ivanov

I am also sorry Jenifer Ringer will not be dancing in Emeralds. However, I am glad to see Teresa Reichlen was cast in Diamonds--I have been waiting for this for years! I notice there is no asterisk next to her name in the casting. Did she make her debut in this role out of town, like Kyra Nichols? Or did it happen in New York while I was in a fugue state?

I feel Alastair Macauley has been slowly driven over the edge by the inconsistent quality of the performances at NYCB and ABT. To me, the clearest indication of this was his review of Jewels a few years ago where he interrupted himself halfway through (like in Peggy Lee’s “Is that all there is?”) to say he couldn’t go on scrounging for positive things to say. I feel sympathetic to him because I am in the same boat. If the familiar repertory were presented in a uniformly good or uniformly bad way it would be easier to know how to take it. The inconsistent reinforcement is the same thing those poor lab rats were subjected to when food pellets were given to them in an unpredictable pattern when they pressed a button.

To me it seems unremarkable to opine that there is one group of dancers whose performances you always enjoy, another group who you sometimes enjoy and a third group you don’t enjoy at all. As someone above said, I don't always agree with his placement of every dancer, but I don’t think he is far off either. I do think it is a mistake to say that Ashley Bouder, who joined the company in 2000, is in a more mature group of dancers than Teresa Reichlen, who joined in 2001. Surely they are almost the same age? In a way I feel he has come late to the fair and is more emotionally invested in the dancers whose debuts in important roles he witnessed himself. In any case, since NYCB (and ABT for all I know) is a company of auto-didacts whose artistic development occurs almost in a vacuum, I feel the important comparison is not between different dancers but the imaginary comparison between dancers as they are now and as they might be if only they had been given coaching, the right roles to dance and moral support throughout their careers.

I am a big fan of Gia Kourlas's writing, especially her interviews. To my mind, the question is, how has she persuaded so many top ballet dancers to open up to her so unreservedly? When she started writing reviews for the Times I felt like she was holding back a little, so I am glad she is beginning to say what she really thinks. About confusing Odette and Odile, surely it does not fall to the lot of every critic to goof on such a colossal scale!

One more thing about tonight - I got great seats at the atrium today for tonight's performance - $45 dollars got me sitting in the second row of the second ring - almost center. I was hoping to go to the matinee, but there were no discount tickets available.

Yesterday morning when I saw online that the fourth ring had opened up for the matinee I called the box office and was able to get a "Society NYCB" ticket there (even though there were none available for this performance when I asked a week and a half ago). I guess these days you have to shop early and often. Anyway, I really enjoyed Tchaikovsky Suite No. 3!

While reading Jane Mayer's article about David Koch in last week's New Yorker I came across an ad for NYCB (coincidentally showing Teresa Reichlen in the Red Angels costume) saying at the bottom "$29 tickets incl. orchestra." Logically, this suggests that $29 tickets are also to be found in other parts of the house (it does not say "$29 tickets exclusively in orchestra," which is topsy-turvey anyway). If you are going to advertise $29 tickets, it seems wrong to sell tickets in row O of the 4th ring for $38, $59, or $91, or to decline to sell those seats at all.

Yesterday I bought a ticket for the evening performance and there were plenty of $38 tickets available in the 4th ring. (The ring was about half full.) I guess it is like buying an airplane ticket--the seats do not have a fixed price, it all depends on demand and what the algorithm at the box office decides. I guess my question is, taking the long view, is a clever algorithm a good substitute for treating the audience with consideration?

By the way, NYCB has already dumped the Liberace sequined vest worn by the male lead in Who Cares and substituted with a simple black shirt with suspenders.

Why stop there? (I am not suggesting the male lead dance the role in his underwear.)

Just an update on the "Society NYCB" (formerly the Fourth Ring Society)--I was able to get $17 tickets to all the performances of Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 (which I much enjoyed), however the Swan Lake program was not available, the man at the box office said all of last week was not available (not sure what the draw was there), and Sleeping Beauty is not available (I presume).

I also missed the scherzo yesterday. It reminded me of a performance of La Source about 10 years ago when a portion of the ballet (one of the two pas de deux and 2 variations) was omitted, again without announcement. Things seem very different now in the age of twitter, which does seem to have removed some of the mystery from the theater. Regarding one of Mearns' tweets I can't help but think of the exchange between Eve and Karen in All About Eve: "The show must go on!" "No, dear, Margo must go on." However, it must be hard to compose a tweet under these circumstances.

I received a renewal letter in the mail yesterday. Same pricing but you must renew by a certain date (sometime in Oct) to maintain your membership. It doesn't sound like they're planning to open it up to new members.

I'm glad to hear this, but I don't understand why the discount program isn't available to everyone, as it was in the past. Is there a better way to confirm the image of ballet as elitist, exclusive, only accessible to a chosen few, etc?

Kathryn Morgan made this post today on her FB page:

Hi Everyone. Many of you are wondering why I am no longer listed on NYC Ballet's website. Well, at this time, I have decided to leave the company to focus on some medical issues I am still dealing with. I have been battling them for awhile, and trying to be onstage and get well at the same time is just not working. I absolutely left of my own accord, knowing this was the best decision at this time. However, rest assured, my career is FAR from over! I just need to be 150% well before I attempt to get back onstage. To have a successful ballet career you need to be completely dedicated to the art. I cannot do that while I am still battling some health challenges. Thank you for ALL of your kind words. It means the world. I will still continue to post pictures/notes/and anything else I can. I PROMISE I will be back onstage in the future and plan on coming back better than ever!

I look forward to seeing her dancing again!

Yesterday Ashley Bouder posted on her Facebook fan page that she was dancing the 1st movement of Brahms-Schoenberg at Saratoga. I would like to see that, so I looked at the SPAC website to see what other ballets were on the program, but it was nothing so appealing. (One night had Jeu de Cartes paired with The Waltz Project--a nightmarish combination!) In any case, I am sorry to hear next year's engagement is being curtailed, and I hope both organizations can mend their finances somehow.

Thanks for that context Helene! I guess what I saw as an odd development at NYCB (among others) was nothing but a sign of the times.

Thanks for the link abatt! The figures the NY Times provides are illuminating:

City Ballet board members are expected to contribute or raise at least $100,000, and generally more for chairmen.

City Ballet is trying to pare down deficits that reached $8 million in 2008 and have dipped to a projected $1.4 million on a budget of $62.4 million this year.

I also looked at the annual report on the NYCB website:

http://www.nycballet...ny/reports.html

For the year ending June 30, 2010 (the most recent available), the company received about 25 million from ticket sales, and (among other sources) about 3.6 million from special events, 2.3 million from Guild memberships, 2.7 million from foundations, 1.2 million from corporations and 7.5 million from individuals.

Yesterday I received an email saying in part:

"The end of our fiscal year is June 30 and we have yet to hit our goal. We need your help… We have been closing in on that target [$150,000], but are not there yet. This is the bottom line: your gift today, matched by the [named] Family on a dollar-for-dollar basis, will help the Company end the year in its strongest fiscal position in years."

Some time ago I received an appeal for funds from the company which promised to match every dollar donated (up to a set amount) with a gift from a named individual. (The UNHCR also recently sent me a letter along these lines--a little like double coupons at the supermarket, only in reverse.) The letter included a note from Megan Fairchild, saying in part:

"Everyone here at NYCB understands the critical role individual philanthropy plays in the Company's success. We simply would not survive without the generosity of the [named individuals]...and without your help."

The amount of the named individual’s gift? A hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Can it really be true that a hundred and fifty thousand dollars (or even twice that sum) is all that stands between the company and the figure in black from La Valse? The same letter, or one very similar, arrived again this week, which does seem to suggest a certain urgency, but is hinting that the company is entering a death spiral really an effective marketing strategy? (see: Dance Theater of Harlem) Does the philanthropy of individuals really play such a very crucial role in the company, or is that just a meme rich people like to have reiterated as often as possible? (see: the University of Virginia)

I am sure I have given the wording of this letter more scrutiny than it will really bear (the one from Jenifer Ringer about toe shoes was much more effective, or at least, better-written). The note of desperation (“we simply would not survive”) may be inadvertent. Artists have always depended on the patronage of rich individuals--if there is any change, it is that the rich individuals seem more hungry for publicity (and possibly not as rich as they used to be). But there have been so many changes to the company since Katherine Brown took charge of this side of things, I am curious to know if her net impact is nudging the company towards the red or the black.

Last night I saw Symphony in C for the first time since the new costumes were unveiled. The corps de ballet's tutus glub up and down like self-propelled jellyfish whenever the corps runs or jumps, which is not seldom. Apart from this, the very worst I can say about the new costumes is that they are not Karinska's costumes.

I don't mind not knowing the back story behind the cancelled performances, since it was ever thus, but I do wish the casting on the web site were updated more frequently, or at all. It used to be that the web casting was more or less a mimetic reflection of what was posted in the NYST lobby, but now it seems the web page is rarely updated. (Tuesday's Serenade did change from Mearns to Taylor, but never changed back to Mearns, which is what ultimately happened--I think.)

Maybe they are doing something along the lines of the original Palais du Cristal costumes with the jewel colors.

An email invitation to the Spring Gala included further detail about the new costumes:

George Balanchine’s tour de force Symphony in C composed by the legendary Georges Bizet returns after four years with dazzling new and fully-redesigned costumes embellished in SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.

I googled "swarovski elements" and came up with this home page:

http://www.swarovski-elements.com/

Apparently the crystals come in every color including white, so who knows?

From the announcement of the Spring Gala on the company's website:

Highlighting the season will be a Spring Gala celebration on Thursday, May 10, featuring world premiere ballets by NYCB’s Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins and Principal Dancer Benjamin Millepied, as well as a major revival of George Balanchine’s Symphony in C, featuring new costumes designed by Marc Happel, NYCB’s Director of Costumes.

http://www.nycballet...s/pr052411.html

I was surprised to see that Sean Lavery and Merrill Ashley are no longer listed in the company roster in this season's Playbill. Does anyone have any sourced information about this?

I wonder what Jerry's 26 ballerinas thought as they looked out at all those empty seats. It's very sad.

I am a member of "Society NYCB" (the successor to the Fourth Ring Society) and on September 30th I called the box office to ask if there were discounted tickets available for that night. I wanted to see the 26 ballerinas. "Yes--they are available--let's see--3rd ring--no--4th ring--no--no, there are no tickets," I was told. After thinking hard about buying a ticket at full price, in the end I decided to stay home. (Thanks to Facebook and to rg for posting pictures, btw.) I'm sorry to hear the ballerinas were looking out at empty seats! I would have liked to be in one of them...

My mother received a postcard offering a 30% discount on tickets to Midsummer, Romeo & Juliet, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake if purchased before Jan 5. All you have to do is use code FLW10 when you order, apparently. I don't know, maybe this suggests the programming of so many story ballets was not a succès fou? But I thought I would pass the offer along...

Thanks so much! I just ordered a copy. I had my eye on a copy for sale at the promenade of the New York State Theater, price $150 (I believe), but this was much cheaper.

Oh, good! I'm so pleased to hear it....

My subscription brochure for the Winter 2009 season arrived today and I happened to notice a curious thing...there was no mention of Stephen Hanna anywhere inside. I also searched in vain for his name on the NYCB website. Has anyone else had this experience?

It seems sad to think that he will not be dancing on the stage of the New York State theater in the winter, or anymore, perhaps--but maybe I am being too pessimistic. In any case, I would like to say how much I have always enjoyed his dancing.