ABT Fan Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 Congratulations to both of them! Glad Ahn was also included (Bell was a sure thing). Link to comment
MarzipanShepherdess Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 12 hours ago, Barbara said: But I think Stella is in a much more secure position than Part was. Much more in the fabric of the company and with Sascha’s position with the Studio Company, I don’t think Kevin would force a retirement. Not that I agree with the treatment of Part. It was unforgivable for her career to end like that. I agree. In addition, Stella is obviously favored by Ratmansky, more so than Veronika was. She seems like one of the most beloved dancers within the company while Veronika was candid about how ABT was not the easiest place for her socially: I think Veronika’s relative distance from the company in that way made it easier for management to treat her as badly as they did. We were denied so many years of seeing Stella as a principal, it would a travesty to force her out when she is obviously still capable of performing with such great artistry. Link to comment
atm711 Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 21 hours ago, Barbara said: Not that I agree with the treatment of Part. It was unforgivable for her career to end like that. Yes! Yes! That decision has so affected me that I haven't been to ABT since she left!...and l am only a short subway ride away..... Link to comment
canbelto Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 5 hours ago, atm711 said: Yes! Yes! That decision has so affected me that I haven't been to ABT since she left!...and l am only a short subway ride away..... You might not have but Veronika has ... I saw her several times this season at ABT and she looked like she was having a grand old time. Link to comment
fondoffouettes Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 (edited) Melanie Hamrick will be retiring this fall. A few of these departures usually come to light at the end of the Met season, but I haven’t heard of any others yet. I’d expect maybe Gemma Bond, who is focused on choreography these days? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen her dance. Edited July 7, 2019 by fondoffouettes Link to comment
aurora Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 1 hour ago, fondoffouettes said: Melanie Hamrick will be retiring this fall. A few of these departures usually come to light at the end of the Met season, but I haven’t heard of any others yet. I’d expect maybe Gemma Bond, who is focused on choreography these days? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen her dance. Gemma Bond had a baby last spring, I believe. She's been doing some character stuff (including today) but I don't think she's been dancing since then. Link to comment
naomikage Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Mai Aihara will also be leaving ABT Link to comment
Fleurfairy Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 That’s too bad about Melanie as I really enjoy her dancing and think she has a lovely stage presence. My eye was always drawn to her. But I guess after having s child and being plagued with injuries, she’s ready to move on. Link to comment
aurora Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 6 hours ago, naomikage said: Mai Aihara will also be leaving ABT So too is Kaho Ogawa, although she hasn't posted on her IG yet (or wasn't last night), the going away of both Kaho and Mai is noted on Betsy McBride's IG story. Link to comment
AB'sMom Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Looks like Paulina Waski is going to Boston Ballet. Scout Forsythe referred to it on her Instagram story and some of Paulina’s posts refer to her “last ...” Link to comment
PeggyTulle Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 1 hour ago, AB'sMom said: Looks like Paulina Waski is going to Boston Ballet. Scout Forsythe referred to it on her Instagram story and some of Paulina’s posts refer to her “last ...” Link to comment
BalletFan Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 I'm very surprised to hear that Paulina is leaving. She was one of the corps members that I always noticed on stage. But I wish her the best of luck. She's still very young. If she has been yearning for new challenges, then now is the time to go for it. Link to comment
LadyBubbles Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 I think Waski was on track to a promotion until injury struck. Remember that last year she was originally cast as Myrtha and who knows what else until she was sidelined, and that's when K.Williams was given the opportunity, which eventually led to her promotion. I wish Ogawa weren't leaving, but either she's found better opportunities elsewhere or perhaps she has other dreams to pursue. Best of luck to all the incredible corps ladies who are leaving the company. They will all be missed on stage, and I'm sure off stage as well. Link to comment
MarzipanShepherdess Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 59 minutes ago, LadyBubbles said: I wish Ogawa weren't leaving, but either she's found better opportunities elsewhere or perhaps she has other dreams to pursue. Ogawa has shared on Instagram that she’s had three ankle surgeries, the most recent of which was in February. Seems that her ABT career, like Waski’s, has been negatively impacted by injury. I’m sad to see Paulina leave ABT too but I agree she didn’t seem to be on the same soloist promotion track after injury, as @LadyBubbles noted. Hopefully she will get more opportunities with Boston Ballet. It could be a great move for her. Link to comment
Inge Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 1 hour ago, LadyBubbles said: I wish Ogawa weren't leaving, but either she's found better opportunities elsewhere or perhaps she has other dreams to pursue. Best of luck to all the incredible corps ladies who are leaving the company. They will all be missed on stage, and I'm sure off stage as well. Really sad about Ogawa. Her corps work in Swan Lake was just exquisite (I could always pick out her épaulement, she caught the light so beautifully) and she was one of the 3rd Odalisques that could pull off triple pirouettes. Link to comment
cobweb Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 10 hours ago, MarzipanShepherdess said: Ogawa has shared on Instagram that she’s had three ankle surgeries, the most recent of which was in February. Seems that her ABT career, like Waski’s, has been negatively impacted by injury. That is too bad about Kaho Ogawa. I saw her a few years back, as an Odalisque. I was highly impressed with her steely technique, long legs, and elegance. I've been eager to see her in featured roles since then, but it never happened. I figured there must be an issue with injuries. Link to comment
Amicos Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 I have to say, I’m shocked that Ahn and Bell are the only promotions this year with the Principal male roster being what it is. I mean Bolle is gone, Hallberg, it seems, prefers dancing elsewhere, Simkin is definitely splitting his time and Lendorf seems to be plagued with injury....has ABT ever done another set of promotions in the same year as the initial one or are they just planning on using the soloists for principal roles indefinitely? (Yes, I’m a bit bugged!). Link to comment
nanushka Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 (edited) 50 minutes ago, Amicos said: I have to say, I’m shocked that Ahn and Bell are the only promotions this year with the Principal male roster being what it is. I mean Bolle is gone, Hallberg, it seems, prefers dancing elsewhere, Simkin is definitely splitting his time and Lendorf seems to be plagued with injury....has ABT ever done another set of promotions in the same year as the initial one or are they just planning on using the soloists for principal roles indefinitely? (Yes, I’m a bit bugged!). I'm shocked that the male principal roster is in the state it's currently in, but I'm not shocked that no new male principals got promoted. Who would that have been? I'd love to see Forster make principal, and maybe Hoven as well — but they haven't been given the sorts of roles dancers normally get before reaching that level. There's no one in the company now, I don't think, who could plausibly have been promoted to male principal at this particular point, given experiences to date. That reflects a failure of foresight and a failure to cultivate talent over recent years. Edited July 8, 2019 by nanushka Link to comment
Roberta Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 The financials may have something to do with it. Link to comment
Amicos Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 1 hour ago, nanushka said: That reflects a failure of foresight and a failure to cultivate talent over recent years. Agreed...and a real disservice to the company as a whole. Link to comment
angelica Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 7 minutes ago, Amicos said: Agreed...and a real disservice to the company as a whole. This leaves open the possibility that McKenzie will want to import guest artists in the future. For a time he presided over a roster of exceptional male principals. Perhaps he never felt equal to them, and doesn't want to have that feeling again. There's obviously something going on in his brain, whether conscious (financials) or unconscious (competition). Or he's just bumbling along from season to season. Link to comment
nanushka Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 (edited) 15 minutes ago, angelica said: For a time he presided over a roster of exceptional male principals. Perhaps he never felt equal to them, and doesn't want to have that feeling again. There's obviously something going on in his brain, whether conscious (financials) or unconscious (competition). Or he's just bumbling along from season to season. He doesn’t seem to have been inhibited by such unconscious resistance in his exceptionally quick promotion (in multiple senses) of Aran Bell (who arguably even looks a bit like him in build and features — which I suppose could serve an argument in either direction). I’m not sure that psychologizing gets us far in understanding what’s up. Edited July 8, 2019 by nanushka Link to comment
abatt Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 1 hour ago, nanushka said: There's no one in the company now, I don't think, who could plausibly have been promoted to male principal at this particular point, given experiences to date. Completely agree. I guess I may offend a few people here, but I don't think Forster or Hoven have the technique for the most challenging principal roles. They are good soloists who are able to do an occasional lead role. Although McKenzie has promoted certain others dancers to principal who also lacked strong technique, I would not want that trend to continue unabated. The next principal will likely be Aran Bell, and if he continues on the same path and trajectory of this season, his promotion will be well deserved. Link to comment
nanushka Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 (edited) 3 minutes ago, abatt said: I guess I may offend a few people here, but I don't think Forster or Hoven have the technique for the most challenging principal roles. They are good soloists who are able to do an occasional lead role. I’m certainly not offended but I also don’t think Forster has really been tested and/or failed such tests. Has he fallen short with any consistency in roles he’s been given? Edited July 8, 2019 by nanushka Link to comment
canbelto Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 It’s really hard to tell what happens once a dancer makes principal. Remember Michele Wiles? Here Seo? And to a lesser extent Devon Teuscher? Both great soloists who just weren’t/aren’t interesting in principal roles, otoh Christine Shevchenko is someone who has grown by leaps and bounds since making principal. Link to comment
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