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It can be very confusing for dance students and young professionals. You can honestly believe that another dancer got a role you wanted because she is thinner than you are. Later on, looking back, it's easier to understand that that dancer had attributes that you didn't recognize at the time. In the meantime you tried to starve your way to success. I truly think things have improved a lot since back in the day when I danced professionally. In my day lots of people simple tried to stop eating. Now so much more is know about nutrition and cross training. Cross training is a big factor. A corps member can be in the studio for 6 hours of rehearsal without burning a lot of calories. It's very start and stop, and stretches of time can be spent posing. It's tiring but not necessarily calorie burning in a big way. Cross training can be more aerobic, burn calories and make you stronger.

Yes, Kirstein raised a lot of money for the company. Peter Martins seems to have been very good at fundraising and mingling with donors.

I thought about Jennifer Ringer too. She was an intelligent and, what I would call, honest dancer. I don't think she has experience running a company. She's been running a school and a number of years ago she directed the "Dancers' Choice" performance at NYCB. Her theme, if I remember correctly, was to feature the corps, and was quite poised and well spoken. If she's the one, I wonder if her husband James Fayette, will have a position. He has experience with performers' unions. Personally, I think she'd be a better choice than Wendy Whelan. Of course I've been trying to come up with former ballerinas who joined post Balanchine. Margaret Tracy, Janie Taylor, Miranda Weese, Yvonne Borree - none seem like candidates

Interesting thought. Why would she be replacing Abrera in anything so early, it's only Nov.

This does seem odd. I can't imagine her name would sell tickets and ABT is bursting with people in all ranks that need opportunities.

I agree On Pointe. I just wonder if Boal or Lopez would want the job. Peter Boal seems quite involved in the Seattle community, and is working with dancers he hand picked. Lopez is just putting her stamp on Miami. They both have contracts that they would have to break. I also can't see Helgi Tomasson leaving SFB. Not many people have experience running a large, successful company. Ib Anderson is in Arizona, I don't know much about the company but he would be an interesting choice. Colleen Neary runs the LA ballet (I believe). It seems incredibly hard to get a company going there. Judy Fugate has run a small group for a number of years. There is Nikolai Hubbe in Denmark. Damien Woetzel has never run a company, but has developed a successful festival (quite a different thing). In any event he is just starting at Juilliard. We don't know who has applied for the job or who is being encouraged to, but in the meantime I hope "the team" continues to bring in dancers from the past to coach. Please bring Suzanne in! One thing that makes this so difficult is that being a great dancer doesn't mean you'll be a great company director, any more than it means you'll be a great teacher. Maybe there is a former NYCB corps member out there serving as an assistant director somewhere, who'd do a fabulous job.

Casting is a difficult thing and a zero sum game. Does the AD give Abrera opportunities because she doesn't have many years left? Or does he give younger dancers opportunities, so they develop and get chances to do roles before they hit their mid to late 30's. Personally I believe management let Julie Kent go on for too long. It's not an easy thing. When I look at casting, who should lose an Aurora so Abrera gets one? I'm sure we all have opinions, but it is a zero sum game.

I'm excited about the Tharp program. Deuce Coupe goes back to Kevin M's Joffrey days. I wonder who is going to stage it. I wish they were doing Push Comes to Shove, but the Tharp program should be entertaining. The principal women all seem to have a fair amount to do. Brandt and Trenary have enough principal roles to warrant being promoted. I wonder if KM will promote them before there are any retirements. I'm not a fan of full length story ballets in general, and the idea of a piece of literature like Jane Eyre being a ballet doesn't attract me. Dear Reader, I don't see how the tone of the book can be captured. So, I'll rely on your reviews of that, Manon and other full lengths but will be attending the rep nights.

The board of directors definitely took a chance. They wanted Julie Kent's star power and vision. Her salary is an increase of 40% over the former director's. They offered her husband a job (presumably at a nice salary) and free housing. That is quite a good deal. The board must have wanted her badly even though she had never run a company before. I can't help but wonder what Brooklyn Mack and some other dancers think, now that Kent's salary and living situation has been made public.

Very interesting article. It will be fascinating to follow this company's successes and failures. Julie Kent seems to want to follow the ABT model, but that company is having a hard time, IMHO, figuring out what to do to sell tickets. It's interesting that the mentors she mentions, Baryshnikov, Tudor, Nureyev - were not men who built successful companies. Lastly, saying it's not about entertainment is a mistake.

I wanted to comment on Erica Perreira, I believe she caught Peter Martins' attention when he was choreographing Romeo & Juliet, and wanted to cast teenagers close to the age of Juliet. (A questionable idea IMO). She was taken into the company shortly there after and promoted to soloist quickly. In the roughly 9 years that followed she has been cast infrequently. I didn't see her in Coppelia, but have seen her in many ballets. I find and her lacking in coordination (she doesn't move in one piece), although she has a very reliable double pirouette. I wonder if she would have been better off spending a few years in the corps gaining performance experience, partnering experience and developing a stage presence by performing night after night. I feel she's stalled in the soloist ranks (nothing to be ashamed of lord knows). Personally I feel that Megan LeCrone & Lauren King have maxed out too. Lauren King has a radiant presence, but lacks the technique to back it up. LeCrone is inconsistent. But what do I know - with a new AD coming in anything could happen

I don't know how much this impacts on company morale/connectedness but in NYCB everyone spends time in the school. They've been in summer intensive's together, shared dorm life at the school - grew up together in a way. They share life goals and accomplishments. Every woman has been in the corps and experienced the crazy long Nutcracker season. I don't know if this is a factor in company cohesion, I'm just putting the possibility out there.

Pazcoguin is another dancer who has been out a lot recently. After her stint with Cats, she was out with an knee injury. I'm not sure she is fully back. She is a unique talent, but I don't see her being promoted to principal unless/until she is cast in and succeeds in more principal roles. Woodward and Phelan are definitely on the principal track. I wish Laracey was too, but I'm not as sure. She joined the company in 2002, which means she must be in her mid 30's. That would be late for a NYCB promotion, but you never know. I believe on the women's side a couple of retirements must be coming soon in the principal ranks, and we'll see some movement. Alexa Maxwell was a favorite of mine in the corps, but she too has been out with injury I believe.

Just a few years ago, Veyette did some amazing performances of Theme & Variations as well as Oberon in Midsummer. It saddens me to see him in the shape he is currently in.

I didn't see the original cast but have seen it a few time. I agree with the assessment that it is enjoyable the first time, but doesn't hold up with repeated viewings. If it's on a good program and you've never seen it (or only seen it once), you're likely to enjoy it. At this point I try to avoid it.

Ashley Laracey is one of my all time favorite Lilac Fairies. Looking at the Shanghai casting I wonder if Maria K isn't going on that tour, opening up some opportunities. The women's principal roster is interesting right now. Maria K is over 40 and Abi Stafford doesn't dance much. Except for Lauren Lovette, the other female principals are in there 30's. I heard Tiler Peck say in an interview that she felt that she was hitting the sweet spot when artistry and technique come together. As we all know the female principal ranks have been astonishing the past few years. Many of them are hitting their true prime. We want to see them as much as possible, but management has to push the next generation and have them ready.

I believe Ashley Hod has been out injured. If memory serves she hurt her foot during performance at the end of last season. If she comes back strong, I believe she'll be in line for promotion.

I was at the Joachim final performance. I can't write much now, but it was a glorious event. Theme and Variations was wonderful. The partnering totally lovely and his double tour/pirouette series was great. He started beaming after the 2nd tour and the audience started applauding before he finished. All-in-all a much appreciated, feel good event.

Wonderful, congrats to all. I saw it coming for Joseph Gordon, Harrison Coll and Claire Kretzschmar. For me it shows that time doesn't stand still because there is an interim team, and the team has the authority to move forward. It might also be a signal that there is no great rush to appoint a new director. The board can take its time to figure it out.

Looks like some of us will have to disagree about the versatility if NYCB dancers. I believe they are incredibly versatile. I think it should also be noted that for most NYCB dancers SAB serves as a finishing school. A dancer attends a summer intensive for one or more summers and then is in SAB for approx. 1 to 3 school years, before becoming an apprentice. (There are the exceptions of a few dances who go through SAB from the age of 8). These dancers got their foundational training elsewhere, training that often included tap, jazz and other forms of dance. As with any group of dancers some NYCB dancers are more versatile than others, but on the whole, I think they are super adaptable. .

I certainly have a preferred lane but that doesn't mean that I'm not interested in or curious about anything else. That's exactly why, as I stated in an earlier post, I wish NYCB would experiment more with mixed programs of Balanchine and other choreographers. That's one reason the program - Allegro Brilliant, Easy, Carousel & La Sylphide attracted me. I didn't love all pieces equally, far from it, but I got to see one aspect of what Justin Peck was about. For the audiences that tend to go for all contemporary works, I think it would be fun to through Agon or 4 T's in there, to give those people a taste of Balanchine. Maybe I'm alone in looking at it that way, but personally I'd welcome some fresh programming ideas.

Drew, thank you. You said much of what I was thinking. Yes, it's important to get dancers who Balanchine choreographed on coaching, and do it quickly for obvious reasons. We all have to acknowledge that memories aren't perfect, but a sense of energy, style, musicality should be mostly accurate even if some steps were changed for different dancers. I too think Peter Martins did much right, but have seen Farrell's company - please have her coach soon. At the same time we have to acknowledge that change happens. Truthfully, I've enjoyed performances of Square Dance more now than I did in the "good old days" because of developments in technique. Balanchine didn't have Ashley Bouder, Tiler Peck etc. to choreograph on. We don't know how he would have change things, or what he would have done. I was trained, as a dancer, by people who were in the NYCB during the Balanchine years. They have both passed away. Let's get as much knowledge as we can before it's too late.

Seeing that Lane was cast in the Dorrance piece gave me some impetus to look into tickets, although the programs I can get to includes Songs of Bukovina, which I don't like. IIn searching, I saw so many empty seats, that I didn't buy. There's no hurry. It can be last minute if I decide to go. I don't know what to make of the season and casting.

dirac, you made me laugh. At least this time, I'm sure, they'll cast a Maria who can do her own singing. I guess, we'll have to see what Tony Kushner does with the book. Peck has become the go-to person for "serious" choreography in musical theater. Personally I didn't think that having Jigger as a dance role in Carousel added anything, and unbalanced some parts of an already very long show. However, Peck is now the chosen one. More power to him. Could be worse.

Thank you so much Royal Blue for this report. Here's my beef. As a long time NYCB fan, I wish they'd more frequently mix Balanchine with contemporary works. I saw the program with Allegro Brilliant & short works by Peck and Wheeldon, followed by La Sylphide, so they do it sometimes. But I'd be more prone to buy a ticket for a program if I was sure there was one great Balanchine work there along with pieces I've never seen before. For the most part the programming is - All Balachine - All this or that. Do audience studies really show that the people attending all Balanchine programs really don't want to see something new?