Kathryn Morgan

[fondoffouettes]

I really hope she can make a comeback. 

 

[wonderwall]

She responded to somebody asking her if she was going to try out for a company again with "I may be working on it 😉" (see instagram video comments below). She seems to be devoting herself to it, so I hope she achieves whatever she is hoping for. Based on her more recent posts/stories, it seems like she moved to NYC, so I wonder if she is just training there or hoping to audition for NYC-based companies.

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by wonderwall

[balletforme]

What does her dancing look like? Is she ready?  Thinking that just hibernating in a serious  coaching and rehearsal space is what is needed???? 

Hope it works!

[fondoffouettes]

She has confirmed that she is working to join a company. The rep she discusses certainly sounds very ABT. It's too bad the company seems to have such limited resources to hire and promote dancers, but you never know. 

 

[Balletwannabe]

Could she come back as a soloist with NYCB?

[vipa]

2 hours ago, Balletwannabe said:

Could she come back as a soloist with NYCB?

My thinking is when you think of the NYCB rep overall it wouldn't be what she'd want. 

[canbelto]

I dont think she can do Balanchine rep at the demanding pace that NYCB requires now. OTOH she might be a good fit for a smaller company that does Balanchine. 

[Dreamer]

I would love to see Kathy joining a company and  performing.  Her exercise videos on YouTube were so helpful for me in fighting my physical ailments and getting me in a better shape. Best of luck to her.

[LadyBubbles]

Very ABT perhaps, regarding her rep preference, but it's not like ABT has a shortage of women at the moment. Lots of talent and variety in both the principal and soloist rank. I doubt she'd want to be back in the corps. To be honest, and not to be offensive, but if ABT were to hire her as a soloist or principal, my thoughts would be that they want another "celebrity" ballerina in its ranks, which isn't entirely cool. She doesn't have Misty Copeland's reach and popularity, but they might see potential marketing there.

NYCB: The main reason she stood out at NYCB is because her strengths were not what NYCB stood for. Could she handle the hard core Balanchine rep or would they want her for the more classical rep only? Would they be okay with that?

If I were either company's AD, my biggest concern in hiring someone in her situation is the fact that she hasn't danced on stage with a professional company in 8 years, going on 9 now. Yes, I know she left in 2012, but I don't believe she danced after the spring or summer of 2010 due to her thyroid condition.

She could always join smaller companies, where the lighter work load could allow her to continue working on other projects and she wouldn't be required to go from zero to 100 after such a long break. Yes, I know she's back in the studio, but not full on training and rehearsing while dealing with company 'stuff'. Only the future will tell where she ends up.

[lmspear]

5 hours ago, canbelto said:

I dont think she can do Balanchine rep at the demanding pace that NYCB requires now. OTOH she might be a good fit for a smaller company that does Balanchine. 

Pacific Northwest Ballet would probably be a good match.  

[Helene]

Schedule-wise, PNB would be a match.  But if she's looking for more classical rep, PNB is not the place, as Peter Boal has been bringing in more and more contemporary work.  He's already replaced the neoclassical "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet" and "Cinderella" with Maillot's contemporary versions of these works, and the Sleeping Beauty press release states that this is the last run for the Ronald Hynd production, and that a new production will be announced in the future.

If we're lucky, we'll get a reconstruction.  If we're not, we'll get Maillot's La Belle.

[canbelto]

Maybe Washington Ballet? A smaller company and Julie Kent definitely focuses more on the classics.

[wonderwall]

I agree that Washington Ballet seems like it’d be a great fit. Carolina and Boston Ballet also come to mind.

That “celebrity” hiring factor popped into my mind as well, but in terms of NYCB—timing her return with the announcement of the AD in an effort to start the company’s new chapter with a feel-good tone/get good publicity. However, NYCB Is bursting at the seams with talented female dancers, so I couldn’t see that happening (and like others noted above, it may not be a good fit for her anymore due to her employment gap/rep of interest). Maybe she’d want to go outside the US? 

Merde to Kathryn! I hope she achieves whatever she has in mind!

[Kathleen O'Connell]

8 hours ago, wonderwall said:

That “celebrity” hiring factor popped into my mind as well, but in terms of NYCB—timing her return with the announcement of the AD in an effort to start the company’s new chapter with a feel-good tone/get good publicity. However, NYCB Is bursting at the seams with talented female dancers, so I couldn’t see that happening.

With all due respect to Morgan's talent and resilience, the last thing NYCB's new AD needs to do is arrive with a dancer in tow. What kind of message would that send to the current roster, whose own considerable talent and resilience have been very much in evidence during a period of turmoil almost operatic in its extent? The temporary PR buzz from a Sunday New York Times Arts Section feature about a ballerina's long road back from tragedy to triumph seems hardly worth it. 

Plus, feel-good publicity doesn't always work out the way it seems it might. For evidence of that, one need look no further than the press hoopla around Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild's engagement and marriage. 

Edited December 2, 2018 by Kathleen O'Connell

[fondoffouettes]

1 hour ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

The temporary PR buzz from a Sunday New York Times Arts Section feature about a ballerina's long road back from tragedy to triumph seems hardly worth it.  

 

I agree -- I don't see Morgan's following on social media as being a factor in her potential hiring by a company. If/when she's hired by a company, it might produce a few articles. But her following seems to be largely bunheads and balletomanes, and that's to whom she tailors her content. I give her a lot of credit for creating a niche for herself during her time away from the stage, but I don't see her being a big box-office draw among people who aren't already ballet fans. 

Maybe Pennsylvania Ballet would be a good fit since they still do some Balanchine, as well as the full-lengths?

[Kathleen O'Connell]

21 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

I give her a lot of credit for creating a niche for herself during her time away from the stage.

I do too! If ever there were an example of turning lemons into lemonade, it's Morgan's YouTube channel. I can absolutely understand its bunhead appeal — which is surely based as much on her warmth and openness as it is on her ballerina cred — but I think the knowledge she conveyed may have been as much about empowerment and resilience as it was about perfecting your pirouettes and your makeup. 

[Barbara]

I agree with the Washington Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet suggestions, probably weighted more toward Washington and Julie Kent. She's never mentioned it but I think she'd look lovely in the Ashton rep so maybe Sarasota Ballet?

[canbelto]

I don't agree with the Tiler Peck/Robert Fairchild comparisons, bc in that case the two of them aggressively marketed their fairy tale courtship, wedding, and marriage. It was all over mainstream newspapers. That came on the heels of Fairchild's star turn in An American in Paris. I admire them enormously as artists but their marketing of their personal lives was in retrospect unwise.

Kathryn Morgan's social media following seem to be ballet students who simply relate to her down-to-earth ballet tutorials as well as her openness in discussing some issues in the ballet world (but being tactful and fair about it -- she's not Gelsey Kirkland). The comments in her YT videos are mostly ballet students. And as I said, if she's marketing, she's not marketing her personal life, but rather her professional one.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

25 minutes ago, canbelto said:

I don't agree with the Tiler Peck/Robert Fairchild comparisons, bc in that case the two of them aggressively marketed their fairy tale courtship, wedding, and marriage. It was all over mainstream newspapers. That came on the heels of Fairchild's star turn in An American in Paris. I admire them enormously as artists but their marketing of their personal lives was in retrospect unwise.

Kathryn Morgan's social media following seem to be ballet students who simply relate to her down-to-earth ballet tutorials as well as her openness in discussing some issues in the ballet world (but being tactful and fair about it -- she's not Gelsey Kirkland). The comments in her YT videos are mostly ballet students. And as I said, if she's marketing, she's not marketing her personal life, but rather her professional one.

Apologies for the confusion: I wasn't referring to Morgan's social media presence, but rather to the possibility of a feel-good media blitz promoted by NYCB (or any other ballet company she might join) to make a fuss over her joining the company after overcoming the obstacles that had sidelined her. 

I have no issue at all with her social media presence. 

[vipa]

I agree with others that Sarasota and Washington Ballet might be good places for Morgan. She is 30 years old and would want to (I imagine) join a company as a principal or soloist. A lot will depends on which companies have that additional salary in their budget. Also, long term - how reliable is she, and how long will she be dancing. AD's take a lot of things into consideration.

[wonderwall]

I wouldn’t agree with or advocate for that either—just mentioned it popped into my mind. 😊 As I stated, I don’t think Kathryn rejoining NYCB would be a good fit on either side for the aforementioned reasons (rep, gap in employment, performance schedule, NYCB’s abundance of talented females).

[wonderwall]

She performed scenes from Romeo and Juliet and Giselle this weekend at a gala in Arizona. She posted some footage of the actual performance on her Instagram story, but nothing permanent yet. Here are some snippets of rehearsal footage, though!

 

Edited March 18, 2019 by wonderwall

[LadyBubbles]

McMillan's R&J + Giselle. I'd say she's definitely trying to get hired by a more classical oriented company rather than get re-hired by NYCB. If she's going to join a company for next season, we should find out between now and June/July-ish. Unless she gets hired mid season, but I'd think a company director would want someone who hasn't been part of a company for a long time to have as much company training + rehearsal time as possible. We shall see where KMo ends up.

[nalgille]

it was announced on live video of yagp talk on instagram/facebook today that she is joining Miami city ballet!

[balletforme]

wow! that's great!  What rank?