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Boy I'd love to see this version of Giselle. I'd also love to see Carrie Imler live. The first won't happen for me, being a New Yorker, so I rely on reports from Helene and everyone else. I'm hoping to see Imler at the Joyce. Anyone know if she's coming. She is a dancer I've longed to see for a while.

I saw Jewels this afternoon. The David Rubenstein atrium across from Lincoln Center had discount tickets for SAt. mat & evening, and Sun. Mat. I was going to go tomorrow but they had better tickets for today. Center - Row B of the 3rd ring 50% off. I wish ABT would participate. There were lots of empty seats when I went. I love this ballet more and more as time goes on. George Balanchine hit upon so many emotional truths in many sections of partnering. The way the man holds the woman, or uses the crook of her arm to promenade her or reaches behind her head to take her hand - so many places have emotional resonance. Today Emeralds - Abi Stafford is looking good. She was out injured for a while and last year seemed unable to jump or move with freedom. She was beautiful in Emeralds, not mysterious as some present the role, but full of joy. She was partnered well by Jared Angle. Rebecca Krohn and Jonathan Stafford were also quite good. The delightful pas de trois was done by the always radiant Lauren King, Anthony Huxley (looking great, I see principal in the near future}, and Megan LeCrone who is not a natural for romantic roles but danced with a wonderful freedom and musicality. Rubies - Ashley Bouder WOW - Playful, nuanced, sharp - all I can say is see her do it folks. Gonzalo Garcia looked better than he has but there is something unpolished about him that bothers me. It's as if he doesn't really gel his positions and give them a finished look. He is not a match for Bouder when they dance side by side. I loved Savannah Lowery in the "big girl" role. She is such an out there, go for it performer that she makes me smile. I love her big dancing. Diamonds - Sara Mearns - riveting. The pas was gorgeous and Ask la Cour gave her the ability to be free in all the off balance places where the woman does the impossible. Not in a acrobatic way but in a way that allows her to be what she wants. One of my favorite critic quotes of all times is Arlene Croce writing about Suzanne Farrell in this role "The riveting spectacle of the freest woman alive." I truly feel this way about the piece when it is well done. Ask la Cour was way less satisfying in his solo dancing. He doesn't have much of a jump but coordinates his way through double saut de basques and double tours well enough. His a la seconde turns are quite anemic. He is definitely put in the role for the partnering. Not a bad reason if it allows Mearns to dance the pas the way she does. She was also quite wonderful in her solo work. All in all a very satisfying afternoon at the ballet.

A few people mentioned Ashley Bouder being ahead of her regiment. I've never seen her in this ballet and I'm curious. I saw her do Square Dance (she was amazing, great role for her), in the last section she was ahead of the corps but the only one on the music. Clearly the conductor was conducting for Bouder's speed and it didn't matter to me that the corps didn't really keep up. Union Jack is a different thing, unison matters more - so my question is - Was the she ahead of the music or was she dancing at the start of the note not the end? I'm sorry but I can't think of another way to phrase that. Or was she doing the kind of musical phrasing in which she speeds up some steps so she has time to hold a balance. Just curious, if anyone has the time to answer

Very interesting FauxPas. While I didn't enjoy the ballet last night I do remember liking it more years ago when the Joffrey Ballet did it, particularly Gary Chryst. Also I second everything mimsyb said about Andrew Veyette.

Just got back from the evening show and would like to give my report. I hope someone here was at the mat and gives a review. T&V - The absolute highlight was Andrew Veyette. He really brought his A game across the plaza. His solos were spectacular and musical, and his partnering beautiful. Isabella Boylston to me is a work in progress in this. She fulfilled a lot of the technical demands. On the other hand she fell off pointe once, under rotated turns in her variation so she couldn't keep traveling the step, and did very little by way of musical phrasing/playing with the music. She had a nice big arabesque but I wish she would freeze her line at some point to give a picture, instead it keeps moving. All that said I think she is a very strong, talented dancer with a beautiful body. It would be nice if ABT nurtured and coached her (I actually don't have much hope that they will, but you never know). Duo Concertant - Misty Copeland's body is an incredible instrument that can do anything and make any position or line. Unfortunately this piece is all about sweetness and light, perhaps most importantly spontaneity. The couple stands by the piano and listens until they are moved to dance and then dance in response to the music and at times stop again and listen. Copeland doesn't bring those qualities to the stage. She is a beautiful woman with a lovely smile and she did the steps. My problem is that everything she did had the same strong attack. Nothing seemed spontaneous and there were no shadings, it was on or off. Eric Tamm was good but I feel he is a physical mismatch with Copeland. Either she needs to be with someone bigger and more substantial looking or he needs to be with someone smaller. Gaite Parisienne - Hee Seo looked gorgeous and seemed like she was having a blast. Misty Copeland as the flower girl was very funny. Craig Salstein replaced Simkin and was fine. I know I sound like a grump but I really don't think ABT should be doing this ballet because it doesn't challenge their dancers (I don't believe it sells ticket. There were a lot of empty seats). One of the reasons ABT isn't developing talent from within as much as they could is because the dancers don't have enough rep to grow in. Anyway, all and all a disappointing evening. Still can't believe ABT had to import a NYCB dancer to do T&V.

I. Boylston is replacing Murphy in T&V

Oh no. I was looking forward to that. It would be funny (not that I think it will happen) if they got a NYCB woman, I've seen Veyette with Bouder. Of course if they got Bouder, the ABT orchestra would have to play faster!

I think the number of guest artists is the key, as well as the stature of the artists. You bring in guests to sell tickets, and it's hard for me to believe that most of the guests ABT has for the Met season is serving that purpose.

I just got back from Sun. Mat. and want to give my impressions. Raymonda - Ashley Bouder was glorious. Her super assured technique (beyond assured) was on full display with amazing speed, balances, sustained turns etc. She was also musical, radiant and the total ballerina. Her pas with Veyette was perfection. Vayette was not as successful in his variations. Nothing terrible, but he didn't seen comfortable with the choreography and his upper body got stiff. The soloists were Sarah Adams, Emilie Gerrity (nice musical phrasing), Megan LeCrone, Faye Arthurs & Ashly Isaacs (strong dancing) were mostly good with a few flubs here or there. Steadfast Tin Shouldier - Megan Fairchild & Anthony Huxley. Nicely done. Fairchild does a lot more acting than Patricia McBride did. I don't know if this is a result of Balanchine's coaching of McBride. Either way it's an enjoyable, pleasant piece. Tombeau de Couperin - I always enjoy this piece. I love that's it's all corps, mostly about formations but is very human. Everyone on stage is a person. Symphony in C - 1st Movement - Catazaro replaced Finlay (I hope Finlay isn't out for long). Tiler Peck stunning in her musicality and technique. 2nd Movement - Sara Mearns amplitude, the fullness of her arabesques and freedom with which she danced was heart stopping. Jared Angle was the wonderful partner that allowed her to be herself and give so much. He is a great partner. One of the things I love about NYCB is how great the partnering is - Angle is one of the best. 3rd Movement - Antonio Carmena looked sharp and fantastic - ready to move to the principal ranks. Erica Pereira is a dancer I don't get. She has a good double pirouette but still seems under powered and dances very metrically (hardly ever phrases or plays with music.} 4th Movement - Lauren King was improved from last year. I get the feeling that the turns make her nervous, but she got through them better than she did last year, and she is a radiant dancer. I've always loved the way she relates to her partner, the others on stage and the audience. If she gets those turns sorted out, she'll be wonderful in this. Sean Suozzi was OK with some shaky moments. All in all a great program. What a terrific company. BTW the audience seemed pretty full. They opened up part of the 4th ring.

All such interesting points Faux Pas, and well said. One of the things troubling to me is that ABT has reached the point that, IMO, their guests are not international stars that will sell tickets. Don't get me wrong, I think Maria Kochetkova is a fine dancer but she's not a recognizable name that will increase ticket sales. Andrew Veyette (who I'm a fan of) being imported to to T&V is another case in point. Bringing in real stars for the sake of box office is one thing, bringing in guests for real or perceived lacks in the company is another.

I agree with everyone about developing male talent at ABT. I believe a big problem is the rep and the diminished length of tours (back in the day the company used to tour a lt.) On the first point, with so much rep being full lengths the soloists end up doing peasant pas de deux, Swan Lake pas de trois, Sleeping Beauty pas de trois etc, over and over. Occasionally they are thrown a lead role. This is not a way to develope talent. On the second point, if the tours were longer and there were just more shows KM might take a chance and give more soloists, principal role opportunities while on the road.

If anyone is interested NYCB has just opened up more seats for next week. I just purchased tickets for 5/11 fourth ring row A right in the middle. Personally I love those seats. They opened up seats for a number of performances.

I am confused. I just went to the NYCB website to purchase tickets to several performances. The site show very few tickets available in most sections of the house. If this is the case they are close to selling out. if so why the concern about getting an audience in? If it's not the case are there hidden tickets somewhere?

I thought of buying tickets to this program but not having unlimited means I decided to skip it. 2 questions for those who've seen it. 1. I know that 21st century was the idea, but it seems to me they could have called it something else and included a Balanchine ballet like Agon or 4T's. I've enjoyed Namouna but it is long and really is a take off on "story ballets" so might not be the best for new comers. 2. Did anyone feel that a new audience was drawn in? Particularly one that will return. I saw Ocean's Kingdom which was another gimmick. It was boring music, to bad choreography in ugly costumes. The night I went the audience response was tepid. but the audience came alive for La Sonnambula.

I always thought it was a shame and waste that SF wasn't used more as a coach. At the time of her dismissal dancers and orchestra members told me that the $30,000 a year she cost the company was a drop in the bucket compared to the money she brought in while she was dancing. To a lesser degree I've also wished Heather Watts was used as a coach, but that is a long and complicated story.

She was on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, a very fun show that I listen to after the fact via pod cast. Copeland did fine as a guest, but the panelists were very, very funny, in response to her comments, particularly about dancers talking on stage. A fun listen.

Please say more. Please.

Push Comes to Shove is great news. I hope they cast is well.

All true Helene, but what makes this special is that NYCB is performing at the same time as ABT - both in Lincoln Center. Don't most ABT guest artists agree not to perform within a certain time or distance of their ABT shows? Of course that would be impossible in this case. I'm still amazed ABT couldn't go with someone in the company.

I agree abatt that it's ridiculous that ABT can't use one if their own dancers. I saw Veyette do T&V recently with NYCB and it was terrific. I also heard him say in an interview that T&V was the equivalent of a final exam in ballet. Even so ABT must have someone who could pass the exam. There is time to prepare I wonder what the negotiations were like. Since NYCB ballet is performing at the same time it seems odd that one of their dancers be a guest across the plaza,

Thank you Kaysta. I for one love input from anyone with little technical knowledge. I can't not look at things as a former dancer and love to hear opinions from newer audience members. Please keep posting.

I think Lovette, King and Laracey all have principal potential, but need some time. I'd particularly like to see Lovette & King handle more principal roles. What will ever happen to Erica Pereira? She was made soloist really quickly but hasn't developed much IMO, and doesn't perform much.

Points well taken abatt. It also points to a problem with the ABT rep in terms of developing dancers. How can a dancer develop an interpretation and grow in a role by doing it once or twice a year? I saw Sarah Lane's Sleeping Beauty several years ago in NY and she didn't get another chance until maybe 4 or 5 years later. Even with established principals like Herrera -- how much development can there be in her Swan Lake if she does it once or twice a year? It's not solvable IMO because in a big ballet reliant rep you have to have many casts.

My experierence has been that in technically demanding role she doesn't deliver so I've been avoiding her. I'll be interested in reading reviews.

I don't exactly know why having a choreographer who has never worked in ballet before is a point of pride. Ballet has a wonderful vocabulary to use and expand upon. I can certainly be argued out of this, but it seems to me that a choreographer who is creating on a ballet company should be comfortable with ballet vocabulary, otherwise why use such highly trained dancers. My thoughts are not totally formulated on this, obviously.