abatt

I think ABT lost all sense of balance. Previously, their roster was overwhelmed with guest artists, which created many problems and didn't allow for the growth of their own artists. Now they have one guest artist , Ferri. I think having one or two guest artists per season is not a terrible thing. However, I think I've had enough of Ferri's Comeback Tour, and I wish ABT would invite a different guest artist next season. Someone above commented that Seo is taking Murphy's SL. Gulp. Now I have to figure out what dates I have available to exchange out of that SL. I would have welcomed just about any other O/O except Hee Seo.

NY Times pays for all of its tickets to all performances, including but not limited to ballet.

I think she may use Teusch on her instagram account. Given the fact that he said glowing things about her, Devon may not care much that Macauley used a shortened version of her name. I found Macauley's explanation of why he dislikes Corsaire very persuasive. There is also a not-so-subtle jab at Macauley's Times colleague regarding the recent dust up about whether the Ratmansky ballet Odessa depicts rape. Macauley correctly points out that Corsaire overtly references the subjugation and rape of women.

Yes, of course it is McKenzie who chooses all of the casting.

I'm counting on it! I suspect Teuscher and Hee Seo might get additional SL assignments next week.Wondering if they will debut a new O/O. Fingers and toes crossed for a Lane or Abrera debut.

Happy for Shevchenko. I'd much rather see her than have a return to the days of Hee Seo Ballet Theater.

The casting for Taming of the Shrew has been posted on the LCF website Wednesday, July 26 at 7:30 pm; Friday, July 28 at 7:30 pm; Saturday, July 29 at 7:30 pm; Sunday, July 30 at 2:30 pm: Katharina Ekaterina Krysanova Petruchio Vladislav Lantratov Bianca Olga Smirnova Lucentio Semyon Chudin Hortensio Igor Tsvirko Gremio Vyacheslav Lopatin Widow Yulia Grebenshchikova Baptista Artemy Belyakov Housekeeper Yanina Parienko Grumio Georgy Gusev Thursday, July 27 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, July 29 at 2:30 pm: Katharina Kristina Kretova Petruchio Denis Savin Bianca Anastasia Stashkevich Lucentio Artem Ovcharenko Hortensio Alexander Smoliyaninov Gremio Denis Medvedev Widow Anna Balukova Baptista Karim Abdullin Housekeeper Victoria Litvinova Grumio Evgeny Truposkiad

Yesss. Happy for Skylar. Looking forward to see how she manages Medora.

Kaysta, the costumes and scenic designs are very impressive. However, there is very little classical dancing. Just my two cents.

Trenary was replaced tonight in GC by Brandt. Loads and loads of empty seats tonight.

Although I don't like Kochetkova very much, I don't see any possibility of her leaving the company. She generally dances a fair number of shows each year, and she has also appeared w. the company at the Koch for the fall season. Additionally, ABT now has a large number of shortish principal men (Cornejo, Simkin, Cirio), and they continue to need short tiny women like Kochetkova.

I hope Hammoudi can deliver a killer Swan Lake w. Teuscher. He has had so many lead role opportunities over the years, but just cannot seem to convert them into star making performances.

I think Gabe Stone Shayer deserves a promotion to soloist. I also think Lane should be promoted to principal. Shevchenko and Teuscher still have not been tested enough in lead roles. Sadly, there is not one male soloist who is ready to be principal.

I don't think it's so much that McKenzie got the message that his own people needed opportunities. Who can forget his assertion a few years back in an interview when he essentially said that there was nothing wrong with being a premier soloist, or words to that effect. Rather, I think that scheduling difficulties and diva/divo behavior by certain invited guests started to create problems. I'll point to Cojocaru's cancellations as an example of the issues created. As a result, inviting so many guests started creating more problems than it solved. Now we have only one guest, Ferri. Additionally, the "Misty factor" plays a large role here. No matter what you think of her dancing, she sells tickets - at least for now. McKenzie no longer needs to bring in famous guest artists to sell tickets as long as Misty remains popular and creates buzz that translates into ticket sales. The cutback on guest artists caused, in part, by Misty's popularity has created opportunities for other dancers in the company.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/arts/dance/devon-teuscher-abt-ballet-swan-lake.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront Fluff piece about Devon.

Agreed. Last night was a spectacular night for Lane. It was a heartbreaking Giselle. Exquisite. I saw McKenzie speaking with a colleague (maybe a coach?) as I was leaving the theater. He seemed to be gushing about exquisite arm movements, so I presume he was talking about Sarah. I wanted to run up to him and scream, "So when the ?#") are you going to promote Lane!". Of course, I didn't. Not my style. I agree w. the posts above that mentioned that Herman seemed to be holding back in his Act II solo to prevent further injury. I've never thought that before in any performances of Herman's that I've seen in the past. I liked Sarah w. Simkin better than w. Cornejo.

I wouldn't go quite that far. Simkin's level of technique in his solos is quite remarkable. HOwever, his partnering, although much improved, still needs work. Also, Simkin is only now starting to explore a higher level of artistry. Up until this point, it was only about what tricks he could do. He is finally realizing that in order to be given the serious roles, he must also find a way to improve his characterization and nobility. I'm glad that he now seems to be expanding on all facets of his dancing. For me, Cornejo is a much more complete and involving artist than Simkin. I was thrilled that Simkin had made such a fine breakthrough as Albrecht and I hope he continues the fine work.

I have to admit that although I'm a fan of Abrera, her performance of Giselle last night was not on par with her performance of the role two years ago in her NYC debut. Act II was definitely much better than Act I last night. Apart from the problem w. the hops on pointe in Act I, there were other issues. In particular, when she has to stay on pointe unsupported, she cannot hold the position for any length of time. As a result, the many instances where she needs to role down off pointe while raising the other leg look a little off. However, she is still a very lyrical and nicely buoyant dancer. I was very pleased with her Act II overall. Gomes is ABT's most warm and genuine dancer. His charisma brims in everything he does, and it makes all of his performances special. He is not a technical wonder like Simkin, but his characterization more than makes up for any limitations in his technique due to age. The 23 entrechat jumps he did were thrilling because they were higher and higher as he continued. The enormous leap he took in Myrta's direction was also totally winning and unexpected. He literally pleaded at her feet. Most Albrecht's look mechanical here. Gomes, however, knew how to make it look believable instead of phony. Also his partnering was peerless. It was a very special performance. To my surprise, it was not even close to a sell out.

My what a turn of events. So happy for Sarah. Kochetkova had a lot of problems at Don Q during week one, so I'm not surprised to hear that she is withdrawing from Giselle. Not to wish anything bad on Kochetkova, but it's time to start praying for a Sarah Lane debut in Swan Lake in June. Best wishes to Murphy for a speedy recovery.

Well if that was dancing with an injury I can't wait to see what Boylston's full throttle Giselle looks like. Although I was never really moved by the performance, it was extremely strong with regard to her technique.

I never saw Gregory. However I used to love seeing Nina's Giselle because of the high level of detail, the great dancing, and terrific acting. Even though Nina was not waif like, she overcame that through the brilliance of her performance. On other hand, Paloma, who was also no waif, never was a believable or transporting Giselle in my opinion.

So sorry you missed the performance, KarenAG. Hopefully McKenzie will now give Lane the roles she has deserved for so many years, including more Giselle performances. Based on her performances over the years, including her Giselle last night, she deserves to be promoted. I'm not holding my breath, though.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/28/arts/dance/misty-copelands-down-to-earth-debuts-in-don-quixote-and-giselle.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0 I thought this review was a pretty accurate account of Misty's performance in Giselle. I guess the Times doesn't regard the other debuts in Giselle that occurred on Saturday as worthy of review.

KarenAG, did you make it to Giselle? How utterly frustrating to have a transportation disaster! I saw both performances yesterday. Lane brought tears to my eyes. She was that good. I agree with everyone above who thought she was perfectly suited to Giselle. Also, she and Simkin worked so beautifully together. He also gave a brilliant performance. Please pair these two up again next year in everything! Is it too much to hope for a Lane Simkin R&J next season? Unfortunately I was not moved by the evening performance. Murphy seemed more like Kitri dancing Giselle. She is a technical powerhouse, but she doesn't convey fragility or vulnerability. I didn't mind the fast turns around the stage in Act I- it's supposed to convey her joy of dancing. But why did she elect not to do the choreography in Act I where she rolls down off pointe on one foot while raising the other leg in arabesque? I enjoyed seeing Hallberg again. He looked magnificent. However, unlike Osipova who tended to bring out the best in David, I'm not sure that the partnership w. Murphy is a winner. Stella was gorgeous as Myrta. Perhaps at this stage Murphy is just too womanly and mature looking to be successful as a young, innocent waif named Giselle.

Scheller is cast in the upcoming Kennedy Center engagement of NYCB. in June 2017. She is doing the pdd in the 4Ts.