abatt

Reichlin was the good fairy during the last revival of Harlequinade, while she was a soloist. It seems like Erica is benefiting from Megan Fairchild's absence. Russian girl in Serenade and the lead in Square Dance used to be Megan's roles. I remember reading in the NY Times a few months ago that Megan expected to return for one week during the Winter Season. Obviously that didn't happen. I wonder if the original plan was to have her dance Columbine with Veyette during the final week of the season. I believe Fairchild did the Columbine role during the last revival of Harlequinade, if my memory is correct.

The length of the dress appears to hit the knee. The longer length will obscure the leg line, but I guess that's the price for attempting to be authentic in terms of following original design elements.

I think Huxley will ultimately get promoted, as will Taylor Stanley. Janzen and Catazaro will, in my opinion, definitely get promoted sooner rather than later. At this point, their entire workload is principal roles. The question is how much money and how many slots are open for male promotions. I think Lovette is also a definite for promotion.

I have to agree w. Amour. The cast of Square Dance was first rate in every way. Bouder and Huxley were both marvelous. Bouder's technique is so strong that every bit of complex footwork is crystal clear. Huxley looked great too. I watched Marcovici do this so many years, and was so disappointed because of his lack of plastique. Huxley has the upper body flexibility to bring out all the nuances of the choregoraphy. (Though I didn't mention it previously, I fell the same way about Huxley's recent excellent performance in Agon.) Harlequinade is utterly charming, but I now recall why they revive it so infrequently. Everyone was doing excellent work, but this just isn't top drawer Balanchine. Did DeLuz seem a bit awkward in his partnering of Peck during the first act. It seemed like there were some blips, but nothing major. The Third Ring was largely empty, the Fourth ring was closed. There were some pockets of empty seats in other locations. It appears that Harlequinade doesn't sell well.

http://metopera.org/metopera/season/index.aspx?type=next&sn=st New season announced. Here's the link to the Live in HD movies for next season http://metopera.org/metopera/liveinhd/live-in-hd-2015-16-season The Electra cast is phenomenal. Also looking forward to the Kaufmann-Opolais Manon Lescaut. Anna Netrebko is getting a solo recital at the Met on 2/28/16.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/a-wheeldon-nutcracker-for-the-joffrey/?ref=arts

The R&J seems to sell well.

As people who read my posts know, I go to see numerous casts of the same ballet during a one or two week period. You know R&J must be really bad if I have seen the Martins R&J only once - the opening night way back when it premiered in 2007(?).. That premiere was enough to send me racing to the box office to exchange all additional tickets I had for the production. I have not revisited the production since that initial premiere, despite the fact that it has been revived numerous times. I thought this year I would go back and re-examine the production to evaluate whether I continued to feel so strongly negative about it. (Had a ticket for today, but exchanged it a few days ago when I heard that today's temps were going to be BRUTAL) I had a strong curiosity to see Tiler Peck/Catazaro and Lovette/Finlay, so I am so far hanging on to my tickets for those casts next weekend. However, Amour's post reminded me of all the things I hated about this R&J. Stay warm all you brave souls going outdoors today. Howling winds and record busting low temps today. Dreading going out there to do my grocery shopping. Peanut butter sandwiches are starting to look more appealing...

Another question. Can anyone explain what in the world was going on in the orchestra pit at the start of the performance. The conductor took her bow and she seemed ready to start. For no apparent reason, there was a long delay and she just stood there. Then one of the cellists started walking around in the pit. He got out of his seat, walked around in the pit, and took his seat again. Strange. Erica Perreira did a wonderful job in Serenade. She seems to be reaching new peaks of artistry. Maria K. and Ramasar were electrifying in Agon. Huxley was also terrific. Overall a wonderful performance of Symphony in C, too. Chase looked better than he did earlier in the season.

The Rose Theaater, where Jazz at Lincoln Center performs, in generally underutilized. It's a few blocks from the main Lincoln Center campus, and it's in a shopping mall (the Time Warner Center), but the theater is very nice.

In fairness to Leanne Cope, unlike Robbie Fairchild, who already has an apartment and an established life in New York City, Ms Cope probably needed the "off time" from the show to find housing in New York City, move her things to New York and get settled in an entirely new city. So she had a lot more on her plate to do than R. Fairchild to prep for the broadway engagement.

Carnegie has its own full roster of shows. There is not enough availability there to accommodate a full Philharmonic season, or even half a Philharmonic season. Maybe they should go to NY City Center, since most of the dance companies have abandoned that hall.

The show started rehearsals in New York City this past Monday. I believe that this weekend's performances of R&J at NYCB may be his final performances at NYCB for the season.

As a dance lover, I hope that large blocks of time at the Koch are not booked by the Philharmonic during the renovation, shutting out dance companies that would have rented the Koch.

There were a number of debuts during last night's performance of Pictures. Georgina Paz. took over Mearns part. She didn't have the technical command and speed needed for the big solo contained in this role, but in fairness it was her debut so she will probably improve in future performances. That sort of problem was even more evident in Catazaro's performance. He took over Ramasar's role. He was too tentative and too slow. Tiler Peck took over Mearns part in Rodeo. I liked Peck's performance more than Mearns. Mearns, who is usually a drama queen, has approached the part with a joyous and sunny reading. In contrast, Tiler Peck turned it into a romantically yearning pdd with Ramasar. Peck's expressive and musical dancing were perfect for the role. The audience seems to be loving Rodeo, as it received thunderous applause at the end of the ballet. Mearns and Russell Janzen took over the lead parts in Mercurial Maneurvers. It was an excellent performance. I believe these two are the tallest people who have taken on these particular roles. Mearns height and long limbs accentuated the beauty of the numerous extensions contained in Mearns' role. They blended together seamlessly and look great together. Janzen lifted her effortlessly. Excellent debuts.

Actually, the casting has been updated. Hallberg will not be in Rodeo at all during the ABT season. He is replaced by James Whiteside.

The casting sheet in the lobby indicates a program change on Feb 17 and Feb 19. A Place for Us is replaced by Tarantella. S. Hoxha and Claire Von Enck will make their debuts in Tarantella.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b0537b62-b113-11e4-831b-00144feab7de.html#axzz3RTiGcEX3 FYI, here is the review from the Financial Times.

The costumes and sets for Vienna Waltzes are expensive and elaborate. It represents an enormous investment of money for a ballet that's about 45 minutes long.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/09/lincoln-center-segal-awards-expand-field-of-honorees/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog

I doubt a cowboy hat ballet would be Justin Peck's style. I see that NYCB is reviving Western Symphony for the Saratoga season this summer, which probably means we will be seeing it during the 2015-16 season at the Koch. Wonder if they will do an "Americana" themed program with Western and Rodeo. Peter Martins has become fond of marketing theme based programs.

Thanks. I didn't realize that copyrighting of dance works was added to the law so late.

I also think some people associate the Copland music with the beef industry, because for a period of years the beef industry was using the Rodeo music in its commercials to promote consumption of steaks and other beef products. I think this reinforced the notion that the Copland music is an evocation of the West and of cowboys and cattle. In fact, I bet many more Americans are aware of the commercials that the DeMille ballet. Peck may say that he finds the cowboy theme cheesy, but he nevertheless used the music as a vehicle for a ballet about male bonding. DeMille may not have had a trust, but her ballet is still under copyright protection, I believe. I think additionally that since NYCB has Western Symphony in its rep, Peck was trying especially hard to avoid a duplication of any explicit Western theme in his ballet. (Would Peck really want to invite a comparison with a Balanchine ballet? I doubt it.) Since certain members of the media have been complaining for years that ballet involves too much conventional male-female coupling and partnering, it seems Peck decided to take that idea and run with it. It certainly got him a rave from at least one major newspaper critic here in NYC.

I'd be curious to learn what percentage of ballets commissioned by NYCB actually have a long life after their premiere, either at NYCB or elsewhere in other ballet companies. 422 is certainly a high number, and we're already way past that number now. I wonder what number is assigned to Peck's new Rode'o. We tend to remember the hits, but there have also been many, many duds along the way.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/09/twyla-tharp-to-debut-new-works-on-anniversary-tour/?ref=arts In celebration of her 50th Anniversary as a chroreographer, Tharp will create new works for a US tour starting in Sept 2015. The tour will reach Lincoln Center's Koch Theater in Nov 2015.