abatt

LaFreniere is getting important debuts.  She seems to be among the top of the list for promotion if she does well and stays healthy.

Just came across the article in the NY Times.  City Ballet dancers are getting raises.  Raises and Safety Protections in City Ballet Dancers’ New Contract - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

2 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

I will pass on Program 2 which has the new piece for Toogood and Cornejo, that premiered at Vail and was on their live stream. I didn't care for it at all, and in fact I skipped over the last 1/3 of it or so. (I positively hated the costumes which I thought resembled those of The Boy in Whipped Cream, and I thought the choreography was boring.)

If I see anything, it would probably be 3 (a Jamar Roberts piece and Robbins In the Night) or 5 (with the Graham co, whom I rarely get to see).

i also thought the Toogood/Cornejo choreography was awful.

18 minutes ago, California said:

I'm surprised to see that Aran Bell doesn't seem to be listed in any of the casting, including Seasons, a role he has done before. Sinfonietta doesn't list casting, so he might be doing that.

 

Yes, this is concerning and disappointing. 

The company is getting a lot of publicity because of Solange Knowles.  This week I've seen  brief TV segments on two local NY news programs mentioning the Fashion Gala and the involvement of Solange.  

Solange Enters New Territory: Ballet Composer - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Solange Knowles will compose the music for Reisin's new ballet.

She never really found her niche at the Company, for whatever reasons.   

There are many dancers  in the Company who I believe should retire already, most notably Jared Angle .  This announcement came as a surprise.  

https://pagesix.com/2022/08/09/designer-zac-posen-engaged-to-ballet-dancer-harrison-ball/

NY City Ballet's Harrison Ball is engaged to fashion designer Zac Posen.  

I though Damian Woetzel was a great Prodigal Son.  He brought intelligence to the role, and resisted any urge  of overacting.   

Alexopolous was an excellent Siren.  More recently I would also commend Korowski  and Mearns.   

I have not liked  any of the interpreters in recent years, such as DeLuz or Ulbricht.   I'm thinking that they may give Mejia a try at this role next time it is revived.

1 hour ago, DPell said:

I was thinking we’d get a PP debut from Misseldine. I’ll have to double check the dancer’s pages on the ABT website, but I think Brandt, Paris, and Trenary are the only dancers in the company at the moment that have danced the role. 

Trenary is not available.  She is dancing with Twyla Tharp's company at City Center during the run of Whipped Cream.

https://www.playbill.com/article/dancer-and-choreographer-darius-barnes-dead-at-34

Not sure how many people remember Darius Barnes, who was in the corps at NYCB for a few years.  He has passed away.

20 minutes ago, Josette said:

 Abatt, you are recommending Farruquito?  

 

Yes, he is one of the greatest flamenco dancers of his generation.  You can find many reviews of his performances online.  I first saw him in 2003 or 2004 in New York and thought he was incredible.  Age has diminished his abilities  to an extent.  I think I last saw him in 2019.  If you enjoy flamenco, I would say he is worth seeing.

Thanks for posting this info.  The thing that caught my attention immediately was the appearance of flamenco dancer Farruquito.  I've seen him three times in the past and I immediately started to look for any potential appearances in my area.  I have not found any information on a visit to New York or New Jersey, unfortunately.

Misty Copeland Welcomes First Baby, Hopes to Return to Ballet in 2023 | PEOPLE.com

According to an article in People magazine, Misty intends to return to ABT in the Fall of 2023.  Meanwhile she is starting an athletic clothing line called Greatness Wins.

I saw Misty walking around Lincoln Center plaza with a film crew a few weeks ago.

1 hour ago, Roberta said:

True...but who needs a Tudor when one can be LIFTED! 😇 And I wouldn't be surprised if Misty makes a cameo appearance in Lifted - at least at the Gala premiere -  given that it promises to be an all-Black production...even a conductor of color! 

 

 

 

I was a little surprised by that line in the press release.  Go ahead and pick all black dancers if that's what the choreographer wants.  But what happens if there is an injury or illness and the only available company dancer is Caucasian.  Is the production cancelled?  Even Ailey, which is predominantly a company of black performers, doesn't exclude white or Asian people from dancing in signature ballets about the black experience, like Revelations.  It just seems like the press release could have been worded in a more diplomatic way.

It's already all  laid out on the ABT Master calendar for October.

My dream Dream cast - Bell as Oberon, Cornejo as Puck, and Murphy as Titania.

No, Misty is still with the company.  She rarely participates in the fall season.

Misty isn't listed for the fall season, Kevin's final hurrah.

Very happy about the Dream, Sinfonietta and The Seasons. 

Not so excited about Whiped Cream, but I might go once.

Since McKenzie brought Twyla in for many collaborations during his tenure, I'm a bit surprised that they are not doing any Twyla ballets in the fall.

Chloe made a strong impression in of Love and Rage.  Ratmansky only uses people he feels are strong dancers. I generally don't  feel that he is influenced by public opinion or nepotism when choosing a cast for his ballets. For me that role was a test.  She also did well in Single Eye.

13 hours ago, FPF said:

I

 

Anyway, I really enjoyed this performance--to my mind, it was the highlight of the all-to-short season. There was yet another casting substitution, with Isabella LaFreniere as Hippolyta. I haven't had the opportunity to see much of her before, but she really impressed in this role. The program showed that the originally cast Titania and Oberon were Miriam Miller and Daniel Ulbricht. While I would have loved to see Miller in that role after she made a great impression on me last summer in Diamonds excerpts, it's hard to be disappointed when you get to see Anthony Huxley with Unity Phelan. Both were wonderful. Huxley is one of my favorites, and while he has been outstanding technically, I felt that he is becoming more comfortable with expression emotions and character through his dancing.

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Miller was just announced on Thursday or Friday of this week to appear at the Fire Island Dance Festival (July 15-17).

I also found the promotion of Park surprising.  Look on her bio.  She's been at ABT for about 6 months.  Her roles as demi soloist were flower girl and peasant pas. She was never an apprentice at ABT.  We will never know what happens behind the scenes.  Maybe McKenzie  knows from seeing company class or rehearsals that Park will be successful and deserves more. I'm not saying she isn't talented, but the promotion at this juncture raises questions.

I was sorry to have missed Hee Seo this year, but having seen her in R&J before, I would agree that R&J is her best full length. (I would also add Eugene Onegin and A Month in the Country to that list, assuming those ever return to ABT.)

I too was surprised at how much detail was in Trenary's performance.  I think she may have observed some Ferri details, or else maybe  dancing with Herman enabled her to pick up some details. (Herman danced this with Ferri, and I think that experience elevated his understanding and performance of certain details. It is possible that he imparted some of this to Trenary during their rehearsals.)  The example of using her hand to unequivocally stretch her hand to the window  (mentioned above) was one such detail that Ferri used to use.  Trenary's debut was very good.

I was less impressed with Royal for some of the reasons discussed above.  His line is frequently not impressive.  In the big solos in Act II he needed to dance big.  He danced small. (When Aran Bell danced it earlier in the week, he danced with precision, height and speed.) Also, Royal's solos were sometimes choppy.  Spin. Stop.  Preparation for next spin.  This phrasing destroys the momentum.  

I did not like Trenary's decision to die on her side.  I think it is more impactful to die on your back.  By curling up into a fetal position it looked  like she was taking a nap.

I find Friar Lawrence is now unwatchable after seeing Franklin for so many years.

Every partnership this season was, I believe, a new partnership in this ballet, except for Devon and Bell, who danced this together once in 2019 or 2018.  I'm not sure we are going to see another Ferri - Bocca or Vishneva - Gomes level performance against at ABT, but we can hope...

In the past I've been lukewarm on Boylston in dramatic roles.  I've also avoided her Juliet because she is frequently paired with Whiteside, who is not one of my favorites.Last night was my first viewing of Boylston's Juliet.  I was very impressed.   I liked her youthful energy as Juliet.  HUGE jumps, fast spins.  It all played perfectly into building the character.  She  frequently danced with abandon.  Very convincing.  And Camargo was excellent.  His acting was terrific.  Also, his technique and partnering were very strong.  Definitely a winning cast that I hope to see together again in the future. Those pesky swords unfortunately created moments of unexpected comedy, but that's show biz.

It appears that ABT is no longer hiring graduates from SAB, since ABT now has its own school.  That's too bad.