support system

Let me add my thanks for a great reveiw, Bart. I often look for word of Andrea S., who I consider a dancer I should hear more about but do not for some reason. I imagine that being a rather tall soloist in a not so tall company is limiting. If only I could get to Miami to see the performance!

I believe that a young dancer, when faced with the choice to be a full company member in one great company as opposed to being a second company member in another great company will opt for the guaranteed job. This appears to be what has happened.

Perfect! Can't wait to see what I might have missed.

I have the same issue, but thought it was one of the "upgrades". How do we exit lo-fi and enter the wonderful world of high speed?

I noticed that Megan Mann and Tabitha Rinko-Gay are now listed as members of the corps. Lovely dancers both, may they enjoy great careers. Hope I didn't miss anyone else that has been newly promoted.

I wonder if Carolina M might have some more news on the Corella company. I believe that dancers names should be coming out soon. I don't know how the dance year runs in Europe, etc. but I believe that US dancers who are not returning to their companies have probably given notice by this date. When are the first performances? I read about the tour in '08, but I would imagine that the company would need to assemble soon to start bonding and working together.

Carbro- Point well taken on the broader meaning of being an "artist", I was merely responding to Shesno's assertion that "if a dancer's interest is only getting into NYCB or nothing..." then the artist label could not apply. If I can fill in a bit, it is a fact that most advanced students do audition for other companies. An advantage to attending SAB is that many companies hold their NYC auditions at SAB, which vastly reduces travel expence for auditioning dancers. Hence the dancer bio references we read in companies around the USA. Few students are asked to refrain from auditioning, and those that I know of are males. As far as banking on the future, just the very foolish would wait in confidence to be picked as an apprentice. Only Peter Martins knows who he will ask, and he keeps that to himself. Usually, the apprentices are announced in June, and if one has no alternative plans by then, the chance of finding a company position is almost nil. The level D women do receive a great deal of attention regarding future plans. It seems very unlikely that a dancer would be totally crushed and looking for the razor blades when they find out that she/he is not destined to have a career at NYCB. As far as ballet "exposure", since the vast majority of the advanced students come to SAB at some point in their mid to late teens, I would assume that most had some exposure to the classic story ballets, etc. either through prior training or with their families. The SAB kids are lucky to receive no-cost tickets to NYCB, and this would by itself increase student attendance for the "home team". Many students are on scholarship and just don't have the money to pay for ballet tickets to attend ABT, etc. Lastly, I would challenge the assertion that dancers in the corps at NYCB don't dance as frequently as dancers in smaller companies. There may exist fewer opportunities to dance as a soloist, but the rep is huge, and the corps in in fact very busy dancing most of the time.

I believe that placing qualifiers on whether a dancer is a true artist, or not, by the professional aspirations they have is not valid. I would say the devotion to the craft needed to prepare young dancers for company life alone merits each of them the "true artist" designation. Many dancers aspire only to being part of a large corps with a varied rep. There are not many dancers at SAB who do not aspire to the NYCB. That is why they are there.

What a breathtaking image. Another reason for a Montreal visit!

I counted quickly and came up with sixty dancers. Are there more to be announced? I thought that the original number to be hired was greater.

I think it is wonderful that this amount of buzz has been generated by the decision to select a student dancer for the role of Juliet. It is great for ballet, and will certainly sell tickets with the anticipation of the outcome of this bold move. Personally, I feel it is a marketing masterstroke. Of course, until the cast lists are posted, no one really knows. All is speculation...

It is not unusual in the USA to attend an audition of 150-200 dancers for (maybe) one corps opening. Also, these auditions are often held in more than one location, further increasing the odds. The ratio seems quite generous in favor of the auditioning hopefuls for this new company. This is a wonderful beginning for Spain, and it's young dancers. It appears as though a NYC audition will not be held, as was reported earlier.

A few years ago my daughter attended a master class Nikolaj Hubbe taught in Hartford. He is an impressive teacher with a great deal to offer. He also provided some Q&A time where he spoke at length about the Danish system and how his training and early career developed, including his decision to come to NYCB. I observed the class and I am sure that his natural leadership style will make him a well respected AD.

I am so glad I saw this notice in time for the broadcast, usually I don't find out something interesting is scheduled until it is too late.

I was looking for an announcement concerning Erica P.s long anticipated apprenticeship. Did I miss it?

Did anyone see the Monday night performance?

Both performances.

In Saturday's Bouree Fantasque, Alicia Fecto replaced Lauren Brown. I am always impressed by the SAB Workshop, and particularly enjoyed Square Dance, a work I have never seen. The complexity is astounding, Erica and Anthony did a fabulous job in the PM.

Alexandra did perform at Dancereye, and she was beautiful. I did not attend the Ballerina Symposium, so I don't know whether she was part of the panel.