vipa

Interesting article. I'm a big fan of Cojocaru and her ability to create a world on stage. I was a bit surprise to see a piece on her in the NYTimes, since no plans to perform in the USA were mentioned.

I'm not excited about the first week, but I'm very happy to see that Mearns is back. I wonder if Bouder will be cast in Liebeslieder.

New York also has a few Nutcracker options that are popular even though not performed by major companies. New York Theatre Ballet does a Nutcracker that is short and very suitable for antsy young children. New York City Children's Theater also does a short one, that's interactive. There are others. They are in smaller venues, so kids are up close, and have fairly cheap tickets. Sometimes as low as $12. I'm just saying that people with kids are sometimes looking to give them a taste of Nutcracker specifically geared for children that won't break the bank.

Sarah Lane is a quality dancer. I'm sorry she isn't with a company. She's made her own decisions for whatever reasons.

My understanding is that the younger children are those who are able to commute, and enroll in the SAB at an early age. There is weeding out, and dropping out process and only some of them move on to the pre-professional division. There they are joined by students from summer intensives who have been invited to stay the year.

Many students are pretty advanced in their training before starting at SAB. There are dancers in the company who were comp kids, (Mearns is one), however they weren't recruited or given scholarships via competitions. The way into SAB is by auditioning for the summer intensive and being invited to stay the year. The amount of time spent at SAB before being asked to be an apprentice varies. Sometimes it's short. There are also a few company members who grew up in the NYC area, and went all the way through the school. I believe Ashley Hod received most of her training at SAB. In any event NYCB doesn't recruit from competitions the way some other companies do.

I saw the movie today. So many good points have been already been made. I'll just add a few thoughts. I enjoyed it and think it's worth seeing, but ultimately found it a bit unsatisfying. As others have said, it is film about Bernstein's relationship with his wife Felicia. A relationship made complex because he was gay and she always knew it. The flaw in the film, for me, was that there was no deep dive into Bernstein as a person, other than his sexual orientation. Felicia was the a way more complex character, and Carey Mulligan gave a wonderful performance. The movie ended rather abruptly, which I guess makes sense, since it was about their marriage. Once Felicia was no longer there, there wasn't much to do but show Bernstein working, flirting with men and partying. Still, all and all, an intriguing movie.

Thanks for this review BalanchineFan. I'm always glad when Ulbricht is allowed to expand beyond the Candy Cane type roles.

India Bradley did an episode of the podcast, Conversations on Dance, a couple of years ago and spoke about mother's background, as well has her own early training.

Debra Austin was a wonderful dancer. It's not Balanchine but I love her performance of La Sylphide at Pennsylvania Ballet. Here's one short example. There are other longer excerpts on youtube.

Wendy Whelan gave quite a shout out to India Bradley on instagram after her dewdrop performance. "the Nutcracker just birthed an exciting new #dewdrop" https://www.instagram.com/p/C0r8a8hpLcW/?img_index=1

Thank you for this report. I've been a fan of Laracey's for a long time. She is amazingly consistant it the radiance, grace and beauty she brings to every role she does. IMO she should have been promoted to principal with the last batch.

So many great performances this year. The ones that come to mind immediately are: Sara Mearns and Tiler Peck in Tchai PC2. I felt privileged to have seen them both Emma Von Enck in Rubies. What a star turn for her. I'm sure I'll think of others.

Just to add. I won't be attending Nutcracker so would love any reports. I know tickets are high and it's selling well, but if you get there I'd love a report.

I agree that this is strange. Maybe she'll get something else in the final week. She seems so ready for Dewdrop and Sugar Plum. I'm happy to see Miriam Miller being cast in SP . I saw her perform the pad a couple of times in Vail this summer, and Heather Watts coached her quite a bit. I'm sure she'll be lovely and fill the music to the utmost.

Thanks for sharing the City Center Nutcracker program, BalanchineFan. It was so enjoyable to watch. Suki Schorer is a treasure. I thought Ashley Hod looked quite good. Last season, according to her instagram, she didn't do any new roles because she was recovering from foot surgery. I expect to see more of her in the winter and spring.

I don't think it's a matter of setting a career back, more a missed opportunity for dancers in the company to develop that little bit more. Also a nervousness that this practice could become a habit. NYCB is a far cry from the old ABT practice of importing guests, but in the case of ABT it was demoralizing for the dancers. Lastly, what is the purpose of guest artists? Typically it's either to sell tickets with a name star, or to fill in for an injured principal when no one else can do the role or learn it on short notice. I'm still unclear about NYCB's reasoning, but I could just be missing something.

Agree that using a guest artist for Dewdrop is a disappointment, even with principal dancers going off to guest elsewhere. There is a deep bench as NYCB, as others have said. I also don't quite know what to make of Bell/Murphy. Gillian Murphy talks about training with Melissa Haydn, so perhaps that's a connecting thread. In any event, I don't see the need or usefulness of guest artists at NYCB. It is a fun a thing that the actor Terry Mann, is going to narrate Carnival of the Animals. He is married to Charlotte D'Amboise and their daughter Shelby Mann is in the corps.

Let's hope, should they join ABT, there will be room to move up and rep for them to do.

The dancers are wonderful. Clean, clear, musical, beautiful movers. One thing that surprised me was how few dancers were in this production. I only realized that when they took their bow at the end. Just 10 dancers. Somehow when they moved in unison, covered space and spread across the stage It felt like a horde!

Just saw Akram Khan's Jungle Book Reimagined at Lincoln Center's Jazz at Lincoln Center site. Very impressive in many ways - conception, effects, choreography, quality of dancing. Anyone else see it? I thought it really worked as a theatrical production. I went because I received a flyer in the mail, enjoyed Khan's Giselle and it was a "choose what you want to pay" event! IMO as compared to many new choreographers I've seen in recent years at NYCB and ABT, Khan leaves them in the dust.

I was surprised to see Pollack's name, even though it's not a debut. Glad to see she's fully back. Having a baby, an injury (mentioned in her instagram) and being in the movie West Side Story kept her off the NYCB stage for a while. Another surprise for me, again not a debut, was Erica Pereira cast in both SP and Dewdrop.

I am surprised Murphy isn't retiring at the Met season. I guess it still could happen. I haven't seen her dance in a while, but reports seem mixed. When the Met season starts she'll be 45. She deserves much respect for a long, distinguished career. At the same time she's in a company in which opportunities are desperately needed by younger dancers. I don't know what management can or will do about these situations. I also wonder what's happening with Misty. I heard her in an interview about a short film she was making, say was was starting to get into 5th position, not too promising. She's a star so I see why the company wants her on the roster, but there will have to be a resolution sometime, she's 41 and has been off the stage for a number of years.

Going back to this thread on facial expressions because I found this short clip on youtube with Tiler Peck addressing the question in brief:

I guess I missed this and am not familiar with this book. I'm sure I'll get to it but, I have to admit, after plowing thorough the Homan's bio I'm maxed out on reading thoughts/opinions/reports on Balanchine for the time being. It does sound like a unique perspective, though.