abatt

The casting in now available on the NYCB website. Abi Stafford and Sara Mearns each debut in Stars & Stripes. Abi gets second cast of Theme & Variations. Katie Morgandebuts in Dances at Gathering (what role is she doing, girl in blue?) and Divertimento 15 (She is moving into big roles fast. Can't wait to see her!) Garcia debuting in T&V. Tess debuts in 4th variation of Brahms-Schoenberg quartet.

I noticed that next season will be "truncated". I hope that they rent the Koch theater to some major ballet company when the theater is going to be dark.

The actress in the film that plays the boy's mother in the film is Viola Davis. She is a veteran Broadway actress who I have seen a number of times. She is always very good. I'm glad that she is now being recognized in the film industry too. I haven't seen the film (waiting for DVD). The actress who played the mother on Broadway was Adrienne Lenox. I saw the play on Broadway, and she was fantastic. I know that she was nominated for the Tony award. Can't recall if she won. Cherry Jones and Bryan O'Byrne (spell?) were fantastic on Broadway. It's a shame that Hollywood hardly ever picks the actors who originated roles on Broadway when the show is turned into a movie. I guess Streep and Hoffman are more bankable stars.

Hi. There is some new casting info on the ABT website for the Spring Met season. Among the things I noticed are that Veronika is doing 2 perf. of La Sylphide (w. Cory as her partner), Hee Seo is doing Juliet w. Cory, and Xiomara and Genadi are listed as the leads for one Corsaire. Kristi Boone is doing Siren. Nina is doing Giselle w. Gomes. Irina is doing R&J w. Bolle- 2 perf. Also, Gillian and David are getting 2 perf. of R&J. I'm surprised that Sarah Lane isn't listed for any leading roles. Just one or two T&V in the beginning of the season. Vishneva's partner for R&J is Gomes. Looks like Corella is heading out of town after his Swan Lake w. Nina. His involvement w. ABT seems to diminish every year.

I also saw the Fri evening performance, but I did not stay for VW. I hope to see VW on Jan 14. I liked the performance of Maria K in Chaconne very much, but I also liked Wendy in the role earlier in the week. I didn't care for Marcovici in this ballet. I thought laCour did a good job in Phlegmatic, and he has grown in the role since I first saw him a few seasons ago. For me, the partnership of Lowery and Angle was not ideal. She is too big for him. I wonder whether Wendy will return to the Sanguinic section in future seasons. I hope so. I admired Sean Suozzi's Melancholic; he too has grown more in the role over the past few season. I didn't really care for Ellen Bar as Choleric. I agree w. NY Susan. She lacks the charisma, technique and presence to dominate the stage- something that is essential in this role. She is too demure in a role that requires someone bursting with energy. Tess owns this role. I saw all the Coppelia casts. As noted above, Fairchild and DeLuz were wonderful. I think the years that DeLuz spent performing in story ballets enables him to present characters in story ballets more easily than other men at City Ballet. Hyltin and Garcia are good technicians, but I didn't think Hyltin's acting in the role was as good as either Fairchild or Tiler Peck. Veyette was a charming Franz, and technically assured.

There is a review of the All Balanchine program (Chaconne, 4Ts, VW) on the Danceviewtimes website by Leigh Witchel. Some of his comments re VW made me literally laugh out loud. Enjoy!

Just a quick word on Wed eve performance of Coppelia. I thought it was wonderful. Fairchild was perfect for Swanilda. DeLuz did brilliant work in his jumps and spins. Tess was a vision. Anyone else go?

I thought that most of the performances were professional. The Irish dancers were fantastic. I hate "hip hop" street dancing, so I detested the guy who perfomed "popping". I also disliked the performers who were doing break dancing for the same reason. I liked the Bollywood dancers. The woman tap dancer was good, but not on the same level as someone like Savion Glover. I also liked the various ballroom/'tango performers. I hate martial arts, so I have not been too impressed with the Chinese martial arts experts. It's a mixed bag, but I'm glad this show is on the air.

I wondered if anyone on the board caught this show. I'm enjoying it very much, and I hope enough people watch so that NBC brings it back for another season. I generally hate reality shows, but this is an exception because the performers are so polished and professional. Moreover, it offers a wide range of dance styles- something for everyone.

One ballerina's maternity leave is another ballerina's potential opportunity to shine in a new role, potentially.

At ABT it is easy to avoid dancers you don't want to see because ABT primarily does full length ballets. It's difficult to avoid the dancers you don't want to see at NYCB because there are usually multiple works from the rep on each program, and a mix of principals. For example, for those in the audience who prefer not to see Darci, that would mean skipping all performances of the All Balanchine program consisting of Chaconne, the 4Ts and VW, Darci is cast every night in the same role. Same for Borree in VW- she is cast in every performance this week of that program. (Fairchild gets the role next week for the one night only show in honor of SAB.) Isn't the point of this board for people to discuss and share their thoughts and observations, even if they are sometimes negative? You also intimate that there is a medical reason for Borree's shakes. While we can sympathize with any physical difficulties and challenges that are faced by performers, that doesn't mean we can, or should, shut our eyes to the effects on the performer's abilities on stage,or pretend that there is no effect on their performances. (Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson disease, had to basically end his acting career because of the shaking caused by the disease. ) Personally, I didn't see Darci at the apex of her powers, since I started going to NYCB about 10 years ago. I'm sure lots of people will never forget how great she was, but that doesn't mean that we have to turn a blind eye to the quality of her current performances, does it?

Thanks for your thoughts. I too was surprised that Borree could muster an respectable performance in VW. I think I have come to expect a very low standard where she is concerned, so when she does an adequate job I'm impressed. As for the final section of VW, I have been going to NYCB for over 10 years, and I don't recall ever seeing anyone other than Nichols and Kistler cast in the lead. Now that Kyra is gone, I fear that this role will become the exclusive property of Kistler until she finally decides to retire. Wendy was soooo good in Chaconne I may have to make a return visit on Thurs. just to see that performance again!

Wendy Whelan was sublime in Chaconne. Durign the initial pdd w. Philip Neal, she seemed to be floating on air. I also thought Abi Stafford did a good job in the Four T's w. Jared Angle. Lots of angularity and attack. Jared, as always, was a wonderful partner. Marcovici was pretty bad, in my opinion, in Meloncholic. He has little flexibiliy in his back, and not much stretch in his upper body. He looked like he was just going through the motions. I guess I've been spoiled by seeing the same role performed by the excellent men of SFB recently, and also by the many performances I recall of Peter Boal in this same role. Tess was fantastic in the Choleric section. Albert Evans wobbled quite a bit in the section of Phlegmatic where he must balance on one foot while holding his other leg. However, the rest of his performance was very well done. Ben Millipied shot around the stage like a rocket in Voices of Spring. Borree did a respectable job, although there were some rocky moments. Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle (looking very gallant) were delightful in the Tales from the Vienna Woods section. I decided to leave after Voices of Spring due to the impending rain storm. Will catch the full Vienna Waltzes later this week.

Unless I'm mis-reading the info on the website, all you have to do to take advantage of the discount offer is pick up the phone and call CenterCharge. City Ballet's website states that you just mention the code ORCH25 to get the discounted seats. There is no need to actually go to the box office for this. Of course, if you order by phone you still have to pay the normal handling charges for phone orders. It's still a great deal even with the handling charge.

Given the large number of principal roles he has been given to date, his promotion is not surprising. Based on what I've seen, I think he has a lot of potential, but he has been thrust into too many leading roles too fast. In my opinion, he does not have the bravura technique that is required to advance into the principal level at ABT. It will be interesting to see if he can turn his performances up a few notches to reach that level.

You can also order the discounted tixs by phone, according to the NYCB website. No internet purchases, though.

I watched the Gala on PBS. I enjoyed seeing V. Malhakov again. I used to enjoy his performances with ABT.

I recently checked Diana Vishneva's website. She has listed her upcoming performances. w. ABT at the Met's Spring Season. The dates seemed to be in agreement with the info published on ABT's own calendar. The only additional info. is that Vishneva lists an appearance at the Opening Night Gala, and also on the June 1 program. Since she and Ratmansky are friendly, she will probably be in his new ballet for ABT.

The casting is up for the first week of rep at City Ballet. Go to their official website for the info. (Sorry, I don't know how to link it.) I'm disturbed that Ashley Bouder is not listed. I also noticed she was removed from various recent Nutcracker performances. I hope she's not injured. Even more disturbing, they have listed Boree for the Voices of Spring allegro section of Vienna Waltzes - all performances!

It was a busy movie weekend for me. I also saw the Reader. It raised some interesting moral questions regarding the nature of guilt and responsibility of average German citizens who were part of the Nazi war machine. I can't say too much without spoiling the plot. I will say that an inordinate amount of time is spent watching Kate Winslet shed her clothes and appear in nude love making scenes with her young co-star. For me, the much more interesting part of the movie came later in the movie, when various essential plot elements are revealed, and the moral issues are considered. Ralph Fiennes has a supporting role. Winslet, in particular, does some very good acting here. Anyone else see it?

That's right. There is very little actual dancing in the movie.

I saw this movie over the weekend. I thought it was very touching, the special effects were fantastic and the acting was excellent. There is a reference by Cate Blanchett in the film in which she refers to a ballet in which Balanchine added a dancer's fall into the choreography. She never states the name of the ballet, but she is alluding to Serenade. There is also an excerpt of the Ballet from Carousel in the movie. The movie is 2 hours, 40 min, perhaps a bit too long. However, it is well worth your time, in my opinion.

Loved your lists, Natalia. The best memories for 2008 for me were Damian Woetzel's farewell season, including an unforgettable portrayal of the Prodigal Son; Ashley Bouder and Tess Reichlin in everything; Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev in Flames of Paris (the YAGP Gala); the Tudor Celebration at ABT's City Center season; the Kirov season at City Center - most particularly Victoria Tereshkina, Big Red Kondourova, and Sarafanov; Daniil Simkin in Flames of Paris at ABT; Taras Domitro of SFB in Four Temperaments; and the annual Flamenco Gala at City Center. The prize for worst event goes to Beauty in Motion. What was Diana Vishneva thinking!! I thought it was an absolute waste of time and money. Other low points were seeing Nina Ananiashvilli in Don Q- it exposed the decline in her abilities in a very acute way. I thought that Rabbit and Rogue by Twyla Tharp was very disappointing. I detested Festa Baroca (ailey) and Oltremare (at City Ballet), both by Bigonzetti (sorry, I'm sure I screwed up the spelling) I felt sadness remembering the lovely Jennifer Alexander every time I went to ABT and saw others performing the roles she used to perform; I also frequently saw her husband around Lincoln Center using a cane. How does someone recover emotionally and physically from such an event? Does anyone know how he is? Do you think that 2009 will finally see the retirement of any NYCB principals who are performing beyond their expiration date? Do you think that the wonderful Tess Reichlin will finally get the promotion she deserves? Will the fantastic Stella finally return to the stage? STELLLAAAA, we miss you. Will Kevin McKenzie promote V. Part? Imissed Concerto DSCH, and am looking forward to seeing it in January. I'm looking forward to seeing Osipova and Bolle at ABT. I'm not sure if Bolle is the greatest technician, but he is certainly one of the best looking male dancers on the scene. Oh, I forgot. While ABT's Sleeping Beauty still has a lot of problems, thank you Kevin for making alterations, including getting rid of the purple boa and the shower curtain.

Of course 2 critics can disagree, even if they work for the same paper. It was surprising that Gia K put Somova on her list not because it is a divergent view from A. Macaulay. Rather, it was surprising because of the numerous deficiencies in Ms. Somova's technique.

My only experience w. Somova was at the City Center performances. I attended very frequently (trust me, it added up to mucho $$$$). I saw most of her performances during that engagement. I would agree w. you that there were certain things she did very well; however, certain performances were very bad, and utterly lacking in grace or refinement. As Alistair Macaulay astutely wrote in one of his reviews in the NY Times, Somova "skews her pelvis sideways to achieve high extensions, even though the angle of her tutu ... shows just how much this distorts her line." She does this repeatedly. One of the elements of beauty in ballet is line. Somova seems to be determined to turn an element of beauty into an element of ugliness- a freak show designed to show us all how flexible she is. Her habit of hyper-extending her legs is a big problem. That's why I found it surprising that a NY Times reviewer would single her out as a best of 2008.