angelica

The first time I noticed Abrera was at a performance of Sleeping Beauty in which Diana Vishneva was supposed to dance Aurora. When we got to the Met we learned that Vishneva was ill and Herrera was replacing her. I wanted to leave, but in the end we decided to stay. When Abrera came onstage as Lilac Fairy, I was so taken with her exquisite performance that I thought "Who is that?" I saw in the program that it was Stella Abrera, whom I didn't know before, and at intermission I raced to the Grand Tier and bought a pair of her pointe shoes. "She's going to be a principal next year," I said. Sure enough, the next year she was cast at the Wednesday matinee Giselle, which was a stepping stone towards principal. Alas, she was injured, couldn't perform, and the rest is more recent history. I'm thrilled to learn that you also found her port de bras exquisite, not to mention her graciousness in the role.

Mine too.

At the risk of repeating myself, I think that the Met Opera House is a terrible venue for ballet. The rings are much too deep. IMHO, every seat is a compromise.

Yes! Run the season into mid-late July. Many tourists visit New York in the summer and perhaps ABT can draw an audience from among them, rather than the New Yorkers who flee the city during the summer.

Thank you, California. I just went to that link and it was very simple.

He was Abrera's partner in the performance of Giselle at ABT's 75th anniversary, the performance that won her her promotion to principal.

I called the Koch box office and was told that YAGP tickets will automatically be credited to the credit card with which the ticket was bought. No need to call.

You can call them at 212-362-6000 after 12:00 noon to ask. If you do get an answer, please let us know.

Oh, Roberta, I'm so glad you wrote. It's much easier for me to do nothing than to exchange those tickets. I'm seeing Shevchenko in both Giselle and Swan Lake, and who knows, perhaps I'll keep the Hurlin ticket for OLAR and simply buy a Shevy ticket if a good seat comes up when they release unsold VIP seats a day or two before her performance. I'm interested to see Forster too. At last the female roster has more than one or two dancers I want to see, and the male roster is s-l-o-w-l-y rebuilding to a better, if not yet compelling, level.

Wow, Josette, thanks so much. I'm definitely going to see Shevchenko in this. Also, it's great to hear that someone lit a fire under Seo. I loved her in her R&J debut years ago, but then her acting seemed to diminish with every year. I'm seeing Hurlin as Mryta, so perhaps I'll even change my Hurlin ticket for Seo for OLAR. Truth to tell, I wasn't very impressed with Hurlin on her Instagram videos, but figured she was The Next New Thing, and since she was doing the premiere, I felt I needed to see her. Your comments are soooo helpful. To be fair, Hurlin is new to these principal roles, she will probably grow into them and get better and better. I think she needs more refinement.

I have a ticket for Hurlin/Bell in my subscription. I LOVE Shevchenko but have never seen Hurlin in a major role, so I do want to keep that ticket. Is this ballet worth seeing twice? I almost died during the last act of the Ratmansky Sleeping Beauty.

I had the same thought about Lane. I also thought that Skylar had beautiful swan arms in the Instagram post showing her bouree-ing offstage. That's always such a telling moment for me. I was interested to see her say in her first clips that the role wasn't natural for her so she needed a great deal of repetition. I agreed with that assessment at the time. But then when I saw that clip of those beautiful swan arms (not too much, not too little, but juuuuust right), I thought to myself, she's definitely "getting" it.

This was an absolutely wonderful program. It made me want to score a ticket on Amtrak and the performance the minute I got home. Mobility issues may prevent me from doing that, but it's still on my radar.

Does anyone know whether, if you exchange subscription tickets during subscriber exchange week, you can also buy single tickets at that time? I'm going to guess yes, because you could buy additional tickets when you renewed your subscription, but I don't want to take that for granted.

I didn't know who Hope Hicks was either. I had to look it up. Sorry for duplicate quote. I don't know how to delete it.

I just received my subscription tickets two days ago. You're right, they used to come in January. I was about to call ABT to inquire, just as they arrived.

I think her jumps look good in the coaching videos on Instagram. Not every Giselle is an Osipova, and I'd definitely rather watch Brandt than Osipova.

My understanding was that McKenzie had coached Abrera for her Giselle in Australia, which was part of an exchange program, so he was perfectly comfortable casting her with ABT that fateful (in a good way) season.

I will definitely be there!

I can't wait. I so much hope you are right!

I am thrilled to see Shevchenko in anything. She's my go-to ballerina right now at ABT.

Several years ago, Cornejo danced Romeo with (guest artist) Evgenia Obratzova, and they were both phenomenal.

I would venture a guess that she is disappointed in her casting in the upcoming spring season, although there are still possibilities left open. I'm sure that if they were doing DonQ she would have gotten a Kitri. She has really paid her dues all the way from JKO, through Studio Company, through corps, and is ready for more principal roles. Someone remarked above thread that she looks so happy when she's dancing that maybe she doesn't yet have the soul for an O/O or Juliet. Does anyone think of her as a soubrette dancer?

I am so sorry that Simkin isn't dancing more. He really blossomed at ABT, which helped him develop his line and his partnering. I think he owes them a couple more shows.

If I remember correctly, Lane was promoted after she and Simkin had danced one of the most exquisite performances of Giselle ever, on very short notice. I don't recall what else happened that season, but perhaps there was another "save" as well.