ABT 2018 Fall season

[California]

I'm reminded of advice from Michael M. Kaiser (the Mr. Fix-it in the performing arts world) who said it's always better to have dancers performing than only rehearsing, as they are on contract and you have to give them something to do. Even performances at a loss bring in some revenue (although I have no idea what arrangement they have with the Koch or what penalty they'd pay for cancelling). I wonder if they are thinking of substituting a few ballets, which wouldn't be that hard to do.

[vagansmom]

If they substituted, I might be more interested in attending a performance or two. As it is, between the casting decisions ABT has made and the programs themselves, I'm not finding myself very interested. I'm not a Copeland fan; I avoid her performances because I find them too flawed. I'm not interested in AfterRite. In fact, I'm not much interested in anything that's not a classical ballet, but that has more to do with my pocketbook than anything else. I don't want to spend so much money on a risk at this juncture in my life. I AM interested in seeing Abrera, Lane, Trenary, and Brandt in principal and soloist roles.

Edited October 17, 2018 by vagansmom
to correct an auto-incorrect

[nanushka]

I just can't believe that after offering it for an entire week of the Met season as half of a double bill they're bringing it back already for the immediately following fall season. It'd be different if it were the following spring, or if it were a major Copeland vehicle, or if there were any other real justification (i.e. selling point) for bringing it back so soon, but there isn't. Bringing it back now just seems lazy and uninspired—like they couldn't come up with enough fresh material for a full fall season.

[miliosr]

5 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

I wonder if they are considering canceling any of the poorly performing dates,

 

3 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

and the bad press it would generate would be detrimental.

 

3 hours ago, California said:

I wonder if they are thinking of substituting a few ballets, which wouldn't be that hard to do.

I don't think they can cancel dates for precisely the reason ABT Fan cites. Cancelling would make the company look like it is in even greater disarray than it is.

As for substituting, who could they remove without burning bridges?

[meunier fan]

Two points from reading this strand:

I would imagine the Hungarian National Ballet would be - as most foreign companies taken on by any venue - playing 'against guarantee'.  Therefore it is the Presenters who take the toll not the Company in terms of losses as they are getting their 'guarantee' payment as contractually agreed regardless of sales or cancellations which are under the Presenters' entire/core jurisdiction.  I somehow suspect that this is not the case with ABT.  I should think theirs is a straight rental since (a) they are resident on a calendar basis and (b) a core American company with National and State funding.

At the RB/ROH all McGregor programmes (well, - let's be fair - many including new works - but not all) are subsidised (sorry, subsidized) in the sense that the ticket prices are often kept at a considerably lower tariff.   After the first night - and depending on the rest of the programme - you will sometimes find swathes of red.  Of course, there are far less spaces to fill at the ROH than at the MET .... and so, sadly, I suppose it makes sense that the powers that be at ABT would cut the traditional mixed bill week when they reduce the MET Spring season.  They will probably justify this by the Winter ABT one being entirely made up of that same.  It will, however, I feel be a sad passing.  

 

Edited October 18, 2018 by meunier fan

[its the mom]

13 hours ago, JuliaJ said:

I might be in the minority here, but I liked AfterRite in the spring... it's a shame that it seems to be bringing down ticket sales (I actually look forward to seeing it again!). The choreography is interesting, and that Stravinsky music never gets old. To be honest I preferred the piece to Ratmansky's Firebird, which was in the same program.

Part of the problem is that it's sooooo off-brand for ABT (and ballet audiences generally do not go in expecting such dark subject matter). If NYCB or another more modernist-leaning company did it, I doubt the response would be as negative, let alone financially disastrous!

I am with you.  I really liked AfterRite and was happy to see the company take on a McGregor work.  My problem is much like everyone else's in that between casting and the works chosen, I do not have the desire to go see any of the shows.  I would like to see Hoven in Symphonie Concertante and one of his performances is paired with AfterRite, but on a night I can't be there.  There are not any other works I really have the desire to see. 

[abatt]

14 hours ago, nanushka said:

I just can't believe that after offering it for an entire week of the Met season as half of a double bill they're bringing it back already for the immediately following fall season. It'd be different if it were the following spring, or if it were a major Copeland vehicle, or if there were any other real justification (i.e. selling point) for bringing it back so soon, but there isn't. Bringing it back now just seems lazy and uninspired—like they couldn't come up with enough fresh material for a full fall season.

They are bringing it back because it requires little or no additional rehearsal time.  The dancers already learned the roles for this past Met season, so they don't need to spend any additional money or time to rehearse it.  I have enjoyed some other McGregor works, like Chroma.  However, I would not sit through AfterRite again, ever.

Edited October 18, 2018 by abatt

[abatt]

On 8/30/2018 at 1:58 PM, Dale said:

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S 2018 FALL SEASON AT DAVID H. KOCH THEATER

ALESSANDRA FERRI TO APPEAR AS GUEST ARTIST

Casting for American Ballet Theatre’s 2018 Fall Season at the David H. Koch Theater was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Principal Dancers for the 2018 Fall season include Stella Abrera, Isabella Boylston, Misty Copeland, Herman Cornejo, Sarah Lane, Gillian Murphy, Hee Seo, Christine Shevchenko, Cory Stearns, Devon Teuscher and James Whiteside. Alessandra Ferri returns to ABT for the Fall season as a Guest Artist.

American Ballet Theatre’s Fall season will open with a Gala performance on Wednesday, October 17 at 6:30pm. As part of the ABT Women’s Movement initiative, the Fall Gala performance will be devoted to works by female choreographers. The evening will feature Le Jeune, choreographed by Lauren Lovette and performed by the ABT Studio Company, and a World Premiere by tap dancer and choreographer Michelle Dorrance, co-commissioned with the Vail Dance Festival. Rounding out the Gala performance will be Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, led by Cassandra Trenary, Devon Teuscher, Gillian Murphy, Herman Cornejo, Roman Zhurbin, Blaine Hoven, Isabella Boylston and Joseph Gorak. Skylar Brandt, Alexandra Basmagy, Catherine Hurlin, Cory Stearns, Calvin Royal III, Duncan Lyle, Misty Copeland and Thomas Forster will dance these roles on Friday, October 19.

Last performed by American Ballet Theatre in 2012, In the Upper Room is set to music by Philip Glass with costumes by Norma Kamali and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. A ballet in nine parts, In the Upper Room was given its World Premiere by Twyla Tharp Dance on August 28, 1986. In the Upper Room received its ABT Company Premiere on December 10, 1988 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California. The ballet will be staged for ABT by Shelley Washington and Richard Colton.

American Ballet Theatre will give the season’s first performance of George Balanchine’sSymphonie Concertante on Thursday evening, October 18 with Hee Seo, Isabella Boylston and Blaine Hoven debuting in the leading roles. Stella Abrera, Gillian Murphy and Alexandre Hammoudi will lead the cast at the matinee on Saturday, October 20, with Hammoudi making his debut in the ballet. Christine Shevchenko, Devon Teuscher and Thomas Forster will dance these roles for the first time at the matinee on Sunday, October 21. Last performed by ABT in 2007, Symphonie Concertante is set to music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Sinfonia Concertante in E flat Major for Violin and Viola K. 364) with costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting by David K. H. Elliott. Symphonie Concertante received its World Premiere by Ballet Society at the City Center Theater in New York on November 12, 1947, with Maria Tallchief, Tanaquil LeClerq and Todd Bolender. The ballet received its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on January 19, 1983, danced by Cynthia Gregory, Martine van Hamel and Patrick Bissell. Symphonie Concertante is staged for ABT by Susan Jones.

The 2018 Fall season will present Jerome Robbins’s Fancy Free and Other Dances in tribute to the choreographer’s centennial. Performances of Fancy Free, which also commemorate the centennial of composer Leonard Bernstein, begin Thursday evening, October 18, danced by Herman Cornejo, Cory Stearns, James Whiteside, Stella Abrera and Gillian Murphy. At the matinee on Saturday, October 20, Arron Scott will dance the role of the first sailor for the first time in New York, while Thomas Forster and Calvin Royal III will make their debuts as the second and third sailors, respectively. Staged for ABT by Jean-Pierre Frohlich, the ballet features scenery by Oliver Smith, costumes by Kermit Love and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, after Nananne Porcher. Fancy Free received its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on April 18, 1944 at the Metropolitan Opera House.

The season’s first performance of Other Dances will take place on Saturday evening, October 20, danced by Hee Seo and Cory Stearns. Sarah Lane and Herman Cornejo will make their New York debuts in the ballet at the matinee on Sunday, October 28. Set to a waltz and four mazurkas by Frédéric Chopin, Other Dances features costumes by Santo Loquasto and original lighting by Nananne Porcher. The plotless, classical character pas de deux was created by Robbins for a Gala evening for the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center at the Metropolitan Opera House on May 9, 1976, performed by Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Other Dances is staged for American Ballet Theatre by Isabelle Guérin.

The first of four performances of Alexei Ratmansky’s Songs of Bukovina will take place on Friday, October 19, led by Isabella Boylston and Blaine Hoven, in his debut in the role. Set toBukovinian Songs (24 Preludes for Piano) by Leonid Desyatnikov, the ballet features costumes by Moritz Junge and lighting by Brad Fields. Songs of Bukovina received its World Premiere on October 18, 2017 at the David H. Koch Theater in New York danced by Christine Shevchenko and Calvin Royal III.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2018 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, priced from $25, are available online, at the Koch Theater box office or by phone at 212-496-0600. Performance-only tickets for the Opening Night Gala begin at $30. The David H. Koch Theater is located at Lincoln Center, Broadway and 63rd Street in New York City. For more information, please visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.

The World Premiere by Michelle Dorrance has been generously supported by Denise Littlefield Sobel, the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation and through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

The World Premiere by Jessica Lang has been generously supported by Denise Littlefield Sobel, the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation and through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

Symphonie Concertante has been generously supported through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

Fancy Free is generously underwritten by an endowed gift by Avery and Andrew F. Barth, in honor of Laima and Rudolf Barth.

Leadership support for The Ratmansky Project has been provided by Avery and Andrew F. Barth, the Blavatnik Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton E. James, and The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund. Additional support has been provided by Dr. Joan Taub Ades, Linda Allard, Sarah Arison, Steven Backes, Lisa and Dick Cashin, Mark Casey and Carrie Gasier Casey, The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation, Linda and Martin Fell, Vicki Netter Fitzgerald, William J. Gillespie, Brian J. Heidtke, Caroline and Edward Hyman, The Marjorie S. Isaac/Irving H. Isaac Fund, Robin Chemers Neustein, Howard S. Paley, Pearl T. Maxim Trust, Lloyd E Rigler – Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation, Bernard L. Schwartz, John Leland Sills and Elizabeth Papadopoulos-Sills, Melissa A. Smith, The H. Russell Smith Foundation/Stewart R. Smith and Robin A. Ferracone, Martin and Toni Sosnoff Foundation, Sutton Stracke, and Sedgwick Ward.

Leadership support for AFTERITE has been provided by The Leila and Mickey Straus Family Foundation. Additional support is provided through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

Le Jeune was commissioned with leadership support from the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Additional support provided by Denise Littlefield Sobel. American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre.

Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.

ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Maybe I'm late to the party, but I just noticed, to my great disappointment, that a number of important casting changes have been made since this casting info was published.  I specifically bought Oct 26 to See Murphy & Abrera in Symphonie  Concertante.  Guess what I just discovered  on the ABT website- they switched Stella & Gillian into the Oct 21 matinee.  Also, Lane & Cornejo's Other Dances performance is on Oct 26 now, not Oct 28.  Since I didn't buy my tickets until sometime in late September, these changes must be pretty recent. No refunds or exchanges on these tickets, right.  GRRRRRR. 

Edited October 18, 2018 by abatt

[fondoffouettes]

2 hours ago, abatt said:

Maybe I'm late to the party, but I just noticed, to my great disappointment, that a number of important casting changes have been made since this casting info was published.  I specifically bought Oct 26 to See Murphy & Abrera in Symphonie  Concertante.  Guess what I just discovered  on the ABT website- they switched Stella & Gillian into the Oct 21 matinee.  Also, Lane & Cornejo's Other Dances performance is on Oct 26 now, not Oct 28.  Since I didn't buy my tickets until sometime in late September, these changes must be pretty recent. No refunds or exchanges on these tickets, right.  GRRRRRR. 

I'm looking at the calendar and can't figure out any logic as to why these changes were made. It means Cornejo no longer dances Other Dances right after the Lang piece on 10/28, but it's hard to imagine that being an issue, unless the Lang piece is really grueling. 

They do allow exchanges now for a $20 fee, which I know is annoying. I believe this started during last spring's Met season, and I assume it applies to their Koch season, as well.

https://www.abt.org/faq/performances/

[cobweb]

2 hours ago, abatt said:

No refunds or exchanges on these tickets, right. 

I can understand no refunds, but why no exchanges? This seems guaranteed to alienate some of the most devoted audience members, those who really care about the particularities of casting.  

[nysusan]

I was there last night. ABT's fall gala started out with a lovely, short introductory speech by the ever elegant Caroline Kennedy. It was followed by Lauren Lovette's work "Le Jeune" performed by ABT's Studio Company. If not a great work, it was charming, enjoyable and well danced. During the "pause" between Le Jeune and the new Dorrance piece we were treated to what felt like at least 20 minutes of speeches by Lauren Post, Misty Copeland and 2 women from among ABT's patrons or board. I guess I should be grateful that McKenzie didn't decide to speak.

I was really rooting for the Dorrance piece, but I was disappointed. It was set to Duke Ellington and while the women were on point, the choreography was basically lindy-hop inspired movement mixed with tapping with some ballet tricks thrown in - a triple pirouette here, a grand jete there. In between she had the women tapping out rhythms with their pointes and looking like somewhat spastic holdovers from another era.

I love In the Upper Room, and its the main reason why I decided to go to any of ABT's fall performances. It was enjoyable, but not nearly as good as it had been in the past. It still built to that exhilarating finale, and it started ok, but the middle kind of dragged. Somehow, it seemed slower (although I know it couldn't have been, because its danced to a tape and those speeds don't change) and the 2 main stompers - Teuscher and Brandt - didn't dominate anywhere near the degree I remember from past casts (I think it was Murphy/Boone and Wiles/Abrera most recently). The printed program doesn't jive with the online casting so I'm not 100% sure who some of the corps dances were. Most of the cast was new and at soloist & corps level so hopefully they will improve.

[vendangeuse]

I'll chime in with some general impressions from last night:

I actually specifically attended this program for "Le Jeune." I saw "Not Our Fate" at NYCB last spring, and was interested in seeing more of Lovette's work, so I went out of my way to attend the program last night for that reason. I find myself agreeing with nysusan—not great, but enjoyable.

I was so excited about the Dorrance piece, but I also found it felt a little underwhelming. I think for me it looked like the dancers really needed another two weeks to tighten it up. In fact, while waiting for the program to start, I actually could hear the thudding of the dancers practicing backstage... a lot of the dancing looked either tepid or hesitant, and I found this to be more of an issue than the style of movement. There were a couple of moments that I thought would have had a lot more "oomph" (thinking of the women tapping out rhythms with their pointes) if they had been a little tighter.

That being said, I thought Murphy, Whiteside & Royal all danced wonderfully. If I am remembering correctly Whiteside actually started out (very young) as a jazz dancer, and more than the others he looked like was actually having fun with the choreography. I've thought about seeing the piece again later in the season, but I don't think my schedule will permit it.

I loved In the Upper Room, but it was my first time seeing the piece, so I can't compare it to other performances/casts.

Also, I didn't listen too closely to the speeches, but Netflix was apparently one of the sponsors of the Gala. Knowing absolutely nothing about how these things work—I wonder if Netflix and ABT are also working on some kind of deal for Netflix to distribute recordings of their performances? Others on this board have lamented the lack of ABT DVDs available. Now that streaming services like Marquee Arts and Medici seem to be gaining some kind of foothold, I wonder if ABT is looking at digital/online distribution? I imagine it must be cheaper than having all those discs printed, labeled, shipped, etc.

 

[BLalo]

I was there for the gala and for the show last night. My thoughts:

 

Le Jeune:

Pleasant and forgettable. Design-wise it looked like every other modern piece at City Ballet. Leotards (these being in a particularly ugly shade of coral) with contrasting belts and the typical City Ballet hairdo. The kids in the Studio Company danced well (no real standouts) but this really shouldn’t have been in an ABT gala. 

 

Dream Within a Dream:

At the gala I also thought this was pleasant but forgettable. But the second cast last night completely changed my mind - what a hoot!

The ballet transports us to the 40s with period-appropriate dance vocabulary mixed in with moments of ballet set to a great score by Duke Ellington. 

First cast performed the piece well but didn’t connect with each other the way the second cast did. Their collective energy flooded the house and everyone in the audience responded. The narrative elements came through much clearer with the second cast. James Whiteside in the first cast and Duncan Lyle in the second cast are the “leaders” of the piece. Both have tap solos which was a nice surprise and both executed them excellently. 

If you get a chance to see the second cast perform this piece, I highly suggest it! 

 

In the Upper Room:

I have conflicting feelings about this one. It was good and yet it didn’t have nearly the impact on me that it has in the past. Maybe I’ve seen it too many times now? Maybe it was also the cast substitutions.

I felt that the ballet dancers looked generally really sloppy. It didn’t have that tautness that really makes the piece sparkle which meant that the long sections with the ballet dancers REALLY dragged. The stompers were generally good, but strangely enough it seemed as though Herman Cornejo didn’t really know the piece very well. He made a few mistakes and often seemed to be just behind the other men waiting for their cues (not to mention he looked ridiculous as the leader of the stomper men with tall Aran Bell and Blaine Hoven flanking him). Who cast this?

It was disappointing that Upper Room felt so disappointing... but I’m looking forward to seeing the other cast perform it tonight. 

 

Symphonie Concertante: 

Shevchenko replaced Seo last minute. Other than that, not much else to say. Not a great ballet and the company performed it without any sense of style at all. I’ll be skipping this in future performances I have tickets for. 

 

Fancy Free:

The same fun it always is with a generally good cast. But after seeing this just days ago in the same theater I didn’t feel like I needed to see this again.

[abatt]

I attended last night's performance.  Hee Seo was replaced in Symphonie Concertante "due to injury".  Shevchenko was the replacement; the other leads were Boylston and Hoven.  I can't even imagine Hee keeping up with the fast footwork of this ballet.  Shevchenko was gorgeous, and Hoven looked wonderful too.  In fact the entire cast was excellent.  I could watch this beautiful ballet every week.  I have no idea why NYCB doesn't perform it.

I enjoyed the live jazz music of the Dorrance work.  However, I thought it was mostly an embarrassment for the dancers.  I'm a fan of tap, but this was mostly ballet dancers clomping around the stage, sometimes in unison.  That's not tap dancing.  A waste of talent and time.

Fancy Free was a fabulous way to end the evening.  Not quite the dream team of the old days (Corella, Carreno and Steifel!!), but certainly excellent performances from all.

[BLalo]

I have to disagree with abatt’s assessment of the Dorrance. The “ballet dancers clomping around the stage” was only the last few minutes of the piece. The rest of the piece has elements of ballroom, jazz, Lindy-hop, swing dance and ballet. Also, as I mentioned the Whiteside/Lyle part has a tap solo with tap shoes which most definitely WAS tap. 

The audience loved it and continued to applaud long after the curtain came down. 

[abatt]

44 minutes ago, BLalo said:

I have to disagree with abatt’s assessment of the Dorrance. The “ballet dancers clomping around the stage” was only the last few minutes of the piece. The rest of the piece has elements of ballroom, jazz, Lindy-hop, swing dance and ballet. Also, as I mentioned the Whiteside/Lyle part has a tap solo with tap shoes which most definitely WAS tap. 

The audience loved it and continued to applaud long after the curtain came down. 

The portions where the ballet corps was banging the stage with poles and stomping their feet was interminable.  Also, the section where three ballerinas ran together to various tap dance floor boards placed on the stage and banged their point shoes in unison was just boring.  In fairness, some of the ballroom dancing was moderately enjoyable.

Here are some photos from the gala.  I'm loving the first photo of Stella and Sascha. 

https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2018/10/19/style/katie-holmes-ansel-elgort-marc-jacobs-charity-fundraisers.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=sectionfront

 

Edited October 19, 2018 by abatt

[BLalo]

39 minutes ago, abatt said:

The portions where the ballet corps was banging the stage with poles and stomping their feet was interminable.  Also, the section where three ballerinas ran together to various tap dance floor boards placed on the stage and banged their point shoes in unison was just boring.  In fairness, some of the ballroom dancing was moderately enjoyable.

Here are some photos from the gala.  I'm loving the first photo of Stella and Sascha. 

https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2018/10/19/style/katie-holmes-ansel-elgort-marc-jacobs-charity-fundraisers.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=sectionfront

 

Ms Dorrance’s work is entirely about dancers making percussive sounds. If you don’t like that, then you’re obviously not going to like the work. I believe this was well-advertised and Ms Dorrance delivered what was promised. On the flip side, had she choreographed a ballet people would complain that that isn’t what they were expecting from her. I very much liked that she paid tribute to various “lost” dance styles that were once hugely popular forms of entertainment and which we don’t see ballet dancers do.

The banging of the poles was merely background for the Abrera/Lyle/Sebastian trio and the three women with the wooden floors barely went for more than two minutes. 

But each to their own! Vive la difference! 

[balanchinette]

1 hour ago, abatt said:

I attended last night's performance.  Hee Seo was replaced in Symphonie Concertante "due to injury".  Shevchenko was the replacement; the other leads were Boylston and Hoven.  I can't even imagine Hee keeping up with the fast footwork of this ballet.  Shevchenko was gorgeous, and Hoven looked wonderful too.  In fact the entire cast was excellent.  I could watch this beautiful ballet every week.  I have no Idea why NYCB doesn’t perform it  

Totally agree!  What a gorgeous ballet. I didn’t want it to end. And the best Balanchine dancing I’ve seen from ABT.  Hoven was a wonderful surprise.  

I also agree with Abatt about the dorrance. I found it interminable and not pleasant to look at. I will be sitting that one out in the future. 

[cobweb]

I love In the Upper Room and despite the lack of other programming I wanted to see, I was planning to attend at least once, just to see In the Upper Room again. But I see the casting has changed. Hmm..... now, not so much. 

[BLalo]

3 minutes ago, cobweb said:

I love In the Upper Room and despite the lack of other programming I wanted to see, I was planning to attend at least once, just to see In the Upper Room again. But I see the casting has changed. Hmm..... now, not so much. 

Wow... I didn’t know. I have tickets for tonight to see the other cast but now I guess I’ll be leaving after the new Lang. 

What the hell happened? And no word from ABT? Was the whole cast just not good enough? Or were they using Misty’s name to sell tickets with no intention actually having a second cast?

[abatt]

I'm happy about the cast change for tonight's Upper Room and looking forward to it.  To each his own.

Yes, tap and flamenco are both based on percussive footwork.  But the mastery is in fast, complex footwork.  What most of the ABT dancers were doing looked like a beginner level  tap class.

 

Edited October 19, 2018 by abatt

[mille-feuille]

Any word on whether Shevchenko will also replace Seo on Wednesday? The only other thing I care to see ABT dance is Symphonie Concertante and I can only make the 24th, but ABT's Balanchine track record has not been good (e.g., Boylston in Tschai Pas a few seasons ago ☠️, Mozartiana...). If I see Balanchine danced badly I'll just be crabby after the performance.

Edited October 19, 2018 by mille-feuille

[abatt]

11 minutes ago, mille-feuille said:

Any word on whether Shevchenko will also replace Seo on Wednesday? The only other thing I care to see ABT dance is Symphonie Concertante and I can only make the 24th, but ABT's Balanchine track record has not been good (e.g., Boylston in Tschai Pas a few seasons ago ☠️, Mozartiana...). If I see Balanchine danced badly I'll just be crabby after the performance.

I don't know whether Seo will be replaced next week. However, I can tell you that when the cast change was announced last night before the performance, a few people actually applauded.  I did a silent fist pump at my seat.

[mille-feuille]

1 minute ago, abatt said:

However, I can tell you that when the cast change was announced last night before the performance, a few people actually applauded.

OMG! That is horrible and hilarious. 😂

[nysusan]

26 minutes ago, abatt said:

I'm happy about the cast change for tonight's Upper Room and looking forward to it.  To each his own.

 

22 minutes ago, BLalo said:

Interesting. You’re happy an entire cast has been removed? 

I'll jump in here - considering that the first cast didn't exactly knock it out of the park on Wed I'm happy that with only 4 performances scheduled they are getting all of them. Hopefully they will improve with the extra stage time and give us great performances for the rest of the run.

We all want to see corps and soloists get chances, and I'm sorry that it looks like the ones scheduled for the second cast won't get their chance with this, however second casts usually get much less rehearsal time than the first. In a piece like this which is so foreign to classical ballet DNA, and without proper rehearsal time I think we have a better chance of getting a good performance from the first cast. And I'm not paying to watch rehearsals.

On the other hand, the casting on the ABT and Koch calendars has changed completely from the initial casting (see chart upthread), and my gala program does not match up with the old casting or the ABT and Koch calendars - so who knows who we'll get.  I double checked my gala program and it lists Zhurbin, Hoven and Cornejo as the trio of male stompers. The ABT and Koch calendars do not show Zhurbin listed at all, and I think it was Bell who danced. Also, the program listed Granlund and Hanson as the 2 secondary dancers in the red pointe shoes, where the calendars list Lall and Katsnelson. I don't know what any of these dancers look like, but one of the pair I saw on the stage was black, and neither Granlund and Hanson look black on their ABT headshots. Lall definitely does, so they may have switched them