angelica

I don't know why this happened. You're so right, California, it absolutely depends on the ballet!

FWIW, I experimented one year and sat in many sections of the Met. The overall problem is that the opera house was built for opera, not for ballet, and the horseshoe is very deep, so even if you're in the most expensive seat, center parterre, you're very far away from the stage. This is unlike the State Theatre, which has a much shallower horseshoe (and also has enough ladies rooms, so there is never an impossible line at intermission). But I digress. Now I always sit in the Orchestra, although that has its own problems, depending on where you're seated and how tall the person in front of you is. But before I could afford Orchestra seats I used to sit in the Side Parterre, boxes 5, 6, 7, or 8. That way you're closer to the stage, even though a small portion is cut off. If you sit in the Side Parterre, it's essential to sit in the first row of the box. One must make this very explicit when ordering Side Parterre tickets. Seating preferences are so much a matter of personal taste.

Yes, ITA, LadyBubbles, spring for Grand Tier, Row A or as close to Row A as you can get. At the back of the Grand Tier, you're almost as high as the front of the Dress Circle.

I can only guess that when people ordered their subscription tickets and were able to order extra single tickets at the same time, many ordered an extra ticket to 5/18. A couple of years ago tickets were held back until the last minute for one of the Ferri/Bolle Onegin performances because the demand was so high, and I'm guessing that they may be doing the same thing with 5/18. Please see above.

I think what ABT is saying is that you can't exchange a ticket FOR 5/18 or 5/21. For 5/18 there's already a waiting list. And 5/21 is the Gala. I think they'd be tickled pink if someone changed a ticket OUT OF 5/18 to another date.

Okay, YouOverThere and theo, this was definitely my LAUGH OF THE DAY! (And not so very far-fetched.)

I would love to see Thomas Forster getting more opportunities in principal roles. I've seen him do wonderfully in roles that require acting skills, e.g., in Onegin. He has a beautiful line. I don't know how he is technically (turns, jumps, etc.) because HE ISN'T BEING GIVEN A CHANCE. I would vote for him in a heartbeat over Gabe Stone Shayer, who has an awesome jump but seems to be simpering to the audience, at least in my eyes.

ITA, Fraildove. She definitely should not use this as an audition video. Looks like she needs to go back to class on a regular basis. She is such a gorgeous dancer and unfortunately never found the right partner for a true ongoing partnership.

I would love to see Shklyarov partnering Abrera again, and especially instead of Whiteside.

Thank you, canbelto. That will be fun to do on Christmas day.

Miriam Miller was delightful as Dewdrop. This was my first time seeing the variation. so I can't name the actual steps, but there was one part right in the middle where she seemed to get in trouble (involving a sequence of releve turns into attitude?), but recovered nicely. I'm definitely going to follow her development. Maria Kowroski knocked it out of the park as SPF. Her supported promenade a la seconde alone was worth the price of the ticket. Everything she did was perfection. And those legs.... the most gorgeous arabesques on the planet. Harrison Coll nailed the double hoop jumps. The stereotypical hand and head movements were absent from the Tea variation, but I don't think it was a good idea to have the women wear yellow tights.

And does anyone know what Veronika will be doing next?

I recall that Balanchine never minded when dancers fell off point or fell generally. To him it meant that they were giving their all (and then some) to the performance.

Yes, quite so. It was with Lopatkina in mind that I added the words "at ABT." But you're quite right, along with Lopatkina, in the entire world.

I, too, totally agree. There was a moment in time (several years, actually) when she was the reigning Swan Queen at ABT, and it's a terrible shame that we don't have a record of her iconic performance. (I would have said it's criminal, but given the state of the world at this time that seemed a bit excessive.)

IMHO, she was splendid as Odette and uncharacteristically seductive as Odile (i.e., she's a wonderful actress), and with some more experience doing those turns, and without the extenuating circumstances, would have pulled them off. She's a true ballerina.

To give credit where credit is due, it was onxmyxtoes who pointed out that the video was taken at an angle from the wings, which I thought was an important observation.

Leaving aside the matter of substitutions and alternate approaches, Lane has posted some wonderful videos of herself rehearsing in the studio and dancing on stage in various ballets that show her at her stellar best. Given the side angle of the videographer and the hypothesized tiredness of Lane, why not simply take this video down so that people see her at her best, rather than her second best? If I were Lane and the camera caught me like that, I wouldn't want it all over the internet.

Expectations are, of course, of the utmost importance. Had I said that she was stunning, you might have had a different take. True, the camera angle may have a lot to do with it. But Lane is a dancer with a gorgeous port de bras, and here her upper body looks stiff and unattractive. The whole effect for me was that she was gritting her teeth as she was grinding out each turn. I am, however, planning to see each and every ballet in which she is dancing the leading role during the spring season.

I, too, am a huge fan of Sarah Lane, but I agree that those fouettes are (well, I'll go further than you) a disaster. Maybe she was out celebrating something the night before. This clip should be removed because it shows her at her worst. And her best is transcendent.

She's so sweet (I've never met him). Wishing them every happiness.

ITA about Wiles. And Teuscher.

Last season, when Teuscher debuted in Swan Lake in New York, I felt that she showed no individuality, nothing that would have made her performance distinctive. I didn't say anything at that time because it seemed everyone was applauding her technique, especially her ability to execute turns, and everyone was excited by her promotion. So I'm especially thankful that you posted about her this season, an opinion that validates my own. To me, the great dancers are completely different from one another; a ballet danced by someone one night will be a completely different ballet to my eyes with a different cast the next. I wonder whether individuality is inborn, or something that can be developed with coaching.

Yes, see ya in the Spring. Am also going to see The Red Shoes.