aurora

23 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

Their link to learn more about Barry Hughson and his vision for ABT just goes to ABT's homepage. And there's nothing more about him and his vision if you go to the ABT News page, either. Great job, ABT.

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

https://www.abt.org/2024-promotions-announced/

19 hours ago, stuben said:

Since many are still questioning and there is no word so far, I decided to do a bit of social media sleuthing, I decided to be bold and just ask the question on the AGMA Instagram account and learned that .... interestingly enough .... they are "still in negotiations". Whatever this means and assuming no contracts yet. I do wonder then if the dancers have all been working without a contract since last year, and does this include the orchestra and stagehands? How does this work and is this legal? If so, this is unfortunate and I feel for those who need the financial help with living in NYC and surrounding areas, it can't be cheap!

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.

20 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

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?

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."

3 minutes ago, California said:

The Baryshnikov version was performed at the Met in May 1977: https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/20/archives/new-jersey-weekly-ballet-grownup-nutcracker.html

It was shown again with Gelsey Kirkland at the Met in September 1977: https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/24/archives/gelsey-kirkland-is-a-joy-in-the-nutcracker.html

It was performed annually at the Kennedy Center (where it premiered in December 1976), for many years. I don't know if it was ever performed again in New York.

I also don't know if the McKenzie version was every performed in New York: 

https://www.abt.org/ballet/the-nutcracker-mckenzie/

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.

4 hours ago, California said:

The Ratmansky version premiered at BAM in 2010. I assume they thought they had a good venue and were disappointed after a few years at the drop-off in ticket sales.

https://www.abt.org/ballet/the-nutcracker/

Before that, they had a version by McKenzie: https://www.abt.org/ballet/the-nutcracker-mckenzie/

and another by Baryshnikov: https://www.abt.org/ballet/the-nutcracker-baryshnikov/

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

21 hours ago, Drew said:

I enjoyed Like Water for Chocolate at ABT--I found it emotionally compelling and theatrically ambitious in ways I enjoyed. And though the Royal broadcast was excellent, I thought ABT did a very effective job with the ballet over the three different casts I saw. Several dancers even seemed exceptional to me and, though I don't think it's fair to compare video performances to the ones I saw on stage since video fails to capture much of the visceral excitement of dance/mime performances even as it sometimes heightens the impact of facial expressions and gestures captured in close up, I will at least say that I can think of several ABT performances in the ballet that on stage seemed more effective than what was able to come through on video (Lavine and Hurlin among others).

I'd rather see ABT focus more on classical and neo-classical works.  I love the fact that they dance Ashton regularly; reviving Etudes seemed smart.  And I'm hoping they continue to keep the admittedly modest Tudor repertory in rotation as they barely seem to do. And, though I like LWFC better than others who have posted here, I too am surprised they are bringing it back so soon. But if the season were better balanced overall--as this one is not (Onegin AND R&J AND LWFC + Woolf Works as the company premier with just one 19th-century classic)--then I would see LWFC as an interesting addition to the rep and great challenge for the dancers. I would certainly attend the evening honoring Cornejo in a role that I thought he danced quite beautifully just last summer.

 

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.

1 minute ago, ABT Fan said:

However, regarding Roxander, I think he’s absolutely ready to be promoted to soloist as soon as promotions are announced. He’s better than some principals, technically and artistically. 

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

5 minutes ago, stuben said:

By no means I was trying to insult anyone. That’s putting words in my mouth and I’m sorry you’re misunderstanding my thoughts. It would be nice that these dancers would get enough weeks so they don’t need to go and find other means to live on and that’s all. I’m a supporter of these dancers and that’s all.

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.

15 minutes ago, abatt said:

I thought Freed was the leader in pointe shoes.

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?)

3 hours ago, matilda said:

Of course Roxander needs, and will acquire, more experience in partnering, but I found his partnering mostly solid in Piano Concerto and Etudes the other night given his lack of experience and the difficulty of the roles. 

Not so long ago, Roman Mejia popped onto the scene at NYCB as a young technical whiz, was given some difficult partnering challenges early on (with a few fumbles, like in his debut of Allegro Brillante), but he's improved drastically in that area in a relatively short span of time. 

Roxander is clearly a hard worker and seems ambitious so I'm confident he'll continue honing his partnering skills. He has great potential partners in Brandt and Coker in particular. 

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!!"

1 hour ago, cobweb said:

Looking at ticket availability for next week, I wonder, does ABT ever do like NYCB does and open the 4th ring if sales are sufficient? One of the nights I'm looking at is pretty well sold, and I'm wondering if it's worth waiting to see if the 4th ring opens up, with its presumably more affordable tickets. 

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

1 hour ago, abatt said:

By  using Petite Mort as a filler ballet, it gives people who are not virtuosos an opportunity to have featured parts.  For example, Blaine Hoven was cast last night, and I think Luciana Paris (who should retire already)  has a part tonight.  

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

Just now, matilda said:

I'm surprised this review was so negative. Kourlas is so hard to please when it comes to ABT -- she doesn't seem to like much outside of the Balanchine/Robbins oeuvre. I thought the program was fresh and exciting. 

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!

5 hours ago, On Pointe said:

Bouder was not under discussion.  The dancers on Wayne Sleep's show were fat,  not "not in their best shape".  It took two men to briefly lift their Swan Queen.  They never attempted to dance on pointe.

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:

Quote

Of course there are lots of terrific dancers making YouTube videos.  I was referring to the claim that the world was full of fantastic "larger" ballet dancers and many with less than ideal bodies who could perform NYCB's rep if only given a chance.  The fact is that there are not a lot of overweight women who are competent en pointe.  And,  like it or not,  ballet is a classical art form with a definite aesthetic.  I just watched the wonderful new commercial for NYCB's 75th Anniversary season,  which features their wide variety of dancers of different heights,  body types and skin colors.  But nobody is overweight,  and they all look like ballet dancers. 

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.

34 minutes ago, On Pointe said:

Of course there are lots of terrific dancers making YouTube videos.  I was referring to the claim that the world was full of fantastic "larger" ballet dancers and many with less than ideal bodies who could perform NYCB's rep if only given a chance.  The fact is that there are not a lot of overweight women who are competent en pointe.  And,  like it or not,  ballet is a classical art form with a definite aesthetic.  I just watched the wonderful new commercial for NYCB's 75th Anniversary season,  which features their wide variety of dancers of different heights,  body types and skin colors.  But nobody is overweight,  and they all look like ballet dancers.   

A few years ago in the UK,  Wayne Sleep produced and starred in a reality series featuring overweight people who always wanted to be ballet dancers.   While they may have realized their personal dreams,  even the best of them are barely competent.  Ballet is not for fat people.

 

 

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."

Just now, Oboerin said:

 

Good catch!  I didn't realize it at first.

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.

23 minutes ago, MarzipanShepherdess said:

That sounds shockingly unprofessional and callous of ABT management (not to mention, a pretty dumb move PR-wise). 

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

22 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CvQNwKLAbei/?img_index=1

 

"I’m saddened by the recent announcement of my departure from the American Ballet Theatre after 12 years of dedication and hard work. It’s especially disappointing to learn of my own dismissal through the media without any effort to contact me personally. While I had hoped that the hiring of a new artistic director, and the publication of my NY Times op-ed piece, might signal a change, it is clear that there are still many hurdles to enacting meaningful progress in my industry. I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for all the words of support that I’ve received since my experience was made public, and I can assure all of you that this is just the beginning of a new chapter in my story."

The comments are all expressing outrage but I am wondering if Gabe was even attending classes or rehearsals at ABT and if it really is a surprise?

They are * but 1) I notice none of them are from his coworkers and 2) you can delete comments....

*There are actually a few negative responses which can be found in response to a comment of support (by @leemore).

17 minutes ago, onxmyxtoes said:

I don't see any reason to not promote Jake Roxander even though he joined the company in 2022. If someone is clearly a star, performing at a level higher than one's rank and higher than the level of people at the rank above... it sounds like good cause to promote.

100% agreed.

15 minutes ago, California said:

Since a lot of people are impressed with Roxander, let me just note that his brother Ashton Roxander was just promoted to principal dancer at Philadelphia Ballet. 

Or perhaps I should just say "relative." Both are from Medford, Oregon.

https://philadelphiaballet.org/dancers/ashton-roxander/

https://www.abt.org/people/jake-roxander/?type=performer

They are brothers. Jake Roxander has talked about him on his Instagram.

4 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

He has on his IG that he'll be doing PP with Coker on Wed and Friday evening. I can't wait to see them. I think he's going to rise up pretty fast and he's barely been in the company for a year.

Agreed--I saw him a little over a year ago with Studio company, and was blown away then.

Coker also looked very good in the rehearsal (none of the amaturishness complained of above) but she wasn't-- I don't know--selling it as much as I expected. I think perhaps because it was rehearsal, not a performance. In any case I'm a huge fan of hers and would love to see her do it in a performance! (I'm out of town for the rest of this week)

1 hour ago, abatt said:

I know someone else who was at the Giselle dress rehearsal who thought Teuscher was wonderful.   

Roxander in the peasant pas was also 🔥🔥🔥!

27 minutes ago, WLH said:

If anyone sees Teuscher’s debut, even if it is July 4th.. please do share your comments.

I saw her first act in the dress rehearsal yesterday.

I don't want to write a full review as it was just that, a rehearsal, but I was very pleased.

Teuscher is not a dancer I could easily imagine as Giselle, but I really enjoyed her performance.

She had a good connection with Bell, and I found her mad scene somewhat understated but quite moving! She made some interesting (and for me, very successful) choices.

I'd definitely go to see her in Giselle in the future based on what I saw.