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Ouch almost forgot! The other two ABT guest artist were Puanani Brown and Alys Shee. Alys was the Firebird and once she loosened up a bit, she was interesting, in a good way. Puanani is a very pretty young woman with lovely lines. I apologize for leaving these lovely ladies out of my first post, especially considering the title. ABT and ABT II dancers have done guest appearances with Baltimore Ballet a few times. Maryland is home to a lot of secret talent!

Last night I attended the performance of Baltimore Ballet's mixed bill which featured Pas de Quatre, Romeo & Juliet Balcony Scene and The Firebird. First let me say that I saw this company perform two years ago and they are much improved. Thanks in part, to some ABT help, some new blood and also some better fitting costumes with the exception of Juliet's. A baggy sagging long sleeved night gown does not work for the balcony scene! Aside from Juliet's costume, the only other negative was the quality of the recorded music. Pas de Quatre in particular was obviously a recording of an old record. It was a bit distracting. On to the good news: The two stand out performers for me were ABT II's Aaron Smyth and Baltimore Ballet's Marianna Zschoerper. According to the program, this was Marianna's first performance with this company. She had lovely stage presence and light movement. She was a pleasure to watch. Aaron Smyth shone most brightly in this hometown production. I hadn't realized during the performance that he was from ABT II and I wondered, "where the heck did he come from" I will be interested to see if and how he progresses through ABT. He very well could be one to watch. There were children in this production, which I did not expect, but they were fun and their costumes did them justice. There was one very small young girl who rode on the back of one of the older male dancers who I thought was an eye catcher. All in all, I enjoyed the show. A hometown performance in a cozy venue is a nice way to spend an evening. And by the way, Mr. Catbas, the founder and artistic director of this company, did an amicable job as Romeo. I didn't want to leave him out.

Hello all, I attended the Friday evening performance of Romeo and Juliet and watched the ballet from the front row. Here's the cast: R & J - David Hallberg and Gillian Murphy Mercutio - Jarred Matthews Tybalt - Issac Stappas Benvolio - Danil Simkin Paris - Sacha Radetsky Lady Capulet - Maria Bystrova Lord Capulet - Roman Zhurbin Rosaline - Luciana Paris Harlots - Isabella Boylston, Stella Abrera and Jessica Saund. I have not seen ABT live for over 10 years but have been able to keep in touch on line by viewing websites like this one. Let me begin by saying that David Hallberg is everything I have read about. He did not disappoint and was, in short, amazing. Gillian Murphy was a surprisingly lovely and poignant Juliet. Her extensions are to die for and she just moves beautifully. Issac Stappas was a great Tybalt and he drew lots of applause from the audience, especially at the final Curtin calls. Jarred Matthews also drew lots of applause for his portrayal of Mercutio. I enjoyed his performance as well. Then there was Danil Simkin who did not steel the show (as I've read he does sometimes) but rather, fit in very nicely indeed. He was perfect Benvolio and I'm sure is a fabulous Mercutio as well. I would have liked to have seen Sacha Radetski in a more substantive roll, but I have to say that out of all of the performances of R & J I've seen over the years, he was probably the most evil Paris. I say that in a good way because he was a presence rather than a nusance, which is what I am used to seeing in the roll. The Harlots were all pretty cool. Isabella Boylston, who was replacing Misty Copeland, was a particularly excellent harlot I thought. (I mean that in a good way!: wink: ) She brought the perfect amount of playful mischief to the roll. Stella Abrera left me thinking that, like Sacha, she also needed to be doing something more substantive. Maria Bystrova was interesting as Lady Capulet. Her emotions were powerfully portrayed as she grieved over Tybalt's death. Roman Zhurbin simly, WAS Lord Capulet. It was a wonderful evening all and I cried my eyeballs out at the end, as did my mom (it was her birthday) and I could swear I saw my husband wiping his eyes although I'm sure he will deny it. The only down side of seeing a performance from the front row of the Opera House is that you have to crane your neck to see the feet well if your less than 5’7’’. I’m 5’6” and so left with a bit of a stiff neck but it was well worth it! I believe a Ballet Talk member warned me about this part a couple of months ago. I hope others will write about this, and other performances the see or have seen.

Hello and Happy New Year to all BT members and readers. I am curious about the ABT website and the subject of Sascha. Supposedly, Sascha's return to ABT as a soloist was effective on Jan 01, 2010, yet I still don't see him posted in the soloist section of the website or anywhere else for that matter. If you see his name appear as a cast member for a particular performance however, you can click on his name and his old bio comes up?? In contrast, Simone Messmer's promotion (CONGRATULATIONS Simone!) was effective on the same date that Sascha's return was supposed to be, and her picture has been added to the appropriate section of the website and his has not. Anybody know why? Curious.

Understood. I'll sit tight. Still urks me though since the NY 2010 casting is already posted. 'Tis what it 'tis. I'll continue to keep my eyes open. Thanks Helene.

Hi fellow ballet lovers. I think this question had already been asked about a month ago, but I thought I'd give it another try. Anybody...at all...have any idea when ABT might consider posting the casting for Kennedy Center 2010? I'm taking my mom for her birthday, we have front row seats and I am crossing my fingers for good cast. I would not be disappointed to see any ABT dancers in whatever combination, but I have my secret hopes for who will be dancing on the night we are attending. Clues would be fun. Answers would be better!

Thank you Bart!

Drew, could you expand your thoughts about Halberg as a partner for Osipova -- especially those which would help her as she enlarges her rep? (I ask as one who has not seen Osipova on stage but has seen Halberg.)Edited to add: DanceView just came in the mail -- with a lovely Gene Schiavone photo of Osipova and Hallberg happily bounding across the stage arm in arm. Mary Cargill's review of ABT's Spring season at the Met contains praise for Hallberg's "well-nigh perfect" dancing -- some reservations about Osipova, "a slight emotional blank"-- but nothing about their partnership per se. Hello, forgive me for being somewhat ignorant but I don't get Danceview in the mail and I checked online and didn't see the picture you were talking about. Oddly enought, I didn't see how I can subscribe to a hard copy version recieved by mail. Call me tired from a long commute and a hard day! Can you direct me or send me a link so I can see the Pic.?! Thanks.

Thank You koshka. I am 5'6''. Longer legs than body but sitting up straight should be easy enough. Can't wait!

Hi. I will be attending a performance of R&J in January 2010. Is the view OK from the front row? Just want to know if I'll be able to see feet! Any advice in this area is helpful.