abatt

Brava to Stella for her opening night Lilac. Have they taken the part away from Part? Surprised she didn't get at least third cast. Maybe she's out of town that week? So the big question for me now is whether I can sit through a Hee Seo/Cory Stearns SB in order to see Gomes as Carabosse. PS Why is Simkin listed in the Diamond Fairy position for opening night? PS Why is Hammoudi replacing Gomes in Cinderella as Murphy's partner. Love Murphy in this, Guess I'll have to close my eyes and imagine I'm seeing David Hallberg. So Hammoudi picks up yet another lead role. He will certainly be promoted this year.

Ditto. Apollo was a hot mess. Catazaro needs to go back to the drawing board and get lots of additional training. Re last week's performances, I thought Adrian D-W was a fantastic new Apollo. I also thought Ashly Isaacs did a great job in her debut. Time to get her out of the corps and into the soloist ranks. Although Tiler Peck is highly musical and a wonderful dancer, Terpsichore does not suit her. That role is designed to show off long limbs, which she lacks. One size does not fit all in that role. Reichlin was much better in Agon than last seasson at her debut. However, she still has a ways to go. Adrain D W was a marvel. He is now becoming a NYCB MVP and has really blossomed. The fact that both R Fairchild and C Finlay are out has really provided some wonderful opportunities for Adrian, and he has excelled. I love Hyltin in Duo. Janzen's issues, I think, might get ironed out in future shows. It was a very auspicious debut. So happy they have rescued this balllet from the trash heap that it had fallen into during the 90s/early 2000s.

Siblings Megan and Robert Fairchild have each won Theater World Awards http://www.playbill.com/news/article/broadway-siblings-megan-and-robert-fairchild-among-71st-annual-theatre-world-award-winners-348368

Not to mention Natalia Makarova.

The nominees for the Astaire Award include Robert Fairchild, Leanne Cope and Christopher Wheeldon http://www.playbill.com/news/article/an-american-in-paris-on-the-town-and-on-the-twentieth-century-lead-astaire-award-nominations-348315

Barbra Streisand pays a visit to Robbie Fairchild backstage at AIP. Read all about it here: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/barbra-streisand-receives-a-standing-ovation-at-an-american-in-paris-348246

The fact that ABT was able to get the title America's National Ballet Company, or whatever the exact words are, I'm sure has everything to do with their relationship with Caroline Kennedy and her influence in Washington. Really, do you think ABT has sold even one additional ticket because it had that silly designation?

NYCB can only take a small percentage of the graduates from SAB. There are only a few open slots every year. The fact that Lavine got into SAB, and didn't have to head out to some small struggling company or to a regional company for a ballet job is indicative of her talent level. Added: As noted below, ABT might have been her first choice anyway.

People know Vishneva, Cojocaru and Osipova from reading reviews over the course of years in the papers that are or were ecstatic. I think most people who attend ballet regularly are like sports fans who follow teams and players. It's relatively easy to access information and reviews from all over the globe now. I knew of Osipova because I had read her incredible reviews from the Bolshoi's tour of London many years ago, when she and Vasiliev created a sensation in Don Q. When Osipova came to the US I made it my business to try and see her. Ditto Cojocaru. I knew from reading articles that she was a star at the RB based on her performance reviews. So it's not media attention per se that draws in a balletomane audience. It is positive reviews. As noted above, I read the reviews of Misty's SL and made a decision that I did not want to see her in SL. However, I don't think most of the audience for Misty's performances is made up of balletomanes.

What struck me about Jiminez was her arrogance. Even if she is or would be a great teacher, it is clear she has no idea how to behave in a professional manner. Part of being in the work force is knowing how to get along with others, not just being good at what you do.

One thing that is always said about Hallberg is that he has the perfect body proportions for a ballet dancer. You may recall a Macauely 2014 article which gushed about David's perfect feet and legs, and the way in which his body perfectly embodies the physical qualities of a danseur. Misty seems to be running on the opposite platform. Nobody has ever remarked that she has a perfect ballerina body. In fact, she is making that representation in her Under Armour ad. Yet she wants that factor to be overlooked, or rather embraced. She asks people in the ballet world to embrace her body type as part of her I Will What I Want mantra. It's an interesting thing to take note of.

Many of ABT's dancers are also sponsored by rich people, but they are not secret. They are listed right in the program under the dancer's name and photo in the playbill. They want full, public credit for their patronage.

It's not the self promotion per se people are divided on. It is her claims that ABT has engaged in discrimination that has caused the controversy. By making that claim repeatedly in the media, she leaves McKenzie no choice but to promote her, whether she merits it or not.

The Times review mentioned Lydia Wellington in the 4T's, but she is not listed in the casting sheet for Tuesday. Did she replace Faye Arthurs in 4Ts?

With that kind of response, I doubt that Tai Jiminez will be invited back to SAB in any capacity.

Excellent article re Crowley's designs for AIP http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-designer-who-is-dominating-the-tonys-1430257636

Yes, ABT is pairing the newbie and not-interesting-to-me-dancers together frequently, which makes the choice of not attending that much easier. Mr. Abatt used to jokingly refer to my ABT season as 7/8ths, meaining that I would want to see 7 out of 8 performances of a particular ballet. That percentage is now way down. Nothing more frustrating than watching a half-baked performance. The good news is that the lack of terrific casting at ABT has left plenty of time for Royal Ballet viewing this season. Also attending a lot more NYCB spring performances than in the past.

I was keeping an open mind about Copeland's SL, and whether I would buy a ticket. Upon reading the professional reviews I decided I was not interested at this time in seeing it, since it is apparently a work in progress. That's not surprising, since she's only done the role twice. My feeling, moreover, is not unique to Copeland. I have avoided seeing Boylston in a number of roles. Ditto Hee Seo. I ended up seeing Hee Seo's SL by default, when she became the last minute fill in for Cojocaru. I felt that Hee Seo's performance was underwhelming (and I seriously doubt it's going to improve much more, since she is not a novice). My point is that McKenzie is now casting home team dancers in lead roles in which they need a lot of work. I guess some do not mind seeing works in progress, and even find it exciting, but personally I feel it is not a useful use of my time and money. While there are a lot of complaints about seeing guest artists at ABT, I would much prefer to see a profound and thrilling guest artist performance than a work in progress from a home team player. As Helene said, it's relatively easy to avoid the dancers you don't want to see at ABT given the full length rep that dominates at the Met season (except of course for last minute switcheroos).

In case anyone is interested, America's Ballroom Challenge has returned to public television after an absence of several years. The first of three episodes alred last week. The remaining episodes are being shown on PBS Channel 13 in NY on May 1 and May 8. The episode that already aired may be available on their website. I'm not sure. Hosts are Tony Meredith and Mary Murphy.

Appearing as a judge on a reality show pays very well, I'm sure. It's no different than Roberto Bolle doing lucrative modeling gigs in Italy, Vishneva appearing in French ads for shampoo, and others dancers who supplement their income through outside projects. Nothing wrong with doing this during the off season.

Bingo, Sandik. Great quote. I find it fascinating that such strong opinions are offered on this site regarding this topic from people who have never been to an ABT performance and/or have never seen Misty, Stella or Sarah dance live. Sorry, viewing some edited youtube clips doesn't qualify as a basis for a factual evaluation of any of these dancers.

The main box office area has always been directly in the center, but during this renovation they split the box office area into two- future sales on the right and same day pick up on the left. It's now back to the direct center area of the lobby.

In addition, promoting her potentially leads to new minority donors to ABT - a new source of income for ABT. Yes she debuted OO on the road in Australia in August? 2014, but she will debut in NY at the Met this summer.

Is it a mere coincidence that her recent ascendancy into all these new, terrific lead roles coincides with her media blitz over the last year or two regarding discrimination at ABT? I don't recall this massive level of PR from her 5 years ago. The PR blitz has been at a fever pitch for about 2 years or so.

Subscriber prices for 2015-16 per ticket $145 $115 $86 $54 $30 I was unable to copy and paste the PDF with the subscription prices for next season, but they are listed above. Prices are up compared to this season. Lowest subscription price per ticket used to be $28; it is now $30. The next level used to be $53; it is now $54. Maybe others can address the other prices.