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Kennedy Center Casting


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Casting for the first week of the company's Kennedy Center engagement is up on KC's website (and ABT's).

Tues. Feb. 1

Giselle (Kent, Carreño, Abrera)

Wed. Feb. 2

Giselle (McKerrow, Stiefel, Wiles)

Thurs. Feb. 3

Giselle (Ferri, Bocca, Part)

Fri. Feb. 4

Fokine Program:

Les Sylphides (Murphy, Beloserkovsky, E. Cornejo, Riccetto)

Petrouchka (Stiefel, McKerrow, Gomes)

Spectre de la Rose (H. Cornejo, Reyes)

Polovtsian Dances (Saveliev, Abrera, Copeland)

Sat. mat. Feb. 5

Les Sylphides (Kent, Gomes, Abrera, Kajiya)

Petrouchka (Corella, E. Cornejo, Stappas)

Spectre (Tidwell, Riccetto)

Polovtsian Dances (Radetsky, C. Corella, Hidalgo)

Sat. eve. Feb. 5

Sylphides (Murphy, Beloserkovsky, E. Cornejo, Riccetto)

Petrouchka (Stiefel, McKerrow, Gomes)

Spectre (H. Cornejo, Reyes)

Polovtsian Dances (Saveliev, Abrera, Copeland)

Sun. mat. Feb. 6

Giselle (Herrera, Carreño, C. Corella)

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Wonderful to see that Danny Tidwell is cast for a performance of Spectre, and that McKerrow is getting some roles, but I'm concerned that Nina is not cast in Giselle. The press release that announced her withdrawl from ABT's City Center season said she'd be back for the Kennedy Center engagement. Hope she's ok

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Thanks Treefrog. Here it is:

Feb. 8

7:30pm

SWAN LAKE

Murphy, Corella

Feb. 9

7:30pm

SWAN LAKE

Herrera, Bocca

Feb. 10

7:30pm

SWAN LAKE

Murphy, Corella

Feb. 11

7:30pm

SWAN LAKE

Kent, Carreño

Feb. 12

1:30pm

SWAN LAKE

Wiles, Beloserkovsky

Feb. 12

7:30pm

SWAN LAKE

Murphy, Corella

Feb. 13

1:30pm

Part, Gomes

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KC has both Feb. 12 performances at 7:30, but I'm guessing the first of those is a matinee at 1:30pm, so I changed it. Check those times if you buy that date. The Sunday performances also is at 1:30pm, so I'm changing that too.

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Hmm... He is cast in Specre on most of the nights, so maybe they didn't want to have him perform twice on the program. It also spreads the dancers out, giving the audience to see more "stars." Personally, I'd love to see him in Petrushka.

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Feb. 12

1:30pm[/b]

SWAN LAKE

Wiles, Beloserkovsky

Well, that answers a question. I had wondered who would take Ashley Tuttle's place as the Saturday matinee ballerina. Having seen Tuttle in almost every matinee performance of full-length ballets for some years, I guess we'll now be seeing a great deal of Wiles.

Both are fine dancers. I have many wonderful memories of Tuttle's delicacy and precision and look forward to seeing Wiles' Swan Lake. That said, however, ABT's KC Saturday matinee casting has been short on first-, second-, and sometimes even third-cast names during the McKenzie years (in contrast to Baryshnikov-era or NYCB casting). No Ananiashvili, Herrera, or Ferri for us although we once got to see Kirkland and Makarova in full-length ballets. Unless memory fails me, the Feb. 5 Les Sylphides will be our first opportunity to see Julie Kent since she was new to the company. Needless to say, her Swan Lake is not scheduled for a Saturday matinee.

Gentle reminder to those who control (or influence) such things: there are many reasons besides youth or advanced years why one might attend a matinee. Many of us are committed ballet lovers who would cherish the occasional opportunity to see a first or second cast even though excellent dancing is not confined to their ranks.

Having gotten that off my chest, I'll just close by saying that it will be wonderful to see ABT again. It always is.

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Well, that answers a question.  I had wondered who would take Ashley Tuttle's place as the Saturday matinee ballerina.  Having seen Tuttle in almost every matinee performance of full-length ballets for some years, I guess we'll now be seeing a great deal of Wiles.

I think it's way premature to assume that Wiles is being relegated to permanent Saturday matinee status. She and Part are the most junior of the Odette/Odiles, both being soloists, so in the ABT scheme of things that means they get matinees. (This type of scaled casting is common in other big companies, too.) But others get matinees as well: no less a luminary than Diana Vishneva is dancing Odette/Odile on Saturday afternoon, July 9, at the Met. And if I'm not mistaken, Gillian Murphy was doing matinees not too long ago, and now she's down for three (evening) Swan Lakes in DC, as well as the telecast. So Wiles does have prospects.

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I too, think it's premature to assume this. Wiles is a very beautiful odette/odile and I do hope you enjoy her. I had the pleasure of seeing her and David Hallberg's debut at the met in Swan Lake and while it was not perfect in all aspects, it was most enjoyable and very memorable! :) She is my new favorite dancer at ABT!(after Julie Kent)

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I think it's way premature to assume that Wiles is being relegated to permanent Saturday matinee status. She and Part are the most junior of the Odette/Odiles, both being soloists, so in the ABT scheme of things that means they get matinees. (This type of scaled casting is common in other big companies, too.) But others get matinees as well: no less a luminary than Diana Vishneva is dancing Odette/Odile on Saturday afternoon, July 9, at the Met. And if I'm not mistaken, Gillian Murphy was doing matinees not too long ago, and now she's down for three (evening) Swan Lakes in DC, as well as the telecast. So Wiles does have prospects.

Please understand that my comment was in no way directed against Wiles. Her career is clearly on the rise, and I look forward to seeing her Odette/Odile. I was just venting some frustration that has built up over the course of many years.

I understand the reality of scaled casting. (Incidentally, it's not surprising that Saturday matinee casting at the Met is different from Saturday matinee casting at the KC.) However, most other companies haven't "scaled" to quite the same extent as ABT under Kevin McKenzie. It is simply a fact that year after year, KC Saturday matinee audiences got to see Ashley Tuttle in virtually every full-length ballet. (Dvorovenko's Juliet is an exception that comes to mind.) Tuttle is a lovely dancer, and I enjoyed these performances. However, as a result of this casting, many of the ABT dancers who excite the most comment in the press and in this forum are virtually unknown quantities to me, apart from videos, despite years as a subscriber. Thank heavens this wasn't always the case, or I wouldn't have cherished memories of Kirkland's Don Quixote and Makarova's Giselle.

It's almost certainly unrealistic to hope for a first-cast Saturday matinee these days, but it would be lovely, every few years, to see a second or third cast. It will also be lovely to see Wiles.

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However, most other companies haven't "scaled" to quite the same extent as ABT under Kevin McKenzie. It is simply a fact that year after year, KC Saturday matinee audiences got to see Ashley Tuttle in virtually every full-length ballet. (Dvorovenko's Juliet is an exception that comes to mind.) Tuttle is a lovely dancer, and I enjoyed these performances. However, as a result of this casting, many of the ABT dancers who excite the most comment in the press and in this forum are virtually unknown quantities to me, apart from videos, despite years as a subscriber.

Yes, it must be frustrating to those who, for one reason or another, can only go to Saturday matinees. Not only do they not get to see the big stars, but they almost always get the full-lengths, since the KC tends to schedule mixed bills for early in the week. (Not this time, though; the Fokine program is being given on Saturday.) It might be worth writing to the KC about this, and let them know that their Saturday matinee audience is more sophisticated than they seem to think. :)

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Yes, it must be frustrating to those who, for one reason or another, can only go to Saturday matinees.  Not only do they not get to see the big stars, but they almost always get the full-lengths, since the KC tends to schedule mixed bills for early in the week.  (Not this time, though;  the Fokine program is being given on Saturday.)  It might be worth writing to the KC about this, and let them know that their Saturday matinee audience is more sophisticated than they seem to think.  :)

Thanks for understanding! The Fokine program is, as you note, an exception to the usual matinee programming. I'm eagerly looking forward to it. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to write to the KC as you suggest. Michael Kaiser's tenure has improved the series scheduling beyond my wildest expectations. Perhaps he could bring his magic to bear on casting as well.

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