miliosr

With Park's elevation to etoile status today and Eleanora Abbagnato retiring tomorrow, the number of female etoiles holds steady at 10 (as compared to 6 male etoiles.) But, the company will almost certainly lose 5 female etoiles to retirement in the next four seasons.

On 6/5/2021 at 2:52 PM, Buddy said:

Another ballerina that I like very much, ECat, is Héloïse Bourdon. She appeared at a rather young age as Odette/Odile (Swan Lake) at the 2016 Mariinsky Festival, which is quite an honor. I thought that she was very fine. I didn't hear much mention of her after that. Checking the POB website, she's listed as a Premier danseur, one step down from Etoile (the highest ranking), so that seems good. 

Miliosr or Merit, maybe you know how she's doing ?
 

It's hard to know exactly what her standing is (as compared to her rank.) Based on the published casting for the Roland Petit evening and Romeo and Juliet, I wouldn't say she's cast especially prominently. I don't see her name as one of the leads in any of the Petit one acts and I only see her cast as Rosaline in Romeo and Juliet. This in comparison to her fellow premieres Hannah O'Neill and Sae Eun Park, who are very prominently cast (the Petit evening for the former and Romeo and Juliet for the latter.)

Premiere danseur Vincent Chaillet has announced on his Instagram feed that he will forego his last five years at the Opera. Not really a surprise since, if you follow his feed, he's been involved in a variety of different project outside the Opera for the past few years. Still, as we've discussed upthread, the company will have its hands full replenishing the top ranks with so many male dancers of longstanding retiring or about to retire.

17 hours ago, Drew said:

It surprised me to learn that she had specifically requested not to dance with one of her main partners, and I was struck that in her own account of life at ABT that decision seemed to mark a (negative) turning point. Since it's easy enough to connect the dots and realize who it must be--one is left wondering what she thought might happen when she refused to dance with a)one of the very few dancers in the company for whose height she is perfectly matched  and who is also b)one of the company's most widely admired stars. The reasons she gives are understandable and yet, taking those two things into account, the decision--at least as she explains it in this interview--still seems surprising to me.

I'm surprised as well. If she was going to make that kind of request/demand, she needed to have a backup plan (or two) in pocket. Her most likely partners were Herman Cornejo, Daniil Simkin and Joseph Gorak. Assuming Cornejo is the oft-injured male dancer (and a much bigger star too), that left her with Simkin, who was transitioning into guest star status, and Gorak, who had plenty of inadequacies as a partner. Marcelo Gomes was gone, Alban Lendorf was injured and would not return, and (the oft-injured) David Hallberg was on the way out. That left a shrunken male principals roster of Cornejo, Cory Stearns and James Whiteside; the latter two who were needed (primarily if not exclusively) to partner the taller ballerinas. So, however genuine her request was, it seems out-of-step with internal company dynamics (unless she was hoping to be paired with future principals Joo Won Ahn, Aran Bell, Thomas Forster and/or Calvin Royal.)

4 hours ago, abatt said:

I'm still holding out hope that after McKenzie leaves maybe Lane can do a farewell as a guest artist on the Met stage.

If she ended up filing a formal complaint, I think that ship has sailed.

23 hours ago, Merit said:

I once made a list, birth year -- possible farewell year

Mathieu Ganio      1984--2023 

Ganio's only 37 so I would put his retirement closer to 2026.

The ranks of the male etoiles are thinner than they might have been under different circumstances because Josua Hoffalt resigned from the company while he was still in his 30s. So, with Bullion retiring soon and Ganio transitioning (in part) to character roles, that leaves only four other male etoiles. That should open up room at the top although I don't think Aurelie Dupont has any interest in elevating Francois Alu and Arthus Raveau to etoile status. Predictions: Pablo Legasa, Francesco Mura and the sujet Thomas Docquir are the most likely candidates to become etoiles.

There will be a wave of retirements in the next three years among the etoiles and premieres. If I have the ages right, etoiles Stephane Bullion, Alice Renavand, Emilie Cozette and Myriam Ould-Braham, and premieres Eve Grinsztajn, Florian Magnenet and Audric Bezard will all retire during that three year period.

A lot of repeats from recent history (Play, the Mats Ek night, A Midsummer Night's Dream) but then the Opera has been reeling first from the strikes that began in December 2019 and then the pandemic. Don Q, Bayadere and Giselle should make people happy, though.

On 5/12/2021 at 5:15 PM, ECat said:

It says that Mathieu Ganio was 17 when he joined in 2001, so he getting a little bit older.  But, I imagine that his age is not slowing him down.  It is interesting that he is performing Tybalt, but not Romeo this June-July.  Hugo Marchand is dancing Romeo.

Mathieu Ganio may be at the point in his career where. having played all of the princely roles for the better part of two decades, he now wants to explore the dramatic character roles in the troupe's repertory.. Such a move would not be dissimilar to an older ballerina seeking out roles in which there is less emphasis on technique and more emphasis on mature dramatic ability. (I'm thinking of Frederick Ashton's A Month in the Country and Marguerite and Armand, John Cranko's Onegin, and John Neumeier's La Dame aux Camelias.) 

On 4/2/2021 at 3:17 AM, dirac said:

How many are left of the seven brides and brothers now? Offhand I think of Powell, Ruta Lee, Russ Tamblyn, and of course Jacques d'Amboise....

With the death of Jacques d'Amboise, that leaves Russ Tamblyn as the sole surviving "brother".

15 hours ago, pherank said:

I do think that Tomasson is retiring in part because he recognizes that his time has come and gone, that society is making particular demands on dance AD's and he is no longer the best person for the job. He KNOWS that he isn't the person to tackle theses issues (especially given his age), since the AD is going to lots of energy and a very tough skin - every hire will now be under the microscope. The job is no longer primarily about the AD's artistic preferences. The community/society is asking that arts companies step up and demonstrate real diversity, inclusion and equality on a daily basis.

Agreed. Tomasson's primary legacy will be how he took a well-regarded national company and turned it into a ranking international company. But it has to be said that, in terms of diversifying the roster with black dancers (and black American dancers in particular), his directorship has been a failure.

I went back and looked at the program for the Harkness Ballet's 1969-70 season, of which Tomasson was a part before Rebekah Harkness disbanded that iteration of the company at the end of the season. It's jarring to see that the San Francisco Ballet of 2021 is no more diverse in terms of black dancers than the old Harkness was in 1970. And the Harkness had far fewer dancers.

All these mission statements are worthless if the new director cannot nurture black dancers to principal ballerina and danseur status. Ultimately, that will be how the director -- and the company -- will be judged.

15 hours ago, pherank said:

SFB has a tendency to do everything quietly, out of the public eye, but I have to wonder if the organization had just made a public effort to recruit dancers of color things wouldn't look so off.

There's been no one at SFB willing to put themselves forward in such a manner. Ballet remains a very conservative world.

The down side to a very public recruiting effort is that you get no takers, which in itself would be a commentary.

As for people putting themselves forward, look what happened with Miami City Ballet. A number of dancers came forward on Instagram with stories about how they were treated. But what changed? Did their complaints receive any traction in the dance press, let alone the mainstream press?

Just focusing on the Joshua Kosman article, I would say that the quotes from the company's management are a "triumph" of consultant-speak.

This comment from Toni Wilson is particularly "amusing":

"Diversifying the workforce also becomes harder, Wilson said, when there are so few hiring decisions to be made."

The easy, obvious reply (which Joshua Kosman should have made) is why did the company make one of the few hires Julian Mackay, who embodies the traditional male danseur look? Now, the company might reply that they put out word they were looking for a male principal and they received no interest from black dancers. Impossible to know what was going on behind the scenes. And the company did hire Nikisha Fogo, who is of Jamaican and Swedish heritage. But the impression left by the Mackay hire is one of reverting to the mean. 

Helgi Tomasson's statement also caught my eye:

“I’ve always appreciated having dancers of color in the company because they bring their unique persona and background to S.F. Ballet and we are better for it."

When was this magical era where he worked with "dancers of color"? Take a look at the pictures in the 65th (1998) and 75th (2008) anniversary books and the Tomasson 30th (2015) anniversary program -- you don't see many faces of color peering out from the ranks.

10 hours ago, canbelto said:

That Emeralds was really lovely. One of the loveliest filmed performances of Emeralds I've ever seen.

10 hours ago, pherank said:

I agree - a very nice film,

The camerawork was mostly excellent,

I had the opposite reaction to the camerawork for Emeralds. I found it static and inert, and it took me out of the actual performance. Fairly or not, I couldn't help but compare it mentally to the extraordinary film of Suite en Blanc that the Royal Swedish Ballet has been streaming with its "you are on the stage" quality. (Yes, I understand the filming conditions were different.)

I enjoyed Rubies more, mostly due to Mathilde Froustey and Pascal Molat  (Froustey in particular brought a Folies Bergere showgirl quality to it.)

Haven't watched Diamonds yet.

7 hours ago, dirac said:

Many happy returns of the day to Miss Powell. 

How many are left of the seven brides and brothers now? Offhand I think of Powell, Ruta Lee, Russ Tamblyn, and of course Jacques d'Amboise....

Julie Newmeyer a.k.a. Julie Newmar, who will turn 88 this year.

Happy Birthday to Jane Powell, who turns 92 today!

I didn't know until today that Powell shared a birthday with Debbie Reynolds, who was three years younger. Powell and Reynolds co-starred in Two Weeks with Love (1950), Athena (1954) and Hit the Deck (1955) at M-G-M.

On 3/25/2021 at 9:09 PM, Fleurfairy said:

This decision came about 10 years too late. A lot of wonderful dancers had their careers hindered under his helm. 

19 hours ago, atm711 said:

Good News!!  He was a disaster to the Company I once loved.  A bit of forward thinking please.

I have to defend McKenzie just a little bit.

When he took over in 1992, no one wanted the job. The company was bankrupt and on the verge of dissolving altogether. McKenzie rebuilt the company using who remained from the Baryshnikov era (Bocca, Ferri, Gardner, Hill, Jaffe, Kent, McKerrow), who he could bring in from the outside (Beloserkovsky, Carreno, Corella; Dvorovenko, Steifel) and who he could promote from within (Abrera, Cornejo, Gomes, Hallberg, Herrera, Murphy, Radetsky). That 15-20 year period under his directorship was magic. (I freely concede that the last 10 years have been messy with the 'Guest Star' era of 2000-2005 being particularly destructive.)

Here would be my dream artistic team:

• Stella Abrera and Sascha Radetsky as artistic directors.
• Irina Dvorovenko as an additional coach for the principal ballerinas. (Sorry to be a downer but Irina Kolpakova will be 88 years old this year.)
• Someone of a Royal Ballet vintage to coach the Ashton and MacMillan works (and replace Georgina Parkinson, who the company never replaced adequately.)
• John Gardner and Amanda McKerrow (through their work with the Antony Tudor Trust) to safeguard and revitalize the Tudor repertory.
• Alexei Ratmansky to keep doing what he's doing.

By writing that, I'm sure I have just jinxed the possibility!

9 hours ago, mimi67 said:

Susan Jaffe would be a great choice. 

 

She would but she also just replaced Terry Orr as the director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Even if she wanted the top job at ABT, it would be poor form to walk out on a job she's barely started.

2 hours ago, laurel said:

I vote for Sascha Radetsky and Stella Abrera as co-directors.

The Abrera-Radetsky duo would be ideal. They spent their careers at ABT and know the culture and repertory by heart.

The ship may have sailed for Angel Corella and Julie Kent-Victor Barbee. Corella is building the kind of company he wants in Philadelphia after a very rocky start. Does he walk now just when his plans for the Pennsylvania Ballet are coming to fruition? The Kent-Barbee team have done OK in Washington but I don't know that their joint directorship has produced anything extraordinary.

Once, I would have said that Ethan Steifel had the inside track but I'm not so sure anymore.

Interesting that 2 of the top tier directorships in American ballet will need filling at the same time.

Actor Geoffrey Scott, who played tennis pro/gigolo Mark Jennings for two seasons on Dynasty, has died at the age of 79. Even though he was only a member of the cast from 1982-84, his contributions were significant and he is still remembered fondly by Dynasty fans.

More Dark Shadows- related cast deaths:

• Actor Chris Pennock, who joined the show in 1970 and played prominent roles in the Leviathans, Parallel Time and 1840 storylines, died on February 12th at the age of 76.
• Actor Geoffrey Scott, who appeared from January-March 1970 as Angelique's husband, died on February 23rd at the age of 79. (He achieved greater fame years later when he played tennis pro/gigolo Mark Jennings for two seasons on Dynasty.)

Remembering the late Jorge Donn on what would have been his 74th birthday.

4 hours ago, Quiggin said:

When Gonzalo Garcia left the company for City Ballet, it caused a bit of a break or schism – which might be difficult to mend (as it has with other mid-career dancers who've left SFB and then had second thoughts, though that Iron Rule seems to have been relaxed in recent years).

"Funny" you should mention this. The mention of Garcia's name has had me thinking that dancers (particularly male dancers) at San Francisco Ballet who decamp for other pastures are rarely seen with the company again, even as guests. The only one I can think of who left and then returned in some capacity is Aaron Robison.

I'll play . . . 

I would add Ashley Wheater to the pool of candidates who have worked under Helgi Tomasson and have since acquired directorship experience. But he is secure at the Joffrey Ballet and wouldn't gain all that much moving up a little further on the hierarchy of American ballet companies.

Not only do Vanessa Zahorian and Davit Karapetyan know the repertory by heart but they would bring a certain glamour to the directorship. Karapetyan also has a lot of contacts in the Euro dance world. But they seem settled with their academy in Pennsylvania.

I would throw in Felipe Diaz's name as an under-the radar choice since he's been dancer, teacher, ballet master and assistant to the director at the company. If you follow the company dancers on Instagram, he shows up a lot in after performance photos with them. So I think he is well-liked.

Christopher Wheeldon has a nice set-up with the Royal Ballet and his own foray into company management with Morphoses was not a success. Benjamin Millepied flamed out spectacularly in Paris so I think he would be a hard 'NO' from the board's perspective. Besides, he seems most interested in contemporary dance trends.

I would agree with pherank that the board most likely wants a successor who will emphasize continuity and not drive out half the company and generate a lot of bad publicity (see Corella, Angel).

Bumping up this thread because I don't think the late, great Diahann Carroll got a remembrance when she passed on in October 2019. Here, Carroll's character, Dominique Deveraux, meet Alexis Colby (Joan Collins) for the first time:

Alexis Colby and Dominique Deveraux - Shade Fest - YouTube

Also bumping up this thread because Dynasty turned 40 years old on January 12th! To celebrate, here's a fun feature about the Filoli estate in California, which served as the exterior of the Carrington mansion on Dynasty, and whose interior inspired the soundstage sets used on the show:

Bobbing Along Visits the Carringtons and Colbys of Dynasty at Filoli House & Gardens in Woodside, CA - YouTube

I didn't mind the defile with the masks although I would have liked for the House of Chanel to have created special masks for the event. I don't know how I feel about the ending bows with no applause -- weird or haunting (or both?) (Shallow person that I am, I definitely missed the applause-o-meter for the etoiles and premieres.)

In the Night worked best within the context of the deserted opera house. Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude showed off new etoile Paul Marque to perfection. And Hugo Marchand has the rock star hair going on!

Actress Diana Millay, who played the supernatural Phoenix during the present day and in 1897 on Dark Shadows, died on January 8th at the age of 85. In this clip, she unwisely antagonizes Angelique:

Laura Collins Tries to Kill Barnabas~1897 - YouTube