FauxPas

Tamara Rojo made a trenchant comment about how there will always be people who are offended by this or by that, and if we limit art to what doesn't offend anyone we'll have bad art and lose a lot of great art. The Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadère is a central, historic part of ABT's repertoire. I shudder at the thought of it being banned from our stages especially since the Russian companies can no longer tour here. That means there will be generations of audiences who will be denied the opportunity to see it live in New York City. I previously made a suggestion that ABT put together a Petipa evening. They could do the Kingdom of the Shades, the Hunting of the Larks from "Harlequinade" and then pas de deux and solos from "Sleeping Beauty" (the Ratmansky production was to be revived with many role debuts in 2020 but was canceled with the rest of that season). Maybe parts of "Paquita" or the whole "Paquita Grand Pas". That would be a great evening. Petipa's "The Cavalry Halt" still exists and can be staged for ABT- I think Gelsey Kirkland's company did it.

I bought two tickets at the box office for the upcoming ABT season - "Woolf Works" June 28 "Honoring Alessandra Ferri" because it will be her de facto farewell and the July 6 evening "Swan Lake" because I haven't seen Brandt as Odette/Odile and Cornejo's days in classical lead roles are limited. Otherwise, I will see what shows end up discounted. "Onegin" is never that popular and the current crop of dancers can't match Vishneva, Gomes, Osipova, Kent, Bolle et al. I think Camargo is potentially wonderful as Onegin. Camargo might get me to see "Like Water for Chocolate" a second time. I also have some interest in Catherine Hurlin and a lot of interest in Chloe Misseldine (and Aran Bell) in "Swan Lake". But I can wait for the rest. "Romeo and Juliet" I really need a break from.

So if we want to start predicting the 2025 Summer ABT season we have "Giselle", "Crime and Punishment" and the inevitable "Swan Lake" with maybe another classical ballet? I hope NOT "Romeo and Juliet". "Don Quixote"? That would have some variety. I think if ABT wants to revive "Woolf Works" it could probably be staged perfectly well at the New York State (K*ch) Theater for the Fall season. Not loving the shortened Met season and the lack of classical rep. They need to do some classics like "Don Quixote" or a new "Coppelia" at the State Theater.

Sadly, Jonathan Klein, corps dancer but potential soloist (and likely principal) material has left the company with his wife Emily Hayes to spend more time managing their skin care line. Also several people have mentioned that the Studio Company has strong talent and several members have joined as apprentices and corps. Names that spring to mind are Elisabeth Beyer, Finian Carmeci, Cy Doherty (a dance actor it seems), Takumi Miyake, Madison Brown, Andrew Robare, Alejandro Valera Outlaw, Kyra Coco and probably one or two I've missed. They need to be utilized stat. Beyer and Miyake are outstanding talents.

Just a note that looking at the corps roster - Jonathan Klein is no longer a member of ABT. He is off the roster. A real loss.

Well, several male soloists were promoted to principal which opened up slots (including character dancer/actor Roman Zhurbin). Gabe Stone Shayer was fired. Joseph Gorak either left or wasn't rehired. So that opened up even more slots. Plus over the pandemic veteran male soloists like Alexandre Hammoudi and Arron Scott retired/were let go. So spaces were definitely there.

I think that being injured is a hindrance to promotion and that was what probably sidelined Zimmi Coker this time around. However, Katharine Williams is retiring and Luciana Paris and Zhong-Jing Fang (sadly) are near (or past) retirement age. So there is room to advance.

All I will say is that I saw Ashton Edwards and Taylor Stanley in TTAR and I didn't get a sense of opposition or of being in two different worlds. What I got were two individuals who were were isolated/lacking community and joyously found one in each other. That sense of connecting and finding yourself in the right place with the right people and being in your community. There was a feeling of joyous bonding. Edwards was radiant onstage and projecting JOY and Stanley was very present and engaged. We like to sort of push sexuality into black and white extremes on the furthest opposite poles of the Kinsey Scale. There are infinite shades of gray. But there are also different forms of self-identification and presentation. Edwards is biologically male but was presenting very female. Taylor Stanley is biologically male but was more cisgender in his presentation in this ballet. The way that a dancer may present onstage is not the way they present offstage. For example, the Broadway actor Brandon Uranowitz can play very serious masculine guys onstage but I saw him interviewed on the Tony's red carpet and he is extremely flamboyant and effeminate offstage. I don't have a problem with that. The "Brandon Uranowitz" of NYCB is Gilbert Bolden who can present very serious, weighted and masculine onstage (as in the Barber Violin Concerto) and sexy in a macho way. However, in his real life and attending galas Bolden loves to genderfuck and wear high heels and cross dress in very outrageous feminine fashion like a peacock. Per instagram, Bolden uses the pronouns "He/Him". Meanwhile checking Taylor Stanley's instagram they present as cisgender in private life (and seems happily partnered with Alec Knight). So the pronouns are a very personal thing and the self-presentation and self-identification can vary widely. In ballet we have all seen very gay and feminine male dancers who have had to "butch it up" onstage and in the studio in order to get cast. In standard ballet, traditional gender roles are rigidly enforced. So the debut of Ashton Edwards with Taylor Stanley partnering was a joyous opening up to more diversity. I think the community of Peck's "The Times are Racing" is open to trans, non-binary, whatever... I didn't get a sense of compromise or political correctness or virtue signaling at the expense of artistic integrity but a sense of joy, connection and discovery from the pairing. The world of that particular ballet is about finding and creating community - there is room in that community for the very different alternative gender identifications of Edwards and Stanley. And it added another level of narrative and message to the ballet.

I was there last night and must agree with all of the above - everyone seemed to have settled in, worked out the kinks and were more on their game. Mira Nadon was on another exalted level from her very fine colleagues. I too was impressed with Preston Chamblee who was looking beefy and out of shape last season - he is lean and mean and on form these days. He is needed. Another possible improvement is that in the pause between the halves of "Liebeslieder Walzer" the curtain came down but so the lights were only put on at a lower level - so clearly it wasn't like another intermission with the lights full on.

I attended the Sunday matinee 1) Polyphonia — I didn't always enjoy the Ligeti music (not all of it is danceable) but Wheeldon's combinations are beautiful. Davide Riccardo looked very elegant replacing Aaron Sanz. I enjoyed the work for its use of space and the excellent group choreography. Emilie Gerrity looked particularly warm and engaging in her waltz section. 2) Barber Violin Concerto — I think this is one of Peter Martins' better efforts. Merrill Ashley was seated behind me - she has been coaching the women in "Barber Violin Concerto" and "Ballo della Regina". A few things - Mearns was very good but she is very different from Merrill Ashley. Ashley was always perceived as a "cool" technical virtuoso. Martins' choreographic concept keeps the "classical" couple elegant, balletic and restrained to begin with and then when they dance with the "modern" partners they loosen up. Seeing Ashley with her hair down, sexualized, abandoned and passionate was a surprise. No surprise with Sara Mearns, beautifully as she suggested the contrast, as we know Mearns can be passionate, sensual and abandoned. Gil Bolden looked great and is riveting onstage. He then joined the corps in "The Times are Racing" though he wasn't listed in the program. Suspect that he was replacing an injured colleague in an assignment he had left behind. Emma Van Enck was the "modern" girl and seemed to relish stamping her feet, throwing her hair around and jumping on the so elegant, so game Alec Knight (he is really emerging and looking great). It was fun. No masterpiece. 3) The Times Are Racing — this ballet has a great energy. Ashton Edwards had a lot of fans in the audience and a lot of support onstage from the company and their partner Taylor Stanley. Lots of hugs and cheers at Edwards' curtain calls. They looked radiant. I loved Harrison Coll in full James Dean/Jeremy Allen White mode (if they were a dancer) - great work with KJ Takahashi. Alexa Maxwell also did yeoman duty doubling in the Wheeldon and this and looking great in both roles.

I agree - not necessarily. BTW: I was wondering about Preston Chamblee. His recent Instagram post has a valedictory tone to it: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2QCJwaAD7B/?img_index=1

Tiler hasn't been taking those risks for a long time since her back and neck injuries. Tiler used to also go off center in turns and pirouettes like she was going to throw herself out of the steps but would pull herself back in at the last moment. No more. She also used to sort of do a pause at the apex of a difficult step in time with the music - creating a risky kind of freeze frame moment. No more. She is still amazing. BTW: on the online casting sheet for Week 3, I see Sanz listed in "Hallelujah Junction" and "Copland Dance Episodes". Also, Ashley Bouder is still MIA and I thought we might get her in "Liebeslieder Waltzes". Maybe a second cast?

I was there last night. Naomi Corti was the winner of the Janice Levin award. By the way, Jonathan Stafford and Corti were both reading prepared speeches which sounded rather canned and flat as a result. Corti loosened up a bit. "Fancy Free" got a terrific performance with a very stylish mambo from Jovani Furlan. I find the ballet overprogrammed (I saw many ABT performances with the likes of Corella, Carreno, Gomes and Stiefel back in the day). Still this cast was diverting. "In the Night" is lovely (the Mariinsky performed it at BAM many moons ago). Alec Knight and Olivia MacKinnon were really tender and radiant as the young couple - he especially had elegant upper body carriage and arms. Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle were both looking good - both have the maturity for their roles. Angle had to lift and rotate Mearns over his head and was still a strong partner. However, he is not that tall and the rotating moves would have worked better visually with a taller partner. Once Mearns had to bend her leg when coming down from a lift into arabesque. Andrew Veyette and Unity Phelan were good as the passionate couple - Phelan seemed connected to her role and had some authority (which isn't always the case). But it also seemed a little like they were still figuring it out. Lots of potential though. "The Four Seasons" was fun throughout. Emma Van Enck sparkled with Devin Alberda and Villarini-Velez as her jumping duo in "Winter". Huxley and Woodward were fresh and buoyant in "Spring". I loved Gerrity and Danchig-Waring in "Summer" as they projected sensuality and authority. But nothing sparkled like Tiler Peck, Roman Mejia (in whiz bang virtuoso form) and an elfin playful KJ Takahashi in "Autumn". The evening ended on an exciting note. Yes it ended late but I went home happy. Though I missed the last M12 bus...

The McKenzie Nutcracker I saw at the Metropolitan Opera House sometime in the aughts. It was performed during the summer season and it is very hazy in my recollection. I remember there were two ballerina roles (as in Balanchine) and that Julie Kent was the Sugarplum and Paloma Herrera was the other ballerina (not a Snow Queen but not sure). It wasn't memorable I guess. One thing that helped the Ratmansky "Nutcracker" was that the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School had been founded. So there were trained children available to the company. In fact, I believe Clara/Marie/Masha in the first season in 2010 was a very young Catherine Hurlin who has grown up to become a home-trained principal ballerina and danced the grown up Clara in the Ratmansky version. I must have seen her since she danced opening night. There's an old program buried in storage somewhere. I think City Center is a worthy option and Ailey or whatever could be shifted. Also there is a new venue downtown, the Perelman Performing Arts Center near the World Trade Center. They could do a week there.

The Ratmansky "Nutcracker" played its first season at BAM in Brooklyn. Initially it was a hot ticket. Brooklyn has millions of residents and is easily accessible from Manhattan by public transportation. But after the first few years, the attendance at BAM dropped. There were discounts available for the shows which I took advantage of in later seasons. This was the era of prime Gillian Murphy, Veronika Part, Marcelo Gomes, David Hallberg, Herman Cornejo et al. (I saw almost all these dancers in it with the exception of Hallberg) Yet it didn't sell after a few years and the venue changed after that to the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa, California. The Met has been closing in Winter - the whole month of February. I have often wished a ballet company would guest at the Met in February as they sometimes did in the summer back in the day. That is now awkward because ABT has been pushed further into July due to the longer Metropolitan Opera Spring season. And many of the August/September weeks are used for tech rehearsals for the upcoming Metropolitan Opera season. The Ratmansky "Nutcracker" would look good on the City Center stage and they have something of a subscription base. I would love to see Cate Hurlin and Aran Bell in "The Nutcracker".