vipa

I say this with all politeness but . . . I have to disagree. In my opinion, New York doesn't need a second home for Balanchine. Instead, ABT should revisit its pre-Baryshnikov past for inspiration and renewal -- there's a lot there. I agree miliosr to some extent. I don't want to see ABT do a lot of Balanchine, and they have an extensive history of rep to draw upon. At the same time it's nice to see the ABT dancers do a Balanchine work or two (nothing to dominate the rep). Theme & Variations (correct me if I'm wrong) was done on ABT, so that is part of the history. Also, Balanchine works can offer challenges and growth opportunities for individual dancers. In other words I don't want ABT to mimic NYCB but a Balanchine work or 2 now and then would be nice.

I'm right there with you on the hopelessness bandwagon. This drives me crazy when you consider how much they blew on The Pied Piper and their garish Sleeping Beauty. And there are people around who could help restage the Tudor Romeo and Juliet! Among others, Carla Fracci, Natalia Makharova, Ivan Nagy and John Prinz all performed in it during the 70s, and they're all still around and presumably willing to help. Frankly, I think McKenzie pleading poverty is an excuse. Today's ABT only performs just enough Tudor to keep the critics off their collective backs -- they're not committed to Tudor in any serious and systematic way. I so agree that a lot of money has been wasted/ At the same time maybe it's easier to get rich folks to write a check to fund Sleeping Beauty but not some one act Romeo and Juliet. That's just a guess.

Almost everyone here is wishing for more full lengths. I'm really wishing (a hopeless cause) for more rep. ABT has a history of full lengths and stars, but also a history of great rep. Personally I went to see 3 full length ballets this season based on Cojocaru. Even with Cojocaru, I'd never go to see R&J, the Lady Camilians thing, Eugene Onegin, Manon or any of other "acting" ballets. I'll never go to see Don Q again (I went for the rare chance to Cojocaru, loved her but won't go again ), Giselle (loved Cojocaru, but probably won't go again) Sleeping Beauty (might go, because there is a lot of dancing/technique involved for a number of people). The Marinsky is here with "story ballets" but there are lots of discount tickets available. So story ballets are not a guarantee of sales. I saw Osipova in The Bright Stream and loved her. I hope I get to see her in rep, clearly full length ballets are not my thing. I loved the idea of a Shakespeare night - Kevin M has already said that the Tudor R&J would be super expensive to mount. I have no idea about the ins and outs of these things. So that brings my back to my wish list of rep nights which are not going to happen. Can we at least choose from: Billy the Kid Rodeo Gaite Parisianne Lilac Garden Helen of Troy Intermezzo Whatever Balanchine ballets they can get a hold of 3 Virgins & a Devil Judgment in Paris. Leaves are Fading I'll stop, but could go on forever. For those of us who are not "story ballet" fans, ABT has less and less to offer.

I doubt that ABT would do Jewels. If they do - Abrera in Emeralds, Cojocaru in Diamonds, Rubies not sure

I'd love to see both of those.

Thank you, Trini. I wrote and submitted it today, but I doubt it will be chosen. I will redo it as a letter to the Arts & Leisure Section of the Sunday Times, at least. Thank you Ellen, for trying to be our voice. I hope something is published.

Thank you so much. I just went back and read it.

He did very well on the fish dives last Wednesday matinee with X Reyes. How was Reyes? I have very much enjoyed her in performances , but I never buy a ticket on the fact that she is cast in something. I don't seek her or avoid her, but when I get her I am pleasantly surprised.

What a lovely point Helene. Cojocaru is in a class by herself, at the moment. The details, nuances and use of technique for characterization are amazing. Someone in the company said that her interactions with others on stage are without equal.

The Moors Pavane - yes! Tudor's R& J - yes! Also, I'm serious - Osipova as the cowgirl in Rodeo.

Love some of these ideas. Particularly: Lane - Coppelia Osipova/Vaseliev and Lane/Cornejo in La fille I'd love to see a rep program of ABT goodies from the past. My list would be endless, but to begin with: Billy the Kid with Gomes Intermezzo (Feld) - Many casting possibilites Miss Julie - Kristi Boone (an under utilized dancer at ABT, but was an excellent Siren in Prodigal Son) Push Comes to Shove (Tharp) - I believe the original cast was (correct me if I'm wrong) Van Hamel, Baryshnikov & Marianna Tcherkasski so how about Murphy, Cornejo, Lane And wouldn't it be fun to see Osipova do Rodeo! Also let's have Ashton's Dream back with Cojocaru (If ABT did the Balanchine version I'd love to see her do that second act pas de deux) Also bring back The Bright Stream - all casts seem to work well.

Just got back from Cojocaru/Kobberg and would like to give a few impressions. Cojocaru was amazing. She brings meaning to every moment. 1 example - in Rose Adagio there is a section in which Aurora is center stage & the suitors are in the four corners. Cojocaru was glancing at her mother for encouragement and reacting to each suitor in a clear and nuanced way that I had never seen before. When she dances I find myself watching with the most intensity because I don't want to miss a "word." She uses her technique to this end. The wedding pas was a great example of amazing partnering and connectedness. Kobberg is a classy dancer. I don't think he had a lot more years of the Prince roles in him, but he is classy, musical, has a beautiful movement quality and he is one of the great partners out there. The rest - Again I really wish the fairies woudn't keep popping up, and we could have the characters doing their dances back. I dislike having Bluebird pas followed by the wedding pas. We shouldn't have back to back pas de deux. The spider web thing is still annoying. I know we are stuck with this production (it has been modified, with some major offenses moved) but some tinkering is still possible. Bluebird was Simkin/Lane. No botched lift as had been reported from a past performance. To me he looked like he didn't want to be there. His variation seemed like an abbreviated version. Lane was lovely and did some beautiful phrasing. Of the faries I thought Simone Messmer was the best. Misty Copeland as the "Valor" fairy got the job done but totally ungracious (my husband thought her so forceful that maybe she should go toe to toe with Carabosse) anyway it was a bit much for me, one can be strong and likable at the same time. Kajiya was Lilac. I know she has a lot of fans, but I really didn't like it. To me she goes from step to step trying to hit positions and balance. There seems to be no sense of phrasing, no "juiciness" to her dancing, no overall shape. What we get is an attempt to balance every time she goes on pointe, so I feel like I'm watching step after step after step - sometimes a balance, sometimes 3 turns, sometime a little fumbling - It doesn't add up to much for me.

Wickedly crazy thought - Suzanne Farrell.

Let's not forget ABT is the company that did not permit any exchanges for the day of that blizzard in Dec 2010 - you remember, the one where there was NO public transportation and we got about 20 inches of snow. If companies were to refund tickets based on guaranteed casting, there would be no opera or ballet company in the world that would be in business. There's a reason for that fine print about casting subject to change. I think over the years fans decide for themselves how much to trust the casting lists, especially when they are published well in advance, where illness, injury, overwork, etc. can't be anticipated (at least most of the time). I agree with Helene. ABT this season had a lot of cast changes and replacements, there is no way they could allow exchanges/credits. I understand the disappointment of those who ended up with 2 ticket to see the same cast, on the other hand I think ABT did as well as they could have replacing a star with a star. I'm a little surprised Cojocaru & Kobborg were willing to do it. According to her website they did Giselle in Taipai on July 2.

It would appear that Kevin McKenzie's formula is as follows: The worst of the Lucia Chase directorship (shaky productions of the classics bolstered by a floodtide of guest stars) + The worst of the Mikhail Baryshnikov directorship (ABT as postmodern, downtown New York dance company) + The worst of the Peter Martins directorship at City Ballet (new ballet after new ballet by the latest "hot" choreographer of the moment) I'll say it if no one else will: Maybe it's time for a change at the top as the artistic director seems to be completely devoid of interesting ideas. I'm afraid I agree with you milosr. I don't know what the problems facing McKensie are, but he seems to have no identity as an AD. I'm not really sure what he likes aside from flashy male dancers. Maybe he is a great money raiser.

we can all hope and pray. the fact that he's at least returned to classical ballet is a start! canbelto, you put it best when pointing out that ABT has a problem with it's female principal roster toom, but they've been fortunate to not have missed large portions of the season due to injury and other commitments. I too don't think Ricetto or Lane are ready for promotions. Obviously, as I have previously expressed, I think Abrera is more than ready and deserving of a promotion (for years...), and while her history with injuries are worrisome, she's been healthy since taking that whole year off. And in fact, is a dancer's history with injuries really a good enough reason to NOT promote them, especially when they have shown that they are worthy when healthy? How quickly ABT addresses this problem as a whole and how ready the dancers who get transitioned actually are to fill those shoes will affect the company as a whole greatly for years to come. Here's to hoping Kevin sees what's right in front of him and does something about it. I agree about Abrera. I disagree about Lane. She is an interesting case to me. I haven't seen the bad performances that some others have reported on BT. I don't doubt the reports. On the other hand as a new corps member she did an excellent Theme and Variation, and has done very good Themes since then. She also delivered as Aurora. It must be very discouraging for her to get no benefit from those successes. Maybe Lane has plateaued because she has the goods, but is only used when needed for a short guy. Bottom line - you have a corps member who delivers on Theme in her first year - develop her - didn't happen.

Very interesting comments. It is also notable that ABT (and presumably other companies) hire people who are competition winners and then use them as corps members. This is tricky. Zhong-Jing Fang was a competition winner maybe 10 years ago, got a few opportunities at ABT, stayed in the corps, had injuries along the way and now is definitely corps for ever. This is not a fully formed thought on my part. Maybe as the ABT school goes on the company will fill from the school but right now you take a highly proficient dancer, who had won competitions doing difficult variation and expect that person to remain motivated year after year doing corps or the same pas de trois pieces over and over. NYCB has a much better system because of the rep. (they also strongly discourage their students from entering competitions). I wouldn't blame any ABT soloist for going elsewhere. Also, it seems that succeeding in principal opportunities doesn't seem to get you anywhere (like Lane in Theme & Auora). Again this is a somewhat unformed train of thought.

I guess it's a matter of taste. For me I preferred Cynthia Gregory swan arms above all others. I liked Nina A very much, but in general am not a fan of the Russian trained swans! Anyway an American (well Canadian) dancer who was a fine swan queen at ABT was Martine Van Hamel. She is rarely mentioned these days.

It seems like ABT did the best they could minus bringing in another Aurora or couple from the outside. I think a lot of ticket holders for Osipova would have been even more upset if they got an "in house" Aurora. This somewhat ties into the discussion about ABT and the state of male dancing - promoting from within vs getting stars.

Wiles used to do at least 2 Lilacs. Now that she has apparently left the company (see thread on Swan Lake), they need someone new to fill in as Lilac. Yes, I get that's why she's being put in, but Messmer or even Copeland, for me, suit the part more temperamentally and could use an opportunity like this. Seo will almost certainly be an Aurora the next time SB gets dragged out. I'm still waiting for Sarah Lane to get another shot at Aurora. Her first was quite good - lovely Rose Adagio.

This is more about women than men, but part of the same problem - Sarah Lane is really, really good in Theme and Variations, which is one of the most difficult ballets to pull off. I saw her twice and both were terrific and a friend saw her in DC and was dazzled. I also saw her Aurora and it thought it terrific. People quibbled with it here and there saying things like "she smiled too much," but she was new at it and her rose adagio was one of the best I've seen -- there were absolutely no technical difficulties in any part of the ballet. She got one Gamzatti, which was terrific. Yet, her opportunities have been sporadic at best. No more Auroras or Gamzattis. I'm not saying she is perfect in everything (Flames of Paris pas with Simkin not so hot) but there it a real talent there to be nurtured. Look at Ricceto (not one of my favorites). If ABT wants to develop her please do so in a constructive way. She gets Giselle one year, the next year no Giselle but one Coppellia. She gets lots of things that she struggles in and some things that suit her, but it all seems helter skelter. Developing dancers and partnership in a sensible way could go along with hiring imports. There seems to be no plan at ABT. I also believe that home grown talent can sell tickets - it's in the marketing. Look at NYCB's Romeo & Juliet (which I don't care for). No stars but sells out - marketing!

I just voted for shopping for a principal, but I would like that to happen while talent is being nurtured from within. I just think that the immediate problem won't be solved from within, but in the future the AD could be ready.

Another issue is that Kevin M. doesn't seem to want to encourage partnerships. Irina and Max are a team, but that is probably contractual and doesn't really sell tickets. On the other hand ballet has a history of partnerships - Fonteyn/Nureyev, Fracci/Bruhn, Sibley/Dowel, Kirkland/Barishnikov, Cojocoru/Kobberg. A friend of mine from England told me that Rojo/Acosta are considered a "hot" ticket as a couple. I think partnerships can matter. For me - ABT this spring, I saw and loved Cojocaru's Giselle. I was not going to see her SB (not in my budget and I saw and loved it last year). The minute I knew Kobberg was in, I bought a ticket.

Thank you Imspear. Ulbricht is amazing. Now if the world could see Bouder or T. Peck with him it would be great. I've now watched 3 versions - where is the Balanchine trust? Long weekend perhaps!

Polite wouldn't be my word - lagging tempos and a big misunderstanding of the choreography, would be more of my description. I wish the world could see Daniel Ulbricht do it with either Tiler Peck or Ashley Bouder!