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My guess is that Murphy will participate in the 8 week season at the Met, but might not participate in touring or Nutcracker. This seems to be what many of ABT's principals do. You're right, it will leave a hole in ABT. More opportunities for the soloists, I guess.

I thought one of the recent articles regarding Steifel's new position in New Zealand said he was 37, and Murphy is 31. He certainly has had some severe injuries. Murphy has grown as an artist during the last few years. She is among the strongest technicians of the current crop of women principals too. I, too, hope that she continues her relationship with ABT.

The NY Times is reporting that Morphoses will have a different artistic director in place each season. Luca Veggetti will be Artistic Director for next season. He will produce a full-length staging of Euripides’ “Bacchae” next season. He will collaborate with composer Paolo Aralla, performance artist/playwright Luca Scarlini and flutist Erin Lesser.

The stated reason for his departure from North Carolina that he wanted to perform more now seems disingenuous.

Moving away from the bedbug topic and re-focusing this topic on David Koch and the Koch Theater,there is an interesting op-ed piece in the NY Times by Frank Rich about the Tea Party. The op ed discusses the fact that sophisticated conservatives like Carl Rove and Koch disdain the less sophisticated people (Palin, O'Donnell) who have become the public face of the Tea Party. There is a mention of David Koch and the Nutcracker as follows: "But the members wont let the hoi polloi dine with them in the clubs main dining room any more than David H. Koch, the billionaire sugar daddy of the Republican right, will invite ODonnell into his box at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center to take in The Nutcracker. The main dining room remains reserved for Kochs fellow oil barons . . .."

There is no "general opinion" on anything Part does. In fact, there was a long thread on this board a few years ago concerning divided opinions regarding her dancing. In my opinion, SL is among her strongest roles. Her specialty is adagio. She is not a technical wizard, and don't expect her to do triple spins in the Black Swan pdd. She has beautifully long limbs and can break your heart with her expressive face and eyes. I always look forward to her SL, especialy when she is given a good partner (Bolle, Gomes). (Please, don't give her Cory Stearns this year.)

I also saw the Bourne Swan Lake at City Center. (I saw it early in the run, during the first week of performances at City Center.) I had seen it 10 years ago on Broadway, when Keith Roberts performed the lead. The choreography for the male swans is unique and very interesting. However, I don't find it moving or beautiful. In fact, I feel that a lot of the "filler" choreography (that is, when the male swans are not on stage) is dull and undistinguished.

Put a ring on it, sister!

So much for spending more time performing with ABT...

Thanks California. I also notice that the Bright Stream TBA in the Osipova/Cornejo/Simkin cast will be Reyes. (I was hoping Sarah Lane might get a shot at the role. As things stand, she still has zero leading roles.) Carreno is now scheduled to perform three Don Q's over the course of a week. I have my doubts. It would have been wiser to cast him in multiple Giselles or Swan Lakes, rather than multiple DonQ's. I thought the weaknesses in his technique were very exposed in Don Q., and this was not merely due to the fact that he was dancing with Osipova - the ultimate Kitri - last season.

It was recently announced that In the Heights will close on Broadway in early January 2011. Lin Manuel is returning to the role of Usnavy for the final 2 weeks of the show.

I was at Carnegie earlier this week, and I did not experience any problem.

My history with ABT only goes back to the mid to late 1990s. Did ABT always announce lead casts months in advance, or is that a recent phenomenon? I think ABT's ability to sell subscriptiions would be severely impacted without advance notice of casting to potential subscribers. Personally, I choose my subscription series based on the casting. (I know some people are tied to a particular great seat that they don't want to give up, so they renew the same subscription every year.) I think advanced casting info is much more important to my decision making process when I'm seeing a full length ballet. Providing casting info only a week before is more acceptable to me in the context of a mixed rep program, in which many principals will perform during the course of one evening.

According to a report in the NY Times, Gillian Murphy and Ethan Stiefel will appear on the TV show Gossip Girls. They will "play guests at a fictional ballet gala attended by the show’s ruling frenemies, Blair (Leighton Meester) and Serena (Blake Lively)." The episode will be broadcast on Nov. 8. I've never seen the show, but I might tune in. (I believe the show is on Channel 11 in New York.)

The design your own subscriptions are offered much later than the regular subscriptions.

I saw this troupe when Martins invited them to perform at the State Theater, and again in Brooklyn a few years ago. I thought they were an excellent, exciting troupe and I will be attending the upcoming Avery Fisher performance. This was poorly advertised, though. I'm wondering whether they advertised primarily in media that would specifically reach a Russian audience.

The Met Opera is not renting the opera house. It is their home base. Ditto with the organizations at Avery Fisher. The facility fee is just another way of squeezing additional income out of the customer, but hiding the additional charge until the end of the purchase transaction.

The newest charge (in addition to the Handling and Processing fees discussed above) is the "facility fee". I think this started with Broadway shows, and it has now expanded to the Met Opera and Avery Fisher Hall here in New York. So far the Koch Theater does not have a facility fee, but I suspect it's only a matter of time.

You can now order your subscription on line. (If you go to ABT's website, it links you into the Met Opera website to make the purchase.) I had to laugh out loud when I read this warning on the subscription page: "If a child becomes disruptive during a performance, the Mets ushers will require the child and accompanying adult to leave the auditorium to watch the remainder of the performance in List Hall without refund of the ticket purchase." I wish they had a similar warning/threat/policy at NYCB. It's hilarious that they have to specify that both the disruptive child and the accompanying adult must leave. I guess there are some parents who are more than happy to get rid of junior for safekeeping with the usher while the parent continues to watch the rest of the ballet in peace.

Um, I guess I'm ignorant, but why is he the "Banana King"? Sounds intriguing. Regarding Sarafanov, I've only seen him a few times, when the Kirov visited New York's City Center a few years ago. He was incredible. I had hopes that ABT might invite him to be a guest, but unfortunately that has not happened. If memory serves, I believe I read that the Mikhailovsky Ballet will visit NYC in 2012.

Looks like Tywla has found another venue for her show Come Fly Away. Steve Wynn's hotel in Las Vegas will be presenting a show by Twyla called Sinatra Dance With Me. Based on what I read, it sounds like a shortened version of the show that just closed on Broadway. There is no info on who will be dancing in the show.

Jack, there is a website, bedbugregistry.com, in which people report the existence of bed bugs in various places, including hotels. You might want to check it out. Just to give you an idea of how big a problem this is, the New York legislature recently enacted a law which requires landlords of apartment buildings to reveal to prospective tenants whether a bed bug infestation occurred in apartments available for rental.

I'm praying hard that the two TBAs for DonQ are Osipova and Vasiliev. As discussed previously on this board, ABT could use an infusion of an exciting male lead virtuoso. Now that Carreno is retiring, it would be great if ABT could develop a relationship w. Ivan Vasiliev.

They have not yet announced the casting for the secondary roles in Lady of the Cams. I'm guessing she will perform in that ballet, as she did last season. I also guess she may do a Lilac Fairy. That casting has not been announced either. Also, although principals often don't perform Mercedes in Don Q, I hope she is cast in that role. She missed her Mercedes performances last year due to injury.

Kent is doing White Swan Odette; Murphy is doing Black Swan Odile. Normally the role is not split, but since it is an honor for other principals to appear w. Carreno in his final show, they are doing a split. I'm hoping for Gomes as Purple Rothbart.