abatt

Is Tour De Force an Ardani Artists presentation? I think it is. I don't have too much sympathy for that organization if they lose money. They charge outrageous prices for what is often garbage (Beauty in Motion anyone?).

I'm not being presumptive. My conclusion is based on Corella's previous interviews in the press, particularly last year when his company came for a visit to City Center. Corella has stated that Kevin McKenzie does not have room for him on the schedule. Corella attributed this last season to the fact that Corella Ballet was performing in New York, and McKenzie may have felt that the audience would be maxed-out on seeing Corella. If we are to believe Corella, he has been eager to perform more at ABT, but McKenzie has not been willing to give him more performances. Granted, we have never heard from McKenzie on this issue.

Simkin is short, but they seem to use him even with taller ballerinas. I was surprised that Ricetto was scheduled to be his partner in Coppelia. I think she must be considerably taller than he is, especially on pointe.

ABT seems to put up with a lot of absences by Stiefel related to his other job, but at the same time Angel Corella has been frozen out of ABT because of his other responsibilities with his own company. The audience goes nuts when Corella performs, and he puts butts in seats at the MET. He is only scheduled for one performance. I don't understand the logic here. I have to agree with the post above that notes that management would not do anything to piss off Ethan because the company needs Gillian. I also think that Stiefel's best years, in terms of the quality of his dancing, were actually at NYCB, not at ABT. I didn't plan any of my ABT performances around Stiefel, so I don't have a strong feeling either way about his cancellation, other than that it is inconsiderate. In fact, I'm looking forward to seeing Gomes as Herrera's partner in SL and SB. The biggest disappointment is that Cory is now doing the Don Q with Murphy. I can't even imagine him in that role. He is more the princely type, and certainly not a bravura technician, in my opinion. Let's just hope neither Hallberg nor Gomes get injured. Changing topics slightly, I think its callous for ABT to schedule Stella as Myrta in the performance where Hee Seo will be dancing Giselle w. Hallberg. Of course, Stella was scheduled to do Giselle for 2 years with Hallberg, but it never happened due to Stella's injuries. From all appearances, Hee Seo seems to be prone to injuries herself. Why not give Stella the chance she has earned and let her do Giselle? If not, why rub her nose in it by casting her as Myrta in the Hee Seo Giselle?

There are TONS of changes/additions on the updated ABT online calendar. Stearns replaces Stiefel in Don Q. w. Murphy on May 21 evening Hallberg replaces Steifel in Giselle w. Cojocaru on May 28 Abrera is Myrta at the June 1 Giselle Matinee; Messmer is Myrta for the June 1 evening Giselle (replacing Abrera) Part replaces Messmer on June 2 as Myrta Simkin replaces Stiefel as Osipova's partner in Coppelia. Jared Mathews replaces Simkin in the June 18 matinee of Coppelia Gomes replaces Stiefel in Swan Lke on June 29 and in Sleeping Beauty on July 9 Matinee Hee Seo is out of Bright Stream, replaced by Isabella Boylston. Simkin will perform in four of the eight performances of Bright Stream. (He has been added to the June 10 and June 15 matinee.) Opening night program info is up. It seems like they are using Simkin a lot in principal roles. How about pairing him with Lane!

Steifel's exit leaves lots of openings on the schedule. I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of Cory.

I have to agree. Finlay has a lot of promise, but he sometimes looks a little green on stage when he is given difficult principal roles. Certainly, I hope he does an excellent job in Apollo. We'll see.

I wouldn't have predicted that Chase would have gotten this role so soon, though. He is still in the corps. Robby Fairchild, who just did Apollo in D.C., is not listed on the casting sheet for any ballet.

http://www.nycballet.com/casting/casting.html Casting is up for week one. Chase Finlay is Apollo!

I thought it was strange that they never mentioned the company that Sarah dances with (ABT of course), but they repeatedly used footage of ABT classes and rehearsals.

Ray, I thought Robbie Fairchild was scheduled to dance all of the Apollo performances in D.C. From what you said, Marcovici performed the role when you saw it. Who were the 3 Muses when Marcovici danced? Was it Hyltin, Peck and Scheller? I think Marcovici danced Apollo on the NYCB tour in Europe last year.

I thought the idea of having Odette and Odile danced by siblings is interesting. I spoke to two people from my office about the DWTS segment who have never attended the ballet. They were very impressed by the beauty and elegance of the dancers. They were also in disbelief that Carreno is in his mid forties and will be retiring in a few weeks. This segment on DWTS could certainly help foster an interest in ballet by people who have never been. By the way, which company were the corps dancers from?

Millepied's "Without" was created for performance by his pick-up group in 2008. It played at the Joyce Theater in Manhattan. Here is a link to the review of the 2008 performance: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/arts/dance/11mill.html

And that's considered a "low budget" film! I can't imagine what a "high budget" film would pay. I like Sarah Lane and think she should be receiving more opportunities at ABT. Let's hope she can channel some of this energy into convincing Kevin to give her a lead role, instead of the usual Amour, peasant pas and Bluebirds that she has been doing for years.

I recall Portman specifically stating in interviews when the movie first came out that she did not do the difficult footwork passages, and that a double did the footwork passages. Portman never mentioned Lane by name, though. I don't think Portman has ever claimed that she performed the footwork sections. I also don't think there is any dishonesty in her statements during interviews regarding the work she did to prepare for the role, such as losing weight and physical training. I don't think that anyone with any sense believes that Portman is a ballet dancer or could be one if she so desired, just as I don't believe anyone with any sense believes that Mickey Rourke, Sylvester Stallone, Mark Wahlberg or Hillary Swank are, or could be, boxers even though they have played boxers to acclaim in films and had to train physically for their roles. I think Sarah Lane is being a bit disingenuous in purporting to stand up for all ballet dancers everywhere. If she were so concerned about the image of dancers, she would not have signed on to this ludicrous film in the first place. She took the money for the film appearance and signed the contract to be credited as Portman's double. It's too late to go back now and complain about those choices.

In view of the fact that there will not be a fall season from NYCO, I hope the Koch Theater can be rented. Personally, I would much prefer to see an ABT mini fall season at the Koch than at City Center.

There is an obit of Bigelow in today's NY Times.

Apart from being inarticulate, I think Portman's response was appropriate. Why should she engage in a war of words with Sarah Lane? That would not benefit Portman in any way. If Lane wanted more accurate or extensive credit in the film, shouldn't she (or her agent) have negotiated for that in her contract when she agreed to do the film?

There are reviews posted at Danceview Times and the Washington Post, in case you're interested. By the way, Ashley Bouder states on her twitter page that she will debut in the 4Ts tonight in Choleric. The casting notice (posted on Mar 25) on the NYCB website lists Lowery for that role.

Gillian Murphy is ABT's current best T&V ballerina lead. Paloma used to do the role, and was very good. However, she hasn't done it in years.

I find that people in the higher priced seats tend to be better dressed for performances than people in the mid to lower priced seats. Interestingly, a lot of people who sit in the cheapest seats (Family Cirle at the MET) get dressed up because it is a very special event for them. Some of them rarely go to the opera house (or perhaps have never been there), and they make an effort to look good. In particular, during the ABT season I often see large groups of teenagers (mostly young ladies, but a few teenage boys too) who are very meticulously dressed in the Family Circle. My husband and I always have a laugh at the fact that the teenage girls are dressed to the hilt, and the boys tend to wear sneakers and jeans.

Based on the brief clip, the choreography of the new Millipied work looks strikingly similar to the work he recently did for NYCB called Plainspoken. How have the reviews been for Troika? Anyone out there who can give us a translation of some of the reviews?

I offered to buy a friend a single ticket to the Carreno farewell during the advance subscriber priority period. At the box office window, I was told that the best available single tix in the orchestra was Row Y against the wall. Sounds like the Carreno farewell is a virtual sellout. Also, regarding the press release, did anyone else find it curious that the release mentions that Bolle is going to be Kent's partner at her 25th anniversary performance, but the release doesn't mention that Paloma's partner is scheduled to be Angel Corella at her 20th anniversary performance. I wonder if Corella will perform. I hope so.

Regarding casting, an ad in the NY Times about 2 weeks ago indicates that Reyes' partner for SB on July 6 is Cornejo. The ABT website was not updated to reflect that info.

Hyltin as Terpsichore? hmmmm. I would love to see Fairchild as Apollo. Interesting that Garcia, who knows the role of Apollo from his days at San Fran. Ballet, is not Apollo. Also, I'm surprised that Mearns is the second violin, and not the lead, for Concerto Bar. Counting down to the May 3 start up of the New YOrk season. Can't wait.