abatt

Misty apparently held a press conference this afternoon. According to the NY Times, in addition to the lead roles she already has performed, she wants the title role in Giselle.

Spring - Brandt, Summer- Shevshenko, Autumn - Copeland and Winter-Hamrick.

I went last night. Seo was lovely, although I thought she had a tendency to soften the choreography. Stearns was in fine form and looked positively dashing. No problem for him carrying Hee down the stairs in the last act. His difficult solo was a little strained, but overall well done. Part was a gorgeous Godmother. The four fairies were Copeland, Shevshenko, Brandt and Hamrick. Brandt in particular made a stunning impression with her speed. Salstein and Zhurbin were great fun as the stepsisters. Balcony and family circle were very full. There are 126 people on Ballet Alert right now or within the last 10 minutes. Is that a record, Helene?

Copeland as Lise in Fille Mal Gardee. I suspect they may also teach her Aurora. Stella as O/O. OMG, I'm getting goose bumps at just the thought of it.

I'm surprised Hamrick was passed over.

I read in today's NY Times that this exhibition has been extended for an additional 3 weeks, so it will now close on Sept 7.

McKenzie would be motivated to cast Misty multiple times in a week because the demand for tickets exceeds the supply, since her shows sell out quickly. There are clearly more people who want to see her perform than there are available tickets for those performances. There is no "assumption of bad faith/ignorance on the part of the audience" in questioning whether McKenzie intends to give her a lot of performances to sell out the house. Your interpretation is unfounded.

Correct. Russian audiences come out in large numbers to see Russian dancers. Minorities are coming out in large numbers to see Misty dance lead roles at ABT. There is nothing wrong with those choices. So why is it considered nefarious and evil to state that this phenomenon is occurring? Why does it lead to an automatic hurl of a racism charge or a "coded message"?

How does asking whether Misty's reps contacted Wilkinson and Anderson to appear at the SL performance indicative of racism? I asked whether her reps or ABT invited these ladies to add a more historic element to the proceedings. Where is the racism in that?

This is what the ABT website states regarding project plie, which Misty is a leading partner in: In September 2013, American Ballet Theatre announced the formation of Project Plié, a comprehensive initiative to increase racial and ethnic representation in ballet . . . How is it that you assume it must be racist to point out that McKenzie is trying to tap into new audiences - new "segments" of the population who have not gone to the ballet - brought to the theater by Misty, when ABT has itself expressly stated that ABT is part of a "comprehensive initiative" to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the ballet company and in its audience members. My assertion that McKenzie is trying to tap into new "segments" is, at its heart, no different from ABT's own stated goals. Do you see a "coded message" in ABT's project plie?

Where is Cirio from? What companies?

Great news! Congrats to all!!!!

I don't understand why anyone would regard the word "segment" as a racially charged word. Mckenzie is looking to attract a segment, a group, a portion, of people, who do not otherwise attend. Projecting a racial overtone to a neutral word like segment is based on your own views, and has no reality in the actual meaning of the word. There is no "code message". Canbelto, Your misinterpretation is way out of left field.

The audience that McKenzie is now attempting to tap into are those who prefer to see non-white bodies on stage in a lead role. It's a segment of the population that might never have attended any ABT ballet performance but for the fact that an African American is cast in the lead. The interesting question for me is what percentage of this audience will return for the rest of the ABT shows in which Misty is not performing. Will this lead to the casting of Misty multiple times per week for as many shows as she can handle.

Couldn't agree more. What passes for "ballet" these days is pretty disheartening. Am I the only one who thought it was terribly vulgar when one of the guys takes the ballerina's foot and rubs his crotch with it a few times So sad that after an 11 year absence this is what they decided to bring us.

I thought Infra had some interesting parts, and some less interesting parts. Overall, I prefer Chroma. If this kind of ultra modern pull me stretch me choreography is not your thing, you will not enjoy it. Most of the pdd and bits and pieces were very interesting. Unlike the post above, I liked the Aeterum pdd and was wishing I could see the entire work. I thought the Age of Anxiety was a bore. The sets and costumes were first rate, though Why are the intermissions running over 30 minutes?

I think Gorak will eventually get promoted. But my most important advice would be Don't Get Injured between now and whatever time the promotion comes!!! I know people do not have control over such matters, but it makes a difference.

Wishing I had gone to the Boylston Simkin SL instead of RB. Oh well. Next season. Happy to report that Hee Seo was a much better O/O than last season. Her adagios with Bolle were quite beautiful. Although she does not have great technique, there were no disasters. Best of all, she has improved in performing the fouettes. She did not come off pointe, and she only veered to the side a little bit. Unlike last year, when she was so out of control that I thought she might end up in the pit, she seemed much more in control tonight. She even did some doubles! Didn't count if she reached the magic 32 number. Gomes was great as PR.

With all the talk of Misty, I think people have discounted the possibility that Hammoudi is another person on the short list for imminent promotion, and he too has many technical deficiencies. Like Misty, he has been a soloist for a period of time, but I'm not sure of his age. I have little hope that his technique will improve over the years. I think that ship may have sailed for him.

First week casting is up on the NYCB website, FYI

I loved Birthday Offering when ABT did a few years ago, except for the performance where Hee Seo came off pointe 3 times during one performance.

I believe her promotion will be announced very soon, and that will help them sell tickets to their Fall season at the Koch. Think about how few female principals are left for them to even list as appearing for the fall season now that Reyes, Kent and Herrera are gone.

Kevin McKenzie has been artistic director of ABT for quite some time, and Misty has been a soloist there for quite some time. It's not like there has been a change in administration at the top of ABT's artistic direction recently. So one has to ask why McKenzie pretty much ignored her for lead roles up until very recently. I'm talking about roles where she had to carry the evening on her shoulders, like O/O and Juliet. Helene posts that perhaps the veil of racism was lifted from McKenzie's eyes. (Not a direct quote, but a paraphrase of the idea mentioned in Helene's post.) Another explanation is that Misty's relentless assertions in the media that she has been the victim of racism, combined with the fact that ABT has been her only artisitc home, meant that in effect she was claiming discrimination at ABT. When faced with these assertions, McKenzie had no choice but to give her lead roles and ultimately promote her. Otherwise certain members of the public would conclude that ABT is a racist employer.

Did she do fouettes during the Washington performances? If so, how many? I'm just questioning why there would be an assumption that she could do the 32 in the studio, but not on stage, unless someone has insider info and observed her working in the studio.

I have forgotten who did the female roles in the peasant pas on Monday (the male role was definitely Gorak). However, I also noticed that the entrechant six was missing. The dancer just banged her feet together once and that was it.