Barbara

Cobweb, I think you're right - Peter Walker stood out to me too. Thanks for identifying him by name.

California, am I right that you must have a gmail account in order to subscribe to a youtube channel? I've not been able to sign in using my email address which is not from google. Thanks! Gosh -- I honestly don't know. But Google e-mail is free and you could set up an account and never use it. Ok, tried that, thanks! Subscribed to ABT and Kathryn Morgan channels. I'll see how that goes.

California, am I right that you must have a gmail account in order to subscribe to a youtube channel? I've not been able to sign in using my email address which is not from google. Thanks!

Me too! Thanks to NinaFan for being the squeaky wheel!

I bought mine early too and they say 8:00pm! Thank you, Ninafan!

I got mine on Sept 9th. As of yesterday my library has not received the group tickets we ordered.

And in the Friday NYTimes is an ad for the 92Street Y offerings. Under Talks & Conversations: on Dec 4 Victoria Tennant & Wendy Whalen: Irina Baronova and the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo. This is something I really want to attend!

However, I purchased a 3-ticket create-your-own series and was disappointed to learn that I would be charged full box office price when I added 2 tickets for friends to join me at one of the performances. I suppose if I had purchased a larger subscription this wouldn't be the case. Oh, and I also have not received my tickets.

Wheeldon was delightful! All of his corrections were precise and improved the movement enormously. I'm curious from those of you who have watched professional companies in rehearsal: how do the Joffrey dancers compare? It seemed to me that the girls should know by now that the arms start from the back, which Wheeldon had to remind them of a few times. It was nice to see Fabrice Calmels who has been talked about here as a wish-list partner for Veronika Part, learning the role of VonRothbart. He certainly has the size and gravitas for the role. The dancer learning the role of the Prince seemed lacking in acting skills but it is early days and as both Wheeldon and AD Wheater said, "they're (the company) getting there". They stated that the Joffrey has never done Swan Lake before and so most of the dancers have never done this choreography before. A couple of the swans caught my eye and later these two were learning the role of the Swan Queen in the rear of the room. The dancer doing the Swan Queen (don't know names) was exquisite. I especially liked the discussion of how the mime should be done. Well worth the 3 (!) hrs in front of the computer!

I've been looking into buying tickets for this through my employer at the Plum Benefits site where tickets seem to be discounted similarly to the two sites Abatt mentions. Unfortunately you cannot select your seats - it's best available seating. So my question for Abatt or anyone who is familiar with the Lyric: Knowing that it's the second largest house on Broadway (according to wikipedia) would Balcony seats be too far from the stage (I don't want to watch the entire show with binoculars)? Or should I bite the bullet and let them choose best seating available in Dress Circle or Orchestra? I would be buying two tickets so cost is a concern. Thanks!

And I thought I would finally see him dance in fall season since I missed him completely in the spring and with Bolshoi. Sincerely hope that the surgery will do the trick. I'm sure he was hoping to avoid surgery but sometimes it's the only way and other methods have clearly not helped.

Read about the Gardam trilogy and immediately put them on 'my list'. Will read as soon as I'm done with Patrick Melrose!

Kathleen, I couldn't agree more with your comparison between St. Aubyn's and Tartt's description of the descent into drug abuse. I loved The Goldfinch (and Tartt's other books) but her description paled in comparison.

macnellie, I'm reading the Patrick Melrose novels now. It's no doubt that Edward St. Aubyn is a wonderful writer; there are places I laugh out loud and then cringe at the cruelty. These are characters that are not fun to be around but I will read to the finish. On the other hand Alice McDermott's Someone is lovely and I hated to say goodbye to those characters.

I probably missed discussion of this but wasn't there an announcement a few years back that Marcelo had joined the Mikhailovsky while still on the roster at ABT ala David Hallberg's relationship with the Bolshoi? Maybe I'm mistaken and it was simply a guest relationship. In any case, I'm thrilled that Marcelo still makes ABT his priority.

Yes, yes you're right volcanohunter! It was definitely Merle Park and David Wall - not too shabby!

Well no wonder you got hooked! That's not a dream team, it's a celestial team. Somewhere I have a videotape of that cast that I recorded. It was the Covent Garden Christmas performance probably on PBS. At the end they ceremoniously wheeled out the Christmas cake and Princess Margaret was there to greet the dancers. PS - I've loved Wayne Eagling ever since and would argue that Monica Mason is the best Carabosse there is.

My mother, a former nightclub dancer, put me in ballet class at age 4. Later in childhood my dance studio would take us to see touring companies dancing at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. I saw the Kirov do Cinderella and the Royal Ballet do Romeo & Juliet and from then on my life was the never the same!

Golden Idol, can't say I disagree with you but I'd still buy a ticket to see Gomes in this.

Thanks, MRR for posting the mad scene! And Christian, only a slight bobble I can overlook. On to Act II!

I would definitely go see Gomes in Bourne's Swan Lake! May be the only male that could rival the power and seductiveness of Adam Cooper, imo. Re Nutcracker - I too am disappointed not the see a repeat of the magic that was Part/Gomes last year. As much as I love Abrera, due to the casting of her partner and if I only could choose one performance, I'd opt for Lane/Gorak. I hope Hammoudi is sufficiently healed by then to be able to tackle the tricky partnering challenges. When I saw Tamm several years ago as a replacement for Hallberg, he had some difficulties.

Can someone tell me what to put in the youtube search box to bring up Veronika's mad scene? The other clips look like they have Russian titles. When I search her name, Mariinsky Giselle I only get other dancers. Thanks! The clips downloaded here are simply delightful and moving. I've grown to be a huge fan of hers. I remember a number of years ago seeing her in La Sylphide and thinking she might not be suited for the impish sylmph but again she was simply delightful. I had no doubt she would be a superb Giselle, in both acts!

In my limited experience my bag is not often checked at the State Theatre but always is at the Met.

A personal impression and nothing to do with Misty's O/O: I appreciate her appeal to African American youngsters who are now considering the world of ballet but I wonder what the parents of these children feel about the steady stream of titillating photos she posts from various photo shoots. For me it doesn't compute.

Sorry not to see Forster cast. At least Tam is getting some parts.