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abatt

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Posts posted by abatt

  1. Nobody is disputing that the company management should be cognizant that blackface is offensive.  But the issue here is that Copeland was insensitive  and thoughtless in identifying the photo with the 14 year old girl's  Instagram account.  With fame comes responsibility.   She knows very well that  people on social media respond to all kinds of things in extreme  and inappropriate ways. For someone who claims to be supportive of the dreams of young girls, and who herself was subjected to a media circus in her youth, the way she went about making her very valid overall point was uncaring.

  2. 11 hours ago, On Pointe said:

    ETA If you post a photo that is very offensive to a large chunk of the world's population,  you shouldn't be surprised that a lot of people don't like it. 

    I doubt a 14 year old Russian girl has a firm grasp of the history of racism in America, so it is not fair to presume that the child knew that she was posting a "very offensive" photo to a "large chunk of the world."  I know when I was 14 I was not studying the history of Russia in my classroom in NYC.

     

  3. I don't think Copeland  could have effectively made her point without using a photo of what she was referring to.  Perhaps if she could have posted the photo but not identify whose Instagram account it was taken from, that would have been the most appropriate solution.  Given that Copeland has been the victim of very negative statements on certain social media platforms, I'm surprised that she wasn't more sensitive to the fact that these were young teenage girls that would suffer the  backlash.

     

    By the way, I recall the Bolshoi bringing Corsaire to the Kennedy Center about 10 years ago.  However, I don't think they employed the use of black face during that tour. 

     

  4. 8 minutes ago, California said:

    The on-line site is working fine - mostly - it froze up for a bit, for no apparent reason, but works okay now.

    They're competing with the ABT Swan Lake and Jane Eyre. I'd like to see the Tharp piece at PNB but don't know if I could stomach the other two (Millepied and Pite).

    Jane Eyre is no competition. In fact, I'm thrilled that they chose to come when Jane Eyre will be across the plaza.  By the way, you can see only the Tharp work and Diamonds on the Thursday gala program.  That way you can avoid Millliped and Pite.

  5. I thought Ratmansky's The Seasons was the best new ballet of the year. 

    I thought Bartok Ballet by Tanowitz at NYCB was the worst of the year.

    It was a year of exciting  young dancers taking on new roles, most especially Joseph Gordon and Aran Bell.

    The single performance that lingers most in my memory is Herman Cornejo in the final act of Sleeping Beauty.  His footwork and elevation of the allegro solo was breathtaking.

    Although Paquita isn't a great ballet, it was certainly a great pleasure to see the depth of talent of the Mariinsky in Washington, DC.

    Special mention also to Kimin Kim at the YAGP gala in April.  What a spectacular dancer.

    As for theater, I thought Moulin Rouge on Broadway was a big, splashy, spectacularly fun night.  I thought the best play was Lehman Trilogy, which I saw at the Armory.  It's coming to Broadway this spring.

     

  6. I was surprised that only one of the three casts of T&V from the Fall is coming back in the Spring.  I understand that Teuscher is doing Lilac Garden on the same program, but she was so good I'm disappointed she's not reprising her role  in T&V.  I'm surprised about Lane being shut out, but not surprised that we won't see Gorak again in T&V.  He did a poor job, in my opinion.  I am thrilled that Shevchenko will debut in T&V.

  7. 1 hour ago, ABT Fan said:

    Forster has now been cast as Prince Desire opposite Hurlin for the matinee on 6/17!

    I really think this could be his year to be promoted. Debuts as Albrecht, Siegfried, Romeo AND Desire! (OMG, that's a lot in a short amount of time....)

    Lane and Brandt's Desires are still TBD.

    This is certainly Forster's big chance at a promotion, with all of these new important roles.  Fingers and toes crossed that he stays healthy and does well in all of these assignments.  The amount of new material he will be learning for the spring season seems overwhelming. 

  8. Interesting economics dynamic.  Did ticket sales fall so much that McKenzie knew he hadt to bring in the big guns like Osipova, Smirnova and Kim to boost sales?  I'm looking forward to seeing Osipova more than Hallberg, but they arrive as a package deal apparently.   Also, since every performance of SL is usually a sell out regardless of who is performing, they finally bit the bullet and added more shows to improve overall sales. 

    No Don Q or Corsaire is a surprise. 

    I'm adopting a wait and see attitude on the new Ratmansky.  Fortunately it will be reviewed out of town before it comes to NYC, so we can at least get some idea of its quality.  I hope it is not a one hour 15 minute ballet that they are stretching out to be two acts, as they have often done.

    Sad to see that Herman is no longer dancing Desire.  His performance of the difficult solo in the wedding act was impeccable, and nobody else who did the role at ABT came close to Herman's breathtaking performance.

  9. 12 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

     

     

    Edited to add: Oops, @abatt, it seems I was posting the same info about Forster just as you were. 

    Not a problem.  Good news should be repeated often!

    Calvin got two Romeos and an Albrecht!!

    Gorak got back his Romeo role for one show, and also got two Deisire performances.

    Hoven and Hammoudi got zip.

     

    added:  Shevchenko is getting one Giselle (plus a Myrta). 

  10. If you click on the names of individual dancers on the company website, you can see what roles they have scheduled for spring.

    Example, Hurlin is getting Aurora in the spring.

    Forster gets two SL!! and Albrecht and Romeo!!

    Trenary got a Juliet

    And Lane Finally gets a Juliet!

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