abatt

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.

Does anyone know why there is no performance listed on the ABT calendar for the closing Sat. evening show of the season, Sat July 7?

Yes. Peter Martins choreographed a ballet called "Octet" to that very music a few years ago.

I think that the number of new (and mostly awful) new works at NYCB has gotten out of control. I recall that years ago there was generally one new work presented during the winter season, and one new work during the spring season. Personally, I would prefer to wait for one excellent Wheeldon work or Ratmansky work every two years or so, rather than be bombarded with junky new ballets by Stroman, Taylor Corbett, Millepied and so on. Apart from being a waste of financial resources, these new ballets divert the talents of the Company's foremost dancers to works that are going to shortly end up in the vast garbage bin of discarded ballets, instead of employing those dancers in the pursuit of learning and performing important roles in the rep.

I'm linking an article from the NY Times re the current state of affairs at NYCB. As you will see, the NY Times believes that the company is "treading water." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/arts/dance/in-city-ballets-fall-season-a-need-for-surprises.html?ref=arts What do you think? Is NYCB an inert company which is treading water? I think that many of the ills referenced in the article can be traced to the fact that P. Martins is more interested in putting on new (gimmicky) works instead of focusing on preserving and training a new generation of dancers in the classic great works of the Balanchine/Robbins rep. Imagine how much rehearsal time must have been spent on Ocean's Kingdom and all the other new ballets (mostly worthless) that are trotted out every season and instantly forgotten thereafter. Ironically, P. Martins appears to believe that the new works are preventing inertia at NYCB, and are making NYCB a vibrant, creative company. That valuable time could have been spent on training the ultra talented NYCB dancers in new roles in the great NYCB rep.

I saw tonight's Jewels. Happy to report that ticket sales were strong and the audience was very large, particularly for a Tuesday evening. Bouder was lovely in Emeralds, and Jared Angle was a gallant partner. Emeralds is one of Ringer's best roles. An excellent performance. I didn't really care for the lead Rubies cast tonight. Veyette was making his debut, and he looks like he could use some more practice. It was a very careful and studied performance. A Rubies performance without joy and fun robs the ballet of its spirit. I had never seen Hyltin in the lead of Rubies. (She debuted last season, I think.) Maybe it was because of Veyette, but her performance also looked too careful. Reichlin was sexy and witty as the tall girl. And then came the sublime Diamonds. This was Mearns' only performance of Diamonds for the season. J. Staford was replaced by Chuck Askegard as Mearns' partner. It was pure, radiant joy beaming from Mearns to Askegard and vice versa. It was an extra special performance. They seemed to be in a private reverie that we in the audience had the privilege of seeing. I've seen Mearns do this role before, but tonight's performance of the central pas was on an even higher level.

They are definitely papering the theater with cheap tickets for students/younger people, based on what I observed at a recent performance. They have alienated many of their loyal, long term subscribers and customers. Who are they replacing those subscribers with? On Saturday afternoon, the theater looked like a ghost town. Almost entire rows of center orchestra seats were empty. Large numbers of centered seats in the first and second rings were empty. The third ring was about 20 percent full, and the fourth ring was not sold. I don't recall attendance being this dismal in prior years. It will be interesting to see if they continue this suicidal pricing system for the 2012-2013 season. I'm sure the bean counters at NYCB are tracking ticket sales. Ocean's Kingdom and to, a lesser extent, Jewels have sold well. I think everything else has sold poorly during the Fall season(except the special "Black and White" program where all tickets were $50 or $25).

Based on my personal experience, the administrative arm of NYCB now has as much credibility as used car salesmen. (Sorry to any reputable used car salesmen out there!) It's sad, since I have so much respect and admiration for the dancers.

There were no in front of the curtain calls at the Tuesday performance of Ocean's Kingdom either.

Eileen, it is Janie Taylor. Her hairdo looked a lot better in person that it does in the photo.

Yes, that is Ulbricht in the clown wig. He should get bonus pay for all of the hideous costumes he has been required to wear this month. (His attire for the Jester role in Swan Lake is also awful.)

Gonzalo Garcia has not been given the opportunity of performing Apollo at NYCB.

I attended last night's performance. R. Fairchild was riveting as Apollo. I thought his performance last night was much better than the prior week's performance. I also thought that Gonzalo Garcia was enthralling in the 4T's last night. Reichlin was electrifying as Choleric. I have avoided Union Jack for a few years because I find it tedious. I stayed for last night's performance of the work. DeLuz tore up the stage in his variation. Askegard looked underpowered in his. It was amusing seeing one of tallest guys in the company dancing side by side with one of the shortest. Wendy Whelan was excellent in her variation. Sadly, the youngsters in her regiment could not keep up with the tempo, resulting in a sloppy performance where the corps of that regiment completely lost the element of unison. Time for that regiment to head back to the rehearal studio. Maria Kowrowski was sexy and fun as leader of the Wrens. Ringer and Ramasar were delightful in their section of the ballet. Once again, there were many scattered empty seats in the orchestra, first and second rings. The third ring was 20 percent sold. Fourth ring was not for sale.

I think Ocean's Kingdom is selling well. I'm not sure if it will be revived in the future, but I would guess that it will be revived. My opinion of the choreography isn't as harsh as the Times'. I've seen MUCH worse at NYCB (Call Me Ben, Seven Deadly Sins, Lady w. Little Dog, to name a few.) This score is not pop music. It is, in my opinion, a well crafted classical composition.

I attended. I enjoyed the music. It was a very distinguished composition. However, it sounded like it was more suitable as a film score than a ballet. (Sir Paul has mentioned in interviews that he had done some music for a project that didn't work out, and he used that music for this ballet. I'm wondering if the project he was referring to was a film score.) Anyway, as a result, there were many sections of the ballet where the music seemed merely like background music, rather than a source out of which the choreography arose. However, other sections were clearly more useful as the springboard for choreography. As for the choreography, the story was relatively easy to follow. Based on interviews I have read, Sir Paul may have intended some deep, political/environmentalist plot to the story. That didn't come through on stage. It was a boy wants girl/ bad people prevent boy and girl from uniting/ boy and girl finally get together story. It looked like a million other Martins ballets. In particular,the choreography was similar to various ballets that Martins has choreographed to the works of John Adams, particularly in the sections where the music was heavily percussive. Sara Mearns did a lot of swooning and emoting in Robbie Fairchild's arms. Their pas de deuxs were pleasant to look at, but not particularly memorable. Some of the acrobatic lifts of Mearns by Fairchild looked labored. The choreography for Amar Ramasar and his cohorts (in Mohawk like head gear) involved a lot of jumping and spinning. There was a section for "the entertainers", which in my opinion was the weakest section of the ballet, insofar as it did not seem to integrate into the story. Ulbricht did his usual jumping extravaganza ( in what looked like a clown wig). They finally found a suitable role for S. Lowery (as an Amazon). My favorite costume was the seafoam green costume of Sara Mearns. Georgina P. was saddled with the task of dancing with a huge cape. I feared for her safety with every step. Ramasar and his backup dancers looked menacing in their black attire, black eye makeup and mohawk headwear. The audience seemed to like the show. Obviously, the crowd went bonkers when Sir Paul came out for a bow. Sir Paul seems like a very nice, humble man. Stella McCartney also came out for a bow. Spotted in the crowd were Alec Baldwin, Leslie Stahl, Sarah Jessica Parker, Naomi Watts, Steve Buscemi, Bon Jovi. On the whole, I would recommend the ballet. However, the choreography was not at a high level of sophistication or originality. Any other ballet talkers there? I heard on WQXR this AM that they raised $4 million last night at the NYCB gala. At the beginning of the evening, Martins toasted Sir Paul with tea (rather than the traditional toast at the House Of Balanchine of vodka. The evening started out with a little lecture by the conductor. The audience looked bored.