abatt

I think Bouder intends to stay as looong as possible.  

I hope Mearns comes back.

Great news about the promotions.  A little surprised by KJ T.  I like him but it seems a bit too soon.   They need more tall male danseurs.

I saw the program twice.  Thursday night, where I skipped Pite's Angels Atlas.  The second time I saw the program was last night, and stayed for the entire duration.

I liked the Dawson piece.  It was repetitive, but I found it engaging in spite of the repetitiveness of the choreography.  Overall the company looked much better by Saturday night.   Concerto was very enjoyable, but Ratmansky's ballet Concerto DSCH to the same score is better.  

I didn't like Angel's Atlas.  No pointe work.  Monotonous.  Lots of fast and furious arm movements.    This confirmed that I am simply not a Pite fan. Great lighting and scenic designs.  I'm a little surprised that Wendy Whelan has not yet engaged Pite for a NYCB commission.  

On Sat evening, Mayor Adams decided to pop in and give a curtain speech about how wonderful it is that the company came to visit us here in NY.

Angel, to my knowledge, is not a choreographer.  Whereas the classics like Swan Lake are always "after Petipa", I'm not aware of a full length Carmen using the Bizet music.  Is this going to be his original creation or is there already a full evening Carmen using the Bizet music that he is going to tweak. 

2 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

Thanks! Is the Waltz Girl the one who comes in to the recap of the opening sequence late?

Yes.

So much for the Koch being the home of dance.  The only offering this Spring is Shen Yun, which has become an annual offering at the Koch.

MCB has announced next season's schedule.  They are bringing back the Ratmansky SL from  April 18-May 12.  I hope this ends up at the Koch theater in the spring of 2024, but if not I'm headed to Miami!

It certainly is admirable that older women won awards, but I still think there is serious age discrimination in Hollywood and in society in general.   Normal 60 plus people generally don't look as good as Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Yeoh.  I would bet that a lot of work and money goes into keeping them looking so good.

Terrific.  They needed a new Waltz Girl after Sterling retired.  Can't wait to see Nadon in the role.  Hopefully Serenade will be revived next season in celebration of  NYCB's 75th   anniversary. 

On 3/18/2023 at 9:36 PM, BalanchineFan said:

Mira Nadon has pictures of herself rehearsing Serenade on her IG stories. There's a clue. Not sure how long it will stay up. She's also doing something new, dancing with Emilie Gerrity.

https://www.instagram.com/stories/mira_nadon/3061552371167544425/

Megan Fairchild rehearsing Square Dance

https://www.instagram.com/stories/mfairchild17/3061431737649796140/

Could you tell whether Nadon was rehearsing Dark Angel or Waltz Girl.  

22 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

Phelan and Gerrity

Phelan and Woodward 

Nadon and .. anyone, sure LaFreniere

Woodward and Maxell

LaFreniere and Kikta (flip a coin for who dances the ppd)

Laracey and ... again, anyone ( I saw her debut with Silas Farley, lovely, but maybe this time a man who isn't a foot taller)

I'm not sure they could come up with casting that I WOULDN'T like.

They generally don't use short women for CG.  Woodward is too short for this ballet, in my opinion.

Mr. Abatt is a big sci fi fan and loved the film.  In contrast, I was bewildered for most of the movie.  It certainly had intergenerational themes regarding the relationship between the young daughter, her parents, and the elderly man who played Michelle Yeoh's father (who is 94 years old in real life).  However, I found the lack of a comprehensible narrative a problem.  It did not strike me as best picture caliber work.   But to each his own... You shouldn't have to watch something multiple times just to figure out what's going on.  

Angela Basset was robbed.

If I were voting, I would have selected All Quiet on the Western Front for best picture.

1 hour ago, California said:

I'm sorry I can't find the social media posting where I saw this -- I vaguely remember that Sarah's husband Luis Riborgado took a leave of absence to sell real estate and then returned to ABT, all while she was in the company. Can anybody confirm? More importantly, there are other companies in the west where he might have found work. He was never a high-priced principal.

Yes, both Ribagorda and Eric Tamm left to sell real estate in the NYC area.

3 hours ago, Fleurfairy said:

I agree with that the roster is mediocre. ABT was once one of the greatest companies in the world. I cannot say that it is now. Not even close. Which is embarrassing, as it calls itself "America's National Ballet Company". 

This.  Exactly.

The current roster of Teuscher, Brandt, Trenary and so forth don't hold a candle to the roster that used to be with ABT, not even close.  They are each lovely dancers, but not world class artists. 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Hurlin, but she hasn't done enough big roles yet to draw a conclusion. 

I found the pomp and circumstance surrounding Elizabeth's funeral fascinating. I'm sure the coronation will also be something special to see.  

46 minutes ago, Marta said:

Just the dearth of stellar principal males casts a mediocre aspect on ABT.  Aside from Cornejo and Simkin, maybe Camargo, most of the males are  lackluster. The loss of Ratmansky is significant.  What is ABT going to do to become more attractive?

In addition to Carmago and Cornejo, I would add Bell as someone who is a talent to watch.  Simkin is gone, so he can't be included in any list.

I have a secret hope that Bell will follow Ratmansky to NYCB, but I know that will probably not happen.  NYCB could certainly use a tall danseur like Bell.

I think the loss of Lane was a major loss to the company.  At this point in time, ABT is a company that is floundering, and it needs all of the artists it can get.   For the most part, its current roster is very mediocre.  

I was hoping for Ratmansky's Swan Lake from Miami City Ballet.  

No trip to D.C. for me next season.  At least we can be pretty confident that NYCB will present Jewels at the Koch sometime next season.

Got an email from NYCB re company updates.  In addition to Fahoury and Anderson, corps member Clara Miller has left the company.

I didn't realize the company is touring to Madrid this month, doing Serenade, Square Dance and the Times Are Racing.

No Aran Bell in any of this casting.  No Boylston. No Murphy.  

There is a rapid succession in which the same casts appear repeatedly,  Indeed, Herman is scheduled to appear multiple times over the course of a week.  I'm getting the feeling that this choreography isn't terribly taxing or difficult.  

Program change for the Spring Season

11 hours ago, vipa said:

IWhat I don't want is a constant rehashing/restatement of the events surrounding the Martins departure. I certainly think it's crazy to complain about his presence in the audience, particularly when it's his ballet.

Exactly.  If you are going to finally give a review of this company, why are you wasting precious space in the article rehashing the same information about Martins that has already been published in this paper a million times.

Here is a review of Sleeping Beauty by Gia K. in the NY Times.  

She seems to have a vendetta against Peter Martins.  She apparently doesn't think he should even be permitted to sit in the audience at the Koch.  Really?

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/arts/dance/sleeping-beauty-new-york-city-ballet.html

Apr 17 is probably also the beginning of the subscriber priority exchange/purchase period. 

I think Miller and Kikta must be disappointed.  

Roman Mejia was replaced in the Saturday Matinee.  He was replaced by Coll in the Gold role.  Anyone know why.

By the way , I saw the Sat matinee and I'm pretty sure that Coll was doing the modified version of Gold that Davide Riccardo did the other night.  I also noticed that in the final sequence of her variation in the Wedding section, our Lilac fairy Gerrity omitted the final step where she has to spin and go down to one knee.  That particular step has been a problem for a lot of the Lilacs, but she performed it well during her debut last week. Since the motif of the Lilac and the fairies going down to one knee is a motif in the ballet's choreography, I found that change a bit disappointing,   I don't know if it was planned or it was a performance error.