ABT Fall 2019 NY season

[ABT Fan]

ABT has updated their roster online, and Lendorf is now gone despite being included in the Fall season announcement. I'd guess someone added him to that announcement in error. So, we have 3 principal men and 7 principal women for the Fall. 

All of the other expected (or announced) departures seem to have been removed, too. Strangely, Mack is still listed as a guest artist. Another error?

Ahn and Bell are now listed with the soloists, ahead of Sept 1.

 

[fondoffouettes]

In case anyone is planning to buy tickets before casting is announced, ABT recently posted this discount offer. The company seems to have embraced discount codes more than in the past (they were constantly offering discounts during the most recent Met season). If it can help them fill seats and bring in more income, I think it's a good thing. 

 

[abatt]

Thanks for the discount info.

Edited August 7, 2019 by abatt

[ABT Fan]

Programming change. Michelle Dorrance's piece, Dream within a Dream (deferred), has been dropped from the schedule and has been replaced by James Whiteside's piece, New American Romance, which just debuted at Vail. And, the Women's Movement program is now called The New Romantics (which is comprised of Whiteside's piece along with Garden Blue by Lang and Gemma Bond's premiere. I wonder what happened?

https://www.abt.org/events/2019-fall-repertory-new-romantics/

Edited August 9, 2019 by ABT Fan

[California]

6 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Programming change. Michelle Dorrance's piece, Dream within a Dream (deferred), has been dropped from the schedule and has been replaced by James Whiteside's piece, New American Romance, which just debuted at Vail. And, the Women's Movement program is now called The New Romantics (which is comprised of Whiteside's piece along with Garden Blue by Lang and Gemma Bond's premiere. I wonder what happened?

https://www.abt.org/events/2019-fall-repertory-new-romantics/

Whiteside's piece was well-received at Vail and it's a chance to show off Aran Bell and Catherine Hurlin. It's first on these clips. I'm wondering when they'll show Jardin aux Lilas - perhaps at the 2020 Met season?

 

[vendangeuse]

For what it’s worth, I (a woman) had no intention of buying tickets to the Women’s Movement program—but I will almost certainly buy a ticket to the revised program when casting is announced. I found Garden Blue terribly dull last year and was not keen to see either that or the Dorrance piece again. (I usually love Dorrance works, but I didn’t feel her piece last year was among her strongest.) But I am curious about the new Bond piece, and incredibly eager to see Nee American Romance. I’ve been following Whiteside’s choreographic work and I often find it fun and fresh. I’m very pleased ABT is giving him the opportunity to bring his work to the NY audience. I hope it’s just as well received here as it was in Vail, and only opens up more opportunities for him to choreograph for the company. 

(As a side note, I wonder if this is the piece he was working on during the ABT Incubator last fall?)

[abatt]

ABT changed the program for Chicago.  It is now only a  portion of Bayadere (Act II Shades?), Lilac Garden and New Tharp. So it's likely ABT will do Lilac in NYC either at the Met or next fall.  The Whiteside ballet looks somewhat interesting.  There was no way I was seeing that program with the Dorrance piece, which I thought was a complete misfire for ABT.

Based on the clip, fingers crossed that Aran Bell and Hurlin might debut in the leads of Don Q next time it is revived.

Edited August 9, 2019 by abatt

[nanushka]

53 minutes ago, abatt said:

Based on the clip, fingers crossed that Aran Bell and Hurlin might debut in the leads of Don Q next time it is revived.

I don't think there's a full-length lead that Bell won't get sometime in the next several years — and yes, it'd be great to see Hurlin in Don Q as well.

[California]

23 minutes ago, nanushka said:

I don't think there's a full-length lead that Bell won't get sometime in the next several years — and yes, it'd be great to see Hurlin in Don Q as well.

From the little I've seen so far of Bell, I can't wait to see what he does with full-lengths. 

[Dale]

A release:

 

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S

2019 FALL SEASON AT
THE DAVID H. KOCH THEATER

Casting for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season at the David H. Koch

Theater was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Principal Dancers for the 2019 Fall season include Stella Abrera, Isabella Boylston,
Misty Copeland, Herman Cornejo, Sarah Lane, Hee Seo, Christine Shevchenko, Cory Stearns,
Devon Teuscher and James Whiteside.

A World Premiere by Twyla Tharp will highlight the Opening Night Gala

performance on Wednesday, October 16 at 6:30 PM. Set to String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op.
111 by Johannes Brahms, with costumes by Norma Kamali and lighting by Jennifer Tipton,
Tharp’s new work, created for Herman Cornejo and ABT Company members, is the
choreographer’s 17th ballet for the Company. The Gala program also features Catherine Hurlin
and Aran Bell in the New York Premiere of Jessica Lang’s Let Me Sing Forevermore and the
debut of Devon Teuscher in George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations.

On Saturday evening, October 26, American Ballet Theatre will present a program of
works in honor of Principal Dancer Herman Cornejo and his 20th Anniversary with ABT. This
special evening will include Cornejo’s New York debut in the title role of George Balanchine’s
Apollo, with debuts by Misty Copeland as Terpsichore, Cassandra Trenary as Calliope and Skylar
Brandt as Polyhymnia. The evening will also feature Cornejo in the World Premiere work by
Tharp.

Apollo, last performed by the Company in 2012, will receive its first performance of
the season on Friday evening, October 18 featuring Joo Won Ahn performing the title role for the
first time. Stella Abrera and Katherine Williams will debut in the roles of Terpsichore and
Polyhymnia respectively. At the matinee on Saturday, October 19, Calvin Royal III will make his
New York debut in the title role, while Hee Seo and Zhong-Jing Fang will debut in the roles of
Terpsichore and Calliope. Choreographed by George Balanchine in 1937, Apollo is set to music
by Igor Stravinsky and is staged for ABT by Victoria Simon.

The season’s first performance of Clark Tippet’s Some Assembly Required on Friday
evening, October 18 will feature the debut of Cory Stearns dancing opposite Sarah Lane. A pas
de deux first presented by ABT in 1989, Some Assembly Required is set to music by William
Bolcolm, with costumes by Gary Lisz and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. The ballet is staged for
ABT by Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner. Skylar Brandt and Roman Zhurbin will dance
the ballet for the first time at the matinee on Saturday, October 19.

Jessica Lang’s Let Me Sing Forevermore, a pas de deux set to a medley of songs
recorded by Tony Bennett, features costumes by Bradon McDonald and lighting by Brad Fields.
Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside will dance the roles for the first time at the matinee on
Saturday, October 19. Let Me Sing Forevermore received its World Premiere on March 23, 2019
at the Erik Bruhn Competition in Toronto, Canada performed by Catherine Hurlin and Aran Bell.
Twyla Tharp’s Deuce Coupe, set to songs by The Beach Boys, with costumes and
scenery by Santo Loquasto (after original costume design by Scott Barrie and original scenics by
United Graffiti Artists) and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, will be given its first performance of the
season on Friday, October 18. Blaine Hoven and Thomas Forster will make their debuts in the
work at the matinee on Saturday, October 19. Deuce Coupe was given its World Premiere in
1973 by The Joffrey Ballet at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois and received its ABT
Company Premiere on May 30, 2019 at the Metropolitan Opera House. Deuce Coupe is staged
for ABT by Kara Chan, Sara Rudner and Shawn Stevens.

Additional debuts for the 2019 Fall season include Javier Rivet in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Seasons on Tuesday, October 22 and Joo Won Ahn in Balanchine’s Theme and Variations at the matinee on Saturday, October 26.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, priced

from $30, are available online, at the Koch Theatre box office or by phone at 212-496-0600.
Performance-only tickets for the Opening Night Gala begin at $35. 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.

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, Mark Casey and Carrie Gaiser Casey, Lisa and Dick Cashin, 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, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 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.

Champion support for ABT Women’s Movement is provided by Jenna Segal. Additional support
provided by Mark Casey and Carrie Gaiser Casey, Donna and Richard Esteves, Margee and John
Falk, Janine and J. Tomilson Hill, the National Endowment for the Arts, Rockefeller Brothers Fund,
Denise Littlefield Sobel, The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation,
Elizabeth Yntema, and through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works
Fund.

Theme and Variations is generously underwritten through an endowed gift from Mr. and Mrs. John
C. Sites, Jr.
Deuce Coupe is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff
New Works Fund.
The Family Friendly Matinee is generously underwritten by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre.
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.

By the way, I forgot to put up this release from last week:

NEW AMERICAN ROMANCE BY JAMES WHITESIDE
ADDED TO AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S

FALL SEASON AT DAVID H. KOCH THEATER, OCTOBER 16–27, 2019
NEW YORK PREMIERE SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23
New American Romance, choreographed by American Ballet Theatre Principal
Dancer James Whiteside, will receive its New York Premiere on October 23 during the
Company’s Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater. It was announced today by Artistic
Director Kevin McKenzie.

Set to Suite Bergamasque for solo piano by Claude Debussy, New American
Romance is Whiteside’s first work for American Ballet Theatre. Featuring eight dancers, the
ballet received its World Premiere on July 27, 2019 at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail,
Colorado. New American Romance will be given three performances during ABT’s Fall season,
replacing the previously scheduled Dream within a Dream (deferred) by Michelle Dorrance.
Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season, priced from $30, are
available online, at the Koch Theatre box office or by phone at 212-496-0600. Performance-only
tickets for the Opening Night Gala begin at $35. 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.
New American Romance is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin
Sosnoff New Works Fund.

 

[ABT Fan]

Thanks, Dale. Casting is still not listed on their website. I LOVE how they release this the day AFTER their special ticket sale is over.

Mostly pleased with this. Glad Lane and Gorak got T&V. Nicely surprised that Ahn gets Apollo and T&V, but shocked that Bell didn’t get one of those because I thought that was a no-brainer. 

Edited August 15, 2019 by ABT Fan

[Fleurfairy]

I'm surprised Sarah Lane isn't included among the dancers on Herman's 20th anniversary. Unless she is in the yet-to-be-announced Piece d'occasion.

[Lena C.]

I am very disappointed that Sarah is not dancing Apollo with Herman. I had hoped it would be Herman, Sarah, Skylar and Cassandra. Also very surprised, like Fleurfairy, that Sarah isn't included for Herman's anniversary. Let's hope she is indeed the yet-to-be-announced Piece d'occasion. 

Otherwise, also very happy that Sarah and Joseph get T&V as well as that other pas featuring Sarah and Cory. They are an unlikely partnership but I'm interested in seeing them. Excited for Calvin and Joo Won's Apollo shows. 

[abatt]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/arts/dance/dancers-summer.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront

 

Here is a link which includes a discussion with Calvin Royal regarding his debut in Apollo this summer with Unity Phelan in Vail.  I hope Calvin's line improves by the time the fall season arrives.

Edited August 29, 2019 by abatt

[Dale]

An event:

 

AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE DANCER-CHOREOGRAPHERS
DISCUSS THEIR NEWEST WORKS AND THE ABT WOMEN’S MOVEMENT
FREE EVENT AT THE DAVID RUBENSTEIN ATRIUM AT LINCOLN CENTER,

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 AT 7:00 PM

American Ballet Theatre dancer-choreographers Gemma Bond, Zhong-Jing Fang and James
Whiteside will participate in a discussion on the ABT Women’s Movement on Monday, September 16,
2019 at 7:00 PM. The discussion, moderated by MSNBC anchor Yasmin Vossoughian, will take place at
the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center and is free and open to the public.

Launched in 2018, the ABT Women’s Movement is an ongoing initiative to support the
creation, exploration and staging of new works by women for ABT and ABT Studio Company. ABT
Women’s Movement choreographer and former corps de ballet dancer Gemma Bond will discuss the
creation of her first work for ABT, which will receive its World Premiere on Wednesday, October 23,
2019 at the David H. Koch Theater during the upcoming Fall season. Zhong-Jing Fang, a current ABT
Soloist and emerging choreographer, has been selected to create for ABT Incubator, the Company’s
in-house choreographic workshop. Principal Dancer James Whiteside, a choreographer for the inaugural
ABT Incubator workshop, joins the panel to discuss his latest work for ABT’s Fall season, New American
Romance, which will receive its New York Premiere on Wednesday, October 23.

The David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center is located on Broadway between 62 and 63

Streets. For more information about the event, please visit http://www.lincolncenter.org/atrium/show/abt-
womens-movement.

Champion support for the ABT Women’s Movement is provided by Jenna Segal.

[ABT Fan]

Sarah Lane has been replaced as The Rose in The Seasons by Zimmi Coker (for both of Lane's previously scheduled performances). These are on the same programs that Lane is cast in T&V, so perhaps it was thought it would be too much in one performance. Good for Coker, who keeps getting bigger roles, and it'll be great to see her in this, but I'll be disappointed to not see Lane.

https://www.abt.org/performances/master-calendar/

[nanushka]

29 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Sarah Lane has been replaced as The Rose in The Seasons by Zimmi Coker (for both of Lane's previously scheduled performances). These are on the same programs that Lane is cast in T&V, so perhaps it was thought it would be too much in one performance.

Sorry to hear this — that was such a great role for Lane — but yes, perhaps for the best.

[vipa]

10 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

Sarah Lane has been replaced as The Rose in The Seasons by Zimmi Coker (for both of Lane's previously scheduled performances). These are on the same programs that Lane is cast in T&V, so perhaps it was thought it would be too much in one performance. Good for Coker, who keeps getting bigger roles, and it'll be great to see her in this, but I'll be disappointed to not see Lane.

https://www.abt.org/performances/master-calendar/

I expected this to happen. I was surprised to see her in two ballets on a T&V show. 

[ABT Fan]

More casting has been released - for the new Bond and Whiteside pieces.

And, Tharp's new ballet is now titled "A Gathering of Ghosts".

https://www.abt.org/performances/master-calendar/

[BalanchineFan]

On 6/27/2019 at 3:20 PM, cobweb said:

Amen to that. 

 

On 6/27/2019 at 3:19 PM, mille-feuille said:

Please, for all that is holy and good, no. I will never forget her horrifying turn at Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux a few years ago. Keep Isabella Boylston away from my beloved Balanchine choreography.

What happened with Isabella Boylston in Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux? Could someone please explain?

[Dale]

More news:

 

ERICA CORNEJO TO JOIN HERMAN CORNEJO
ON STAGE IN EL CHAMUYO
IN CELEBRATION OF HERMAN CORNEJO’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE,
SATURDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 26 AT DAVID H. KOCH THEATER

Erica Cornejo, former American Ballet Theatre Soloist and former Boston Ballet principal dancer, will join her brother Herman on stage in El Chamuyo at the David H. Koch Theater on Saturday evening, October 26 at 8:00 PM. The pas de deux is a pièce d’occasion celebrating Herman Cornejo’s 20th Anniversary with ABT.

El Chamuyo, a tango choreographed by Ana María Stekelman and set to music by Francisco Canaro, was first performed by the Cornejos in 1998 at a gala dinner honoring Argentina on the Grand Tier of the Metropolitan Opera House. While in New York for the event, they attended Company class at American Ballet Theatre, and were invited to join ABT Studio Company.

Born in San Luis, Argentina, Erica Cornejo began her study of ballet at the age of four. In 1994, she was invited to join Julio Bocca’s company, Ballet Argentino, where she was promoted to principal ballerina and Bocca’s partner in 1995. She joined ABT Studio Company in 1998 and became a member of ABT’s corps de ballet later that same year. She was promoted to Soloist in 2002. In 2006, Erica joined Boston Ballet as a principal dancer, where she performed leading roles until her retirement in 2017. She is co-founder and artistic director of INTEGRARTE, a Dance Art Movement Center in Boston.

In addition to El Chamuyo, Herman Cornejo’s 20th Anniversary celebration on Saturday evening, October 26 will include his New York debut in the title role of George Balanchine’s Apollo and a leading role in A Gathering of Ghosts, the season’s World Premiere work by Twyla Tharp created for Cornejo and the Company. Cornejo will also lead A Gathering of Ghosts on October 16 at 7:30 PM, October 17 at
7:30 PM, October 19 at 8:00 PM and October 22 at 7:30 PM.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater, priced from $30, are available online, at the Koch Theatre box office or by phone at 212-496-0600. 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.

[nanushka]

There's some good footage of Sarah Lane rehearsing Theme and Variations — second variation, PDD and coda (with Gorak) — up now on her IG stories.

I love how her hair starts coming undone as the rehearsal goes on.

[Fleurfairy]

Still think it's strange that Sarah Lane is not dancing with Herman for his 20th anniversary night. A quick Instagram story showed Skylar Brandt rehearsing for "A Gathering of Ghosts". One would think if Sarah was also rehearsing for that piece, there would be evidence for it or, as a principal, she would be mentioned in the casting sheet for any of the three ballets. 

Edited October 10, 2019 by Fleurfairy

[ABT Fan]

11 minutes ago, Fleurfairy said:

Still think it's strange that Sarah Lane is not dancing with Herman for his 20th anniversary night. A quick Instagram story showed Skylar Brandt rehearsing for "A Gathering of Ghosts". One would think if Sarah was also rehearsing for that piece, there would be evidence for it or, as a principal, she would be mentioned in the casting sheet for any of the three ballets. 

I agree. Lane posted on her Instagram a list of her upcoming performances and Gathering of Ghosts was not one of them.

[Lena C.]

Yes I agree. Very disappointing, especially since Cornejo has said that Lane is one of his favored, long time partners. We don't know the full story or decisions that went into this casting but still rather strange. Regarding Apollo, I don't see why Lane isn't included. She's certainly been Cornejo's partner longer than Brandt or Trenary.