astrologer, and the Cockerel. The King and Queen have major stage time. The Queen is the multi-dimensional character: a cross between Salome and Scheherazade, she uses her wits and physicality just trying to keep the customer satisfied (and distracted). The King's main dancing is as a partner in the pas de deux: it's primarily a mime/dramatic role. I'd love to see Gomes do this, as he has the presence, it would give him a challenge in a new work, and it might even give him a physical breather from the heavy lifting he does each season. This is *not* a role for a Prince or a dancer who doesn't have connection to his partner. The King must be completely and lustily taken with the Queen and for a very long stretch. The Queen has to do everything in a dancer's sensuous toolbox. She has to convince you that she's a physical prize, not a political trophy. It would die without charisma, sensuality, and intelligence. The Astrologer and Cockerel are smaller, but critical roles. The Astrologer must be a forceful presence. Is it Hammoudi who is lauded for character roles? The Cockerel is like a cross between a wind-up toy and AK47: all staccato, deadly force, a cyborg fighting machine who follows orders. The two sons have solos in Act I, but the roles demand characterization and engagement. Again, no Princes. The girlfriends would be fun roles for up-and-coming corps women with acting ability.

If "The Golden Cockerel" is a comedy, it's a black comedy.

I don't know the Folkine, only that the sets and costumes were based on the Ballets Russes'. I wrote it up after I saw it in Copenhagen in 2012: http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2012/12/bird-warfare.html

The last time PNB did "Square Dance," Imler was unbelievable, just out of this world, one of her best roles. I don't remember her being cast in "Violin Concerto,"* and as far as I know, she's never danced "Siren." She's done the leads in "Vertiginous" and "Emergence" (pas de deux), and she's danced in the Dawson. *Edited to add: my faulty memory: she danced Aria I with Paul Gibson, another one of my favorite PNB dancers of yore.

There's certainly no way that Maillot's R&J would have sold as many tickets had she not done two of three shows. Balanchine and Forsythe are a lot less dependent on casting. PNB sold well in the '90's at City Center with a couple of mixed bill programs, with the Balanchine ballets distributed, and with works as diverse as Ton Simons new work for PNB, "Paquita" excerpts, a Stowell one-act, and "Jardi Tancat." If Korbes was in NYC at the time, she was still new enough to be learning English.