ABT Fan Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 (edited) Casting has not yet been announced on ABT's site, but the Michigan Opera website lists the "artists" but not for specific dates. No Copeland. And, of course no Lane. The order in which they're listed: Bell Shevchenko Stearns Teuscher Murphy Seo Boylston Whiteside Two more guys are needed, unless they're going to have one or two of the three do more than one performance. https://michiganopera.org/season-schedule/abt-swan-lake/ Edited October 3, 2019 by ABT Fan Link to comment
nanushka Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 17 minutes ago, ABT Fan said: Two more guys are needed, unless they're going to have one or two of the three do more than one performance. Forster! Forster! Forster! Perhaps if his Albrecht goes well? Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted October 3, 2019 Author Share Posted October 3, 2019 1 minute ago, nanushka said: Forster! Forster! Forster! Perhaps if his Albrecht goes well? I would LOVE that. Link to comment
fondoffouettes Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 When you click on the "more" button beneath the first two lines of headshots, it displays Ahn and Forster. It's certainly possible one or both of them is cast as Rothbart, but I do hope Forster gets a Siegfried! Very surprised to see Copeland isn't cast at all. Link to comment
nanushka Posted October 3, 2019 Share Posted October 3, 2019 2 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said: When you click on the "more" button beneath the first two lines of headshots, it displays Ahn and Forster. It's certainly possible one or both of them is cast as Rothbart, but I do hope Forster gets a Siegfried I think Ahn could be great in the role as well — but I'm particularly eager to see Forster cast, since he's older. I don't know if promotion is still in the cards as a possibility for him, but at the very least I'd like to see him continue to get more opportunities. Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted October 4, 2019 Author Share Posted October 4, 2019 2 hours ago, fondoffouettes said: When you click on the "more" button beneath the first two lines of headshots, it displays Ahn and Forster. It's certainly possible one or both of them is cast as Rothbart, but I do hope Forster gets a Siegfried! Very surprised to see Copeland isn't cast at all. I missed the “more” section. Maybe this will finally be Forster’s year. Link to comment
orangerose Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 I am genuinely shocked that Copeland is not among the artists here. She was the primary marketing hook for both Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet when they came to the point that they added additional shows with her Florine when she was originally only cast for one. I think Romeo and Juleit's Detroit cast was announced towards the end of October/beginning of November, so maybe we'll see the final cast with dates soon. Link to comment
DPell Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 13 hours ago, fondoffouettes said: When you click on the "more" button beneath the first two lines of headshots, it displays Ahn and Forster. It's certainly possible one or both of them is cast as Rothbart, but I do hope Forster gets a Siegfried! Personally, I'm hoping both get cast as Siegfried. It makes sense to me, that all 5 male dancers listed are dancing Siegfried. Link to comment
Fleurfairy Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 14 hours ago, fondoffouettes said: Very surprised to see Copeland isn't cast at all. I'm wondering if Swan lake is beyond her abilities now, considering Lane had to fill in as Odile this past Met season. Link to comment
abatt Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) McKenzie would let Copeland make up any variation she could muster to keep her continuing performing in SL. As long as they keep doing the McKenzie version, Copeland will continue in the role. Unlike the exacting demands of Ratmansky, who does not allow alterations of the choreography, anytihng goes if it makes money as far as McKenzie is concerned. I'm not sure every principal is required to go on every tour. Edited October 4, 2019 by abatt Link to comment
Roberta Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Isn't Copeland now concentrating on these sorts of modern works? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/arts/dance/kyle-abraham-misty-copeland-fall-for-dance.html Link to comment
nanushka Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 19 minutes ago, Roberta said: Isn't Copeland now concentrating on these sorts of modern works? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/arts/dance/kyle-abraham-misty-copeland-fall-for-dance.html I haven't read the article in careful detail, but has there been a suggestion that she's shifting her focus away from classical ballet? My sense is that she's always been interested in doing both. Link to comment
abatt Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 FYI, Copeland is also appearing as a guest artist at the Gala for Paul Taylor Dance Company at Lincoln Center in early November. Link to comment
vagansmom Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) Nanushka, I read that article in full and came to that same conclusion: that she's moving away from classical ballet. I believe its demands are just too much for her body. IMO, she moved too quickly through the ranks, arriving at principal dancer with too many technical imperfections and not enough time (all those endorsement opportunities?) to work through them. I wonder if they, along with her age, have contributed to her recent spate of injuries. However, she chose a route that has brought her more financial security than she would have received otherwise. Make hay while the sun shines. I wouldn't begrudge her that if it weren't that other, better dancers have suffered from lack of roles. I lay that at McKenzie's feet, though. He too was taking advantage of quick money. In his case, though, I believe it's detrimental to the company longterm and to current morale, no matter how much dancers may like Copeland personally. Edited October 4, 2019 by vagansmom To allow paragraphing for easier reading Link to comment
Lena C. Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 I would love for Ahn and Forster to each get a Siegfried. Perfect opportunity to try out before the met season. Hopefully no Copeland does indeed mean that she is gradually moving away from classical roles. High time that actual qualified dancers (LANE!) Get their shot. I'm not surprised that yet again Lane has been denied her own Swan Lake. I was hoping for her own casting after she saved the day last season. Guess the AD isn't interested in giving her a well deserved shot. Link to comment
laurel Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 I have no doubt that Forster and Ahn will be cast as Siegfried in Detroit. If Forster is teamed with Shevchenko, then I hope the two of them will be teamed again in New York in the spring. If that happens, that would be a cast no one would want to miss. I saw them perform in the Nutcracker last year and they were spectacular together, bringing out the best in one another. At last, a reason to look forward to the spring season! As for Copeland, I'm very much looking forward to the day she announces her retirement from ABT. Enough is enough. Link to comment
Drew Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 (edited) 11 hours ago, vagansmom said: Nanushka, I read that article in full and came to that same conclusion: that she's moving away from classical ballet. I believe its demands are just too much for her body. IMO, she moved too quickly through the ranks, arriving at principal dancer with too many technical imperfections and not enough time (all those endorsement opportunities?) to work through them. Copeland was well into her thirties when she was promoted --thirty-three/thirty four maybe...doesn't that mean her rise through the ranks was considerably slower than that of Teuscher or Shevchenko let alone Seo? At least to me, it doesn't seem all that quick. At the time of her promotion, she wasn't just in her mid-thirties she also had been through a very bad injury/surgery etc. If I had to speculate, then I would wonder if the injury she suffered not that long before the promotion -- an injury that kept her out for something like a year -- might have played a bigger role in limiting some of her purely technical accomplishments than any endorsements she did. (Heck, if Copeland had been promoted sooner, we would have seen more of her in the big classical roles pre-injury and could have evaluated her in that context.) Edited October 5, 2019 by Drew Link to comment
tutu Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 11 hours ago, Drew said: At the time of her promotion, she wasn't just in her mid-thirties she also had been through a very bad injury/surgery etc. If I had to speculate, then I would wonder if the injury she suffered not that long before the promotion -- an injury that kept her out for something like a year -- might have played a bigger role in limiting some of her purely technical accomplishments than any endorsements she did. (Heck, if Copeland had been promoted sooner, we would have seen more of her in the big classical roles pre-injury and could have evaluated her in that context.) Yeah, per Wikipedia, Copeland’s 37 now, and was 33 when she was promoted. Isn’t late 30s when most start to give up the most challenging roles (with some exceptions like the ageless Gillian Murphy)? Especially when they’ve had injuries on the level that Copeland has? As to age, Susan Jaffe retired at 40; Irina Dvorovenko at 40; Xiomara Reyes at 42. Julie Kent retired at 46, but I’m not sure that everyone has the fondest memories of the last years of her career. As for injuries, Tiler Peck is around 30 years old, one of the greatest technicians in ballet, and has been out with a herniated disc for months now, though she seems to be on track to return. David Hallberg had horrific injuries. Ballet is, unfortunately, what it is — catastrophic injuries are not uncommon and not necessarily attributable to one’s commercial opportunities. Ballet is a brief and brutal career. Link to comment
canbelto Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 3 hours ago, tutu said: Yeah, per Wikipedia, Copeland’s 37 now, and was 33 when she was promoted. Isn’t late 30s when most start to give up the most challenging roles (with some exceptions like the ageless Gillian Murphy)? Especially when they’ve had injuries on the level that Copeland has? As to age, Susan Jaffe retired at 40; Irina Dvorovenko at 40; Xiomara Reyes at 42. Julie Kent retired at 46, but I’m not sure that everyone has the fondest memories of the last years of her career. As for injuries, Tiler Peck is around 30 years old, one of the greatest technicians in ballet, and has been out with a herniated disc for months now, though she seems to be on track to return. David Hallberg had horrific injuries. Ballet is, unfortunately, what it is — catastrophic injuries are not uncommon and not necessarily attributable to one’s commercial opportunities. Ballet is a brief and brutal career. Ballet career trajectories are really the most consistent with that of professional athletes. In professional sports even the very greatest and hardiest are felled by injuries by the late-30's/early-40's. Link to comment
Josette Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 Xiomara Reyes was still dancing as if it were the first day of spring when she was forced out by Kevin McKenzie. It was not her choice to retire, as was apparent from her interviews at the time. Link to comment
nanushka Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 43 minutes ago, Josette said: It was not her choice to retire... Nor was it Irina’s (since she was also listed above), I believe. Link to comment
canbelto Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 26 minutes ago, nanushka said: Nor was it Irina’s (since she was also listed above), I believe. I believe Irina said that she saw the cast list go up and she wasn't cast. At all. So she made the choice to retire. Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 2 hours ago, canbelto said: I believe Irina said that she saw the cast list go up and she wasn't cast. At all. So she made the choice to retire. Didn’t basically the same thing happen to Paloma? Julie Kent was the only woman of that generation who seemed able to retire on her terms (and way too late). Link to comment
stuben Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 14 hours ago, Josette said: Xiomara Reyes was still dancing as if it were the first day of spring when she was forced out by Kevin McKenzie. It was not her choice to retire, as was apparent from her interviews at the time. 13 hours ago, canbelto said: I believe Irina said that she saw the cast list go up and she wasn't cast. At all. So she made the choice to retire. 10 hours ago, ABT Fan said: Didn’t basically the same thing happen to Paloma? Julie Kent was the only woman of that generation who seemed able to retire on her terms (and way too late). If not mistaken, didn't Irina say something to that effect in her NY Times interview, if my memory serves me well, she was not pleased at all about how her exit went after all she gave to ABT and her fans ? And, sadly I will never forget how Xiomara and Paloma were given their exit show 😖, in my books after all they gave to us so many years of their beautiful and incomparable work, only to be left at the curb, unconscionable in my books and personally gone now are the Golden Age of ABT. Link to comment
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