onxmyxtoes

well sort of... I believe principal status is effective 8/1.... But don't get me wrong... I am one of the STELLA!!!!! people too

I think it's Jennifer Whalen. She and Misty are friends and it looks like her build, especially in Daniil's photo

Yes, see this Pointe Magazine article on Gorak. Both Clinton Luckett and Kevin M. refer to him as "Joey" http://pointemagazine.com/issues/octobernovember-2013/prince-waiting edited to add the link!

I think it's a case like calling Isabella Boylston, "Bella." Joseph Gorak goes by Joey among his peers, and I believe he is introduced as Joey when you meet him in person. That has infiltrated into the boards.

i couldn't find the rolling on the floor laughing icon... nothing in this article mentions her performing at a principal dancer level, only taking on a principal dancer work-load. Shouldn't ABT have standards to uphold?

Since we're on the subject of modifications... it's been awhile since any Romeo has done the turns like this in the Masks scene. See at 26:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3gHuBLf948 I saw 3 casts this year and all romeos took a plie between the turns and we didn't even get 2 sets of doubles, usually a double single. During the LA tour about 6-7 years ago, I believe both Marcelo and David attempted this trick. Marcelo was certainly successful; I think David was successful most of the time. But ever since then, I don't recall many Romeos doing it like this. Also, I think the "Masks" scene is an under appreciated scene. It's fun to watch and can really show the camaraderie among the 3 dancers. Edited to add: WOW can we talk about the elevation Angel gets in this scene?

Oh yes, I understand aesthetically that the no-hands is superior. What I meant to show is that it looks like the hand-supported one has been done for a while. This isn't something new that the dancers have recently adopted. Heck I think even Vishneva/Gomes use a hand, but I could be mistaken

In this video of Kent/Stiefel (from Center Stage, none the less!): and even in this video of Ferri/Corella: Both Juliets have the hand down on the press lifts. I'm not sure what the whole fuss is about.

Just to add on... I think many subscribers, like myself, take full advantage of the liberal exchange policy. In all previous cases of cast changes that were not in my favor, I've been able to exchange. This was a same-day announcement and I had to make the difficult decision to eat the cost.

Did no one go to Gorak's debut? I really wanted to see him, but had tickets to 4 RJs and was feeling over loaded.

I was another one that had a ticket and just skipped out. If I had further notice I would've exchanged that ticket for something else, but instead I had to eat the $125 spent. My reasoning was that I had a crummy day and was expecting to be moved to pieces by Vishneva and Gomes. Although I would've been moved by Seo/Gomes, it wasn't enough to justify going out the Met again. Instead I had a glass of wine and went to sleep.

One of the major problems is that they announced this day-of and subscribers can't exchange their tickets today. I understand that Diana decided last minute, but it would've been nice to have even one day to exchange the ticket if unsatisfied with the casting.

wish it could've been paloma

They must have just released a bunch of seats because there are very very good tickets available for the Saturday matinee R&J. And a very nice pair in the grand tier for Kent's retirement. Someone snatch them up!

Does anyone remember dancers posting photos on their instagrams of green pointe shoes for garland waltz? I've seen the production in NY a few times now and don't remember seeing green pointe shoes.

I don't have much to say except that I was underwhelmed tonight. The female corps was the star of the show! Good job, ladies.

similarly with Paloma (KM comes in around 8:53), and Paloma even looks to be backing away from him at the end.

Check out LaKarsavina's video. You can see how warmly she embraces so many of the principals, coaches etc... Then around 10:25 when Kevin comes she does not hug him or kiss his rose.

i don't believe Whiteside has performed it yet. I think he pulled out of the CA tour

Skylar Brandt was Diamond at today's matinee

Today's matinee was fine, definitely less spectacular than last night's. Sarah did a nice job, this role really suits her stature and dancing. A little bobble in the rose adagio final balances, which was unfortunate - especially because she did it perfectly in the dress rehearsal yesterday. Her husband Luis was in the audience and he looked proud. Herman executed the prince's solo (which is pretty much his only dancing) so wonderfully. That was a treat. Stella Abera and Blaine Hoven were each excellent as the Bluebird pair. Devon Teuscher was lovely and technically gorgeous, but i preferred Stella's interpretation with more authority from last night. I really cannot stand the men's wigs in this production. I think they're distracting and ugly. Also the garland waltz scene is way to crowded and cluttered. There are about 8 couples (8 boys and 8 girls) of JKO students and then 16 couples (16 men, 16 women) of corps dancers. This scene is also pretty boring to me, way too many balancés and waving the garland back and forth (Jody Sawyer was WAY better than that!) I missed the old garland waltz (except for the men's weird short shorts) where the dancers actually moved and jumped and there was only one star couple of young students. Does anyone know why the fairy attendants are corps women in the first act and then somehow become students later? The female corps must be busy in the vision scene but I still thought that was weird. At 3 full hours, this production is too long, especially for kids. Some things I would prefer to be shortened: - the scene with the girls with the spindles in the beginning of Act II seemed to draw out - the scene with the hunt when the tutor is blindfolded is completely superfluous and boring. And I didn't need to see the peasants dancing. - didn't really need Bluebeard, Mandarin, Scheherzad to come to the wedding. They didn't dance and they couldn't saved some money not making those crazy costumes Overall I really like this production. It was a breath of fresh air after the McKensie/Kirkland production and I think it's mostly all tasteful. Disappointed that Prince Desiree dances less though! Except for a little bit of character dancing in act II and the wedding pas de deux, he doesn't dance anywhere else. I believe in the old production he had a small part in the vision scene.

The balcony is stage left, orchestra right. You want to sit on orchestra left

I thought it was a huge success and such a special production for ABT. The choreography and style brought out a new level of elegance and artistry in Gillian Murphy.

To add on to Batsuchan - Diana's act one solo was nearly technically perfect and her hops on pointe we very impressive. She travelled the entire stage, hopped to the music, did a little turn to Albrect and ended with a beautiful triple ronde de jambe. It was really something. The Gomes/Vishneva partnership was yet again emotionally charged and full of chemistry unlike other partnerships. They each had some truly heartbreaking and touching moments. I also think they're one of the most synchronized couples. Most of the time they jump and land at the exact same moment and their lines match perfectly. As was mentioned, their curtain call was rather emotional and seemed like they were talking to each other about something. Hoping there will be another Giselle between the two of them. I feel like we are very lucky to have this dynamic pair dancing with ABT. They really raise the bar.