vipa

I agree. Let's have reviews that are llive, controvertial and generators of discussion.

Might be the wrong place for this post. NYCB just made some major promotions mid-season. Will ABT do the same? I believe there are only 4 soloist women. Of the 4 Part is sure to be promoted to principal. Anyone have a crystal ball?

I just saw Ash dance a few days ago with Lines at the Joyce. She's really lovely, and maturity has added to that. But, the brutal, honest answer is no. I remember thinking the same thing at the time. I may not have agreed always with who Martins promoted, but there was always someone there who seemed to come first. Ash was talented, but there were just too many talented girls in front of her. To me, it was bad luck and the competition. I too saw Ash with Lines and have to agree. She is beautiful in so many ways, but probably would not have been promoted in NYCB. As stated in the NY Times article, most women remain in the corps. Having been in a few companies in my time I can say that knowing what a director thinks of you can valuble information. You can decide to stay and fight, stay and do what ever, stay and try to guest elsewhere or move to a company that will offer you more opportunities.

Christine Sarry was terrific in BB Pas but I don't remember who she danced with! Anyone know who ABT has cast in BB Pas for the coming season?

I particularly liked Rutherford in Barocco - her generosity of movement. I saw Fairchild in Square Dance last season and thought it wimpy until the end. Not so in this Wednesday's performance. She was a delight. I agree that Stafford & Angle were terrific in Symphony in 3, but the performance as a whole was pretty terrific. In my opinion NYCB hasn't looked this good doing Balanchine in a while. The company seems happy to be dancing these ballets. I'm happy.

Yes, but she gets two weeks off once R&J starts Interesting to note. A problem (I quess depending on how you look at it) with productions like R & J is that there are many people who will not get to dance. This happens in some of the ABT "big ballets." This is part of the reason I tend to prefer rep programs. There are exceptions of course. There are full length ballets that offer may opportunities for dancing such as Sleeping Beauty.

Perhaps they are rehearsing Hyltin!

I'll be there Wed. Eager to hear others post

This might be disappointing to those who have already paid full price. May next time those people will just wait and see! Also the full publicity push has been for R&J. Management hasn't been working hard to sell the "For Lincoln" tickets.

What about Michele Wiles?

Here's another vote for Lane. She brought a wonderful freshness and joy to the Theme I saw her do (it was not flawless but clearly she has the technique for it). It would be fun to she take on Ballo and be coached by Ashley.

I don't know what the NYCB casting will turn out to be. I will say that the most moving Juliet that I have ever seen was Fonteyn in her 50's. Sometimes young doesn't know how to play young. You are asking a young person to portray the feeling of finding the love of her life. Believe it or not this doesn't always happen at 16. I'm not talking about horniness (is that a word?)

OK a silly question. If Juliet's mother is 28 how old is Juliet supposed to be? Or am I getting something totally wrong?

The Part I've seen in ABT has had many of the fine qualities mentioned by her fans, but I see and feel the panic she projects when faced with a technical passage that she is uncomfortable with. Another poster compaired complaints about Part to complaints about Makarova being unable to turn. I never know about those complaints and never saw Makarova have a look of panic flash across her face when a turn was approaching. I am not a true believer in Part but I hope Sleeping Beauty changes my mind.

Does anyone know if ABT plans on releasing casting on other roles like Lilac and Blue Bird ppd in Sleeping Beauty? I know other posters have mentioned this. I'm not the biggest fan of story ballets so I like to know who I am seeing. NYCB does a better job in this way. I guess ABT trusts the star power of the leads to fill the house. I'm very interested in some of the up and comings!

I think she suffers by comparison to the other ABT ballarinas when it comes to technique. She'll never turn like Murphy or balance like Herrera but what she does well, she does really, REALLY well. She seems to invite us all into her world to share in all that wonderful emotion that's happening on stage. Other ballerinas work there whole lives to to dazzling triple fouette combinations but they may never have that connection to the audience that she was born with. I feel this conversation going round and round. Part has her fans and her doubters. We will see what happens with Sleeping Beauty. I happen to believe that there are artists who are able to use tremendous technique for artistic ends - Cynthia Gregory, Suzanne Farrell (in her own way) and Julie Kent are prime examples. It doesn't have to be either or.

What a surprise. I have in the past expressed reservations about Part's technique and confidence. I hope she proves me wrong. I am disappointed, however, that Murphy got only 1 NY Sleeping Beauty.

I thought it a particularly strange photo. A little cheesy!!

Speaking of which, will ABT be releasing the casting for Lilac and Blue Bird? Sometimes, for me those roles make a differance in the performance I choose.

Just do the fouettes. Yes, your leg gets tired but it's something you have to practice. On the other hand I guess everyone could just pick out a favorite step and do it and that might be OK and even fun. At the same time I think it is good for dancers to measure themselves against the test of time. If dancers in the past could do technical feats (fouettes, rose Adagio balances) why not now, given the idea that ballet technique has advanced. I'm sure Sarah Means could go into a studio and work her way up to 32 if she wanted to. Not a priority and maybe it shouldn't be, but I fall into the camp that this step is a requirement of the role. Just like a note in opera that may have been written for a particular singer.

I believe the Met version used to have more dancing than it now has. I recall a Polanaise (many years ago) that may have been Balanchine. I could be totally wrong.

Anyone know the specifics of who danced what?

Thank you so much!

Actually, they were sweatpants and they were very loose and baggy. And they became more shapeless during the short scene. I wondered why that all came to pass. When McKenzie came out for his curtain call, he was wearing tights. So why could he make a quick costume change for the calls but not a little earlier for the last scene? You would think they could hold the curtain or at least keep the tomb scene dark until everyone was set , costume wise Didn't he probably have the sweatpants on over his tights? He probably forgot to take them off for the scene but took them off for the curtain call. This makes me wonder how he, as director, feels about dancers who make similar mistakes.

Have you seen her O/O? In other roles my experience is very often consonant with yours. Since Makarova I have seen many O/O's but very few have touched her level. Other than Part, just (young) Guillem, Nina Ballerina, Ashley Bouder, and (on her way, at least) Sara Mearns. I think Mr. B's one-acter should count for something too. Early Darci Kistler, and Maria Kowroski's last (a while ago...). I would like to see Part in O/O because I am indeed curious. I hope to see what others see in her and I hear that is her best ballet. The statement about "managing most of the steps" bothers me, because in other ballets I see fear and hesitation from Part because she knows she won't manage all of the steps. I am thinking more and more that this whole discussion boils down to individual tastes. I was not a fan of Makarova's Swan Lake although I loved Cynthia Gregory. I don't really go for Russian trained dancers on the whole.