abatt

Hi cobweb. I agree with you about Troy. He's been in the corps for over a decade, and I'm having trouble remembering a single role he performed. My take on the Schumacher promotion is that Martins tends to promote in-house choreographers to the soloist level regardless of whether their dancing skills merit the promotion. Martins did the same for J. Peck and Wheeldon, neither of whom were distinguished dancers. Leigh Witchel a few months ago aptly referred to NYCB as a sausage factory with respect to new choreography. They just keep churning out the product (new ballets) and Troy seems to be one of the new sausage makers. His two works for NYCB were generally well received in the NY Times. Every year Martins seems intent on presenting a large number of new works, and the big three (Wheeldon, Peck and Ratmansky) have so many other gigs going that they are not readily available to NYCB every season. I think Martins may envision more ballets to be created by Troy in future seasons, and promoting him to soloist gives him more credibility.

Mearns' twitter page indicates that she and boyfriend Josh Bergasse are engaged. Congratulations.

I had the opposite reaction to Chase's performance. I saw Robbie Fairchild do Chase's role during the Fall season. Robbie Fairchild had the perfect blend of jazzy movement and Broadway style sparkle for his role in Thou Swell. He was fantastic. I thought Chase's performance was dull and unimpressive in comparison to R. Fairchild's. Great to see Maria K. back in such great form in Slaughter.

Does anyone else find it strange that the Times sent its lead dance critic to Miami to publish a full blown review of The Fairy's Kiss at Miami City Ballet, but there was no review of two weeks of Sleeping Beauty at NYCB. Also, these little interviews with the dancers are tiresome. I don't care about Anthony Huxley's mental anxieties or what dancer X ate for breakfast. These are poor substitutes for performance reviews.

Scheller was never cast as Aurora previously. She has a history of significant injuries, but I don't know why she was out recently. I was a bit surprised that Catazaro was not promoted along with Janzen, but I think his time will come eventually. I think the promotion of Troy was a gift.He is not a particularly impressive dancer, but it appears that Martins may want to use him to choreograph additional works for NYCB in the future. Apologies to any Ask LaCour supporters, but I think it's time for him to retire. I agree with the post above which stated that neither King nor Laracey seem to have the "wow" factor that is valued at NYCB. Krohn doesn't either, but she waited it out long enough that she eventually got the promotion. The same fate may be in store for Laracey. Of the soloist women, the most likely to be promoted next are Isaacs and Pollack.

Alexandrova will appear in a modern dance evening at New York City Center from March 30-Apr 1 called Blanca Li Goddesses & Demonesses The program description is as follows: Contemporary dancer-choreographer Blanca Li and Bolshoi Ballet principal dancer Maria Alexandrova conjure mythological figures in a new evening-length work that has its US premiere at City Center. Drawing on Greek mythology and the contrasting languages of classical ballet and contemporary dance, Li and Alexandrova explore the dual nature of femininity, transforming into archetypes ranging from nurturing mothers to femme fatales

That's true. Better to have a plan when the fouettes go wrong at the performance. However, Misty's plan seems to be that she will not even attempt doing more than a certain number of fouettes. Her plan is apparently to stop at approximately halfway through and do something else for the rest of the music. It's not a backup plan, but a plan on how to proceed from the moment her fouette music begins. She has stated that after her long injury a few years ago and the surgery she had, there are certain things that she cannot do anymore. It appears that those limitations are permanent. Since Misty is, in my opinion, critic-proof as far as attendance of her audience is concerned, the WP's criticism is irrelevant to McKenzie's bottom line.

Thanks for posting the Washington Post review. Looking forward to Devon's NYC debut, although I doubt the performance will be at the same level when it reaches NYC due to her assigned partner for her Met debut. The Washington Post review was among the most forthright reviews I've ever read. Lots of respect for the author.

ABT always runs dress rehearsals with mutliple casts appearing in different acts. They do that in New York all the time.

I found Smirnova's performance good enough, but certainly not memorable. There was no joy or radiance in her Rose Adagio. Moreover, it appears that balance are not her strongest skill. She lifted her hand only a few inches before almost immediately grabbing the next suitors hand. She was better i the Vision Scene. I also thought that the wedding pdd was a bit bumpy. I came away with very high regard for Chudin. He has beautiful line and a high jump. I haven't read all the comments above, so maybe someone has already answered the question. Why didn't they do the fish dives during the wedding scene?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/12/arts/design/martha-swope-88-who-etched-dance-and-theater-history-in-photographs-dies.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

I think adding Hallberg to the lineup of the 3 company presentation of Jewels this summer would not be beneficial. The whole point of having POB, Bolshoi and NYCB perform is to show the Balanchine diaspora to companies of varying style and backgrounds. As an American who received most of his training in the US, Hallberg's appearance with the Bolshoi would not illuminate Russian training and sensibilities the way that someone who actually trained in Russia and has danced their entire career in Russia.

David Hallberg returning to ABT for the spring season. What a great start to 2017! http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/03/arts/dance/david-hallberg-returns-to-american-ballet-theater.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront Notice that some of the ABT casting has changed. For example, Whiteside is taken out of the Giselle with Murphy in the lead, and the spot is now TBA. Presumably that spot may go to Hallberg. Also, the casting for the Gala Whipped Cream show is now TBA for certain roles, so I'm guessing they may also give that to Hallberg. I feel pretty certain that the Onegin's with Seo will also be Hallberg.

David Hallberg returning to ABT for the spring season. What a great start to 2017! http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/03/arts/dance/david-hallberg-returns-to-american-ballet-theater.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/28/theater/willa-kim-dead-tony-winning-costume-designer.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0 Willa Kim, designer of costumes for Broadway and dance, has died. She designed the costumes for ABT's prior SB production. Scroll down the article to see a photo of Vishneva and Hallberg in Kim's costumes during their only performance together in SB.

Smirnova and Chudin are the leads in the Bolshoi SB broadcast on Jan 22. Lilac is Stepanova. http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/442/roles/#20170122180000

Since they are doing two weeks of SB, NYCB gives alternate roles to its principal dancers so that they are fully employed during that two week period. Mearns will probably share Lilac with Reichlin, Krohn, and Lowery. There will probably also be some new additional Lilac's. Giving Mearns Carabosse isn't a push toward retirement. It's just a delicious addition to her rep to keep her engaged with the production. I'm wondering whether they will also give her a precious metal dance. As I recall from the last run of SB, while the first cast of precious metal dancers were fabulous, the quality of the casts diminished with the subsequent casts. Regarding Merrill Ashley's origination of Carabosse when this production premiered, I recall reading an article in which she stated that she had been training to dance Aurora. However, due to lingering injuries, she could not dance Aurora and was given Carabosse instead. She was very disappointed. Although she continued on for another 7 years at the company, I don't think Ashley ever got to dance Aurora. Am I correct about that?

They will be performing Romeo & Juliet https://www.joyce.org/

I'm not clear about whether the corps that will appear in each section of the ballet will come from the same company that is dancing the leading roles. For example, if the leads of Diamonds are from the Bolshoi, does that mean that the entire corps used for Diamonds will also be from the Bolshoi, or will they just use the home team NYCB dancers to save money? I also found it very strange that no information on any other offerings of the Festival were provided. Clearly they are trying to raise money for Jewels as the centerpiece of the Festival

http://www.theatermania.com/broadway/news/kiss-me-kate-roundabout-concert-casting_79207.html This is a one night only performance presented on December 12 at Studio 54 in New York City. The gala also stars Kelli O'Hara and Will Chase as the leads.

I saw Hee during the last run of Onegin, and I thought that she did a good job. Of course, if I had to prioritize,Hee would certainly not be my first choice. However, since this is a "long skirt" role that doesn't require strong technique, Onegin is more suitable for Hee than most of the roles she performs.

I suspect that ABT may be saving those Onegin TBAs to see if Hallberg can make a return. His partner during the last round of Onegins was also Hee Seo. Hope things go well for him.

Casting is up on the ABT website for the KC engagement. Lucky Devon T. is getting Marcelo Gomes as her partner for her SL debut.

She's adorable. Congratulations.

The New York City Center website has been updated to remove the performances of Ferri and Cornejo from the Vail programs tonight and tomorrow night.