abatt

Interesting that no choreographer is attributed to "Swan". Did she do the Fokine version, or something else? Or did she "borrow" from Fokine without attribution?

It's a crap shoot. There is no informaiton ahead of time regarding which perforamnces will have price increases, and the amount of the price increase. All you know in advance is the general warning that "ticket prices are subject to change." Interestingly, for a performance at ABT, they raised the balcony price (because the balcony, which is small and relatively cheap, was heavily sold) but the price for the orchestra did not increase (the orchestra is huge, and expensive, so tickets in that section didn't sell well enough to be subject to a dynamic price increase). I'm not sure whether, in the big picture, ABT gains much by doing this. I paid the price increase for one perofrmance, but for another one I decided to pass because it was not worth it to me to spend the additional sum. I resented the price increase enough to walk away. (The performance I added on was to see Johan Kobborg perform Giselle w. Dvorovenko, which was on a Saturday matinee.)

I paid the higher "dynamic" price for one performance at ABT that was a last minute purchase. It was for a balcony seat. I think the regular price if you bought it early was $42, and I think the increased dynamic price was $60.

Here's an interview w. Hallberg on his appearance tonight at the Bolshoi in Giselle. http://artsbeat.blog...stage/?ref=arts Who is his partner tonight? Osipova? I'd be interested in any reports on the performance and the reactions of the Moscow audiences and critics. Thanks.

So who do we think will be cast as the leads for the broadcast? I think Sara Mearns will get Dewdrop or Sugar Plum.

The NYCB website says that the tickets will go on sale on Nov 18 through the Fathom website.

It seems live public television (Live From Lincoln Center) must have put up part of the funding for this project. I think that explains why public television will broadcast the show the next night. For the Met Opera HD films, public television bought the right to air the films but the television air date is usually many months after the HD broadcast.

Peter Gelb of the Met Opera was recently asked about the issue of diluting the in house audience in an interview. He noted that ticket sales in house declined last year, but he intends to proceed with HD broadcasts of the operas. Personally, I don't think that the HD broadcasts of the opera are the reason for generally declining ticket sales at the Met. I think it has more to do with weak casts and poor productions. Tickets for operas with "A" list cast members still sell very well.

NYCB will be broadcasting The Nutcracker in movie theaters on Dec. 13. http://artsbeat.blog...aters/?ref=arts This is a wonderful development. Finally, a smart idea from the management of NYCB.

The constant smile in Square Dance didn't bother me a bit. I didn't think that the male solo was performed at the highest level in Square Dance. The corps was excellent. Seeing the Golden Section reminded me of why I dislike most Twyla ballets. I enjoyed seeing the third movement of Western. I wish NYCB would perform it. Congratulation to Villella and all of his fantastic dancers. Miami is a lucky city to have such high caliber dancers. Let's hope that Villella's successor, whoever that may be, takes care of the Balanchine ballets with the same sort of love.

Natalia, there was a notice posted at Big Cinema Manhattan about the cancellation of the Royal SB as well.

Just a reminder. The Great Performers show featuring MCB will be on tonight in New York City, on Channel 13, with a rebroadcast on that channel on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 30. Check you listings and set your DVR.

Millepied made a lot of important connections early on in his career, including connections to donors to the ballet. I remember reading an article about how Jerome Robbins took Millepied under his wing, not just in terms of dancing, but in terms of introducing Millepied to important people. Also, I think a lot of dancers take advantage of all modeling opportunities available, whether it be Capezio or YSL. Roberto Bolle has modeled for many major fashion houses in Italy. If you've got it, flaunt it!

Millepied used to be a very good dancer. However, his abilities declined quickly after he got into the full time choreography/alternate ventures biz because he didn't keep up his stamina or technique.

Chase Finlay seems to be the golden boy right now among the soloists. I used to think Scheller might be promoted at some point, but it's looking increasingly unlikely that a promotion is in her future.

See NY Times Link http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/millepied-retires-from-city-ballet/?ref=arts He has been "de facto" retired for years. It seemed unfair that for so many years he remained on the NYCB payroll as a principal but never danced there, while at the same time he was out earning fees as a choreographer at other companies and on other projects.

I had never seen Mediation before the Suzanne Farrell performance I attended on Sunday evening. I was transfixed and mesmerized by it. What a fantastic ballet. Ogden was breathtaking. I would love to see this ballet again. I can't understand why NYCB doesn't do it. (Does Farrell own the rights?) Nice to meet you, Jack Reed!

http://tickets.joyce.org/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=1605 The above link should take you to the page on the Joyce webeite for BalletNext. The only performance info I'm aware of is one performance at the Joyce on Nov 21, 2011. Wiles is definitely gone from ABT. ABT already announced the roster of dancers for its Spring Season at the Met in 2012. She is not on the list.

Jack, thank you for the casting info.

If anyone comes across the casting for the engagement at the Joyce, could you post it if it's not too much trouble? Thanks.

The Bolshoi reopening film appears to be a big hit in Manhattan. In addition to the "Live" broadcast on that Friday, there are two encores showings scheduled for other dates. I think this one is attracting ballet and opera fans.

Could be. Usually Kevin trys to squeeze some extra money out of ticket prices for farewell performances, so we'll see if that Steifel performance has a special, higher price.

In a film presented by Wheeldon -Morphoses (before Wheeldon left that company) Wendy Whelan mentioned that her goal in her remaining dancing years was to have new works created on her. However, I think the point of the Times article that began this thread is that the younger generation at NYCB should be trained in important roles with substantial challenges and depth (Mozartiana Chaconne, for example), instead of killing time and energy on the new nonsense ballets that fall out of rep after the perfunctory number of performances needed to minimally justify their existence. Meanwhiile some of the old guard continues endlessly in the same old Balanchine/Robbins roles they have performed for substantial periods. In fact, the article mentioned that nobody other than Whelan has done MacDonald 0f Sleat in Union Jack at NYCB for some 18 years. (Not sure if that's true, but that's what the article said. I don't recall ever seeing anyone other than Whelan in that role for the entire time I've been attending NYCB.) Personally, I'd love to see a revival of Balanchine's Ballade instead of a new ballet. Also, what ever happened to Dove's "Red Angels". That was a big hit from an old Diamond Project, but it seems to have disappeared from NYCB's rep.

The dancers are eager to learn new roles in old ballets too. I recall reading an interview w. Tiler Peck in which she said she would love to perform the lead in Swan Lake. I think that learning and performing Odette-Odile might have been a more gratifying experience for her than having a new work created on her that was mediocre (Stroman ballet).

The missing performance info for Sat July 7 at 8 PM has now been added to the ABT calendar. I guess they are reading this board.