printscess

Have there been any announcements about LA Ballet's new fall season and new dancers?

Avichai Scher (Avi) is listed as a dancer with LA Ballet and Joffrey. Does anyone know where he is dancing? He is a very talented choreographer.

Company members Valerie Limbrunner and Alexey Dmintrenko are not returning.

Apprentices [edited] will be company members.

Limbrunner and Dmintrenko are no longer listed on the OBT website

Source, please, for the apprentice news.

Any new members from other companies joining OBT?

I read that DeStooper is retiring and moving back to Canada to become the AD of the Victoria Ballet. Any news on members of the company and apprentices?

Does anyone know who danced Apollo for Nilas?

Any reports would be welcome.

Charles Askegard

Was that his first time doing it with NYCB? I don't recall him dancing the ballet with the company before. If this was his company debut, then there's a silver lining to all the commotion, as someone new got to dance this prized male role. If only it had been Evans.....

-amanda

Charles Askegard is one of the older members of the company. He has been a principle for years. He came from ABT years ago. He is married to Candance Bushnell ("Sex and the City")

I cannot locate photo that you are talking about. Can someone post a link?

I cry whenever I saw Chris Wheeldon's After the Rain with Jock Soto and Wendy Whelan. Jock is hard to replace, in my opinion. That role was made for him. The first time I saw Gentilhommes 3 or 4 years ago brought me to tears. It was beautiful to see all the male SAB students dancing like men at the workshop

the Bahamas--but of course, I think we'd all be happy if we went to the Bahamas ).

But how much ballet is there in the Bahamas??????????????

I am not sure about the Bahamas but ABT does have a summer intensive program in Bermuda.

Does anyone know anything about this company in NY aside for what is stated on their site?

Have there been any announcements regarding Christopher Wheeldon's new company? I know that the company will be performing in Aspen this summer, but has anything been said about who is joining the company?

I am new to Ballet Talk and originally, when I posted, I was commenting on people's reactions to the Wein award and the SAB workshop, but I hit the wrong button and saw that I started a new topic of discussion. I wasn't asking a question, just stating an observation about SAB. The advanced students are at SAB to get into the company. That is what most of them eat, sleep and dream. During the audtion season for other companies which runs from January through May, the advanced students are told to either audtion for companies or not. Being told not to audition means that more than likely, they will be offered an apprenticeship contract with the company. After the heartbreak, the ones who are told to audition either find jobs, return for one more year to SAB or go to college. A few will be offered apprenticeships right after the workshop. NYCB has approximately 100 dancers. How much can one expect to dance?

Going to maimi city ballet or PNB where there are less dancers gives someone more opportunity to dance. A company like Oregon Ballet Theatre and North Carolina Ballet Theatre (both excellent companies) have no "star" system, where you are either an apprentice or in the corp and corp members get to dance (hence being a big fish in a little pond). The SAB students that get into other companies actually dance, where the ones that get into NYCB have the prestige of getting in, but do not get to dance as much. I don't think that I stated that if these kids do not get into NYCB they give up dancing and therefore are not true performers. However, as talented as some of these kids are, it is hard to get into companies. Many times it isn't even about talent. It can be about whether you have blond hair and they want burnettes, whether you are 5'8" and they want someone 5'6", etc. The same way actors do not get parts based on their looks, dancers to not get into companies.

To expound on what Carbo said, the artistry comes from within, but the technique is a good starting point.

Pardon me for interrupting this very indulging conversation about Wein Winners and current soloist, but considering the topic is about the SAB workshop, I'd like to report my views on the performances.

I attended both the Sat and Mon night performances, and I have to say the talent shown in both were astounding. I know every year people talk about great dancers that are seen, but I can honestly that this year was the first time in a very long while that I've seen such abundance of phenomanal dancers who must be destined to live tip-top careers.

The program started off with Twinkliana, a ballet choreographed by Sean Lavery, which features 7 children; 6 girls and 1 boy. Both casts were simply charming and energetic and so extremely talented for how young the are, espeically the boys. Joe Gordon (Sat) and Austin Bachman (Mon) displayed very clean and mature dancing in there variations.

The program continued with Peter Martin's Les Gentilhommes. Personally, having seen this ballet's premiere way back in 1987 and its continuous changes since then, I have to say I'm proud how this new generation of young male dancers came up to the taste to pull off this rather difficult ballet with grace and ease as the original cast did. The lead Sat night was Javier Ubell who, despite his short stature, danced quite big with his incredible bounding leaps. I find him a little reminiscent of Gen Horiuchi, the originator of the role. On Mon night, the ballet was led by Matthew Renko, another immensely talented dancer. Though his dancing did not have as much attack as Ubell's, his whole performance was coated with a calm, proud presence; a savoir faire that is needed for this ballet.

Immediately following was another Martins piece; the balcony scene from his recent Romeo + Juliet production, which was both times danced by Callie Bachman and Russell Janzen. What a thrill it was to finally see her dance the ballet she was destined to do. Ever since I saw her on the Pointe magazine cover, her looks alone captivated me and I knew I must see her do Juliet. Though her injuries kept her from doing the full length production, she couldn't be stopped from performing this role at some point. Both nights on Juilliard Theater stage, she went full out for the intense 10 min pas de deux, both her and her partner giving as much passion and acting one could give within those short minutes, being very impressive considering there wasn't a storyline to build up from.

After the intermission was Balanchine's The Four Temperaments, one of his best and most popular ballets. The casting for this was flawless. Each dancer gave a great interpretation of their role and expressed their feeling of their dances to the audience. All the Themes did their part beautifully; no exceptions. Now, over the years, every once in a while there will be a dancer who does the same part for all the shows (such as Benjamin Millepied did La Source in 1995). It could be because there weren't any other dancers up for the part or simply because the dancer is so good they have "earned" it. Which ever reason it is, Matthew Renko is a rare one, and for good reason. Having done Melancholic Sat night, he really stuck out in my mind; he made me awestruck. So imagine my delight Mon night when I got the chance to seem him repeat another fabulous performance. He was so expressive without being overdramatic (which could be the case sometimes), longing for something but not needing it. And dare I mention his backbending! I thought he would snap in two. Incredible! Having seen NYCB do this production multiple times, I've never been fond of any of the Melancholic dancers besides Peter Boal (who was the best for the role); I feel that they might find a replacement. Sanguinic was danced by Jacqueline Damico and Russell Janzen on Sat night, giving a slightly rough but all together good performance. Mon night was lead with Kristen Segin and Cameron Dieck, giving a splendid performance. Having already seen Segin dance Sat in Gounod Symphony, I was beside myself to see her do yet another demanding role, coming through with full colors. (Both Holly Dorger and Raina Gilliland where exceptionally skillful and demanding Cholerics in their own ways.

Last on the program was Gounod Symphony, a ballet that I've only seen a couple of times. A gorgeous piece with a large corps, this ballet is very demanding for its principles who dance nearly the whole time throught out the three movements. Some might find this ballet boring, but I found it drawing me in. The corps genuinely looked like they were having fun, making one pattern after another. And one can not help but stare at the marvel that is the central pas de deux, which does nothing but display grace, beauty, and technique for the ballerina. Mon night principles were Sara Adams and Zachary Clark, both very appealing dancers and did a lovely job. However, I was more intrigued by the Sat night cast, being Kristen Segin and Joshua Thew. Unfortunately I cannot report much on Thew, not because I was unhappy with his dancing, but because Segin held my attention the whole time. Her dancing is demanding but not harsh; she has the dancing of a dainty female dancer but with the energy of a male. Overall, her dancing is incredibly precocious. Dare I compare her to a younger Janie Taylor, who did the exact same role for her workshop in 1998. I am hoping to see her dance again in the future.

The Mae L. Wein winners (Sara Adams, Cameron Dieck, Russell Janzen, and Kristen Segin) all had wonderful performances, but I bet my money on some other kids who might (and hopefully) get an apprenticeship with NYCB. I have to say they few I pick in this great display of talent has to Russell Janzen, Callie Bachman, Matthew Renko, and Kristen Segin. They all displayed a great presence and technique and maturity in their dancing that are rare to come across (so Peter, PLEASE, sign them up now!)

As I've said, a wonderful job this year and I wish all the youngsters the best of futures.

Welsley,

Those were very kind words for the kids of the SAB workshop. I know that the Saturday night cast worked very hard, as hard as the Saturday afternoon/Monday night casts and they weren't reviewed until now. So thank you. I have seen Javier dance before and he reminds me of a young Angel Corella (ABT) or Joaquin De Luz (NYCB). Both are short of stature for male dancers but when they are on the stage they take it over and dance very large.

There are several other issues with company-affiliated training schools: a dancer might not be temperamentally suited for a company, or might have had injuries as a student which make him/her less attractive when a company is choosing a small number to promote into apprenticeships or the main company. The dancer's type might be overrepresented in the parent company. The student may be high-maintainance as a teenager but grow out of it as a young adult.

Ultimately, most pre-professional schools have the student for one-four years, in a narrow age range. While it might ultimately be the optimal period in which to predict professional success and to choose the greatest number of students who will fill all roles -- star, loyal corps member, demisoloist -- there will be exceptions, and some of the dancers who are skipped over thrive in smaller companies or bloom later. For the lucky ones who have the choice, the student must weigh the prestige of the company, living in NYC, dancing at least twice as many performances, and having a huge repertoire against dancing bigger roles in fewer performances in a smaller company and getting more personal attention from Edward Villella, Ib Andersen, or Peter Boal, for example.

Anyone who has (and has had) the honor to be taught by Peter Boal, will have been taught by a caring, gentle man who is a true artist. He values the talents and feelings of his students. PNB is lucky to have him. SAB and NYCB lost a wonderful talent and a wonderful human being.

Joaquin De Luz of NYCB and Angel Corella of ABT!!!

That's true. That's why it's great to enjoy the Workshop and celebrate all the wonderful young dancers at SAB, but it might not be a great forecaster of feature company approval (and I used that term on purpose). For every Paloma Herrera (lead in SAB's Raymonda Variations and now ABT star), there's a Tara Keim (lead in SAB's Allego Brillante, Concerto Barocco, and Symphonie Concertante; former dancer with American Repertory Ballet, MCB, Twyla Tharp). Both wonderful at SAB but did not have the same careers.

The majority of advanced students at SAB start at the average of 15/16. They come from schools across the country. They come to be "ballinchineized"with the hopes to be picked to get into the company. Unless you are an established star from another company, the only way to get into NYCB is by being a student at SAB. However, most of the boys and girls who start at age 8 at SAB, do not make it into the advanced level. That is a fair, since they may drop out because they lose interest, their bodies change, other things become a priority or they are told to leave. Out of 20 or so boys that start in boys 1 and 20-30 girls that start in girls 1, about 3 make it to the advanced division. In the last 5 years, I know only 2 boys who started in boys 1 make it into the company. I know many SAB students who didn't make it into the company who have happy and successful careers dancing in regional companies who dance soloist and principle roles a year out of SAB.

I have seen heartbroken students with amazing talent not get into NYCB and go on to smaller and very respectful companies and do what they have been hired to do....dance, and they dance a lot. I have seen many students at SAB become apprentices, get into the corp and sit there for years. When they dance, they are the 3rd from the right, last row of the corp. While a lot of the advanced students' egos are tied up into whether they were picked for the next crop of apprentices, in reality, how much dancing is done when you are one of 100 dancers? Many of the former SAB "stars" are languishing in the corp. While NYCB has cache, a dancer's passion and life is to dance. Sometimes it is better to be a big fish in a little pond. After a few years of being 3rd from the right in the back, they either go on to smaller companies or go to college.

Hi

I cannot believe that I have never been on this site before today. Honestly, I cannot remember how I stumbled on it but I am glad I did. My son is leaving SAB and at 17 signed a contract as a corp member for a major ballet company. I won't reveal the name of the company because it has been a lot of fun ready the comments on the company, and I can't wait to read the boards reviews on him when he dances. So I will keep that info to myself. I am impressed with the thoughtfulness and the knowledge and the respectfulness on these message boards.

What is Les Gentilhommes like? I know SAB has done it in a workshop a few years back and the company has done it, but I don't know anything about it except that it's only boys and they all wear white. Has anybody seen it?

Les Gentilhommes is a beautiful ballet with 9 men. The male leads takes turns leading and following the corp members. After the introduction with the lead and the corp dancers, they break into groups of pas de trois with the lead male on stage for the majority of the time. The ballet runs about 20 minutes. I think it is very romantic and wonderful to see a ballet where men command the attention. It is a demanding ballet. The men are in white tights and romantic flowing blouses. The music is Handel Grossi Concerti Opus 6 # 9 and #2. I saw the dress rehearsal on Friday with cast A and the Saturday evening performance with cast B. I thought that both casts were wonderful, but Saturday night's cast was more on the music and the lead was wonderfully romantic. Today's NY Times gave the choreography an OK review. Sometimes Peter Martins seems like he is just trying to copy Ballenchine and misses the mark. With this ballet, the master would have been very proud.