abatt

I'm not sure whether the Ardani site would only list "lead" roles. I had not thought of the possibility that Vasiliev might be doing Purple Rothbart.

Speaking of Misty, I read an interview that Herman recently gave regarding his injury. He mentioned that in the Ratmansky Symphony No. 9, he was originally supposed to have a partner, but Ratmansky changed Herman's part to solos because Herman's intended partner was injured. I'm guessing that Misty was supposed to be Herman's partner. She was conspicuously absent during the City Center season.

There is a lot of juicy casting info now on the Ardani website regarding Osipova and Vasiliev's upcoming ABT performances, as follows: Osipova: Apr 14 matinee of Corsaire in Washington DC Symphony in C at the Met - May 22 matinee, May 23 Don Q at the Met- May 28 All Ratmansky Bill at the Met: May 31 Corsaire at the Met:- June 4 and 8 R&J at the Met - June 14 Syliva at the Met- June 27 and 29 Vasiliev: Corsaire in DC:- Apr 13 matinee and 14 matinee Symphony in C at the Met - May 22 matinee and May 23 Don Q at the Met - May 28 All Ratmansky at the Met - May 31 Corsaire at the Met- June 4, 5, 7 and 8 Swan Lake at the Met- June 18 and 22 Sylvia - June 27 and 29 The ABT website lists O/V doing Don Q on both 5/25 and 5/28, but the Ardani site lists only the 5/28 date. So Vasiliev is doing Swan Lake at the Met, but Osipova is not?? I bet that will change. Also, the dates listed for Vasiliev in SL make no sense, since the ABT site lists 6/18 for Part/Stears and 6/22 evening for Herrera/Stearns. No info on which movement in Symphony in C they will perform, but I would bet the 3rd. Although Semionova is an Ardani artist,, there is no casting info for her on the Ardani site.

Ugh. NYCB switched the program back to Bal de Couture. I guess I'll be taking a long coffee break before Diamonds.

I can't recall where I read it, but the Bourne Sleeping Beauty will be coming to New York City next season.

I noticed a program change on the NYCB website. Martins' Bal de Couture, which he created for the Valentino celebration at the fall gala, has been dropped from the winter season. It is replaced by Waltz of the Flowers. This is how the program is now listed on the NYCB website page regarding the Tschai. festival. Jan 24, 25, 26 Eve, 27 Divertimento from “Le Baiser de la Fée” Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux Waltz of the Flowers Diamonds

Sara Mearns had posted on her twitter page that she is in D.C. too. Thrilled to read that she is in rehearsal for Swan Lake for the NYCB Winter Season.

I can't disagree that Simkin's partnering is sometimes weak. However, Cory Stearns is also a weak partner (but has improved somewhat over time), but Stearns has none of the technical mastery that Simkin has. I also recall that David Hallberg, when he was transitioning from soloist to principal, was a mediocre partner, but improved over time.

Hi California. Simkin also has a Don Q with Boylston at the Met, and I'm sure he will repeat his role as Lensky in Eugene Onegin, which is second lead role. I'd also bet that he is cast in the third movement of Symphony in C, though there is no casting announced yet. I saw his Don Q a few years ago with Kajiya, and I thought he was wonderful. .

I was curious to see how the new super-sized pricing might be impacting ticket sales for Nutcracker at NYCB. On weeknights, they are having difficulty selling tickets up in the third and fourth rings. There also seems to be an abundance of expensive seats available on weeknights in the orchestra. Of course, the closer you get to X-Mas, the more tickets that are sold. The new website format, that shows you every available seat, is very telling.

I thought the McCartney work did attract a younger audience. When I waited on line to buy my ticket for the opening night gala, I had a brief conversation with the young man in front of me. (I would guess that he was in his 30s.) He had never been to any ballet, and was there solely because he wanted to hear McCartney's new work and, hopefully, see McCartney in the flesh on stage. I'm guessing that there were others like him that attended Ocean's Kingdom.

This was definitely a "feel good" 60 Minutes episode. I guess they figure nobody wants to hear about fraud, corruption, pollution, or war at the end of a pleasant holiday weekend. Actually, I think one of Martins' gifts was not in what he personally has created, but in identifying great choreographers and having them create works at NYCB - Wheeldon, Ratmansky. Yes, he has done a lot of pandering too (Paul McCartney, Susan Stroman), but he has also brought important, serious works into the rep as well. I think the McCartney piece probably did bring in new audiences, but I'm not sure whether those audiences ever returned again to see the traditional rep of NYCB. Also, from a fundraising point of view, the McCartney gimmick paid off big time because the gala that year brought in an enormous amount of money from wealthy people who would pay big bucks to shake hands with Sir Paul at the gala supper ball.

That's an interesting story Marga. I'm a cynic, and so I'll suggest that Larry Hagman may have received preferential medical treatment due to his wealth and fame. That was what Hagman had that you didn't. I hate to be cruel, but it is well publicized that he had a long history of hard core drinking which led to/hastened his liver ailments. Should someone like that have even been considered for a liver transplant? Would a regular civilian have been considered for a liver transplant under those circumstances? I don't know much about medical ethics, and I know this is not the forum for such a debate. Glad that you are well, Marga.

On the whole, I thought it was a pretty balanced piece. I'm glad Stahl disclosed her relationship w. the company at the outset. Also, she quoted some of Martins' critics re his choreography, so it wasn't just a fluff piece that stroked his ego. .

Although 60 Minutes is a highly rated show I'm not sure that this segment would necessarily translate into any additional customers for NYCB. I think appearances by ballet dancers on shows like Dancing with the Stars and other programs of that ilk are more likely reach potential new audiences for ballet. Nevertheless, any publicity is good publicity. I hope it is not primarily a puffery piece about Peter Martins, and his great stewardship skills, by his NYCB Board member pal..

I think Stahl was looking for an honest, behind the scenes look at how much hard work goes into being a ballet dancer. Yes, it is amazing that Fairchild looked so fresh and energized on stage, but was panting for air as soon as he left the stage. I wonder if Fairchild ever contemplated that the footage of him sprawled out on the floor gasping for breath would end up on national television and the internet.

Misty was not present for the ABT City Center engagement in October either.

http://foleygallery.com/exhibitions/upcoming There will be an exhibition in Manhattan of Leutwyler's photos of NYCB at the Foley Gallery on Allen Street from Nov 28 through Jan 6. Hopefully the link above works.

Yes, the Google alert worked well to provide this info.

I'm a little surprised this info has not been posted on the NYCB home page or twitter page.

Heads up everyone. Leslie Stahl (who happens to be on the NYCB Board) will profile the NYCB on this Sunday's 60 Minutes. Stahl also follows Robbie Fairchild's debut in Apollo at NYCB. Be careful about the timing if you are recording the program. Sunday Night Football always seems to run late. A teaser can be found on the 60 Minutes offical webpage.

I guess Herman is still injured. I hope the injury is not too severe.

According to her twitter page, Sara Mearns is in rehearsals and intends to return in January 2013 for the Winter Season. She mentions that she has been rehearsing Lilac Fairy, Diamonds and Serenade. Great news.

It's not really an issue of "blame" regarding unions. I'm supportive of unions. . Even the recent performances of NYCB that were filmed for Great Performances (Peter Martin's R&J a few years ago, the recent film of the Nutcracker w. DelLuz and Fairchild), which had excellent video quality, were never released on DVD or BluRay. I would imagine that there would have been substantial contractual hurdles involved in a DVD release, and so the company did not pursue it. Does anyone have first hand knowledge regarding why the recent NYCB Nutcracker film never made it to DVD?

Helene, I thought the question at hand was why AMERICAN ballet companies do not release DVDs. Since most orchestras for the major US ballet companies are unionized in the US, whenever a ballet company in the US wants to release a DVD of a performance, it would have to get concessions from the union regarding compensation with respect to the DVD. This was an issue that Peter Gelb had to address when he first started the Live In HD opera series. He had to negotiate with the musicians union regarding their share of compensation for these HD releases. I assume this issue also arises in the context of ballet companies.