abatt

Ferri did the Petit Carmen with Bocca at an ABT gala, if my memory is correct.

Isn't Lebedev the slave even if he's not named Ali in the production. (First photo above)

This announcement about Ferri reminds me of when I went to see Pavarotti's final performance at the Met Opera (in Tosca). The audience was well aware of his vocal limitations. The audience was there based on nostalgia and appreciation of his career, and also because the event had so much "buzz." While this performance might not be Ferri's greatest Juliet, it has the potential to be Cornejo's best Romeo ever. It will depend on whether he decides to dumb down his formidable technique based on the peculiar circumstances. Switching gears, given how little work Simkin had last season, I would think that he and Kochetkova might be a good matchup for R&J. He certainly needs more assignments.

Apart from the question of whether Ferri may be too old for Juliet, there is a secondary issue to consider. She is being paired up with Cornejo, who is much younger than she is. When she and Cornejo danced together in Martha Clarke's Cheri, the concept was that she was an older woman falling for a much younger man. That's not a concept that's present in R&J, so this pairing may distort the storyline. Bolle would have been a much more sensible choice as a partner for her in this ballet. I presume that she requested Cornejo as her partner.

Although my reaction was very positive and curious about Ferri's one-night-only comeback, I'm guessing that there is also a large portion of the audience who will avoid this performance because Ferri, at age 52?, is too old to do this.

It's not only about drumming up ticket sales. I wouldn't be surprised if ABT also held a post performance dinner for her as an ABT fundraising event.

Me too. Definitely want to see this. Just read the part about her partner being Cornejo. I would have thought she would partner with Bolle. Although this will be an interesting performance, it is unfortunate that the end result may be that we are denied the chance to see someone new debut as Juliet, such as Abrera. Also, does this mean that Obratsova will not reprise her Juliet at the Met with Cornejo?

I think they need Stella for Lilac. The only two principals who did Lilac last year were Stella and Part, I think. I would love for Stella to move up to the Aurora role.

Opening night for Gorak and Boylston. Interesting. No James Whiteside? I wonder if they will have any new casts for the Met season. Misty as Aurora?

Robbie Fairchild was Hyltin's partner, and Tyler Angle was Reichlin's partner, if memory serves. It appears that Jared Angle (who was Mearns' partner in SL for many seasons) is either injured or has retired the role. As a result, Tyler A. is now Mearns' partner.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/09/fairchild-brief-hed-tk/?ref=arts Looks like Robbie Fairchild will be doing double duty this month. At NYCB, he will be in Thou Swell on Sept 30 (Gala) and will also do 2 performances of Slaughter. Since I believe he does not appear in AiP on Wed evenings and Sat afternoons, these NYCB shows dovetail with his AiP schedule. If James Brown was the hardest working man in show biz, Robbie Fairchild must be the hardest working guy on Broadway.

http://www.nycballet.com/NYCB/media/NYCBMediaLibrary/PDFs/Press/Casting/NYCB-Casting_September-22-29,-2015.pdf Casting is available. Same 4 Swan Queens as the past few years. However, we have 2 new Siegfrieds- Catazaro and Janzen. Some interesting new faces in the secondary roles. No Lovette, no Finlay.

Here is a link to an interview w. Sara Mearns. She talks about missing Albert Evans, and also about what she will be dancing during the upcoming fall season (Swan Lake, and a debut in Liebeslieder, among other things) http://www.lincolncenter.org/article/sara-mearns-new-york-city-ballet-interview

American in Paris will perform on the Late Show with Colbert on Sept 18. http://variety.com/2015/legit/news/first-broadway-show-stephen-colbert-late-show-an-american-in-paris-1201582129/#

Misty's appearances as Ivy have helped boost ticket sales at On The Town. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/31/on-the-town-takes-box-office-leap-thanks-to-misty-copeland/?ref=arts

It looks like the only appearance by MCB in New York will be two performances of Allegro Brilliante as part of the fall for dance festival at New York City Center. Very disappointing. For me, a tour to New York means more than doing one 15 minute work for 10 dancers on two nights. http://www.miamicityballet.org/press/mcb-announces-2015-16-tours

Some of the steps in the ABT version are different from the steps in the NYCB version of T&V. Are other companies outside of NYCB doing "dumbed down" versions, or does the Balanchine Trust permit these differences based on differing versions of the steps that Balanchne permitted?.

I would assume that Copeland will be doing Aurora, not Bluebird. I think ABT will teach her Aurora so that she can do the role in Detroit, Washington DC and the Met.

To each his own. I liked Herrera in some ballets, but not in others. Not every dancer is suited to every role, but at ABT dancers are forced to do all types of roles regardless of their particular strengths and weaknesses. Since there are now at least 2 principal ballerinas at ABT who struggle to do the iconic 32 fouettes, I think that it is a pleasure to see someone who can make the 32 fouettes look seamless and effortless. Observing those who struggle with it only makes me appreciate even more those who accomplish them with ease and flair. I have no problem going to see someone who has to make changes in the technical elements of the performance, but who brilliantly interprets a role with a high level of artistry. Kent's final SL contained numerous modifications of the choreography, but I was very happy to see it because of her brilliant artistry.

Herrera used the word media, not the term social media, in the above quote. It's clear that she was broadly referencing TV interviews and appearances, magazine articles, books and other media formats, not simply social media like twitter or facebook. When I read her words,her point of reference seemed pretty clear.

Well said.

Misty is engaged. (There is an article on her engagement party in today's links) Congratulations!

ABT made the decision to revive Tharp's Brahms Haydn Variations for the Koch season. B-H variations is more in the nature of classical ballet than Push, and maybe they thought they needed a more classical work to balance out all of the modern dance they are presenting (Green Table, Company B). Also, BH Variations seems to provide more featured soloist roles than Push, which really has only three main roles.

I'm not sure Misty would get Medora. They need short Gulnare's to partner short Lankadem's. Medora and Conrad are usually cast tall. I would guess that Copeland may learn Aurora.

If Tharp did not want to allow revivals of Push, why would she have granted permission to ABT to perform a section of it at the Spring gala. Hoping for a revival of the full work. I too recall the 1999 performances with Carreno and Dvorovenko.