fondoffouettes

Could ABT tempt Baca to come back? They certainly offer more employment throughout the year than PA Ballet, and I have to imagine their salaries are better, as well. But I wonder if they'd expect him to come in as a soloist, like Whiteside and Cirio. Maybe they could offer his girlfriend a contract to sweeten the deal.

I promise I won’t post every Kathryn Morgan pic that comes along, but I just couldn’t help myself with this one. She looks so good. I have my fingers crossed she can make a comeback! She had also posted a video a couple days ago of her doing a lovely quad pirouette.

Yes! My memories of the choreography are vague, but I'll never forget the thrill of seeing the two lead women dance to the glorious violin and viola solos in the first movement. Even if it's considered lesser Balanchine, the music is incredible. I, too, would be surprised if Abrera were cast again. I seem to remember Kent looking tentative in the ballet next to Herrera, and she wasn't even in decline at that time.

I wonder if Veyette is hanging up the role and they needed someone new to learn it. I guess we'll find out when their main season casting starts to go up.

Ha. Yes! I agree the Bright Stream is delightful, though I remember feeling that it really fell flat with the wrong cast (I can’t remember which cast that was). I suppose it probably didn’t do very well at the box office, but then again, neither did this year’s Giselle (except for the Osipova/Hallberg “event” of course).

And Whiteside would like to see Gorak as Aurora. Those feet!

Kathryn Morgan has recently lost quite a lot of weight. She may or may not be stage-ready, but it’s quite a dramatic change. She confirms in the comments section that she’s experienced significant weight loss and that she’s working on performance opportunities. She recently went on an extended haitus from social media, during which time she deleted the many posts relating to her wedding and new husband. (I mention that only because if she is going through personal issues, it could be a factor in her weight loss.) Her posts from the past year or so have also indicated that she’s been in a good place with her thyroid treatment. As someone who never experienced her dancing at NYCB, I do hope she gets back onstage, wherever that may be. It sounds like she was a truly gifted artist, with so much promise.

Yes! I wonder if it's on Ratmansky's list of reconstructions he'd like to do (though I don't necessarily need to see it in its reconstructed form). I'd like to see Ratmansky do a new Swan Lake for ABT that's informed by his reconstruction, but also incorporates some 20th-century choreography. From what I've seen of his reconstruction on video, there are some pretty disappointing moments, like the coda of the Act III pas de deux, when Odile stands in place flexing her feet up and down. If the warhorses follow their pattern of two years on, one year off, then next year we'd be seeing Romeo and Juliet, Bayadere and Corsaire (though it's hard to imagine them staging it with the current dearth of male principals). R&J could certainly work for Bolle's farewell, if he's planning one. I'd like to see Giselle next year, too, but wouldn't that be a third year in a row? I feel like ABT always gives it a rest after two years in a row. And maybe Sleeping Beauty will come back next year. Manon isn't my favorite, but I agree it seems about time for it to come back, and hopefully they'll go back to the old production that looked far better than that muddy thing they rented. A Forster/Abrera Manon? I'd be there in a hot second. I'd also love to see what Trenary could do with the role.

I agree it seems odd, and a classical PDD from a full-length doesn't really jive with this season. Where has that particular matinee been marketed to children? Is there a special "bring a child" promotion in effect? I remember attending a matinee at City Center, marketed as family-friendly, where ABT presented Spuck's Le Grand Pas de Deux, which played well with children and adults alike, if I remember correctly: https://www.abt.org/ballet/le-grand-pas-de-deux/ It's hard to imagine they'd revive it for a one-off, though. I wonder if they are waiting to see how ticket sales go for that matinee and will throw Copeland into a Don Q or Swan Lake pas de deux if they need a boost at the box office.

I think the answer is yes. It was common practice for them to do so about 10 or more years ago, and I feel like they've started doing so again in the past couple years. Maybe I'm thinking of the recent mixed Tchaikovsky programs at the Met, when they presented the pas de deux from Nutcracker and Act II of Swan Lake. But when I first started attending their fall seasons, back in 2004 or so, they'd throw pas de deux from the full-lengths into many of their mixed programs. I think I even saw Murphy in the Flames of Paris pas de deux (I can't remember who her partner was). It wouldn't fill a full third of a program, but I'd love to see the company revive the Thais Pas de Deux. I could imagine Hoven, and particularly Forster, being wonderful in it, with any number of ABT ballerinas...Abrera, Trenary, Brandt, Seo, Lane, Teuscher...

Wow, you're really right, now that I think about it. And she's been excellent in nearly everything I've seen her in. I've particularly loved her Waltz Girl in Serenade and Swanilda. I've only seen selected scenes from the Martins R&J (via Kathryn Morgan's YouTube channel), but it seems like less of a vehicle for older dancers, like the MacMillan is. From what I could tell, it was lots of repetitive, but vigorous and tiring, steps. I'm sure the technical requirements are no issue for Hyltin, but maybe NYCB doesn't envision ballerinas aging into this role, as you say. I wish her retiring the role meant that NYCB was removing the Martins R&J from its rep, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

It's great to hear all these glowing reports of Shevchenko. Up until last season, it was clear she was gifted technically, based on her Kitri and Medora, but this year she's really shown what a great artist she is. I was very impressed with the depth of her characterization as O/O but sadly missed her Gamzatti during the Met season. Maybe she should be given a go at Juliet, in addition to Lane, of course.

Yeah, I think in his book, Hallberg said something to the effect that Solor is the same three jumps over and over again. I think it's mostly that Act II is really a marathon -- that pas de deux feels like it goes on forever (in a good way). If you look up someone like Vladimir Shklyarov or Leonid Sarafanov, you'll see the full-on Russian-style bravura; I particularly like Shklyarov, who is so stylish, never vulgar.

I think of Forster and Hoven as being more in the Marcelo mold -- not necessarily bravura dancers who are going to do lots of whiz-bang leaps and turns. Hoven is around 32 and Forster is somewhere around 31/32, so it may be getting a bit late in the game to take on a role like Solor. I think they'd be great as Romeo, Siegfried or Albrecht, though. Oh, and someone mentioned Forster as Des Grieux; even though I don't love the ballet, I think he'd be absolutely dreamy in that role. I think Solor is considered one of the more grueling male roles (so many leaps). Hallberg basically says as much in his memoir. And Gomes had to retire the role before he reached 35, I believe. I think Espada is another role that dancers may need to retire on the early side.

Some very revealing words from Tiler Peck about the interim leadership situation: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/arts/dance/tiler-peck-ballet-now-documentary.html It's great to hear a woman candidly express her interest in leading a company, too.

I’m not sure if this has been reported previously, but it appears Kelley Potter is leaving the company, as well.

Murphy is a fantastic Gamzatti, probably my favorite in terms of characterization. You are in a for a treat. Copeland being cast as Gamzatti has always been a head-scratcher for me. (And she's been dancing it for years, even before she became famous.) Her jump is barely there, and she struggles with both types of fouettes. I look forward to reports and am curious who will be dancing some of the soloist roles. Sarah Lane has indicated on Instagram that she's traveling to LA, so I wonder if she and Shevchenko will be dancing Lead Shades again. (I'm sure having a dancer on hand who can dance Nikiya, if need be, is also helpful.)

Yes, the Balanchine Trust only lists active repertoire, since they are in charge of licensing works for performances. For a complete list of works Balanchine created, you have to go to the Balanchine Foundation's catalogue: http://www.balanchine.org/balanchine/search.jsp.

For what it's worth, this 2004 review by Anna Kisselgoff describes Waltz Academy as a lost work. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/26/arts/ballet-theater-review-recalling-balanchine-before-city-ballet.html If it were revived as late as the 1980s by Alonso, it's too bad no record of the choreography has survived.

This will be the first ABT fall season I'll be skipping since 2003, when I first started attending. Other Dances, In the Upper Room and Symphonie Concertante are the only real draws for me, but they are paired with ballets that are either known to be blah or are premieres (and ABT has a pretty bad track record with premieres lately). Plus, I can see Symphonie Concertante on one of the City Center programs. And I plan on a reduced Met season, after so many ho-hum performances this year. I wonder if ABT is losing ticket sales from its balletomane contingent; many in these forums have expressed they are going less frequently or not at all.

I just logged in to by tickets and they've mapped the house so nearly all tickets are at least over $100 dollars, with most being much more. And I remember the view from Balcony feeling very strange. (I think it was a combination of being in a shallow auditorium but also up high; it provided a weird angle of the dancers.) I guess they are counting on this event generating lots of buzz and tickets sales, like the three-company Jewels, but wow, tickets are shockingly expensive compared to your typical NYCB or ABT performances.

Yeah, I think it’s just a goodbye until next Met season. Carlos Lopez has posted about Simkin’s departure for Germany, as well, saying “It’s only a ‘see you soon, friend’” and including the hashtag seeyounextyear. It does seem to confirm that he’ll probably just be a Met season artist, which has kind of been assumed all along.

I've never seen the ballet live, so I'm curious -- do ballerinas generally handle that last sequence differently, depending on their ability to carry a male dancer? The way Ferri carries Baryshnikov is quite remarkable, and you can also see her carrying him up the tower (unless there are body doubles or some other sort of theater magic at play...the video is blurry so I can't tell). I wonder if Kirkland just walked up the tower alone.

I keep picturing him as Siegfried, but I've been having the same thoughts as ABT Fan...that I'd love to see what he can do from a dramatic standpoint with Albrecht.

Yes! I felt like you really couldn't ask for a better cast. The Tea Flower role has so much sinuous port de bras and funny floppy movements, and I can't imagine anyone dancing it better than Stella, who really brings out the quirks in Ratmansky's choreography. (I think the only other Tea Flower I've seen is Murphy, who seemed miscast, and stiff in comparison.) Forster, again -- what a presence onstage. Like Hammoudi and Stearns, he's very handsome, but he's actually fully engaged as a dancer it's a pleasure just to watch his ever-changing facial expressions. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's given a couple leading roles next season, knocks them out of the park, and gets promoted. Lane was fantastic, even better than last year. What more could you ask for in Princess Praline? And part of what made it even better than last year was Simkin's impeccable partnering. All those quick little lifts were flawless. Simkin was adorable -- I don't remember him sticking his head in the whipped cream bowl in the finale last year! I couldn't help but laugh. Friends who had never seen him before said he looked like he was suspended from wires during his jumps. The jumps were magnificent, but you never expect less from him. The liquor bottle trio of Hurlin, Zhurbin and Lyle were great. I was so impressed with Hurlin, who didn't just dance well, but was such a strong comedic presence. Wow. Talk about being able to command the stage. And a shoutout to Marshall Whiteley, who as one of the gingerbread men fully inhabited the role and made tons of funny expressions throughout the cookie dance, or whatever you'd call it, in the first act. I tried to stay attuned to whether Ratmansky has made any revisions since last year, but I'm not sure whether he has. After taking a swig from the pink bottle, the doctor does swan arms as he exits the stage, which elicited lots of laughs. I don't remember that from last year, but it certainly could have always been there. Also, during the finale, all the dancers onstage make a sound of anticipation before Simkin does his first big jump. Again, this is a detail that seemed new to me, but I could be wrong. Simkin also seemed to add new flourishes to some of his leaps, but I'm guessing Ratmansky has always allowed The Boy to play around with that section a bit.