Saratoga 2019

[KarenAG]

Just want to weigh in on the one program I saw on Tues opening night and Thu matinee. I really enjoyed all three ballets and I enjoyed seeing them twice, which occurs with frequency at SPAC now due to the very short residency at SPAC. I agree with FNP about Elizebeth Sobol.  She seems to have no interest in ballet and her comments were perfunctory. And why didn’t Jonathan Stafford and Wendy Whelan come out and welcome the season? It was very disappointing. Is anyone having the feeling I am having? Is this the end of a 50+ year privilege? I couldn’t help but think this with the lukewarm welcome our beautiful company received.  The audience was responsive, I’m happy to say. 

I was in the balcony Tues and in the Orchestra on Thu. I think I got more out of seeing Serenade these two times more than ever.  I’ve seen it a number of times but it was very special to me this week. I was in awe of the patterns and choreography.  My eyesight plays tricks on me, though. Was Lauren Lovette Waltz Girl? And Megan LeCrone the Dark Angel? 

Likewise, Mozartiana. What a complex and provocative ballet.  I love the choreography in this ballet, too. The three leads were terrific and Sarah’s Preghiera was full of drama and gravitas, beautifully danced.  Daniel ‘s Gigue, the Menuet and T and V were wonderful, too. 

I had never seen Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto #2!  I just loved it. Although I read Nancy Goldner’s essay AFTER seeing both performances (kicking myself that I didn’t read it BEFORE), I appreciate the Petipa homage and traditional choreography, ala Balanchine. The dancing was terrific (the dancing the whole evening was terrific, in my opinion) and Tess Reichlen and Russell Janzen were just fabulous. The orchestra sounded great and I love the acoustics at SPAC. 

All in all, a great evening and afternoon, despite the heat. And a tribute to the variety and genius that is George Balanchine. 

On that note, I’m very sad about tomorrow, both for the dancers and for the attendees. I wish I’d known earlier that tomorrow was being cancelled; I think I’d have jumped in the car and driven up for tonight ‘s Coppelia. So I probably won’t see NYCB’s Coppelia for a long time. So sad. 

Did anyone get an email from SPAC re the cancelled performance? I didn’t. 

 

 

 

 

 

[KarenAG]

10 hours ago, FPF said:

I was pretty wiped out from the heat and late night on Tuesday, so I decided to skip Wednesday night and do a ballet double-header yesterday.  The matinee was the same Balanchine Tschaikovsky program as on Tuesday night and with the same cast. The weather was thankfully quite a bit cooler and there was a bit of a breeze, so it was much more pleasant. I sat downstairs this time thanks to a very nice woman who gave me her extra ticket.  This peformance looked to have sold very well, and this time, they did announce the cast substation before the start of the program. I thought Serenade was better this time--I enjoyed all three women (Le Crone, Pereira, Lovette) and Chamblee was much smoother. And I can confirm that Lauren Lovette was the blonde--it looks like the roots are still dark, but when she pulls it down, it looks very blond. I found the theme and variations in Mozartiana a bit of slog, although I couldn't say what was different in between the performances--sometimes I think that the matinee is better because you can see more, but I think the darker theater does help you to focus. Lydia Wellington was looking very good in the Menuet quartet. Finally, Teresa Reichlen gets my vote again as MVP--this performance of Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 was just as good as the Tuesday night performance and received a huge and loud ovation from the crowd.. Russell Janzen and Lauren King were also excellent, once again. I also particularly noticed Alec Knight as one of the demis. 

I came back last night for the first of the three Copppelias. Swanilda was Megan Fairchild, Fritz was Anthony Huxley, and Dr. Coppelius was Andrew Veyette. I've seen this a number of times over the past 30 years, and last night's performance definitely ranks as one of the best I've seen. Megan and Anthony were absolutely on fire, particularly in the wedding pas de deux.  Veyette was an unusually spry Coppelius. Baily Jones substituted for Sarah Villwock in the Waltz of the Golden Hours--she was great and the kids were both professional and adorable. Lauren King was wonderful as Dawn--she is so sunny and glowing. Emily Gerrity did very well in Prayer. Although she was otherwise very good, Sara Adams had a very visibly fumbled step in Spinner. I may be in the minority here, but I love Discord and War and Unity Phelan and Spartak Hoxha were wonderful.  I've said it before, but the wedding pas de deux was just brilliantly danced. On the whole, a great night at the ballet. This performance also seemed to have sold well and the audience was extremely appreciative.

I'm probably skipping tonight, although I'm kind of tempted to see Huxley and Fairchild again. I'd also really like to see the Bouder/ Gordon cast , but the heat/humidity tomorrow is supposed to be brutal. Ditto for the gala. 

 

Thank you for your reviews, FPF. I so wish I went up to SPAC tonight. I’m glad you enjoyed it and happy to hear about Megan’s and Anthony’s great dancing. 

[FPF]

8 minutes ago, KarenAG said:

I was in the balcony Tues and in the Orchestra on Thu. I think I got more out of seeing Serenade these two times more than ever.  I’ve seen it a number of times but it was very special to me this week. I was in awe of the patterns and choreography.  My eyesight plays tricks on me, though. Was Lauren Lovette Waltz Girl? And Megan LeCrone the Dark Angel? 

Yes, Lovette was Waltz Girl, Le Crone was Dark Angel, and Pereira was Russian Girl.

 

10 minutes ago, KarenAG said:

Is anyone having the feeling I am having? Is this the end of a 50+ year privilege? I couldn’t help but think this with the lukewarm welcome our beautiful company received. 

Did anyone get an email from SPAC re the cancelled performance? I didn’t. 

Yes, I've been wondering if the cancelled performance and refunds will somehow be spun as NYCB not bringing in enough money. I also find it very discouraging that Sobel can't even convincingly pretend to like ballet for two minutes on opening night. This should not be difficult. 

I saw the notice by chance when I went to the SPAC website. No email.

[KarenAG]

9 minutes ago, FPF said:

Yes, Lovette was Waltz Girl, Le Crone was Dark Angel, and Pereira was Russian Girl.

 

Yes, I've been wondering if the cancelled performance and refunds will somehow be spun as NYCB not bringing in enough money. I also find it very discouraging that Sobel can't even convincingly pretend to like ballet for two minutes on opening night. This should not be difficult. 

I saw the notice by chance when I went to the SPAC website. No email.

Thank you, FPF. I’m worried about that, too, even said it to my husband at dinner when I heard of the cancellation. I only found out because my friend texted me. Wasn’t listening to the news, but when the six o’clock news was on TV, all I heard (I admit I was only listening with half an ear) was about the race track being closed. But by then I’d already heard about SPAC.  It would have been brutal for the dancers. I imagine it’s terrible tonight. But no email to subscribers? I get emails from SPAC every day!  

[FPF]

As per Ashley Bouder's instagram, the gala program has been changed so that she and Joseph Gordon can do the Coppelia wedding pas de deux.

 

[NinaFan]

In light of this excessive heat wave, NYCB was smart to cancel today's matinee.   It's a shame, but it was the right thing to do for the dancers.  I hope all goes well for everyone this evening.

[FPF]

It looks like they did finally send out an email about the cancellation late yesterday morning, along with a plea for donations. 

THANK YOU for supporting the New York City Ballet at SPAC! Dear Friend,   Tonight will be the glorious close of one of our most exciting New York City Ballet residencies in recent memory.   As you know, yesterday we took the very difficult, but important, decision to cancel today’s matinee due to the extreme heat conditions and concern for the health of artists and patrons.   As the matinee was one of our most heavily-sold performances, the negative financial impact on this year’s residency will be considerable.   Would you please consider donating your matinee tickets – or making a direct contribution to “HEAT FUND” – to help us offset the loss on today’s performance?   Here’s how you can help: Donate your tickets for today’s performance as a contribution to SPAC here Make a gift online today

 

[aurora]

24 minutes ago, FPF said:

It looks like they did finally send out an email about the cancellation late yesterday morning, along with a plea for donations. 

THANK YOU for supporting the New York City Ballet at SPAC! Dear Friend,   Tonight will be the glorious close of one of our most exciting New York City Ballet residencies in recent memory.   As you know, yesterday we took the very difficult, but important, decision to cancel today’s matinee due to the extreme heat conditions and concern for the health of artists and patrons.   As the matinee was one of our most heavily-sold performances, the negative financial impact on this year’s residency will be considerable.   Would you please consider donating your matinee tickets – or making a direct contribution to “HEAT FUND” – to help us offset the loss on today’s performance?   Here’s how you can help: Donate your tickets for today’s performance as a contribution to SPAC here Make a gift online today

 

So they don't email people until the last second--and when they do it is to beg for money.

 

That is ridiculously tacky.

[FPF]

1 minute ago, aurora said:

So they don't email people until the last second--and when they do it is to beg for money.

 

That is ridiculously tacky.

Yep.  I'm not sure what time the announcement was made on Friday, but the email came more than 18 hours after I first saw online that the Saturday matinee had been cancelled.

[fondoffouettes]

19 minutes ago, FPF said:

Yep.  I'm not sure what time the announcement was made on Friday, but the email came more than 18 hours after I first saw online that the Saturday matinee had been cancelled.

What were they thinking? The email above reads like a follow-up to a previously sent email announcing the cancellation. The “As you know...” bit seems to reference some prior messaging on NYCB’s part. 

In theory, I think the idea of asking people to donate tickets is a good one, but only if they’ve also been offered the option of a refund or exchange. The email above gives no instructions on how to get a refund. 

It’s always possible they made a mistake with their email lists and left @FPF off a cancellation message. It just doesn’t seem like NYCB to not communicate well with its patrons (I remember very clear and immediate messaging when they canceled a matinee due to a snow storm a couple years ago).

I wonder if the fact that people bought their tickets through SPAC rather than directly from NYCB caused some issues with getting immediate messages out to ticket-holders.

Edited July 21, 2019 by fondoffouettes

[FPF]

1 minute ago, fondoffouettes said:

What were they thinking? The email above reads like a follow-up to a previously sent email announcing the cancellation. The “As you know...” bit seems to reference some prior messaging on NYCB’s part. 

In theory, I think the idea of asking people to donate tickets is a good one, but only if they’ve also been offered the option of a refund or exchange. The email above gives no instructions on how to get a refund. 

It’s always possible they made a mistake with their email lists and left @FPF off a cancellation message. It just doesn’t seem like NYCB to not communicate well with it’s patrons (I remember very clear and immediate messaging when they canceled a matinee due to a snow storm a couple years ago).

I wonder if the fact that people bought their tickets through SPAC rather than directly from NYCB caused some issues with getting immediate messages out to ticket-holders.

The email isn't from NYCB, it's from SPAC. To be fair, they are actually offering a choice of a refund, a gift certificate that can be used through the 2020 classical season, or donating the tickets. If you click on the link where it says Donate your tickets, it provides all three options. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzwVVuL8zqq7pJgrqUIUBZXZjtfgMMLWrzELVd80yjI0Jx_g/viewform?mc_cid=fcc73d6844&mc_eid=bee1c0630b

[fondoffouettes]

15 minutes ago, FPF said:

The email isn't from NYCB, it's from SPAC. To be fair, they are actually offering a choice of a refund, a gift certificate that can be used through the 2020 classical season, or donating the tickets. If you click on the link where it says Donate your tickets, it provides all three options. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzwVVuL8zqq7pJgrqUIUBZXZjtfgMMLWrzELVd80yjI0Jx_g/viewform?mc_cid=fcc73d6844&mc_eid=bee1c0630b

Ah, gotcha. I checked SPAC’s Twitter and Facebook and they did announce the cancellation by Friday afternoon, but I don’t think they should count on people checking those channels (or their website). An e-mail seems like a no-brainer.

[nanushka]

20 minutes ago, FPF said:

The email isn't from NYCB, it's from SPAC. To be fair, they are actually offering a choice of a refund, a gift certificate that can be used through the 2020 classical season, or donating the tickets. If you click on the link where it says Donate your tickets, it provides all three options.

To not make that clear in the email itself, though, seems rather tacky. It’s not hard: make people feel fairly treated and valued and they’re more likely to be generous.

The failure to send an earlier email immediately after cancellation — even if it had to say that refund procedures etc would be forthcoming — is bizarre and pretty much inexcusable.

[Balletwannabe]

The SAB kids were very dissapointed!  I wish they could do something in studio to make up for it.  They already had the drama of the blackout and now this...  Oh well!  A memorable summer for sure.

[FPF]

Also, KarenAG said earlier that she had matinee tickets and hadn't received any emails about the cancellation. I don't think there was an earlier email that somehow we both didn't get.

[NinaFan]

2 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

I wonder if the fact that people bought their tickets through SPAC rather than directly from NYCB caused some issues with getting immediate messages out to ticket-holders.

That's what I'm thinking.  NYCB is always on top of things at the Koch since they sold the tickets. 

I would think the venue (SPAC) would be responsible for notifying ticket holders.   That being said, I wonder how many e-mail addresses SPAC had for ticket buyers.    If tickets are bought online they should have e-mail addresses.  But if someone buys in person at the box office, are they asked for this information?    I've never been asked for contact information when purchasing tickets in person at any theater box office. 

 

[audreydoll]

I bought my tickets online from the SPAC website and did get an email about Saturday’s cancellation.  It came around 5PM Friday and contained instructions on how to obtain a refund or gift certificate.  I’m not sure how they determined who got these notifications but it appears at least some of us did.  

I’m a longtime SPAC attendee and this is the first time I recall they’ve ever cancelled a performance.  Since I’ve sat through shows in extreme heat before,  I wonder if the decision was influenced by the fact there are kids performing in this ballet.

 

 

Edited July 21, 2019 by audreydoll
Typo

[liebs]

All tickets for SPAC are sold by them, not by NYCB.  NYCB's website irects you to SPAC to buy tickets.  The responsibility is their's.

[NinaFan]

I just remembered buying tickets for a Broadway musical which closed before my performance date.  Because I bought the tickets in person at the Box Office, I was not notified that my performance was cancelled.

So I'm guessing this is pretty much the same situation with SPAC. I wonder if there is a way to avoid this by theaters asking for voluntary e-mail addresses, as long as no one is forced to comply.   It sure would have come in handy.  I'd have been very upset if I'd made a long trip in the heat to a performance which had already been cancelled.

1 hour ago, liebs said:

All tickets for SPAC are sold by them, not by NYCB.  NYCB's website irects you to SPAC to buy tickets.  The responsibility is their's.

I totally agree that the venue who sold the tickets is responsible.

[FPF]

I bought a season lawn pass in person last December when they were on sale + all fees waived. I don't recall that they asked for my email address at the time, but they definitely asked for my home address so that they could mail the pass to me. I have bought tickets online from them before, so I would expect to be in the database.  I used the first of my five $5 upgrades on Tuesday night and had to show them my driver's license at the box office but didn't provide my email at that time. On Wednesday morning, I received an email thanking me for attending with a discount offer for SPAC OnStage or Fela!. So they were clearly able to tie my attendance with pass and upgrade both bought in person to my email address in their database.

[KarenAG]

On 7/21/2019 at 11:30 AM, aurora said:

So they don't email people until the last second--and when they do it is to beg for money.

 

That is ridiculously tacky.

Exactly! I didn’t get ANY email.

[BalanchineFan]

On 7/21/2019 at 7:59 PM, FPF said:

I bought a season lawn pass in person last December when they were on sale + all fees waived. I don't recall that they asked for my email address at the time, but they definitely asked for my home address so that they could mail the pass to me. I have bought tickets online from them before, so I would expect to be in the database.  I used the first of my five $5 upgrades on Tuesday night and had to show them my driver's license at the box office but didn't provide my email at that time. On Wednesday morning, I received an email thanking me for attending with a discount offer for SPAC OnStage or Fela!. So they were clearly able to tie my attendance with pass and upgrade both bought in person to my email address in their database.

One of my credit cards is attached to my email address and I often get emailed receipts for purchases. That's another way that venues would have access to email addresses. Of course, they have no way of knowing how often you check that email address, or if it was set up purely to collect receipts.