abatt

I assumed that unless there was some kind of emergency at issue, like injuries, all sections of every ballet must be performed. This is the first time I've ever heard that it was the choice of the dancers whether the taxing sections of a ballet will be performed. Having now read Mearns' tweets, it is apparent that Maria K. was waiting in the wings to perform Diamonds in case Mearns could not proceed. Is it better to perform half a ballet with the scheduled principal, or the whole ballet with an unscheduled principal. That may be a question for discussion, but one thing I am sure of is that an announcement should have been made regarding the omitted portions of the ballet right before the curtain rose. Their silence made it look like they were trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the audience.

Why didn't the stage manager make an announcement before Diamonds that certain sections would be omitted due to injury. That would have been the appropriate course of action. About 10 years ago Wendy Whelan got injured right before the curtain was to go up on Tchai Piano Concerto 2. An announcement was made that due to injury only certain sections of the ballet would be performed. I guess the vast majority of the audience were unaware that about 10 minutes worth of Diamonds was not performed. Mearns was lethargic. Hope she is not injured again. Angelica, the gasp on Sat evening was because one of the corps girls on the far left side fell. She got right back up though.

Irrespective of what it says on the back of the NYCB tixs, the reality is that ushers regularly let people into the auditorium during the performance. Surprised nobody posted yet about the on stage disaster yesterday afternoon at Tchai Piano No.2. Ask LaCour was supposed to partner Reiclin while they were both moving in a backward direction. Ask stumble somehow and landed on the floor, and he took Reichlin down with him. They both looked totally stunned, sprawled out on the floor. But they both got back up and continued. There was an audible gasp when the fall occurred. But for the fall, it was a good performance. Happy to report that last night Veyette (in Baiser), Korowski and Angle (in Diamonds) looked much more polished than on Thursday night. Tiler Peck nailed Tchai pdd w. DeLuz. Gorgeous performance. She added embellishments with her arms as she did her spins, as she has done in the past.

What a difference a cast change makes. I attended performances on Thurs and Friday. Veyette's performance in Baiser is a work in progress. His solos looked sloppy at times, and there were even some rough edges in the partnering of M. Fairchild. Megan was very good. However, Tiler Peck was stellar in Baiser. It's not merely her musicality. Her strong technique makes every single step look clean and clearly articulated. Robbie Fairchild was very good in his debut in Baiser. He was able to manage the tricky, quick changes in direction with style and accuracy. Abi and Jared were charming and lovely, but not thrilling, in Tschai pdd. They avoided the virtuoso tricks that some people perform in this ballet. Megan and DeLuz (especially DeLuz) pulled out all of the virtuoso tricks on Friday. DeLuz's elevation and speed in the solos were marvelous. The less said about Bal the better. I feel it becomes more boring with every viewing. Since the air temperature/wind chill outdoors every evening is around zero in NYC this week, I decided to sit through the ballet instead of taking a neighborhood stroll. I guess I should just shut my eyes and listen to the music. The Diamonds performance on Thursday was very disappointing. Maria and Tyler Angle did a nice job in the big pdd, but they each struggled in their solos. The corps looked ragged and under-rehearsed. Then came the breathtaking performance on Friday of Mearns in Diamonds. She was riveting and radiant. Ask did well in his debut in Diamonds. He fudged some of the landings in his solo, but nothing too terrible. Earlier in the week Tiler Peck and DeLuz were brilliant in T&V. Her phrasing is always beautiful. She reminds me of a shorter version of Kyra Nichols. The Baiser/Bal/Diamonds performances did not sell as well as the other performances this season. Third ring was open but far from full. There were lots of empty seats in the orchestra too. Granted, it has been a brutally cold week in NYC, which may have kept people bundled up at home. Why do the ushers allow people to enter the theater after the curtain goes up. They are disturbing everyone who sits in the vicinity of an entrance door into the theater. There are TV sets on every level that show the perfromance so that latecomers can see the performance. Every night the first few minutes of the first ballet are destroyed for people who have arrived on time and are in their seats.

I liked Red Giselle and Russian Hamlet. However, a lot of Eifman's other efforts, including Rodin, were awful.

I thought Rodin was inane. How it could be nominated for anything is beyond comprehension.

Puppytreats, you should try to contact the lost and found office at the Koch for your hair comb.

Wouldn't it be nice if NYCB congratulated Ben publicly on its Twitter and/or Facebook page? This is a major coup for a NYCB Alum.

There are some major cast changes in the latest casting notices on the website. Most notably, Whelan is replaced in every single performance she was scheduled to dance during week 3 of the season. Also, Ask LaCour is Mearns' partner in Diamonds. If the free demonstration last Sat. was any indication, Ask has a lot of work to do. His partnering of Mearns in the excerpt from Diamonds had a lot of rough patches.

Mearns was a very soulful and dramatic Odette. She has the kind of expressive face that speaks volumes. (Mearns slipped on Sunday, but made a quick recovery.) I also completely agree w. the posts above that praise Tiler Peck for her thrilling, musical Allegro Brilliante. Megan Fairchild looked dull and dutiful in the same role last night. Bouder and Veyette were wonderful last night in T&V. They had some partnering issues on Sunday, but things looked much smoother last night. Krohn and Catazarro were excellent in the first movement of Tchai Suite No. 3. This irole s a very good fit for Krohn. What has happened to Jenny Ringer. She was replaced by Abi Stafford in the 2nd movement of Tchai Suite 3 both Sunday and last night. Can't wait to see Tiler Peck and DeLuz tonight in T&V. It's been a very enjoyable season so far, with very high attendance. Since yesterday was Balanchine's birthday, I was expecting a curtain toast w. vodka. There was no toast.

I think the next female soloist who will be promoted from within ABT will be Boylston, but I doubt that will happen in the near future. She is the only female soloist who repeatedly gets numerous star, principal roles. They are testing her out to see if she has the stamina and ability to handle all these important, difficult roles. While I adore Stella, I think the promotion ship has sailed. I don't think Lane, Kajiya or Copeland are realistic candidates. They get a few leading roles here and there, but not the way Boylston does. I like Messmer very much, but she also has not been tested in numerous, grueling principal roles. Back to Irina, it's ironic that she is leaving now, since she is still a very strong dancer. I think we all anticipated that some other senior lady principal at ABT might retire this season.

An article in yesterday's NY Times reporting on Stepanenko's appointment as interim director during Filin's recovery refers to Stepanenko as a "former principal".

City Center never announces casting for the Encores performances until a few weeks before the show. I don't expect to see any casting until early April.

She was always the best dressed dancer at the galas. Now there will be no reason for me to stay for the final bows at the opening night galas. She has stunning taste in clothing and always looks like a runway model. If she were doing something other than Onegin as her final show, I would definitely have gone to her farewell.

Yes, thanks for the clip. I never saw Farrell dance live, so this clip enhanced my appreciation of Mozartiana.

All casting for the Met Season - Ratmansky, Month in the Country, Symphony in C - is now up on the ABT website performance calendar.

The NYCB season got off to an excellent start. I don't have much time now, so this will be brief. Mearns was magnificent in her Waltz Girl debut. Every gesture, large or small, was full of drama and beauty. I've never seen anyone convey so much meaning simply by raising a hand to cover the eyes. Her interpretation had dramatic urgency. Even though she had been out for a period of time, all the Mearns trademarks were there- supple back, intense stage presence. Jared Angle is a very attentive partner to her. So glad to have this ballerina back with us. Megan LeCrone did very well in her debut as Dark Angel. She has been getting a lot of signfiicant roles lately, and she finally seems to be dancing on a much higher level than a few years ago. As always, Bouder's elevation as Russian Girl was breathtaking. Bouder was a marvel in Tschai Piano Concerto 2. I would have to agree w. the NY Times that this is one of her best roles. Usually I find J. Stafford to be a blank, but he was an excellent partner to La Bouder. I was also very, very pleased with Reichlin's Tschai Piano Concerto No. 2 on Wed night w. Tyler Angle. I thought Lowery looked sloppy, especially her upper body and arms, in Tschai Piano Concerto's soloist role on Tues. Tyler Angle definitely needs some improvement in Mozartiana. Some of his steps were blurred and incomplete. Other passages in his footwork were well done. At times he could not fully articulate all the footwork and still keep up w. the music. He also had an unfortunate mishap in one of his landings. I thought Sterling Hyltin started out well in Mozartiana, but I thought she seemed too coy in her pdd w. Chase Finlay. Howerver, I must admit that it was well danced in terms of showing every step of the choreography to its full effect - dancing full out. Chase Finlay looked like an eager student in his debut in Mozartiana. The choreography is very difficult to execute, and he was not at ease. (Someone bring back Damian Woetzel, ASAP!) I'm sure he'll grow into the role over time. Loved the refined elegance of Huxley in Mozartiana. .

I couldn't find any movie theaters in New York City showing Swan Lake on Feb 14. Oh well.

Heads up. NYCB has changed the program yet again for Feb 1. The first ballet of the evening was originally supposed to be Piano Pieces. It was subsequently changed to In the Night (which I was looking forward to). Now the first ballet is listed as Polyphonia.

Affleck was vindicated in the BAFTA noms, where was nominated as best actor and best director.

I thought Vishneva did a poor job with Anna during the NY run. Maybe she was having an off day. I loved Kondaurova and Lopatkina as Anna. Yes, we must have a film of Vishneva and Gomes now. Why doesn't ABT film anything!

No retirement gala? Surprising.

Cubanmiamiboy, did you see Osipova's La Sylphide with ABT a few years ago at the Met. I think it was the first year that she appeared with ABT. Her partner was Hallberg (after Cornejo withdrew due to injuries). It was astonishing.

I wonder why Osipova has chosen not to do Sleeping Beauty again w. ABT. During the last revival, she cited "passport issues" that prevented her from entering the US. She is not doing SB at ABT for this upcoming run either. Since ABT taught her the role and gave her her first Aurora, you would think she would perform the role again at ABT.

I don't know anything about Kent's motivation, but I know that often there are increased pension benefits the longer you are with an organization. I assume that once she retires, she will continue with ABT as a coach or teacher.