miliosr

Kistler comes across as being almost willfully dense in her comments. As Kurt Froman notes in his response to Kistler, Farrell is clearly discussing the events leading up to her break with Balanchine in 1969. Kistler was five-years-old at the time so she wouldn't know what anyone's state of mind was.

There has always been a thirst for novelty at the main company, which is why so many works from the past have lapsed into obscurity. (Arguably, the school does a better job of reviving works from the distant past in its annual school performances than the company does during its seasons.) The gradual drift toward the contemporary over the last 45 years has compounded this problem by reducing opportunities for true classical choreographers to find work at the Opera. In any event, the Opera separates 'Director of Dance' and 'Director of the School' into two distinct positions; neither of whom have authority over the other. (You can be sure no one was telling Claude Bessy what to do at the school during her tenure as the school's head; a tenure which, not coincidentally produced 'Generation Nureyev'.) This can be a good thing as the school can act as a firewall against a new director coming in and trying to make radical changes to the French style (not naming any names . . . ) As for a potential Ethan Steifel candidacy -- why would he want it when the top prize at ABT is within reach? A Steifel regime at ABT would see him at the top with Sascha Radetsky as his second-in-command and consigliere and Gillian Murphy replacing Kolpakova as ballet mistress to the top ballerinas. With Marcelo Gomes out of the picture, the only other plausible scenario I can see is for the Julie Kent-Victor Barbee duo to return to ABT. (I discount Ratmansky because I don't think he's interested in running a company again.)

The Joyce Theater's Fall '18-Winter '19 season booklet landed in my mailbox yesterday. James Whiteside will be appearing in Arthur Pita's version of The Tenant, based on the Surrealist novel Le Locataire Chimerique by Roland Topor. [Note: This was the source material for Roman Polanski's 1976 film version which became the third "part" in Polanski's "Apartment Trilogy," along with Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby.] Cassandra Trenary will also be performing, Dates are November 6-11.

ABT's most current Form 990 is for 2016. (Available at Guide Star.) According to the 2016 filing, Marcelo Gomes had the highest compensation ($172,000+) for a male dancer and the second highest compensation in the company. (Gillian Murphy had the highest.) His departure (and that of Jeffrey Cirio) should have freed up a lot of $$$ for recruitment purposes. Regarding the other male principals, the company most likely has only been paying Roberto Bolle his customary per-performance fee for a while now. (His 'Principal' designation would be a courtesy based on his stature in the field.) So, no savings there. We don't what future contracts will look like for David Hallberg and Daniil Simkin given that they now will spend less time with the company. There may be savings under the "cap" with both of them. (I'm not sure what is going on with Alban Lendorf's situation.) That leaves Herman Cornejo, Cory Stearns and James Whiteside as the three principals for whom the company is for sure paying full freight. There is definitely money in the ABT budget to go out into the free market. But who knows who is willing to make the jump?

I'm hard pressed to think of any, certainly no one since Andrew Veyette filled in for Cory Stearns on Theme and Variations. I wonder if Baca is thinking, "If only I had held on for a little longer . . ." I do think he would be in demand now. They need some kind of spice, Cuban or otherwise. This 'blah' quality has overtaken what was once the most exciting roster of male principals in the world.

It does but, depending on repertory (and casting for that repertory), the male etoiles and premiere danseurs can have blocks of time when they're (relatively) free. The end of the 2018-19 season is heavy on the contemporary: https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/season-18-19/ballet My understanding of Alu is that the French public adores him but that he's also outspoken and may have ruffled a few feathers in management. I also don't know if his larger-than-life style and personality is the best fit for the French style. Some of our French correspondents might be better able to answer this than I can. Finlay might grind his body less at ABT considering the top male stars may only dance once or twice a week.

Golding left the ABT corps about 10 years ago to join Angel Corella's Barcelona Ballet; a company which I'm not sure was ever looked upon fondly by ABT's management. (I definitely can believe there was some odd blood between ABT and Corella over it.) I think it's telling that Golding, who is a "name" in Europe, has never appeared as a guest at ABT in the intervening decade even at the height of the guest star period. Maybe he was asked and the scheduling never worked out. But I'm more inclined to believe that the door slammed closed -- permanently -- behind him when he decamped for Barcelona. (The case for taking him on would be that he's not tied to a particular company right now and would certainly be at ease with ABT's bread-and-butter repertory.) The ship has definitely sailed with this one. For whatever reason, ABT didn't ask him to return after his one-shot. In any event, he appears to be happy with his life in DC. The top ranks of the Paris Opera Ballet would be a very fruitful avenue of exploration for ABT considering how "contemporary" so much of the repertory is at the Opera. Francois Alu, in particular, might light up the Met with his big, boisterous style. Now might be the time to sound him out as he is far from being on the best of terms with the POB's management. (I would also add Hugo Marchand's name to the list.) My wild card pick: Zach Catazaro. Whatever one might think of the Peter Martins productions of the classics, Catazaro has danced them so the parallel ABT productions wouldn't be completely alien. He also cared enough about them to seek out Marcelo Gomes' help with Swan Lake. Finally, he's expressed an interest in dancing Manon and Mayerling, which indicates he might work in all the other "bodice rippers" ABT performs.

Well, this is a relief: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmBcq7ugszZ/?hl=en&taken-by=paellasandcos Also, last day at the San Francisco Ballet School: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmELE7RAerX/?hl=en&taken-by=rubenmartincintas

I find Nezha's trajectory slightly odd -- La Scala to Boston Ballet to Los Angeles Ballet. Maybe he and his wife really want to live in LA? I hope things work out for Lorieux back in Paris. But he still has the obstacle of the annual competition and I don't know if he's really the one they want to promote. (Compared to, say, Marc Moreau and Jeremy Loup-Quer.)

Boston Ballet has updated its roster for the 2018-19 season. Derek Dunn is now listed as a principal: https://www.bostonballet.org/Home/Global/Profiles/Artists/Principal-Dancers/Derek-Dunn.aspx Eris Nezha has departed to become a principal at Los Angeles Ballet: https://losangelesballet.org/dancers And. as noted previously, Florimond Lorieux has returned to the Paris Opera Ballet after two years with Boston Ballet as a soloist.

But what will become of Paellas & Cos?!? https://www.instagram.com/paellasandcos/ While his departure is a loss for the school, decamping for Washington Ballet seems like a good move for him career-wise. It will also bring him closer to his brother, who is now with the Atlanta Ballet, (He'll also be closer to the Karapetyans in Pennsylvania.)

Looks like Max Westwell has rejoined: https://www.instagram.com/p/Blvw-tyAIIv/?hl=en&taken-by=max_westwell

Didn't see this posted anywhere: https://www.instagram.com/p/Blvb9_rg8jD/?hl=en&taken-by=rubenmartincintas He's leaving the San Francisco Ballet to join the Washington Ballet as a Ballet Master.

Another entry in an ongoing series . . . San Francisco Ballet repertory - summer 1977 July 14-17 Maurice Bejart Firebird John Butler Three Lew Christensen Divertissement d'Auber Michael Smuin Songs of Mahler July 21-24 Lew Christensen Stravinsky Pas de Deux Michael Smuin Medea Jerome Robbins Moves Tomm Ruud Mobile Jerome Weiss Peter and the Wolf July 28-31 Lew Christensen Il Distratto Robert Gladstein Gershwin John McFall Beethoven Quartets Michael Smuin Scherzo

Well, that didn't last long: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/arts/dance/adolphe-binder-tanztheater-wuppertal-pina-bausch.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fdance&action=click&contentCollection=dance&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront (For anyone who can't access the link, the company's advisory board dismissed Adolphe Binder as director on Friday. The board also announced the departure of the troupe's administrative director in December.)

If you don't mind me asking, what are your impressions of Colleen Neary's Los Angeles Ballet? Moderator: Please move this to another forum if need be.

A portion of the company was just in Novosibirsk, Russia to perform. They took Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Faun, Hans van Manen's Trois Gnossiennes, Hofesh Schecter's The Art of Not Looking Back and Crystal Pite's The Seasons' Canon with them. If you knew nothing about the company, you would think it was a contemporary company from this repertory.

Arlene Croce, who had very mixed feelings about ABT's reconstruction of Symphonie Concertante, had the following to say in 1983: "Symphonie Concertante was unaccountably dropped in 1952 and forgotten for thirty years." And: "Is there something the matter with trying to revive a ballet as complex as Symphonie Concertante from notation with no other memory aid and no authority on hand to settle all-important matters of style?" And: "Ballet Theatre enlisted several Balanchine associates in its preparations, and at one time or another Tanaquil LeClerq, Maria Tallchief, and Diana Adams were invited to have a look. (LeClerq, who originated the 'violin' role in a student performance, in 1945, and danced it in repertory opposite Tallchief or Adams, had never seen the ballet before -- she'd always been in it.) Even for the remarkably retentive memories of dancers, thirty years is a long time."

I went back and found the quote Zach Catazaro made in Dance Europe in regard to seeking Marcelo Gomes' help: "For Swan Lake I had Darcy [sic] Kistler and Jared Angle coaching me, and I sought help from Marcelo Gomes for the little in-between things, to make sure, for example, that I was running as a prince should run on stage. That's not always emphasized in this company [City Ballet], because it's not often needed, so I wanted to seek help from people who are specialized in that kind of thing."

It's "funny" you mention the great success Stearns had in The Moor's Pavane because the Iago part is much more of an "actor-dancer" part than a "dancer-dancer" part. Even though Stearns "is very handsome, has perfect ballet proportions, and a beautiful ballet line" (in other words, the perfect prince), perhaps the villainous parts bring something out in him. Or maybe it was the confluence of the part, the co-star (Zhurbin as The Moor) and a stager from the Limon foundation who demanded a lot from him. As Arlene Croce once wrote about the Graham company: "Under the circumstances is how things are done in the theater." Do we all remember several years ago when Stearns had to drop out of Theme and Variations? ABT had weeks to prepare someone in-house to replace Stearns. Instead, they borrowed Andrew Veyette from the company across the plaza, which delighted City Ballet fans but contributed to the crash in ABT company morale that so many dancers, past and present, have discussed.

Happy birthday to Olivia de Havilland, who turns 102 today!

As much as I'm not in favor of importing a male principal from City Ballet, such a move would not be unprecedented. After all, Ethan Steifel jumped ship for ABT in the 1990s. (It's worked in the other direction as well -- Robert La Fosse in 1986, Charles Askegard in 1997 and Joaquin De Luz in 2003.) To the extent that ABT does approach someone from City Ballet, one intriguing prospect would be Zach Catazaro. In his recent Dance Europe interview, he mentioned how he sought out Marcelo Gomes' help for Swan Lake because there were certain things he needed help with that aren't stressed at City Ballet. Also, when asked what roles he would like to dance, Catazaro cited Kenneth MacMillan's Manon and Mayerling. I can picture Catazaro in the "bodice rippers" at ABT -- John Cranko's Onegin, MacMillan's Manon and John Neumeier's La Dame aux camellias.

This is what concerns me about ABT's rather scattershot stewardship of the Tudor repertory. By not keeping Tudor in constant repertory, the dancers of the present become less attuned to Tudor's method and, as a result, fewer and fewer noted Tudor interpreters develop over time. This in turn will produce fewer and fewer stagers in generations to come. John Gardner and Amanda McKerrow both worked with Tudor and can convey his intentions. But with the great Tudor interpreter Sallie Wilson's death several years ago, the number of top level Tudor stagers is growing slim. I would add that it reflects a lack of imagination.

Nothing by Antony Tudor unless the "classical pas" scheduled for the Family Friendly matinee is a pas from Romeo & Juliet or The Leaves Are Fading, which would seem unlikely. Dark Elegies couldn't possibly be more timely but apparently not to the management at ABT.

This has ever been ABT's problem. By the nature of its repertory, there are only so many spots at the top at any given moment. This results in a lot of fence sitting for those company members who haven't reached the top. People either wait it out in the hope that a principal slot will open up or they depart for other (not necessarily greener) pastures. (Complicating the first problem is the secondary problem of having to eventually "ease out" star principals to create opportunities for promising soloists and corps members. To varying degrees, this happened to Carreno, Corella, Dvorovenko, Herrera, Part and Reyes.) I'm sympathetic to anyone trying to run ABT because the nature of the repertory really constrains the choices. The one thing I would fault Kevin McKenzie (and Rachel Moore) for was the attempt to keep the glory days of the late-90s to late-00s going with the use of so many guest stars in the first five years of this decade. Instead of taking the temporary hit and going through the necessary retooling, they imported all the guests, which crushed company morale without "training up" the company members to the standards necessary for performing the roles in the repertory. The company's paying the price for it now.