fondoffouettes

One of NYCB's current Instagram Stories congratulates Owen Flacke, Allegra Pascale Inch, and Noah McAuslin on their promotions into the corps de ballet.

I think management believes she can be the successor to Kowroski, Reichlen, and eventually Mearns, but she’s nowhere near their level of artistry. I agree she’s best in neoclassical works.

This afternoon’s Serenade was quite strong. Phelan and Danchig-Waring looked great together. Phelan danced beautifully but lacked that undefinable special something that takes a performance to the next level. I was pleasantly surprised with Pereira. Her leaps were underwhelming but she otherwise danced very well and more expansively than I’ve seen in the past. Grant did a great job with all the partnering, though the part where he rotated Gerrity using her leg was pretty shaky. I never want to see Orpheus again. I don’t have much to say, but I think Danchig-Waring did as much as is possible with the role. Theme and Variations was a thrill. Peck was brilliant in her solos (if slightly less so than usual, understandably), but was her wonderful, musical self throughout the entire piece. A highlight for me was the adagio. She and Gordon were gorgeous in that section. If their rehearsal time was limited, you’d never know — the partnering was fantastic. Gordon was very good in his solos. He only did six tour/pirouette combos. The music was played so quickly in that section that luckily it didn’t really feel like he was killing time. LeCrone stood out in a bad way among the demi-soloist women. Her extensions were super low and she seemed to be having trouble getting her leg up into a decent arabesque. She had her characteristic scowl plastered on her face the entire time, even during the curtain calls when everyone else looked pleasant and happy. She looked like she’d rather be doing anything else than dancing that piece.

Yes, I'm cautiously optimistic about ABT's Ballet Imperial based on the rehearsal footage I've seen online. I don't expect any company to dance Balanchine works with the speed of NYCB, but ABT did slow T&V way down in the past. ABT's corps has been looking quite good over the past season or so, so that also gives me hope for their Ballet Imperial. It'll be a fun compare-and-contrast after seeing NYCB's performances so recently. I love that light pink tutu that Misseldine is wearing!

Something similar happened in the spring 2022 season when they staged the work as part of the Stravinsky Festival anniversary. I remember they had to shove Sterling Hyltin under the curtain in the performance I saw. Boy, we did not need this work revived after only a year and half... Let's give it a long, long rest.

Interestingly, Mearns just posted on Instagram that "tonight felt off not b/c of my foot, just a weird energy." I'd also noticed the discoloration around her left foot (the one she was icing on Instagram earlier today). Despite those couple dicey moments, which she and Angle did a good job of correcting, Mearns was really quite wonderful. Fairchild danced very well, but I really missed the musicality and imagination Peck brings to this role. This is one role where I feel Fairchild's dancing still feels small (something she has overcome in much of the rest of her repertoire). Mejia's soaring leaps were thrilling, and Gordon was fantastic. Woodward was lovely and didn't let the fall throw her off at all. I enjoyed Phelan so much more in Concerto Barocco than in Apollo and Sonnambula earlier this week. The roles shows off her best qualities, and I feel like she was really bringing more of herself to the role rather than just going through the motions.

Regarding Who Cares? -- the lack of tights on the ballerinas seems like an odd choice to me and only reinforces the tacky cocktail dress vibe of the costumes. (Peck seems to be wearing tights in the footage posted by NYCB but not in the photos from the performance.) Those stiff fabric panels on the skirts are dreadful. It's almost like someone who is not a costume designer designed these costumes...

It looks like it was the costume that preceded the Santo Loquasto one that was introduced in 2013. Here's Peck in the costume in 2012: https://dancetabs.com/2012/04/new-york-city-ballet-all-american-bill-washington/ A recent Instagram post from NYCB lists the history of the costumes as Karinska (1970), Ben Denson (1983), and Santo Loquasto (2013). So, I'm presuming it's the Denson design. I agree Peck looks lovely in the costume. The costumes in the background of the photo in the article linked above are a bit yikes-inducing.

Kikta is such a unique and compelling talent. I really hope she is promoted after what by all accounts has been a very successful season for her so far. I look forward to her dancing as much as that of any of my favorite principals.

Tonight’s performance was less than thrilling until Mearns and Kikta took the stage. Apollo was just OK. Danchig-Waring is very good in the role, though he conveys a more mature energy that doesn’t really feel like a young god finding his place in the world. Unity danced quite well but left me cold. She took a rather playful approach to the role. I prefer a Tepsichore that conveys more depth and perhaps some sense of grandeur or mystique. Gerrity had some iffy moments in her variation. I’ve seen very little of Adams over the past several years but thought she was very effective in her variation. I think I’m in the minority, but I’d be happy if NYCB would mothball Sonnambula. If you told me it was some obscure Ashton ballet that no one but Royal Ballet cared to dance, I’d believe you (no shade to Ashton!). With the exception of the sleepwalking scene, which maybe comprises 25% of the ballet at most, I feel the choreography is some of Balanchine’s most banal, at least among his regularly performed works. The ensemble dancing is a drag, and the pas de deux for the Poet and Coquette is so repetitive and generic. I thought Phelan was better suited to Sonnambula, partly because she’s naturally very good at seeming vacant. Some of her bourrees were gorgeous. Going into PC2, I felt like I’d transitioned from watching a Stepford ballerina in the first two pieces to watching two full-blooded, leave-it-all-on-the-stage ballerinas. Kikta had a fantastic debut; I would have never known it was her first time dancing the role. She’s an ideal second ballerina for me. Mearns seemed like she might have had a smidge of nerves in the first movement but gave it her usual 110% and was grand and thrilling. I thought she and Angle were particularly beautiful and moving in the second movement. Angle was in better form than I’d expected and danced well. I wonder if he dialed down the choreography at all in the last act (I’m really not sure).

No, he was a soloist.

Martins held the title of artistic director and chair of faculty at SAB at the time of his resignation: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/arts/dance/peter-martins-resigns-ballet.html When Hoover was appointed, it was announced she was replacing Kay Mazzo, who was retiring as chair of faculty (but continuing as an SAB faculty member). I believe Mazzo's title was "co-chair of faculty" while Martins was at the helm of SAB.

I'll admit I've generally gotten that impression, as well. But I wanted to add that you never know what other factors are at play besides diet, exercise, training, etc. I think of someone like Kathryn Morgan who was trying her darndest and still experiencing weight gain and extreme fatigue toward the end of her NYCB tenure due to her thyroid condition. I'm not saying Bouder is experiencing a similar medical condition, but only she and her doctor can have a complete picture of why she is in a particular shape at any given time. So, I'm hesitant to attribute something to lack of motivation when we only have an incomplete picture of what may be going on. I'd love to see her eventually return to what I think of as her core repertoire rather than works like Emeralds and Scotch Symphony, for which I think other company members are much better suited.

I also find it very striking when the curtain rises on the opening tableau and the Tall Girl is the apex in the "necklace" of jewels.

And Jonathan Stafford has taken on her title of "chief of faculty," it looks like? The fact that they eliminated an executive-level position and apparently laid off a long-time faculty member makes we wonder if, sadly, these are cost-saving measures.

She has danced the first ballerina in Emeralds, though I think it's been a while. My hunch is that Bouder is winding down rather than staging a comeback. Though I can also imagine NYCB allowing her to hang on for a while dancing a much-reduced repertoire.

Overall, I think Jaffe has shown good judgment in her casting, and there is much I'm looking forward too. It's kind of crazy that ABT's website can't handle traffic caused by the announcement of fall casting. They should send their eblasts in staggered batches if their website can't handle the traffic from everyone navigating to their website at once. Not ideal for an announcement, but neither is jamming up your website.

I think everything about ABT right now -- fewer performance opportunities, reduced prestige, repetitive repertoire -- could lead a dancer to experience a feeling of stagnation and ultimately seek greener pastures. I think we're most likely to see any departures at the corps and soloist levels, as I believe has generally been the case at ABT. The principals who have come up through the ranks at ABT generally tend to stick around. And there's been no wave of early-ish retirements among ABT's principals like there has been at NYCB. I do wonder about Brandt. She's always been so hungry to take on new roles and push herself as a dancer. Does she dream of dancing Nikiya, for example? Because who knows when we'll ever see Bayadere at ABT again. (For comparison, it's kind of wild to look at Gillian Murphy's bio page and see just how many full-length and other roles she's danced. Will future ABT ballerinas ever take on such huge swathes of the repertoire?) That said, the fact that we haven't really seen any prominent, voluntary departures from ABT since the pandemic (unless I'm forgetting someone) makes me think there's not going to be some big exodus. I'm truly hoping ABT is just going through a slump or transitional period, and that we may see an upswing in the next five years or so. Fingers crossed...

And these four dancers were able to create magic onstage even when dancing with other partners. They had a way of drawing out the very best in their partners. So many of the current ABT dancers leave me cold. I can't really come up with an obvious dream pairing in my mind, at least when looking at the principal roster.

Based on how full the house was for ABT's last couple weeks this summer, I, too, wonder if they'd consider adding on an additional week in July (I realize, of course, that it helped to program the warhorses at the end of the season). I wonder if taking on an additional season, such as a winter season in the Met, is viewed by Jaffe et al. as too risky from a financial perspective. I was feeling pretty down this summer about ABT's reduced season. But I fear it's indicative of an overall contraction of the performing arts right now. Speaking of the Met Opera, their house was half-empty for much of last year (apart from select productions that galvanized audiences); and they just dissolved their guild and killed Opera News (despite spinning it as an editorial reorganization). Opera Philadelphia slashed their staff and budget and canceled a production for next season. Attendance is still way down across the arts, and institutional funders are shifting their attention away from the arts and toward social/environmental/humanitarian causes. I'm just very grateful NYCB has been able to maintain their robust performance schedule, and I hope to see some full houses this fall.

Interesting. I wonder if ABT will engage Ferri, who danced it as recently as last spring. (Though I loved Ferri, I'm kind of hoping ABT will focus on casting the ballet with its current roster of dancers.)

Does Megan Fairchild still dance Rubies? I can't recall if she was cast in the post-pandemic runs of the ballet.

NYCB's current Instagram Stories show two pairs of dancers being coached in the Diamonds pas de deux at the same time: Mira Nadon and Peter Walker, and Isabelle LaFreniere and Chun Wai Chan. There's also footage of Emma Von Enck and Jovani Furlan learning Rubies (with Alexa Maxwell marking the ballerina role in the background). I realize this doesn't guarantee casting, but I'm very excited by these possibilities!

From what I can tell, none. Adrian Danchig-Waring and Roman Mejia are the only dancers I recognize among the likes on the post itself.

And ABT's comment has now been liked by Principal Conductor Charles Barker and corps members Duncan McIlwaine, Michael de la Nuez, Scout Forsythe, Jacob Clerico, Alexandra Basmagy, Nathan Vendt, Jarod Curley, João Menegussi, Cy Doherty, and Camila Ferrera. I have no doubt that ABT's statement is accurate.