mimsyb

Wait. "Sub par performances"? Asked to do a role she's not ready for? Isn't that why a dancer is promoted in the first place? That they are totally ready to do any role asked and it is assumed said dancer will give a more than acceptable performance. I always thought that was the criteria.

A few more thoughts: I think Brandt really benefited from the stage time that the Bolle and Friends tour allows. Where else can these younger dancers hone their stage craft than actually on a stage. I agree with Faux Pas - I have been up and down about Blaine Hoven over the years but I think this season he really stood out. It looks like he's trimmed down his musculature, toned down his one-time almost platinum hair and overall looks more mature in addition to the improved dancing. Maybe next year.

I agree. He looked much improved this year. I hope he sticks around. He is a bit taller also and could work well as a soloist .

Cirio has done numerous principal roles at Boston which are not listed in his bio in the press release. He has done bravura as well as princely roles, and has danced with Kotchetkova in Vail, as well as Brandt in a gala. He will definitely be missed in Boston.

Wasn't James Whiteside also a Principal at Boston before he came to ABT and did just one year as a soloist before he was promoted to Principal? Could that happen for Cirio also?

I am extremely happy with all the promotions, but disappointed Lane and Baca were left out, hope they'll be promoted next year. The press release didn't mention when the appointment of Kochetkova, Lendorf, and Cirio will be effective, will they dance for the fall and Nutcracker season?

There is no longer a Nutcracker season with ABT in NYC, but possibly they will dance on the Left Coast.

I noticed that it was not in his Royal bio, but I remembered that he had left ABT for Corella. At the time, I remember wondering if he should have just waited another year or two to be promoted at ABT. It is mentioned in this bio: http://www.operaballet.nl/en/node/2264

Noting his training, etc. perhaps the Royal was his intention all along. Sometimes dancers make a few pit stops before arriving at their ultimate desired place. And perhaps he was drawn more to the rep at the Royal.

Even if Gorak needs to grow in the acting department, I found that he looked so much more engaged and present than Cornejo in their Swan Lake earlier this week. Cornejo just went through the motions, but it was an incredibly two-dimensional portrayal. He doesn't do much with his face -- at all. I would much rather have seen Gorak as Siegfried and Cornejo as Benno, though I realize, of course, that Cornejo has moved beyond that role.

Regarding the subject of nicknames, the ballet world has nothing on opera. Flicka, Bubbles, La Divina. Okay, well, I guess we sometimes say "Marcelo the Magnificent."

Okay, so "Joey" it is. Even if I find it a bit disrespectful to use a diminutive with people we know (mostly) from this and other media. It would have been great fun to hear Beverly Sills referred to as "Bubbles" at a Board meeting of Lincoln Center. "Bubbles will now give her overview of this year's budget. Bubbles, the floor is yours!" LOL

I know that, in all honesty, I can react to technical flaws or lapses differently from dancer to dancer. I don't think it's necessarily hypocritical. I loved Ferri for the amazing dramatic truthfulness conveyed by her entire body as well as her face. I think of Cojocaru's unique imagination, Mearns - never hold back, go for it intensity. These and few other dancers have an artistry that is so special and transcendent that a technical lapse or flaw seems minuscule. With dancers of less artistry (and that would be most) I look more at how they are doing each step, and flaws become more important. I know lists of great artists might differ but I wonder if others feel the same way.

I agree to a point. There are a few dancers out there (the three you mentioned, but there are others) whose artistry completely transcends any perceived flaws in their technique. For me, it's when that transcendency is missing that I start looking far too much at the individual steps or movement sequences and I become distracted by the inadequate technique or lack of musicality or the inability to find a through thread perhaps in the acting. When true artistry is there, it's there and all else is secondary. But that's me. Everyone may have a completely different standard.

A. Queen of England

B. First African/American FEMALE U.S. President

C. CEO of The Wall Street Journal

D. Next AD at ABT

E. Spokesperson and model for Under Armour (oh, wait!....)

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.

OK, fair enough. I am neither his peer, nor have I ever met him. I only know how he's listed in the program. When I was an active performer I had nick names also, but was always listed in the program with my given name. It's merely a recognition of respect.

He's done a bunch of principal roles this season and was promoted to soloist just last year. I hardly think he is being underutilized.

I also think it is a sure thing that he make principal, we just may have to wait another year.

I too don't think he is under utilized, given that he just was made a soloist last year. While his technique is seemingly flawless and beautiful to watch, I think he is still a bit underwhelming when it comes to characterizations. He could use with some serious coaching in the acting department. The thought of his departure to NYCB is an intriguing one. It won't happen, but his style and technique would seem to fit better into the world of City Ballet. He would most certainly get more dance opportunities than he has currently at ABT. Also, I just want to say; why are we calling him "Joey" when he's clearly listed in the program as Joseph. The diminutive seems sort of infantile for a grown man. MO.

When someone is that good, the AD needs to have the ability to see a place for him in the future, and to offer that perspective to the dancer. If I, a mere balletomane, could see Golding's promise, and the fact that he seemed headed to carry on the torch, then surely a good AD would have that ability too. Golding seems to have been all over the map before landing at the RB, where his abilities are obviously appreciated. Had he stayed at ABT he would have been a principal dancer now and we would not be wringing our hands to find partners for the likes of, say, Veronika Part.

Well, we don't know absolutely that Golding would have made Principle in that time had he stayed. There are many reasons dancers choose to move on, some professional and some personal. It's possible Golding wanted to do different rep than what is offered at ABT. Or perhaps the coaching, etc. is better in a different company. Sometimes it's just wanting to live and work in say, London. And we shouldn't think ABT is so extraordinary a company that it deserves to have all the best male dancers. Or that even Veronika would go partner-less without Golding. Sometimes the best thing an AD can do for any individual dancer is to let them go to find their bliss. If the male dancer category was so top heavy at the time of Golding's decision to leave, it may have been with McKenzie's blessing for all we know. As a former male Principle himself, he as much as anyone would understand the need to dance and dance NOW! I hardly think the blame is on Kevin.

And, yes, it's Rowena Jackson in Bluebird pas de deux.

Thanks. I had thought perhaps Maryon Lane. If my aging brain remembers correctly, this was the year that when the Royal came to San Francisco I was a student at San Francisco Ballet and was chosen to be one of the few used for children's roles in various ballets. I got to do "Sleeping Beauty", "Swan Lake" and also "Coppelia". Our "roles" or choreography was taught to us by Jill Gregory, who did everything while wearing quite tall high heels! I was impressed! My partner for "Coppelia" was Basil Thompson. I have always had a soft spot for the Royal over the years, I think partially because I had the opportunity to see so many of the great dancers of that era up close and on the stage. Just being there with them was an education in stage deportment and stage presence. Never to be forgotten! They also allowed us to watch them take class on stage, which was also very fun. Good times; good memories. Thanks for the video.

I wouldn't necessarily call it "cheerleading" - Copeland gets a lot of press because she's a black woman in a field that has a tradition of excluding black women. (The fact that she is based in New York and in a major international company are both also big factors). While many would like to read more stories about Sara(hs) Mearns and Lane, "White Ballerina Dances Really Well" is not a headline that grabs the attention of the mainstream press. If anything, you should support Misty's 'PR' - which is designed to encourage lots of black girls to study ballet (and not, as many cynically suggest, to bully KM into promoting her to principal).

I think what I was referring to with the word "cheerleading" was so much of the inappropriate applause that happened at Misty's performance. Much could most likely be traced to inexperience or understanding of the work at hand, but also it reflects the way many react in today's world to just the fact that someone is on stage. People start screaming and applauding before anyone has done anything! One sees this a lot at YAGP performances also. And on SYTYCD. I'm fine with the press doing stories, etc. Also, self promotion if that's your thing. But to constantly interrupt a performance is annoying at worst and seems gratuitous at best. Real respect for what the artist is doing would be to engulf oneself in the whole performance and show appreciation at the appropriate times. White, black, polka dot. Every artist deserves that.

I'll second nanushka. Shevchenko has range: she was one of the dancers who really inhabited Symphony in C when ABT performed it a few years ago, and she has also looked great in character-driven parts in Ratmansky's ballets.

She was also wonderful in the Ratmansky Trilogy and IMO was the best of the Lilac Fairies in "SB" this year. I agree that she has range and a very winning way and presence on stage. I'm looking forward to more things being given to her.

You may find this footage interesting ... The Royal Ballet has just released it. It's home movies from the 1955 tour of the USA and Canada by the RB. It's amazing to see just how much of New York is the same ... after 60 years ... Oh, but that Camel smoke won't see that now, huh ... If you go through to the end you will see a rehearsal on the West Coast (I assume) of Sleeping Beauty .... Was that Ashton as Carabosse??? ... You see Puss in his boots but no mask ... and the last act PDD is being rehearsed in heels by Aurora ... All in all a blast from the past ... and, as such, a privileged peek ;)

Who is dancing Aurora? Is it Beryl Grey by any chance? Also, Blue Bird looks like Rowena Jackson. Anyone know? Very fun. I see the same low placement of the leg for pirouettes as we saw in ABT's "SB" this season. And of course the lower arabesques which were common then. Still wonderful.

I personally don't care if she did 32 fouettes or not. I just wish her alternative plan were actually pirouettes from FIFTH! Not messy thirds! And they should not have traveled. MAybe if one is not fully secure in the ultimate, one needs to practice Plan B also. I just felt it all was an after thought with the hope she could make it through. I remember Julie Kent's "SL" (a few years ago) when she did just 16 turns and finished with the most dazzling piques en menage I've ever seen! There was a fire in her belly that belied the fact she didn't do 32, but she made the alternative work to her advantage. It was Odile doing the piques, not a dancer who couldn't manage the last 16. Everyone cheered!

Isn't the School in lower Manhattan? They are opening another school tied to Segerstrom in Costa Mesa, but I didn't think that meant they would close the NYC school. And don't they have studios at 890 Broadway? It's certainly been a problem that they haven't had their own residence theater, but it's not clear how they could solve that.

JKO is located in NYC, as is the company headquarters at 890 Broadway. Anyone can take the "courses" offered by JKO to learn the "style" and then return to one's own school and teach that "style". I have no ides how much (if any) follow up is offered to these teachers who learn this. It's a good selling tool I guess for a school in "anywhere USA" to say they have trained in the JKO style. One needn't have danced with ABT to learn it , however. I wonder how a teacher with little or no knowledge of classical training can master this. Again, it's the Brand.

So well put, Turandot, but I fear the cheer leading is here to stay. Somewhere on another thread someone commented on the changes happening in ballet based on all the competitions, etc. that are now out there. The art form has slowly evolved (downward, IMO), to something more like exhibitionism. The PR and hoopla have become the story and not the artistry. I somehow doubt that Misty can now go back into the studio and "learn" how it's done. That ship has sailed. As you say, what may have been a promise may now be nothing more than a shell and a compromise. If every time she steps on point (in any role) it becomes an applause moment, then I'm afraid she will fail to grow as an artist. As Macauley pointed out in his overly kind and careful review Misty is little more than potential waiting to be revealed.

After reading the above review I was rather surprised that someone was unable to "figure out what the piece was about". Do the programmes not include translations of the sung poems? Song of the Earth is such a famous concert hall piece I've always assumed audiences would have no difficulty in understanding the literal references in MacMillan's choreography. Btw, may I ask who the singers were?

The Messenger of Death was never conceived as a virtuoso role, rather a sinister presence, so height and speed of jumps is actually irrelevant in this piece.

The singers were Katherine Goeldner and Thomas Randle. I could find no program notes to translate the songs. Odd. (I love when Mark Morris nearly hands out the entire score whenever he dances to sung music!). Both were very fine to my ear. Also, the orchestra (NYCB) seemed to be in top form. At ABT the orchestra all usually leave as soon as the curtain comes down so when a ballerina acknowledges them there's no one there. Not so last night. Almost all stayed put and applauded both the performance and the conductor at the end. And they got to take their own bow when the lights came up on them. Nice touch. (OK, a few left probably to catch their ride home, but almost all stayed). Speaking of my ear (see above), I thought the corps sounded very quiet, especially in their running steps. Only when they did the little jetes across the floor was there a sound. I found all the women's feet to be particularly articulated and in some cases absolutely gorgeous! I can agree about Acosta, but as I haven't had much opportunity to see him in recent years, it was just nice to see him on stage. His partnering is so fine and his commitment to the work so intense, I can forgive a bit of a lapse in technique. His entrance jetes seemed quite high and fully developed. I didn't come expecting to see the MacMillan of either "Manon" or "R&J". I was pleasantly surprised to see this totally other side of him. Done in 1965, this work seems to be years ahead of it's time, choreographically. Some interesting shapes and movements, patterns and couplings. The company seems so at home dancing it. And what a complete contrast to "The Dream"! I say "Bravo" to all!

Such a breath of fresh air in tonight's "Dream". I barely know any of these dancers, as the company is never in NYC these days. But I loved Sara Lamb here as Titania and Steven McCrae also excelled as Oberon. Fairies were as light as baby's breath. James Hay, while not Cornejo (who owns this role IMO), acquitted himself well. It looked good on the State Theater stage also. Sometimes the details get lost when ABT performs it at the Met. Here it all fit. "Song of the Earth" was also splendid. I also happen to like the Mahler and found this to be a mind bending ballet. Nunez was quite special and now I can't wait to see her "Cinderella" at ABT next week. Acosta also fine. Probably the last time I'll see him live, so that was a tad sad for me. All in all an extraordinary night of ballet. After the disaster of Misty's "SL" in the afternoon, I went home a happy camper after all.

I felt today's matinee with Misty was one of the most flawed and disappointing performances I've seen all season. I'm not sure where to begin, except perhaps her lack of musicality would be one place. She never once sustained a through line musically, but rather moved from step to step so as to perhaps not mess up, but it looked mechanical and certainly un swan like. Her arms "flapped" rather like some ungainly bird. I even noticed poor James Whiteside having to duck his head a few times so as not to be hit ! She rarely held a balance, or if she did it seemed for applause effect.. Her technique just keeps coming unravelled when one wants most for it to be strong. Those feet! Those claw like fingers! Scary. I didn't find much to praise in her interpretation either. It lacked focus and depth, again as if she were going through the motions, but without something underneath it all. She and James had zero chemistry together. I usually like him and feel he's improved so much recently. But here he merely looked uncomfortable and wanted this to be over. There was never a connection between them, a longing, a trust, a love. She looked downright angry during most of the Black Swan. And about those fouettes, or lack thereof. OK. so she didn't make it through them, but her substitution of pirouettes from fifth were a disaster! At least hit a solid fifth position rather that a nasty third or open fourth. And this is not the traveling kind that Kitri does in her diagonal in "Don Q". Stay in one place! These were just sloppy. As to other aspects of the performance, the pas de trois was just OK. Someone needs to tell Calvin Royal his second leg in every cabriole or tour jete" flops" and makes the jumps look unfinished and sloppy. For the most part the corps was experiencing an off day, with lines all over the place and people simply not dancing together. Hammoudi was OK as Purple Rothbart, I guess. Who knew the lifting of the Italian Princess was meant to be such a huge laugh line! Really? And if anyone could make that fourth act choreography look truly hackneyed, well Misty did that today. I could go on, but I can't. Suffice to say the house was sold out, with people screaming and many applauding in all the wrong places. I fear this is the future of ABT. Lopatkina? Really?

Who's keeping ABT relevant?

We are! The audience.

Re prices. RB tickets when I bought them in the Fall were considerably cheaper than equivalent tickets at the Met where ABT is dancing or at the Royal Opera House. For example, I paid $80 for seats in the orchestra, a bit towards the back, a bit towards the side, but still excellent. I believe I paid more for the same seats when the Mikhailovsky was at the Koch theater. Don't know if prices went higher after that--some companies use dynamic pricing...

I paid $80.00 in the Fall for Second Ring, first row center, which I consider to be an excellent viewing place for ballet. About the equivalent of Grand Tier at the Met in terms of distance from the stage, etc. Actually, it's probably closer. The State Theater is just a better venue when it comes to dance than the Met. Going Wednesday. Looking forward to just seeing the company after such a long time in between visits.

Anyone desiring to see an extraordinary and luxurious exhibit of new and old Chines fashion should head to the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. Included are ancient silk robes along side newer clothes inspired by the old. There are fantastic headpieces and hair ornaments (one is of an entire village including prancing cranes made entirely of bamboo). Anyone who wondered at the out size of the headpieces worn at the recent showing of "Sleeping Beauty" at ABT should look at what's on display here! And there's one gold gown on the second floor (by a contemporary designer Gua Pei) that puts the Queen's gown in "SB" to shame!! There's plenty of Alexander McQueen here, as well as John Galliano and, of course, St. LAurent. But it's the juxtaposition of the old and new that really works. There's even a gown with a bodice made of shards from broken Chinese pottery! Also, many film clips, including one of Fred Astaire and Ann Miller in "Zeigfield Follies 1945" They are both made up to look Asian and the dance moves are a bit hokey, but it's fun to see. This entire exhibit is just wonderful. One of the best ever from the Met. It's there through Aug. 16th. SEE IT!!

Terribly sad news. A great artist who gave us much.