abatt

I logged into my account tonight and realized that my subscription renewal info was already loaded into my account for next season. The ballets I saw listed in my series included Jewels, Liebeslieder, Ballo della Regina, Barber Violin Concerto, Stars & Stripes, In the Night, Tsai pas.

Looking forward to seeing Emma V.E. in this. Woodward and Emma V.E. are the obvious successors to the roles that have been dominated by Bouder, Fairchild and Peck. The "soubrette" rep.

Ditto what mysusan said. If there is no casting published for LWFC during subscriber priority week, I'm not getting tickets for it. What is the cause of the delay?! I would see the Trenary - Cornejo cast and the Park-Carmago cast, but I'm not likely to see the Ahn cast. Ahn in my opinion is wooden. No acting ability.

I was at Passover Seder last week in which a friend who goes to NYCB once every two years or so said "Oh I see they are doing Swan Lake. I got a postcard in the mail." I explained to her that it was merely a 40 minute distillation, and not the entire work. That's part of why SL is selling so well. It is being heavily marketed to people who rarely attend.

I went online last night to pick up some tickets for the second week after the casting came out. I was shocked at how poorly the programs for the first two weeks were selling.

I think that management needed to make sure that Maxwell would not get re-injured before promoting her. To me the phrase "energy" used by J. Stafford is meaningless. If you cannot execute the choreography properly, I don't care how much energy you may have. It's all about technique. I can't stand seeing sloppy dancing where people try and fudge landings or other aspects of the choreography.

Quite some time ago the Mariinsky presented Ratmansky's Anna Karenina at Lincoln Center, and I enjoyed it. If anyone has seen it, I was wondering how it compared to the Joffrey's version.

Hasn't Mearns been in Concerto B. before? It is listed in her bio and I seem to recall her in the role. Is she switching parts?

That's true, but it is more likely that you can come back from injuries in your mid / late 20s (Maxwell0 than in your late 30s. Bouder's age works against her at this point.

I think Bouder intends to stay as looong as possible. I hope Mearns comes back. Great news about the promotions. A little surprised by KJ T. I like him but it seems a bit too soon. They need more tall male danseurs.

I saw the program twice. Thursday night, where I skipped Pite's Angels Atlas. The second time I saw the program was last night, and stayed for the entire duration. I liked the Dawson piece. It was repetitive, but I found it engaging in spite of the repetitiveness of the choreography. Overall the company looked much better by Saturday night. Concerto was very enjoyable, but Ratmansky's ballet Concerto DSCH to the same score is better. I didn't like Angel's Atlas. No pointe work. Monotonous. Lots of fast and furious arm movements. This confirmed that I am simply not a Pite fan. Great lighting and scenic designs. I'm a little surprised that Wendy Whelan has not yet engaged Pite for a NYCB commission. On Sat evening, Mayor Adams decided to pop in and give a curtain speech about how wonderful it is that the company came to visit us here in NY.

Angel, to my knowledge, is not a choreographer. Whereas the classics like Swan Lake are always "after Petipa", I'm not aware of a full length Carmen using the Bizet music. Is this going to be his original creation or is there already a full evening Carmen using the Bizet music that he is going to tweak.

Yes.

So much for the Koch being the home of dance. The only offering this Spring is Shen Yun, which has become an annual offering at the Koch.

MCB has announced next season's schedule. They are bringing back the Ratmansky SL from April 18-May 12. I hope this ends up at the Koch theater in the spring of 2024, but if not I'm headed to Miami!

It certainly is admirable that older women won awards, but I still think there is serious age discrimination in Hollywood and in society in general. Normal 60 plus people generally don't look as good as Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Yeoh. I would bet that a lot of work and money goes into keeping them looking so good.

Terrific. They needed a new Waltz Girl after Sterling retired. Can't wait to see Nadon in the role. Hopefully Serenade will be revived next season in celebration of NYCB's 75th anniversary.

Could you tell whether Nadon was rehearsing Dark Angel or Waltz Girl.

They generally don't use short women for CG. Woodward is too short for this ballet, in my opinion.

Mr. Abatt is a big sci fi fan and loved the film. In contrast, I was bewildered for most of the movie. It certainly had intergenerational themes regarding the relationship between the young daughter, her parents, and the elderly man who played Michelle Yeoh's father (who is 94 years old in real life). However, I found the lack of a comprehensible narrative a problem. It did not strike me as best picture caliber work. But to each his own... You shouldn't have to watch something multiple times just to figure out what's going on. Angela Basset was robbed. If I were voting, I would have selected All Quiet on the Western Front for best picture.

Yes, both Ribagorda and Eric Tamm left to sell real estate in the NYC area.

This. Exactly. The current roster of Teuscher, Brandt, Trenary and so forth don't hold a candle to the roster that used to be with ABT, not even close. They are each lovely dancers, but not world class artists. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Hurlin, but she hasn't done enough big roles yet to draw a conclusion.

I found the pomp and circumstance surrounding Elizabeth's funeral fascinating. I'm sure the coronation will also be something special to see.

In addition to Carmago and Cornejo, I would add Bell as someone who is a talent to watch. Simkin is gone, so he can't be included in any list. I have a secret hope that Bell will follow Ratmansky to NYCB, but I know that will probably not happen. NYCB could certainly use a tall danseur like Bell.

I think the loss of Lane was a major loss to the company. At this point in time, ABT is a company that is floundering, and it needs all of the artists it can get. For the most part, its current roster is very mediocre.