abatt

FYI, I attended the Vail Festival NYC Remix yesterday at New York City Center. Harman Cornejo was scheduled to dance Apollo, but was replaced by R Fairchild "due to injury". For me the highlight of the evening was the rarely seen Balanchine work Divertimento Brillante, danced by Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild.

I have not been a tremendous Kochetkova fan. I agree that she is blandly efficient. However, I think her technique is far better than certain other principal ballerinas at ABT. Also, Kevin McKenzie has a number of short men who need partners - Cornejo, Cirio,, Simkin. In order to fully employ them, he needs short ballerinas, and Kochetkova fits that description. Also, Kochetkova does not cancel her ABT shows because she has to be somewhere else. She has been reliable, despite her other jobs. I think, like most other people, Kochetkova is better in certain roles. I'm particularly looking forward to her Kitri, which I missed a few years ago.

I only saw the Part Simkin Prodigal cast. Part was magnificent. She used her extremely long legs to maximum effect. Sexy and bold. A great role for her. Simkin danced well, although I expected even more explosiveness in his opening solos as the angry young man. Still, he was terrific in the early sections of the ballet. He also did an excellent job in the pdd partnering Part. The part that I felt was weak was the final sections. He was too robust in the final scenes, in my opinion. There is no need to slam yourself on the floor so hard that the people in the last row of the fourth ring can hear the sound of your body slamming the stage. It's overly forceful and makes the performance less credible. Less is more. I don't recall Peter Boal or Damian Woetzel, both incredible Prodigals, ever doing this. I was enjoying the new Lang ballet until the dancers started manipulating the screen. It took me right out of the ballet, and the gimmick overwhelmed everything else from that point forward.

Misty is listed for a total of 17 appearance dates during the spring season. That is more than any other female principal on the ABT roster.

I was also surprised that Brandt was not cast more. She would be an interesting Kitri. Also surprised that, as of right now, Bolle is only scheduled to dance in Onegin. I think he may end up being Hee Seo's partner in SL, which is currently TBA.

There is still hope, because one SL is TBA TBA. (Edit: The thumbnail calendar listed the Sat eve SL performance as all TBA, but the ABT calendar indicates it will be Copeland and Cornejo. Thus, there are no open O/O slots.) Notice that Murphy is also FINALLY getting a Giselle. Many interesting debuts. They are surely placing a lot of hope in Whipped Cream, because there are so many performances of it. I hope it does not backfire.

Week one is missing from the above thumbnail calendars. It is Don Q. Check the abt website for info

I saw the Boylston Gomes second cast last night of Daphnis & Chloe, and I found the work much weaker than on the first viewing. First, the part of Chloe needs someone with a lyrical and fluid upper body. Unfortunately, Boylston is a great jumper, but completely lacking in lyrical upper body movement. Therefore, watching her as Chloe was boring as compared to Abrera's performance. Additionally, Aaron Scott is the dullest pirate leader I've ever seen. You could see every preparation, and he is not as virtuosic as Whiteside was. Whiteside was far better in the role. Additionally, Brandt is an adorable and lovely dancer, but she is not a temptress. She was miscast in a big way. (What happened to Gorak. He was taken out of the matinee and evening shows of D&C on Sat.) All in all, D&C was not a rewarding experience with the second cast. The MVP of the season seems to be Blain Hoven, who is looking utterly marvelous. Symphonic Variations looked much better last night than it did on Wednesday, but ABT does not seem to be performing it at the highest level. Perhaps it needs time to settle in? It seems to be a work in progress at ABT. I'm enjoying Serenade/Plato more than during the spring, but I don't think it's Ratmanksy's best work by a longshot. Any reports on Jessica Lang's work?

Her picture has been removed from the ABT website. Melanie Hamrick, who is also pregnant, is still listed on the website. I guess this confirms Semionova is gone for good. Too bad. I enjoyed her dancing.

Since I have not admired much of Ben Millepied's prior choreography, I went into last night's performance of Daphis & Chloe with low expectations. I was completely shocked at the brilliance of the choreography. It was wonderful. The flowing and lyrical choreography for the corps was stunning. Stella Abrera, perfectly cast, danced with lush fluidity. James Whiteside dazzled in a bravura passage of virtuosity. Trenary was a marvelous temptress. I thought the scenic design at times interfered, but at other times absolutely enhanced the story. This ballet is, in my opinion, an excellent addition to the ABT rep. I hope they bring it back in the Spring, as it is definitely worthy of a full opera house stage.

The article also left me feeling sad. Although she expressly states that she is passionate about the work her father is doing, it seems like she took the easy route by not challenging herself to find her own path in life after she left the ballet world. Taking a job working for dad is the path of least resistance and effort. I also got the distinct feeling that she is hoping that finding Mr. Right would solve many of her problems. This seems like an outdated and misguided way of thinking.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/this-week-on-sunday-morning-oct-16/ The TV program Sunday Morning on CBS will run a profile of Sarah Jessica Parker on Oct 16. As you can see from the link a portion of the interview will relate to her work on the NYCB fashion galas. You can see in the photo of the link I posted that she and Jane Pauley are standing in front of various costumes designed for the galas. Most prominently visible is Krohn's magenta dress and fake fur created for Thou Swell.

Thanks. Mearns performed her two roles (in Glass Pieces and in Thou Swell) on Sunday afternoon.

It was good to see you Birdsall. Glad you had a good time in NYC. Mearns was replaced on Friday in the Rondo of Western Symphony due to illness. Did she appear yesterday (10/8) , or was she replaced? Thanks

Congratulations Christian, and best wishes.

I don't think this particular retirement will open many doors for soloists at ABT. When Kent, Reyes and Herrera all retired/quit/were not renewed, the combined effect of all of those departures did open some doors for younger people. However, since Vishneva was only doing two shows a year, her departure, by itself would not seem to have much of an effect on performances that can now be given to other younger dancers. If Semionova does not return, I think that will be a much more significant effect on the schedule, because she was always scheduled for a significant number of shows.

I don't think this has anything to do with a rift with Ardani. Vishneva has only been dancing two shows per season at ABT for several years, so she has clearly been winding down her ballet career in general and at ABT in particular. I also did not realize that she was 40- I assumed she was around 38. It doesn't come as any surprise that she is leaving ABT. As far as Ardani goes, I think Ardani paved the way for Kochetkova and Semionova to join ABT. Unclear whether Semionova will ever return. McKenzie is right that the guest artist policy was creating as many problems as it was solving, so in that sense the Ardani influence has diminished for now. The era of packing in Russian guest artists is over, at least for now. However, with Vishneva's retirement, McKenzie is losing one of the few ABT principals that was able to fill seats at the Met.

Per NY times, her final performance will be on June 23 in Onegin

The Martins version of SB is high octane, just like almost everything else Martins choreographs. Speed is given primary importance, which has unfortunate results in most instances in the NYCB Sleeping Beauty. The dancers frequently look very hurried, especially in the fairy variations. The Balanchine Garland Dance is absolutely gorgeous, and it makes you wish that Balanchine had choreographed the entire SB ballet.

Perhaps a less blunt and softer way of viewing the issue is that most reviewers don't pay for their tickets, so there is arguably an appearance of impropriety created by this situation. As far as I know, the only paper that pays for its own tickets is the NY Times, in order to avoid this very problem. As a practical matter, certain publications are so influential and widely read by the public that I regard their reviews as completely independent and free of any possible bias or influence created by the fact that the reviewers are getting free tickets. However, I also feel that some unpaid, nonprofessional "reviewers" (bloggers) who are getting free tickets from the press offices of ballet companies are potentially influenced as a result of this conflict of interest to write positive or softened reviews in order to remain in the good graces of the press office.

What happened to Maria K. I thought she would at least be cast in Vienna Waltzes.

Does Boston Ballet do Prodigal Son? If so, was Cirio cast in the role?

A NY Times article about Ashley Tuttle http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/arts/dance/ashley-tuttle-ballet-teacher-changes-the-rules.html

I've never heard of a demotion. If management is unhappy with performance, generally the ballet company just does not renew the dancer's contract at its expiration.

I remember reading that ticket sales this past year at PA Ballet have been great compared to prior years. I know New Yorkers who never before bothered to travel to Philadelphia to see the company, but for the first time made the trip this past season due to heightened interest in the rep and the dancers. I would say that his transformation of the company has had a positive effect on box office (and maybe in fundraising too), although many people got hurt in the process.