Amour

Here is Leigh Witchel's brief interview in the NYPost with Hod and Claire von Enck on their new solos in Nutcracker. http://nypost.com/2014/12/20/meet-the-2-young-ballerinas-taking-over-the-nutcracker-stage/

PNB took their kid cast from Midsummer Night's Dream to London several years ago when they were performing at Sadler's Wells, and then took them back again to make a film of the production, but it was a seriously difficult undertaking, and I don't think it was during the school year.Is the Ratmansky production full of kids, or is it a lighter version? (and what ages does it use?) I imagine it will be mostly cast in California, and yes, that will be an unhappy change for kids in the NYC school. I think the Ratmansky version is less full of kids and the ones they use are older (in contrast, Balanchine's uses 2 casts of 41 kids ages 8-13.) Still that means that probably the only way JKO kids can perform is if the school rents out a venue (like in the summer). I think it's highly doubtful that the school would send children out for performances of Nutcracker.

Andrew Litton, an accomplished conductor, will becomes NYCB's next music director. He starts work in September and succeeds Faycal Karoui, who left in 2012. Andrew Sill who has been the interim music director will become associate music director. I'm very excited to hear this news. NYCB has such a good orchestra (SO much better than ABT's) that with the addition of this very enthusiastic sounding director hopefully the music will sound even better. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/arts/dance/andrew-litton-to-lead-new-york-city-ballet-orchestra.html?_r=1

I saw it when it happened to Jennie Somogyi. Awful to watch. She started crying and hobbled off stage.

Five years for Abrera, three years for Lane, and six years for Copeland. None of them has yet to be made Principal, regardless of their presence in social media or press.Most dancers promoted to soloist rank do not make it to Principal in any company of size. The last dancer to go up the ranks was Hee Seo. She had been cast more prominently and in hot seat performances, like when she was listed for La Sylphide to replace Osipova when HS was still a corps member. I don't see her as a great press or social media presence, and she bypassed all three. You are absolutely right, Helene. None of these women have been promoted to Principal so I was jumping the gun. I'm afraid I have just grown weary of the intense buzz surrounding Copeland and have begun to feel her promotion is a foregone conclusion. Thank you for re-clarifying the situation for me.

Sorry, Kaysta, that I can't help you on the seating, but I'm writing to say that I, too, can't miss seeing Stella dance. I'm going to both of her performances. We must never give up hope for her promotion! I don't know about Stella. She joined ABT in 1996 and became a soloist in 2001. Then she's spent almost 14 YEARS as a soloist. And she must about 36 or 37 now, nearing retirement. In contrast, Misty joined in 2001 and became a soloist in 2007. Sarah joined in 2004 and became a soloist in 2007. Both Misty and Sarah still have some good years ahead of them but if Kevin hasn't promoted Stella in 14 years I don't think he will:( It's tragic that promotion in this company is no longer merit based but reflects your press and media (print and social) presence. I only wish Sarah would develop a strong social media presence; then her future would be assured.

This article reveals what students got contracts or apprenticeships http://zylopho.blogspot.com/2014/12/pbs-airs-sabs-workshop-performance-this.html. Preston Chamblee (Serenade, male lead) Baily Jones (Serenade, Russian Girl) and Clara Miller (Western Symphony, lead female) all got NYCB apprenticeships.

I looked up Christopher and couldn't find any news other than that he received a Mae L. Wien award. His Facebook page is pretty uninformative and shows no workplace (only that he's friends with Ashley Bouder and some other dancers).However, the SAB website only lists dancers who have received contracts in the past 5 years (but it does not include NYCB apprentices). He was not on that list (only about 4 dancers from the class of 2014 were, none of them at NYCB). I suppose it's possible he did get into NYCB as an apprentice but likely it would have shown up on his Facebook page. Perhaps SAB would let you know if you call them.

According SAB website Hod was 1 of only 4 people from the class of 2013 to get contracts so this big news for her.

I'm really mad about the show's airing time, too, though I captured it on my DVR. It was originally supposed to be aired Friday the 12th at 9pm and then they buried on Sunday and with no repeat showings. And no DVD available. I feel like complaining to PBS.

Just saw on the SAB website that Lyrica Blankfein was offered a contract with Dresden Ballet. However, a recent L.A. Observed article has more recent news. Lyrica was unfortunately not offered a spot at NYCB. She also did not accept the Dresden offer because she did not want to be so far from home. She did perform in Susan Stroman's Little Dancer and is currently back in L.A. (along with Joy Womack) doing Nutcracker. She plans to audition for ballet companies in the spring. BTW, she was apparently also in the TV show Bunheads. I'm sorry Lyrica didn't get a NYCB offer but I think narrative ballets would suit her quite well.

I attended the Saturday night program where they taped this show. I was thunderstruck at how gorgeous Serenade looked. Much better than when NYCB performs it, IMO. During intermission an SAB student (who was not performing due to injury) told me that Suki told the students she was teaching it differently than Peter. It shows. I was amazed by the first soloist to come out in Coppelia (Lyrica Blankfein). Rock solid technique and the poise of a seasoned professional. Also the lead male in Western Symphony (Christopher Grant) was outstanding. Both these dancers received the Mae L. Wien awards. I look forward to hearing more about them in the future. Does anyone know if any of these dancers made it into NYCB?

I'm catching up on this thread late. Wow, I had no idea Yulia left although I can think of many reasons why she would. Did her husband Kamil leave as well? Ok, looked at Yulia's Facebook page. As best I can make out, both Yulia and Kamil have left the Mariinsky and are temporarily dancing with the Kremlin Ballet. We'll see if they stay there.

I'm catching up on this thread late. Wow, I had no idea Yulia left although I can think of many reasons why she would. Did her husband Kamil leave as well?

Last night (which was basically sold out) there were 2 young women sitting behind me. They said they had called for student rush tickets (there are none) at about 6 pm. They were told about the orchestra seats (they were dead center, row K) and got them for $155 each. I paid $260 (I was in row J) for my ticket about 3 weeks ago. So the pricing is a bit unpredictable.

Got home from tonight (the 12th) Nutcracker and I'm still on cloud nine. Tonight was like a masterclass in Nutcracker. The house was packed to the rafters (I think completely sold out) and the excitement in the air palpable. The dancers seemed to realize this from the moment the curtain went up as there was definitely an energy onstage you could feel. While Act 1 was fine but nothing really memorable (though Sean Suozzi was an improvement over David Protass as Drosselmeier) Act 2 was WOW! Tiler Peck was truly awe inspiring as Sugarplum. I've always thought her one of the most versatile and interesting dancers in NYCB but tonight she showed what a great artist she's become. She exuded warmth, graciousness and generosity of spirit as is so necessary to this role. And the dancing was spectacular. The quick bourrees across the floor, long held arabesques, lightening quick (almost like Osipova) chainee turns, and the small renversees with her charming smile and her wand, all were magical. She was matched by an equal in energy and virtuosity by her Cavalier, Joaquin De Luz. He was a great partner and made everything look effortless (and I sat dead center, row J of the orchestra which is close enough to see mistakes). The jump to a shoulder sit, which looked so labored with Lovette/Finlay, came off without a hitch and Tiler really went for it. It was also nice to see how well their onstage energies matched up. Really their pas looked flawless and so beautiful I wanted it to never end. This cast also boasted a lot of stars in variations. Danny Ulbricht did a quick, virtuosic Candy Cane (though every time I see him in a role as small as that I feel he's being wasted) and Erica Pereira navigated all the hops on pointe (Marzipan) with dexterity and lightness. Tess was a tall, imposing Dewdrop, different than Sara the other night. I felt she used her height and long legs well, covering a lot of space and trying to get slightly ahead of the music in order to play with it. She did some great Italian fouettes towards the end and otherwise lifted her leg into a high second position. Tess is also a good jumper as demonstrated here (Sara needs to work on her jump) so every jete becomes something to watch. She also displayed personality, actually looking enthusiastic as if she were actually having fun dancing. Lauren King and Ashley Laracey were quite good as the demis. Gretchen Smith and Taylor Stanley were again terrific as Hot Chocolate while Megan LeCrone did a bit better with a very slightly slowed down version of Coffee. However, tonight was really all about Tiler (at least for me) and I enthusiastically wait for winter casting to go up.

Yes, you're right. My mistake. I got tickets for the 27th. Hope Ashley dances!

Thank you abatt, for alerting us to that. I didn't realuze casting was up yet for that week. I think I'll get tickets for that performance, as it's another "all star" or "almost all star" cast and I want to see Ashley. I'm not convinced she's cured yet but obviously her injury is coming along well and she thinks she'll be able to dance by the 28th. If she can't, Tiler, Sara, and Tess are all there. The next day does have all the debuts but my brain doesn't process accurately enough at 1 pm so I'm going to sadly pass on that date. I await great reports from those that are going:)

wow....didn't sound like a fulfilling show & not surprised to read Sara creamed it as Dewdrop. didn't Lauren do Sugarplum & Chase do Cavalier before? sounded like an underwhelming performance from both. I think they have but still "underwhelming" is exactly the right word to describe their performance. I think having a star (Sara) next to them only highlighted the deficiencies in their performance. And Chase (despite his obvious partnering problems) was better than Lauren. She was the real disappointment. I know they're grooming her for principal but IMO she's definitely not ready yet.

Claire Von Enck was terrific Tuesday as Columbine and Taylor Stanley as Hot Chocolate. Actually, I've been watching Taylor Stanley for a long while, thinking he is underused, so it's great he's getting to do Cavalier. I'd also like to see Anthony Huxley get to do some lead roles other than those for a "short" male. He is very charismatic and always interesting to watch, not a cookie cutter performer.And Devin Alberda is horribly underused. I've had some good conversations (at a restaurant) with him and despite his smart aleck Twitter presence he is a very dedicated dancer. I think he has a gorgeous, elegant upper body, long legs and solid technique. It is a terrible shame he is still languishing in the corps. Nutcracker is certainly the time to elevate all these good dancers into better roles.

Yes. At NYCB each principal generally performs only about 2 weeks of company Nutcrackers and then is free to do guest gigs.

Abatt, I always forget Dewdrop's exact choreography from year to year. If you saw Ashley you were so lucky. Her strengths: speed, jumps and an ever increasing ability to play with the music, are really brought out by that role. In fact, I think Ashley's probably more suited to Dewdrop than Sugarplum. I'm just sorry it looks like we won't see more Ashley in Nutcracker at all. More important, I hope she is healthy again once the winter season starts.

About tonight's (Tuesday) performance, I'd like to start with the good. The first thing is though I've never paid much attention to the kids in Act 1, tonight little Sawyer Reo made the character of Fritz come alive in a way I had never seen it before. He was a great actor, mesmerizing really, as I found it hard to take my eyes off of him. I kept thinking this will be NYCB's Kim Kimin, if he keeps up his interest and works hard. Quite the talent there. I also liked Olivia MacKinnon (Harlequin), Claire Von Enck (Columbine) and Spartak Hoxha (Soldier). I found David Prottas to be neither creepy, funny, heartwarming nor old (or anything) enough as Drosselmeier. I loved the snow scene (well rehearsed I think) and Marie and Little prince were fine. I was thrilled to see that Justin Peck was not having to play the Mouse King, like last year. As for Act 2 Lauren Lovette was.....fine. Fine and only fine. Doing something midway between marking and dancing full out. Of course, from the moment she took her first reverence I knew Dewdrop (Sara Mearns) would outshine Sugarplum and that's exactly what happened. As for Chase, his solos were ok but (as in the fall) he struggled a bit during the partnering, particularly the difficulty he had with the shoulder sits. I did, however, love Sara (who I usually think of as a dramatic adagio dancer) as Dewdrop, Anthony Huxley in Candy Cane and Taylor Stanley in Hot Chocolate. Marzipan (led by Sara Adams) was also fine. I felt sorry for poor Claire Kretzschmer who had to dance Coffee at a ridiculously fast tempo that no one would find sexy. In all, I was a little disappointed in tonight because I hoped for more from Lovette (really my husband was the one who insisted we go tonight). I look forward to Friday when close to my dream cast is performing.

Tiler retweeted my tweet about her subbing for Ashley on Friday so I know she's performing. Considering it's an 8pm curtain and Sugarplum only gets onstage in Act 2 (approx. 8:50pm) Tiler could take an early afternoon flight home from Paris on Friday and still make the show.

Actually, I think the price if the ticket depends on the cast. The tickets I got for the Lovette/Finlay Nutcracker were substantiallly less than the Bouder (now Tiler)/De Luz Nutcracker. The house is almost completely sold out for the latter and the available seats (in the 4th ring) are $71 -$91. Do you really think it's based on the cast? Or is it just that particular casts sold particularly well at an earlier date enabling the ticket pricing changes to kick in at a different pace? I don't mean to be pedantic...I'm genuinely curious/concerned, because it seems very antithetical to NYCB--even in today's era of pre-announced casting--to change prices based solely on cast. I do think it's partially based on cast simply because casting is only announced 2 weeks in advance. If it were more time, I'd agree with you, Drew that a different cast just sold better. But, for example, this week's casting was announced at the same time. There was the new Sugarplum (Lovette) on Tuesday and the established star, Bouder on Friday. Tickets for the Bouder performance were immediately (from the get go) more expensive because 1) star vs soloist; and 2)weekend night vs weekday night. Also, the performance on the 12th with Bouder (now Tiler) also had other "stars": De Luz as Cavalier, Ulbright as Candy Cane and Peirera as Marzipan. It was selling about even with the Lovette performance (although it was priced higher) until a few days ago (that may be when Tiler was slotted in).