fondoffouettes

Overall it was a pretty satisfying opening night of Jewels. I felt the weak link was Emeralds, which just didn't fully come to life for me. As I've noted above, Stafford is woefully ill-suited to the first ballerina role. Her back is stiff, her port de bras clunky, and she brings no lyricism -- let alone any sort of rapturous qualities -- to the role. It makes NO SENSE to me that she was cast again in this role. Phelan had all that Stafford was lacking and gave a very strong performance, if perhaps less transporting than Laracey last season. I was so impressed with Villarini-Velez; gorgeous jumps and spins and such stage presence. I'd love to see more of him. It was nice to see Ramasar in Emeralds again, and he looked in good form. And la Cour's role, consisting mostly of partnering, suited him well at this stage of this career. Rubies was superb. I've mostly seen Bouder in the ballerina role, so I was delighted to get the chance to see Hyltin. She was fantastic! Sometimes with Bouder I feel as if I'm just watching a series of striking images and tricky moves, milked for effect; but with Hyltin, the steps felt so fresh and in service of the music, not just a means for the dancer to simply show off. Veyette's hiatus last winter season seems to have done wonders for him. No, it wasn't whiz-bang bravura dancing, but he looked fresher than I've seen him in years; he didn't have that unfocused, worn-out quality that's characterized his dancing for the past few years. It was very buoyant, focused dancing. Lastly, Kikta is a superb tall girl, perhaps even better now than in her debut last year. Kowroski and Angle delivered one of the most exquisite pas de deux in Diamonds I've ever seen. I do think Kowroski has more depth now than before her coaching by Farrell; what stuck me was the more intense connection with her partner, and the increased interaction (even if just with their eyes) between the two dancers. Like last year, Kowroski's dancing wasn't really fast or incisive enough in the scherzo, and there were some turns that didn't look super secure. But overall, there's still much to appreciate about Kowroski in this role, and not just in the pas de deux.

Part of me can't blame Brandt for advocating for herself in this way, especially in a company that has often overlooked talent and repeatedly cast dancers in roles for which they are ill-suited. I guess there's sort of an unspoken rule that dancers aren't supposed to say what they want publicly, and instead just be incredibly grateful when a role is bestowed on them. But didn't that go out the window when Copeland "willed what she wanted" by repeatedly declaring in the press that she wanted to become the first African American principal at ABT? At least Brandt is "campaigning" on talent.

I don’t imagine a two-week absence as having a major impact on Woodward’s promotion potential, after years of brilliant dancing from her (whatever the reason for the absence). She certainly would have been a welcome addition to tonight’s Emeralds, ideally in place of the absolutely lackluster Stafford, who brought nothing to the role.

I'm kind of shocked they were both cast, especially Veyette, as it seemed management was finally phasing him out of the roles for which he is no longer suited. I feel like the last thing I need to see is Stafford in Emeralds (bland pretty much sums it up), but oh well. I look forward to seeing Ramasar in that ballet again. Very excited to see Kikta again! Does this mean Reichlen has probably retired the role? I'll savor my memories of Reichlen as the Tall Girl, but I'd love to see her one last time.

In terms of humorous clips, this may be one of my favorites. I remember another in which Darcey Bussell and Anthony Dowell choreograph a piece on Jennifer Saunders but it seems to no longer be on YouTube.

I think it's true that she's never matched her Met debut performance, but in her most recent outing, she was dancing through an injury, wasn't she? I'd be curious to see her in the role again, without injury. I think Giselle can be a congenial role for an older ballerina (e.g. Ferri, Ananiashvili), but I'm not sure how well it will suit Murphy, who never really struck me as a natural Giselle. I consider Myrtha to be one of her signature roles, though, and I wonder if the D.C. casting indicates that she has retired the role. I hope that's not the case.

I guess I missed that. Where was she supposed to perform the role in May? Did she perform it? I think part of the issue may be that the Teatro Colon version is different from the Bournonville version (at least that's what the article says). I'm glad to have the information provided by the article, but I agree with @Helene that the article is doing quite a bit of speculation, though they admit they are ("Extraoficialmente...").

Here's an article about Copeland canceling. In it, she's quoted as saying she had only four days to learn the ballet. I know guest stars often swoop in at the last minute to dance a role, but my understanding is that they do that for roles they already know (even if they have to be adapted a bit to fit the host company's particular version of a ballet). https://www.lanacion.com.ar/espectaculos/sin-misty-copeland-se-inicia-la-sylphide-en-el-teatro-colon-nid2278993

That sounds about right to me. ABT's most recent Giselle at the Met featured Copeland in performances at both the beginning and end of the run, but they didn't follow that same pattern for D.C. And she was originally supposed to have only one O/O this year at the Met. I wouldn't be surprised if the coming Met season sees her retiring roles like Gamzatti and Kitri, or not dancing them at all. I think O/O will be the one Petipa role she'll hang onto until her retirement. Her fall schedule is currently pretty light, as well -- two performances of Deuce Coupe and the one Apollo -- though she'll presumably be cast in some of the contemporary works.

I've had the same thoughts about other companies perhaps wanting to woo Brandt, especially after she gained visibility on that Russian dancing competition. But I'm encouraged by the fact that ABT seems far more inclined to promote in-house talent than it did several years ago. Brandt may also wish to stay in the New York area to be close to family (her parents are at virtually every one of her performances) and to Hammoudi, whom she's dating (per their Instagram accounts). At least that's what I tell myself, in the hopes Brandt will stay put at ABT!

Yes, and make sure you check out her Instagram stories; she has a bunch of clips there right now, as well. (You need to sign into Instagram to access them, though.)

It looks like he's as least dancing again, in this Danish Design program back in Denmark. https://www.bellevueteatret.dk/en/forestillinger/danish-design/ Brandt has been looking stunning in the Giselle rehearsal videos she's been posting. I agree with @ABT Fan, though, that Trenary would be at the top of my wish list for the role. I'm glad she got to dance Aurora again this spring season, but I feel as if she's more than ready to take on another leading role in full-length.

The Detroit Opera House site says it only allows exchanges for subscribers: https://michiganopera.org/plan-your-visit/faq/ But the UMS site says that it allows anyone to exchange (for a $6 or $10 fee): https://ums.org/season/ticket-policies/ You can buy tickets from either website, so I'm not sure which policy is in place for these performances. Maybe it would be best to buy tickets via the UMS site and get confirmation from their box office that you'd be able to exchange?

In case anyone is planning to buy tickets before casting is announced, ABT recently posted this discount offer. The company seems to have embraced discount codes more than in the past (they were constantly offering discounts during the most recent Met season). If it can help them fill seats and bring in more income, I think it's a good thing.

No "chief" in her title, like Macaulay had.

Will we be seeing mostly debuts (at least company role debuts) in Apollo? On the ABT website, it lists Murphy as having danced Polyhymnia and Abrera as having danced Calliope, but I can't think of any other company members (besides the absent Hallberg) who would have previously danced the ballet with ABT. Assuming Murphy remains on maternity leave, is Abrera the only dancer who may reprise a role in the ballet?

Maybe we can all chip in $2.50 for McKenzie’s retirement fund. Let the one-percenters contribute to ABT’s costume fund. Don’t force every ticket-buyer to make a donation. Unless a company owns its own venue and/or ticketing system, it reaps no financial benefit from facility and ticketing fees (in ABT’s case, that money would go to the Koch and the Met). But I guess ABT wanted in on the action and instituted its own dedicated fee. I’ve NEVER heard of any organization doing what ABT is doing. It belongs on a worst practices in fundraising list. Im seriously considering not buying a ticket for the fall season. As @abatt says, enough is enough.

Ah, gotcha. I checked SPAC’s Twitter and Facebook and they did announce the cancellation by Friday afternoon, but I don’t think they should count on people checking those channels (or their website). An e-mail seems like a no-brainer.

What were they thinking? The email above reads like a follow-up to a previously sent email announcing the cancellation. The “As you know...” bit seems to reference some prior messaging on NYCB’s part. In theory, I think the idea of asking people to donate tickets is a good one, but only if they’ve also been offered the option of a refund or exchange. The email above gives no instructions on how to get a refund. It’s always possible they made a mistake with their email lists and left @FPF off a cancellation message. It just doesn’t seem like NYCB to not communicate well with its patrons (I remember very clear and immediate messaging when they canceled a matinee due to a snow storm a couple years ago). I wonder if the fact that people bought their tickets through SPAC rather than directly from NYCB caused some issues with getting immediate messages out to ticket-holders.

I could imagine a dazzling Tchai Pas with Brandt and Cornejo.

That's very sad. I remember her detailing her leg surgery on Instagram. She seemed to be one of the most promising corps dancers.

Copeland has posted some additional clips of her Odette. What strikes me is the incredible inflexibility in her back/upper body, lack of nuance and delicacy in her port de bras, and bizarre-looking bourrées.

This photo posted by Wolf Trap (and taken by D.C.-based photographer Scott Suchman) seems to indicate that yes, Copeland danced Act III, though this could of course be a rehearsal photo. I think she looks remarkably stiff from the waist up. If Lane’s photo is from Wolf Trap, then she seems to have been on deck again. Her befuddled expression speaks volumes.

I'm curious about that, too. It's interesting that she's tagged balletconrad. I wasn't sure if she was still working with him, but apparently she is.