sneds

Hi! Intriguing to hear that Seth Orza debuted in "Fancy Free". I was wondering if there might not be a whole new cast because Amar Ramasar, Jonathon Stafford and Daniel Ulbricht peformed an excerpt from "Fancy Free" at the annual luncheon presentation. They did a nice job, though it could have used a few more rehearsals. I'm not sure whether it was a one time performance, but all the other excerpts were done by dancers who'd done the roles before... Kate

Dirac and everyone else Having seen both pairs programs and having been at the Olympics for this controversy, I feel that awarding a second set of gold medals was the best solution. The situation needed to be settled for the time being as it was taking over the coverage from the rest of the sports & athletes. I have no doubt that the investigation will be ongoing-there's no way the skating world will let the ISU get away with anything less than a thorough investigation. Sale and Pelletier have been NOTHING LESS than extremely gracious, polite and have always maintained that they skated their best, and that the rest was out of their (and all other other skaters) hands. In fact, they made it clear today that they were upset that this controversy was taking away newstime/coverage from the other athletes. Sale and Pelletier HAVE NOT been whining at all-they have never said that they should be awarded gold medals. They haven't made any negative comments about the Russians, and were perfectly polite and gracious at the medals ceremony. In fact the handshakes were very sincere and there were smiles at the awards ceremony. We have seen much more of S&P on TV, granted, but that's probably because the Russians are not very comfortable conversing in English and have been advised/decided not to do many interviews. There is no doubt that the press would be very willing to interview B&S had the opportunity been there. My point is that we SHOULD NOT in any way blame the atheletes, including both B&S and S&P. They both skated brilliant programs, and had nothing to do with the tainting of the judging. PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT blame S&P for this-in all the news coverage they have been humble and polite. And for the record, all the appeals etc. by the Canadian OC were made according to the rules and regulations. There have been THREE previous cases of two gold medals being awarded, so this is not unprecedented. I hate to sound like a broken record, but to sum it up-something needed to be done, none of the athletes were at fault and so they should not be blamed for the decision that was made. Kate

Hi! Chiming in from Park City...it was so awesome to actually see the pairs SP live!! After hearing about the awful NBC coverage, I feel lucky to have seen all twenty (not 19) of the pairs compete, even if I was in the second to last row and couldn't see part of the rink. The rink was disappointingly empty, especially in the beginning. I suspect that many of the empty seats were sponsor tickets and that people ate dinner before coming to the arena. We were not reinspected upon entering the arena, so unless there was a long line at security to get into the Olympic Square area, security was not a factor. I though the audience was wonderful-cheering for all the teams, whether they skated well or not. Still way too many flashed going off-does a skater havce to get badly hurt before people figure it out??! The people around me and I both thought that S&P would be in the lead had it not been for the splat at the end. Their tech marks were generally only .1 less than B&S, and we figured that the judges probably took .1 off for the unplanned final pose. S&P's sbs jumps were in the part of the rink that I couldn't see, and the monitor doesn't give you the whole picture. That may have cost them another .1, and made the difference. Overall, however, I think that S&P were/are the better pair. S&P have the "no hands" catch split-2-twist, which looked higher than B&S's last night. Also, S&P have better positions in their SBS spins, and Jame Sale's position in the landing of the throw jumps is better than Elena B's (less of a thunk, and more flow on the landing). S&P also have more technical difficulty in the lifts. Admittedly I am biased towards the Canadians, but I do think that when they skate clean, they are better than the Russians. And I think that S&P have the "program" edge in the LP, as B&S's current LP is a little to "one-note"-i.e. the music lacks variation, especially in speed. Too bad that Scott & Dulebohn had two falls-they did beautiful SBS 3-toes in the warm-up. It looked like Tiffany landed the throw jump and then fell, so I think she must have hit a rut right after she landed. Pure and simple bad luck... Unfortunate, since the judges marked them well for presentation, an indication that a clean program technically would have put them much farther up in the standings(5th or 6th possibly). I was sitting opposite the athletes section, and could see all the other American skater cheering for S&D and I&Z. Kristi Yamaguchi was present, as well as Kofi Annan and his wife. SO far it's been a great trip! The first day in Park City was snowy and windy (50 mph + gusts). ONe moment you can see the road, the next you can't! We watched the opening ceremonies from a restaurant on Main St. in Park City. They've blocked the whole road off to cars, and there are tons of food tents, activities and other things to do! Since then we've had gorgeous sunny (but cold) weather, perfect for all the outdoor events. Cheers from Park City! Kate

Hi! I will be out in Park City for the duration of the Olympics, and as of now will be attending the Pairs SP and LP and Ladies SP (as well as other non-skating events). Depending on how fast my internet connection is, and how tired I am from all the traveling (~4 hours from the house to the skating venue), I'll try to post a few times with my comments. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a ticket to one of the ice-dance nights, as five of the teams train at the rink where I skate (Russians, Ukranians, Koreans, Israelis and Swiss) and I know the male half of the Ukranian team. Kate

Hi! I believe someone posted that Pauline Golbin got hurt during "Theme and Variations" one night this week and wasn't able to finish the ballet. Van Kipnis must have been her susbstitute for the other Themes. I hope that Golbin is not badly hurt, and hope to see her back on stage soon. Kate

Hi! Posted this week on the NYCB website: "Earlier this week, it was announced that Abi Stafford has been promoted to the rank of Soloist. Miss Stafford was born in Carlisle, PA and studied at the School of American Ballet. She joined NYCB in 1999 as an apprentice and became a member of the corps de ballet in January 2000." Kate

Some brief notes... I was up in the 4th ring, and had forgotten my binoculars, so it was a different view than normal. Kammermusik No. 2 Looked a tad under-rehearsed, especially the two principal pairs. Definately not one of my favorite Balanchine ballets, though it was interesting to watch the guys' costumes. Though the costumes were exatcly the same, the different proportions of each man's chest made the dark/light pattern of the shirts look very different. Valse Triste Very moving, but for different reasons...First of all, it made me very sad to see Jock Soto, as he has definately put on some weight(the costume highlighted this) and his technical skills just aren't there anymore. It seems like just recently, he was at his peak, but not so anymore. He looked very "heavy", as if he had to put a lot of effort even into the simplest moves. Darci has a lot more dance left in her, but I felt that much of the time she was "acting" more than "dacing". I have admired both of their dancing, and hope that they both leave the company gracefully before their loss of skill becomes too obvious. I want to be left with memories of their wonderful talent, not their technical demise. Also, Darci's hair was driving me NUTS....!!! It was in Jock's face a lot, and got very tangled in her headpiece and ended up in knots. Hair should complement the ballet, and not take it over. Her hair is gorgeous, but she needs to wear it up more so that it's not in the way! Duo Concertant Boree and Martins did a great job-best I've seen him dance in a long while. With his musical talents, this is probably a great ballet for Martins-a chance to really listed and react to the music. Cortege Hongrois OK..the women next to me and I both though they left out the Pas de Quatre. Was I asleep or did they skip this section? Aesha Ash danced with great verve in the Czardas, and James Fayette was a gallant partner. I agree that Ringer could dance with more abandon-she looked a bit placid next to Damian who was letting fly with his usual pyrotechnics. Gotta love the multiple pirouettes into near motionless developpe. Sigh ) Kate

Tiffany (Scott) and Philip (Dulebohn)have only been back in training for a little over two months because Philip had a stress fracture in his hip which kept him off the ice and on crutches for a long time. Nationals was their first competition of the year, so their programs were not as polished and perfected as those of the other teams. It's probably not so apparent to those not familiar with skating and skating judging, but Scott & Dulebohn got more credit from the judges because their program is much more sophisticated and complex that Kalesavich and Parchem's: S&D's cheoreography&footwork are more difficult, and I think they had more difficulty in lifts and jumps. I'm not particularly fond of this program, but the performance definately deserved 2nd place. S&D definatley have a much better chance at the Olympics than K&P. Kate (who is a little biased since she knows Tiffany and Philip )

Hi! The men's event last night disappointed me overall-not a good sign for medal chances in SLC. Todd Eldredge deserved to win last night, but that kind of performance will not win an Olympic medal. The quad is essentially a requirement to make it on the podium and the international judges have made it clear this season that they will give the edge to Goebel when he lands the quads. I also find Eldredge a bit bland-all the programs and costumes seem pretty much the same. Great spins and line, but his program doesn't jump out at me. Goebel is definately capable of a much better performace than he gave last night. He looked tired and/or nervous last night. I suspect he was more focused on making the Olympic team, and was playing it a bit too safe. BTW, he landed just one quad (quad salchow-triple toe). The 4-toe he fell on, and the 2nd 4salchow he omitted. Goebel would have easily led the SP had he not fallen on his spiral sequence, BTW and a second quad in the LP may have given him the national title. His tech marks were better than Eldredge, and the presentation marks not that much lower. Weiss was way overmaked in both the SP and LP-international judges would have been much more severe in the SP deductions (they aren't trying to keep someone in contention for an olympic spot). If he skates like that in the Olympics, he will find himself too far down after the SP to even think of getting a medal. A two-footed quad and two touchdowns in a LP won't get you anywhere near a medal either. He may have better presentation than some of the men, but I don't find his chereography that interesting-and it doesn't matter anyway if he can't do the jumps. Savoie's "clunkiness" got him to the Grand Prix final two years ago, so the judges obvious don't think it's an issue. He certainly deserved 3rd in the SP, and I would have preferred him to mak the Olympic team. IMHO, Weiss has had his chance and is not producing. I think Savoie's chances at the Olympics are just as good, and Savoie is the future. I skate at the same rinks as Johnny Weir and know his coach, and he a very special skater. Not only is he just 17, but he didn't even start skating until he was 12. He landed his first axel one week after beginning skating lessons. You really have to see his skating in person to appreciate it-he just floats over the ice and his spin positions are wonderful. I have to agree that his LP this year is not a good choice-though I believe that had he not had so many injury problems, the program would have been worked on a lot more. BTW, I suspect he is still feeling the effects of a stress fracture in his foot/leg. He has landed quads, but is not attempting them now because of the stress fracture. His future is bright-can't wait to see how he progresses before 2006! Kate (who is sore after two sessions at the rink today)

You're not the only one Manhattanik ) I'm just as bad watching skating...I find it very hard sometimes to tell whether it was 2 revs or 3 revs. It all happens so darn quickly..often I judge just from the appearance in the air-triples look a little higher and faster rotating. I know that it is possible to land a triple jump on the floor (though most skaters can only get 2 revs on the floor), but I wasn't sure. As for me, I'm really impressed with Damian's double-double, as I have trouble getting a single revolution on the floor or on the ice ) Thanks for the insight though Manhattanik..that's what makes this board so wonderful! Kate

Hi! Actually, Chris D'Amboise was the original dancer in the gigue and Ib Anderson was the original male principal. I remember seeing the pictures of D'Amboise in the book about the making of "Mozartiana", but I think that someone did get injured, so perhaps the role was done on Castelli, but D'AMboise danced the premeire. As I remember, D'Amboise was of average height (?). I don't have a problem with a short dancer in the gigue-there's nothing else on stage to compare the dancer against. The dancer's body type probably matters more-a short, but lean dancer might not look much different from a taller, lean dancer. However, a shorter, stockier dancer like Ulbricht may not appeal to everyone's asthetic. In my opinion, as long as the dancer's height does not interfere with his partnering or look out of place in comparision to the woman/other dancers, it doesn't matter. Technique and talent are more important-I'd rather see an excellent Ulbricht than a less wonderful "Mr 5ft10". Kate P.S. It's interesting to note that David Liu, one of Horiuchi's classmates at SAB who quit ballet after SAB because of his lack-of-height, has been moderately successful as a competitive skater competing in threee Olympics for Chinese Tapei.

Hi! I was up in the 4th ring the whole time, which was a great vantage point from which to see "Four Seasons". This was the first time I'd seen "Four Seasons", so I can only compare it to other ballets and seeing the dancers do similar things in other ballets. Forgive me for being a bit carried away in my review of Dan Ulbricht, but I think he's an incredible and rare breed of dancer. It's not only his virtuosity, but the fact that he has a finished look-pointed toes & crisp positions and seems to be comfortable in adding humor and character to his roles when need be (his faun was delightfully impish). Most of all it's that he has all this at 5ft6 and he has yet to turn 18. I do think Ulbricht gets incredible height, and it's not just the "short guy seems to jump higher" effect (just look at the muscularity in his calves and thighs!) It appeared that Ulbricht was higher than Woetzel, judging from their elevation relative to the heads of the other dancers. I've never thought of Woetzel has having particularly great height-he has those pretzeloid positions, and fast spins, but not huge height. Plus, I think Ulbricht accents the height because he seems to hover and you can see the crisp shape of the jumps. Some dancers get height, but they go and up and down so fast that you don't notice it. You can't miss it when Ulbricht is up there! Did Woetzel in fact do a triple-triple? My first impression during the finale was that with their height and build differential, Dan and Damian looked like a skating pairs team. Only in this case, the shorter partner was bulky and the taller, lean. (BTW-Damian must have 0% body fat-you can count his ribs up in the 4th ring-not a bad thing but just noticable). I'd agree that Ulbricht look a bit nervous in "Mozartiana", but it was his debut. I think with time and experience, he will be more comfortable with the role and feel freer to explore the nuances of the steps. How old was Victor Castelli when he danced the role? Looking back at what I wrote at 3am..a futher explanation of one point... I don't feel that he will/should be a soloist that soon. However, it is my feeling that he if he continues to display his considerable talents, devlops them accordingly, and avoids injury issues, that he would be a top candidate for promotion sooner rather than later. He's unlikely to get much use in the many "male corps partner" roles, and more likely to dance soloist roles (many of his roles are also danced by soloists). Anyway, I look forward to seeing more of Ulbricht...here's to hoping that Martins can find a variety of roles for him (as of now he does Nutcracker, 4 Seasons, Soiree, Mozartiana, Variations Seriueses etc), but not wear him out a la the past "flavors of the month". I have to add that, if any had any doubts before, now I am very confident in NYCB' next generation of men. All three ballets demonstrated the talent and depth in the corps-there are definately many more good evenings of ballet to be seen! Kate P.S. Did Woetzel ever dance the faun in 4 Seasons when he was younger?

Hi! Well, I was going to start this review commenting on Dan Ulbricht's great debut in "Mozartiana", but all that changed after last part of "Four Seasons"...Ulbricht's faun was one of the best ballet performances I've ever seen...ever. I'm a big Woetzel fan, but I think Ulbricht outdid him tonight both in performance and applause! Ulbricht made his debut as the faun in the "Fall" section of "Four Seasons" this afternoon, and reprised the role this evening. It was nothing less than SPECTACULAR. His delayed split jumps are unbelievabley high and seem to hover. To my eye, they are much higher than any of the other men despite Ulbricht's 5ft 6 height. As previously mentioned, he also is very crisp, accenting each movement, which made his faun seem all the more out-of-this-world virtuostic. Yet, he still added the taste of humor necessary to make the faun a bit impish and playful. I could almost imagine Woetzel watching from the wings and thinking...hmmmm, what can I do to one-up that... Among Woetzel's tricks, a multiple revolution pirouette into (I think) a triple tour le en air directly into triple tour le en air. In skating terms..a triple-triple. Perfect landing, no wobbles. Also, his hops in the middle of the turns in second rank up there in my book. Needless to say, the evening with a bang! Now back to the beginning. Mozartiana was well performed, but I think that Kowrowski is also missing that "something" that makes the role more than just well danced. Philip Neal did a good job in the lead male role, and handled the partnering with aplomb. There was only one apparent glitch: when Kowrowski went into the deep flat footed arabasque penchee, Neal seemed a bit far from her and appeared to pull her slighty off balance as a result. Ulbricht made his debut in the Gigue section, a section which I think suits him well. It requires precision and crispness, qualities which Ulbricht has in abundance. Martin seems to be finding quite a few roles for Ulbricht. If this talent is nutured properly, and his knees hold out (I remember hearing that he's had a couple of knee surgeries already), I wonder if he might be on a relatively fast track to soloist. With his lack of height, his partnering possibilities are limited, but there are many soloist roles for him to tackle when the time comes. I was pleasantly pleased with Polyphonia. I'd not taken much notice of Jason Fowler before, but was taken with his nice long lines. Jock Soto and Wendy Whelan were excellent in the rather creepy solo to the "Eyes Wide Shut theme music", but he just looks old. I hope for his sake and NYCB's that he chooses to retire before he really starts to decline onstage. He's too wonderful a dancer to watch him decline onstage. I think my favorite section was the pas de deux with Ansanelli and Hall-they are well matched and both suited to Wheeldon's chereography. "Four Seasons" was a treat. Suozzi, Bouder and Carmena weren't picture perfect, but it didn't take away any from the youthfulness and playfulness of the section. The corps was also very impressive in this section. Neal replaced Angle in Spring, both matinee and evening, and was spot on, save one slightly wobbly pirouettte ending. The male corps, Capps, Froman (Ky), Hall and Hanna, was excellent-some very minor timing booboos, but it didn't matter-the jumps and leg beats matched the tone and playfulness of the music. Definately an affirmation of the talent and depth of the male corps-these are some of the older corps guys and they are all very talented. Monique Meunier and James Fayette, well matched, did a great job with the slower Summer section, but compared with the energy and virtuoisty in the other sections, these performances didn't get the credit deserved. It's so nice to see Meunier back onstage-this chereography doesn't allow her to show off her talents to the best, but she had a brief chance with a flawless series of spot-on, fast chaine turns (2 foot turns on point across the stage, right?. Fayette looks like he may have added a few pounds. His pirouettes were on the slower side, but always perfectly in balance, and the music does not call for great speed. I've pretty much covered fall....Dan, Damian, more Dan and more Damian. Ansanelli stood her ground, but I think all eyes were on the two guys. It's late...(early?) Well worth the 6hour commute! Kate

Hi! Ulbricht is debuting in both "Mozartiana" and "Four Seasons" (fall, I think)a week from Saturday, so it looks like there are more than a few roles for him in the NYCB rep. I'm thinking about driving round trip from PA for the Saturday night performance-seeing Ulbricht and Woetzel in Four Seasons, which I've never seen, is reason enough to endure the drive and train ride! Kate

Hi! Definate thumbs up for this Nutcracker!! The excellent cheoreography was enhanced by the wonderful dancing. Cojacaru & Putrov are fabulous dancers, and the grand pas de deux for the Sugar Plum Fairy is spectacular! My only gripe, and a minor one, was with some of the costumes (pink harem pants on the Arabian guys for one), but the camera can distort color and texture. A few quick questions for those more knowlegable about the Royal Ballet... Is the Covent Garden stage exceptionally large and deep? How tall is Jonathon Cope? He has glorious long lines and a lightness to his jumps, though he appeared a bit unstable in some of his pirouettes (hard to balance all that height ) ) Too bad I didn't get to tape this production ( Kate P.S. Thanks to all who provided comments on the merits of the various versions of Balanchine's Complete Stories of the Ballets. Santa brought me a 1968 (?) edition of Balanchine's Complete Stories of the Ballets (correct title?)!!

Hi! According to the cast list on the ABT website, Sascha was supposed to dance the Nutcracker Prince in two peformances. Perhaps he just didn't dance in the performance(s) that you saw-usually contracts limit the number of performances per week that a dancer has to perform(fewer on tour). If he didn't dance in any performances, it could be that he was injured after they arrived in LA. Sascha is from Santa Cruz, so it wouldn't make any sense for him to return to NY, and then go all the way back to CA for Christmas holiday. Kate Kate

Hi! I'm by no means very knowledgable on the topic, but just a few comments: Calliope wrote: I need to clarify. The salary is typical of senior corps (5 years in) Kate: I would assume that is before taxes (city, state AND federal), and is that before or after deductions for health care premiums?? Housing. Most of the dancers have apartments that are relatively cheap for NYC. NYCB has a few real estate contractors they work with. Most have apartments either under 1000 or a little more than. Kate: I suspect that the company works with these contractors to find inexpensive apartments because the dancers can't afford to pay much more-these generally are not luxurious apartments by any stretch of the imagination. And do these figures include phone bills, electricity, heat,laundry etc.?? That adds A LOT to the cost of rent... Not to mention that unless you are in a rent-controlled apartment, rent goes up a bit every year to offset increases in the landlord's expenses. And if you own your apartment, you probably have to pay some kind of property/real-estate tax. Hotels on tour are paid by the Company. If your per diem is $400 a week, that's just to pay for food and whatever else you decide to do. All the time you're on tour, there's company dinners and parties, so you could not ever have to pay for a meal. Also, overseas, there are no U.S. taxes, depending on who sponsors the tours since the money is made outside of the U.S. Kate: Even if there are parties and dinners at night, you have to eat during the day, and especially in Great Britain, it's not cheap. Nor does the company always stay in decent hotels-in Scotland the company was housed in dormitories. I believe that you get taxed on money no matter where it is made-earned income is earned income. The rules (and endless tax forms) may be different, but the money isn't tax free in the end. Saratoga, since they split houses is pretty cheap as well, with a per diem there. Kate: They split houses because of the cost-Saratoga is expensive in the summer and decent housing is VERY hard to get because of the concurrent ballet and horse racing seasons. They have to pay rent, and per diem has to cover just about everything else-gas/transportation (the performing arts center is not close to much of the housing), food (which is often take out or restaurant since they often are too busy or too exhausted to cook), laundry etc. The time off from the summer you can collect unemployment and most rent out their apartments and either work at summer workshops or enjoy much needed time off. Kate: Unemployment isn't exactly great pay...especially when you are trying to make ends meet in NYC. While MOST dancers don't make this much, in NY they are compensated. And not all of the dancers do guest tours or teach, but those that do can make 100,000. Kate: I suspect that not many actually clear $100,000 and in anycase, those that do lose a lot of that income to the city, state and federal governments in taxes. One of the biggest shocks most of the dancers has is that once they stop dancing, they don't make as much and that's why various programs have been set up to help with that transition. Kate: I think that the shock is more in having to decide what to do when your ballet career is over, when you've been spending most of your time and energy on ballet since a very young age. Money is one issue, but having to go out and start anew can be very scary and overwhelming. If dancers are making $100,000, with some good financial advice and planning, they should be able to invest enough to make the transition financially, so long as they aren't unemployed for too long. Also, is any of that pay deducted for health insure Kate

Hi! I tend to dislike telemarketers and my feeling is that if you want my money, put it in writing! In general, I find that telemarketers tend to call at very inconvenient times, putting me in a less than generous mood. Also, I prefer to see something in writing, so that I can decide whether or not to spend $$ without the pressure of having someone waiting for my answer. While The Met Opera deserved kudos for sending me written material ASAP, I was less than happy at being repeatedly called by their telemarketers. True, I have a tendency to hang up when I hear the long silence and click that is typical of computerized/telemarketer calls, but their rep called back twice in a row, declining to leave a message. As I mentioned in another thread, I have yet to get a call from NYCB. Guess they realize that I don't need to be encouraged to buy tickets ) Kate

Hi! Calliope..I didn't know that NYCB did a lot of telemarketing. I've attended at least several performances a year for the past six or so years and have been a guild member for the last year. However, other than the normal calls to confirm tickets, I've never gotten a call from NYCB (or ABT for that matter). It may be due to the fact that I live in PA, but it can't be much more expensive to call me than someone who lives in NJ or NY outside the city. The MET, however, is a different issue... Kate

HI! The ABT version of Le Corsaire is available on DVD. You can purchase it via amazon.com Kate

Hi! Thanks for the comments Calliope, Alexandra and Vagansmom! I hadn't realized that the Stravinsky ballets were only on obe subscription series. I do get the subscription brochures, but as I live 3+ hours from NYC, I spend most of my time looking at the pictures NYCB doesn't seem to be doing too badly-the Nutracker is completely sold-out for the next 10 days, except for tomorrow night. Even if this includes some discounts, it's still means $$$ for NYCB. However, if $$ is a bit tighter, could the Diamond Project be delayed for a year or more-or is the money for that project pretty much guarenteed? Kate

Hi! I'm sure the link to this NYTimes article will be posted when the links section is updated, but I thought the subject deserved some discussion. Apparently ABT will not perform its Stravinsky program, which includes "Rite of Spring" and "Firebird", during the 2002 MET season due to financial concerns. According to the article, ticket sales were down 10% at City Center and the City Center season gala proceeds were 20% less than expected. Wallace Chappell, the executive director is quoted as saying: "We're looking at the potential of a 5 to 10 percent problem on a $30 million budget." It's interesting to hear this news, after reading about the unexpectedly large audiences at the NYCB Nutcracker. The article does indicate the ABT's $$$ problems predate Sept. 11, which is no surprise given the problems at ABT over the past year. I also wonder if ABT's more limited, all on-tour Nutcracker season isn't a small part of the problem. Right off the bat, a company takes in less when they tour because of transportation and shipping costs. Anyway, I am curious about the "damage control" that will be necessary after this MET season change. Subscription tickets have already been sold, which leads to an interesting dilemma. While the brochures always warn that the programs may change, since a whole night's worth of ballets is now changed, will ABT have to permit refunds or exchanges?? People may well have bought a suscription package to see the Stravinsky ballets. Not to mention that the casting will probably have to be completely revamped-one more reason not to release casting so many months in advance (I think NYCB's one week in advance policy is the best way to go, BTW) Any comments, remarks etc.? Kate

Hi! If you didn't see the Tonight Show, you didn't miss much. We got to see Julie Kent and Angel Corella as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, along with the fairies (or are they butterflies??), doing a very brief excerpt from the final pas de deux. They appeared to be dancing on a stage in the studio accompanied by a live orchestra. The stage was very small and the orchestra sounded very off-key, neither of which helped the performance. The highlight of the performance was the close-up of Angel's wonderfully fast, multi revolution pirouette at the very beginning of the excerpt. Julie Kent seemed to be dancing ahead of the music, but it could have been a problem with the timing between the dancers and the orchestra. She seems a bit tall for Corella, but he managed the lifts well (I prefer Balanchines's go-for-broke flying shoulder lifts!) Kate [ December 20, 2001: Message edited by: sneds ]

Hi! On the subject of Maria Kowrowski...I caught the end of her interview on A&E's Breakfast With the Arts this morning and was very impressed. She is very articulate (not to mention gorgeous), and seemed quite comfortable with the interview. Kate

Hi! What about Marcovici? From a a quick glance, it appears that Marcovici, Angle and Millipied are probably the only soloists with a chance for promotion. Fayette is solid, but just not likely to advance any further, and I agree with Liebs that Ritter and Higgins seem to have fallen out of Martins' range of interest-which is a shame, since both appear to be very talented in their own ways. I don't know enough about Hofmans to comment... Leigh-I didn't mean to imply that any of the principals are OLD ) Boal is still one of my favorite dancers, and hopefully he will perform with Dance as Ever sometime when I'll be able to make it into NYC! I was very disappointed that he did not peform with Suzanne Farrell's company when they were in Princeton. I just feel that Martins needs to make sure that he will continue to have talented and youthfully enegergetic male principals-something which ABT has almost an excess of. So many of the male roles in the NYCB rep require a great deal of stamina and athleticism, which the older guys just don't have as much of as the younger guys. I do agree the Martins treats his older dancers fairly, sometimes too much so... For instance, Darci Kistler is a wonderful dancer, but it's painful to see her in roles that injuries/age have left her less than technically capable of handling. Why must Martins include her in almost every piece he cheoreographs, and leave out fabulous younger dancers like Monique Meunier? And I occasionally feel that Jock Soto is cast in roles that need a bit more athleticism that he has at this stage in his career. I wonder if the issue with female students is not so much that they get less attention, but that there are so many more of them. If I am not mistaken, almost every guy who is talented enough to be in advanced classes at SAB is guaranteed a spot in a good ballet company, barring injury or height issues. Not to mention that with fewer men, each guy gets more individual attention in class. However, with so many more women, it's harder for female dancers to get a good contract. Could it be that there is a greater sense of disappointment amongst SAB women because so few get the coveted NYCB contracts, and that for many SAB dancers, anything but NYCB is considered less than ideal. I don't know what SAB policies are, but it seems that it would be most productive and helpful to encourage the dancers to explore the other dance and educational possibilities as much as possible while at SAB-take summer courses at other companies etc (interesting article on this subject in the latest SAB newsletter). Kate