FauxPas

Just a warning: I checked the NYCB website for ticket availability for the Saturday and Sunday matinees of the NYCB "Nutcracker". Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday long weekend when many New Yorkers are out of town, there are over 250 available seats for each show. I had felt a similar urgency to catch Ashley Bouder before her maternity leave. However, it looks like there won't be standing room for this coming weekend's shows barring a sudden rush for tickets.

Angelica I am not hating on Whiteside as much as some other posters - previously he has done well as Veronika's partner in "La Bayadere" and in "Don Quixote". Frankly, anyone would be better than Cory as her Siegfried. Whiteside at least seems another adult with just enough personality and force to match hers. Yes, Bolle would be the ideal partner but Hee Seo seems to have an exclusive lock on him in "Swan Lake". Ratmansky has always looked after Veronika at ABT and I notice she is cast in all his programs and even gets the opening night cast of "Golden Cockerel". So with all that Ratmansky (Shostakovich/Golden Cockerel/Seven Sonatas) she will be busier than usual though she doesn't get to repeat "Sylvia" which as I said is really a loss. I also wish ABT had given Abrera a "Swan Lake" but who knows - maybe things will change before the season starts. Abrera was never supposed to dance Giselle last season but that happened - I don't know how but it did! But really a "like" on all your other comments.

Abatt, I do believe that guest artists are hired in somewhat later in the game. Last year all the Russians that went into "La Bayadere" were announced only a few months before the season started. Also, guest artists have been brought in to replace injured principals. The casting for the Met 2015 season changed a lot late in the game and throughout the season due to guest artist additions/subtractions and the injuries effecting Hallberg, Semionova and Osipova. Plus this season ABT has acquired two new international principals taken from other companies - Kochetkova and Lendorf - who need to be given new assignments which might otherwise have gone to guests. I agree that the male TBA spots in the Shostakovich Trilogy Chamber Symphony section, R&J, Sylvia, Firebird and Sleeping Beauty are being kept open for a projected Hallberg return. What I do notice is that this season with all the Ratmansky there is less reliance on so many classical full-lengths. (This in my book is not a bad thing - ABT didn't revive the complete Shostakovich Trilogy after premiering it to critical raves) The classical full-lengths in standard international versions are the most practical spot for the foreign guest artists to be squeezed in. Since there is no "Bayadere" or "Giselle" or "Don Quixote" during the Met season and more "Golden Cockerel", the non-standard Ratmansky "Sleeping Beauty", the Shostakovich Trilogy and the Ratmansky mixed bill - not so many spots for a Shklyarov, Nunez, Kimin Kim or Obraztsova. Like the stylistically and choreographically unique Ratmansky "Beauty", the McKenzie "Swan Lake" isn't exactly guest artist friendly either because of the non-standard fourth act. "Le Corsaire", "Romeo and Juliet" and to a more limited extent "La Fille Mal Gardée" or "Sylvia" (RB dancers like Nunez or Steven McCrae could guest in the Ashton full-lengths for example) are the most likely candidates for a guest artist jump in especially if Hallberg does not feel ready to dance classical full-lengths by the Spring of next year. BTW DeCoster: Part did dance a Wednesday matinee of "Sylvia" with Gomes who replaced an injured Cory Stearns at the last minute. Veronika was ravishing in the role - it is a great shame she is not being given an opportunity to dance it again. She would be infinitely better than Hee Seo who doesn't have the strong feet and ankles for all the multiple pirouettes and turning required in the part. Boylston is strong in those areas and if she gets some good coaching in her port de bras she will do well. Vishneva also danced a lovely Sylvia with ABT and created a role in the Piano Concerto #1 section of the Shostakovich Trilogy but hasn't been invited to repeat either. There is a little less of the "Hee Seo Ballet Theatre" syndrome this year - Seo isn't getting a disproportional number of opening nights (only R&J) and is no more prominent than Boylston, Copeland or Murphy. The casting in general seems more balanced with equal work loads being given to all the principals. Also with Vishneva only dancing Juliet and nothing else, no Osipova or other guest artists and more reliance on the home team, it is a lot less starry. This season is actually the answer to many BT posters' prayers regarding their complaints about the previous two seasons - too many guest artists, more Ratmansky, not enough Ashton - bring back "La Fille", Part only being given matinees and no new roles, Abrera being neglected and slighted as an underused soloist who is overdue for promotion, too much Hee Seo in everything and not enough opportunities being given to talented soloist and corps dancers. Now we are being given what we asked for and we are complaining. This season may be a necessary corrective to McKenzie's previous policies and predilections.

Thank you California. Oddly the casting shows up on my iPhone but not on my desktop PC. Abrera and Part do have the Queen of Shemakhan role in The Golden Cockerel. Semioniova is back which helps. Casting looks way more balanced though Abrera could do more and Seo less.

The casting is gone now.... Was Semionova down for anything? Were Abrera and Part listed for the lead in "Golden Cockerel"? Who was dancing "Sylvia"? In the past Reyes (replacing Osipova), Herrera, Kent (1st season - badly), Wiles, Vishneva and Osipova (scheduled, never happened) danced it. Evidently Vishneva is no longer doing it and Osipova isn't currently down to guest. So that leaves us with Murphy and Part. I suspect Boylston will add it to her ABT rep and thanks to Kevin so will Hee Seo who is miscast and so will Kochetkova who will dance it with Cornejo as Aminta. Well we'll find out soon - and it will change a lot before next May... Also what is Sarah Lane dancing? Is she repeating Aurora or adding Lise in "Fille"?

I know that there was a La Scala ballet tour where the Petit "Carmen" was presented but I think Ferri was injured/ill and Viviana Durante took over dancing with Massimo Murru. Anyway, do it again with Bolle as Don José. I do remember reading that Ferri coached Sarah Lane in Juliet and she was back last year coaching Elena Obraztsova and the other ABT Juliets including Misty Copeland. So she has been back coaching.

When ABT acquired the Neumeier "La Dame aux Camellias" I was sorry that they didn't do it ten years earlier so that Ferri could have danced it. Ferri had performed the ballet at La Scala. If Ferri wants to come back to classical ballet at ABT it would make more sense to return dancing the role of a more mature woman in a ballet she hasn't danced in New York before - she wouldn't be competing with her younger self. The Roland Petit "Carmen" is another possibility.

Push Comes to Shove was revived by ABT in 1999 for a City Center season. I saw José Manuel Carreno in the Baryshnikov role, Amanda McKerrow in the Tcherkassky role and Irina Dvorovenko very effective in the Van Hamel role. It didn't look thin and it was fun. However, the shock and surprise value that it had forty years ago was gone - we have seen that "Ballet dancers go funky and silly" approach many times over the next four decades. Also the novelty of a Russian virtuoso superstar dancer doing "American" stuff was no longer present. According to an Anna Kisselgoff review archived on the NY Times site: Radojevic, Kirk Peterson and Gil Boggs followed Baryshnikov in the lead role.

Hallberg would be the perfect regular partner for Stella - he should demand that McKenzie cast them together. BTW: Stella has danced successfully Gamzatti in "La Bayadere" which has some similarities in technical demands to Odile. Certainly Julie Kent went on for years as O/O until very recently and probably fudged/simplified some of the Act III steps - I wasn't there so I don't know - but there is a precedent. I think Stella could do a fine Odile even if she has to substitute a circle of piques for the fouettes. But I wouldn't be surprised if she could manage a decent set of fouettes - certainly as well as Copeland and Hee Seo can.

Bolle danced one "Swan Lake" with Part and evidently it was a revelation. Never happened again - from then on she got Cory, he got Hee. Thanks to Ratmansky, Part and Bolle also danced the first section of the Shostakovich Trilogy - the Symphony #9. They were great in that as well. I suspect Ratmansky will take good care of both Stella and Veronika and they will repeat their major roles in the Shostakovich Trilogy (Stella would be good in "Chamber Symphony" as well) and hopefully will have leads in "The Golden Cockerel". The new piece by Ratmansky seems to be choreographed for seven men. Another big question is whether Hallberg and Semionova are returning and in what capacity, let alone Osipova. The problem with Osipova is her concurrent commitments with the Royal Ballet - that is why she couldn't dance "Giselle" with Gomes as her partner - they never danced it together and there was no time to rehearse with her schedule. So they brought in McRae, her usual RB Albrecht, and then she got injured onstage. Ditto her dropping out of the Ratmansky "Sleeping Beauty" - no time to absorb the radically different placement and style of that production in a fly-in, dance, fly-out situation. Osipova does dance "Fille" with the Royal so that might be okay. For "Sylvia" they have Murphy, Part, Boylston (debut), Vishneva (?), Semionova (?) and Osipova (?). Copeland and Kochetkova seem a little petite for Sylvia but are contenders. Hee Seo seems a little soft and retiring in technique and personality. Abrera would be a lovely Sylvia though somehow she might get passed over for it - I think a successful Lilac Fairy and Gamzatti should handle it well. I am glad to see "Fille" coming back as everyone has been asking for it. Lise: Murphy, Kochetkova, Boylston (debut), Lane, Copeland, Seo and Osipova (?). Skyler Brandt would be a delightful Lise as would Luciana Paris. Colas: Lendorf, Cornejo (moved up from Alain), Stearns, Hammoudi, Gomes, Whiteside and Gorak, Simkin is physically more of an Alain but could dance Colas excellently. Cirio, Arron Scott, Calvin Royal and Gabe Stone Shayer might be Colas but are more likely to get Alain. Stella should debut as Juliet and Odette/Odile and has already performed Aurora in New Zealand. I hope the Ashton "Monotones I and II" returns in the other Mixed Bill.

I have absolutely no idea what you are referring to here.... http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/34070-abts-male-principal-problem/?p=339679

One thing about the promotion of Stella and Misty is that they will become the new junior principal workhorses of the company. Hopefully Hee Seo will no longer be doing three Nikiyas, three Juliets and two O/O's in "Swan Lake" in one week due to cancellations which will be good for the company, good for audiences and good for Hee Seo. ABT has spent time and resources coaching Misty as Juliet and Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake" this year and the lead roles will keep coming. Stella currently has fewer standard classic prima ballerina roles in her current repertoire with just the addition of Cinderella and Giselle this season. Stella has hard work ahead of her to master Nikiya, Odette/Odile and Juliet and I would imagine she could be gorgeous in Manon, Lady of the Camellias (which I don't see them reviving) and "Onegin". Stella would be a lovely Titania in "The Dream". She has done Aurora in New Zealand though she is the best of the Lilac Fairies at ABT. Stella has done leads mainly in one-act ballets in the mixed bills including the addition of "Les Sylphides" this year. Abrera has become a reliable Gamzatti which bodes well for a future Kitri (though she was gorgeous as Mercedes/Dryad Queen). Misty I think has the right sassy temperament and charm for Kitri, she has done Swanilda in "Coppelia" and would be delightful as Lise in "La Fille Mal Gardee". However, Misty doesn't strike me as a Romantic ballerina and I have trouble imagining her as Giselle - but I haven't seen her yet as Odette and will reserve making a pronouncement until I have. Aurora would require very precise classical technique but would be a good role for Misty to grow on. Kochetkova is a practical short term solution - Cornejo needed a petite partner and clearly Sarah Lane is not being groomed for principal roles. (That is Kevin's choice and he had many opportunities this season to give her a Juliet or an Odette/Odile and passed on them.) Cojocaru might have been amenable to a similar arrangement with ABT (a part-time principal with multiple other affiliations) but her accumulated injuries and cancellations perhaps have soured McKenzie about making her a permanent principal. I would have chosen Cojocaru as a part-time principal and partner for Cornejo over Kochetkova. I can't complain about Alban Lendorf - he bowled me over when I saw him with the Royal Danish Ballet on tour three years ago. Cassandra Trenary and Skylar Brandt were used extensively by Ratmansky in his "Sleeping Beauty" and the opportunities he gave them definitely were a factor in their advancement. Ratmansky chose Skylar Brandt to dance the role created by Natalia Osipova in the excerpt from Ratmansky's "Piano Concerto No. 1" that was performed at the 75th Gala Evening and her jetés were impressive. Brandt delivered vibrant, sparkling performances all season and Trenary charmed as Florine and in every other assignment. She improved visibly throughout the "Sleeping Beauty" run too. Melanie Hamrick is a beautiful woman and a beautiful dancer but her technique isn't as fully reliable as that of say, Christine Schevchenko or Devon Teuscher. Also she has been injured this season and removed from all of her soloist roles including the character role of one of the harlots in "R & J". I think she just came back as one of the Big Swans in "Swan Lake" this week. Not her year. Luciana Paris is a versatile hard working dancer who was functioning as a soloist this season even before her promotion. This is well-deserved and I believe she is well-liked within the company - I remember that Paloma Herrera hugged and spent a lot of time with Luciana during the curtain calls/presentation at her farewell. Arron Scott is also a longtime, hard working corps dancer who has functioned as a soloist for many years - another well deserved promotion. Tom Forster stepped forward in the last two years with the departure of so many male soloists and promising corps dancers like Roddy Doble and Eric Tamm. Blaine Hoven is another corps dancer who has been functioning as a soloist but he was passed over for promotion. My initial reactions to him were very positive but cooled in recent years but he danced really well all season and looked in fighting shape. Maybe next time. I think Jeffrey Cirio will inherit/share the soloist roles that Joseph Gorak has been the premier exponent of at ABT in recent seasons. That will free Gorak up to prepare to move up to Siegfried, Albrecht and other premier danseur roles. I know nothing about Cirio though I probably saw him dance when the Boston Ballet toured to NYC. There are other corps dancers who are underused and need to be given more opportunities - notably Daniel Mantei, Gemma Bond and Gabe Stone Shayer. The promotions of so many soloists and corps dancers hopefully will create new opportunities for them if McKenzie doesn't see them as background decoration like wallpaper or potted palms. I would like to see Gemma Bond given some of the soloist roles that went to Stephanie Williams this season and she has the right gracious, elegant, authoritative presence for the Lilac Fairy. If it was not too late for Stella Abrera then maybe there is hope for Zhong-Jing Fang? Every solo role she was given in "Beauty" and "Giselle" was a treasurable thing of beauty. I also second all the votes for Calvin Royal III and Sterling Baca has only just emerged from the corps late last season but is definitely in the mix. Isidora Loyola was adorable and scene-stealing as the White Cat in SB and as the main harlot in "R&J" - she would shine in things like "Gaieté Parisienne". Two of the newest members of the corps could be developed for bigger things - Scout Forsythe and Jonathan Klein. Klein who danced the role of the Bridegroom in the scene from Robbins "Les Noces" that was performed at the 75th Gala has caught my eye right from the start of his ABT career for the elegance, concentration and precision of his work in the corps. (He is also very handsome) Forsythe has a lot of potential and needs to be groomed for bigger things like Myrtha. (She is also very pretty). I like this round of promotions because so many hard working company veterans got recognition - including 15 year veteran Misty Copeland!. And finally: STELLA!!! STELLA!!! STELLA!!!

Part is magnificent as "An Episode in his Past" in "Jardin aux Lilas" - and she was again on Tuesday night. Part is very mature and commanding and sensual and throws herself into the acting with abandon. Part does very well in these period dramatic ballets.

Actually even more urgent are Kent's performances as Desdemona in "Othello". The role would fit Hee Seo perfectly but Sarah Lane would be fine too. However, if they are looking for a guest artist, Yuan-Yuan Tan I believe created the part.

Oh If I could go back to the days when Bocca was dancing Albrecht... I would still be a young man! I corrected the mistake. Thank you California! Actually Bolle's most frequent Giselle partner has been Paloma Herrera - and to give her another evening Giselle show would make up for the slights she has suffered recently regarding her farewell.

Supposedly when "Lilac Garden" was first presented by the Ballet Rambert in 1936 it was done on a tiny stage at the Mercury Theater. The later revivals increased the number of guests who observe and drift by. This was brought out during a discussion after a performance of "Jardin aux Lilas" by the New York Theatre Ballet with Diana Byer - the Mercury Theater stage was about the same size as the tiny Florence Gould Hall stage. I wonder what is going to happen with that Monday night "Giselle" with Julie Kent and Bolle (not Bocca!) on March 25th? Hope Julie recovers in time for her farewell as Juliet! BTW: since the renovation of City Center the sight lines - especially upstairs - are much better.

For odd reasons almost always the first two weeks of the Met season sell poorly. Often ABT doesn't help by programming unpopular repertory - mixed bills (which is standard programming across the plaza at NYCB) and less than adored full-length ballets like "Onegin" often start the season. Last year they started with "Don Quixote" and that sold better - also it is a bravura ballet and works well at the beginning of the season before dancers get tired and injured. The end of the ABT Met season in July (when the NYCB season is over and they are in Saratoga) is always packed. ABT is basically the only show in town - or at least at Lincoln Center. They always schedule "Romeo and Juliet" or "Swan Lake" at the end of the Met Spring/Summer season and they pack the house. Sarah Lane was indeed perfection in "T&V" and whatever imperfections in the pas de deux were due to Herman's partnering issues. Glad to see Herman in great form and totally recovered from injury - I have a lot of tickets to see him this year. I found Hee Seo rather small emotionally as Caroline in "Lilac Garden" - she danced nicely but I needed a stronger sense of longing. Contemporary performers in period pieces don't understand the concept of repression - both "Lilac Garden" and "Pillar of Fire" deal with characters who must repress their desires to conform to social convention and respectability. That sense of simmering passion being kept under a lid. I also must mention that "Lilac Garden" looked fresh and pristine - bravo to Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner for their restaging which breathed fresh life into the piece. James Whiteside brought a nice Ray Bolger goofy hoofer quality to the Champion Roper and tapped up a storm. Xiomara Reyes had so many specific moments that were beautifully captured and performed - the audience laughed and were touched at the same time.

I saw Hee Seo in the godawful McKenzie/Kirkland "Sleeping Beauty" two or three seasons ago - she fell off pointe on all the balances in the Rose Adagio. However, I think the Ratmansky version with its lower arabesques and lower than 90 degree working leg in turns may actually work in her favor. The toning down of the acrobatic virtuosity that has accrued to the role of Aurora and the softer quasi-Romantic line that Ratmansky has rediscovered from the Harvard notes are more suitable to Seo's best qualities. Prince Desiré requires danseur noble bearing and not much acting - perfect for Cory. It was noted in California that Part struggled with the Lilac Fairy solo (though it is one of her great roles) and that perhaps may have been a factor as well in not presenting her on opening night.

A note to those who are members of TDF - American Ballet Theater is being offered for the dates May 12, 13 eve, 14, 15, and 16 matinee. This is the mixed bill.

Hello Albany Girl, Semionova danced "La Bayadere" last Spring. I have not always been a Semionova fan (I find her "Swan Lake" good as pure dancing but dramatically and artistically flat) but her Nikiya last year really turned me around. There are numerous reviews here: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/38813-la-bayadere/page-3 This is what I said: La Bayadere: Monday May 26, 2014: Semionova, Shklyarov, Seo, Barbee "First of all, Polina Semionova, a technically proficient dancer who has at times failed to engage me as an interpreter, is a glorious Nikiya. She actually combines the best qualities of both Vishneva and Part in this ballet. She has the sinuous flexible back and fluid arms of Vishneva. Her epaulement is simply ravishing and we know she has no problem with pointe work and multiple unsupported pirouettes and such. Like Diana, Polina also gives a passionate, full-blooded dramatic interpretation to the role of Nikiya in the first act. Like Part, Semionova has long limbs with high extensions, a strong jump and a sense of amplitude in her movements. Like both Part and Vishneva she is a beautiful woman and is facially expressive in this role." I personally wonder if Natalia Makarova coached Semionova as Nikiya last Spring because she really was a revelation. I know nothing about Kimin Kim but Gillian Murphy is a superb Gamzatti. So you will have two nearly perfect interpreters in the two contrasting female leads and an exciting newcomer as Solor. Go for it!

More info on the Cavalry Halt/Harlequinade double bill: Cavalry Halt -- choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Johann Armsheirmer Harlequinade -- choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Riccardo Drigo Rarely seen one-act ballet Cavalry Halt is staged by by Nikolai Levitsky and Vera Solovyeva, both formerly of the Leningrad State Ballet Company. This little gem of a one-act ballet was created in 1896 while Petipa was the First Ballet Master of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theater. He created it for his own daughter, Marie, and Italian ballerina Pierina Legnani. It is a comical story about Cavalry Troop sweeping into town, turning the flirtations of mischievous village girls into shenanigans! The officers clamor in competing for the village belle, all culminating in a joyous wedding. Two-act ballet Harlequinade was first presented at the Imperial Theatre of the Hermitage by the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg in 1900. In 1965 George Balanchine staged a revival of the work for the New York City Ballet. The story is based on the characters of Commedia Del'Arte. Set in the gay atmosphere of a Venetian carnival, it is the timeless tale of the father who locks up his daughter, Columbine to prevent her marrying the penniless Harlequin. All hell breaks loose when the lovers break free and wreak havoc on the household. All the favorite romantic comedy elements become hilariously revealed, from the serenade under the window, to the mock death, to the marriage of the lovers. (edited to change the word "reek" to "wreak" - I am not the author of this copy but merely pasted it here from an online blurb)

No discussion of this company for about five years. Is there another page? This is the working website: http://gelseykirklandacademyofclassicalballet.org/ The reason I am posting is that they have scheduled a fascinating double bill at the Peter Norton Space at Symphony Space at 2537 Broadway at 86th Street in NYC on March 27 and 28th at 8 p.m.. There are doing two short Petipa ballets - "The Cavalry Halt" and "Harlequinade" (not the Balanchine!!!). These ballets have been kept in the repertory of the secondary Russian companies like the Mikhailovsky/Stanislavsky/etc. I want to see these! Two performances only. Discounted tickets available on Goldstar (free to join).

What would have made sense would have been to move Hee Seo from the opening night "Giselle" to the Wednesday matinee. Then Herrera's farewell would have been on the Friday opening night.

The sad thing is that Aurora was a very good role for Paloma while her Giselle when I saw it was really a poor interpretation. According to what I have read about her SC performance, Paloma can still dance Aurora technically well despite the complaints about lack of interpretation and artistry. Lack of artistry and interpretation is more damning in "Giselle" than in "Sleeping Beauty" and she is making her Farewell at a Wednesday matinee. Really bad.

I probably read this in Roland John Wiley's "Tchaikovsky's Ballets" where the direction that Aurora flirts with each suitor may come from the detailed libretto by Petipa and Vsevolozhsky.