ABT 2015 Met season

[Plisskin]

McKenzie more than likely went out of his way for Julie due to who she is married to. Otherwise she would have recieved the same treatment as all of ABT's other in-house dancers...

[bingham]

McKenzie more than likely went out of his way for Julie due to who she is married to. Otherwise she would have recieved the same treatment as all of ABT's other in-house dancers...

How old is KM? Maybe, it's time to consider retirement...

[Helene]

McKenzie is 60, younger than Peter Martins (68), Helgi Tomasson (72), Villella when he was pushed out of MCB (mid-70's), Stevenson (mid-60's) when Houston Ballet made the big changeover in 2003, and Todd Bolender (early '70's), when he left Kansas City Ballet, for example.

[bingham]

McKenzie is 60, younger than Peter Martins (68), Helgi Tomasson (72), Villella when he was pushed out of MCB (mid-70's), Stevenson (mid-60's) when Houston Ballet made the big changeover in 2003, and Todd Bolender (early '70's), when he left Kansas City Ballet, for example.

So, he will be around for another 5 years,at least....

[Helene]

McKenzie strikes me as being quite hearty.

[fondoffouettes]

These comments by the departing Reyes mirror what Corella said in the period leading up to his retirement- that Kevin wasn't offering him much to do even though Corella was ready, willing and able to dance. Yes, I agree that McKenzie went out of his way to keep Kent on the roster. The accommodation was not so much in the selection of works for the company, but in allowing her to repeatedly make significant modifications to the choreography of the classics in order to continue to appear in these ballets. I think that the "easier" works benefitted others in the company too, not just Kent. As an example, Vishneva was a big advocate of Lady of the Cams. too.

Also, let's not forget that McKenzie denied Corella's fans an opportunity to say farewell. Wiles and Malakhov just left with no special goodbye. How does a dancer like Herrera go from dancing Bayadere, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Don Q and Giselle last season to dancing one Giselle matinee this season? Something is very, very wrong with this picture.

Does ABT have marketing department? If so, how could they allow McKenzie to release such a sour statement about Herrera changing her mind about Sleeping Beauty? How unprofessional for an artistic director to criticize his own company member in that way, no matter who may truly be at fault.

[Drew]

Does ABT have marketing department? If so, how could they allow McKenzie to release such a sour statement about Herrera changing her mind about Sleeping Beauty? How unprofessional for an artistic director to criticize his own company member in that way, no matter who may truly be at fault.

That's what surprised me. I assume he must have been pissed off--and (rightly or wrongly) thought he had reason to be so. But of course the statement should have expressed positives about Herrera --maybe a whiff of regret that we won't again be seeing her great Aurora, which he had so hoped for blah, blah, but so excited for the Giselle--and leave it at that.

Responding to other thoughts posted above:

As far as the guest artist business goes: Reyes is a regular, but she did not work her way up through the ranks -- from the very beginning she danced leading roles that (presumably) might have gone to someone else already in the company had she not entered ranks at the "top" so to speak.

Like many others, I think more selective use of guest artists and more imaginative repertory would be nice to see. Come to think of it, a better ballet venue than the Met would be nice to see. And I have terrific memories of all three of this season's retiring ballerinas and am a huge fan of Gillian Murphy. But I can't pretend that Cojocaru, Osipova, and Vishneva haven't made my last decade's worth of ABT memories both a lot more exciting and a lot more moving than I think they would have been otherwise, even if the company had been busily promoting from within.

On the full-length repertory front: I actually prefer Dame Aux Camelias to Romeo and Juliet, Manon, and Onegin. Way back when I wanted ABT to acquire it for Ferri. So if we owe that to Julie Kent--thank you Julie Kent.

[Amour]

Just to add to these, I'm under the impression that Irina Dvorovenko left because Kevin was giving her almost nothing to dance (although she got a farewell). He's a few years older but Robert Hill left the roster with no farewell.

[Drew]

I'm not convinced the company owes everybody farewells.

(Of course if a retirement--or departure from the company--is announced, then fans can infer when the last performance will be. If it isn't announced, then the company is in no position to give a 'farewell' in any case.)

[Amour]

I'm not convinced the company owes everybody farewells.

(Of course if a retirement--or departure from the company--is announced, then fans can infer when the last performance will be. If it isn't announced, then the company is in no position to give a 'farewell' in any case.)

Perhaps not everyone but I would think all principals. True, Robert was on the roster for years and didn't dance (who know why, though) and then one season was gone.

I would also add that Julie became a beloved dancer late in her career. In her prime (early to mid '90's) we still had Ferri, McKerrow, Jaffee, Yeagar and possibly Cynthia Harvey. Julie paled in comparison, was considered a "cold" dancer, and generally didn't get good reviews. It's only since that whole generation has long gone that people have grown so fond of Julie.

[sandik]

Pacific Northwest Ballet presents a season-ending "Encore" show that usually includes appearances by all the dancers who are leaving the company -- you can certainly angle to see someone's final regular performance, but this is a chance to recognize everyone (including corps dancers)

[mussel]

When the Met box office opens at 9am, will the website allow me to pick my own seats? I usually buy all my tickets well before with create-your-own subs. but this year's many changes blindsided me.

[Helene]

While I understand not having a gala for every dancer who departs, Herrera has been with the company for 24 seasons, and this is her 20th as a Principal Dancer. Obviously "Sleeping Beauty" was not her choice: she didn't cast herself in it or schedule it for her own last performance. I don't see the advantage of not asking her how she would like to exit and accommodating her request. it would have been the decent and gracious thing to do for a dancer of her longevity, rank, and loyalty.

[choriamb]

Hmmm...while I despair with everyone else over ABT's public relations during the past two weeks, I don't think that the Washington Post article supports the notion that Herrera's Spring season was created with deliberate malice.

While Reyes' comment "All the guests take a lot of performances from you. It’s hard to keep in shape when you’re only doing one performance now and then..." is entirely true, it's a burden that all of ABT's principal ballerinas share. Kent, Herrera, and herself were not maliciously singled out for a reduction of their repertory: they've danced about the same number of performances as ABT's other principal ballerinas over the past 2-3 seasons. (For dancers who potentially DID have legitimate grievances in that department, see Dvorovenko and Corella.)

That all three dancers were originally scheduled to dance only a small number of relatively lightweight ballets before their farewell performances this season seems pretty natural: I don't find it unusual that an Artistic Director would try desperately hard to keep retiring dancers uninjured so that their heavily advertised and sold-out farewell performances would go off without a hitch. Companies like NYCB and PNB that don't sell on the basis of advance, full-season casting don't have to worry about that.

To me, Herrera's quote in the WP article ("I really wanted to retire with something that meant something special to me,” she continues. “It was not very nice that I didn’t have a choice. It was like, ‘You have to retire in this production.’ ”) was qualified by the next paragraph ("Herrera, 39, gave the role a try earlier this month in Orange County, Calif., where Ratmansky’s version had its world premiere. His account is not the standard..."). It suggests to me that Herrera had chosen her farewell performance on the assumption that Ratmansky's SB would be more like the SBs that she's danced in the past...and, once she found otherwise, decided she didn't want to retire doing something unfamiliar.

So, was there any ill-will AFTER Herrera cancelled SB? Possibly. Any ill-will before she cancelled? Not that I can see. (And McKenzie did arrange for her to dance her farewell with Bolle in both scenarios.)

[choriamb]

while I despair with everyone else over ABT's public relations during the past two weeks

...except for the way they quietly announced Hallberg's Spring 2015 absence in the midst of the good-natured media frenzy the week before Sleeping Beauty's debut...that, friends, is the proper way to bury bad news.

[California]

The online purchasing system for tickets was available at 8:30 am EDT, not 9:00. Perhaps it was available even earlier. I had logged into my account just to be ready to pounce for favorite seats and was surprised that I was able to start selecting seats and purchase tickets right away. I've gotten the correct e-mail receipts, etc., so everything seems to be working. Predictably high-demand performances didn't have the greatest selections, but still pretty reasonable choices. Unlike previous years, the system seems to be able to handle this high demand day.

[CTballetfan]

Just checked single ticket availability on the ABT website and except for a few performances there are so very many orchestra seats available, even for SB. How will they sell them all? Is the company in financial trouble?

[Helene]

It's a big leap from being tin-eared and insensitive to the dancer and her audience to malice.

[fondoffouettes]

Just checked single ticket availability on the ABT website and except for a few performances there are so very many orchestra seats available, even for SB. How will they sell them all? Is the company in financial trouble?

I think the availability is pretty normal for so early in the spring. Subscriptions are down across the performing arts, so I'm not surprised that the house is not yet very full on most evenings. The warhorses like Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty will move a lot of tickets in the weeks leading up to their performance dates. If single-ticket sales don't take off by May, then I'd be worried.

[Natalia]

Back to Paloma: Couldn't her long-time main coach, Irina Kolpakova, have intervened? Or perhaps Kolpakova doesn't wield enough power at ABT?

I wonder if Paloma will have a prestigious pdd or solo in the gala on May 18? That might be the true opportunity for her many fans to give her a fitting farewell.

[ivanov]

When the Met box office opens at 9am, will the website allow me to pick my own seats? I usually buy all my tickets well before with create-your-own subs. but this year's many changes blindsided me.

Yes, you can pick your own seats. I was pleased by the ample selection offered!

[ABT Fan]

Also, let's not forget that McKenzie denied Corella's fans an opportunity to say farewell. Wiles and Malakhov just left with no special goodbye. How does a dancer like Herrera go from dancing Bayadere, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Don Q and Giselle last season to dancing one Giselle matinee this season? Something is very, very wrong with this picture.

Does ABT have marketing department? If so, how could they allow McKenzie to release such a sour statement about Herrera changing her mind about Sleeping Beauty? How unprofessional for an artistic director to criticize his own company member in that way, no matter who may truly be at fault.

Corella did get a farewell. He performed SL. I was there.

Usually dancers don't get farewells at ABT unless they're retiring and Wiles didn't retire. She left to start her own company so I didn't find it odd. Last Met season was unusual in that 3 soloists were given farewells. I've never heard of a soloist being given a farewell before. And only Radetsky was retiring; Matthews and Kajiya went to Houston. I personally think they were give farewells to try to appease some of the public outcry over the company's treatment of their homegrown dancers vs guest artists and their not being promoted or given better roles and hence their departures.

McKenzie's statement in the WP was unprofessional and disrespectful to Herrera. I can understand why she changed her mind after performing SB once and why Bolle withdrawing would be the final straw. She's been extremely loyal to this company and deserves better.

Reyes joined as a soloist so she didn't work her way up from the corps, but she still had to work to get promoted.

I've always liked Kent (though I think she should have retired years ago) but she's clearly gotten better treatment then Reyes and especially Herrera for obvious reasons.

[abatt]

Yes, Corella got a farewell. I was there too. In fact, from what I recall McKenzie was the one who encouraged Corella to have a farewell gala. Not sure why McKenzie decided to respond to Paloma's comments in the press. No point in bashing the woman. No way that McKenzie is going to come out of this looking like the victim. Just say no comment, Kevin!!

[NinaFan]

I third that. Corella did indeed have a farewell peformance of Swan Lake, which I also attended.

[abatt]

I notice that they are still selling tickets for the SB performance that is no longer Paloma's farewell at the Farewell Gala prices. Meanwhile, Paloma's actual farewell performance is being sold at regular ticket prices. I guess the press dept does not communicate with the department that runs the computer programs.