abatt

The KC's loss of the annual Mariinsky engagement will be a real blow to its bottom line, including its ballet subscriber base.  I used to go the KC every season to see the Mariinsky.  Next year's ballet offerings just do not compel me to incur the expense or effort of making the trip to DC. 

I saw this last night.  First act was brilliant.  I particularly liked the way he staged large group dances.  Very creative.  I thought the second act was less interesting and effective.

Can anyone shed light on why Khan has  Giselle dance with the stick in her mouth in Act II.  That took me right out of the ballet and into eye rolling mode.

New YOrk City Ballet will appeal.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/08/arts/dance/amar-ramasar-city-ballet.html

Great article describing what Amar Ramasar will be doing now that he is retired.  He will be staging ballets of Robbins and Balanchine.  Good for him.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/08/arts/dance/amar-ramasar-city-ballet.html

Article/interview with Rojo and Khan on the upcoming BAM engagement of Giselle

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/arts/dance/akram-khan-tamara-rojo-giselle.html

ABT's modus operandi is that they use the team they have for casting, and hope for the best. 

Personally, I thought Wheeldon's Winter's Tale was  very engaging and interesting, so I'm looking forward to seeing this.  First I have to either read the book or at least see the film.

The award for ugliest production sets and costumes  goes to NYCB's Swan Lake.  ABT's sets and costumes are fine with me. 

Maybe they  took him out of the Don Q full length because he has 3 performances of Love and Rage the following week, so they are trying to protect him from injury.

I think ABT also used Damian Woetzel once for an emergency replacement.  I forget which ballet he did. Anyone remember?

32 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Certainly hope he is not injured. If he needs to be replaced in several ballets, Ahn is the most likely replacement as he has the least to do. With Whiteside already out, they do not have a deep bench to pull from.

 

Right, they do not have a deep bench of talent, to put it mildly.  Maybe Roman Mejia from across the plaza has some extra time on his hands.  Now that would be a Basilio I would show up to even with Seo as Kitri!

20 minutes ago, JuliaJ said:

If Bell is injured or sick, maybe they are trying to figure out who will partner Hurlin in Act I for the gala. The other tall Basilios (Stearns, Ahn) are already dancing in the other acts. 

I seriously hope Bell's absence will be very temporary -- they really need him this season! And I'm very much looking forward to seeing him. Plus, it's his first Met season as a principal so it's an exciting time. 

This is exactly what I'm concerned about.  If Bell is injured, will ABT start showing the casting changes in dribs and drabs   as they figure out who is replacing him?  If he is injured, I have a lot of exchanging to do.  (For example, there is no reason for me to see Hee Seo in Swan Lake if Aran Bell is out as her partner.)  I hope he is not injured.  Wonderful dancer.  Actually, he is the most exciting male dancer at ABT in my opinion.

If anyone sees info on Bell's social media please post.

I'm wondering why Bell was removed from Don Q on the Wednesday performance, but not from the Don Q gala performance on opening night.  Did he learn only one act of the ballet?  Or has the casting not been updated for the gala?  

Casting update from the online calendar:

For the Don Q on June 15 (evening) Ahn is now listed as Basilio instead of Bell.  Also, the Met Opera site now has the Purple Rothbart casting.

1 hour ago, Helene said:

It makes no sense to me that NYCB would have defied advice of counsel, since there were other remedies, especially since they've long not cared about what anyone thought, including major donors, including when they lost major $$$ from Anne Bass.

I think they cared a lot about their public image.  Waterbury was going to every news outlet and TV station that would listen saying that NYCB had a culture that permitted bad boy conduct that was also abusive toward women.  Firing AR and ZC sent a message to the ticket buying public and to donors that NYCB doesn't tolerate this conduct.  The terminations helped the NYCB public image.  It's no coincidence that NYCB initially merely SUSPENDED  AR and ZC for a relatively short period, but did not terminate them.  It was only after the deluge of bad press that suddenly they were fired.   Even if their attorneys told them privately that the terminations would likely be deemed wrongful in arbitration, at least NYCB could say they tried to rid the company of these bad seeds, but they were forced under the law to rehire them.  I guess this is a cynical view, but I believe that is what probably happened.  Maybe someday Whelan or Stafford will write a tell all and we can know for sure.

I think ZC would have been welcomed back to NYCB in the same way as AR if he had decided to return.  It's a shame that his career as a ballet dancer, for which he worked so hard for so many years, was essentially ended by these allegations.  Both AR and ZC were vindicated in arbitration and were dismissed from the civil lawsuit. 

Nice tribute, canbelto. 

I'm not sure exactly who in the Company determined that Ramasar should be fired (it was probably a group decision).  I suspect they may have been advised by their counsel all along that the termination of Catazaro and Ramasar would likely be reversed if it went to arbitration, but the Company went ahead and fired them in order to publicly align themselves with the "me too" movement and improve the public image of management.  

At any rate, Ramasar did not appear to hold any ill will towards Stafford or Whelan.   I guess he had to make peace with management  in order to keep working at the Company that wrongfully terminated him.  Wishing him well in the next chapter, whatever that may be.

Highlights of the Spring Season for me were Huxley and Mejia as Oberon, Mejia in Four Seasons, Mejia and Peck in Allegro Brilliante, Kikta, Nadon and LaFreniere in everything, and Phelan as Titania.  There were so many debuts it was dizzying.   NYCB remains a very exciting company with exceptional artists.  Negatives - sometimes the corps looked under-rehearsed. 

Added-  Furlan in Agon.

I thought Maxwell did better than Segin with Butterfly. Segin didn't have control when she rotated at time.  Claire Von Enck was origianlly cast as Butterfly for some shows, but she has been out for the entire run.

8 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

I went to a couple of performances of this program, which, cleverly, was NOT presented in the order seen below.  Of course they had Prodigal Son last, so by the second time I went to the theater, I timed myself and skipped everything else.  

I took my 5 y.o daughter, who has always responded very favorably to Nutcracker, Cinderella, Swan Lake and even Rubies from Jewels, and when I looked at her next to me on her seat she was hunched down...still looking, but obviously bored. So I approached her and whispered..."Do you like it..?", and she goes, looking me straight in the eye..."No..", to which I answered back..."Me neither, honey".  She seemed happy that she wasn't on the wrong.  When Prodigal Son came on, we both got up from our dozing off state.

 

 

Wow, time really goes by quickly.  Your little girl is 5 already!  Such a cutie.

Since all Russian companies are banned, it looks like we won't see each other at the Kennedy Center any time soon.  Hopefully you will make a trip to NYC for NYCB or ABT at some point.

Casting update - Tiler Peck and Tyler Angle were replaced in tonight's Act II of Midsummer, and will also be replaced tomorrow.   Replacements are Woodward-Veryette.  (Tyler Angle remains cast as Adrian's replacement with Megan tomorrow.    I was very disappointed by the replacement for Act II, so I left at intermission.  On the way out, I checked the casting board in the lobby to see the changes for tomorrow.

I think Shevchenko has received some great opportunities and that she is a favorite.  It is Trenary  that seems to have very few principal assignments. 

I think for the men, the next clear choice is Roman Mejia for promotion.  However, right now they have a lot principal men.  Roman definitely has great technique and charisma.  His partnering has improved. 

4 hours ago, nanushka said:

Yikes, and apparently on all tickets for all performances? Not good.

No it is not for all performances.  If you click on the link it shows you which performances it applies to.

12 hours ago, aurora said:

Irina Koplakova not Dvorovenko

Thanks.  I assumed Irina was a reference to Dvorovenko.

4 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

Sooooo….potential big news. Trenary has just posted clips of herself rehearsing SL with Irina on her IG. No mention of any casting dates and I see nothing on ABT’s site. Do understudies usually get 1:1 time with Irina? I’d think not as she’s stretched pretty thin. SL is a month out and there are no TBA’s. Perhaps someone is already injured and they’re getting her ready. Hmmmm….
 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd_tz6NJ1hC/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Isn't Irina an "off the books" coach not affiliated w. ABT?  Maybe Trenary is going the same route as Brandt - if I learn it independently I might get the role sometime.

22 minutes ago, California said:

According to ABT On Pointe, which just arrived in the mail, Misty Copeland and husband Olu Evans "welcomed their first child on April 2, 2022." (p. 2 - Company News)

Congrats to them.