abatt

21 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

I feel exactly the same way -- it really would have been nice for them to give her a starrier role (and the challenge of taking on a new ballet). With regard to Manon, I think Abrera would be a much better fit for the role than Murphy, who already has plenty of other major roles this season.

 

I completely agree.  Although I will probably go see Murphy in Manon out of curiosity, she is not a good fit for the role and she has plenty of other lead role assignments.  

Surprised that Ferri is not cast in Manon. Is the Ferri comeback tour coming to an end?

11 hours ago, vipa said:

Casting is a difficult thing and a zero sum game. Does the AD give Abrera opportunities because she doesn't have many years left? Or does he give younger dancers opportunities, so they develop and get chances to do roles before they hit their mid to late 30's. Personally I believe management let Julie Kent go on for too long. It's not an easy thing. When I look at casting, who should lose an Aurora so Abrera gets one? I'm sure we all have opinions, but it is a zero sum game.

I think they should have given Stella either the lead in Manon or the lead in Jane Eyre.  They will probably only do Jane Eyre this coming season and the following season and then put it to rest, so there was no reason to contemplate long term future casting with respect to that ballet.

I didn't get to the attachment fast enough.  It's now gone.

Well,they are apparently not giving Stella the role of Manon. She is getting the secondary role of Lescaut's mistress. 

On the plus side, we will at least get Brandt returning as Medora in Corsaire.

I guess I will be seeing Seo as Manon, because she is partnered by Bolle in his farewell ballet with the company.

6 minutes ago, mille-feuille said:

I will add to the general consensus that Songs of Bukovina is competent but not terribly impactful. It was nice to see Calvin Royal looking so great, and kudos to Shevchenko for looking wonderful in two ballets in a row! It was also striking how good the corps dancers looked in Songs compared to the Balanchine. Ratmansky really knows how to bring out the best in his dancers. Now if only he could make works for ABT that are as wonderful as his best for City Ballet, like Russian Seasons and Concerto DSCH.

 

I thought Songs was much more than just competent.  Although it's not as good as some of his other works, I thought the choreography was engaging and musical.  It showed a much higher level of craft, polish and choreographic skill than than the new Jessica Lang or Dorrance works.

38 minutes ago, Fleurfairy said:

Sarah Lane just posted Instagram stories of her rehearsing Nutcracker Pas de Deux with Aran Bell. I wonder if she's replacing Misty on Saturday.

I think there will be many, many disappointed Misty fans if she is replaced.

Murphy and Abrera gave a stunning performance of Symphonie Concertante this afternoon.  Hammoudi did well in the partnering, but his solo work was not impressive.   Abrera was supposed to dance in the final ballet today as well, Fancy Free, as the woman with the red purse. After a ridiculously long intermission preceding Fancy Free, it was announced that Abrera is injured. Luciana Paris danced in her place.  I hope this is not a serious injury.  

22 hours ago, yukionna4869 said:

fabulous news. glad to see her back.

I hope Kikta and LaFreniere can return soon, as well.

In LaFreniere's pubic instagram account, she posted “Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in your mind.”   In the comment section, someone posted "Merde! I heard the exciting news! I am so pumped for you!".

Seems like she is not out due to injury or illness.

11 minutes ago, mille-feuille said:

Any word on whether Shevchenko will also replace Seo on Wednesday? The only other thing I care to see ABT dance is Symphonie Concertante and I can only make the 24th, but ABT's Balanchine track record has not been good (e.g., Boylston in Tschai Pas a few seasons ago ☠️, Mozartiana...). If I see Balanchine danced badly I'll just be crabby after the performance.

I don't know whether Seo will be replaced next week. However, I can tell you that when the cast change was announced last night before the performance, a few people actually applauded.  I did a silent fist pump at my seat.

I'm happy about the cast change for tonight's Upper Room and looking forward to it.  To each his own.

Yes, tap and flamenco are both based on percussive footwork.  But the mastery is in fast, complex footwork.  What most of the ABT dancers were doing looked like a beginner level  tap class.

44 minutes ago, BLalo said:

I have to disagree with abatt’s assessment of the Dorrance. The “ballet dancers clomping around the stage” was only the last few minutes of the piece. The rest of the piece has elements of ballroom, jazz, Lindy-hop, swing dance and ballet. Also, as I mentioned the Whiteside/Lyle part has a tap solo with tap shoes which most definitely WAS tap. 

The audience loved it and continued to applaud long after the curtain came down. 

The portions where the ballet corps was banging the stage with poles and stomping their feet was interminable.  Also, the section where three ballerinas ran together to various tap dance floor boards placed on the stage and banged their point shoes in unison was just boring.  In fairness, some of the ballroom dancing was moderately enjoyable.

Here are some photos from the gala.  I'm loving the first photo of Stella and Sascha. 

https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2018/10/19/style/katie-holmes-ansel-elgort-marc-jacobs-charity-fundraisers.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=sectionfront

I attended last night's performance.  Hee Seo was replaced in Symphonie Concertante "due to injury".  Shevchenko was the replacement; the other leads were Boylston and Hoven.  I can't even imagine Hee keeping up with the fast footwork of this ballet.  Shevchenko was gorgeous, and Hoven looked wonderful too.  In fact the entire cast was excellent.  I could watch this beautiful ballet every week.  I have no idea why NYCB doesn't perform it.

I enjoyed the live jazz music of the Dorrance work.  However, I thought it was mostly an embarrassment for the dancers.  I'm a fan of tap, but this was mostly ballet dancers clomping around the stage, sometimes in unison.  That's not tap dancing.  A waste of talent and time.

Fancy Free was a fabulous way to end the evening.  Not quite the dream team of the old days (Corella, Carreno and Steifel!!), but certainly excellent performances from all.

On 8/30/2018 at 1:58 PM, Dale said:

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S 2018 FALL SEASON AT DAVID H. KOCH THEATER

ALESSANDRA FERRI TO APPEAR AS GUEST ARTIST

Casting for American Ballet Theatre’s 2018 Fall Season at the David H. Koch Theater was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Principal Dancers for the 2018 Fall season include Stella Abrera, Isabella Boylston, Misty Copeland, Herman Cornejo, Sarah Lane, Gillian Murphy, Hee Seo, Christine Shevchenko, Cory Stearns, Devon Teuscher and James Whiteside. Alessandra Ferri returns to ABT for the Fall season as a Guest Artist.

American Ballet Theatre’s Fall season will open with a Gala performance on Wednesday, October 17 at 6:30pm. As part of the ABT Women’s Movement initiative, the Fall Gala performance will be devoted to works by female choreographers. The evening will feature Le Jeune, choreographed by Lauren Lovette and performed by the ABT Studio Company, and a World Premiere by tap dancer and choreographer Michelle Dorrance, co-commissioned with the Vail Dance Festival. Rounding out the Gala performance will be Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, led by Cassandra Trenary, Devon Teuscher, Gillian Murphy, Herman Cornejo, Roman Zhurbin, Blaine Hoven, Isabella Boylston and Joseph Gorak. Skylar Brandt, Alexandra Basmagy, Catherine Hurlin, Cory Stearns, Calvin Royal III, Duncan Lyle, Misty Copeland and Thomas Forster will dance these roles on Friday, October 19.

Last performed by American Ballet Theatre in 2012, In the Upper Room is set to music by Philip Glass with costumes by Norma Kamali and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. A ballet in nine parts, In the Upper Room was given its World Premiere by Twyla Tharp Dance on August 28, 1986. In the Upper Room received its ABT Company Premiere on December 10, 1988 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California. The ballet will be staged for ABT by Shelley Washington and Richard Colton.

American Ballet Theatre will give the season’s first performance of George Balanchine’sSymphonie Concertante on Thursday evening, October 18 with Hee Seo, Isabella Boylston and Blaine Hoven debuting in the leading roles. Stella Abrera, Gillian Murphy and Alexandre Hammoudi will lead the cast at the matinee on Saturday, October 20, with Hammoudi making his debut in the ballet. Christine Shevchenko, Devon Teuscher and Thomas Forster will dance these roles for the first time at the matinee on Sunday, October 21. Last performed by ABT in 2007, Symphonie Concertante is set to music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Sinfonia Concertante in E flat Major for Violin and Viola K. 364) with costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting by David K. H. Elliott. Symphonie Concertante received its World Premiere by Ballet Society at the City Center Theater in New York on November 12, 1947, with Maria Tallchief, Tanaquil LeClerq and Todd Bolender. The ballet received its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on January 19, 1983, danced by Cynthia Gregory, Martine van Hamel and Patrick Bissell. Symphonie Concertante is staged for ABT by Susan Jones.

The 2018 Fall season will present Jerome Robbins’s Fancy Free and Other Dances in tribute to the choreographer’s centennial. Performances of Fancy Free, which also commemorate the centennial of composer Leonard Bernstein, begin Thursday evening, October 18, danced by Herman Cornejo, Cory Stearns, James Whiteside, Stella Abrera and Gillian Murphy. At the matinee on Saturday, October 20, Arron Scott will dance the role of the first sailor for the first time in New York, while Thomas Forster and Calvin Royal III will make their debuts as the second and third sailors, respectively. Staged for ABT by Jean-Pierre Frohlich, the ballet features scenery by Oliver Smith, costumes by Kermit Love and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, after Nananne Porcher. Fancy Free received its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on April 18, 1944 at the Metropolitan Opera House.

The season’s first performance of Other Dances will take place on Saturday evening, October 20, danced by Hee Seo and Cory Stearns. Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo will make their New York debuts in the ballet at the matinee on Sunday, October 28. Set to a waltz and four mazurkas by Frédéric Chopin, Other Dances features costumes by Santo Loquasto and original lighting by Nananne Porcher. The plotless, classical character pas de deux was created by Robbins for a Gala evening for the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center at the Metropolitan Opera House on May 9, 1976, performed by Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Other Dances is staged for American Ballet Theatre by Isabelle Guérin.

The first of four performances of Alexei Ratmansky’s Songs of Bukovina will take place on Friday, October 19, led by Isabella Boylston and Blaine Hoven, in his debut in the role. Set toBukovinian Songs (24 Preludes for Piano) by Leonid Desyatnikov, the ballet features costumes by Moritz Junge and lighting by Brad Fields. Songs of Bukovina received its World Premiere on October 18, 2017 at the David H. Koch Theater in New York danced by Christine Shevchenko and Calvin Royal III.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2018 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, priced from $25, are available online, at the Koch Theater box office or by phone at 212-496-0600. Performance-only tickets for the Opening Night Gala begin at $30. The David H. Koch Theater is located at Lincoln Center, Broadway and 63rd Street in New York City. For more information, please visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.

The World Premiere by Michelle Dorrance has been generously supported by Denise Littlefield Sobel, the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation and through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

The World Premiere by Jessica Lang has been generously supported by Denise Littlefield Sobel, the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation and through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

Symphonie Concertante has been generously supported through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

Fancy Free is generously underwritten by an endowed gift by Avery and Andrew F. Barth, in honor of Laima and Rudolf Barth.

Leadership support for The Ratmansky Project has been provided by Avery and Andrew F. Barth, the Blavatnik Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton E. James, and The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund. Additional support has been provided by Dr. Joan Taub Ades, Linda Allard, Sarah Arison, Steven Backes, Lisa and Dick Cashin, Mark Casey and Carrie Gasier Casey, The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation, Linda and Martin Fell, Vicki Netter Fitzgerald, William J. Gillespie, Brian J. Heidtke, Caroline and Edward Hyman, The Marjorie S. Isaac/Irving H. Isaac Fund, Robin Chemers Neustein, Howard S. Paley, Pearl T. Maxim Trust, Lloyd E Rigler – Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation, Bernard L. Schwartz, John Leland Sills and Elizabeth Papadopoulos-Sills, Melissa A. Smith, The H. Russell Smith Foundation/Stewart R. Smith and Robin A. Ferracone, Martin and Toni Sosnoff Foundation, Sutton Stracke, and Sedgwick Ward.

Leadership support for AFTERITE has been provided by The Leila and Mickey Straus Family Foundation. Additional support is provided through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

Le Jeune was commissioned with leadership support from the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Additional support provided by Denise Littlefield Sobel. American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre.

Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.

ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Maybe I'm late to the party, but I just noticed, to my great disappointment, that a number of important casting changes have been made since this casting info was published.  I specifically bought Oct 26 to See Murphy & Abrera in Symphonie  Concertante.  Guess what I just discovered  on the ABT website- they switched Stella & Gillian into the Oct 21 matinee.  Also, Lane & Cornejo's Other Dances performance is on Oct 26 now, not Oct 28.  Since I didn't buy my tickets until sometime in late September, these changes must be pretty recent. No refunds or exchanges on these tickets, right.  GRRRRRR. 

14 hours ago, nanushka said:

I just can't believe that after offering it for an entire week of the Met season as half of a double bill they're bringing it back already for the immediately following fall season. It'd be different if it were the following spring, or if it were a major Copeland vehicle, or if there were any other real justification (i.e. selling point) for bringing it back so soon, but there isn't. Bringing it back now just seems lazy and uninspired—like they couldn't come up with enough fresh material for a full fall season.

They are bringing it back because it requires little or no additional rehearsal time.  The dancers already learned the roles for this past Met season, so they don't need to spend any additional money or time to rehearse it.  I have enjoyed some other McGregor works, like Chroma.  However, I would not sit through AfterRite again, ever.

I don't think it's the dark subject matter that is turning people off.  I love Tudor's Dark Elegies and Jooss' The Green Table.  They are modern masterpieces that deal with very dark subjects.  I would go in a heartbeat to see those works if they were revived  at ABT. 

There are a significant number of debuts for many dancers on the Shanghai tour.

The current technology that allows us consumers to see the seating map does not do ABT any favors.  I'll bet that a large percentage of the best orchestra seats that are showing as sold are actually house seats reserved for the company or for the press.  Unlike at the Met, where every ABT show is part of a subscription,  the ABT fall season at the Koch is completely non-subscription.  Therefore, they can't even rely on the casual ballet goer who shows up on their subscription date regardless of the program.  Ultimately, I'm sure they will "paper" the orchestra. .

It took Rebecca Krohn a very long time to move up to principal.   I think it may have been around 13 years, but I can't recall.

I missed Laracey's Concerto  Barocco performances last spring.  I was surprised they didn't give her a single performance of that ballet during the fall season.  Note that she is debuting on the tour this week in Shanghai in Stravinsky Violin Concerto.

16 minutes ago, NinaFan said:

To say NYCB dancers can’t switch between styles is really selling the dancers short.   It’s the other way round in that dancers from other companies often have difficulty dancing Balanchine properly. 

Balanchine and Robbins are not one homogeneous style.  They are totally different styles, which NYCB dancers perform exquisitely…. it’s in their DNA.    So to say they can’t dance other styles when they’ve been doing it all along is absurd.   And this does not even take into account all of the other choreographers who have choreographed for them since their inception.

Thank you Helene.

I think certain NYCB dancers who are cast in full length Petipa ballets and other full length dramatic ballets don't have enough experience in mastering the styles needed for their roles. For example, I've seen problems arise in phrasing, upper body carriage, and arm placement and movement.  These issues have been noticeable to me in certain performances of Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Romeo & Juliet, to name a few.   However, some company members excel in mastering other styles and content, such as Sterling Hyltin's wonderful La Sylphide recently. 

Some performances have already popped up on TDF, so certain seats showing as sold  were actually heavily discounted.  

The problem with NYCB is that they commission so many new works each season, but very few deserve a permanent spot in the rep.  Nevertheless, NYCB seems to feel that a new work must be shown at least 8 times for them to break even on its cost.  The result is that they continue to rotate the new works, whether good or bad, through the rep until the magic number of performances to break even is reached.    There have been many wonderful new works created at NYCB, but most are unworthy and do not merit repeated viewings.  Given the ever increasing price of tickets, people are less inclined to buy expensive tickets for a program that includes a weak ballet.

Did anyone see Herman Cornejo and Alina Cojocaru at FFD last night?  Reports?

55 minutes ago, Royal Blue said:

Mary Thomas MacKinnon, a new member of the female corps, showed tremendous stage presence.

                                                                                                                                   *

 

Is she related to corps member Olivia MacKinnon?

Most offensive to me is one of the spring programs titled something like Balanchine meets Peck.  It shows an arrogance that Peck is somehow worthy of meeting Balanchine.  They should stick with the simplicity of Balanchine & Peck.

I've also had enough Whipped Cream over the last two years.  I would only go as a last resort if I needed something to exchange into and didn't have any other option. 

I guess I should not prejudge, but Jane Eyre looks like a vehicle similar to Onegin and Lady of the Camellias. Not a great deal of technique required.