vipa

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.

I too remember Intermezzo very fondly. It was a young ballet student when I saw it, so I'd love to be able to revisit it. Currently Eliot Feld is listed as the founder of Ballet Tech, but is no longer the directer or on staff. The Feld ballets are part of ABT's neglected history! My dream revival, however, would be Twyla's Push Comes to Shove.

The mention of Dark Elegies, a wonderful ballet, got me thinking about Eliot Feld's At Midnight. I remember seeing it at ABT and being impressed. I'd love to see it again. I believe it's to Mahler songs.

I was actually amazed by how well both Merns and Tiler Peck performed those turns. It can be a real trouble spot.

Interesting point volcanohunter. I also remember Kistler saying that being told to be herself, removed the burden of trying to live up to all the great dancers who did the role before her. She found it liberating. Kirkland wanted, perhaps needed, a different type of direction which is one the the reasons she left NYCB. She wanted to do narrative ballets with a narrative approach. Different things works for different dancers.

From what I've read about Balanchine, and what people who worked with him have told me, the thing he hated was phony emoting - flared nostrils, kneaded eyebrows, plastered on grins. Apparently he spent a lot of time in class on epaulement (the angle of the head and shoulders), and minutiae like the shape of the hands - showing all fingers, as well as other details, and he used a lot of imagery in his descriptions. He promoted and choreographed on dancers who understood what he was getting at. They had a naturalness on stage, as well their own distinctive perfumes. I think of Allegra Kent, Violette Verdy, Patricia McBride, Suzanne Farrell and Darci Kistler, as young as she was when Balanchine promoted her late in his life. Other dancers took longer to develop. Merrill Ashely was given technically challenging solo roles early in her corps years but it was 10 year before Balanchine choreographed a ballet for her and promoted her to principal. So I don't think it was a matter of Balanchine not focusing on that kind of artistry. It was more a matter of who understood best what he was getting at. Merrill Ashley said she went from questioning to believing to being a disciple. I think in the end, dancers do have to figure things out for themselves. Perhaps that's true of all performing artists. I'm heard many a teacher say "I can't do it for you." A teacher/coach/director can instruct, explain, correct, describe, use imagery even manipulate your body. The individual dancer fells it on their body, figures out how to repeat it - what message to send from brain to body, incorporate it into their movement in a way that makes it become part of their muscle memory. Most dancers work on things by themselves and experiment, in order to find their way. Some things take time. It's not unusual for a dancer to look back at a correction or guidance given by a teacher and think - now I know what they meant!

Besides the Emeralds trio, I've seen Bradley in the first Agon trio, a Raymonda variation, the soloist role in La Source. I can't remember what else. I agree with that Mary Thomas MacKinnon is interesting to watch. I'll have to look out for Lauren Collett. So much talent in the company!

So agree about Veyette. There is plenty of rep he still looks good in, and his partnering is impeccable. Nutcracker is coming and I"m sure he'll do Cavalier. It will be interesting to see if Bouder is in shape for Sugar Plum or Dewdrop. It will also be interesting to follow what happens within the soloist rank on the women's side. Here's how I see it. I don't see Adams as on the principal track. Hod (according to her instagram) was just back from foot surgery so didn't do any new roles this season. She says she's completely healed and raring to go. Laracey looks good in everything she does, but has been with the company 21 years. LaCrone has been with the company 22 years, and isn't looking great (IMO). MacKinnon is still finding her way. Maxwell will be principal material eventually if she keeps going the way she is. Miriam Miller is terrific, but would be in competition with Kikta for promotion as a tall dancer. Pereira and Pollack rarely dance. Von Enck is ready to be a principal now. When a soloist spot is available on the woman's side, I can see India Bradley moving up.

I agree about Adams. Also, to my way of thinking she is not a distinctive dancer. I much prefer Laracey, who Adams replaced in Unanswered Question. Laracey was out with COVID for a time this season so was scheduled to dance more than she actually did. I've thought for a couple of years she deserved a promotion, but I believe her time has passed. Kikta and Von Enck seem on principal track. When likely depends on the needs of the upcoming rep.

It's true Tiler Peck became used to performing from a early age. I've her instagram videos of performing at the age of three. The stage presence and naturalness is unnerving (not to mention the length of the number she memorized)! In any event, for whatever reasons some dancers have an easier time with facial expressions on stage then others. I'm thinking of Lauren King, who retired as a soloist a few years ago. From the moment she joined the corps my eye was drawn to her because of her radiant smile, and the wonderful way she related to everyone on stage. As @BalanchineFan mentioned, Merrill Ashley worked on her facial expression later in her career, after her husband pointed out that her face looked beautiful when she danced to songs on the radio, and she should try to do that on stage. I don't think there is a lot of coaching in this respect, other than being told to smile. It's something dancers have to figure out, for the most part. Maybe companies with a different tradition, like the Royal Ballet, pay more attention to it. I don't know.

I wouldn't assume that Tiler Peck intentionally works on her facial expressions. Perhaps she does, but when you watch her in interviews she changes her expressions as she speaks, frequently smiling very naturally. It could be that she allows her natural facial expressions to carry over to the stage. Ashley Bouder always had a problem with her "stage face" IMO. She often plastered on a kind of smug smile that she didn't have when you watched her in interviews or in rehearsal footage.

Glad to hear you mention Pereira @fondoffouettes. I thought the same thing when I saw her in the role Thursday evening. Her dancing was sweeping, musical and joyful. I believe she's been a soloist for 14 years, and seems to have been stuck in every way for a long time. Her casting is quite limited. She performs so infrequently, I sometimes wondered why she was still in the company. It would be wonderful, if this bigger, fresher dancing continued and grew and she had a blossoming of sorts.

I remember a performance of T&V Lane did with Cornejo when she was a young corps member. If memory serves, it was good and quite refreshing. I also remember the later one with Gorak. It was, as ABT Fan said, shy of a disaster.