stuben Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I don't have a ticket for that performance but I would scoop one up if any of the following (in order of preference): Cojocaru, Trenary, Lane. Otherwise, no thanks. I have been trying to keep up with all the posts since I joined the wonderful insights, but I have to say, I am surprised to not hear of Stella's name at all, her name should already be posted, I would definitely have ticket in hand if her name shows up on the website. As far as I am concerned, she has such commanding presence, and is technically ready to dance this role. I loved her in this year's Giselle and it would be such a travisty if a principal role is not given to an amazing soloist as Stella, who actually should have been promoted already. I do agree with another post mentioning how SAB and NYCB seems to nuture their dancers from school to company up the ladder, for this, I feel that there is indeed a disconnect when it comes to ABT. I have been following many of the dancers through the years who are from the JKO school, it seems many of them are left to fend for themselves once they join the main company. Based on this season's injuries and guests pulling out, perhaps ABT should start thinking of using their money wisely, maybe providing coaching to their own company dancers, many of whom I can see have so much potential and talent, instead of spending on guests? I understand that time may be an issue to coach vs hiring someone who already knows the part, and even the fact that guests sell more tickets, but how about a few less guests and channel the money to better use in nuturing our own American dancers? Link to comment
vagansmom Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I think, Stuben, it might be a testament to how tight the budget is that ABT won't give their homegrown dancers a chance. It takes a little bit of time for word to travel - not much these days - about how gorgeous this or that new dancer is in a particular role if s/he is not one of the international stars or has managed to market herself up to being one, as did Misty Copeland, who is now a "brand." I think it tells us just how close ABT is holding their budget. Penny-wise and pound foolish if you ask me. They're willing to pay big bucks for these stars, but their own dancers could easily become big stars if they'd give them enough chances. And they'd cost a whole lot less too. Look at NYCB has done that! Ashley Bouder, Tiler and Tyler, Sara Mearns, Sterling Hyltin, the Fairchild siblings, etc. The list is long. Link to comment
California Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Just announced on the ABT calendar page: Seo is the sub for Osipova. At least Gomes is still on the schedule: http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx Link to comment
laurel Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 And in case you hadn't noticed, Seo's Tuesday night performance has been given to superstar Misty Copeland. As far as the AD is concerned, it's ABL (anyone but Lane). Link to comment
vagansmom Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 So, there must be a reason other than her dancing that causes Lane to be overlooked or, more actively, ignored? Is it because of her "Black Swan" controversy? Link to comment
mimsyb Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 And in case you hadn't noticed, Seo's Tuesday night performance has been given to superstar Misty Copeland. As far as the AD is concerned, it's ABL (anyone but Lane). But this makes perfect sense. MIsty is already rehearsing the role and is set to dance it on Saturday matinee (the 20th). Why call in another dancer, either from outside or in house? That's just more rehearsal time for everyone, etc. I'm sure management felt this was a far safer bet than going with Sarah. Her turn (or year ) will come. Just not now. Link to comment
Amour Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Pathetic, just pathetic:( So glad I exchanged my ticket yesterday. Link to comment
Kaysta Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Just announced on the ABT calendar page: Seo is the sub for Osipova. At least Gomes is still on the schedule: http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx I'm mad! I thought I was safe from Seo, given she was performing on Monday and Tuesday. Link to comment
vipa Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I think it shows a lack of imagination on the part of the AD. I know the problems of rehearsal time etc. but these choices seem crazy to me. If a star has to drop out, putting in someone who is already doing the role is highly unsatisfactory. These are people I could have bought a ticket to see if I wanted to. Seeing someone new at least adds some excitement. My example - bought a ticket to Cojocaru in SL. She withdrew and I got Kochetkova. Ok I got something different. The next time Cojocaru withdrew from SL I got Hee Seo and I felt totally cheated. Wow Peter Martins is suddenly looking like a genus. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Peter Martins rarely has guests. If someone is injured, he substitutes another company dancer in the role, and that could be a dancer that someone was trying to avoid. He wasn't sounding like a genius after Erika Perrera's first "Raymonda," but the needle took a jump in the other direction after her second. It sounds like having to dance a lot of very difficult roles in a short period of time has been great for Hee Seo. Link to comment
mimsyb Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I think it shows a lack of imagination on the part of the AD. I know the problems of rehearsal time etc. but these choices seem crazy to me. If a star has to drop out, putting in someone who is already doing the role is highly unsatisfactory. These are people I could have bought a ticket to see if I wanted to. Seeing someone new at least adds some excitement. My example - bought a ticket to Cojocaru in SL. She withdrew and I got Kochetkova. Ok I got something different. The next time Cojocaru withdrew from SL I got Hee Seo and I felt totally cheated. Wow Peter Martins is suddenly looking like a genus. But Seo is an 'in house' dancer. How can that be a bad replacement? Seems to me it can only nurture and make the dancer better somehow. Which is something we all talk about. Nurturing and giving performances to those from within the ranks. Many here bemoan the importation of so many "guests", but when an ABT dancer gets the break, that too is criticized. We can't have it both ways. Unless the criticism is directed toward certain dancers from the ABT roster getting the break and others not. I totally understand the reasoning behind going with someone already in the rehearsal process. Link to comment
stuben Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Penny-wise and pound foolish if you ask me. They're willing to pay big bucks for these stars, but their own dancers could easily become big stars if they'd give them enough chances. And they'd cost a whole lot less too. Look at NYCB has done that! Ashley Bouder, Tiler and Tyler, Sara Mearns, Sterling Hyltin, the Fairchild siblings, etc. The list is long. Indeed pound foolish vagansmom and I feel they need the NYCB model to guide them. That is what I would say "short sightedness" on the part of the AD or in the case, perhaps too much board influence. I have to feel and wonder for the homegrown dancers. NYCB has it right and I think they need a Peter Martins to make things right. Link to comment
vipa Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Peter Martins rarely has guests. If someone is injured, he substitutes another company dancer in the role, and that could be a dancer that someone was trying to avoid. He wasn't sounding like a genius after Erika Perrera's first "Raymonda," but the needle took a jump in the other direction after her second. It sounds like having to dance a lot of very difficult roles in a short period of time has been great for Hee Seo. True but at ABT people bought tickets to Osipove are seeing Seo, and people who bought tickets to see Seo are seeing Copeland. BYW I was one of the critics pf Perreira in her first Raymonda and I stand by my criticism because it matches other performances I've seen of her. If she's grown because of it great and I look foreard to seeing the results. As for ABT, we are not talking about teaching someone a role on short notice. KM makes choices. IMO his choices lack imagination and do nothing to satisfy the ticket buyer. Link to comment
Amour Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Wow Peter Martins is suddenly looking like a genus. Compared to Kevin, I think Peter is a genius. And knows how to develop NYCB, something sorely missing from ABT. I won't give money as a patron/donor until he's replaced. Link to comment
Amour Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Peter Martins rarely has guests. If someone is injured, he substitutes another company dancer in the role, and that could be a dancer that someone was trying to avoid. He wasn't sounding like a genius after Erika Perrera's first "Raymonda," but the needle took a jump in the other direction after her second. It sounds like having to dance a lot of very difficult roles in a short period of time has been great for Hee Seo. Erica improved with 3 performances! I haven't seen an improvement in Hee Seo in 2 years:( Link to comment
Helene Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Erica improved with 3 performances! I haven't seen an improvement in Hee Seo in 2 years:( You may not have, but others have seen growth lately, and they've described it here. It's not a right vs. wrong, ie, that anyone should like a dancer they don't, but she has received much more praise recently than in the past couple of years. Link to comment
Amour Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 was one of the critics pf Perreira in her first Raymonda and I stand by my criticism because it matches other performances I've seen of her. If she's grown because of it great and I look foreard to seeing the results. As for ABT, we are not talking about teaching someone a role on short notice. KM makes choices. IMO his choices lack imagination and do nothing to satisfy the ticket buyer. Exactly! Dancers whose slight improvements are as slow and unsteady as Seo's would likely never have made it past the corps in NYCB or, more likely, never made it into the company at all. At least we saw Erica learned Raymonda in 1 day and by her 3rd performance was already much , much better. And she's only a soloist. But that's why NYCB is doing so well and ABT is hanging on for dear life. Link to comment
canbelto Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Well without getting into company politics KM had a choice of making a lot of people happy, bc this was not a case where if Sarah danced, Misty/Julie/Diana/Hee/Gillian would not have danced. All of them already had a Juliet. Hee had two. So by giving Sarah a Juliet it would have diversified the lineup and also made a new dance "event." Instead more pressure is now on Misty and Hee Seo, and I can't imagine how Sarah feels. Link to comment
Just an Observer Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 So, there must be a reason other than her dancing that causes Lane to be overlooked or, more actively, ignored? Is it because of her "Black Swan" controversy? Benjamin Millepied and Kevin McKenzie are colleagues and friends, I would assume. Link to comment
Helene Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 The "Black Swan" controversy was an issue for the movie, not ABT. Link to comment
Drew Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I don't find it implausible that Mckenzie and/or his staff don't think Lane is principal material. One may agree or disagree (strongly) and so-called politics may be involved, but I find the suggestion that it MUST be politics -- it couldn't possibly be that ABT's management sees Lane's gifts differently than her admirers do -- puzzling. Link to comment
choriamb Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 It's a pity Lane isn't getting the chance, but I can understand it from a scheduling perspective. Lane is dancing Aurora on Thursday (so her Friday is basically shot) and she has Florine on Saturday: that would leave her three days at best to review a role that she's never danced on the main stage with a new partner. Also, given the heights of Cornejo and Gorak, I wouldn't be surprised if she's the only back-up for both Obraztsova and Copeland. Copeland and Seo are in a better position purely from a scheduling/experience perspective. Copeland only has Florine on Thursday and has been actively preparing the role. Seo knows the role well at this point...and has regularly received praise for it. Link to comment
Victura Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 From a financial standpoint, particularly if ABT is struggling as has been suggested, giving Misty an extra performance makes sense. Her Swan Lake is completely sold out, and last I checked, her Romeo and Juliet on Saturday was close to being sold out. I think the only other performances that have sold out this spring season are Julie Kent's farewell and the anniversary gala. As for the shuffling of Hee Seo into Wednesday's performance, perhaps the thought was that replacing Osipova with a principal would look better on paper than replacing her with a soloist. (For what it's worth, I've seen Seo perform a few times and thought she was quite lovely.) That said, I had been keeping hope alive that Alina Cojocaru could have graced us with her presence again, but alas, it was not to be... Link to comment
Amour Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Benjamin Millepied and Kevin McKenzie are colleagues and friends, I would assume. Unlike Misty, who works the PR machine like the pro she is, Sarah was suddenly up against some real heavyweights for.....speaking the truth! She did, in fact, do Natalie Portman's dancing. But telling the truth pitted her against a director who wanted an Academy Award (Aaronofsky) and choreographer Benjamin Millepied. It was certainly not a comfortable situation for her. Link to comment
Just an Observer Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Not faulting Lane. Agree that it would be cruel and unjust for it to be held against her, if that were the case - - - and no one will know to what extent this is true. Link to comment
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