Barbara

This is what has me scratching my head. Surely Cornejo has some influence, particularly in his anniversary year, over who he partners. I’m completely befuddled and sad on her behalf. 

8 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

Very glad to see Forster cast. With a Siegfried and Albrecht debut coming, is it possible he’ll be promoted?

Hoping so much for this! I’ve always thought he and Schevchenko would be dream casting and hope Detroit goes well for them. 

1 hour ago, abatt said:

  I would like, however, to see her dance with Hallberg just once.

This would be perfect since they were set to dance Giselle when she became injured. And frankly I think Hallberg owes it to his “home” company to honor her. 

13 hours ago, griffie said:

So many dancers flatten the raised hands at the wrists while turning - and touching fingertips - which make me think of hardboiled eggs with the tops sliced off.

Thank you, griffie! I’ve noticed this too and seems done by several of the most accomplished dancers. I’ve thought perhaps it was a new and accepted style that I wasn’t aware of. So glad to hear Sarah is carrying on the more purely classical arm positions. 

“Neglected home base” - I feel this too. 

Yes! Yes! Yes!

This is my dream pairing. Hope to get to see them together at the Met in the future! 

Fabulous news and so deserved! Also hoping this means a Met debut! I’m thrilled!

I wonder if BB will give her permission to video document class etc, which seemed to be an issue of disagreement when she was at Kremlin Ballet. I wouldn’t have thought she would be happy with an Artist contract. 

I think the ABT women do their chaines on a very high demi point and quite fast with the arms held down to their sides, hands placed just above the tutu. I’ve grown to like them when done in this way. My recollection when SB debuted  was that they looked very clunky and slowed the momentum of the dance. I wonder if they’ve been tweaked over the ensuing years. 

Wow, this is impressive!

14 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

Regarding Forster, he hasn’t been adequately tested to rule him out. Why not? I’d love to know. Dramatically, I think he’d be amazing, perhaps astonishing, as Siegried or Albrecht. Technically, I cannot say but I believe he should be given the chance (in contrast with Royal, who would have a LOT of difficulty with the choreography).  I don’t see him as Benno though, partially due to his size and natural authority. I think it would look odd to have Siegried’s sidekick tower over him. I don’t see him in this role at all, I guessed for other reasons I cannot explain. 

And, I agree with abatt that if the AD wasn’t so lenient with Hallberg, he’d be out of there in a millisecond. He’s proven that ABT is his last priority. 

It’ll be interesting to see if Lendorf actually dances this season.

I agree with all you say here, ABT Fan. McKenzie was willing to test Hammoudi who didn’t meet all expectations but has now imo found his real forte in roles like Tybalt. Forster has not been given roles in the Petipa/Macmillan rep that could be considered a testing ground and which are overdue and timely. 

But I think Stella is in a much more secure position than Part was. Much more in the fabric of the company and with Sascha’s position with the Studio Company, I don’t think Kevin would force a retirement. Not that I agree with the treatment of Part. It was unforgivable for her career to end like that. 

Yes, I was hoping for both Tom and Blaine to be promoted. Can I hope at least that they continue to get more full length role opportunities? For heavens sake, Tom should be given a shot at Siegfried, Albrecht, Romeo, Solor etc etc. 

Good for both guys! Congratulations to them!

No promotions to principal?

1 minute ago, abatt said:

Yes, this is what was deleted from the performance that I saw at the Thursday matinee.  I understand why they did it - he is dancing four Desire performances.  However, it is nevertheless unfair to the audience and another indication of mismanagement at ABT. 

I’m puzzled as to why Bell is the only one available to cover this part. Honest question: does the company only allow one additional dancer to learn a principal role and be available to cover? If a second dancer was interested in learning a role would they have to do that with private coaching? 

9 hours ago, canbelto said:

I'm reviewing the performance for bachtrack but just wanted to say that Cassandra Trenary's Aurora was absolutely beautiful and well worth catching on Saturday night for those who don't have tickets. 

Yes! She and Joe Gorak were perfection together in this 1800’s style. They looked like they stepped out of a child’s music box. A total delight!

Who knew Keith Roberts was such a cut-up? And a truly creepy/touching Carabosse! New respect. 

On 6/11/2019 at 2:10 PM, abatt said:

if ABT does Lilac Garden in the Fall, I will be thrilled.

I would too!

I don't see any reason Forster and Hoven shouldn't/couldn't be promoted to principal this year with the departure of Bolle and Gomes plus the limited appearances by Hallberg. And Lendorf is a puzzle, he really never got off the ground due to injury. So to me there looks to be room. I'm not in favor of bringing someone from outside when there are dancers in house that have all the goods and thensome (Forster). 

37 minutes ago, nanushka said:

I really want to see him get a few more leading roles next Met season (I'm a broken record on that).

He and Bella were fantastic together today! And yes, I'm a broken record on that too. 

16 hours ago, nanushka said:

Same here. I am going solely to see Thomas Forster finally get a crack at a full-length lead role on the Met stage. I don't have high hopes for the piece, but I do look forward to hearing what others think of it.

Add me to the list! Booked this specifically for Forster. I might have cast Teuscher with him but who knows how these decisions are made. I will continue to put thoughts out the universe of a Forster/Shevchenko Swan Lake. 

An entire evening of Ratmansky stand-alones would be a wonderful Fall season addition!

16 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

He and Shevchenko would be perfect.

"He" being T. Forster in Swan Lake - this is my ideal cast too, ABT Fan! Please, Mr. McKenzie!

Quite a number of very unhappy parents traveling from away to bring their children to see Misty in Whipped Cream have commented on her post.