aurora

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.

1 hour ago, Olga said:

Not sure we are talking about the same thing, but in any event note phrase “more and more.”  

Noted. 

5 hours ago, Olga said:

 I hope they are not planning to dilute their storied history even more than they already have with more and more “dance theater.”

 

"Dance theater" is an intrinsic part of that storied history.

59 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

So, the prizes went to Mackenzie Brown from Stuttgart and Daichi Ikarashi from the Royal Ballet, and the choreographic prize was awarded to Roman Novitzky for the piece he choreographed for Stuttgart's pair.

Honestly it was pretty ridiculous. Misseldine was by far the best female dancer. Ikarashi's award was well deserved.

4 hours ago, abatt said:

Given the dearth of audience members during all the other traditional programs this season (and  in the past as well), it appears that most people who show up for these special events because of a pop culture interest generally don't return for the bread and butter rep.  Yes, some programs have sold really well - the Paul McCartney program years ago, the Justin Peck program when The Times are Racing debuted, and this program with Solange music.  This season (and last year)  the third ring has barely been open, and there is heavy papering and discounting going on throughout the house. 

We frequently talk about how ABT doesn't have much of an audience anymore, but the same applies to NYCB.  It just looks more full because half the house is closed off from ticket sales.

and some of us would go, but when the pricing leaps from $38 for a few horrible side view seats straight to $80 for seats that are still quite lousy, we don't bother.

Closing the 3rd (and 4th ring) so frequently might make the house look fuller but what it means in practical terms for the audience is less affordable seats.

1 hour ago, volcanohunter said:

This is what an intimacy consultant does: 

https://national.ballet.ca/Ballet-News-Plus/Archive/Intimacy-Consultant

Most dancers don't have formal acting training and may never have learned the tricks for separating themselves psychologically from their characters when what is depicted on stage gets rough or very exposed.

Great link, thanks for sharing.

This is clearly very important work and it is really a shame for some to be dismissing it as mere "wokeness."

How about reframing that, and instead thinking of it as employers providing consideration and necessary emotional support for their employees who are being asked, as a condition of their job, to engage with at times very emotionally difficult material.

6 hours ago, abatt said:

She seems too tall to be Aurora.  She is usually cast as Lilac Fairy.

And yet Veronika Part was Aurora, and I love the (terrible quality of video) clip of the cast rather against type Cynthia Gregory as Aurora.

12 hours ago, Marta said:

Helene said:

I remember seeing photos of dancers in costumes for The Moor's Pavane and Pillar of Fire in one of the ABT program books from the early '70's.  ABT performed a number of the older Tudor ballets, like Dim Lustre and Dark Elegies, and he created The Leaves are Fading in the mid-'70's.  ABT performed over a dozen Tharp works, deMille's Rodeo, Three Virgins and a Devil, and Fall River Legend, works by Nijinska, and among those with legs outside of ABT, Fancy Free, Le Spectre de la Rose, Le Jeune Homme et La Mort,  Miss Julie, Les Rendezvous and Les Patineurs, Gaite Parisienne, Grand Pas Classique, Paquita, Birthday Offering, etc. etc.

I recall seeing several of those ballets, the Tharps, Three Virgins, Fall River Legend, Sylvia PdD with van Hamel and Bussell, Dark Elegies, and Makarova in The Wild Boy, a short work by Bejart, I think, and others.  Why doesn't ABT still have mixed bills in the fall  at City Center, as they did in the early 2000s, even if It's far from ideal theater.

I enjoyed reading all the reviews of Of Love and Rage.  I thought I wanted to see it but the more I read, the less I liked the sound of the overstuffed plot.  I thought most of the costumes were fantastically ugly.  I'm a Ratmansky fan and would be happy to see anything by him.  I'll wait to see if it comes back next year.

They still do (or did) do mixed bills in the fall season, although more recently at State Theater than City Center. This year's Giselle run was an aberration. I'm sure because of the long pandemic layoff they wanted to do a classic.

5 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

Yeah, that is odd. Seems as if Abrera is only taking this on for the 22-23 academic year while they search for a permanent replacement, which could turn out to her in the end I suppose. 

I think that for such a role they'd need to run an official search and they haven't had time to do so yet. If she's interested in it on a permanent basis I'd imagine she'd be one of the contenders.

36 minutes ago, abatt said:

I'm wondering why Bell was removed from Don Q on the Wednesday performance, but not from the Don Q gala performance on opening night.  Did he learn only one act of the ballet?  Or has the casting not been updated for the gala?  

He's already performed the ballet on tour (I saw him in DC). It is certainly not that he doesn't know, or has difficulty with the part.

13 minutes ago, abatt said:

Isn't Irina an "off the books" coach not affiliated w. ABT?  Maybe Trenary is going the same route as Brandt - if I learn it independently I might get the role sometime.

Irina Koplakova not Dvorovenko

56 minutes ago, abatt said:

I was watching TV yesterday (PBS) and an advertisement for ABT's summer season came on before the program.   Lots of snippets of dancers performing in costume, but Kevin McKenzie kept popping up  in the commercial, coaching or wandering around.  I've seen many ads for ballet and opera performances on TV, but I've never seen the director of the company insert himself into the commercial.  I laughed initially, but then felt it was pretty sad that McKenzie is so desperate for attention.

It is his final season as director and they are making a big deal of it. He was the director, after all, for 30 years. And for all the complaining about him on here, he took on a company that was on the verge of collapse and has it on healthy footing. Your reading of this is very particular.

1 hour ago, MoMo said:

I agree with your thoughts. I do think they will promote, as they had promotions in 2020 during the pandemic, even though the dancers weren’t performing. It will be Kevin’s last hurrah. 

Yes, but the new director might expect to have some say in that, as it will have an impact on how the company looks going forward.

I do, however, agree with ABT Fan that Hurlin will be promoted this season, for all the same reasons (and hope we're right!).

17 minutes ago, DPell said:

 

I’d imagine we’ll see some of these dancers being promoted this year. There are eight soloists at the moment. Is the number of soloists normally low?

There are always less soloists than any other group, but 4 men/4 women is unusually low.

Moreover while there were just a lot of promotions to principal, none of the current crop of soloists seem likely to become principals with the notable exception of Hurlin who I would expect to be promoted quite soon.

Fang, Paris and Hoven were all quite late career promotions, seemingly in recognition of the years of solid work at the soloist level they'd put in. Zhurbin does almost exclusively character roles. I don't see any of them moving up further and I wouldn't be surprised to see some retirements soon.

Gorak had huge potential, but never realized it (and never seemingly worked on his ability as a partner) and hardly ever seems to be cast these days.

Williams and Shayer (relatively newly promoted to soloist) are the relative wildcards.

I'd also expect some promotions to the Soloist level at the end of the Met season--but I don't know if they will hold off because of the new director.

2 hours ago, eduardo said:

In case anyone is interested, I can forward that email, where you will find those links. Of course, they are in Spanish, but I guess that won't be a problem ("ver" means "watch"). Anyone can share his/her email address here or via private message and I will gladly forward the email.

Thank you Eduardo! As nanuska said the links work, and I really appreciate the information!

1 hour ago, Marta said:

naomikage said:

Speaking of Daniel Camargo, Giselle at Teatro Colon in Argentine with Osipova and Camargo as leads will be streamed on April 17th 17:00 local time for free.

https://teatrocolon.org.ar/es/en-vivo

Does anyone know if this will be available after the live perf. is over on Sunday ?

Will it just be streamed via that page? There is no information on the "how" of the streaming.

18 hours ago, California said:

I was thinking Rose Adagio when Hurlin had problems! In Act III, she is in Attitude position, he turns her all the way around and then waits...and waits...and waits...for her to let go and put her right arm over her head. It was up and down in a New York minute (or is it second?).  But injuries, whatever they were, would also mean she's out of shape overall and just doesn't have the strength for this.

She's only doing one Swan Lake (the July 6 matinee), partnered by Ahn, probably not the strongest partner for a debut.

I saw this performance too.

She had trouble on this one balance. I saw no issues with the hops. They may not have eaten up the entire stage but they were done with lightness and confidence.

Besides one bobble on one balance there were no technical weaknesses in my view.

Just to reassure those of you who are now concerned about technique and technical weakness. Her classical Act II variation was in my view sublime.

Apparently he is still dancing too?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbV0oZcAahO/

2 hours ago, vipa said:

It is unfortunate. Personally, I've been in professional situations in which one is expected to take sides (I'm sure a lot of us have). It's no fun. Lastly, it's interesting that Woetzel went after support from the big names. I suppose that's necessary, but I'd really want to hear what the adjuncts are saying.

Well they clearly weren't the ones being surveyed, which was very clear. Kovner cherrypicked just 49 out of 700 faculty and staff.

Jacopo Tissi has left the Bolshoi due to the war on Ukraine

https://www.instagram.com/p/CazpLVsg-vp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

2 hours ago, Mashinka said:

I've just heard on the news that Makhar Vaziev has signed a petition against the war.

Is there a source? I gather you heard it on tv or radio, but I can't find anything in print online.

Was it in relation to the Bolshoi's London season being cancelled?

1 minute ago, Marta said:

You can email here to ask how long the program is on the specific date.

customercare@nycballet.com

Thank you!

Does anyone know what the "Short Stories" run time is?

I can find timings for the individual works, but that's not very helpful since I don't know how many intermissions there are or how long they will be.

1 minute ago, FauxPas said:

Also, though the collaboration with Sarah Lane in "Giselle" was magical, she was not his only partner.  Simkin danced a lot with Natalia Osipova including "Coppelia", he danced "Don Q" with Isabella Boylston and I saw him dance Romeo to the Juliet of Misty Copeland.

I believe he often danced with Boylston in other things as well. I'm fairly sure they did Swan Lake together on more than one occasion.