abatt

I don't see how they could take the kids from NY to California. The expense would be tremendous, as ABT would have to pay for transport and house the kid and a parent for each and every kid. Plus, the kids would miss school, possibly requiring tutoring services. I suspect they will use kids from California. Must have come as a real let down for the kids at the JKO School to know that their main performance gig will be gone.

Another talented ABT dancer gone (due to lack of advancement or opportunities?).

I have to agree with Angelica. I was at today's matinee, and I thought Stella was magical. Such fluidity of movement and precision of technique. Hammoudi did very well. In fact, I think it was the best I've seen from him. He looked focused and fearful when it was time for the big lift in Act II, but he did it without any problems. The auditorium was packed.

Amour, you have kindly used the word unpredictable to describe the pricing. I would have used the word appalling. NYCB jacks up the prices to insanely high levels, and then dumps the remaining overpriced tickets by selling them at their initial, regular price to "students". This is not the first time I've heard of this phenomenon occurring at NYCB.

You have to wonder about the planning, as they keep adding, bit by bit, additional performances.

http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2014/12/14/arts/index.html?ref=arts The NY Times has published its "best of" lists for 2014. Macauley has high praise for Herman Cornejo and Russell Janzen. Surprised David Hallberg didn't make his list.

I guess I "harp" on it because she cancelled two years in a row, and lots of people spent lots of money for their uber expensive, dynamically high priced tickets to see Cojocaru. The announcement of her cancellation happened with so little advance notice that most people could not even exchange their tickets. Instead, we saw Hee Seo that night. I don't know why she cancelled, and I've never surmised as to whether she was "perfectly able" or "perfectly unable" to perform. I merely state the fact that she cancelled, and the fact that she is not among the large roster of celeb ballerinas who have been invited to return to ABT for the big 75th Anniversary season. Not sure why mentioning her cancellation in the list above constitutes "harping". Plenty of poeple other than me lamented and complained about her cancellation when it occurred.

Laughed out loud about the fantasy football reference. To quote Kander and Ebb, what ever happened to class?

2014 is coming to a close, and I thought people might want to post thoughts on the the best and worst in ballet this season. Best: Russian Caviar This year was unprecedented in terms of the number of ballet performances I was able to see of major Russian companies in the Northeastern US. The extravaganza started at the Kennedy Center in Feb 2014, when the Mariinsky brought a week of Swan Lake. It was a privilege to see this ballet performed by one of the great companies of the world, even if some of the casting was a bit underwhelming. The joy continued in May 2014, when the Bolshoi brought Giselle to the Kennedy Center, and also performed two weeks in New York City in July as part of the Lincoln Center Festival. (the engagment in July fell on an important birthday number for me, and it was a wonderful birthday treat.) We also got to see the Mikhailovsky here for the first time, and so many of their dancers were quite memorable. In addition, courtesy of ABT we were able to Smirnova, Shkylarov and Tereshkina in Bayadere. To top it off, in only a few weeks the Mariinsky returns to New York (technically Brooklyn) for two weeks, and is bringing even better casts for SL than they brought to the Kennedy Center. NYCB's Wealth of Talent So many exciting, rising stars at NYCB. Ashlee Isaacs blew me away in every new role I saw her in this season. Other exciting dancers on the rise are Russell Janzen, Harrison Coll and Harrison Ball. Ashley Laracey is making enormous strides. Peter Martins comes in for a lot of criticism generally, and sometimes with good reason, but nobody can dispute that he has found and nurtured a lot of very talented dancers. Ashton's Cinderella ABT finally has a Cinderella it can be proud of. Worst Bait and Switch - Alina Cojocaru's last minute cancellation of her Swan Lake performance. Seems like that may have been the last straw for her at ABT, as McKenzie has invitied many guest performers for the 2015 season but not her. What were they thinking: ABT has the dubious distinction of allowing Liam Scarlett to stage the most misogynistic ballet I've seen. It was pretty disgusting seeing James Whiteside grab Misty's boobs, and shake them like he was mixing a cocktail. Then we had to watch the two of them twerking. Worse yet, this ballet premiered on the gala opening night of the fall season, when a Ratmansky work featuring many children was debuting. There were tons of children in the audience. Did McKenzie think it was a great idea to show this disgusting, disrespectful, juvenile behavior to large numbers of little kids. . Alicia Graf Mack Injury Alicia is one of my all time favorite dancers. It doesn't matter if she's doing ballet or modern - she is always riveting. So sorry that she sustained a significant back injury this year. On the plus side, she is expecting her first child. I hope she returns to Ailey in some future season. Milestone Moment Retirement of Wendy Whelan. She was special and unique. Though she had not performed much at NYCB in the last few years, she was always compelling, especially in the works created for her by Wheeldon and Ratmansky. She will be missed. Most looking forward to: Mariinsky at BAM New La Sylphide production at NYCB New Ratmansky SB Robbie Fairchild- An American in Paris

I'm having trouble remembering, but I don't recall the choreography at the 1 min 25 sec and 1 min 35/36 second intervals, where Misty slides one leg back along the floor behind her while bending the other leg at the knee .and leaning forward. Anyone else have a recollection regarding that detail I'm seeing two of the ABT casts (Stella and Gillian) so I will try to pay attention to compare the variation shown in Misty's WSJ clip. To my knowledge, the WSJ cafe clip is the only available clip of that variation of the Ratmansky Nut. Looked on youtube and couldn't find any performance video of that variation.

Yes, Hod joined a relatively short time ago, and seems to be on the path to big things. If anyone goes to the Dec 28 performance please report back!

Bouder is on the 27th. Debuts are on the 28th.

So are assignments to roles at ABT now based on a popularity contest - who has the best publicity/media team- or are assignments based on skill, technique and artistry. That's really at the heart of the discussion.

Since A Raisin in The Sun debuted on Broadway in 1959, the relevance of the line you quoted from the play in 2014 America, where a black president is serving his second term, is certainly debatable, but that's a topic too far afield from ballet.

If anyone is planning on going to the Joyce this week to see Russell Maliphant, you're in for a big surprise. He did not perform tonight, the opening night of his company's one week engagement at the Joyce. The program and casting was completely shuffled due to his absence. Very disappointing. No info on whether he will be out for the entire engagement.

Believe it or not, they cast Claire von Enck as the grandmother on opening night on Nov 28. It was pretty funny to see this youthful dancer with a gray haired wig and a granny dress. Glad she's finally getting a nice debut in a dancing role. By the way, Bouder is cast during x-mas week, so whatever was ailing her has been cured.

Some interesting debuts coming up on Dec 28. Isaacs as Sugarplum, Taylor Stanley as Cavalier and Hod as Dewdrop.

I don't think that the criticism of Misty is based on race. If Stella Abrera, Sarah Lane or Isabella Boylton posted a topless photo while at the same time portraying themselves as role models for little kids and visiting youth centers people would have the exact same concerns.

Barbara, consider buying a cheaper section at BAM. This production of Swan Lake is worth seeing, especially if you are selecting one of the top tier casts. It's a rare opportunity to see this production with these stars (assuming no casting switches) right in our own backyard. Hope you can find a way to make it work.

Seems like we have gotten hung up on the word demure. It can be gender specific, but Webster's does not refer to any gender in its definition. In fact, you will see that the word can be used to describe an object, such as a cottage. Webster's indicates it is defined as modest, reserved. That was the usage that I intended, FYI. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demure It's too bad that a meaningful discussion of the attributes of a ballet dancer have been twisted into an etymology tutorial, but there it is.

No. Objection to the photo is called advocating for modesty and demureness in someone who is presenting herself as a role model to young girls.

The photo of Ferri is more tasteful and less obvious than Copeland's photo. Copeland previoulsy had a photo where she was completely topless, but then removed it. I think you have mischaracterized what YID and kfw are saying. Is it necessary for a woman to send out topless photos of herself in order to prove that she is not ashamed of her body? I don't think so. That's not empowerment of women. It's the same sort of objectification of women that has been going on for a long, long time. Misty is sending out a message that in order to get ahead you should use your sexuality to advance and get attention. It's the absolute wrong message to be sending out to young girls. Empowerment comes from merit and strength, not objectification and willingness to display your boobs to the world.

As interesting as the dance nominees are, I thought the theater nominations were equally interesting. Alex Sharp in the Curious Incident of the Dog . .. on Broadway is making his Broadway debut. He recently graduated from Julliard. He was excellent, and I hope he wins this award. I also anticipate seeing his name among the Tony nominations for best actor in the Spring. (off topic, I know.)

I don't think the ticket prices at NYCB are based on the casting. For Nutcracker, certain performances are designated as "peak" and others as "off peak". Also, I believe they charge more for Friday - Sunday and during X-Mas week. Lots of dancers moonlight during Nutcracker season. There's big bucks in those guest appearances at small companies and venues. Sadly, the subject of Nutcracker guest appearances has caused my mind to recall the tragedy of Jennifer Alexander and her husband on that fateful trip to a Nutcracker guest appearance.

Glad you at least got a Sugarplum replacement you're happy with, Amour. They do not seem to be updating the casting sheets at all on-line. The only way to see the cast change is to go into the program where you buy a ticket for that date, and the casting pops up for that date. Enjoy!