abatt

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.

Corella is only listed for one performance- a Coppelia w. Herrera. This is sad. No Sarah Lane in any lead parts. Simkin is getting a Don Q., but his partner is Kajiya- not exactly my favorite dancer. Stella is not getting a Giselle- something many ballettalkers have been looking forward to for years. The new Giselle in town will be Hee Seo. Simkin and Ricetto in Coppelia?? That seems like an odd couple. I can't picture Ricetto as Swanilda.

I have friends who no longer will go to the movies because of the bedbug problem. It is a very serious problem here in NYC now.

I saw it when Lin Manuel Miranda was the lead on Broadway. I didn't expect to like the show, since I do not listen to rap or hip hop. However, he was a charming, charismatic presence on stage, and I really enjoyed the show. Maybe the touring cast isn't quite strong enough to have the same impact.

I attended yesterday's matinee, the final performance of the Fall season. I thought Plainspoken was tedious. It wasn't awful, but it was not something I would seek out again either. I also think it's a shame that Somogyi, who rarely performs anymore, was wasting her time in this ballet. On a happier note, Bouder was fantastic in S&S. Tiler Peck replaced Bouder in Tarantella. She was a delight. Danny Ulbricht was on fire. Please give this guy some more roles! Krohn was marvelous as the new lead in Glass Pieces. She is looking more and more like principal material with every new role she undertakes. Craig Hall, her partner, still needs some polish in the lead role.

I like Mearns in most everything she does, but S&S is one of her less stellar roles, in my opinion. Having Bouder in S&S today would be a great way to end the season.