Sarah Lane

[volcanohunter]

I have clear memories of a performance during which Daniil Simkin's Lensky knocked Sarah Lane's Olga off pointe once and then nearly did it a second time because he was struggling mightily with the partnering. (And in that case the problems were with promenades and turns, not lifts.) I'm sure these kinds of experiences were awfully frustrating for her, especially if she ended up looking badly through someone else's flub.

Edited September 17, 2022 by volcanohunter

[vipa]

19 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

I have clear memories of a performance during which Daniil Simkin's Lensky knocked Sarah Lane's Olga off pointe once and then nearly did it a second time because he was struggling mightily with the partnering. (And in that case the problems were with promenades and turns, not lifts.) I'm sure these kinds of experiences were awfully frustrating for her, especially if she ended up looking badly through someone else's flub.

I agree that Lane made a very un-savvy remark about being a small, light dancer who was therefore paired with small men. Shorter men who are virtuoso dancers tend to focus on their own variations and "tricks" and not so much on partnering in a company like ABT that does  lot of full lengths. I saw many shows in which Lane was not served well by Simkin or Cornejo, but they both became better partners as time went on. On the other hand she was sometimes given opportunities because a short dancer like Simkin or Cornejo needed a small partner. Unfortunately there were times when, IMO, she didn't seize the moment.

Edited September 18, 2022 by vipa

[Mothrafairy0912]

I'm glad that Sarah stuck up for herself and dare I say brings to light a huge issue in the ballet world..........that the men can get away with anything.  If her partner was truly calling out on scheduled rehearsals as she says, I believe that this is something that must've been going on for quite some time.  If she was doing virtually all of the rehearsing with the understudy this is a big problem.  Two completely different bodies!  Meaning many nuances of the partnering change with a different person.  This is something that would drastically affect her performance esp if it was a debut.

Additionally, Sarah knew she was never favored and I'm sure had an idea of what kind of trouble she would bring down on herself by bringing this up to KM.  It must've been bad enough for her to go that route.

I wish she had never stayed with ABT for so long.  Knowing that she wasn't wanted from the beginning.

I am happy to see that she is guesting and teaching quite a bit.  She has been doing a lot of work at ARB with Ethan Steifel.

[lacdescygnes]

On 2/22/2023 at 12:39 PM, Mothrafairy0912 said:

I'm glad that Sarah stuck up for herself and dare I say brings to light a huge issue in the ballet world..........that the men can get away with anything.  If her partner was truly calling out on scheduled rehearsals as she says, I believe that this is something that must've been going on for quite some time.  If she was doing virtually all of the rehearsing with the understudy this is a big problem.  Two completely different bodies!  Meaning many nuances of the partnering change with a different person.  This is something that would drastically affect her performance esp if it was a debut.

Additionally, Sarah knew she was never favored and I'm sure had an idea of what kind of trouble she would bring down on herself by bringing this up to KM.  It must've been bad enough for her to go that route.

I wish she had never stayed with ABT for so long.  Knowing that she wasn't wanted from the beginning.

I am happy to see that she is guesting and teaching quite a bit.  She has been doing a lot of work at ARB with Ethan Steifel.

I too am glad to see that Sarah Lane is teaching and guesting in her post-ABT career.

However, I must also point out that on their Instagram accounts, both Skylar Brandt and Cassie Trenary post a lot of footage from rehearsals with Cornejo. Which leads me to wonder 2 things - did ABT management ask Cornejo to step up his rehearsal time with partners in the wake of Lane's complaints, or conversely did Lane ask more more rehearsal time than "average", or at least these other 2 principals. I don't think we'll ever know either way, of course

[Victura]

On 2/27/2023 at 9:43 AM, lacdescygnes said:

However, I must also point out that on their Instagram accounts, both Skylar Brandt and Cassie Trenary post a lot of footage from rehearsals with Cornejo. Which leads me to wonder 2 things - did ABT management ask Cornejo to step up his rehearsal time with partners in the wake of Lane's complaints, or conversely did Lane ask more more rehearsal time than "average", or at least these other 2 principals. I don't think we'll ever know either way, of course

It may just be that Cornejo seems to be healthier these days. He seemed quite often injured before, which probably limited his rehearsal time. 

[AB'sMom]

The argument could also be made that just because a female dancer is small doesn’t mean she is easy to partner. I know plenty of men who have struggled with particular dancers and it has nothing to do with their size. I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate it if male dancers were publicly saying that she was difficult to partner, so it seems harsh of her to call them out.

[Drew]

20 hours ago, AB'sMom said:

The argument could also be made that just because a female dancer is small doesn’t mean she is easy to partner. I know plenty of men who have struggled with particular dancers and it has nothing to do with their size. I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate it if male dancers were publicly saying that she was difficult to partner, so it seems harsh of her to call them out.

To my knowledge, Lane only "called out" Cornejo for not being available to rehearse with her because of  his injuries--and his frequent injuries have not been a secret to the public.  In nothing I read did she say he was a poor partner or imply he didn't have reasons for not being available to rehearse. Did I miss something? Because in those comments I don't find what she said particularly harsh.  It explains why they stopped dancing together and I rather appreciate having some kind of explanation.  Of course, from the "outside" it's easy to see that refusing to dance with such a major male star was almost bound to damage her career, but obviously from the "inside" the limited rehearsal time was a situation she was not comfortable with.

I think Cornejo is one of the greatest male dancers I have ever seen (and I date back to Nureyev and Bruhn); I'm not the same kind of fan of Lane, but I liked her dancing--in some roles I liked it a lot--and I could wish, for her own sake, that she had found a way to continue dancing with him. But I don't think she was being particularly harsh about him as a partner--just a little more candid about what she went through than we are used to from ballet dancers....

Edited to say: @AB'sMom does point me to a different interview below which I had missed....

Edited March 11, 2023 by Drew

[AB'sMom]

On 9/15/2022 at 6:21 AM, JuliaJ said:

From the Metropolis interview:

"I was always dancing with weaker partners, so to be in the studio with someone who is such a strong partner is a privilege for me"

Ouch.

Love Sarah Lane as a dancer and so happy to hear she's getting opportunities, but she hasn't always shown the best judgement in making public statements. 

This is what I was referring to. 

[Drew]

8 hours ago, AB'sMom said:

This is what I was referring to. 

Ahhh...I missed your reference--I went through the thread too quickly and missed the Metropolis interview.  I understand now what you were saying....

(I still feel some human sympathy for her situation having seen her put together with several male dancers who were very inexperienced at the time...And she may have thought that by saying "weaker partners" without naming anyone she was being sufficiently vague:  she danced with Gorak---I even liked them together in The Tempest, but I also later saw him essentially destroy an entire classical pas de deux with the very strong Boylston--and when young, Simkin was no prize partner either. I saw Lane and SImkin in a peasant pas de deux way back when and ....well...no comment except to say, of course he got much better as he developed.  But yes, what was quoted was not the most tactful thing for her to say.)

Edited March 11, 2023 by Drew

[vipa]

2 hours ago, Drew said:

Ahhh...I missed your reference--I went through the thread too quickly and missed the Metropolis interview.  I understand now what you were saying....

(I still feel some human sympathy for her situation having seen her put together with several male dancers who were very inexperienced at the time...And she may have thought that by saying "weaker partners" without naming anyone she was being sufficiently vague:  she danced with Gorak---I even liked them together in The Tempest, but I also later saw him essentially destroy an entire classical pas de deux with the very strong Boylston--and when young, Simkin was no prize partner either. I saw Lane and SImkin in a peasant pas de deux way back when and ....well...no comment except to say, of course he got much better as he developed.  But yes, what was quoted was not the most tactful thing for her to say.)

I agree with all of this. I've been a fan of Sarah Lane's dancing for a long time. I too have seen her suffer from less than adequate partnering from men who later developed into much better partners. At the same time, I think it should be acknowledged that the flip side of this is that she was given some opportunities when the shorter male "stars" needed a partner. I'm thinking of her first Theme and Variations, Stars & Stripes pas, Flames of Paris pas. There were probably others. Sometimes she rose to the challenge but sadly, sometimes she didn't. 

I think Lane is a special dancer, and I hope she has more years of a performing career in front of her.

[Marta]

I also agree with both Drew and Vipa.  I'm a long time fan of Lane's even though I didn't see her that many times at ABT.  I  especially loved her Giselle with Simkin and her SB with Cornejo.  Veronika Part, another great dancer badly treated by ABT,,  didn't continue to dance after she left ABT.  At least it's encouraging that Lane is still dancing, although  it doesn't look as though her career is going to flourish again.

[matilda]

Even if Lane's complaints about her partners and other matters were perfectly valid, talking about them to public news outlets or on social media shows poor judgement. Everyone at every ballet company has complaints about one thing or another. Sabotaging one's career over interpersonal workplace issues (ones that seem relatively minor to the outside world) with a "woe is me" attitude is not a good look on anyone. I feel sorry for her that McKenzie mismanaged her career in some regards, but her recent interviews give me pause as to how much others were to blame in her ultimate demise as an ABT principal. 

[abatt]

I think the loss of Lane was a major loss to the company.  At this point in time, ABT is a company that is floundering, and it needs all of the artists it can get.   For the most part, its current roster is very mediocre.  

[matilda]

"mediocre" is not a word I would use to describe a company with talents like Skylar Brandt, Aran Bell, Christine Shevchenko, Catherine Hurlin, Devon Teuscher, Cassandra Trenary, Daniel Carmargo--plus up-and-comers like Chloe Misseldine, Sunmi Park, Zimmi Coker, and Jarod Curley, among others. But they do need to recruit more male danseur principals ASAP. It's hard to imagine how they'll cast Basilios, Siegfrieds, and Albrechts in the near future given the company's current state. Male casting for the 2023 season already leaves much to be desired. 

[Marta]

2 hours ago, matilda said:

"mediocre" is not a word I would use to describe a company with talents like Skylar Brandt, Aran Bell, Christine Shevchenko, Catherine Hurlin, Devon Teuscher, Cassandra Trenary, Daniel Carmargo--plus up-and-comers like Chloe Misseldine, Sunmi Park, Zimmi Coker, and Jarod Curley, among others. But they do need to recruit more male danseur principals ASAP. It's hard to imagine how they'll cast Basilios, Siegfrieds, and Albrechts in the near future given the company's current state. Male casting for the 2023 season already leaves much to be desired. 

Just the dearth of stellar principal males casts a mediocre aspect on ABT.  Aside from Cornejo and Simkin, maybe Camargo, most of the males are  lackluster. The loss of Ratmansky is significant.  What is ABT going to do to become more attractive?

[abatt]

46 minutes ago, Marta said:

Just the dearth of stellar principal males casts a mediocre aspect on ABT.  Aside from Cornejo and Simkin, maybe Camargo, most of the males are  lackluster. The loss of Ratmansky is significant.  What is ABT going to do to become more attractive?

In addition to Carmago and Cornejo, I would add Bell as someone who is a talent to watch.  Simkin is gone, so he can't be included in any list.

I have a secret hope that Bell will follow Ratmansky to NYCB, but I know that will probably not happen.  NYCB could certainly use a tall danseur like Bell.

[Marta]

True, abatt, Simkin as occasional guest shouldn't be on any list.  Bell certainly looks promising.  I have not seen him.

[On Pointe]

4 hours ago, Marta said:

Just the dearth of stellar principal males casts a mediocre aspect on ABT.  Aside from Cornejo and Simkin, maybe Camargo, most of the males are  lackluster. The loss of Ratmansky is significant.  What is ABT going to do to become more attractive?

ABT should hire François Alu.  He has the imprimatur of the Paris Opera Ballet as a former Etoile,  he can deliver the goods as male lead in the story ballets,  and he's got a unique and powerful physicality,  bald head and all.  I've only seen him on YouTube and I'm a big fan.  In my opinion NYCB should go after him if ABT doesn't.

[volcanohunter]

 I get the impression that Alu is interested in more lucrative ventures. Otherwise he could have stayed with the POB, with the best benefits package and a nice pension. And ABT seems to have abandoned the idea of the Met-only principal.

I have seen him in the flesh in front of virgin audiences. The first reaction is a kind of dumbfounded shock, because his physique and appearance is nothing like the prevailing fashion. And by the end of the ballet he has them eating out of his hand.

[Fleurfairy]

I am one of Sarah's biggest fans but I do think she wasn't proactive enough in her own career. Especially when she suffered through years of the international guest artist era and it was clear she was being held back. In the 2021 Pointe Magazine interview, she mentions that she had been offered a principal contract at SFB when she was stuck in soloist purgatory at ABT. To not accept that offer was a huge mistake in my opinion. Yes, she would have been separated from her husband, but a dancer's career is so incredibly short. She stayed at ABT too long and with too little recognition. 

 

I agree with that the roster is mediocre. ABT was once one of the greatest companies in the world. I cannot say that it is now. Not even close. Which is embarrassing, as it calls itself "America's National Ballet Company". 

[vipa]

2 hours ago, Fleurfairy said:

I am one of Sarah's biggest fans but I do think she wasn't proactive enough in her own career. Especially when she suffered through years of the international guest artist era and it was clear she was being held back. In the 2021 Pointe Magazine interview, she mentions that she had been offered a principal contract at SFB when she was stuck in soloist purgatory at ABT. To not accept that offer was a huge mistake in my opinion. Yes, she would have been separated from her husband, but a dancer's career is so incredibly short. She stayed at ABT too long and with too little recognition. 

 

I agree with that the roster is mediocre. ABT was once one of the greatest companies in the world. I cannot say that it is now. Not even close. Which is embarrassing, as it calls itself "America's National Ballet Company". 

I remember reading that too Fleurfairy. Everyone has reasons for their decisions, but from the outside looking in it certainly seems like Lane could have made being a principal at SFB work while her husband was in ABT. Maria Kotchekova managed to be a principal in both companies for a time, if I remember correctly, and made that work. (An arrangement I thought ridiculous when they could have promoted Lane). In any event, I hope we haven't seen the last of Sarah Lane's performances.

[abatt]

3 hours ago, Fleurfairy said:

I agree with that the roster is mediocre. ABT was once one of the greatest companies in the world. I cannot say that it is now. Not even close. Which is embarrassing, as it calls itself "America's National Ballet Company". 

This.  Exactly.

The current roster of Teuscher, Brandt, Trenary and so forth don't hold a candle to the roster that used to be with ABT, not even close.  They are each lovely dancers, but not world class artists. 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Hurlin, but she hasn't done enough big roles yet to draw a conclusion. 

[matilda]

9 minutes ago, abatt said:

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Hurlin, but she hasn't done enough big roles yet to draw a conclusion. 

Hurlin's Swan Lake debut held a lot of promise and I assume will be even more fully formed and polished this summer. Out of all of the company's Odette/Odile's, I think hers is the "fullest package"--perfect ballerina proportions, incredible technique, and delicacy and vulnerability when needed. There's a special authenticity that comes across, too. She just debuted Juliet (I didn't hear any reports though) and is doing Giselle soon, so this is a big year for her. 

[volcanohunter]

4 hours ago, Fleurfairy said:

In the 2021 Pointe Magazine interview, she mentions that she had been offered a principal contract at SFB when she was stuck in soloist purgatory at ABT. To not accept that offer was a huge mistake in my opinion. Yes, she would have been separated from her husband, but a dancer's career is so incredibly short. She stayed at ABT too long and with too little recognition. 

Sascha Radetsky tried this at Dutch National Ballet, but he returned to ABT a year and a half later.

Flights from San Francisco to New York last about five and a half hours; flights from New York to Amsterdam last seven hours, fifteen minutes, although the latter cost a lot more.

[California]

44 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

Sascha Radetsky tried this at Dutch National Ballet, but he returned to ABT a year and a half later.

Flights from San Francisco to New York last about five and a half hours; flights from New York to Amsterdam last seven hours, fifteen minutes, although the latter cost a lot more.

I'm sorry I can't find the social media posting where I saw this -- I vaguely remember that Sarah's husband Luis Riborgado took a leave of absence to sell real estate and then returned to ABT, all while she was in the company. Can anybody confirm? More importantly, there are other companies in the west where he might have found work. He was never a high-priced principal.