New York City Ballet 2022-2023 season

[abatt]

2 hours ago, On Pointe said:

If nobody cares,  why bother designating soloists and principals at all?  

Obviously, your salary, benefits and roles are determined by your rank within the company.  I said the general public doesn't care. I never said that the dancers themselves don't care about their ranking within the company.

[fondoffouettes]

16 hours ago, canbelto said:

I'm always struck by the difference between SAB's rather cozy, personalized IG account that's filled with pictures of students, classes, teachers, and what not, and NYCB's extremely corporate IG. The two institutions are so interconnected, but SAB's IG account seems run by someone who truly loves SAB, and NYCB's IG account seems like it's run by someone whose job it is to run a company social media account.

I've felt like NYCB's IG account really misses the point of Instagram. It's like a brochure in social media format, with some occasionally interesting tidbits thrown in. Their commitment to posting in threes to maintain their perfect grid (https://www.instagram.com/nycballet/) seems like a misguided, outdated practice. As a result, you sometimes end up with oddly cropped photos in your feed, like this gem: https://www.instagram.com/p/CidT1flO15w/.

It's also so glossy and over-produced. On social media, people look for some sense of spontaneity (even if posts are planned well in advance) as well as behind-the-scenes glimpses. And some personality! The captions read like program notes and are really long. I get no sense of a unique voice. I feel like some head of marketing is determined to make NYCB's IG feed just a rehash of all of the company's marketing materials. 

On other hand, I love NYCB's video content. That's a place where I really appreciate the glossiness and high production values. It's been great to see their "post-pandemic" videos where they are able to shoot in-studio and onstage once again.

Regarding ticket sales, I don't disagree with what others have pointed out. But the performing arts as a whole are seeing a huge post-pandemic slump in ticket sales. It's pretty dismal, and it's unclear if/when sales may recover. And these are fields in which ticket sales, pre-pandemic, already accounted for less than 50% of overall revenue. Support from individuals and foundations is going to be more of a lifeline than ever before.

I used to like to sit in the rings but found that the ushers always let tons of latecomers in -- not to sit in their seats but to mill around in the back and make noise. It was hugely distracting. Has that changed at all? 

Edited October 4, 2022 by fondoffouettes

[On Pointe]

Seems to me that NYCB has to decide what their strongest audience is and then play to that.  It's not the general public.  It's not even the general ballet public.   If I click on their videos,  it's because I want to see NYCB dancers dancing,  and I want to know who they are.  Not even identifying them with a chyron is just plain stupid and indicates that the dancers are not the company's top priority.  And it's partially the dancers' fault for putting up with it.  They need to grow up already and demand that very minimal respect.

[canbelto]

Well NYCB was always meant to be a company without stars. Of course, that hasn't been the reality, but it was Balanchine's dictum.

[volcanohunter]

15 hours ago, abatt said:

I said the general public doesn't care. I never said that the dancers themselves don't care about their ranking within the company.

I think the ballet-going public cares, perhaps too much. I've sat next to people who griped that a principal would have danced better than the soloist who replaced them, or complained that an "only" corps dancer was cast in an important role. Titles are taken as an indicator of quality and a guarantee in the case of principals.

[abatt]

The casting sheet for Oct 4-9 is gone.  When you click on that link on the NYCB the  Oct 11-16 casting sheet comes up.  Thinking that maybe they accidentally mixed up the pages they posted, I also checked the  link for Oct 11-16, which also contained the Oct 11-16 casting.   How frustrating and sloppy.

Added - Problem just corrected.

Edited October 5, 2022 by abatt

[On Pointe]

23 hours ago, canbelto said:

Well NYCB was always meant to be a company without stars. Of course, that hasn't been the reality, but it was Balanchine's dictum.

Easy for him to say - when Balanchine started he didn't have any stars.  So he made himself the biggest name at NYCB,  which was very smart.  But American ballet has moved way past those days.

[Royal Blue]

Die Zeit, die ist ein sonderbar Ding.

By definition every ballet performance involves the present —contemporary dancers are performing a work on the stage for today's audience.

Although Episodes premiered more than half a century ago, and notwithstanding that its score includes an arrangement of a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach, musically as well as choreographically it remains a ballet pointing to the future.

By contrast Balanchine's Vienna Waltzes evokes the bygone era of the second half of the 19th Century / early 20th Century Austro-Hungarian Empire.

This thought-provoking juxtaposition of past, present, future, as well as the sharp variance in the music, choreography, set designs and costumes of Episodes and Vienna Waltzes makes New York City Ballet's last program of the fall utterly fascinating.

To be sure, Vienna Waltzes is a strange ballet since its three most substantial sections involve a different type of dance. Nevertheless, being dismissive of the work's beauty or taking it for granted is a mistake. Beneath the ballet's surface pomp and gloss lies a discernible mine of surpassing irony and poignancy.

 

 

[vipa]

If anyone is interested. NYCB opened up the 3rd ring for tickets sales for Sunday matinee. There are $38 and $80 tickets. It's the all Stravinsky program

[BalanchineFan]

On 10/3/2022 at 7:52 PM, vipa said:

I totally agree about ticket prices and the current strategy NYCB has in place to maintain ticket prices and push the audience together. Some kind of rush/day-of tickets or other strategies are needed. The company has to, not only sell tickets, but also build a ballet loving audience that wants to come back again and again, and even bring a friend. If you come with your partner one time and it ends up costing $250 + it's unlikely to become a habit.

As far as dancers and social media go, Tiler Peck is a good example IMO. She's a presence on TicTok and Instagram (415K followers on instagram). She is seen with friends from the fashion & pop music worlds on social media fairly frequently. She's been on Ellen' show, done musical theater, etc. Megan Fairchild has 55.8K followers in instagram, and got some mainstream press when her book came out. Sarah Mearns has 86.3K instagram followers. None of the seems to translate to ticket sales to their shows.

Before the pandemic they used to sell "2 tickets for the price of 1" in January. I think/hope they'll  do that again. I'm sure it helped them over the post Nutcracker slump, few people go out in January because they're poor from Xmas spending.  I LOVE that promotion.

[canbelto]

They've also opened up Third Ring for the Oct 15 matinee and evening performances. It's the Episodes/Vienna Waltzes program.

Edited October 6, 2022 by canbelto

[uptowner]

12 hours ago, canbelto said:

They've also opened up Third Ring for the Oct 15 matinee and evening performances. It's the Episodes/Vienna Waltzes program.

Oh nice! Royal Blue's reflection makes me want to go. 

[Peg]

I previously exchanged one of my tickets in order to see Sterling and Robbie in Vienna Waltzes on Oct. 13, her last repertory performance. 
the NYCB podcasts have been very good. The most recent episode, moderated by Jared Angle, focuses on Vienna Waltzes. He talks with Rebecca Krohn and then Sterling—fascinating discussion of her history with the ballet. 
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/city-ballet-the-podcast/id1479330738?i=1000581371883

[abatt]

I attended last night.  For me the most bracing and memorable performance was the section of Episodes performed by Phelan and Ball.   Phelan in particular was in complete command.  I have not seen such an excellent performance of this section of Episodes since Whelan's performances years ago.   I have also enjoyed Mearns in the final section for many years, and she and Adrian D-W were excellent. 

There were a lot of debuts in VW last night, but the truth is it is a major crowd pleaser regardless of who is performing.  The most exciting section was the elevation, speed and pure joy of the Voices of Spring section with Fairchild and Huxley.

Unity got the coveted part in the final section.  All the steps were there, and she looked radiant, but this role can be so much more communicative of thoughts and feelings.  

 

 

 

Edited October 6, 2022 by abatt

[MarzipanShepherdess]

1 hour ago, abatt said:

Unity got the coveted part in the final section.  All the steps were there, and she looked radiant, but this role can be so much more communicative of thoughts and feelings.  

I agree with you 100%! Unity looked lovely in Der Rosenkavalier (those deep bends back, those beautiful arms), but the emotional depth and nuance was missing for me. It was particularly striking to me following on Mira in the Silver and Gold waltz, who had much less to do dance-wise but gave a richer sense of portraying a character with interiority (every time I see her, I want more!)

Enjoyed Vienna Waltzes all around though--has anyone ever looked more dashing than Peter Walker in those tall boots in the first movement?? Ashley (in the opening dance) and Georgina (in the polka), like Mira, were able to fully embody their roles as characters which is what this ballet needs. And Megan and Anthony were so charming in Voices of Spring.

This was my first time seeing Episodes and it's such an interesting ballet. Some of the partnering reminds me of Bugaku, with all the closely, claustrophobically entwined limbs, and there are bits that evoke the 4Ts for me with the stabbing footwork and stark tone, but it feels like a very distinct work within the Balanchine canon. I found the first section a bit flat and repetitive and hard to get into, but the second and third movements (with Emily Kikta and Preston, and then Unity and Harrison Ball) really held my attention and felt full of choreographic surprises. 

I am a huge Sara Mearns fan but I didn't love her in the Ricercata. Maybe it's that my conception of her as a dancer is lush, free, dramatic, and the choreography felt almost constraining of the qualities of hers I like best. 

[cobweb]

Unity is so beautiful that I enjoy watching her almost no matter what she's doing, or what more she could bring to it. She looked stunning, but I agree she can grow in the role. I think they have given her too much to handle in one season. Some of these debuts could have been given to other people (like how about bumping up Indiana Woodward to Terpsichore in Apollo and putting Emma von Enck in to replace her, and didn't Claire Kretzschmar do Sonnambula once before?) and let Unity focus more on Rosenkavalier and Symphony in C. 

Anthony Huxley and Megan Fairchild looked great, Huxley especially. He is amazing. 

Ashley Laracey and Peter Walker also looked great. Laracey is so delicate and refined. The young ladies of the corps behind her looked like attractive, athletic young people, whereas Laracey was on another level altogether of refinement. 

[cobweb]

I was really looking forward to the Episodes/Vienna Waltzes program, but in actuality it fell a little flat for me. I felt like there wasn't enough dancing, or enough ballet. Episodes largely consists of contained, precise movements. It never lets loose, either the choreography or the music. The grand sweep of the opening "In the Vienna Woods" was like a relief after Webern, but I wanted something more than waltzing, walking, and polka. The only all-out ballet of the night was "Voices of Spring" with Huxley and Fairchild, and it was very welcome. This program seems like a great idea, but the reality is kind of flat. 

[Kathleen O'Connell]

7 hours ago, abatt said:

Unity got the coveted part in the final section.  All the steps were there, and she looked radiant, but this role can be so much more communicative of thoughts and feelings.  

This echoes my sentiments about Phelan's performance in La Sonnambula. She looked lovely, she did the steps, but she never conveyed the sense that the Sleepwalker had an inner life and a backstory, much less created any sense of mystery. Janie Taylor's barnburner of a performance in the role a few years back was an object lesson of what it can be in the hands of a ballerina who leans into its Gothic roots with a will. You knew The Poet was doomed the second she started to bourrée across the stage.

It is Phelan's wont to color inside the lines, and her dancing can be pretty but bloodless as a result. For a while the company tried casting her roles that call for a ball-of-fire attack—like the Fall ballerina in Robbins' The Four Seasons—but she never looked comfortable in them. 

[vipa]

5 hours ago, cobweb said:

I was really looking forward to the Episodes/Vienna Waltzes program, but in actuality it fell a little flat for me. I felt like there wasn't enough dancing, or enough ballet. Episodes largely consists of contained, precise movements. It never lets loose, either the choreography or the music. The grand sweep of the opening "In the Vienna Woods" was like a relief after Webern, but I wanted something more than waltzing, walking, and polka. The only all-out ballet of the night was "Voices of Spring" with Huxley and Fairchild, and it was very welcome. This program seems like a great idea, but the reality is kind of flat. 

Interesting comment, Cobweb. You've articulated the feelings that led me to hesitate  to see this program. I like Episodes and love the riches contained in VW, but as a program it seemed to me that these two ballets do not enhance/flatter/ build on each other. I might still decide to go last minute, but so many other combos would have gotten me there fast. I'm wondering if the team approach to leadership is working. Probably too soon to tell.

[abatt]

Casting update for this weekend indicated on the lobby casting sheet.  Bouder is replaced  by Megan Fairchild on Oct 8 in Symphony in C.   

[abatt]

I received an email from NYCB stating that during the winter season,  West Side Story Suite will be replaced by the Firebird.  In my opinion, that's an upgrade.

[JuliaJ]

That's great news about Firebird. Was not looking forward to West Side Story Suite on an otherwise solid program. The singing feels so awkward and out of place. 

[Fernie M]

That is an upgrade. Mira Nadon as the Firebird would be exciting.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

50 minutes ago, abatt said:

In my opinion, that's an upgrade.

Definitely! It doesn't hurt that NYCB's current roster has more than a few women who might shine in the role.

I thought Teresa Reichlen's Firebird was as much a touchstone as her Rubies Tall Girl was, so it will be interesting to see what the new generation does with the role now that she's retired.

[cobweb]

I agree this is an improvement. I wonder what prompted the change. Currently there are three ladies on the roster who do Firebird: Mearns, Bouder, and LaFreniere. Could the change be driven by the need for a do-able role for Bouder? If all three ladies are injury-free, I doubt we would see a debut.