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Nice to hear that Ashley Bouder was there.

Does anyone know exactly what triggers the opening of the 3rd ring? I've looked at some dates that had a lot of unsold seats in the 2nd ring, with the 3rd ring open. I've also seen dates with a lot of unsold seats in the 2nd ring with the 3rd ring closed. I find it depressing that the 3rd and 4th ring are closed so often.

Such good points. Does anyone understand why See The Music is scheduled when it is? I can't believe it sells tickets. On Thursday, when I was there, the 3rd rind wasn't open.

I agree it's not height, it's an ability to do super fast and clean allegro work. Typically that's true of smaller dancers, but taller dancers like Merrill Ashely can have that quality. I haven't seen LaFreniere enough to know is she has the speed and footwork for Square Dance. From what I saw of Maxwell in various roles in Sleeping Beauty she seems to, as does Emma VE. I was surprised Erica Pereira ended up with all the Square Dance shows, but with a tight rehearsal schedule maybe it was the easiest path for management to take. I

Speaking of Maxwell. Last night my eye kept going to Maxwell in the corps of Square Dance while Pereira was doing the principal role.

I just came back from the Thurs. night show. Ok I'm a grump, but I really dislike "See the Music" stuck in there. I'd rather get home 15 minute earlier. If they really must do it I'd rather they did it during intermission. Square Dance had Pereira in for Fairchild, dancing with Huxley. Erica Pereira had some good moments and no big mishaps, but she doesn't command the stage. and doesn't offer a cohesive performance. It looks like this step, then that step, then another step. Huxley gave a beautiful, technically strong and musically sensitive performance. After intermission we had to sit through "See the Music" before Afternoon of a Faun with Unity Phelan and Joseph Gordon. Stirling Hyltin's performance in this is firmly fixed in my mind. Phelan was very different, perhaps softer and cooler, but I enjoyed it. I particularly like Joseph Gordon's self absorbed opening section. Haieff Divertimento - nice performaces by Christina Clark and Alec Knight. I admit I find this ballet quite interesting with hints of a story and relationships, and lots of room to fill in the blanks. Donizetti - I went with trepidation about Andrew Veyette. I have to give him all the credit in the world, he manufactured an enjoyable, credible performance. He is not what he once was (the man ABT imported to do Theme and Variations). He has almost no plie. Yet he puts it together to create a performance. Tiler Peck was a joy. She is like a jazz musician with her musicality. A fun night at the ballet, except for the music lecture which I'll always be a grump about.

I too was hoping for E Von Enck!

Thank you. I hope Fairchild is OK.

Anyone at Sun. Mat.? I ran into a friend who was there and was told Woodward replaced Fairchild in Donizetti but I didn't think to ask about Haeiff which Woodward was scheduled for.

Yes, what is it with Slaughter? It's not a ballet that warrants repeat viewings IMO. I also think Western Symphony is over programmed. Are these works considered crowd pleasers that sell tickets? I understand that a lot of factors go into programming, I wonder what judgements are made as to the popularity of certain ballets. Orpheus is also back. To me it's really dated, and perhaps almost a foreign language for today's dancers to perform. I am curious about Bouree Fantasque, I've never seen it. I am pleased that Jewels is back as a full length.

Just got home from tonight as well. Had a wonderful time. First Concerto Barocco - I haven't seen much of LaFreniere and after seeing her Aurora debut had my doubts about her (I've been told her 2nd Aurora was much better). I loved her in Concerto B tonight. She ate up space, danced boldly and with musical sensitivity. Sara Mearns got a warm welcome on her return to the stage . I thought she had some particularly fine moments with Russell Jenzen in the adagio section. I enjoy Kammermusik more every time I see it.The driving first section with Nadon and Garrity was terrific. Over all, there are so many strange and witty moments in the piece, that I keep finding more to discover. I think it's. fun ballet to have on a program with Concerto B. one having a corps of 8 women, the other a corps of 8 men. Raymonda Variations was a joy. Tiler Peck was thrilling, her musicality is unmatched. The wonderful thing is that I know if I see her do it again, she will have new ways of phrasing the steps that will be equally as beautiful and captivating. The pas with Joseph Gordon had a wonderful connection between the two. It's a tricky pas with some real mine fields and they pulled it off with total grace. The 5 solo variations were enjoyable with a few issues. The 1st variation hops on point - I'm sure in that the past those hops travelled across the stage, which give it a freer more natural quality. Olivia MacKinnon did the hops pretty much in place. To me it's an odd look. Malorie Lundgren did variation VII well, but the last step didn't read. It's an interesting turning step with the plie in an odd place. Here's Marnee Morris doing it in a rehearsal and you can see it clearly.

I used to be a subscriber, but haven't been since pandemic. I'm considering it again driven by how great the coming season looks, but am not totally convinced of the advantages. I've never had a problem getting a ticket for a performance I want to see. I also find good prices when they finally open the third ring often getting front row seats. Is there a great reason to subscribe?

Truly amazing programing. Let's hope they have an aggressive advertising campaign to sell tickets. Nothing could be greater IMO that bringing new audiences in to see NYCB doing Balanchine.

I love Square Dance too, and wish they'd do it more. I know this is crazy, but I'd think it would be fun to see it again with the caller.

Going back to Coppelia, which I think would be wise as a ticket seller. I believe for pandemic streaming there were issues with the Chinese dolls' dance in the workshop scene. They ended up streaming just the last act. Correct me if I'm remembering incorrectly. The Chinese doll section is short but very stereotype "cute" Chinese. I think they will have to figure out what to do about that before doing the ballet again.

Well stated pherank. I didn't think of the use of first and last name while I was reading the book, but you are spot on about it. There certainly were unsettling narrative shifts through-out. There seemed no rhyme or reason to what she dwelled on, rushed over, commented upon, or passed judgement on. At times I thought she was trying to pass her opinions off as scholarship. I suppose it's good that she interviewed numerous people for the book, before they are lost to us. On the other hand we don't have the interviews, have bits and pieces that Homans selected to fit into her uneasy narrative. Never-the-less, there were historical aspects to the piece I enjoyed. Ultimately it's a book I would not recommend.

The Homans book is a lot. I don't disagree with what's been said on this board. I skipped some sections of the book because I didn't find her lengthy descriptions of ballets useful at all. There were times when she indulged in mind reading, based on her own ideas, and clearly she takes anything anyone writes in a diary at face value. I thought her treatment of Von Aroldingen oddly and unnecessarily unsympathetic. Homans did a lot of research and lays out a lot of information. There were sections that I thought fascinating bits of ballet history, but on the whole I found the book unsatisfying. Bottom line, we have the ballets. In the words of George Balanchine - "How much a story you need?"

I too was thrilled to see Mearns on the casting sheet. I'm not surprised but a bit disappointed to see Pereira doing both shows of Square Dance that week. She's not cast much, and that ballet has been in her rep, so I expected her to be cast, but I hope there will be a second cast. Megan Fairchild did it on tour recently and I'd be thrilled to see Emma Von Enck get a shot at it. Speaking of Square Dance, it's a signature Ashley Bouder role. There has been no indication that she will be dancing this season. Whether she returns or not, I hope she gets some sort of send off, or acknowledgement when she does decide to leave the company.

So true. Also Bouder is known for her speed, jump and virtuosity. Her rep has always been mostly the very technical ballets. Coming back from injury, as a corps member, has a big set of challenges, but you are not expected to do lead roles in ballets like Square Dance, Theme etc. Bouder could try to move into a different type of rep, but that's not easy.

Can't wait to see Alexa Maxwell in more roles. She's been outstanding in everything for a few seasons. Afraid I agree about Olivia MacKinnon. I've seen her in several soloist roles, but she hasn't risen to the occasion, at least in the shows I've seen. Takahashi wasn't a surprise to me, hopefully his partnering will improve. Now I'm curious if we will hear about any retirements or departures.

I just got back from the Sat. afternoon show and had a wonderful time. I'd highly recommend it. A few impressions. The only piece on the program that I was familiar with was Concerto, choreographed by MacMillan. I thought today what I've always thought. It's a pleasant, straight forward piece with a glowingly beautiful middle movement, which is the only memorable part of the ballet (I danced one of the other sections back in the day, and remembered embarrassingly little of it). I'm not familiar with these dancers but in checking the program, Naoya Ebe was a stand out in the first movement and Tina Pereira was lovely in the second. The program opened with David Dawson's Anima Animus to music by Ezio Bosso. I'm not familiar with Dawson's choreography, but this piece made me hungry for more. I particularly loved the partnering which was inventive but felt totally organic, lifts evolving out of movement with no preparations. Sections were repeated and echoed by different couples and trios, which give the structure an emotional fullness and musicality. I carry images from the ballet in mind, even sequence of movement that were particularly beautiful. I liked the score very much, and would love to see this piece again. The lead women, Calley Skalnik and Genevieve Penn Nabity were very impressive. Chrystal Pite's choreography was what drew me to the program in the first place. I've only had the opportunity to see a few of her works live, but I am a fan. Angels' Atlas didn't disappoint. Everything comes together to make the whole - choreography, music, lighting, backdrop, costumes. etc. I felt like I was taken into another word. The experience was almost immersive. I was moved. Pite is amazing at moving large group of dancers and creating movement and formations that have tremendous impact. The company should be pleased. As far as I could tell the house was packed, and the reception from the audience was huge, especially after the Pite piece. Lastly, I read the NYT Gia Kourlas after I saw the performance. Needless to say I disagree.

I don't follow Bouder but I follow Sara Mearns on IG. Over the past few weeks she's posted a couple of items showing that she's doing pointe work, and reposted the NYCB clip of her in Namouna. Nothing definite about her return to the stage. I really wish her well and hope to see her dance soon.

I'm going to the Sat. Matinee. I'll post my thoughts. Sara Mearns gave a positive shout out on IG! She must have been there for the opening show.

Thank you knowledgable people. I've been curious about this because I've never cared for the Odile variation, that I'm used to seeing in American companies. It's rare to see a dancer truly pull off that opening step, and other parts of the choreography seem labored. Seeing the alternative versions/music made me wonder why more companies don't adopt it. I was told that Susan Jaffe did at ABT. I don't know if that's true. I know Skylar Brandt posted a video of herself doing it for a guesting gig.

Sorry I'm a bit confused by your question. You are way more knowledgable than I. I am familiar with the Odile variation done by most dancers, and find it problematic. I've seen the alternative choreography to different music. Then I came across this video of Fonteyn doing choreography I've never seen before. I wonder where she got it. Is it still done? I find it interesting. Is anyone familiar with it?