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Again veering off topic (moderators remove at will). The too thin thing was part of my problem with Portman in the film Black Swan. I looked at her body and thought that she would never get through a ballet.

Amen to that - on the Today Show clip that I saw, she said something like this (paraphrasing) - at NYCB we have all types, big, petite, womanly, wraithlike - they are all gorgeous, and can all dance up a storm. Let's celebrate that. (end paraphrased quote) I loved that statement. It showed class and told people who are not familiar with ballet, that not every dancer is as skinny as Natalie Portman in Black Swan. In fact Ringer said that dancers who are too skinny, can't do the job. I'm getting off topic, but I think Jennifer Ringer's statements are great ones to have out there.

Love it - & also the look on the face of the guy kneeling to her left.

I'm not saying she earned those comments. They were very harsh. But I'm saying that there are many many ballet dancers who don't have ideal figures (long neck, long limbs, short torso, arched feet), who can make it work by the strength of their dancing. Also, being out of shape is a different matter from not having an ideal figure. An interesting discussion. In Macaulay's response to those who responded to his comments, he mentioned that Lynn Seymour was the plumpest dancer and one of the greatest that he's seen. He noticed her plumpness but her artistry over ruled it in a sense. In other words Seymour's dancing didn't make him not notice her weight, but her other attributes were more salient to him. I remember Seymour and agree that she was very plump and very great. On the other hand It seems to me that there are body types that Macaulay favors or disfavors no matter what. He admits to Daniel Ulbricht's gifts but often his criticism seems related to Ulbricht's size and body type. The fact that Macaulay has said that a tendu by Hallberg can be a monumental event (paraphrasing) also speaks to physical preferences (the line of the long let and large instep). A shorter leg and lesser instep would never get that comment, regardless of the energy or intent behind the tendu. But ballet is a visual art and we all want to see what we consider beautiful and right. The other issue is the role - If Ringer was successfully doing a great dramatic role he might have been taken by the performance and not cared about or mentioned the weight. The more I think the more confused I get -- words to live by!

It's all in the PR. Maybe ABT could cash in on Lane & Riccetto being the dance doubles in the movie somehow. Or have an ad campaign for their Swan Lake in the spring that alludes to the movie. Maybe emulate the movie make-up for Black Swan (just kidding)!

Thank you Leigh and SanderO for this thoughtful and thought provoking exchange. SanderO, I can't wait to get your impressions of the movie.

Just came back from seeing the movie, and although I've liked Aronofsky films in the past, I can't recommend this one. On the psycho drama front it didn't carry me along. Nina (Portman's character) was never a person that I cared about. She was nervous and fragile from the beginning, always seeming to be trembling and on the verge of tears. Pushing her into delusions and insanity would be a piece of cake. In other words there was no sense of normalcy being intruded upon by delusions, we never had the normalcy. Also we never had a real sense of how she fit into the dance world. From other dancers we saw snippets of cattiness, but also niceness, as Nina was congratulated on getting a role, but Nina didn't seem to have any friends in the company. Does this mean that she was always an odd bird (no pun intended}! She also never seemed to derive any pleasure from dancing. Lily (the Kunis character) at least had some life and heft to her, some relish for dance and life. I found myself liking her and looking forward to her being on the screen. And speaking of heft - for all the talk of Portman losing weigh and training etc. I thought she was actually too thin and way too un-muscular. We saw, what were for me, endless shots of Portman's upper body flapping around and then a long shot of her dance double (Sarah Lane of ABT) doing beautiful turns and pointe work. A couple of times going from Portman's skinny un-muscled body to the beautiful legs of Lane was jarring. There is no way that the Portman body we saw on the screen could do a lot of technique. Lane is small and thin, but with the beautiful musculature that comes with years of training. Final statement - I didn't know where the film was going, but the end was nonsense. I was disappointed, and would love to hear from those who disagree. As I said I've been an Aronofsky fan and would like to consider other opinions.

I believe discussions about a dancer's weight should be in the context of the performance. Macaulay states the Lynn Seymour and Mark Morris gave wonderful performances despite their weight. Agreed, I witnessed both, however in the Nutcracker review all we know is Macaulay's opinion about weight. Was the dancing heavy, labored, line distorted, choreographic intent not achieved? We don't know any of this. All we know is that Ringer and Angle were too heavy looking for Macaulay's taste.

I believe Seo is no longer cast in Seven Sonatas in NJ

My husband and I have been big fan's of Gina Pazcoquin for years. Her performances are gems. She brings a depth and intelligence to everything she does. She is a tremendous asset to the company. I think that she has not been promoted because she doesn't have the kind of technique or look that would allow her to be cast in a lot of the soloist roles in the rep. When you look at the ballets and the kind of things the soloist women do, Gina doesn't really fit the bill. I do love her in everything she's given and think she is very well cast.

This is a hard question. Of course dramatic ballets have to tell a story, but if you look at the 2nd act Pas de deux in Balanchine's Midsummer - that one abstract pas has tremendous dramatic content, without being a "this means this and that means that" piece. My random thoughts are. It is complicated - I know some other BT people will help me with the Balanchine quote of a man and a woman taking hands - how much of a story do you need, In the famous story ballets a structure is imposed that has nothing to do with furthering the story. The principals need a break so the corps girls come in. The greatest ballets and greatest ballet performances allow you to skip over the "this means this and that means that" aspect of things. For me if you have to do that, ballet is not the correct medium. We should not have to translate. I look forward to anyone's input because my ideas are so unorganized

Very interesting interview. Life is strange. I have to admit that the last time I saw her perform with ABT was Swan Lake. It was during the "Moving Out" period, and I was very disappointed. Maybe the Broadway demands are impossible to maintain along with the ballet demands. I know that she was married to Charles Askegard at one point when he was at ABT. She seems like a great lady who has a lot to contribute in many ways. I wish her well.

Thank you so much for your insights into those other schools. I enjoyed the series very much.

I don't know what to make of it.

Thank you - I'd love to see the rest of it.

An interesting omission to principal casting is Sarah Lane. I saw her do a really nice Theme & Variations not long after she joined the corps. I mean a better Theme than I've seen many principal dancers pull off in both NYCB & ABT. I also saw her Aurora in NYC. Lovely, a bit nervous but very technically secure and nice characterization, the audience loved her and I looked forward to repeat performances that didn't come to pass. Where is she?

If you all had to choose between seeing Cojocaru in Don Q or Giselle what would you pick? I saw her SB last year and am in love with her. I've never seen the ABT production of Don Q (I'm not much of a full length ballet person). Is there a lot of stage time for the lead? I'm not a big Giselle fan either, but I have seen it a lot over the years. Bottom line 1. stage time by the female lead 2. opportunity to see other company members shine in variations. What to do?

I'm so excited to have the chance to see Cojocaru again. I'd break my "no more Giselles rule" for her.

I like Mearns in most everything she does, but S&S is one of her less stellar roles, in my opinion. Having Bouder in S&S today would be a great way to end the season. When asked on that question on FB Bouder said Peck was doing Tarentella

Ashley Bouder said on FB that she was doing Stars & Stripes on Sunday with Charles A. Does anyone know if she is also doing Tarentella?

I was there Tuesday, and in the program it looked like Tchai pdd and Stravinsky Violin Concerto were replacing Barber Violin Concerto. I guess there were many stages of plan changes. A few words about the program. Again I say that Chaconne is a great role for Maria Kowroski and again I say that Lauren King is outstanding as a corps member (she did the lead in the Pas de Cinq) I wonder if she'll ever be promoted. Maybe the co. needs her as the go to corps/demi soloist person, but I think she deserves a promotion and the opportunities it would give her. Tchai ppd - wonderful with Tiler Peck and Joaquin De Luz. He combines elegance with bravura. She phrased things in wonderful ways that brought a freshness to the piece, and showed her virtuosity. There was a partnering moment in which her epaulement looked like it came out of the Alina Cojocaru play book (a good thing). Stravinsky Violin Concerto - Love this piece so much. I haven't seen a lot of Krohn and enjoyed her very much in this. She has an intelligent intensity. I'd like to see more of her Glass Pieces - I've seen this piece several times before. It is a piece that IMO has tremendous impact the first time you see it, with diminishing returns there after (I have to admit that I think this of a few Robbins ballets). I probably wouldn't have stayed for this but I was with 2 young women in their 20's. One had never been to the ballet and the other just a few times, and I thought they'd enjoy this piece. They loved it. They enjoyed each ballet but this piece was their favorite. One last thing - One of the young women I was with so thrilled by the evening she was giddy. She is from a small town. She was never in a theater of that magnitude, never seen ballet or much live performance at all. She was saving her ticket as a keepsake. On top of it all she had been admiring the photos of the dancers in subways and on bus stops. My 2 conclusions from this are 1. The ads are being noticed by potential new audience members. 2. I take for granted, way too much, the things I regularly experience living in NYC

I was there this afternoon. 1st I'd like to say something about the audience, it was very kid heavy. The woman in from of me had 2 children in the 6 to 10 year old range. The boy kept leaning over and whispering to his mom. The girl kept standing, leaning over the rail & sitting - up and down, up and down. The usher had to come in and tell the woman to keep her daughter seated. This was all a bit distracting. Contrast this with the couple next to me who had 2 children. The youngest, I found out was 3. They were great. The 3 year old sat on his dad's lap during Magic Flute. When something "bad" was to happen in the ballet, the little boy would blurt out "Oh, No." It was quite funny and also impressive that he was so engrossed in the piece. Other than these outbursts of concern, the boy and is sister were quiet and still. On to the ballet. I should say that I got "day of" discount tickets at the Atruim. Concerto Barocco - I've always liked Abi Stafford in this ballet (did she used to do the other violin?) I though she started out shaky by was fine. Ellen Bar, whose dancing I'm not very familiar with, had a nice attack to her movement. During corps sections I found my eye drawn to Lauren King once again. She bring a radiance to every thing she does and fills each moment. My favorite corps dancer of all time (well she and Gina Pazcoguin). Magic Flute - I was pleasantly surprised. I found it most enjoyable, of course enhanced by the cries "Oh no" that I mentioned above. Tiler Peck - wonderful technically, musical, good characterization a pleasure all around. De Luz was also terrific. I'd love to see those 2 do Theme and Variations. Maybe they've done it already, but I haven't seen either in that ballet. The whole cast was enjoyable in the ballet. Re the children on stage. I'm always impressed with how these kids know how to be on stage. The entrances in which each little girl gave her hand to her partner was lovely. Stars & Stripes - Well -- Ashley. Coming onstage bursting with energy and joy. It doesn't get better. Her variations were super fast, clear, charming, amazing ... Andrew Veyette had a lot of good moments, but he didn't sail through it technically and seemed to lose steam along the way. Erica Pereira still looks like the best student in the class, to me. Nice pirouettes, but something is not yet there IMO. Gwyneth Muller replaced Savannah Lowery (a shame that Lowery is injured - this part has her name on it). Muller doesn't have much of a jump and was not very impressive. Daniel Ubricht never disappoints. Great movement quality, beautiful double tours, he can get to a position just a hair before anyone else and freeze that moment in time for you. He'd be great for the lead, but given the nature of the partnering in the pas de deux there is no woman short enough for him to do it with. I don't mean to sound nit-picky. I apologize if I do. This was a fun afternoon at the ballet that left me smiling on the way home.

Agreed. I saw both Wiles and Murphy in T&V around the same time and there was NO QUESTION in my mind which dancer I preferred. I guess Murphy isn't going. Looks like a small group. Are they really taking Riccetto to do Fancy Free only?

I believe the half hour earlier start is 7:30 (instead of 8:00). I love the intermissions being cut to one. It's nice to be able to get home a bit earlier. I think the early start and finish will work great for some (like me). For people who find getting there at 7:30 impossible and but don't mind a late finish, the other nights are a better option. I think it's a good idea to offer those optionns

I wasn't there Tuesday, but was on Wednesday. Tyler Angle gave the curtain speech. It was not a big deal at all, so I don't want to over analyze it. It was a charming couple of minutes of introduction to the evening, nothing more nothing less. I liked it, but I can't imagine that it would either draw or repel audiences. I was thinking of the Dennis Wayne company of many years ago, I think it was called "Dancers". My husband was a member. Each company member (a small co.) had to step forward and give a brief, cute bio of him/herself. The challenge was international touring. Most dancers had to do it phonetically! Anyway, that was annoying. The NYCB intro IMO was at best a short treat and at worst innocuous. I think I should get a prize for off topic connections!!