abatt

Kamila Valieva Banned Four Years Over 2022 Olympic Doping Case - The New York Times (nytimes.com) At last we have a result. Valieva banned for four years, retroactively. She gets to compete in the 2026 Winter Games. Since Russia is banned from intl. competition due to the war in Ukraine in any event, this seems like a slap on the wrist. Given that Valieva was only 15 when this happened, I'm a bit surprised by the imposition of this penalty on her. I wonder what the evidence was, but it seems that she must have been aware that she was taking banned substances. Otherwise they would not have imposed personal liability upon a 15 year old. No liability or ban on anyone else. Does that mean that Eteri Tuberize and her team had no knowledge or involvement?

Boldon and Mearns were mesmerizing in Barber Violin Concerto this weekend. Bolden definitely has incredible stage presences and is a wonderful partner. Not sure yet what his skills are as far as spinning and jumping. Not sure if anyone saw the NY Times article about Tiler Peck's new work. The Choreographer Wore Pointe Shoes - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Who replaced furlan

Per the lobby casting sheet veyette replaces Mejia tonight. Bummer

I hope Mejia is coming back tonight, but I don't necessarily trust the casting sheet in the lobby.

Villarini Velez replaces Mejia in polyphonia

Mejia is replaced by Taylor Stanley in times are racing tonight.

I would love to see Mejia dance HJ.

Yes, I agree that Gordon and Woodward were wonderful together in the first section of In the Night. Also agree that Erica is ageing out of the cutesy Winter section of Four Seasons.

Olivia MacKinnon was indeed very impressive last night. I agree that this was the best I have seen from her. Yes, Veyette pushed through his Fall role, but just barely. Did you notice that Veyette's head band kept sliding down his forehead and at one point was about to cover his eyes. Phelan was fine - she did the Plisetskaya kick. However, spinning is her kryptonite, and she bailed out early of the section where she has to do many spins. She filled the bit of extra time by standing and looking pretty. Watching In the Night again last night, I have to say that Tiler Peck and Bolden gave a master class on how to dance the third couple. They were great, mining every detail of the choreography with brilliance. It looked like an entirely different and more impressive ballet in their hands. They knew how to convey all of the dramatic details here. On opening night, Phelan and Veyette were a total bore in the same roles. Here's hoping that Mejia is not injured, and just needed an evening off after his blockbuster performance on Tuesday in Fall.

Mejia is replaced in fancy free tonight

It's a tough call on Fancy Free. It is definitely over programmed, but should NYCB not do it, or do it less simply because ABT also performs the ballet. The bigger problem for me is that I have not seen a cast at NYCB in recent years that measures up to what ABT did with Fancy Free - Carreno, Corella, Steifel. Oh those were the days..... The last truly remarkable cast I recall at NYCB was Woetzel, LaFosse and Gold. That was long ago.

They have not updated the Sanz casting online for this week, so I doubt they would have had time to consider what to do about Sanz's roles for week 3. I just hope he isn't injured again. Happy to see Alston Macgill listed for week 3. She had so much promise but was derailed for a long time by injury.

Yes, I missed my last express bus back to Queens. I mostly agree with the praise of last night's performance. The highlight was certainly Mejia in Four Seasons. In his turns a la seconde he jumped as he was rotating. For me that is a highlight. Woetzel used to do this. Not many people have that level of skill. Tiler Peck is still in total command as far as spinning skills and musicality, but she did not have the requisite flexibility in her back to do that Plisetskaya head kick I have seen others do in Fall. Small quibble.

Last night's program started at 7:30 and ended at 10:15. Was it really necessary to have the Levin Award presentation and a See The Dance lecture on the same night? Couldn't they have done that lecture on any other night when The Four Seasons was being performed? Clueless. There was no way I was leaving before Four Seasons because the Fall section was the highlight of the evening.

Casting for week 3 is posted on the website

Per the lobby casting sheet Sanz is replaced in all assignments this week. Corti is the Levin award winner per program. Going to be a long night. In addition to the Levin award presentation it is a see the music lecture night

Per the lobby casting sheet Sanz is replaced in all assignments this week.

Definitely. Miller is not favored under current management. Notably Peter Martins selected her for the lead in Barber Violin Concerto, which is in my opinion a good role for her. Miller is rarely selected as the lead for important Balanchine ballets, or for Robbins ballets.

This was one area where I admired what Martins did. There was more fluidity in assigning roles to promising young dancers under his tenure than under the current admin. The current leaders seem to value seniority as the guiding factor in casting to a greater extent than Martins. Would today's admin allow a teenage ballerina to debut the leads in Agon, Prodigal Son and Titania the way that Martins allowed Miriam Miller to do under his tenure? I doubt it.

Nothing against Fairchild but she has been doing this role a long time. Maybe it's time for NYCB to pass the torch to the next generation on this role.

Yes, Ballo is listed in Tiler's bio on the NYCB website.

Thanks. I could not make out who that was sitting and watching. Six performances of Ballo. We now know that Megan will be cast, and probably Tiler Peck. Hopefully Emma VE will also get a chance as third cast. However, I could also see Woodward getting a chance at this role.

Thanks for the kind words. Based on the comments above, it appears this was not a problem with the transmission, but a problem at the theater where I attended (AMC Lincoln Square multiplex).

Me too. Emma V.E. and Mejia as the leads, please. I would love to see Jewels again this summer. The SPAC engagement conflicts with ABT, but since ABT is doing R&J for the third consecutive year, I'm inclined to potentially make my first trip to SPAC. The major drawback is I don't do well in sweltering heat.