abatt

Maccauley's article echoed many posts on this board, as well as his own previous articles in the Times. He has written on numerous occasions about his disdain for Kistler, Borree and Nilas Martins. The only point I disagreed with him on was Wendy Whelan. I enjoy watching her in most ballets. She is not as well suited to certain ballets (like Swan Lake), but for the most part she is an exceptional dancer. I agree w. Maccauley that Reichlin was underutilized this season in major roles, and that this was the breakout season for Tiler Peck. I also thought that this was a very good season for Ana Sophia Scheller (she is not mentioned in the article), Robert Fairchild, Tyler Angle and Andrew Veyette. I also thought Maccauley was a bit too harsh on Abi Stafford. Did anyone see Reichlin in S&S today?

Do you think being extremely thin is a particular problem at NYCB, as compared to other companies? With one exception, the ballerinas at ABT do not seem to be excessively thin.

Philip Seymour Hoffman isn't exactly known for his good looks or fashion sense. The hat was a particularly silly touch. I loved Penelope Cruz's dress. It was an exquisite work of art. I also thought Ann Hathaway's dress was gorgeous, and she looked terrific. I The lady can definitely sing! Shirley MacLain looks like she has had one too many face lifts. Goldie Hawn looks terrific. I saw her up close at the theater in October (at "All My Sons") and she looks much younger than her age and is very petite and thin. Worst dressed, in my opinion, was Beyonce and Tilda Swinton (what else is new!). The tackiest aspect of the show was when Jennifer Aniston was on stage, and the camera turned to Brad Pitt to show his expression. The Baz Luhrmann number looked pretty bad, and he looked very unhappy. I haven't seen either Milk or the Wrestler, but I'm glad that we didn't have to listen to Mickey Rourke's expletive filled nonsense again. Sean Penn at least has something substantive to say.

I have the opposite reaction. The costume in Swan Lake, in my opinion, is not as revealing as the body suit in After the Rain. Therefore, the weight (or lack thereof) of the dancer doesn't have as great an impact in Swan Lake.

I wish that Tina Fey would host.

I didn't notice that Megan Johnson looked too thin. In my opinion, Wendy Whelan is much too thin. It is actually unpleasant to focus on her torso in roles where she wears a body suit. On the other side of the spectrum, some of the men have looked heavy (Nilas Martins, Albert Evans- although he looks like he lost some weight this season).

I really enjoyed this documentary. It was fascinating, and the footage of former dancers was wonderful. One interesting point that never occurred to me before related to the Dance at the Gym in WSS. The version that Robbins himself staged for NYCB clearly demonstrates that the dancers from the Shark group and the Jets group are competing for stage space, and are taking the stage away from one another during the scene. This point doesn't come through in the film. Now I understand why.

If Darci had agreed to leave at the end of the Spring 09 season, perhaps that would have saved the jobs of one or two (or more) corps members. She must be among the highest paid company members. (Maybe all the corps members' jobs could have been saved if all of the "dead wood" principals retired.) I presume Darci is also being paid an additional salary for her work as a teacher at SAB, so her principal contract is apparently not her sole source of income. I guess that the other side of the argument is that nobody should have to be a martyr in order to save someone else's job, and the company is merely showing loyalty to those who have long relationships with the company. It's an interesting moral question, though, I think.

Wow. Is that so? I'm surprised. I thought principals at City Ballet earned an annual salary that was established by contract. The per performance approach makes sense for guest artists (for example, ABT's guest artist Osipova), but not for someone who is under contract as a principal dancer for a negotiated term of a year or more.

[ Regarding the "additional material" for thsi telecast. For NYCB's Swan Lake, there was a pointless pre-performance panel discussion involving Darci Kistler, who said very little and then didn't even dance the performance -- Darci was scheduled to dance in the performance of Swan Lake that was to air on PBS. However, at the last minute Martins pulled her out and replaced her with Weese who, at the time, was in top form.

If anyone attends tonight's performance, please give us a report on the return of Bouder and the new lead in Concerto B.. I will be attending the matinee tomorrow.

I wouldn't hold my breath on McKenzie promoting her. He has been using her in principal roles for years, but he refuses to reward her with a principal's contract she deserves. It seems he only promotes people who can perform quadruple turns.

The close proximity of Darci's announcement over a year in advance of her retirement (an absurdly long advance notice) and the timing of these cuts is very curious.

I certainly agree w. you about the dead wood principals. I wonder if the corp members who were not renewed are the young ones, or the older corps members (or some mixture thereof). A lot of the new works they commission and present every season seem to be a waste of money. Personally, I would feel no sense of loss if the number of new ballets each season was reduced to 1 in order to save $$.

Not if you have HD TV. Then the scenery and awful costumes will be upfront and personal. I think the costumes and scenery will look even more hideous on TV than in person. For the sake of J. DeLuz, I hope the poor guy doesn't get stuck wearing that ghastly canary yellow costume on national television.

Oh yes it can! I've seen both Martins' R&J and Othello. IN my opinion, Othello was more interesting than the NYCB version of R&J. Of course, that's not saying much. Neither is very good. I had the good fortune of seeing Othello w. Alessandra Ferri and Marcelo Gomes in the lead roles, and I'm sure they made the material look much better than it actually is because of their artistry. In lesser hands, Othello could have been a disaster.

When ABT performed Brief Fling at City Center in NYC a few months ago, I saw both lead casts (Gomes/Herrera and Cornejo/Reyes). I agree with you that Gomes and Herrera were better interpreters of the Tharp style. Based on everyone's review, I'm looking forward to seeing Murphy in Allegro Brilliante this Spring.

In reviewing the info in greater detail, I also noticed another point of interest for ballet talkers. Ratmansky is re- choreographing Aida. The production is the same old (but terrific) one. I don't recall any dance sequences from the old version, but it has been a few years since I've seen it.

You shouldn't feel like you have to apologize for enjoying a ballet that someone else disliked. It's just a matter of personal taste.

The Met released info today regarding the 2009-2010 season. Of particular interest to Ballet Talk is the fact that Christopher Wheeldon will choreograph the Met's new production of Carmen. The old production was choreographed by a flamenco dancer. I wonder what Wheeldon will come up with.

Selya is listed as a member of the "ensemble". I'm seeing the show in April.

Awards season marched on last night with the BAFTA's, Britain's version of the Oscars. Slumdog did great, winning the best picture award, best adapted screenplay, and several other non-acting awards. Kate Winselt won for the reader. Mickey Rourke won best actor. His speech was very funny, and loaded with curse words that were bleeped out. Penelope Cruz won supporting actress for Vicky Christina Barcelona. She seemed truly surprised. Heath Ledger won supporting actor.

On Thurs. I attended to see Divert. 15 only, and left after it was over. Stabat Mater and Brahms Handel are pretty unappealing, in my opinion. The cast was of Divert. 15 very good, with one exception (Rachel Rutherford). All the men (Ramasar, Neal Adrian D-W) were in wonderful form. Congrats to Adrain D-W on the promotion. It is well deserved. I think the conductor was trying to kill Megan Fairchild with the brisk tempo, but she was more than up to the challenge. The other ladies (Scheller, Hyltin, and especially Peck) delivered excellent performances. Rutherford was off her game in her solos. She looked very stiff, although she did better in the partnered portion. I attended the matinee on Saturday. In Stravinsky Violin Con., I recall only Nilas Martins dancing in the second aria. What a pleasure to see R. Fairchild in this role. He did a wonderful job. Wendy and Albert were exciting in the first aria. Y. Boree was only adequate at best in her solos. She danced very small. She did better in the pdd w. R. Fairchild. Janie Taylor was thrilling in La Valse. It was absolute perfection. Also captivating was S. Mearns on Sun. afternoon in the first section (Elegie) of Ts. Suite No. 3. She had incredible flexibility in her back and amazingly stretched lines. Gorgeous. Sterling Hyltin and Ben Millipied did the fourth variation (T&V). Ben tossed off his jumps with ease. His partnering was also very well done and exciting. Hyltin needs a little time to polish her performance in this, but overall she did pretty well. The other sections of Ts. Suite 3 were performed well. I made the mistake of staying for Oltremare. It looks more under-whelming with each viewing, in my opinion. Rachel Rutherford had an unfortunate fall in the last section of Concerto B. She got up and finished the performance, so I don't think she injured herself in the fall. Wendy and Albert were quite wonderful in the pdd. The orchestra played the initial section at a snails pace, making the entire opening section seem sluggish.

Former ABT dancer and star of Tharp's Movin Out is now appearing in Guys and Dolls on Broadway. I haven't seen it yet.

Indeed! When I saw your comment, I did not expect to see the name of such a young dancer! I remember that Megan Johnson received a glowing mention in a June 08 review in the NY Times of the workshop performance at SAB of Concerto Barocco. I'm looking forward to it. It's too bad that Maria K. is not doing Concerto B. this season She is performing in Oltremare on the same program.