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I find LeCrone an interesting dancer. Sometimes I don't know what to make of her and other times I enjoy her, particularly in leotard ballets. I also liked her as the soloist in Tchai Piano Concerto. Frankly I believe that her look works against her. She has a very angular face that doesn't have a lot of softness to it. This has nothing to do with her dancing, but impacts how she reads on stage. She has a lot of technique and I believe if she dances expansively she could pull off Lilac. I don't know if the dancers know who the next director will be, but whether or not they do, I feel that some of them have to feel like they are auditioning to demonstrate their usefulness. Soloists like LeCrone and Pereira fall into that category IMO

Thanks for pointing that out Canbelto. I didn't include spring in my subscription and didn't take a careful look.

Thank goodness he is not a possibility IMO. Lord knows we don't need to see more of his choreography.

I've said this before, but I wish NYCB didn't make us choose between all Balanchine and newer works. I've seen some of Peck, like some but not others, and would like to see more Forsythe but a program of all new works doesn't appeal to me. I've done that in the past and ended up not remembering which piece was which. Does NYCB really see an audience divide between old and new?

I saw the Matinee this today (Sat.). Serenade was first on the program. I've been watching this ballet for many, many years and still it casts its spell. Nice cast. Bouder's Russian Girl, get's better all the time. A softer side has flourished, along with her speed. Lauren Lovette, was radiant and beautiful, but I wish she'd find a way to eliminate some technical weaknesses I see in her every time she performs. (My husband disagrees and says her beauty and radiance over ride all that). She was partnered by Ask LaCour and lifts floated. Emily Gerrity was lovely and secure, her lines exceptionally beautiful. I see principal in her future. Mozartiana was next. Troy Schumacher's Gigue could have had more sharpness and wit, but it was enjoyable. I loved Hyltin and Huxley. I saw her a few years ago and wasn't impressed. This time she made it her own with a sweet yet witty style, and nuanced musicality. Huxley was super impressive in every way - turns, jumps. clarity and speed, musically floating jumps and finishing multiple turn. Tch Piano Concertn 2 - Interesting cast. I didn't know what to expect from Megan LeCrone in the soloist role. I liked her very much. She looked strong, confident and happy, and offered a nice stage presence. I've liked her in leotard ballets so this was nice to see. I also liked Tyler Angle. HIs partner is always fabulous. His jumps were high and strong. Good double cabrioles and overall a very fine performance. Teresa Reichlen in the lead had her moments but overall didn't do it for me. I'm not her biggest fan and find her presentation somewhat bland (except in tall girl Rubies). This choreography clearly challenged her. She met some challenges well, but at other times she was barely getting through the steps. I did notice Kristen Segin as outstanding in her demi soloist role along with Sarah Villwock. There were performance highs and lows, more highs than lows. The company on the whole looks great and seeing these ballets reminded me that beauty, spirituality and order is possible in the world. A nice reminder.

Thank you abatt, that's what I thought but you confirmed it. Dancers' Choice always was a delight. I particularly enjoyed the one Jennifer Ringer lead, with the emphasis on corps members. I believe Dancers' Choice was a benefit for the NYCB Dancers' Emergency Fund, so the company must have paid the costs and given the proceeds to the fund.

Totally agree. They brought up the idea of Lopez not wanting to leave Miami, but didn't mention the possibility of Boal not wanting to leave Seattle. Whelan's lack of experience in running a company wasn't touched upon. I was hoping the article would mention someone we hadn't thought of!!!

I guess I'm in the minority in that I don't find Stanley incredible. I like him in some things but find him a bit light weight in others. The NYCB is still adjusting to the loss of Ramasar and Catazaro, as well the retirement of DeLuz and the technical decline (in solo, white tights works) of the Angles and Veyette. There is also the injury of Adrian D-W. It's a strange time for the male ranks in NYCB. As far as leaving for fulfillment, maybe Stanley will. Some dancers look at the rep of Balanchine, Robbins and new works that NYCB offers and want to eat all of it up. Others find more fulfillment in a constant diet of new works. That's the way it goes. Dancer's leave companies. I loved Ana Sofia Scheller, but San Francisco Ballet seems a better match for her.

I saw Ashley Laracey as Lilac Fairy and liked her very much.

So agree. I will buy my ticket as soon as casting comes out. I'd see a Woodward debut in a second. I'm sure there are Pereira fans out there, but I'd avoid her if she was cast.

It's interesting, in a Conversations on Dance interview, Lourdes Lopez said Gottlieb encouraged her to apply for the Miami City Ballet position, and that's what got that going. It seems to me that the search for a NYCB AD could be a mix of a search firm, and old school people encouraging good candidates to apply. Maybe that's what is happening. AS far as "messy business details" how much of that is directly handled by the AD and how much is handled by a professional administrative staff? I just hope they announce soon.

Search firm, board of directors, or anyone else - given the job description, there are a limited number of people who are qualified. The board of directors could have saved themselves a lot of money. Instead of hiring a search firm they should be reading this site!

I recall Lopez being interviewed on Conversations on Dance. I'm paraphrasing but I believe she said she didn't have "vision" per se, but wanted to hire and develop good dancers, build an audience and grow the rep in ways that please and challenge audiences and dancers. She certainly seems devoted to the Balanchine rep, but has also shown an interest in new works (she was co-director of Wheeldon's company, Morphoses). Of course she might be happy in Miami, and not want the job, but I think she'd be great.

I'm still holding out hope for Lourdes Lopez - A woman, worked with Balanchine, worked in the media, is running a major company. To me she is the perfect candidate. I don't know what her Miami City Ballet contract is like or if she wants to relocate, but IMO she has it all.

I agree. Farrell has a great reputation as a coach and has run her own company, but I don't know if she would take on something as massive as NYCB. Kent surely has wonderful information to convey as a coach but I don't see anything to indicate that she could run a company. I think someone else mentioned Maria K. I don't see that as a possibility. She has no experience running a company not even small projects such as the ones done by Ulbricht, Bouder and some others.

Happy New Year to you all, and a big thank you to the moderators that keep this site going. I couldn't really come up with a best and worst list. I saw a lot of fine performances, and some not so fine ones too, but there weren't many super highs and lows. One Best goes to the Joaquin De Luz NYCB retirement performance. It took class to go out doing Theme and Variations and he pulled it off beautifully. It was also a wonderful "feel good" event. That's all I have to say about bests & worsts!

I remember seeing Alina Cojocaru in the old ABT production. She embraced the flowers and put them in front of the parents, which makes sense in that this is her coming out party. Clearly the ballerina has to get rid of the flowers. It's up to the production/dancer/coach to have it make sense. In my experience Cojocaru makes sense out of everything.

Thank you for posting, dirac.What a treat. Happy Holidays to all.

Oddly, I don't find Gigi having any ick factor. It was dealing with a young woman who was being trained to be a courtesan/mistress for a wealthy man. Such a woman would have had a better life than many women in that time and place. For me, An American in Paris hasn't aged well because, although there are charming scenes, the big dance scene doesn't hold up.

She seems to be very interested in choreography projects, and a number of them are coming her way.

I'm so glad to Ulbricht is doing this. It's a shame it's coming so late in his career. I always felt that Peter Martins under utilized him. It took years for Martins to cast him as Oberon, but he excelled in it. From social media I know that Ulbricht has recently guested with Sarah Lane, doing Cavalier.

I agree with others that Sarasota and Washington Ballet might be good places for Morgan. She is 30 years old and would want to (I imagine) join a company as a principal or soloist. A lot will depends on which companies have that additional salary in their budget. Also, long term - how reliable is she, and how long will she be dancing. AD's take a lot of things into consideration.

My thinking is when you think of the NYCB rep overall it wouldn't be what she'd want.

I emailed them and got a response saying they were sorry for my inconvenience and would review their animal policy. I didn't follow up beyond that, and it was a couple of years ago. If they haven't changed their policy of allowing comfort animals, I would hope they are prepared to accommodate people with allergies and asthma.

My understanding is that a service animal it one that is trained to provide specific services and that "comfort" animals do not legally qualify. Many businesses don't know that. I had a horrible experience in the Joyce Theater in NYC about 2 yrs ago. I took my seat and the woman next to me had a small dog in a cage, on her lap. The animal stunk to high heaven. It made my stomach turn. I signaled the usher who sent the house manager over to tell me that the dog was allowed. I asked if my husband and I could be moved to comparable seats - the answer was that no seats were available. I don't know if anything has changed since the, but I did write to complain.