mimsyb

I just have to give kudos to the ABT/Met staff in their handling of a seating issue the glorious evening of Stella's debut. I was sitting with my daughter in the balcony. I was in Row A but her ticket was right behind me in Row B. She is not a fan of heights to say the least but I thought if she wasn't in the first row she would be ok. Wrong - turns out she had her eyes closed (unbeknownst to me) for the entire first act. At the break she asked an usher if she could go somewhere to watch the second act on a screen. He sent her downstairs to the house manager who was stationed with a laptop in the front of the lobby where the ticket takers usually are. She explained her situation and he immediately gave her 2 handwritten tickets for both of us in Row T of the orchestra. Now I realize if there had been no seats available she would have been out of luck so we were very grateful. I was planning to stay in the Balcony but it was nice to be able to sit side by side and see from a different perspective.

Nice. There were also quite a few seats in the side sections of the Grand Tier that night. I was wondering that had it NOT been Stella in the role, but Semionova, would there have been even more empties? I'm sure Stella helped fill quite a few seats. And also, many of the ABT alumni in the orchestra probably took up a lot of seats which may or may not have been sold otherwise.

I don't have much to add and especially agree with Amour's detailed review. A truly memorable evening and Stella deserved the lengthy curtain calls and standing ovation. The entire crowd seemed genuinely moved.

I was also impressed with Shklyarov as a dancer himself and a wonderful, supportive partner. I'm glad Stella got to make her debut with him, especially considering how little rehearsal time they must have had. I hope they bring him back as a guest in future seasons. I counted 36 entrechats, although I still prefer the brises. (In the latter, Albrecht is looking right at Myrtha, under her spell, while in the entrechats he turns to look at the audience and Myrtha's power seems irrelevant.)

I, too, was disappointed in the hops on pointe in Act I. She did fill up the music and stayed on pointe, but didn't cover much territory. The only technical weakness I noticed all evening.

I was impressed with the "chugs" by the corps in Act II -- lines and positions were surprisingly uniform, compared to past performances.

More trivia: I got a last-minute ticket when Stella's debut was announced and ended up in the front orchestra/side/fourth row. I'll avoid front orchestra like the plague in the future. Really atrocious sightlines. Heads constantly bobbing and weaving to see beyond the people in front. I will never understand why the rows slope downward away from the orchestra, making things even worse than they might otherwise be.

I wouldn't make too much of the fact that Stella didn't cover a lot of territory on the Act I hops. Some dancers do, and some don't. I seem to re-call Nina doing a small circle with hers at one point (which is much harder!), and the old film footage of Spessivtseva shows her not moving all that much down stage. I've even known dancers who substitute quick fondus in eface' in place of the hops. I certainly don't view this lack of spatial coverage as a "technical weakness". It's what one does with the hops that matters. Stella more than conveyed her joy of dancing and the love she had for Albrecht. She held her skirt very daintily at one point and glanced over at Shklyarov as if to say, "these I am doing especially for you". It was an extraordinary example of choreography doing what it's supposed to do and that's convey an emotion. I say brava, brava, brava!

Wonderful triumph for Stella! Thanks all for the descriptions and the curtain calls. Sorry I couldn't be there but hopefully I will get the chance to see them next year.

Yes, a triumph! I am speechless. I knew she would be wonderful, but I didn't think she would be THIS wonderful! OMG! One of the best Giselles I've seen. So many details, I can't enumerate all of them, but suffice to say, she was so present at every moment, both in her technique and in her portrayal. And he was more than splendid. Such nobility rarely seen since Bruhn. I take back what I said about the entrechat sixes......when done like this, all else pales. I was so moved by the two of them together, as if they had been doing this forever. So hoping this might be the beginning of a new partnership. Please!

Round 1 of Giselle day is complete. For all of her critics on this site, Isabella Boylston received a standing ovation for her performance. I wasn't standing, but I do enjoy her dancing. I saw some of her sloppy wrist action that everyone likes to comment about, but for the most part I thought she was beautiful. Her act 1 was playful, shy and sweet and her act 2 was strong and graceful. I think she may have come off point during her ballones, but I was pretty far away so maybe I'm wrong.

Hammoudi overall did a nice job. I thought he was a strong partner. I feel like he has improved over the last year. He did not do the entirechat sixes, and instead did diagonal brises twice. I'm looking forward to Shyklarov tonight.

Myrta was Devin Teuscher, who I am a huge fan of. She is a beautiful dancer and has quickly become one of my favorites. I was a bit disappointed in her Myrta only because she wasn't cold and evil enough for me. Her dancing is so warm, she could have been dancing Act 1's Giselle and not Myrta.

Now I just have a few hours to wait till Stella! I'm looking forward to seeing this cast, and hoping it will be worthy of the standing o.

I love the diagonal brises! When done well, they have such a yearning, pleading quality as Albrecht heads DS towards Myrta. Angel always did them exquisitely. Somehow the entrechat sixes never seem appropriate for a man on his last legs, pleading for his life.

Just back from NYCB. Unfortunately all the cast changes were correct. In fact, for the first time I can recall, there was actually a written insert inside each program with them. They were Pereira for Bouder in Raymonda Variations. For Martins' Morgen they were Tess for Maria, Rebecca Krohn for Sara and Zach Catazaro for Amar. For Morgen I didn't find the changes too terrible. For Raymonda they were. Despite all this, the house was full.

First Raymonda Variations. This is a very difficult ballet, extremely fast, lots of jumps (and gargouillades, Italians), hops on point, quick turns. Generally very tough stuff. Generally , there are 9 variations; judging from the insert, they simply cut two, since we saw 7. (It looks like they cut one lead male and one lead female variation.). The variations were executed by 5 soloists or corps women - Brittany Pollack, Kristen Segin, Megan LeCrone, Megan Mann. and Savannah Lowery. There is also a corps of 7 additional women (and I still can't tell if Emilie Gerrity or Indiana Woodward is the one I like) There is only 1 man - Joaquin - in the whole ballet. There was also one PDD for Erica and Joaquin. Each variation has something unique about it; it may have all hops on pointe or another one have have lots of turns. I thought the first two variations, performed by by Brittany Pollack and Kristen Segin were the best (I think Kristen had the hops on point). But with the exception of Savannah Lowery falling briefly off pointe, they were all executed pretty flawlessly. Well done ladies.

But Erica, oh Erica. Oy. Why does Peter keep putting her into ballets Ashley generally dances? To teach her a lesson? To humiliate her? To show her some " Tough love"? Poor girl. Yes, she did all the steps (I think) required of her but just barely. And they had to cut two variations. Erica made a feeble attempt to play with the music (Holding an arabesque a little longer) but she fell out of it. The fact is she is not the whiz kid virtuoso Ashley is. No one else is.But I think Erica could be a lot better than she is, if they started her more slowly, with less difficult roles. Erica seems to suffer from a debilitating lack of confidence and has zero stage presence or charisma. Part of it is her tiny frame. She is short and very thin. As a result, to make up for a lack of physical presence (and some technical issues) she ABSOLUTELY needs to learn stage presence and how to project confidence. (As a small modern dancer I learned that lesson a long time ago). She needs to take a cue from her male colleagues - De Luz, Ullbricht and Cornejo . These guys are all small but they're some of the most beloved dancer because theybhave PERSONALITY andd CHARM.Right now, when she finishes a solo, she looks like she's about to cry. That, to my mind, is her worst enemy. You could see the charismatic Joaquin trying to buoy her but she was already lost to her inner demons. So in sum, Rsymonda Variations is a good piece (a great one, really) but it needs leads who can pull it off.

Martins' Mogen is a tiresome ballet about 3 couples and the nature of love. The piece is all about the ballerina, the man never does a solo, he just partners and lifts her. Each of the 3 female leads get steps that would show their best assets. The first girl (Maria/tonight Tess) gets to unfurl her long limbs in a variety of directions. The second girl - Sterling gets to fly around and jump into her partner's arms. The third girl (Sara, tonight Rebecca) gets to swoon dramatically a lot. I'm not generally a Sterling fan but I thought she was great in this; confident throwing herself into her partner's (Justin?) arms in a variety of poses. She was brave,light on her feet, quick and fearless. Tess showed of her beautiful long limbs. Rebecca isn't nearly as dramatic as Sara but she's a good dancer and did her best. The men are cavaliers, they never get a solo (they were Catazaro, Peck and Ask La Cour). Zach was having an ok night and Ask, while boring, is a decent partner. But Justin Peck? He needs to stop dancing and just choreograph. He looks sloppy and out of shape. You might not see it in the next piece - N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz - but it was more than apparent in Morgen. Do yourself and the audience a favor, Justin, and just choreograph! BTW, I have to give props to the wonderful soprano - Marjorie Owens- who beautifully sang the Richard Strauss music. Very well done and she got more applause than any of the dancers.

As for the Robbins piece, it is a candy colored sneaker "ballet" (really not ballet at all). It's really a jazz piece, kind of reminiscent of West Side Story but not as much fun. Lots of finger snapping, hunched backs, quirky, bent arms, flexed feet and turned in jazz pirouettes. You might find it fun or you might find it really dated (I found it a bit of both.). Gina Pazcoguin was the lead woman and has such great energy and style for the piece. Since there are only about 20 dancers, it was the first time I got to really see new corps member Preston Chamblee dance. He's tall, handsome and has good technique. Now he just needs to slim down a bit. He is significantly larger than his colleagues (though by no means fat). But this is really a nothing piece. A lot of people left at the end of Morgen. It's not really my cup of tea, either, but I wanted to see how the dancers did.

As a final thought, despite this being opening night for Giselle at ABT, Macauley was at NYCB. I guess that like me, he still prefers NYCB, even when their best casts are out. (But that leaves Seibert or Gia to write the Giselle review).

Or possibly waiting to review Stella's debut tonight in "Giselle". Which might prove to be more exciting than the Opening cast.

I saw last night's cast with Gomes. Everyone on that stage was doing fine work and giving it their all. However, there is only so much you can do with this kind of workmanlike choreography. I completely agree with Macauley's review in the NY Times today. This is bottom drawer choreography. Sadly, the most fascinating part of the evening was noticing that a glass armonica was used in certain portions of the score. You rarely find that instrument in the symphony, much less at the ballet. The last time I recall seeing it played was during the Met's run of Lucia a few years ago (not the recent run this season). The choreography for James Whiteside was particularly goofy and silly, as he contorted, threw his arms around and made nutty faces as his "acting". At the close of Act II, when Othello sinks into mad jealousy, the closing tableau was James Whiteside standing in a spotlight, raising his hand and stroking his hair in victory. Mr. Abatt turned to me and said "It's the Fonz". (For those of you youngsters who never saw Happy Days, check it out on wikipedia or youtube. The Fonz was known for stroking his hair, among other traits.)

The Times asks why it was revived. I would guess to give Julie Kent an easy role to do in her farewell season. The audience was less than 50 percent full. How is ABT paying its bills with these dismal attendance figures. I looked at the seating chart for Hammoudi's performance today, and ticket sales are even worse than for the Gomes cast. .

When I think of all the great and wonderful choreographers that have done work for ABT, Lar Lubavitch's name does not come to mind. Decidedly third rate stuff. Why, indeed, was this revived for this anniversary season in particular? All that time and money. What a complete waste. If ABT wanted another ballet for Julie to dance in her final season why not revive the splendid "Dark Elegies" by Tudor? This is a far superior work and Julie was always so moving in it. And while we're at it, why wasn't ANY Tharp being done this season? (OK, the Gala audience got "Push"). But the "Bach Partita" or "Upper Room" surely would have been better choices than "Othello". The mind boggles.

I f you're only seeing the three performances, I'd pop for the $$ and go directly to the Grand Tier. Best seats in the house and also one can see full stage and patterns. I often go "day of" and depending on the ballet and who's dancing get better locations than my usual subscription seats (which ABT refuses to make better, no matter how much I make the request.. So I usually just exchange them for better seats on "exchange day").. Some prefer to sit in the orchestra, but as I'm a bit smaller than some, I never want to chance it sitting behind someone tall. then seeing is impossible! My opera glasses make it easy to see feet and faces! I always think it better to "sit up" when at the Met. Where do you sit when you see ballet in SFO? That Opera House is quite large also. So maybe that can be a guide for you. I would also avoid the side Parterre Boxes. Yes, less $$, but depending on your seat, it's a limited view. The Grand Tier is the place to be!

Miriam Miller was promoted to Apprentice this past Fall/Winter from SAB. Very kind and stunning young girl.

Miriam Miller was promoted to Apprentice this past Fall/Winter from SAB. Very kind and stunning young girl.

WOW! Great for her! Can you ever imagine something like this happening over at ABT? Hahahahaha! It's why I love and go to NYCB so often. One never knows when magic might happen.

Yes, I also noticed Vishneva's ultra-high stilettos. Whatever injury she may have ism 't related to feet or legs.

Maybe not injured. Just sick. Cold/flu? It can take a bit out of one.

I've now seen three casts of Bournonville/La Sylphide. It is odd how many of the corps de ballet/soloist members seem to be taking to the style like ducks to a pond, whereas the principals are struggling. For instance, Joseph Gordon and Harrison Ball were both terrific as Gurn, whereas Daniel Ulbricht barely looked like he knew what to do. Actually both Gordon and Ball were excellent in Bournonville Divertissements as well. Lauren King and Indiana Woodward look like they could dance Bournonville all day but Sara Mearns and Teresa Reichlen were totally lost in the style.

As for the three Sylphide casts, I thought Bouder was the strongest technically (her jumps gravity defying), Sterling Hyltin had the best characterization (very soft, feminine, flirtatious), and Tiler Peck was ... well, she was average. I never thought I'd say a Peck performance was average but I don't think this is her thing. de Luz was the best technically, but to me he was way too extroverted and didn't convey any restlessness. Both Veyette and Garcia were better at conveying the moody Romantic hero.

It's been an interesting experiment.

I've seen only one cast of this double bill, which was on Saturday PM. Not having seen the other ladies, I felt Tiler was wonderfully soft with her port de bras and had a nice touch of the sprite about her. Her jump was nothing special, as I'm sure Bouder's was, yet I enjoyed her dancing quite a lot. Nice footwork and attentiveness to details. "Bringing the water" was one and her happy little "hand claps" another. Garcia, for me, lacked some of the cleanliness of the jumps, but he was, I think, very good at his mime and story telling. City Ballet dancers don't often have to do this, so it was nice to see this aspect of portrayal in evidence. Harrison Ball as Gurn did well, but I would very much like to see Joseph Gorden in this role. The corps looked fairly at ease with much of the sylph work, but was a bit stilted in the party scenes.(Claire Von Enck a lovely sylph) Again, the story telling was at times stiff. I like this ballet quite a lot, and am happy that NYCB took it on.

The "Divertissments" in the first half of the evening had some wonderful moments and then some that were not so. First, I have to say in full disclosure, that after seeing the Danes perform many of these same dances this Winter at the Joyce, I found NYCB's version to be not quite up to par. It's not in their DNA. And certainly difficult to learn in a few short months of rehearsal. What I found most lacking was the deep and luxurious demi plie that the Danes use to wonderful effect. At times I saw a "Bottom" to their plies before the beginning of the next step. This is not evident with the Dances. The City Ballet men would jump to a' la second, pause and then do a turn, for instance. Not so with the Danes, who would continue through the plie up into the turn and make it all of a piece.

Also, the women in particular still retained a lot of the "broken wrist" aspect of their arms which made the movements seem even more stilted at times. Also, I noticed a lot of self consciousness about the dancers, especially during the final Tarantella section, where dancers exit and re-enter quite a bit. The "new greetings" to these entries seemed a bit forced, whereas with the Danes they retain the sense of "community" throughout and just go about their business of doing the dance. The upper body carriage for many was difficult, particularly the men, who have to lift themselves off the ground without use of their arms and still look elegant. My teachers used to call it the "aplomb of the upper body". The Danes have been doing this for years. Not so at City Ballet .

Still there were moments of beauty and joy. While not possessing the sheer joy and amplitude of Ida Praetorius during the pas de deux from Flower Festival, Teresa Reichlen accomplished a certain sweetness and breath to her work. I wasn't as much a fan of Taylor Stanley in the Ballabile section, who seemed to have a tightness in his neck and shoulders, and again a shortage of plie. But then there was Joseph Gorden who seemed to take to the Bournonville stlye as if born to it. What a joy to see him toss off his beats and turns, etc. I think he was one of the men who didn't substitute his endedans piroettes for endehors. He did them, cleanly and precise. Bravo to him! All the while looking as if he could do this all day!

And there was one lady in the final pas de six who was so fine. Don't know her name. She had dark hair and wore a pale blue dress. Danced the last of the variations. Her epaulement was just wonderful, as were her jumps, beats and turns. So, while there was a certain lack of naturalness about some of the dancing (and at the end, some dancers did look tired out!), in general I loved seeing these dances. It cannot be easy to switch gears and dance in a completely different style than from what one is used to doing. So A plus for the effort and let's see more of this again.

Mimsyb said that "Lilac Garden" and "Pillar" ...."suffers from b eing on a large stage.....the bigness of the stage overwhelms...." I originally saw both these ballets on the stage of

the old Metropolitan Opera House on 39th St---I don't know the dimensions of the old Met and new Met, but I assume they are pretty close in size. Unfortunately, I do not think it

is the theater, but the performers. Back at the old opera house the performers were trained by Tudor, and they projected. I have no idea who the present dancers work with since

we no longer have Sallie Wilson.

PS---yes, Murphy was great in T&V---what a change from Tuesday's perfformance.......

"Lilac Garden" was staged this time around by Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner, both renowned for their Tudor portrayals and subsequent re-constructions. They've been doing this for ABT for awhile and seem to know the dancers well. Last time I saw ABT do "Lilac" and "Pillar" were at City Center which does have a much smaller stage and worked better for both ballets. And yes, I would agree that perhaps other dancers would do more with the piece at hand. Still, in this production this Garden seemed rather large and the dancers had so much more room to cover in some of their movements. The intimacy and repression just got lost in having to move across the stage at times. Some of Tudor's lifts always remind me of closeted emotions, but here they more resembled an attempt at the abandonment of some of the more Russian style of lift. I could see many of the small details of course. (I sat front row, Grand Tier). Still, I would have preferred if there wasn't all that extra space surrounding the dancers on either side and upstage. I wonder if it's at all possible at the Met to move the proscenium drapes in a bit on the sides and simply dance in a smaller space. That too might prove distracting. I simply don't know (without benefit of comparison).

I enjoyed reading about the performance, but these words filled me with dismay, especially as I am looking forward to seeing Cornejo later in season...any official word on this injury?

I wish I knew more. Only what the board said outside the main staircase, and of course the program insert. Hopefully, nothing serious. MAybe others know more.

Wow, attendance must be sparse among BAers, no discussion of what was performed tonight. I was really curious about Gillian's T&V, so if anyone saw it, a report would be much appreciated.

Audience was a bit small. However, "T&V" was simply grand! Big difference from what I saw on Wednesday. Gillian was radiant and spot on. Glistening foot work and creamy adage. Whiteside a gallant partner. I also felt the four demis were of as piece last night. No ragged edges. Especially a standout was Shevchenko. I just love to watch her dancing. Really improving. Corps look sharp and more together. But it was Gillian that held the center of attention. She just gets better and better. "Lilac Garden", for me, also suffers from being danced on a large stage. I felt this too for "Pillar of Fire" on Wednesday. The bigness of the Met overwhelms the characters and makes them less real, more a card board cutout. Dancing fine, but many nuances lost. Reyes seemed so small next to both Hammoudi and Forster. And Forster seemed way too young for her! I remember seeing a performance of this by the Studio Company a few years back at the Joyce theater. It seemed to carry more resonance than last night's performance. Yet, here again last night, Shevchenko stood out as the Woman from his Past. I love this ballet, with all it's richness of textures and style. But it seemed a bit shallow last evening. On to "Fancy Free" which was pure delight. Craig replaced an injured Cornejo and was stellar! Just wonderful. But of course the evening belongs to Gomes. He dances and acts at such a high level that he seems impossible to catch. Still, Cory was also superb last night. His acting has improved so much recently. The three guys were a joy to watch. Isabella showed lots of vulnerability in her pas with Cory and Luciana Paris had great snap and sass as the Girl with the Red Handbag. All in all a wonderful way to end the evening. When ABT casts correctly, they are at the top of their game. Tonight was one of those nights. And of course much of the talk at intermissions was all about STELLA and Giselle! I wouldn't be surprised if the Met BO crashed yesterday!

I suspect Pillar will be repeated by ABT at the Koch in the Fall. Teucher probably would have made her debut in the fall at the Koch, but she had to make her debut early due to Kent's absence. I also felt that the size of the Met stage for both Pillar and Lilac swallowed up the ballets.

One of my dance fantasies is to transport myself back in time to the Mercury Theater in London. Just to see these ballets done as they were danced originally. Maybe not better. But surely an experience.

While I agree with you, Helene, it saddens me that words like "raking it in at the Box Office", "Crying all the way to the bank", and "rope to hang herself" are now part of the conversation.

This is a general response but Amour's comment seemed a good place to put it--Don't you all think that rather than bait and switch OR fraud this is probably very much related to these particular circumstances? As much as we love to complain about dancer X or Y not dancing at ABT, the company has not been bad about this.

I'd guess the issue here is that it is Kent's last season, her last shot at these roles, and that she has a minor injury that she is not recovering from as fast as she would like.

Should they pull her from the roles earlier? Maybe. But they are giving her the respect and honor of giving her every possible chance to get her last opportunities to dance them because this is it folks. She won't get to again.

I feel terrible for her. Her last season reduced to this. Sad way to end her career.

I'd actually argue ABT might deserve some credit for not preemptively pulling her and giving her the chance to salvage her final season but I know that isn't the narrative of ABT that flies here.

I was there last night and Julie was, of course, replaced in "Pillar of Fire" by Devon Teuscher. I was sad not to have seen Kent, as it is a signature role for her. (I have seen her dance this role many times). Teuscher is still finding her way into this role and hopefully if danced more will become a fine interpreter of Hagar. The question of course is whether ABT will still do these sorts of ballets given the rather scrappy attendance as seen last night. "Pillar of Fire" (for me) doesn't benefit from being danced on the larger stage. It loses much of it's intensity and sense of repression. Still, I liked Roman Zhurbin very much and still wonder why he isn't getting more substantial roles. I know he is known for his fine characterizations in many ballets. But his partnering is superb and just his whole manner of dancing is deserving of more than what he is usually given. I'd love to see him in "Fancy Free", for instance. He has good technical chops and is still young. Wish I could say "Fancy Free" was a fun way to end last night's program. Maybe it was just "second cast" jitters, but I found it wanting in many ways. None of the men really let loose. Simkin did his usual mugging and didn't have that silly insouciance that Cornejo brings to the role. Whiteside was just OK. Baca, new in the role, needs coaching and time. Gillian was radiant as always, but alas I have to say Stella looked too old to be dancing the" girl with the red handbag" role. At least with this particular cast. Time for her to maybe retire this role. The opening "T&V" was danced with little style or commitment . The dancers get the job done, but there seems to be little radiance and overall bravura to the work. Isabella and Cory, both fine, but I barely remember much of what they did. The whole evening seemed like that for me. Nice, but forgettable. Maybe I've been seeing too much of NYCB recently where I come away with a bounce in my step and overjoyed at the calibre of dancing seen on the stage This is just the first week for ABT and already everyone seems a bit tired and slack. Sure there were a few glimmers here and there, but overall, just a bit disappointing. I'm sure things will get better........... won't they?

Ruth Bader Ginsberg reached the level of US Supreme Court Justice through her work, not through a media campaign. Leo DiCaprio is regarded as one of the finest actors of his generation, and has been acting since he was a teenager to acclaim. Neither one needed the media to buoy their careers. Their brilliance in their respective fields was already well established through their body of work.

McKenzie wasn't giving Misty any particularly wonderful new roles that were better than or different from her fellow soloists until after the book publication and the barrage of interviews that followed. Don't forget, she's already 32 and has been with ABT a long time. Given the timing of Misty new ascendancy at ABT, it's not unreasonable to ask the question if there is a cause and effect relationship between the media blitz and her ascendancy.

If she does get promoted, I hope she can bring in lots of new audience members who help ABT remain financially afloat well into the future. Keeping an open mind about her dancing and will be reading the professional critic reviews closely. The one thing you can always count on is that once someone does a role at ABT, they generally get cast in it again year after year after year. So if she does an awesome Juliet that I miss, there will numerous future opportunities to see it.

Something to ponder. What happens if, after all of this hoopla, she doesn't get promoted? What then? Would she stay? Go? Go where? Any other company want to take all of this on? McKenzie is in somewhat of the proverbial corner.

What can they do?

The Rubinstein Box Office in the Atrium is a good way to sell half price seats. City Ballet, Paul Taylor, etc.; almost everyone uses it. To the best of my knowledge neither ABT or the Met uses it. ABT does use other forms of reduced pricing, but the Atrium is a perfect place to sell seats not previously taken. And again, I say to cast the "visiting stars" in some of these ballets would probably go a long way to sell seats. I would pay money to see Vishneva dance "Lilac Garden", or Osipova dance "Rodeo". Think outside the proverbial box a bit.

You're probably correct. I grew so frustrated by the continually falling standards of operatic singing--and constantly complaining about it--that within the past couple of years I essentially gave up on the art form. And what I've seen and heard during my now infrequent encounters with opera, whether live, at the cinema, on television or online, has not persuaded me that things will improve anytime soon. During discussions with some of my relatives, as I come from a family of opera lovers (including singers) rather than balletomanes, a few (but not the singers) would ask me why I would rail so passionately against, for example, a famous lyric coloratura for her under-supported, flat, twangy and squeaky singing. Why not just ignore her, let her fans cheer and basically live and let live? And I would reply that watching her slip and slide through the music on the world's most legendary stages offended my sense of justice. I was offended for the sake of her more accomplished predecessors, for other lyric coloraturas, though flawed themselves, who could do a better job, and most of all for the composers, whose music was being was being so grotesquely abused.

No one deliberately gives a bad performance, and generally, though Lord knows I flunk sometimes, I prefer to pass over in silence rather than to criticize harshly. (Choreographers, directors and conductors are fair game.) But I can understand detractors. It's not that they're ornery or bear a personal animus against certain dancers. I believe that they love ballet passionately and cannot bear to watch a substandard version of it. For my part, I don't have a horse in this race. Frankly, I don't expect much from ABT anymore. But I think a lot of what we're reading here is a cri de coeur from people who do love ABT and despair for its future.

Fifty pages and counting!

A recent NY Times article about her mentioned that she likes to be called Bella.

With everyone being "followed" on Facebook, Twitter, etc., it seems we think we "know" these dancers. Social Media has erased any illusion of privacy. There's scant mystery about any of them any more. Personally, I find being "followed" in any form is a bit creepy.

I don't always love Maria K but I have never seen her (or anyone else at NYCB and I go all the time) fall off pointe. I just saw Maria 3 times, in Symph in C (on Friday) , Stravinsky Violin Concerto and Agon, and there were no major fumbles. In fact, Maria and Amar really killed it in the Agon PDD; the audience went crazy. I'm not a fan of Hee Seo. I think she's good in Ashton but, for example, was not good in last fall's Raymonda Variations. However, at least her line is better than Misty's.

Maria danced Second in "Symphony in C" last year and fell off pointe on the "switch". Recovered quickly and with her usual aplomb. Had that small little smile on her face, as if to say, "oops, that doesn't happen very often". But really, dancers come off pointe all the time. It's how they recover that matters.

Last night was one of those nights when I was grateful to be a New Yorker and to have access to performances by the NYCB. Mearns was brilliant in Walpurgisnacht. She danced with complete abandon, but yet was in total control. This has become one of her signature roles. And who is this wonderful dancer Alexa Maxwell. Sparkling footwork, high jumps. More of her please!

I have only cloudy memories of Sonatine. I think it might have been one of those ballets that was regularly assigned to Y. Borree, so that its charms never made any impression. Well, last night w. Tiler Peck and DeLuz it made a wonderful impression.

As Amour noted, Hyltin has improved a great deal in La Valse.

I didn't notice the problems in the 2nd movement that Amour did. The only issue I noticed was in the 1st movement, with demi soloist Megan LeCrone (subbing for Krechmar). There is a portion where the demisolist must move back and the other demi moves forward. LeCrone was somehow backing up into the line of 4 corps girls behind her, who had to spread out to avoid a crash with LeCrone. Spacing/timing issue. I always smile when I hear gasps from the audience when Maria does her fully stretched arabesque penche in the second movement. I think it should be included in those tour guide books listing must see/must do events in NYC: see the Statue of Liberty, buy a deli sandwich at Carnegie deli and go see Maria K's arabesque penche at NYCB.

A great evening of dance where everyone excelled. So unlike Thursday night, where many of the dancers looked like they were trying on new clothes that just didn't fit.

Totally agree about "glad to be a New Yorker" at evenings such as this. Simply splendid in almost all respects. What can anyone say about Mearns in this role in "Walpurgisnacht"? She is beyond belief. The minute she had completed the super swift turns down the diagonal I longed to see them again! Her speed and quick silver definitions of the steps are beyond compare. And her musicality throughout made me want to get inside her lungs just to feel the exuberance of her breath! And also kudos to Alexa Maxwell who more than held up her own throughout. Brava! "Sonatine" is one of those little jewels that creeps up on you and then totally captures your heart. Both Tiler and Joaquin, simply delicious. Also loved "La Valse". Such music! And I felt Sterling had found new maturity in this role from the last time I saw her. Yes, Amar is a bit wasted here, still......

Last up "Symphony in C" was, as always, a rush of pleasure. I've sort of come to expect that Bouder will be a tad off at times musically. It's how she gets back on that's the fun! Veyette looks back to full strength. Maria, in Second, looked a bit stronger than when I saw her last season when she actually went off point during the "switch". Yes, her arabesque penches are some of the most luxurious ever! I felt Erica Pereira not totally right for Third. She's not a great jumper and her movements always looked a bit diminished to my eye. Gonzalo better than I've seen him in the past. Fourth carried the day, and the Finale was energetic and glistening. All in all a wonderful night of dance. Being an evening of "Dance France", I couldn't help but think as the evening progressed how incredible it would have been if Balanchine could have choreographed the recent "American in Paris" on Broadway. His understanding of the sex and jazz, the wit and style necessary to carry the day is what is sorely lacking in Wheeldon's work for the show. Balanchine understood the underlying "perfume" of a dance's character. Wheeldon barely scratches the surface. Balanchine would have made the world of Paris come alive and given us an emotional center.

http://www.musiccenter.org/1516dance

The season was just announced today. Surprisingly both the Mariinsky will be there with Cinderella and ABT with a mixed bill that includes Ratmanksy's Firebird which I guess predicts that the Firebird will be on the MET season platter next year. I hope the rest of the mixed bill includes a Tudor piece (like Pillar or Jardin) since they are doing them this year (yeah, right, I know).

Mariinsky Ballet 10/08-10/11 (2015)

American Ballet Theater 7/08-7/10 (2016)

et. al

I would have thought the Nutcracker pact with SCFTA would have limited ABT's touring to SCFTA for their SoCal engagements.

"Firebird"! Really? Well, there's one ballet I won't need to spend money on. Never thought is would return.

Yet arguably, the three greatest ballet dancing legends were men. Nijinsky, Nureyev and Barysnikov.

Erich Bruhn?

Congress needs to rescind that "National Ballet Company' title ABT lobbied and/ or payed for and give that to NYCB.

While I would agree with this in so many ways, NYCB is still a New York company, not only in name, but it doesn't do the amount of touring elsewhere that even ABT does. While I believe it more readily represents a distinctive "American" style, I'm not sure a title of" National company" would be a good fit.