aurora

This is no different than the trajectory for the principals on the male side (dates listed corps--soloist---principal) Cornejo: 1999--2000--2003 Gomes: 1997--2000-2002 Hallberg: 2001--2004--2006 Simikin: 2008 (soloist)--2012 Stearns: 2006--2009--2011 Whiteside: 2012 (soloist)--2013 In fact the men currently on the roster have all moved up faster than the women you single out. There is no "line," for promotion. For many dancers soloist is the destination and they know it. These dancers filled a need within the company, despite what "we" may feel as outsiders, or any perceived injustices.

Please don't presume to say why people loved it. If that is how a mummy dances... bring on the mummies!

Um, who are you thinking of? It neither of the last 2 female principals have moved up quickly. Isabella Boylston and Hee Seo are the only principals you could say that of. Isabella joined in 2007, was made soloist in 2011 and principal in 2014. Hee joined 2006, soloist 2010, principal 2012. Not slow certainly but not precisely a whoosh either. Veronika sat as soloist for eons. the others besides Gillian (ages ago now) came in as principals...

And the recorded version of Makarova and McKenzie was in 1988, making her 47 I believe. I think it a bit harsh to criticize her appearance in a rehearsal photo of her apparently not in makeup [not you Rick]... Yes ballet is about appearance more than opera but surely we suspend disbelief regarding their ages somewhat. Very few dancers actually look like 14 year old girls (nor do actresses in the role for that matter). If she dances it well and with emotion I'll be thrilled! I don't care if she looks 14!

Not that I recall, so that is a fair point, but surely they have partnered enough in class and would have rehearsed before they were even scheduled together. Also it seems to me that although taller (a bit?) than Lane, Boylston is especially easy to partner--she is strong and has been well partnered by other guys who are not known to be especially strong partners (and who are actually short for her)--namely Simkin. Also if Gorak can do the R&J lifts (with Misty), he isn't that poor a partner. I agree it is the part of his dancing that requires the most work (emotionally as well as physically) but... A thought: did the other roles he did that run involve much partnering? Maybe it was a minor upper body injury which made him step out of that role but let him do the others?

well since he had done the role before I don't imagine he was spooked by the partnering.

I know there is a sizeable anti-Whiteside contingent here, but I saw him on Tuesday night and he was excellent as purple Rothbart. He is the only dancer I've seen besides Gomes who both mastered it technically (and he didn't sort of lose power towards the end as Gomes does now and had a very nice balance), and had the camp/evil/delight in the role necessary to pull it off. Was it as fully fleshed out a portrayal as Gomes'? No--but it was good, really good. Your comment on Hammoudi (no command of the stage) was sadly an issue in H's Siegfried as well.

Gomes is certainly one of their own.

If you mean this board when you say board members... the 2 triple bills I saw with firebird were the most well sold things I've seen all season besides Swan Lake. The shostikovich trilogy wasn't sold poorly either. Sadly the Ashton was. But there is also a very mixed reaction to Ratmansky on here: Recently a lot of posts about how awful his Sleeping Beauty is. I thought it was one of the most exciting things I've ever seen and am going to see it again twice this season. It just gets exhausting to respond to the negativity about ABT on this board over and over again. (I'm also going to Milan to see his Swan Lake). A lot of the criticism of the AD is that he didn't promote x dancer or y dancer fast enough. That's life. Yes there is a lot of talent in the corps and soloist level (and we will surely see a few promotions) but one cannot have a company of all principals. Edited to add: I agree with a lot of your post miliosr. I just think that the new works (Ratmansky) have been attracting certainly a quite decent audience. The Ashton less so and this is a failing of ABT's promotions I think because they should appeal to the more "traditional' audience--they just need to be promoted more! Hopefully they will get another shot.

Sorry Nanushka! No coffee yet. I'm off to a slow start this morning. All those comments were about Hammoudi and Boylston. To elaborate a bit, Hammoudi was far better in the partnering than in the solo sections. And when he didn't have to do a lot of dancing tried to indicate a little emotion (he can't do both at once). But I didn't get much emotionally from them as a duo. The thing is Isabella is such a strong dancer, that partnering her isn't (one feels) very difficult. There were some parts where you felt that she was doing all the work. This is what I meant about her gutting her way through them. She was doing all the hard muscle work. One last comment (and not meant as a knock on Boylston) but although she is a strong technician she did not complete 32 fouettes either. I didn't count but she was behind the beat and finished early. I'd say between 28-30. His subsequent turns were a mess and finished early.

He was very good, but i know you don't like him. If anyone wanted to see a truly below bar performance, Hammoudi the night before was it. Solos terrible. Never commanded the stage or eye. The rest of the nobles were more captivating to the eye than the prince in the initial party... The pas de deux were ok, but she seemed to be gutting her way through all of them. He did die exceptionally well.

I was there Wednesday matinee. I thought Gabe Shayer was an excellent Birbanto as well. Lots of charisma, and really seemed to be enjoying himself. Dealt with a minor snafu with ease (his headscarf flew off). He's short but a strong partner. Unlike Joo Won Ahn (Lankedem) who was fine in his solos, if a bit cautious, but looked unable to get Devon Teuscher as high as desired in lifts and then, dramatically, FELL on top of Veronika Part when carrying her off while running away from the pirates after the failed attempt by Birbanto on Conrad's life. Fortunately she seemed to be uninjured. In fact I think she danced with greater freedom after the fall! I was very impressed by Devon Teuscher and I thought the Odalisques were uniformly good although the tempo did become somewhat stretched to allow for the triple pirouettes: They were Gemma Bond, Zhong-Jing Fang and Kaho Ogawa. I wouldn't have particularly pegged Whiteside as an Ali, though his height obviously made him useful in the partnering segments with Part, but he was excellent. One bobble in a turn but he rescued it to great effect. Had charisma to spare and really nice jumping passages. Finally Cory and Veronika have developed a sense of romance between them on stage. He is still not the best principal I've seen but he was ardent, and danced well. Veronika looked a bit insecure to me at moments early on but warmed up as the ballet progressed and was lovely on the whole.

Agree 100% with everything said here. Although I would be hardpressed to say which Widow Simone I really preferred as I think probably Zhurbin's was better in the context of the ballet but Gomes was such a magnificent star turn. I adored it (I saw Murphy and Copeland). I've been hoping they'd revive it for years and was not disappointed at all!

Liking something more doesn't make it more correct Anna Johansson (daughter of Christian Johansson ) as Canari que Chant with two unidentified suitors in Vsevolozhsky's costumes for the Petipa /Tchaikovsky The Sleeping Beauty (1890) at the Mariinsky Theatre: http://www.elitearteydanza.com.ar/biografias/musicos-libretistas-costume-autores-empresarios/ivan%20vsevolozhsky-libretista/04-anna-johansson.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sleeping_Beauty_-Marie_Petipa_as_the_Lilac_Fairy_%26_Lyubov_Vishnevskaya_as_an_Attendant_-1890.JPG

That doesn't explain them shutting down Devin Alberda's instagram account. This isn't hearsay--although it is of course only his side of the story. From the one remaining photo in his account posted 19hrs ago: "As some of you may know, @nycballet has always been resistant to my photographic project. This year has been the most difficult so far and unfortunately the company has recently suspended my photography privileges backstage indefinitely. I will continue to post photographs from the studio and pray that my privileges will be reinstated."

How odd that they are showing it live with Marianela again. They just did so in January 2011!

On the most part but it was a good and interesting article and thank you for sharing it. It was good to reminded of this: "Mr. Millepied isn’t the first Paris Opera Ballet director to run into trouble quickly. Roland Petit’s tenure lasted less than six months. John Taras and Claude Bessy made it a year; Violette Verdy and Rosella Hightower three years; Rudolf Nureyev a stormy six years. Ariane Dollfus, a journalist who has written a biography of Nureyev, said Millepied wanted similar changes to the rules as Nureyev. “These dancers are protected and cocooned since they are children, and Millepied and Nureyev are people who have taken care of themselves. A Paris Opera dancer can’t grasp the idea of being a self-starter.”" It does make one think that POB does have an exceptionally difficult culture to manage (even leaving aside the opinion voiced at the end).

I just saw this and thought it rather fantastic: http://www.mycoloures.com/2016/02/misty-copeland-recreates-iconic-edgar.html#axzz3zo4UudcE

He wouldn't use the past tense then. He never once mentions the current production at the Mariinsky. He uses that word 4 times, 3x clearly about the 1895 production. I'm not confused. I can read.

I'm fine with Macaulay being wrong. I don't love him and have no interest in defending him. Nor was my comment as an attack on you, I very much appreciated your review. You seemed confused as to why he was comparing the waltz to that of the Mariinsky when they are different things, and it appeared to me the answer was that he had not--he was comparing it to the 1895 text. This is not to say Ilya isn't correct in saying that makes his comment even sillier if he is wrong as to how many couples there were in 1895. But since the only other mentions of the Mariinsky are to the 1895 production I can't see why one wouldn't think that is what he is referring to when he says, using the past tense: "Along the way, fresh light keeps changing the ballet. A special triumph is the stage-filling celebratory group waltz for the opening scene: Mr. Ratmansky brings Petipa’s formations pulsating to life (20 couples, though the Mariinsky, with its vast resources, had more)."

I think in your rush to the airport you mistook his meaning. I understood him to be comparing it, not to the current Mariinsky production, but to the 1895 one that was acting as Ratmansky's template.

Thanks for posting this. I was rather surprised not to see a thread for this. I couldn't go but the event meant something to me personally so I was hoping to see it celebrated on here.

Ahh the video where McKenzie makes the unintentionally amusing fauxpas in the final act!!! This was the height of hilarity to me as a child...

Guillem returned to Manon in 2011 after a hiatus of 6 years. It isn't quite the same but similar.

she has coached dancers at ABT in it before. She coached Osipova in it before her debut. [sorry my page didn't refresh properly and I missed Drew's post!] I am really excited about this. I'm viewing this as an amazing opportunity we didn't think we'd have to see the best interpreter of this role I've ever seen. But I understand a lot of people here prefer to see it as yet another opportunity to whinge about an opportunity taken away from their favorite (ahem Stella)--when we don't even know that this is the case.