abatt

I agree. It's absurd that they think spending time on the promenade during intermission is somehow more dangerous than being in an enclosed auditorium for the performance. If they really wanted to increase safety, they would require proof of vaccination for all audience members. This is what some Broadway shows are doing. However, that would be a disaster for their bottom line since kids under 12 are their bread and butter for Nutcracker.

So when will Abi Stafford leave?

I suspect there will be pauses of about 5 minutes between each piece. We'll see I think this will cause a lot of parading in and out of the auditorium during the performance, and problems for the ushers. People who must use the restroom are going to leave and expect to be let back into the auditorium.

FYI, the NY Philharmonic also announced that there will be no intermissions. I hope people have strong bladders. The end of the show will see unprecedented bathroom lines. I wonder if they will continue their prior policy of opening the theater an hour before curtain time at the Koch Theater. I didn't really care about the social aspect for the Philharmonic because I usually don't know anyone there except my husband. In contrast, at NYCB I usually know many people and speaking to friends at intermission is part of the joy of attending the show. I will certainly miss seeing friends at intermission on the Promenade, especially since I have not seen most of these friends since February 2020. The only plus here is that everyone will get home early, and we will not be forced to sit through any more See the Music lectures.

I think some of the vitriol directed at Osipova was based on cumulative experiences with her, and that this episode was the last straw. She has a long and extensive history of cancellations for flimsy reasons at the Mikhalovsky (spelling?) and elsewhere.

Maybe if Osipova has called him directly and offered a reasonable explanation instead of having her fiance make the call things would have gone more smoothly?

Interesting article regarding a feud between Osipova and the "Banana King" https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/18/arts/dance/natalia-osipova-mikhailovsky-feud.html

The partnership of Cornejo and Lane goes back much further than just their work at ABT. If memory serves, when Angel Corella had his own company in Spain, he hired Cornejo and Lane to dance together in Swan Lake on tour. This was when Lane was still a soloist. (I can't recall if Cornejo was still a soloist at that time.) It is sad that this happened. I'm still holding out hope that after McKenzie leaves maybe Lane can do a farewell as a guest artist on the Met stage.

The only guest host I have liked so far is Anderson Cooper. Everyone else has come across as stiff to one degree or another.

I'm struck by how many leaders of dance companies have no apparent prior management skill. I guess J. Stafford was shadowing Peter Martins for a few years before Martins left, but he seems to have had zero managerial skills before being elevated to the top position. He also is completely lacking in charisma, in my opinion. I think ABT will go with someone who has name recognition and who can bring in new audiences. That leads me to one name in particular, if she wants the job.

I would definitely support Angel Corella. He could re-hire Sarah Lane.

Any guesses as to who will be selected to lead? Ratmansky? Whiteside? Steifel? Kent? Copeland is certainly approaching retirement age, but I think she has a lot of lucrative outside projects.

Yes, I remember that too.

Part of the reason her workload was reduced in recent years was because she was also choreographing. However, I do agree that her technique was not particularly strong. I saw the first of her two Swan Lakes and that role completely exposed her technical weakness. The adagio work was pretty good for a first effort, but the technical demands of the ballroom act as Odile were clearly out of her reach.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/arts/dance/what-is-a-ballet-body.html This article in today's NY Times mentions that Lovette will retire from dancing after the fall season at NYCB to focus on choreographing.

I'm wondering whether management is continuing to draw their full salaries during this period of austerity.

I think in terms of forced retirements, the new administration is much kinder and gentler than Martins. I think there are people on the roster who would most certainly have been forced into retirement if Martins was still running the show. People have correctly complained that promotions to principal have been few and far between. However, until there are principal departures there is little possibility for upward movement of some of the soloists, in my opinion.

I completely agree. I would add Veyette to that list.

Thanks for posting. Loved watching this 1990 performance.

GOODMAN THEATRE IN COLLABORATION WITH SHOWTIME AND THE ACTORS FUND TO STREAM THE 1999 TONY AWARD®-WINNING BROADWAY PRODUCTION OF DEATH OF A SALESMAN STARRING TONY AWARD WINNER BRIAN DENNEHY AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING BEGINNING ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21 AT 8 PM ET ONLY AT PLAYBILL.COM In an unprecedented collaboration with Showtime and The Actors Fund, Goodman Theatre is proud to present the stream of the Tony Award Winning Broadway production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, starring two-time Tony Award winner Brian Dennehy and directed by Goodman Theatre Artistic Director and Tony Award winner Robert Falls. The event will be available for viewing beginning on Wednesday, October 21 at 8 pm ET through October 25 only at Playbill.com. For more information, visit actorsfund.org/DeathofaSalesman . Donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged at actorsfund.org/Salesman to support everyone in entertainment and the performing arts via The Actors Fund’s COVID-19 relief efforts. “I am thrilled to share this momentous, timely production with a new generation—and grateful for the enthusiasm of Showtime and our original Broadway producers in making it available in support of The Actors Fund at a time when, sadly, we are unable to produce on our stages,” said Robert Falls, who directed the production at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre (1998) and its Broadway transfer the following year. “The great Arthur Miller explored in his plays what it means to be an American, asking what can we expect from our country? How do we find fulfillment if we are just scraping by? Do all our daily efforts make a difference? These questions remain as relevant today as they were in 1949, when the play premiered—and in the late 1990s, when I directed it. I invite you to consider Miller’s vexing questions through the lens of America’s past, present and future.” Captured on film in 2000 for Showtime and not aired since its original release, this landmark production features the Broadway cast. The New York Times hailed Dennehy's Loman as "played with majestic, unnerving transparency" and lauded Falls's "powerhouse staging." The production was the winner of four Tony Awards in 1999, including Best Revival of a Play, Best Actor in a Play (Brian Dennehy), Best Featured Actress in a Play (Elizabeth Franz) and Best Direction of a Play (Robert Falls). I saw this production in 1999, and remember Dennehy's powerful and heartbreaking performance. This is well worth your time.

The New York Philharmonic has cancelled all performances through June 2021.

Larry Nasser was abusing women during the course of and in the scope of his employment as a doctor employed by US Gymnastics. He was the agent of that organization, and his job on behalf of US Gymnastics was to provide medical care to the women on the team. US Gymnastics gave him authority to act on its behalf, and gave him the imprimatur of authority with respect to the ladies on the team. That's why his misconduct resulted in the resignation of so many other people who were supervisors and administrators for US Gymnastics. They were negligent in giving Nasser power over team members. In contrast, when Chase Finlay goes on a date and acts like a pig, that activity is part of his private life, and it is not part of the scope and course of his employment at NYCB. He is not acting on behalf of NYCB in his personal relationships.

Just to clarify the decision, these were summary judgment motions. As explained at pp. 5-6 of the Court's decison, in that type of motion the court assumes that the allegations contained in the plaintiff's complaint are true. As stated in the opinion, "the plaintiff is accorded the benefit of every possible favorable inference, and the court determines only whether the facts as alleged fit within any cognizable legal theory.” I don't think there was much, or any, discovery, in this case. The Court did accept all of Waterbury's allegations as ttue, but even so determined that she had no cognizable legal claim against anyone other than Finlay. No sanctions or penalties were imposed against Waterbury or her counsel in this case. However, none of the parties specifically requested such relief or submitted legal arguments on this issue.

In the legal profession, when a preposterous claim is asserted, the lawyer phrase is that the claim does not pass the giggle test. In other words, sometimes a claim is so lacking in legal or logical support that it cannot seriously be asserted with a straight face. The claims asserted by Waterbury and her attorney against NYCB and SAB flunked the giggle test. They were NEVER going to succeed. Any halfway decent lawyer knew that from the outset. The claims against NYCB and SAB were asserted simply for purposes of blackmailing a deep pocketed institution.