Promotions

[bingham]

Is there any promotions coming? NYCB seems more generous with promoting dancers than ABT. Was it 2 or 3 years ago when the last group of corp members were promoted?

[carbro]

ABT's pattern has been to promote (and announce) over the course of the year, one at a time. I don't think there's any fixed date.

[vipa]

ABT's pattern has been to promote (and announce) over the course of the year, one at a time. I don't think there's any fixed date.

Cabro, I think that is true in general, but if I remember correctly, a group of corps people became soloists in Aug. 2007 - Boone, Lane, Copeland, Kajiya and maybe some others.

My feeling is that NYCB can carry a principal heavy company more easily than ABT because of their respective reps. NYCB can have a number of principal roles every evening. ABT because of the number of full length ballets, has fewer principal roles in general. Even now they end up with principals getting 1 or 2 shots at say Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty in NY.

[Ambonnay]

I wouldn't think anybody is being promoted to principal before 2011 (that's not a suggestion that anybody would be in 2011). I think Hee Seo will be promoted to soloist in the first half of 2010. Simone Mesmer wants to be promoted, but I think Hee Seo will surely be promoted before, or concurrently with, her (not that I think Mesmer will be promoted).

[Helene]

Apart from the case of Hallberg, whom to bypass would be like not being able to see Mt. Rainier when the sun is out, I wouldn't bet the mortgage on what Mr. Mackenzie is thinking at any time.

[abatt]

I think Cory Stearns will be the next soloist to be promoted to principal. He is carrying the workload of a principal.

[Ambonnay]

This month's edition of US Vogue has a four-page article, with photos by A Liebovitz, on C Stearns and B millepied entitled "On The Rise".

Stearns does not look good in the two photos included in this spread. In one, he is sort of leaping with arms sort of outstretched above him, topless, but his feet look like toad's feet. In the other photo, he looks like he is out of focus and does not look good.

The text is even sillier. Excerpts follow:

"Among Stearns' many strengths -- his line, his musicality, his inherent romantic appeal -- is his phenomenal skill as a partner. 'That's my favorite thing in ballet,' he says. 'I love feeling that it's just the two of you on stage. It's very stage."

Please......... Stearns' current strengths do not include his partnering, in my mind at least. To say that his current strengths include partnering, let along "phenomenal" partnering, is a real stretch....

[carbro]

I respectfully disagree about Stearns' partnering. I think he more than holds his own among ABT's better partners. He's technically secure and emotionally responsive to his ballerina. I don't know what else you could want.

Anyway, here's a link to the spread in Vogue.com. It includes two photos. (The third is an ad with no dancers.) (I don't know whether the actual magazine has more.) Liebovitz was shooting fashion, not ballet. Stearns and Millepied both look more rugged in these photos than on stage, but not everyone thinks that's a bad thing.

You may have misread the quote. He said, "I love feeling that it's just the two of you onstage. It's very special." Not profound, perhaps, but given that the story is equally about Stearns and Millepied, and it's only four paragraphs long, I think I don't expect an epiphany. It's fluff, not intending for anything higher except to give a little publicity -- aimed at general readers for whom ballet may be at most a passing interest -- to these two up-and-comers. DanceView -- or even Pointe -- it is not.

[Helene]

Thanks for the link, carbro!

I think Stearns looks terrific.

[Ambonnay]

I agree that the piece is "fluff", but that doesn't mean one can't object to the inaccuracy of the description of Stearns' partnering as "phenomenal".

Phenomenal suggests a very, very high level of excellence, which, at least in my mind, Stearns has not (at least not yet) achieved.

[DeborahB]

I agree with Carbro and Helene. Plus, the Vogue story is great for ballet, period.

As a PR pro for more than 30 years (with a speciality in publishing, cooking, gardening and the arts), I can't even begin to tell you how difficult it is -- especially in this media environment (of shrinking publications etc.) to get major media for anything or anyone (unless you are an A lister) in the arts. The fact that Vogue devoted these pages to Ben and Cory is simply exceptional (it sure helps to have the very famous Annie Leibovitz

photographing these dancers). I do think both men look stunning (and do note that Cory himself is a model, as well as a dancer).

As for the partnering question -- is Vogue really the place to argue whether Cory Stearns is a great partner or not? Of course not.

If the writer says he's a "phenomenal" partner, and he isn't (I haven't seen Cory enough to have a real opinion, but I always find him delightful), who does that hurt? No one. Who does it help? Ballet. Two gorgeous men are featured in a huge US publication (which is also sold in London, and I'm guessing other countries). It brings attention to ballet. Young women in their 20's (and I'm sure many younger men too) read Vogue (although they have plenty of older readers too). Perhaps this story might help capture their interest a bit (based on those photos) and then they'll take a chance and buy a ticket to a ballet. And maybe they'll be hooked (as I was at 19, and at 52 still go many times a week while NYCB and ABT are in season).

What's not to like?

[richard53dog]

I agree with Carbro and Helene. Plus, the Vogue story is great for ballet, period.

Perhaps this story might help capture their interest a bit (based on those photos) and then they'll take a chance and buy a ticket to a ballet. And maybe they'll be hooked (as I was at 19, and at 52 still go many times a week while NYCB and ABT are in season).

What's not to like?

I'm thinking along the same lines as Carbro/Helene/DeborahB here. It's a fluff piece and Vogue isn't the place for a significant analysis of ballet. And the photos are of course going to look like fashion shots.

This kind of thing could well be a hook for some new-to-ballet viewer. I speak from some experience. Although I had had some exposure to the whole arts

spectrum as a kid, the catalyst that got me to my first performance at Lincoln Center as a 15 year old was two elaborate spreads in Life magazine, the

first was a feature on the closing night performance at the old Met and the second was a lavish set of photos of the opening night of the new Met

at Lincoln Center.

True it was an opera performance rather than a ballet performance (but the first performance at NYCB followed pretty quickly) but it's important to note

that the second Life spread really had little direct connection to the opera being performed (Barber's Antony and Cleopatra) and a lot to do with the non

arts components (shots of the attendees) and so forth.

In this case, the "hook" for me was really more of a social nature than a cultural one but it served the purpose of making me by a ticket and then the actual content of the performance took over.

I get the other writers frustrations, in an ideal world the content of the article would be more stimulating, but I'm content enough to see a piece like this in such a widely read magazine.

[Ambonnay]

I don't know if this is an appropriate topic for board discussion, but here goes: another thing I didn't like about the Cory Stearns leaping photo is that his armpits seem not entirely shaved. I found that kind of disgusting, although I'm not sure what the standard or practice is for danseurs in this regard.

[Simon G]

I don't know if this is an appropriate topic for board discussion, but here goes: another thing I didn't like about the Cory Stearns leaping photo is that his armpits seem not entirely shaved. I found that kind of disgusting, although I'm not sure what the standard or practice is for danseurs in this regard.

Ambonnay,

I think this is getting a tad neurotic, maybe? If anything I find the habit of male dancers shaving away all traces of pubic hair a bit disgusting or at least unsettling - as if sex, sexuality, puberty and their entirely natural traits and characteristics are something to be ashamed about? Cory Stearns is a grown man, what's wrong with him being photographed as one? He's not asexual, emasculated or effeminate, in fact the image portrayed is one of masculine virility, an image which can only do the subject of male dancing, a subject which provokes ambivalent reactions in non dance fans, a great deal of good. Indeed judging my the hirsute glimpses of Millepied dressed in shirt, were he to have opted for the shirt off shot, it's highly likely he'd have borne more than a passing similarity to Chewbacca - so what? He's a hairy guy.

The photos are nice photos, I totally agree with everyone that a fluffy bit of filler in Vogue isn't the place to discuss the finer details of ballet technique, most people don't care, certainly your average reader of Vogue is more interested in aesthetics than tecnicalities of a dance form. And getting uptight over a misnoma, or rather an opinion that is contrary to your own regarding Stearn's partnering abilities, especially as it's in Vogue, makes me question why this is so troubling for you. I've seen Stearn's partnering skills lauded in dance publications (I've never seen him dance, so can't give any personal opinion) just as I've seen other dancers who I have seen and don't like, praised to high heaven in dance journals - it's just par for the course, it's certainly not worth getting upset about.

The only thing I don't like is Annie Leibowitz, I find her style very staged and arch as always. But any mention of dance in a non dance medium can only be a good thing - and if scores of women now flock to ABT performances to oggle Stearns, albeit with hairty pits, when before they wouldn't have gone to the ballet, that's a good thing.

[dirac]

And getting uptight over a misnoma, or rather an opinion that is contrary to your own regarding Stearn's partnering abilities, especially as it's in Vogue, makes me question why this is so troubling for you. I've seen Stearn's partnering skills lauded in dance publications (I've never seen him dance, so can't give any personal opinion) just as I've seen other dancers who I have seen and don't like, praised to high heaven in dance journals - it's just par for the course, it's certainly not worth getting upset about.

The only thing I don't like is Annie Leibowitz, I find her style very staged and arch as always. But any mention of dance in a non dance medium can only be a good thing - and if scores of women now flock to ABT performances to oggle Stearns, albeit with hairty pits, when before they wouldn't have gone to the ballet, that's a good thing.

Respectfully, Simon, if Ambonnay thinks that “phenomenal” is hyperbole in this context then I see no problem with pointing that out, even if the item is a fluff piece, which it is. I’m inclined to agree with you about Leibovitz. Not my favorite photographer.

Millepied and Stearns are attractive men but I doubt that hordes of VOGUE readers, their pulses racing, will scramble for tickets on account of this article or these pictures, although I am amused by Millepied's rakish show of chest hair. It’s a nice story, that’s all, and I wouldn’t make a big fuss about it either way.

Ambonnay, I think the hairy armpits are okay for a guy under current cultural norms, although I doubt if any unshaven ballerinas will be posing for Leibovitz any time soon.

[Simon G]

Sorry, I didn't mean my posting to come over as so abrupt, I was typing on the fly. I suppose all I meant was that it's just not worth getting upset when a bit of hyperbolic, fluff journalism is nothing more than superficial. It's not geared towards ballet lovers, just people who like pretty pictures.

[dirac]

Oh, I agree it's not that big a deal. On the other hand, Kourlas is an experienced dance writer and even in brief texts that are intended to accompany flashy photographs it's okay to take (mild) issue with what she writes, even if it is just short of advertising copy.

[Ambonnay]

Sorry to cause the above discussion.

Note R Bolle has posed for various shots that have appeared in fashion/general non-ballet-driven publications, including Vanity Fair.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/culture/2...bert-bolle.html

I vaguely recall Bolle having posed for Vogue US or Vanity Fair shoots (with models) in the last year or two (?).

Is the optional aspect of danseurs' armpit shaving also applicable when they are performing, as opposed to in photo shoots? For example, in Apollo, I wonder what the practice is. I should have noticed this when the many ABT danseurs in Millepied's new work at Avery Fisher were performing wearing their little black vests.

[Simon G]

Sorry to cause the above discussion.

Note R Bolle has posed for various shots that have appeared in fashion/general non-ballet-driven publications, including Vanity Fair.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/culture/2...bert-bolle.html

I vaguely recall Bolle having posed for Vogue US or Vanity Fair shoots (with models) in the last year or two (?).

Is the optional aspect of danseurs' armpit shaving also applicable when they are performing, as opposed to in photo shoots? For example, in Apollo, I wonder what the practice is. I should have noticed this when the many ABT danseurs in Millepied's new work at Avery Fisher were performing wearing their little black vests.

Hi Ambonnay,

I'm sorry if it seemed I jumped down your throat. It is one of my bugbears, male ballet dancers who seem to want to eradicate the perfectly natural biological fact of having hair. I know just as many ballet watchers have a problem of men with hair. As dirac said, the next logical post modern/feminist step is to have hairy ballerinas, with bird's nests and Chewbacca furry legs, poking out of their tights. I'd pay money to see that.

I also can sympathise with dancers you really don't rate being feted and lauded to high heaven, I had that same feeling with Adam Cooper. He was a corps de ballet member in the RB when Sylvie Guillem plucked him from obscurity to partner her because of his height and he was fast tracked to principal status, then he was Matthew Bourne's Swan King in his Swan Lake and in the deluge of incredible, sycophantic press and attention, no one actually mentioned that he wasn't all that great as a dancer. It's just part of life, and makes it all the more sweeter when dancers you do like are given the attention they deserve.

[Ambonnay]

Simon G:

I think Cory Stearns has promise, including with respect to partnering, and he has made progress in the last two years. I don't doubt that he will probably continue to improve (query at what rate), and continue to get substantial roles (including roles that are typically occupied by principals). But, as you suggested, what I was remarking on was the attention he has received and the extent to which he is sometimes overly touted. I suppose that is part of being the "next big thing" at ABT, and of the infatuation-ridden and puffing nature of media nowadays.

Millepied's being puffed for his choreography and for his incursions into assistig on film (further noted by the Vogue article) is another thing that I don't agree with. But that is a topic whose discussion is to be had on another day....

[DeborahB]

How did a discussion about "promotions" dovetail into one about male dancer's hairy armpits (again, who cares about this stuff? I don't get it)?

I honestly do understand debating whether not a certain dancer deserves their accolades. But we can't, and shouldn't, expect that from a mass market (albeit a bit upscale) publication like Vogue. I'm just happy that a big circulation magazine gave some attention to the world of ballet.

With all due respect to several nice folks on this thread -- I urge you to lighten up a bit.

[Azulynn]

If I may go back to the original topic of Promotions, Simone Messmer announced on Twitter today that she had been promoted to Soloist.

See her Twitter feed here

Congratulations to her, and maybe more coming?

[Helene]

to Ms. Messmer!

The official press release is here:

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...c=30827&hl=

[abatt]

I'm happy for Messmer,but I'm a little surprised that Hee Seo is still in the corps.

[Ambonnay]

I am really surprised too.

But I guess there's really no harm to Seo from staying in the corps, if she is, as she has been and will be, getting principal roles in some full-length ballets. It's just a matter of time for Seo.

BTW, what, very broadly, has generally happened to soloists if, at some point, it becomes clear they will never make Principal? Does the soloist have the option to stay on, if he or she is content with the status quo, or is there an "up or out" policy that is implicit to being a soloist?