Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

ABT: Roster in Review - 2018


Recommended Posts

32 minutes ago, canbelto said:

Sarah Lane posted this instagram which makes it sound like Daniil Simkin is leaving permanently as well...

Does it? I read it as merely recognizing a milestone (a decade dancing together) and signaling a new phase of his status with the company. "Daniil, hope you come back from Germany often" sounds to me like he'll still be dancing with ABT at times, just not as regularly as before and with a frequency that's as yet to be determined — i.e. basically what I thought had already been suggested by previous statements from Simkin and from ABT. Certainly it could be read differently, but I don't see any particular reason why it should have to be.

Edited by nanushka
Link to comment
1 hour ago, nanushka said:

Does it? I read it as merely recognizing a milestone (a decade dancing together) and signaling a new phase of his status with the company. "Daniil, hope you come back from Germany often" sounds to me like he'll still be dancing with ABT at times, just not as regularly as before and with a frequency that's as yet to be determined — i.e. basically what I thought had already been suggested by previous statements from Simkin and from ABT. Certainly it could be read differently, but I don't see any particular reason why it should have to be.

Yeah, I think it’s just a goodbye until next Met season. Carlos Lopez has posted about Simkin’s departure for Germany, as well, saying “It’s only a ‘see you soon, friend’” and including the hashtag seeyounextyear. It does seem to confirm that he’ll probably just be a Met season artist, which has kind of been assumed all along. 

 

Edited by fondoffouettes
Link to comment
On 6/20/2018 at 5:58 PM, LadyBubbles said:

You all know how we wondered about corps dancer Gisele Bethea? Well, she appears to have gotten engaged. She's very young, but congrats to her. If she plans on returning to ballet, I hope she can heal from whatever injury she's battling. No idea whether her engagement has anything to do with her absence from ABT these last few months.

Possibly of interest: Gisele no longer mentions ABT in her Instagram bio. I'm not sure how long that's been the case or if it means anything, but she's been conspicuously absent from company life for ages, no?

Link to comment
On 7/14/2018 at 7:06 PM, sappho said:

Possibly of interest: Gisele no longer mentions ABT in her Instagram bio. I'm not sure how long that's been the case or if it means anything, but she's been conspicuously absent from company life for ages, no?

I tried to find out more information. On her Facebook page it says she left ABT on January 1. 

Link to comment
On 7/20/2018 at 4:23 PM, AB'sMom said:

I tried to find out more information. On her Facebook page it says she left ABT on January 1. 

If I recall correctly, when grishko posted their photo of her in mid-May on their page and they captioned it with information indicating she was still with the company as I had noticed her absence/silence on social media too. And at the time, I clicked over to her instagram, and ABT was definitely still included in her profile...so the removal is relatively recent even if she "left" at the beginning of the year.

Link to comment

It’s odd that they would change her picture. They haven’t yet updated the Dancers page to reflect promotions and retirements, so I’m not sure the reason. The fact that she both states that she has left the company and lists her occupation as Former Dancer with ABT on her personal Facebook page and has removed ABT from her Instagram seems more telling to me than whatever is happening with photos on ABT’s website. 

Link to comment

The roster has been updated to reflect those who have resigned/retired, including Cirio, Davis, Stewart and others. Gisele Bethea has been removed, so that answers the questions surrounding her (why did they bother to update her photo in the last few weeks, though?). The new promotions haven't been reflected yet, but they don't take affect for another month (though last year I remember them updating the site early with the new principals).

I wonder when Luciana Paris will return from maternity? Her Instagram makes no mention of it, but since she's still on the roster she must be coming back (hopefully, in the fall).

https://www.abt.org/the-company/dancers/

Link to comment
6 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

The roster has been updated to reflect those who have resigned/retired, including Cirio, Davis, Stewart and others. Gisele Bethea has been removed, so that answers the questions surrounding her (why did they bother to update her photo in the last few weeks, though?). The new promotions haven't been reflected yet, but they don't take affect for another month (though last year I remember them updating the site early with the new principals).

I wonder when Luciana Paris will return from maternity? Her Instagram makes no mention of it, but since she's still on the roster she must be coming back (hopefully, in the fall).

https://www.abt.org/the-company/dancers/

Other than the ones you mentioned and Kelley Potter, any other roster changes?

Oh, I remember the dancer known as Bruce (can't remember his "real" name) also mentioned he was leaving.

Edited by onxmyxtoes
Link to comment

So what is the solution to the problem of the male principal shortage?  I agree with those above who posit that none of the current male soloists are worthy of promotion (with the possible exception of Thomas Forster and unlike ABT I have not given up on Joseph Gorak).  I have mentioned Marshall Whiteley before.  Aran Bell deserves more principal roles and needs to be tracked for promotion.  But he can't do it all NOW.  So what is the answer?

Well ABT can go out and buy a Russian:  Both Leonid Sarafanov and Vladimir Shklyarov have left the Maryinsky and joined better paying second tier companies.  It wouldn't be hard to get them to join ABT at least for the Spring Met season when they do the classical full lengths.  Each man could stay with the Mikhailovsky or Bayerisches Staatsballett for most of the season.  That is a stopgap but could work.  Maybe offer them an extended guest contract?  ABT tried to get Denis Matvienko as a full-time principal but fate and injury kept interfering with that plan.

Then there is the possibility of finding someone good who can fill the gap who is American and a fully developed dancer.  ABT basically poached Whiteside and Cirio from the Boston Ballet fully developed.  They could get another regional star or someone who is between contracts.  Such as:

Matthew Golding:  Newly released from his principal contract with the Royal Ballet, the Canadian-born Golding is 33 years old and is tall.  He has all the standard classical and modern classical repertory under his belt and is massively experienced.  For a while he was in the ABT corps de ballet.  He could fill the huge gap left by the resignation of Marcelo Gomes.  What think you?

Joseph Michael Gatti

Same age as Golding.  This is a weird career.  Like Golding he was an alumni of the ABT school:  "After attending the 2003 American Ballet Theater Summer Intensive he joined the American Ballet Theater Studio Company for the 2004-2005 season. In 2005 he became the first American Male Dancer to win the prestigious Gold Medal at the New York International Ballet Competition."  He went on to win the Benois de la Danse in 2006, gold medal at YAGP and on and on with silver and gold at all the competitions.  Yet he dances, mostly as a guest, with companies like the Corella Ballet, the Cincinnati Ballet, the Boston Ballet, etc.  Never stays in one place too long and mostly regional places like the Florida companies as a guest artist and tons of galas and freelancing.  Seems to have done all the standard stuff ABT does.  So why didn't they grab him ten years ago?????  Maybe it is an issue with him being in a big company like Danny Tidwell or Vadim Pisarev of the Philadelphia Russian Ballet?  According to the Orlando Sentinel (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/arts-and-theater/os-joseph-gatti-orlando-ballet-matthew-j-palm-20150128-column.html)  that is the case:  "I just don't feel the need to sacrifice love and happiness for the name of a bigger company," said Gatti, citing the stress found in big-name troupes. "I'll be really happy here and loving my career, dancing until the last day I can dance."  Anyway he has a huge rep and is ready.

Fabrice Calmels:  Maybe doesn't want to leave the Joffrey?  He seems to love it in Chicago.

 

Edited by FauxPas
Added Gatti info
Link to comment

My three choices:

1. Age 28...and oh-so-great: Osiel Gouneo  

2. Or how about Kimin Kim - age 25 and so alive!? He could come with his coaches, Vladimir Kim & Rita Kullik...and ABT could sure use them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQPHhizNAEo

3. Let’s go really young. Age 20 with talent a-plenty: Julian Mackay, most recent partner of Skylar Brandt on Russian TV.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAIk9x3LC1_68vYCH1eoPgw

 

Re. Golding: A “no” for me as he  seems to have the most annoying facial expressions, sorry!

Edited by CharlieH
Link to comment

Gatti has started his own ballet troupe, United Ballet Theatre (it's been discussed on another thread), so I'm sure he's not available to join another company.

Interesting situation you suggest re: Sarafanov and Shklyarov.

They definitely need to hire some guys or at least bring in some guest artists for next Met season.

Link to comment

Shklyarov is back at the Mariinsky. He remains a guest artist at  Bayerisches Staatsballett. Matthew Golding is also a guest there. ABT could have hired Igor Tsvirko who is now with the Hungarian National Ballet or Nikita Chetverikov, who left the Perm Ballet a couple of months to join the Czech National Ballet. But both of these dancers have spouses who require an employment contract as well. Maybe this limited their choices. 

Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...