abatt

Laracey and Kretchmar were both terrific in Stravinsky Violin Concerto on Sat evening. I haven't seen this much depth in that pas in SVC since Alexandra Ansanelli did the role. Laracey and LaCour were magical together. I have not been a huge fan of Kretchmar in the past, and I feel that she is often miscast. However, this angular, spikey role in SVC fit her like a glove.

Ashley Laracey was gorgeous tonight in Scotch. The fluidity of her upper body was remarkable. She brought out small details I had not noticed before in the way she used her hands and arms. Of the three ladies who performed Scotch this season, she was my favorite. Why is she so underutilized?

Me too. The Trilogy is a masterpiece.

Agreed. After reading about her incredible performance of Scotch Symphony at the SAB workshop, I had hoped that Stafford might give her a shot at the role this season. No such luck. If Peter Martins were still in charge, I'm guessing that third cast would have been Nadon instead of Laracey.

Faux Pas is right that there is a lot of speculation and projecting regarding the Misty cancellation. However, I think that since the schedule conflict explanation defies credulity, it automatically leads to speculation.

Joseph Gordon was outstanding tonight in his debut in T&V. The killer variation did not present any problem for him. He sailed through without any difficulty. The partnering was excellent. It was thrilling. He is NYCB's MVP of the season. I can't wait to see his Oberon next week. He and Huxley are conquering the most important roles in the rep at NYCB. Unity Phelan may have had the absolute worst performance of her career tonight. The fast pace of the third movement of Tschai Suite 3 caused her to fall once and stumble at least twice. Happy to report that Roman Mejia was brilliant in his debut in that same section.

Bingo. You hit the nail on the head. Ratmansky is powerful, and he does not permit his choreography to be altered.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/arts/music/met-opera-contract-sunday.html The five week schedule begins in Spring 2021.

I think the changed schedule is for 2021.

Yes, Brandt replaced Misty in Whipped Cream last season, I believe. (I ran to the box office to buy a ticket when I saw that Brandt would appear instead of Copeland.) Yes, Paris replaced Copeland on the tour. Copeland also skipped the Kennedy Center Whipped Cream engagement. So it was pretty clear to us balletomanes that Copeland would not dance Whipped Cream at the Met this season. Nevertheless, if you look up thread, as late as May 7 McKenzie was sending out a casting press release which still listed Copeland for Whipped Cream. He was hoping to dupe as many of her fans for as long as possible before he changed the casting. I agree with everyone who has concluded that "schedule conflict" is code for Misty is not capable of dancing the role. What does it say about ABT that Paris, who I believe is the same age or older than Copeland, is able to do the work? What does it say about ABT that they pull this stunt on a regular basis? What does it say about Copeland and her management team that they go along with the sham to help ABT sell tickets?

Unfortunately, this seems to have become a regular occurrence with Misty. It's called bait and switch. She is not injured, so she should be dancing as scheduled. Her fans have every right to be angry. Yes, that's exactly what it is. A little game to sell extra tickets even though ABT knows very well that Copeland will not appear.

Mearns is doing the double header on Thursday - gyspy finale in the Brahms, then the Elegie in Tschai Suite 3.

I agree 100 percent. The Seasons is Bliss. I presume it will return in the fall season at the Koch. By the way, Tommy Forster is looking really terrific this season.

Casting for this week is updated. Maria is replaced in everything this week except Slaughter (no pointe work). I guess they are waiting to see if Maria will be able to dance Titania, because next week's casting has not yet changed.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/21/arts/dance/ratmansky-the-seasons-american-ballet-theater-review.html Here is the Times review.

Yes, Herman is one of the few men at ABT that I go out of my way to see. However, he rarely makes it through a Met Season without injury. Now he is injured before he even started his Met Season.

The Seasons was an excellent work, full of inventive, difficult choreography. I can't wait to see it again. The bad news: A sign in front of the house announced that Herman Cornejo is injured. He was replaced by Tyler Maloney in Serenade after Plato. I see he is removed from his remaining assignments this week. Stay tuned.

Siebert in his "review" makes an incorrect assumption that Mearns or whoever agrees to dance with Ramasar approves of or forgives Ramasar because she is dancing with him. The only person who was legally entitled to pass judgment was the arbitrator, and the arbitrator's decision is the law of the case. It is not up to individual dancers, Stafford or Siebert to decide whether Ramasar should be "let off the hook" because there is only one person who was judge and jury, and he has rendered his decision. Mearns and other ballerinas who dance with Ramasar are doing their jobs, and abiding by the decision of the arbitrator. Being his partner should not be equated with any implicit or tacit approval of Ramasar's conduct. Given how little space the Times gives to ballet reviews these days (two weeks of Sleeping Beauty shows, zero reviews), it is unfortunate that the paper decided to use the space allotment to pass judgment rather than to review performances. The public will vote with their dollars as to whether to accept Ramasar with open arms. However, his employer and colleagues must abide by the law.

I can make the 8 PM start time, but plan to intentionally arrive late in order miss Judah.

Mearns was indeed electrifying in both of her roles last night. She was blazing in the finale of Brahms. High jumps, very deep backbends and a complete sense of abandonment. It was thrilling. Also,. the first section of the Tsch. Suite 3, which is so romantic, was a sublime match of an artist to the material. The heightened romance of this section and her passionate execution of the choreography were perfection. Garcia's performance in the T&V finale was less sloppy than last week. I agree that Megan LeCrone was rarely in sync with the other demi soloists, and it was distracting. Also, there were coordination issues in the corps as well. Despite some flaws, this was a fantastic program. I hope Maria K. is okay. Added: I thought Bouder was miscast in the Brahms first movement.

I attended on Monday. Yes, the house was eerily empty. The dancing was superb (especially Boylston), but I feel like this is a flimsy offering for a full evening of entertainment.

Week 5 casting is up. Gordon is debuting in the lead of T&V. That should be terrific. Also, Laracey is debuting the lead in Scotch (hooray) with Veyette (ugh). NYC debuts of Laracey and Kretchmar in Stravinsky Violin Concerto too! Re the Diamonds performances, I think the two different lead couples were vastly different, but both very satisfying. Mearns has flexibility in her back and speed for the solos, whereas I felt like Maria was struggling to get through the steps of her solo sections. There was a higher level of meaning and depth in the pas between Maria and Tyler. Their maturity and long performance history together pays dividends in the pas.

Latest casting update - Mejia replaces Veyette in Western Symphony on Thursday.

I was there, but I didn't notice a wardrobe malfunction in Maria's costume in Diamonds. What was the malfunction

This is a completely accurate observation. The choreography was clearly influenced and derivative of Cunningham, but lacking in the mastery of a Cunningham work. There was also a direct quotation from Taylor's Esplanade, but again the Tanowitz usage was completely static and unmusical. I bought a ticket for next week just to see Mejia in Western. I feel like seeing him in everything is now essential viewing, and I go out of my way to see the performances in which he is appearing.