nanushka Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Marcelo is a pro and the best partner at ABT. He could make it work with anyone on short notice. Why not just give Marcelo the night off and cast Murphy with Whiteside. That's hardly an obvious solution. Many people would still be upset, as many will be there to see Marcelo as well. (This was, after all, his originally scheduled performance.) There are very few people who are seeing 3 or 4 casts this week and will have already seen these two dance together already. Even among subscribers, that's the case. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Believe me, there were a lot of angry people there on Wednesday who didn't realize Osipova was out, but at least large numbers of people had already gotten wind of that problem and made their exchanges accordingly. Yes, tonight will see the levels of outrage that occurred last season when Cojocaru cancelled her SL last minute. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 It sounds like from reports so far this season that this trial-by-fire that Hee Seo has endured has, indeed, made her stronger and shows that being able to build on a series of performances is what the home-grown Principals need. The guest Principals or established dancer Principals (like Vishneva) already have that experience when they come. NYCB has policy of casting up-and-comers in leads -- made possible by the mostly mixed-bill rep and A Midsummer Night's Dream with numerous principal roles per performance -- but ABT Principals are lucky to get more than one per season. Link to comment
Kaysta Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 I will say this about Seo.. There were some ardent Osipova folks sitting next to me on Wednesday night who didn't get the memo that she was out. They were ANGRY at the beginning when they realized it was Seo performing. After the first act, they stated, about Seo: "She's stunning in this role, isn't she?" I really enjoyed Seo's performance, almost as much as Gillian's. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Hee Seo may be lucky to get all these chances to sharpen her skills, but I think the events that have occurred this season will lead to far fewer advance ticket purchases. You cannot have one person occupy so many lead roles on short notice without repercussions for future box office receipts. I Link to comment
nysusan Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 I'm sure it's Seo instead of Murphy because Murphy and Gomes wouldn't have rehearsed this together. In this particular case, it actually makes perfect sense for Seo to step in. I don't think ABT can be faulted for that particular decision. Reports were that Gomes looked tired in his Romeo with Seo on Wednesday. I agree with abatt, what prevented them from replacing both of the leads with Murphy/Whiteside? I don't think there are many people who bought a ticket just to see Gomes, most bought for Vishneva or for the pairing, It may be convenient to throw Seo in because she & Gomes have danced it together but I just don't believe that Seo was the ONLY dancer who could step in and take all of Osipova's & Semionova's scheduled performances,and now this. Oh wait, they gave one performance to Boylston, one to Abrera and one to Kochetkova. So we only had 3 Seo Bayadere's, 2 Seo Beauties, and now 3 Seo R&Js. Does anyone actually believe that she will ONLY do 2 Swan Lakes and 2 Cinderellas? Letting one ballerina dominate the season like this is unprecedented, especially when she isn't a star. Link to comment
Amour Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Diana has posted on Facebook that she is sick and is very unhappy, but she can't dance. She apologizes. (Don't know how to link to her Facebook page but it's there). I'm devastated and furious at the same time. Considering trying to sell my seats (orchestra row H center) outside the theatre. At least I saw Obraztsova last night. Ok, here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diana-Vishneva/252826048061382 Link to comment
nysusan Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Hee Seo may be lucky to get all these chances to sharpen her skills, but I think the events that have occurred this season will lead to far fewer advance ticket purchases. You cannot have one person occupy so many lead roles on short notice without repercussions for future box office receipts. I Amen to that. I have 4 expensive subscription seats that I typically turn into tickets for myself to 12-15 performances a year. This year with ABT using such a limited roster of ballerinas I ran into a situation where there just weren't enough alternate performance I wanted to see when faced with a cast substitution I didn't like. I will definitely cut my subscription buy for next season, and the reason is the now unavoidable Hee Seo. Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 It may be convenient to throw Seo in because she & Gomes have danced it together but I just don't believe that Seo was the ONLY dancer who could step in and take all of Osipova's & Semionova's scheduled performances,and now this. I wholly agree with the second part of this, and I understand that this latest change is particularly frustrating given that broader context. But taking this latest change on its own, I think it makes the most sense. There have been many other situations this year in which ABT management has stuck us with Seo instead of finding more ideal or even obvious solutions. I don't think this is one of those cases. There may not be many who bought tickets only for Gomes, but given that Vishneva's out, many would still like the chance to see him dance. I simply don't think this is a case in which ABT is acting irresponsible or inconsiderate to its patrons -- however often it may do so. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 That's not specific to Hee Seo. While individuals might not complain about substitutions if Murphy, for example, had been cast instead of her, to many others, whoever danced would have been "Not Osipova," "Not Semionova," or "Not Vishneva." The perfect storm of injury and illness to guests and the carousel of casting may impact future box office receipts, but from even before 2015 Spring casting was announced there were dire predictions about who was likely to cancel here, and they were intensified after the casting was announced. There were a number of members who said they wouldn't buy in advance or would buy fewer tickets in advance, and how close to the performance in question was "safe" -- obviously, not until curtain time -- was raised as an issue. Advance ticket sales have already suffered a blow based on what happened last year and the season before. On the other hand, there may be people who came in skeptical, but are now sold on Hee Seo. And/or Abrera. And/or Lane. And they won't shy away from buying tickets for these dancers in the future, and even if they are disappointed when it's not Osipova, not Vishneva, or not Semionova, they may be satisfied by the performances by in-house ballerinas. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 This problem ties into issues that were raised in other forums regarding Hee Seo Ballet Theater- I mean ABT. McKenzie is now working with a skeleton staff of regular ABT principal dancers. When something goes wrong, as it has this season, there are not enough people who are trained at ABT to do these lead roles over an 8 week season. So his choices are to find emergent guest artists, or reassign the role to a very select and limited number of principals on the ABT regular roster who know the role. This strategy is backfiring in a big way this season. This situation cannot continue. Link to comment
c-green Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 I think Gillian is the best who can replace Vishneva. I saw Marcelo and Gillian danced Balcony PdD in Japnan tour's Gala last year, that was undoubtedly stellar and the hightlights of the night. Their strong technique and chemistry was just breathtaking. However Kaysta's report of reaction of Osipova fans is very interesting. Hee Seo may become a good Juliet when she dance with Marcelo. My friends who attended at Wednesday's performance completely satisfied with Marcelo especially after Balcony PdD. So it sounds odd rumor that he got tired in the role. Link to comment
abatt Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Gomes was conserving energy in his solos on Wed. He knew he would only have one day of rest before his Friday show. His passion was not reduced, nor was his partnering. Link to comment
onxmyxtoes Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 One of the major problems is that they announced this day-of and subscribers can't exchange their tickets today. I understand that Diana decided last minute, but it would've been nice to have even one day to exchange the ticket if unsatisfied with the casting. Link to comment
canbelto Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Well one issue is that some dancers seem willing to dance despite illness, minor injury, etc. Diana is not one of those dancers. She will only dance with specific partners and in certain productions and she adheres to a non-hectic schedule. So if you miss a chance to see her you won't get many more chances. I'm glad I saw her this season pull off a technically and dramatically fine Aurora. Link to comment
Amour Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Just spoke to Alexandria in the box office who gave me 2 comp tickets (orchestra) to try to make up for everything that's happened. They only have them for a few dates (1 being June 25th SL with Gillian but I had the RB that day). So I'm taking a Hee Seo Cinderella on June 29. I advise people to call and complain. The box office is responding. Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Just spoke to Alexandria in the box office who gave me 2 comp tickets (orchestra) to try to make up for everything that's happened. They only have them for a few dates (1 being June 25th SL with Gillian but I had the RB that day). So I'm taking a Hee Seo Cinderella on June 29. I advise people to call and complain. The box office is responding. Sorry you're having to see Hee Seo again, here's a ticket to see Hee Seo again. I love it! Link to comment
Helene Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Well one issue is that some dancers seem willing to dance despite illness, minor injury, etc. Diana is not one of those dancers. She will only dance with specific partners and in certain productions and she adheres to a non-hectic schedule. So if you miss a chance to see her you won't get many more chances. I'm glad I saw her this season pull off a technically and dramatically fine Aurora. I respect dancers who are explicit about their terms, where their terms are accepted by the companies. If she hadn't earned the right to do so, there wouldn't be takers. Especially as dancers reach their late 30's, they should be able to care for themselves and not risk the rest of their careers. Link to comment
Amour Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Well Diana isn't injured, she's sick. She wouldn't be risking her career by dancing. But if she's that sick, I guess she can cancel. I just wish she'd done it yesterday when exchanges were possible (although exchange for what?). Link to comment
Helene Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 If she's sick, she could risk injury by performing. She also risks the health of her partner, if she tries to dance in a weakened state, and Gomes already has had a hard season. Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 I'm not sure we can assume that she was sick enough at mid-day yesterday (which is about the latest possible time she could have canceled early enough for the convenience of subscribers wishing to exchange) to know that she would not be able to dance tonight. It's certainly a disappointment, but do we really want to blame her for this? Link to comment
aurora Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Just posted on ABT's twitter & Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanBalletTheatre/posts/10153290344621858 Thank goodness I saw Obraztsova's radiant Juliet last night. Looks like that & the Vishneva/Gomes Giselle are going to be the season highlights for me. Don't discount tonight's performance. You might be pleasantly surprised. I certainly was on wednesday. Link to comment
aurora Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 I think Gillian is the best who can replace Vishneva. I saw Marcelo and Gillian danced Balcony PdD in Japnan tour's Gala last year, that was undoubtedly stellar and the hightlights of the night. Their strong technique and chemistry was just breathtaking. However Kaysta's report of reaction of Osipova fans is very interesting. Hee Seo may become a good Juliet when she dance with Marcelo. My friends who attended at Wednesday's performance completely satisfied with Marcelo especially after Balcony PdD. So it sounds odd rumor that he got tired in the role. Marcelo looked fine, wonderful in fact. He isn't the virtuoso that some of the men are, but he danced well and did not look tired... Link to comment
abatt Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 There is a credibility problem at ABT in general. How long before the season began did they know Semionova's injuries would cause her to miss the entire season? Personally, I suspect it was well before they ever made their public announcement about it. How far in advance di ABT know that Osipova and Sarafanov would not dance the new SB, and how long did they wait to tell us about it. Also, I have no doubt that Vishneva is sick and is very disappointed to miss her R&J. But why did she cancel out on the gala, when she was seen strutting down the red carpet without any apparent illness or injury. When you are scheduled only for very few shows per year, people take specific notice of your absence. Taken in totality, I think all these issues are contributing to the angry backlash against ABT Link to comment
Amour Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Don't forget Smirnova/Chudin. That should have been changed (even to TBA) long before they did. Link to comment
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