abatt

Slant, do you know what kind of items fall within the term "production costs"? Does that include fees paid to composers and choreographers? Does that include scenic design expenses and costume design expenses? Since the Architecture of Dance festival was in Spring 2010, can we assume that part of the increased production costs of FY 2010 related to the preparation and execution of Calatrava designs that were part of a number of ballets during that festival? Can we assume that part of that sum relates to the elaborate costumes designed by Giles Mendel of J. Mendel for Call Me Ben, which was part of that festival?

I saw an interesting interview of Peter Martins in June on PBS's "Sunday Arts" program. The piece was mostly about SAB, but Martins mentioned that NYCB is the most "creative" company because the company constantly is presenting new works. I think he is confusing creativity with being prolific. Quantity is not the equivalent of quality. I happen to agree with you that many, many of the new works are duds (Call Me Ben, The Lady with the Little Dog, Outlier, Seven Deadly Sins, the Bigonzetti works, the Stroman works and on and on). However, it takes a lot of duds to get a few masterpieces. I don't think anyone wants NYCB to become a museum for Balanchine and Robbins ballets. In fact, there are some people who prefer to attend only the programs that have new ballets on them. I think the dancers also become bored dancing the same ballets, and part of the attraction for talented dancers at NYCB is that they have the chance to work directly with choreographers and have new ballets created on them. (Does anyone recall a film clip of Wendy Whelan that was shown at Morphoses the Wheeldon Company a few years ago in which she says that her goal is to work with as many choreographers as possible?) The problem is that there are not enough people like Ratmansky and Wheeldon to go around. Good choreographers seem to be in high demand and in very short supply.

Victoria Teseshkina was Zobeide and the slave Vladimir Shklyarov, and both were good.

When the Kirov visited New York a few years ago, Vishneva and Lopatkina alternated the role of Zobeide. Did Lopatkina do the role during the London visit? I have a hard time picturing Tereshkina in that role.

The Kirov is bringing this same all Fokine program to Washington, D.C. in Jan. 2012. I hope Ekaterina Kondaurova does Firebird during that engagement. She must be a fantastic Firebird.

http://www.nycballet.com/DHKT/2011-2012SeatingChart.html

NYCB has removed the price list from the bottom of the seating chart page, as well as the color coded guide that was there previously. Even more interesting, there is now a statement at the bottom of the page that there are "few" partial view seats. I guess they have been reading the comment/complaints on this board regarding their new plan.

Back to the City Center season - It will take amazing casting to get me to buy a ticket.

Ditto.

I'll call Monday and try to find out if subscribers' prices will apply to tickets outside of their subscription. I doubt it.

From the NYCB Website, under Subscriber Benefits:

Subscribers get the best deal in the house with ticket prices as much as 20% off regular prices. This preferred subscriber rate is also applicable to any additional single ticket purchases you make throughout the season.

Purchasing additional single tickets: nycballet.com-registered users can purchase single tickets with this preferred subscription rate online, and all subscribers can purchase tickets with your subscription rate in person at the David H. Koch Theater Box Office with your Subscription ID Card or by calling the Subscription Hotline at 212-870-4260 with you Subscription ID Number.

The subscriber discount is pretty insignificant for certain price levels. The subscriber price is only $3.00 less than the full price tickets for the cheapest seats ($26 instead of $29) and $6 less than the full price tickets for the next cheapest tickets ($49 instead of $55). The dollar amount of the savings increases for each higher price level.

According to the NY Times article of a few weeks ago, the company plans on raising ticket prices for certain performances based on demand. The quote is as follows:

"It’s designed to have more accessible and affordable pricing throughout the house,” Mr. Daniels said. The prices may change ahead of performances based on demand, he said, a practice now being followed at other performing arts institutions and some Broadway shows."

ABT also did this during the spring season, so that prices increased for certain performances where there was high demand as the performance date approached. However, since ABT published casting months in advance, I had already bought the vast majority of my tickets before any of the prices increased. There was only one performance that was a last minute purchase where I paid the higher "demand based" price.

Since NYCB does not publish casting until a week or two before the performance, they might be charging a higher price for certain performances by the time the casting info is published. The use of demand based pricing at NYCB is ridiculous, since NYCB has removed approximately 40 percent of the seats at the Koch from public sale by closing the 3rd and 4th rings. The closure of those rings will always create the appearance of an artificially high demand for seats in the orchestra, first and second ring for a performance. I think (but I'm not certain) that subscribers are entitled to the reduced subscriber price for all shows (not Nutcracker), even for high demand shows where they raise the price based on high demand. It's going to be a very, very interesting season.

I thought this thread was going to be about the sweltering heat in NYC today.

My niece will visit New York this Christmas and wants to see the "Nutcracker." Which New York company offers the best version for a 6 year old who has no ballet experience? I have never been a fan of this ballet, but I am going to give it a second chance for the sake of my niece.

I would say the NYCB version. It's a classic. Based on the prices they are charging for rep, I'm sure the prices for Nutcracker this year will be through the roof.

Kajiya and Simkin are doing principal roles in Don Q in Japan. It seems like the objective was to present everyone at the conference who was undertaking principal roles, irrespective of their official rank within the company.

My NYCB tix have always been in the 4th Ring ... So now I'm a little confused...If you are a subscriber, no 4th Ring available; but if not, you can still purchase a seat in the 4th Ring? Someone please explain, my two NYCB brochures didn't.

If you previously had a third or fourth ring subscription, they permitted you to renew it if you so desired. However, they purportedly were not selling any new subscriptions in those rings.

With respect all single ticket purchases, my understanding is that they will only sell you tickets in the orchestra, first or second rings for most performances, except for certain "popular" programs. For the "popular" programs, they will also sell third and fourth ring. No info has been provided on which dates the 3 & 4th rings will be open during the rep season. (I'm sure they will open every ring for Nutcracker.) The majority of the seats in the fourth ring are now priced at $129 and $89 for rep performances (subscriber price is slightly less). I'm not sure who they think will buy those obscenely over-priced fourth ring tickets for the popular programs.

Theoretically, there are $29 seats now in the orchestra, first and second rings. In practice, (a) it appears that they are very few in number and (b) many (most) of those $29 seat locations are in awful, partial view locations.

They have yet to announce what, if anything, they are doing for people who have been Fourth Ring Society Members. While I think that the $15 tickets they used to offer with the Fourth Ring Society pass were priced absurdly low, they have now gone to the opposite extreme of over-charging for most seats in the auditorium, in my opinion.

I agree with you that the brochure was useless. The one I received had NO PRICES. I'm not sure if they published a new one since then.

If anyone has a different understanding of the new price gouging system, or additional info, please post.

There is a big difference between making a profit and profiteering. I believe NYCB is engaging in the latter.

The comparison made between Whelan and Lopatkina caught my attention, but I'm not familiar enough w. Lopatkina's dancing to judge whether it's valid. I am very familiar w. Whelan's dancing, and her claim to fame is not classical, tutu roles, but neo-classical "leotard" ballets.

I think the rationale is to remove half the seats in the house from public sale (decrease supply) in order to increase the demand for the high priced seats in the other areas of the house. The fourth ring has a vast number of seats (considerably more than the third ring, and perhaps even more than the orchestra section). They are playing games with supply and demand in an attempt to increase revenue from ticket sales. They are saying that there are affordable options now in the orchestra, first and second ring, but they have never released any figures on exactly how many cheap seats are in those areas. I think it's a pretty small number. I don't think this has anything to do with improving the experinece of the audience.

I attended both performances on Saturday. I thought Somova did a wonderful job in LHH. The role suited her very well. Carmen Suite was even more tedious for me on the second viewing. Lopatkina has gorgeous limbs that go on forever, and wonderful technique. However, she is so regal in her demeanor that I couldn't believe her as the flirtatious slut Carmen. Escamillo was once again wooden. Tereshkina was so much better (and musical) than Somova in the first movement in Symphony in C. I liked Kondaurova very much in the second movement, but for me Lopatkina's performance was breathtaking.

The thing I dislike about the tutus in Symphony in C is that they are too wide. For example, in the opening of the second movement, the demi-soloist ballerinas are promenaded by their partners past a line of six corps ballerinas. The tutus are so wide that as the demisoloist passes the corps girls, the tutus of both are crushed out of shape. It's distracting and lacking in elegance. This problem recurred in numerous spots in the ballet on both nights. Did the person who designed the tutus ever see the choreography before he/she designed the costume? Apparently not.

Although the rep they brought to NY was not exactly top tier ballets (except Symphony in C), it was wonderful to see the company. Unfortunaely, their visits to NY have become much less frequent than they used to be.

I thought Carmen Suite was trash. The "choreography", if it can be called that, consists mainly of Vishneva wiggling her hips and standing in sexy poses. It looked like a strip tease act, not a ballet. Why would a virile man like Don Jose wear a hot pink shirt with red polka dots? I don't have my program, but the man who danced the bull fighter role did not have an ounce of charisma. He looked very uncomfortable executing the choreography. Bizet must be turning in his grave. The arrangement of the score butchered it. Awful in every way.

Lopatkina was a dream in the second movement of Symphony in C. She was exquisite and riveting. In fact, the entire cast was wonderful, although Somova lapsed into some of her bad old habits in the first movement with hyperextension of her leg. I thought the tutus were too wide in diameter, and I prefer the all white tutus used at NYCB.

More drama at NYC Opera

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/two-city-opera-board-members-quit/?ref=arts

It is Wakin who stated that this was a "blow", but he doesn't have a quote from anyone at City Center that agrees with his assessment.

Why would anyone from City Center give a quote to the press indicating any negative impact to City Center from the departure of a resident company? Never let them see you sweat, I believe is the expression.

Were NYCB and NYCO disloyal when they left City Center for Lincoln Center in the 1960's? Without City Center's Morton Baum, there might not be a NYCB today.

If you look on the Paul Taylor website under Schedule, it still lists City Center as the venue in which it will perform in April 2012. It's likely that there was a mutual understanding, up until yesterday, between City Center and PT that the company would be performing at City Center in 2012. PT's withdrawal at the last minute from City Center for the 2011-12 season leaves a pretty large gap for City Center to try and fill at this late date. I also thought the reference in the article to the acoustics was not credible, since PT uses recorded music.

Well, the Koch has its first new dance company as tenant, Paul Taylor. I guess there is no such thing as loyalty when it comes to business. Paul Taylor has performed at City Center for so many years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/arts/dance/paul-taylor-moves-shows-from-city-center-to-koch-theater.html?ref=arts

What a difference a ballerina makes. I'm just back from Lopatkina's Anna K. She was thrilling. She was so much more passionate than Vishneva. The chemistry between Lopatkina and her partners made this performance much more compelling than Vishneva's. Lopatkina's gorgeous lines, magnificent extensions and supple spine intensified the drama. Brava! The house was packed. I now understand why Russians regard her with such reverence.

LHH is a winner. Tereshkina was marvelous - such a fluid, elegant dancer. Shkylarov is a virtuoso. Kondaurova was lithe, sexy and winning. I don't understand why they presented Anna K. on opening night instead of LHH. The choreography of LHH is vastly superior.

I recieved an email from the Atrium (discount ticket booth for Linocln Center events) stating that tickets for tomorrow's MATINEE of Humpbacked Horse will be available for 50% off. The email also stated that discounts may not be available for all price levels.

I saw Maria Bartiromo (from CNBC) there. When I was standing in line for the restroom downstairs, I heard the house staff discussing shutting down an elevator since people were apparently trying to get into the house via the elevator, and they also dispatched someone to go to the stage door since some groupies were apparently trying to get in. Craziness!

I saw Maria B. too (in the lower level basement). My husband joked with her that we thought she was a devotee of NYCB (she's on the Board). She replied that she likes various types of ballet. I was wondering why one elevator on the right side was out of service. Now I understand what happened. Unbelievable.

Link to an article on potential possible rental options for the Koch:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/13/arts/music/city-opera-departure-leaves-vacancy-at-koch-theater.html?ref=arts

Unfortunately, she did not have much chemistry with her Vronsky,

She had no chemistry whatsoever w. Vronsky. Vishneva's scenes with the little boy had more dramatic weight than any of her scenes w. either Vronsky or her husband.