abatt

I actually don't have an issue with leaving Bouder on the roster for a year or two more, even if her appearances are not frequent.  She has earned that level of deference, in my opinion.  I'm sure you are correct that Bouder and Veyette are among the highest paid dancers in the company. 

What I do have an issue with is the fact that certain people at the soloist level seem to be on the roster for years and years but never appear.  What happened to D. Applebaum?  Why has Troy S. been on the roster for so many years when he hardly ever dances?   

I think there are issues as to how many tall women dancers they need.  They have both Miller and Kikta in the running, and Kikta is difficult to cast with an appropriate size partner.  

Emma VE seems to be a definite.  Just a matter of time. 

I wonder who among the principals will be next to leave.  Veyette and Bouder are, I believe, the oldest principals in the company.  They may be waiting for a retirement before moving anyone up out of soloist into principal.  

2 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

That's true, but that episode was from back in February, and I wonder if she's still aiming to return this winter. When she appeared on Conversations on Dance in late June, her plans sounded much more vague (at 3:55 in this transcript).

My gut is that she won't return for Nutcracker this winter, and I wouldn't be surprised if she only appears again with ABT in a very limited capacity, if at all. I don't see her returning to Petipa or similarly demanding repertoire.

I'll be very interested to see if she appears in the casting for Costa Mesa.

I saw Misty interview Tharp on PBS in a program taped in or around July 2023.  Twyla asked her about when she would return to dance, and Misty's response was also vague.     

It was great to see so many performances in which the fourth ring was open and sold.  Proof positive that in instances where ticket sales are weak, it's not because of Covid.  It's because people are simply not interested in the content of the performance and/or the performers. 

It will be interesting to see how many weeks of performances ABT puts on this Summer.

2 hours ago, matilda said:

Bolden and Riccardo were indeed promoted this afternoon, according to lots of dancers' social media 

Great news.

If I had to sum up the fall season, I would say that the standouts were Emma V.E., who was spectacular in every new role she was given, and Nadon.  But I think we all already knew that Nadon  is a special talent.  I have also been very impressed with Kikta.

With respect to the men, please promote Bolden and Riccardo ASAP.

In my opinion, Phelan has not made much progress as a principal.  She has plenty of great roles, but doesn't make much of an impression in any of them.  She improved a lot in Agon, but her take is still too polite and lacking in sharpness.

11 hours ago, bellawood said:

Saw the program tonight. Mira and Isabella made a wonderful pair. They really carved those shapes. The deep 4th, the épaulement were all there. I think 2nd violin is LaFreniere at her best. She absolutely shines. Bolden was terrific in his debut and he and Mira are well partnered. She was beautiful, expansive and mysterious. Her extension in those “scissor” lifts at the end were so beautiful. He also made the series of quick lifts towards look effortless. She bounded into his arms.

Symphony iN C — Tiler danced with Chun and they were so musical and easy together. You expect it of her but he has really grown into the Balanchine style. The steps felt natural and perfect. This is the second time I’ve seen Phelan/Knight (the first time was their debut) and they were more secure, She is working her way into the role, though she constantly has trouble turning in the 4th movement. Cainan Weber danced in place of Sebastian V-V in the third movement and amplified the jumps well, but I wish he had done a little more with his final series. Jones was fine but not a standout. Peter Walker was a nice surprise in the 4th movement; if he can build his stamina I think he might grow. Emilie Gerrity was underwhelming. It’s an unfortunate comparison for her to dance 4th movement and then have Tiler run on for the 1st movement reprise. It’s just not the same level of dancer. But I also feel 4th movement is not a natural role for her?

I loved the Concerto  B.  All three leads were wonderful.   Nadon is a wonder and LaFreniere is terrific in this ballet.  Promote Bolden now.  

I was disappointed in Huxley's performance.   It was fine, but he doesn't have enough skill as an actor to bring much depth to this role.  Mearns was terrific.  There were many newbies in the audience because last night was young patron night.  I could hear gasps when Huxley stuck his head under Mearns' crotch and lifted her.  

Yes, Phelan still has trouble with the turning in this role.  Same as when she debuted it two years ago.  Additionally, she cut short a portion of the pas when she has to rotate on pointe numerous times, left to right over and over again, on the same foot in arabesque position.  Mearns did the full number of these rotations, filling out the music.  Phelan cut it short at about 3 or 4 and then remained in arabesque to kill time  during the remaining music.  This was clearly planned out with Knight.  I'm not a fan of dumbed down approaches to choreography.  Disappointing that diminishing standards seem to be creeping in at the company.

On a positive note, I was pleasantly surprised by Walker in the 4th movement.  And Peck/Chan were wonderful in the first movement. 

It was a great fall season overall. 

I'm sure he will ultimately be removed from the remaining assignments.  They just haven't yet figured out who will replace him.  Major disappointment.  Hope he is okay.

Damian Woetzel also used to do a great T&V, from what I recall. 

Fairchild was better tonight than earlier in the week, but still not a stellar performance.  It looks like the lead man is now being instructed in T&V to do only 6 double tour/pirouettes instead of the 8.  Gordon and Huxley both intentionally start the variation late to kill time.  (I'm not imagining that 8 used to be the standard, am I?)  Worse yet, Gordon, who is usually so pure in his form, was sloppy.   

Yes, wishing for the return of DeLuz.  

Hopefully  the next time T&V is revived they will give Mejia a chance.  

A friend said it was the same film as the one shown at the gala.

Who is taking over Tiler's T&V?  Is it Fairchild?   

added question:  when Tiler says she will be back for the "weekend", does that mean she will appear in Symphony in C on Friday.  If not, that's a lot of extra work for Megan Fairchild.  The only other person who has done these roles in the company is Bouder.  

 Hallberg, Gomes, Stearns and Whiteside have all successfully performed Oberon.  Is Bell any taller than they are?   

Thanks for clarifying, jeff-ish.

Not to further pile on to the negative comments about last night, but Taylor Stanley is too short to partner Mearns in Serenade.

15 minutes ago, bellawood said:

 

Orpheus -- hahaha on the creatures running off stage! @abatt I was slightly left, and it looked like they had trouble dragging Ashley under -- maybe she collapsed just a bit to far away from the hem? Joe kind of helped shovel her under the curtain. Then the curtain went up, and they all went running off. The joys of live theater. I am seeing this three times this week, and then not again I hope for a while.  As @cubanmiamiboy says, vintage!

 

Yes, I noticed that Gordon was helping to shove Laracey under the curtain.  Maybe she collapsed too far from the hem.    Sadly, there were moments in this that were Trock-worthy.

32 minutes ago, California said:

T&V: I was expecting a lot and was disappointed by Tuesday night's performance. The Kirkland-Baryshnikov tape from 1978 set the gold standard for me and I suppose that's forever engraved in my memory. Megan's gargouillades and pas de chat barely left the ground and were almost unrecognizable. The soloists were sloppy and out of sync. Perhaps it will get better with more performances. Still, it's a great ballet.

Orpheus: I wanted to understand this, but it does feel very dated, from an era of Ballets Russe that sometimes was more interested in traditional narrative/story-telling than dancing. I tried to focus on the commissioned Stravinsky score but couldn't get into it. Perhaps it will work better tonight. Joe Gordon did his best and I wonder how he will do both Orpheus and Symphony in C at the 75th anniversary performance. I can see why this is not often programmed nowadays.

Have to agree with the above comments on T&V.  Megan danced small.  Also, Huxley did only six double tour - pirouettes, instead of the standard 8.  He filled in by killing some time in the early part of the music.   And the corps lines were indeed sometimes sloppy.

Davide needs some refinement in his new role in Serenade.  When he had to catch Indiana and balance her on his back it looked pretty awkward.  Also, before he departs the stage he has to flip the Waltz girl before she lays down on the ground.  The flip  wasn't a full 360 degrees, so he then had to adjust Mearns' body so that she was in the correct position when he laid her down on the floor.

Maybe the biggest blooper of the evening came in Orpheus.   By the way Laracey was gorgeous as Eurydice, and Joe Gordon was vastly improved as Orpheus since he did this role a few years ago.   After Laracey disappeared under the white curtain, the white curtain is raised a few moments later.  Only problem was that apparently the folks who helped drag her body under the curtain were still on the stage when the curtain rose.  I was sitting on the extreme right side, and could see three people running off the stage on the left side as the curtain rose.  I could also hear someone offstage yell something as the curtain went up, but I could not hear what was yelled.  

If Bell is not injured, then ABT pulled a major bait and switch on its ticket buyers.  Nothing against Carmago, who is a wonderful dancer.   It is possible that he was injured during the training/rehearsal  period scheduled for the Dream and Etudes.  It is frustrating nevertheless.

For those who were there on Sat evening, did Pollack and Schumacher do 4th movement of Symphony in C or were there changes. 

1 hour ago, MarzipanShepherdess said:

Attended the Friday evening Apollo/La Sonambula/Ballet Imperial program and also the Sunday matinee one.

La Sonambula: Count me in the La Sonambula fan club. I get why it's a polarizing ballet: the choreography up through the sleepwalker scene is nothing particularly special, and the whole thing really stands or falls on the ability of the dancers to act  (which not all City Ballet dancers are great at). The two performances I saw exemplified this. Ashley Laracey was fantastic as the Coquette on Friday, imbuing every moment of her performance with dramatic nuance, whereas on Sunday Brittany Pollack was quite flat in the same role. There's a sequence at the very beginning when the Coquette has glimpsed the Poet but is facing away from him: Laracey made this a moment of intense deliberation, showing us how powerfully the Coquette is drawn to the Poet against her rational judgment, subtly shifting her left hand back towards him as though being compelled by a greater force. 

 

Have to agree.  Pollack was instantly forgettable.  Her positions were never held or stretched.  She also is a poor actor.  Laracey in the same role was gorgeously poetic and did well with her acting.  Given that Brittany  has been removed from Western second movement , I'm getting the feeling that she  prefers to do more  softball roles at the moment.  The problem is the softball roles usually require lyricism and some acting, which are not her strong suits. 

Maxwell's debut in the lead was impressive.  However, Huxley is flat as the Poet.  He is a technical wizard, but this role requires something entirely different which he does not have.  I guess they needed a small guy for the poet so that Alexa could carry him.  I think Davide Riccardo could be interesting as a future Poet.  Hope he does well next week in Serenade.

Why hasn't Laracey been cast again in either Apollo or in Concerto B this fall?   

I very much enjoyed the all new cast in Apollo.  Return of the tall muses.  YEAH!!!  

Can't add anything more to the raves for Peck and Gordon in Tschai Piano.

Added- It took Finlay years to properly do that movement in Apollo where he has to spin down into a seated position.  Hopefully Chan will do better with that in the future.  The other major flub on the night I saw the new cast of Apollo was Kikta's difficult with those tricky spins in her solo.  

Wonder if Treanary will finally get a Swan Lake

Thanks for your comments.  I'm glad Corella created something worthwhile. 

Davide Riccardo is taking the TBA role in serenade next week per the lobby cast sheet.

Tchai Piano No. 3 was indeed everything.  Mearns is a treasure.  Wish this was coming back later this season.

Could not agree MORE cubanmiamiboy.  The baldness is a complete distraction in classical roles.  It didn't bother me in modern roles.    The baldness destroys the illusion of chivalrous noble danseur in these tutu ballet.   He looks like one of the goon squad from Prodigal Son accidentally dropped into a tutu ballet for a visit. 

For me the big question mark is Miller.  She generally has not added any major Balanchine roles to her rep since Peter Martins left.  I would have expected her to at least get a debut in Jewels, or Symphony in C or some other important ballet.  It didn't happen.  Kikta is the one getting the nice debut roles.  I like Kikta, but I think she is so tall that there may be a concern about who could partner her in principal roles.  They already have LaFreniere, who is probably similar height, and there are already difficulties in finding proper partners for her.  Chan is used often here, but he is not tall enough to partner her.  My two cents.