abatt

Kimin Kim did not perform last night. Denying a visa to Smirnova and Tissi is insanity. Smirnova left her homeland in protest of the war. It is too bad that a NY State Assemblyman could derail a private contract between YAGP and its contracted talent. There are plenty of Russian nationals performing at the Met and in other classical venues in the U.S. The litmus test is whether they came out and supported Putin and the war. In my opinion, banning these individual dancers is wrong.

week 2 casting is available on the nycb website

I would like to see Zakouski again. I thought it was a good enough ballet with enjoyable music. But I doubt that it will ever return to the rep, However, I do not picture Tiler Peck as a lead in Tzigane. Mejia, maybe yes.

Funny that Nadon is the only cast for Tzigane. Usually they have two casts ready to go. Green is a good role for Bouder - short role, no partnering involved. It's usually given to a tall woman, so LaFreniere in that role makes sense.

I'm still waiting for the Kennedy Center to announce. I hope they have some worthwhile ballet offerings. It's Freaky Friday here in NYC. Never experienced an earthquake before. 4.8 magnitude. My building was shaking.

I think Misty is de facto retired even if they still keep her photo up on the website. Jaffe is allowing too many older dancers to hang around who have little or no value to the company anymore. I'm referring here to Hoven, Fang and Paris. Jaffe's tenure so far has been a big disappointment. The programming has far too much repetition. Chloe is the only soloist who is being given major opportunities. Park is obviously talented, but is still getting the same old roles.

From Broadway Journal ‘ILLINOISE’ TO SQUEAK INTO BROADWAY SEASON March 15, 2024 by Philip Boroff Producers Orin Wolf and Greg Nobile are preparing to move the acclaimed dance piece Illinoise to the St. James Theater, packing another new musical into the busy 2023-24 season. The transfer from the Park Avenue Armory — where Illinoise is scheduled to play its final, sold-out performance on March 26 — would be so quick that the show may not have time for previews on Broadway, industry sources said. To be eligible for Tony Awards this year, productions must open by April 25.

The New York Phil is also doing a lot of film score programs. I think those programs make money by drawing in people who don't ordinarily attend the symphony, even if such programs are of little interest to their core audience of classical music devotees.

Corella has transformed the company entirely, including the rep. He is making story ballets a focal point. Although Balanchine is in the DNA of the heritage of this company, it is not part of Corella's heritage as a dancer. He certainly performed many Balanchine works at ABT, but Balanchine is not his priority. Are any of the principal dancers trained at SAB. I don't think so.

Stafford was selected by Martins to be his successor, and shadowed Martins for a substantial period of time before the blowup that lead to Martins' unanticipated early exit from the company. It seems that being selected by your predecessor holds a lot of sway at this company, since that is how Martins got his job in the first place. I agree that Stafford seems to have no vision and no new ideas. Is there any innovation that was created by Stafford? I can't think of a single one. I guess theoretically he can get credit for hiring Ratmansky as choreographer in residence, but that was exactly what Martins tried to do but failed because Ratmansky went to ABT. It was a matter of luck that Ratmansky decided to part ways with ABT, and I suspect Whelan had quite a bit to do with Ratmansky's new relationship with NYCB.

Yes, Peck directed the production. The staging was good. The band and the singers are on elevated platforms on each side of the stage so that the dancers have enough space on stage. They did a lot with a minimal amount of scenery, including some sliding doors in the rear of the stage that when opened revealed overgrown grass, and when closed looked like a wall of graffiti. The audience was pretty diverse in terms of age. There were many young attendees (ie people who appeared to be in their 20s and 30s). Interesting to see whether this will move to Broadway. I could tell that some people around me were moved by this production. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm not revealing any additional info about the plot. I think your reaction might depend on whether your family has been touched by any of the issues alluded to in the production.

McKenzie promoted a lot of people on his way out the door, some of whom are highly questionable. I'm referencing the soloist and principal level here. I'm glad Jaffe has not followed that example.

Those three promotions are well deserved. Now let's find some good roles for these guys, and not the usual peasant pas. I may be in the minority, but I don't think Coker has demonstrated soloist quality work.

I was surprised that I did like the music very much. I have never listened to Stevens music except in Justin Peck's work. The live band and singers were terrific. But the choreography was typical Justin Peck but less virtuosic, with an unconvincing story tacked on. I felt no connection to these characters because there is almost no character development, and the dancers simply are not good enough actors. Most of the so-called story lines come across as phony, in my opinion. The only truly breathtaking moment of dance was a tap dance segment. I don't want to spoil any of the "plot points" so I won't say more about one of the story lines which is meant to be a tearjerker. I wasn't feeling it at all. Whereas Ratmansky created a world on stage in Solitude that was entirely moving and haunting, Justin Peck falls way short in creating a moving story line because the choreography isn't good enough to accomplish that goal. Since these dancers have to perform every night, the difficulty level of most of the choreography is substantially easier than what you would find in a typical Peck ballet created for NYCB. Great to see Robbie Fairchild on stage again. Ditto Craig Salstein. It was certainly an interesting evening, but I think my expectations going in were set too high..

The only surprise of the evening was Emma Stone's win. I thought they would give best actress to Lily Gladstone. Stone deserved the award. Glad she won. The I'm Just Ken number was great fun.

I saw the company this weekend. The Natl Ballet of Spain has not visited NYC in many years. Loved their performance although I thought they could have left the ballet portion of the show at home. That is not their specialty, and it shows to anyone who has seen world class ballet artists. They have some spectacular, mesmerizing flamenco dancers. I look forward to this festival every year.

Winter season wrap up. At City Ballet, 2 Sparkling Premieres and Many Moments to Remember - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Thanks for the review. I have a ticket next week. I too am often lukewarm about Peck and Stevens. I actually tend to like Peck more outside of NYCB. (for example, I enjoyed Buena Vista Social Club at the Atlantic Theater which he choreographed with his wife).

Yes. Completely agree. Mearns was fantastic in this solo. I also liked the section of the mermaids. The rest was fun for kids, but not so much for me. The flub with Mann was unprofessional. Sure an actor can forget a line, but the way it was handled was like watching a high school play. Dead silence for an extended period and then someone yelling the line out from the wings so that the entire audience could hear it. Also, I preferred Lithgow in the narrator role when this was last performed. His diction was superb, whereas Mann's words sometimes sounded muddy. Maybe it was the sound design. I saw both shows today. Emma & Ulbricht were the highlight of the evening show in Tarantella. They tore through space with abandon. Woodward and Huxley were very classical, but technically conservative. Ditto Phelan and Gordon. I prefer a Tschai pas with daring, jaw dropping technical content. Nadon and Mejia were quite wonderful in the afternoon performance of Stars.

I think Alec Knight will also be in the promotion mix.

Emma VE and D. Gabriel had great debuts tonight in Ballo. Pure joy. Both are technical wizards. I cannot wait to see them conquer more of the rep. NYCB is bursting with talent at all levels. I hope Gabriel is promoted to soloist. After his work this season and the challenging lead roles he has performed so well, he deserves it.

Thanks for the update. I suspect the Tschai pas cast may also eventually change.

Just curious. How was the "second cast" that debuted in Solitude on Tuesday, featuring LaFreniere and Phelan in the secondary roles. added - Since Tiler Peck was removed from the cast in Opus on Tuesday, I wonder if she will actually appear this weekend in Stars & Stripes and Tschai Pas. If anyone looks at the casting sheet in the lobby please let us know of any additional cast changes. Thanks.

Interestingly, a friend accompanied me to see Solitude with Adrian DW in the lead on Sat afternoon. Her reaction was that the emotional resonance of Solitude comes solely from the music. She was unmoved by the performance/choreography. Different strokes... While Adrian DW was not as persuasive in the lead role as Joe Gordon, I thought he gave a good performance. Personally, I think you would have to be made of stone not to be moved by this ballet, no matter who is dancing. Agree with the comment above that Joe Gordon is now the best of the interpreters of Opus 19. I liked Maxwell in today's matinee of Opus. Huxley is an introverted dancer, and I think he may need more time in this role of the Dreamer.

While I was watching Gordon do his solo in Solitude last night, a memory of an article I read about him several years ago came into my mind. It was an article that recounted how his father died when Gordon was 9, and his mother died when he was 22. Everyone suffers loss, but in a way I think his life experience informed his dancing in this role. Any thoughts? It will be interesting to see what Adrian does with this role.