angelica

The powers that be at ABT don't have sufficient imagination to think so creatively.

I would so love to see Thomas Forster promoted to principal before he has only two years left in his career. He is a beautiful dancer and at any other company he would have been given opportunities to prove himself long before now. 

Did anyone see Don Quixote last night? I'm interested to hear thoughts about the performance.

Has anyone received their brochure for renewal of their Spring subscriptions? I haven't received anything in the mail, but I see that you can renew online. Is this another cost saving measure? I really like to have the whole season laid out in front of me to select performances.

I saw them both at NYCC last year, and Mearns was wonderful (as was Gomes). Completely different from her pull-out-all-the-stops portrayal of O/O.

On 8/20/2018 at 4:06 PM, Fleurfairy said:

Casting is taking forever to post. I won't buy any tickets until I know who is in the cast. I wonder if there's any huge benefit to ABT when it comes to ticket sales before casting goes up? I guess for audience members who aren't familiar with the company dancers and just want a night at the ballet. But there are way too many dancers I want to avoid.

I'm in total agreement, Fleurfairy. I just want to point out the interesting way in which you contextualize this-"way too many dancers I want to avoid," rather than, for example, so many particular dancers you want to be sure not to miss. I share your perspective, and was glad to read that someone else (and perhaps many others) do too.

On 8/19/2018 at 10:50 AM, cobweb said:

For another opinion, I did not care for this book. While I generally agree with her sentiments, I found the writing to be florid and lacking in useful detail. For example she waxes poetic about the variety of arabesque, but gives no particular details that would help the newbie discern what makes for a good arabesque or what makes one dancer’s arabesque different from another’s. The review of basic ballet history was welcome, but the rapturous style wore me down. 

ITA, cobweb. I was so excited to hear that there was an entire chapter on arabesque, but upon reading the actual chapter I felt I learned nothing at all.

I read the book some months ago, so I don't remember in detail, but I was hoping there would be some explanation about the geometrical importance of triangles and circles in creating ballet line and in the positions and steps that comprise classical ballet. Nothing. All fluff, and yes, "rapture."

Since there are only so many slots for principal contracts, I'm thinking that someone(s) is(are) going to have to retire in order for Brandt and Ternary to move up. That seems to be a cruel reality at ABT, which I only became aware of when Veronika Part's contract wasn't renewed. Is that the situation at most ballet companies?

4 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

But small eyes, inadequate eye makeup and an immobile face all work against Stearns, and it's unfortunate that he doesn't seem to be doing enough to compensate, especially since what he dances are primarily narrative ballets.

This has been going on for years. Why doesn't the Artistic staff do something about it?

4 hours ago, CharlieH said:

You must have missed his Harlequin. Whiteside was magnificent in that. Actually, I’ve seen only fine performances by him...wonderful in Tchai pdd with Boylston last year, great Symphony in C opposite Hee Seo in DC a few years ago, etc.

I think he was magnificent in Harlequin because he had a face mask on. But if you think Boylston is great, then we obviously have different standards for greatness.

I've heard that said of Stearns before, but I just can't make my peace with it. I've seen him act brilliantly, with his face broadly smiling, in a studio rehearsal. I would guess that he is naturally shy, and is afraid to show too much emotion on stage for fear it will be seen as over-acting. If he could do on stage what he does in the studio, his face would read to the audience.

23 minutes ago, Marta said:

True on all counts.  Stearns is flat,  Whiteside is too but differently--just not there.  I saw a lot of W. in Boston and he was technically one of the most proficient.  Are they principals in part because they're tall?

Stearns is very handsome, has perfect ballet proportions, and a beautiful ballet line. I'm going to guess that McK expected that Stearns would develop in the acting realm, which, unfortunately, he has not.

I cannot, for the life of me, begin to guess why McK hired Whiteside, although your supposition that it was because he is tall is the only one that makes sense. "actively terrible" is a good description for him.

Did anyone see Hee Seo's debut Friday night?

Thank you, canbelto.

  "...the touching of the nose in second movement of Symphony in C. One move given an extreme accent."

I've never heard of this. Could someone please enlighten me?

Last night's performance was a WOW! I couldn't take my eyes off Shevchenko. In addition to her technical abilities, she displayed tremendous acting skills, from consternation to sneakiness, to pure joy, all done with just the right combination of spices and sense of humor to convey the spirit of this ballet. She exaggerated when the story called for it, e.g., hiding behind the cape; and showed happiness in her bright shining face when the story called for that, as in the wedding pas de deux. How nice to be seeing a ballerina do those 32 fouettes without counting or biting one's nails!

A few additional standouts: Katherine Williams as Queen of the Dryads; Kaho Ogawa as one of the flower girls; Nicole Graniero dancing exquisitely in the corps roles.

Someone really must take April Giangeruso under their wing and teach her to hold her torso up by her back muscles. The contrast with Kaho Ogawa (and everyone else on stage) was so obvious and mastering that could take her dancing up to the next level.

Do they get any stipend in the Studio Company, enough so maybe four of them can share a one-bedroom apartment?

12 minutes ago, California said:

I don't know how long ago SAB started their tuition-free program for boys, but I wonder if that has something to do with NYCB's apparently greater success at identifying and nurturing promising male dancers:

"Boys Program: Tuition is free for all boys enrolled for the Winter Term in the Prep and Children’s Divisions (ages 6 to approximately 13). Boys Program participants pay only a $75 registration fee for 10 months of training."

http://www.sab.org/school/diversity__inclusion/financial_aid.php

Does the JKO school have anything like this?

That's a great question. Does anyone know?

I think (hope) that we've weathered the worst of the fallout from the foreign guest artist debacle and the logjam it caused in the ranks--at least as far as the female principals and soloists are concerned. Forgive me if I've omitted someone, but with Shevchenko, Lane, and maybe Teuscher, some of the glaring gaps have been filled in. And with Trenary and Brandt on the rise, we're going to have a fine contingent of female dancers, with some promising corps members as well--Hurlin, McBride, Ogawa, Lavine, for example. However, I'm very unsure about the male contingent. This season was basically the season of Stearns, Whiteside, and Cornejo, but we need more up-and-coming male principals. If Bell is promoted to soloist, and I believe he deserves to be promoted, and Forster and Hoven promoted to principal, that's like putting a finger in the dike temporarily. We need more male principals at the level of our female principals. Calvin Royal III needs to be brought into more prominent roles. Are there some corps men who are being overlooked? 

56 minutes ago, AB'sMom said:

 Veronika Part is dancing with her in Isadora at Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa. The Sadler’s Wells program just says she will be joined by three other dancers, including David Hallberg. 

Thank you. I don't think I'll get to see either program.

3 hours ago, AB'sMom said:

Ah, he’s dancing there with Natalia Osipova in September for a program she is doing called Pure Dance. 

Is this the program in which Veronika Part is dancing the role of the ballerina?

Thank you, fondoffouettes and nanushka, that was exactly my question.

Do you think it was intentional that Teuscher travelled forward during her single fouettes? I was a little worried that she was going to fall off the stage.

So after all my complaining about Whiteside, and reading about the exceptional debut of Shevchenko in SL, I did buy a ticket to see her dance Kitri, even though she is scheduled to dance with Whiteside. I can't bear missing these moments in what I expect will be an outstanding career.

2 minutes ago, cobweb said:

 I would have gone to see Shevchenko, but I can't get to the matinee. I was interested in seeing Teuscher, but I guess honestly not motivated enough to make either of her dates work. Otherwise, not interested in the casting, or interested in one of the cast but repelled by the other. 

The casting for this year kept many ballet lovers away from performances they would have liked to attend, but for the casting. I'm certainly in that group.

5 minutes ago, abatt said:

 If by some miracle Copeland pulled out of Don Q next week, I would attend. 

That's exactly how I feel about seeing Shevchenko as Kitri. If by some miracle Whiteside pulled out of Don Q next week....

I've said it somewhere else on this forum, but I'll say it again here. I believe that Shevchenko is destined for greatness. You heard it first from me.