aurora

I went last night and thought it was fabulous. I absolutely loved both sets of leads. I found Misseldine very moving. She's somewhat introspective, in her approach but her performance built and built, and the end was really quite heartbreaking. It doesn't hurt that her body is just about perfect for ballet. What lines! I enjoyed it a lot more than I anticipated, if I'm honest. It isn't my favorite ballet. And while I know that you're not supposed to think Lensky just about deserves what he gets, it was his own stupid jealousy that got him killed. He also treats Olga pretty abominably once she's allowed someone else to flirt with her.

Sorry! I got confused when you said he left NYCB "because of injuries." I didn't realize he had left NYCB due to injuries* since he continued dancing at ABT until 89. *It was before my time watching!

ABT I think you mean? Yes, he wasn't a frequent canceller as I remember (I was a kid), but this was when his knees were giving him grief. In any case, we were treated to someone who was *pretty* special and at the time was brand new to NY audiences. The disappointment wasn't longstanding!

Similarly I remember going to see a matinee in the same era and Baryshnikov, who was scheduled, had cancelled, much to everyone's disappointment. At least until the "new guy" started dancing. It was Julio Bocca. The first time I ever saw him.

Not a fan of NYCB's Swan Lake (it is painfully ugly) and would love them to have a different one, but I'm not sure Ratmansky's SL is a good fit for this company. It's very much a reconstruction, and while I loved it when I saw it at La Scala, and would be thrilled to see it done locally, its aesthetic seems entirely unlike NYCB except perhaps in some sections being taken at a faster tempo than the modern norm.

My favorites nearby are Rosa Mexicana which has great drinks and amazing guacamole. Other food is good too!! Also the Smith, which is dependable and huge. and while it isn't going to knock your socks off, the food will be good and you aren't going to get anything that's disappointing. Fiorello's is also dependable if you want Italian (and I believe Boylston has posted about eating there before as she loves pasta!), but for my money it's too expensive for how good it is.

https://www.abt.org/the-company/leadership/

American Ballet Theatre 2024 Dancer Promotions We are thrilled to announce this year's promotions! Jarod Curley, Carlos Gonzalez, and Jake Roxander have been promoted to the rank of Soloist. The promotions, announced today by ABT Artistic Director Susan Jaffe, are effective immediately. Read the dancers' bios below and catch them during our upcoming 2024 Summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House from June 18–July 22! https://www.abt.org/2024-promotions-announced/

As someone who spent last year working without a contract, it is legal. Ultimately when a new deal was agreed, it was retroactive, so we received a lump sum of back pay.

Bouder posted on Instagram yesterday: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2c7o96LFmH/ I read the following as implying she's out all season but I suppose it doesn't necessarily. "Merde everyone tonight and for the season."

That sounds right to me. The only other major traditional Nutcracker besides NYCB's that I remember being around seasonally (before ABT brought the Ratmansky one in 2010), was the Joffrey's old version choreographed by Joffrey and Arpino starting (I think) in the late 80s and continuing into the 90s at City Center.

And neither the McKenzie nor the Baryshnikov were done in NYC as far as I remember.

I'm 100% in agreement with Drew. I saw 2 of the casts last year and was sorry to not be seeing the third. I also felt that the story worked much better for me on the second viewing. The first time I was busy trying to follow the complicated compressed storyline and missed a lot of the nuances which I appreciated much more the second time round. Do I consider it a must see ballet for me? Well no, but I very much enjoyed it and will be happy to see it again.

Totally agreed. There is no reason to keep him in the corps any longer. He should be promoted.

As someone who works at a very challenging and incredibly poorly paid job, I wasn't at all insulted by what you said. Moreover their responsibilities last much longer than their "performance" weeks and I think that should be reflected in their pay. They still need to train almost constantly to stay at the required fitness levels--that's literally part of the job. I've never heard that professional athletes should be paid much less than they are because they only work for a small portion of the year. And they generally make so much more than even the highest paid dancers.

There are many favored brands. Freed is used by NYCB as their main shoe though--at least that used to be the case (and I think still is?)

Agreed. I'll also say that I saw the rehearsal on weds and the evening performance where he almost dropped Teuscher but held on. It was fine in rehearsal. I don't even think it was "anxiety" for him as much as it was "over excitement". That dress rehearsal was the first one where I've ever heard the repeated 'correction' to "Remember this is just a dress rehearsal not a performance! Keep something back!!"

I'm in the 4th ring for the Gala (although that probably is different than a normal night in that regard)

Blaine Hoven was not one of the dancers last night. The male dancers were: joão Menegussi (w/ Erica Lall) Carlos Gonzalez (w/ Betsy McBride) Joseph Markey (w/ SunMi Park) Herman Cornejo (w/ Cassandra Trenary) Corey Stearns (w/Chloe Misseldine) Joo Won Ahn (w/ Hee Seo) Perhaps you confused Markey for Hoven. For those who are interested, the alternate cast seems to be (based on the dress rehearsal yesterday): Zimmi Coker and Jacob Clerico Kanon Kimura and Kento Sumitani Breanne Granlund and Sung Woo Han Fangqi Li and James Whiteside Katherine WIliams and Thomas Forster Luciana Paris and Andrii Ishchuk

Same. It had variety (I enjoyed Petit Mort myself, though I get why it isn't everyone's cup of tea) and Etudes was thoroughly enjoyable!

Wayne Sleep's show was not the main point of the discussion. If it was it would not have been taking place on the NYCB board. In the section I quote you said: The person claiming that there were many larger dancers who could do NYCB's rep never spoke of "overweight people." You are the one who interpreted it thus.

There is a very large range between "larger than your average NYCB dancer" (or other ballet company of your choice) and "fat." Under no reasonable metric is Bouder, for example, "fat."

It is the only active ABT account. Given the nature of the statement, I see no reason to doubt it is an official statement.

This comment has been added onto Gabe's post: abtofficial: In accordance with our dancers’ union contract, in December 2022 we informed Mr. Stone Shayer verbally and in writing that we would not be renewing his contract. Gabe has been a valuable member of ABT for over a decade. We wish him the best in his future endeavors and thank him for many years of artistry as part of ABT.

It also sounds pretty unbelievable that he wasn't aware of this, after his total (?) absence from spring season casting