abatt

Mearns did retire Lilac, and during the last run she did Carabosse.

Davidsbundertanze sadly has become a neglected masterpiece. NYCB hasn't done it for at least a decade.  

i also have to wonder whether they will ever  revive Bournonville Divert.

I wish they would give some other  ballets a rest.

I think everyone has noticed that new audiences do come out for certain things, like the program in the fall that featured Solange Knowles' music. But I have to wonder whether  they will return.  The same thing happened many years ago when Peter Martins used a score by Paul McCartney.  My sense is that generally these are one time excursions to the ballet.  It is not a general interest in ballet, but an interest in a specific composer.  

Perhaps the change in program for the winter season which replaced West Side Story Suite with Firebird was because Jared needed a vehicle for retirement.  

1 hour ago, nanran3 said:

I have tickets to the Jan 27th show and I was counting on seeing Sara Mearns in Walpurgisnacht. She is unexcelled in the role I think. I am sad to hear she is out for the first week of shows. She is a rare talent and I am so grateful to have seen her perform so much. But I'd hate to think that her body is starting to give out for good. That would be very sad!

Even though I no longer live in NY, I would come in for sure to see her retirement show. But hopefully that's a long way off!

Yes, Mearns is  great in this role, so it will be disappointing if she is  replaced. I'm pretty sure I saw Unity in the role, and that she was unremarkable in comparison to Mearns (and Kyra Nichols, going back in time!(.  The lead role has to be danced with abandon, which is why Mearns is so good in it.  I've never seen Phelan dance with abandon.

1 hour ago, bellawood said:

If Phelan can't do it because of Liturgy I think Kikta would be a great choice, or LaFreniere. I would guess Tess Reichlen used to dance it? I remember Lauren Lovette doing the soloist role. There are no other current principals that would seem to be ideal casting for Walphurgishnacht. 

I thought of Kikta too, but I think she might be too tall for Tyler Angle.  

7 minutes ago, bellawood said:

On Mira Nadon’s insta stories, surprise debut in aria I violin concerto — replacing Mearns — on Jan 17, 19 and 25, anyone going?

I hope Mearns is okay.  She missed the entire run of Nuts.  I will certainly check out Nadon in SVC.  Who will replace Mearns in WALPURGISNACHT BALLET?

56 minutes ago, matilda said:

It's definitely the Aurora/Desiré choreography in the Act III finale. (I don't recall Lilac Fairy in Act III at all? I could be wrong though.) She looks taller than him on pointe. 

Thanks.  So it's likely that our Auroras will be Peck, Fairchild, Woodward, Phelan (based on rehearsal reports) and LaFreniere (based on rehearsal reports).  Did I leave out anyone?  Have not heard anything about Emma V.E.   She would have seemed a natural as Aurora. 

1 hour ago, cobweb said:

Kind of off topic, but I see that Sapphire Indian restaurant has permanently closed. It was mentioned on this board occasionally as a place for pre-performance dinner. I only went there once, but I absolutely loved the food and congenial atmosphere. I happened to check the website because I was planning to go again soon. Sorry to see them closed!!

Oh no.  Sorry this placed closed up.  Mr. Abatt and I were fans of this restaurant.

1 hour ago, matilda said:

Jovani Furlan posted an Instagram story of himself and Isabella LaFreniere rehearsing Sleeping Beauty Act III

Thanks for the head up. Just curious.  Was LaFreniere rehearsing Lilac or Aurora.  She seems way too tall for Aurora.

Rodeo was one of Peck's best works.  It's not common for a choreographer to revisit the same music with different choreography.  I assume he will not repeat his choreography from Rodeo, since that was a stand-alone work.

36 minutes ago, Olga said:

I guess Peck’d taking that BS about him being Robbins successor seriously 😂😱 (Goldberg)

36 minutes ago, Olga said:

I guess Peck’d taking that BS about him being Robbins successor seriously 😂😱 (Goldberg)

Laughing out loud.  Thanks. 

I attended an All Peck program at NYCB a few years ago because a friend wanted to see it.  It was way too much Peck for me, and that program had the standard two intermissions. 

Goldberg Variations is considered a masterpiece, but even that ballet fails to attract an audience.  This is a big risk considering the number of times NYCB has programmed the new Peck work for Winter and Spring .

There are very few choreographers who could sustain interest continuously for 80 minutes.  This should be interesting. 

I think he may be more convincing in modern works like Tharp, and less so in the classical prince roles. 

23 minutes ago, cobweb said:

 So dull I could barely watch the minute of it! Hopefully, presumably, there's more to it than all this posing. 

Exactly.  A teaser should show you the most thrilling one minute of the new work.  Did they go out of their way to show the dullest one minute, or is the entire ballet like this? 

I just received an email from NYCB with a trailer for the new Peck work.  Copland Dance Episodes | New York City Ballet (nycballet.com)

It didn't make me want to see the work at all.  There was a lot of emoting and crouching and hand holding.  How about a clip with actual dancing? Who are the two dancers featured in this clip.

It appears to me that NYCB is trying to purge as much Martins work as possible.  I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually pick up Ratmansky's SL.

When Stafford took over he indicated an intention to keep certain Martins works, like Fearful Symmetries and Barber Violin Concerto.  These works are superior to a lot of the new works which have been  commissioned, in my opinion. However, I doubt NYCB will dance those works again.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/06/arts/dance/alexei-ratmansky-city-ballet.html

Terrific article about Ratmansky and NyCB.

9 minutes ago, Helene said:

Did ABT do their own production of The Golden Cockerel?  I saw it in Copenhage, as it was made for Royal Danish Ballet and featured Thomas Lund, just before her retired.

No.  ABT shared the production with Royal Danish.

I was referencing Bouder, who has publicly complained that Ratmansky "body shamed" her.

NYCB has been hiring a lot of modern dance choreographers who have limited knowledge and understanding of ballet.   In my opinion many of those works have been unsuccessful and not worth NYCB's expenditure of resources.  Even if you don't care for some of Ratmansky's works, at least they will utilize the ballet idiom in a sophisticated manner.   

I think Ratmansky was being rather diplomatic in explaining his departure from ABT.  As an example, when ABT presented a second cast of his The Seasons in the Fall at the Koch, there was one ballerina who had a difficult role and was obviously out of her depth in performing the very difficult choreography.  Ratmansky will not encounter such issues at NYCB ,where the depth of talent at every level is astonishing.  The company has a seemingly endless pipeline of remarkable talent right now.

It makes complete sense that he would sign on with NYCB.  

I can think of at least one NYCB dancer who is not celebrating the hiring of Ratmansky for the next 5 years.

thanks!

I think working with Ratmansky on Giselle will greatly improve Shevchenko's understanding and performance of the role.  Looking forward to seeing her performance in Washington.

Is Justin Peck also an Artist in Residence?  

added- I just found a recent playbill and Peck is listed as "Resident Choreographer and Artistic Advisor"

So do Peck and Ratmansky have equal status as resident choreographers?

9 minutes ago, matilda said:

Maybe this means NYCB can replace the Martins Swan Lake with Ratmansky's. 

Yes, that is what I was thinking too.

I had not focused on this before, but I guess NYCB's 75th Anniversary is coming up.  I hope they have lots of Balanchine and Robbins planned.

2 minutes ago, AB'sMom said:

Didn’t he flirt with NYCB before signing a contract with ABT? If I remember correctly he went with ABT because they wouldn’t require him to choreograph exclusively for them. It sounds like this contract with NYCB is the same. It says one new work a year for them, but nothing about exclusivity.

Yes, he did.  Peter Marins offered him the position before ABT, but as I recall he did not want to commit the amount of time that Martins was requiring.