Orza leaves NYCB for PNB

[Leigh Witchel]

PNB's press release is out:

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=25209

Orza and his wife Sarah (née Ricard) are joining PNB - both as corps members, so Seth is going from his recent promotion to soloist back down to the corps.

Also, Weese has fully joined the company as a principal. There are three other non-NYCB additions to the roster as well.

[ViolinConcerto]

I wish them all the best and will miss them. Seth, especially has grown beautifully with the years and I am sure that Peter (Boal) will help them flourish.

I hope that BT'ers will keep us all posted on their progress.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

Oh I will miss them both! Indeed, I’ve already missed Sarah since her departure from NYCB a couple of seasons ago. She was one of the dancers that made corps-watching so rewarding, especially when she began to take on more senior corps roles. She always struck me as being fully engaged with the choreography and with her fellow dancers; her warm, gracious, lively presence added a special luster the ensemble. (I remember some of her ensemble work more vividly than I do some other dancers’ solo efforts!) I’ve enjoyed many of Seth’s performances, but I’ll remember him best as the male lead in Evenfall. I thought that ballet finally came together and lived up to its initial promise when he replaced Woetzel. There could hardly be two more different dancers: Orza has none of Woetzel’s quicksilver élan (few do, of course); he’s more deliberate in his attack (to the point of sometimes seeming willing to wrestle a phrase to the ground by dint sheer brute force if that’s what it’s going take to get to the other side) and more earnest in demeanor. Yet despite these differences – or perhaps because of them – Orza really inhabited the ballet and eliminated a vacuum at its center that Woetzel for whatever reason could not fill. He just looked terrific in it and I’m sorry that I won’t get to see him (and Weese) dance it again.

I wish them both every success!

[Ray]

Orza and his wife Sarah (née Ricard) are joining PNB - both as corps members, so Seth is going from his recent promotion to soloist back down to the corps.

I can understand them wanting to leave NYCB--I'm sure they'll dance more often in PNB--but what's motivating Boal's decision here, I wonder? It seems a bit odd. Perhaps it was the only way PNB could afford to hire 2 dancers at this time?

[Helene]

In the past 13 seasons that I've attended PNB, it's been the rare dancer who was hired in directly as a Principal, even those who came from other companies where they were Principals. Many dancers who come from "outside" either have taken a step backwards rank-wise, or were at the same rank at a larger company. In this, Boal's hiring is similar to Russell's and Stowell's.

Now that the school regularly has been producing and the company developing so many wonderful corps members, and with the nominal soloist ranks just a fraction of the number of corps members who perform soloist roles, I would think it would be demoralizing to them to have outside dancers come directly into the soloist ranks. I have no idea what Boal's motivation is, and lack of money was cited in the past both by Boal and by Russell and Stowell for lack or small number of promotions, but hiring into the corps must be better for morale as well as the bottom line.

[Ray]

In the past 13 seasons that I've attended PNB, it's been the rare dancer who was hired in directly as a Principal, even those who came from other companies where they were Principals. Many dancers who come from "outside" either have taken a step backwards rank-wise, or were at the same rank at a larger company. In this, Boal's hiring is similar to Russell's and Stowell's.

Now that the school regularly has been producing and the company developing so many wonderful corps members, and with the nominal soloist ranks just a fraction of the number of corps members who perform soloist roles, I would think it would be demoralizing to them to have outside dancers come directly into the soloist ranks. I have no idea what Boal's motivation is, and lack of money was cited in the past both by Boal and by Russell and Stowell for lack or small number of promotions, but hiring into the corps must be better for morale as well as the bottom line.

Thanks, Helene--I think your point is well taken about company morale, which so few ADs seem concerned about. Yet I worry that this might speak to a lack of shared standards in the field, especially since NYCB and PNB are so closely related. Would a first chair violinist play second fiddle in a comparable orchestra? I don't think so.

[Helene]

Yet I worry that this might speak to a lack of shared standards in the field, especially since NYCB and PNB are so closely related. Would a first chair violinist play second fiddle in a comparable orchestra? I don't think so.

I think it might depend on who the conductor is It's also more difficult for two dancers to find a company where there's a space for both, since apart from NYC, there are few areas in the US with more than one company.

There are certainly trade-offs in moving between NYCB and PNB, but one thing Weese mentioned last season before she made the move to Seattle was that she wanted to dance on a schedule that was more condusive to prolonging her career. I assume that includes rehearsal time. While the total number of non-Nutcracker performances is far less at PNB than NYCB, the pace seems more human than at NYCB. Seattle is a city in which it is quite easy to have a family life.

[Leigh Witchel]

Hypothetically, it's also possible that Orza negotiated with Boal before he received his promotion (it was very recent) and there wasn't funds or the available contract to leverage a soloist position once he had agreed to a corps contract.

[Hans]

It seems to be normal for dancers to move down a rank when they change companies. It gives them a feel for the company in a lower-stress environment, and it is especially helpful when a change of style is involved (as in Monique Meunier to ABT and Alexandra Ansanelli to Royal Ballet) which arguably may or may not be the case with a move from NYCB to PNB.

[Helene]

Hypothetically, it's also possible that Orza negotiated with Boal before he received his promotion (it was very recent) and there wasn't funds or the available contract to leverage a soloist position once he had agreed to a corps contract.

I had ignored the chronology -- Orza's promotion was so recent. This makes a lot of sense, since there isn't much spare money at PNB.

[sandik]

Oh I will miss them both! Indeed, I’ve already missed Sarah since her departure from NYCB a couple of ...She always struck me as being fully engaged with the choreography and with her fellow dancers; her warm, gracious, lively presence added a special luster the ensemble. (I remember some of her ensemble work more vividly than I do some other dancers’ solo efforts!)... There could hardly be two more different dancers: Orza has none of Woetzel’s quicksilver élan (few do, of course); he’s more deliberate in his attack (to the point of sometimes seeming willing to wrestle a phrase to the ground by dint sheer brute force if that’s what it’s going take to get to the other side) and more earnest in demeanor. Yet despite these differences – or perhaps because of them – Orza really inhabited the ballet and eliminated a vacuum at its center that Woetzel for whatever reason could not fill. ...

Thanks so much for the detailed description -- I don't know either of these dancers, but now have an inkling of what to look for.