ABT 2022: Of Love and Rage

[vipa]

2 hours ago, Helene said:

I remember seeing photos of dancers in costumes for The Moor's Pavane and Pillar of Fire in one of the ABT program books from the early '70's.  ABT performed a number of the older Tudor ballets, like Dim Lustre and Dark Elegies, and he created The Leaves are Fading in the mid-'70's.  ABT performed over a dozen Tharp works, deMille's Rodeo, Three Virgins and a Devil, and Fall River Legend, works by Nijinska, and among those with legs outside of ABT, Fancy Free, Le Spectre de la Rose, Le Jeune Homme et La Mort,  Miss Julie, Les Rendezvous and Les Patineurs, Gaite Parisienne, Grand Pas Classique, Paquita, Birthday Offering, etc. etc.

If Baryshnikov's US debut in "Giselle" didn't replace an ABT triple bill, there was a triple bill earlier that day.  ABT used to be a rep company.

So true Helene. I remember ABT having rep shows that offered several short narrative or dramatic works, like the ones you named. Ailey's The River, and Feld's Intermezzo are other examples. Sometimes they threw in a flashy pas de deux like Black Swan or Grand Pas Classique. They actually had a pretty deep rep. in their history. 

[Rock]

Is it all about money? Selling tickets? What they think will sell?

 

[vipa]

14 minutes ago, Rock said:

Is it all about money? Selling tickets? What they think will sell?

 

I think it's also about what donors will support and what the board of directors will raise money for. Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty restoration must have cost a ton of money. The demands of the style make it pretty "guest artist" proof. After viewing it once, I won't go back

[nanushka]

38 minutes ago, Rock said:

Is it all about money? Selling tickets? What they think will sell?

 

I suppose it depends on what you mean by “it,” but anything is rarely all about anything.

Edited June 24, 2022 by nanushka

[abatt]

Someone mentioned Dark Elegies above.  ABT has not done that in years.  I would love to see that again.  In the present incarnation of the company, a rep program often means one major classical ballet plus two modern junky ballets .

I preferred Shevchenko in Love and Rage.  She's much better at communicating emotion than Hurlin.  Both ladies are wonderful, fluid  dancers. I preferred Aran Bell to Forster, but Forster was pretty good.  Blain Hoven made no impression in the role that Camargo did in the first cast.  Having seen it a second time and with a better grasp of who all these characters are, I still came away with the impression that this was an overstuffed mess of a ballet.  Maybe there's a reason few people have studied or are familiar with the source material.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.  Too many men who fall instantly in love with the ballerina spoils the ballet.

Onwards to Swan Lake.  Looking forward to seeing more of Mr. Curley.

[springnemesia]

I saw Wednesday’s performance (Hurlin & Bell) and decided not to look at the NYT review beforehand so I wouldn’t spoil it. I left the theater giddy with excitement to read what I was sure would be a lethal, nit-picky takedown by Gia Kourlas. The gender politics? Rape-y pas de deux choreo? Darker & hairier dancers abusing the slave girls? Vaguely oriental music motif whilst dancers emerge in vaguely oriental outfits with Egyptian arms? I am, like many of you, stunned she gave it a positive writeup in light of her previous grievances. Who shelled out major $$$ to the NYT for this review? If L+R shows up in the next NY Mag Approval Matrix please remember I called it here first. The fix is in. 

I still found L+R mostly enjoyable (largely thanks to Hurlin & Bell’s brilliant performances), but what was the selling point to a general audience? As others have already noted:

• No star power/big names
• No well-known storyline 
• No overly glamorous/interesting/unique staging or branding (things that made Akhnaten a runaway success with NYC 20-somethings) 
• No interesting score/scenery/costume collaborations. As Drew mentioned above, it likely helped increase interest in Whipped Cream; NYCB has clearly figured out how to harness artist collaborations to sell tickets. The Peck/Stevens ballets have monopolized the Brooklyn indie sadboi hipster contingent. 
• Choreography? I mean… maybe? 

I was truly expecting a feminist plot twist at the end in which she rejects all three (or four?) suitors and gets on the boat with her son and sails to her freedom. My friend and I were also hoping she’d get her revenge and kill Chaereas. Alas. There was a palpable sigh of relief & joy throughout the theater when Bell finally had his glorious jetés/turns a la seconde moment in the battle sequence. This is American Ballet Theater. Give the people what we want. TURNS. JUMPS.

Anyway, as a 20-something in marketing, my recommendations to ABT/the Met for filling more seats would be: 

• I suppose established story ballets don’t lend themselves well to interesting collaborations, but I’m sure you can figure something out with the upcoming Jaffe transition. Minimalist Don Q staging? SL with Anish Kapoor vantablack set pieces? Sufjan scoring an indie sadboi R&J? Dana Schutz backdrops? Nico Muhly? Anybody? 
• Plagiarize NYCB’s Art Series concept. Pick the nights least likely to sell, brand them “Date Night at the Ballet,” sell all tickets for $40, offer free drinks + a DJ on the balcony, and promise the presence of a professional photographer. Get Guest of a Guest to put it on their calendar. Pay NY Mag to put it in the Approval Matrix. Get the NYC tiktok accounts & The Skint & every company member social media profile to post about it. Add on a cool rebrand, fixing your dang website, you get the idea.
• Actually, just pilfer some people from NYCB’s marketing & programming team – they managed to make the one-act SL cool and sexy! Meanwhile, I just saw a Youtube ad for next week’s Swan Lake that’s merely a zoom-in on pas de quatre feet. Skip. 
• Find better dramaturgs or I dunno, story ballet concept developers? Are those a thing? Ratmansky got an incredible amount of money and time and energy and manpower to create this ballet because he… thought Greek aesthetics were cool, so he backed his way into a plot from there?

[JuliaJ]

I may be in the minority on this board but I loved Of Love and Rage. The lush music, the bravura male dancing, the nonstop movement, the wonderful choreography of the corps, the high energy of each dancer on stage, the beautiful scenery. The formations Ratmansky created during the war scene were brilliant. After reading the synopsis I thought the storytelling was pretty clear. 

I saw the Christine Shevchenko and Thomas Forster cast last night and loved them both. She had the same long lines and impeccable technique as always, but I have never seen Forster dance such a virtuoso role. Really beautiful grand jetés in particular. Such seamless partnering. 

Ratmansky introduced me to the talents of some corps members with whom I wasn't too familiar: Jarod Curley (Mirthridates), wow! More please! I think I saw him as Hilarion in the fall but this was a much juicier role. Eric Tamm as Chaereas' best friend, also wow. Chloe Misseldine was sultry as the Queen of Babylon with legs for days. 

Really, I loved almost everything about this despite the uh, feminist shortcomings. It was a little like watching the musical Carousel: wonderful production but with a cringey "stand by your man" message. I wasn't rooting for Chaereas and Callirhoe to end up back together, although I felt the reunion scene managed to be touching. 

Overall Ratmansky has created an exhilarating, beautiful ballet that deserves a bigger audience. I hope he can bring it to a city where people appreciate it more. It's really a shame that the pandemic disrupted the momentum of its premiere, and it's too bad ABT's marketing is so dismal. At least the people there last night (maybe 1,000 people? Small for the Met but still a lot of heads!) seemed to like it with their standing ovation. 

Edited June 24, 2022 by JuliaJ

[volcanohunter]

9 hours ago, abatt said:

Someone mentioned Dark Elegies above.  ABT has not done that in years.  I would love to see that again.

Yes! But perhaps not at the Met. In 2000 ABT performed Lilac Garden at both the Met and at City Center. At the latter I turned into a quivering, sobbing mess while watching. At the Met the ballet couldn't make the same impact.

[FauxPas]

Mixed bills rarely sell at the Metropolitan Opera.  If ABT has a shortened Met season just do the big story ballets there and maybe two bigger one-act story ballets.  Keep it focused on the classics.

I wouldn't mind if ABT did short seasons of mixed modern or 20th century bills at the Joyce, City Center and TfkaS.

There are many shorter ballets that ABT did that I loved and haven't seen for years.  Namely, "Undertow" by Antony Tudor is an interesting dramatic ballet that was revived 30 years ago and is still relevant about poverty and dehumanization/alienation.  I adore "Birthday Offering" by Ashton (Sarasota Ballet is bringing that one to NY in August at the Joyce).  I personally recommended to Kevin McKenzie that they revive Ailey's "The River" - the original ABT version had pointe work and it is performed by the Alvin Ailey Company but with the ballet footwork removed and danced on flat feet in modern dance style.  Eleanor D'Antuono and Cynthia Gregory who danced in the original version are around to restore it.

I wish that Ratmansky would put together a big "Paquita Grand Pas" for ABT or do his full-length version after Petipa.

Many of the current new commissions besides those by Ratmansky are given to female choreographers and/or choreographers of color (Pam Tamowitz/Jessica Lang/Michelle Dorrance/Sonya Tayeh et al.), often using more vernacular hip hop vocabulary in order to get that elusive youth audience.  The same choreographers are being sought by NYCB and every other dance presenter these days.  

I saw two casts in "Of Love and Rage".  It is the nature of early Greek novels that they have far-flung plots with all sorts of coincidences and melodramatic plot turns.  But Ratmansky keeps up pretty fast paced action which is both a good thing in terms of theatrical pacing and interest and a bad thing in terms of character development.  The beginning of Act II where King Mithridates and the King of Babylon both fall in love with Callirhoe in fast succession borders on the ridiculous and is repetitive. The pantomime can only convey so much - I needed to memorize the synopsis in the program to figure out that the hand on top of the head meant that the King of Babylon needed to adjudicate the dispute between Dionysius and Mithridates over who gets Callirhoe.  I never saw that Dionysius knew that Callirhoe's baby was not his and he was raising another man's baby (as in Tudor's "Pillar of Fire").  

I felt that Shevchenko and Forster had more warmth and dramatic weight than Hurlin and Bell though both pairs danced the choreography brilliantly.  Camargo as Dionysius has impressive dramatic authority onstage and a fascinating stage presence.  Hoven is a much more elegant classical dancer which had its own benefits since I think Dionysius has more interesting, if less virtuosic, choreography than Chaereas.  Both were enormously sympathetic in the part, especially the exit without the son at the end of the ballet.  I ended up feeling more sorrow about Dionysius than joy at the reunion of the lovers and their child.

Ratmansky has always promoted young, untried dancers.  I enjoyed Courtney Shealy as Plangon, the interestingly in control servant of Dionysius.  Eric Tamm was a very up and coming soloist ten years ago who disappeared to do real estate and came back to the company to languish in the corps.  It was nice to see him back doing a soloist role.  I thought he was on his way to principal dancer back then.  Michael de la Nuez busted some wild Bolshoi dance moves in the dance of the Babylonian Soldiers  in Act II.  Agree about Jarod Curley - strong stage presence.  Patrick Frenette, a corps dancer who has had no soloist opportunities shone as one of the conniving suitors and is over the moon about his first principal role as Mithridates in tonight's cast (Seo/Royal III).  https://www.instagram.com/p/CfH4h5IPEGx/

I think a certain taste for Soviet kitsch is necessary to enjoy this ballet.  I grew up on those old Russian ballet films and really enjoy seeing the tropes performed live onstage.  For example I ADORED "The Flames of Paris" when the Mikhailovsky toured it to New York.  I was also thrilled 20 years ago when the Mariinsky did the full-length "The Fountain of Bakhchisirai" on tour in New York at the Met.  Some of the smaller Russian companies keep old ballets by Yakobson, Lavrovsky, etc. in the rep.  Ratmansky is really dipping into that well.

Btw:  another forgotten influence on Ratmansky - Leonid Jacobson/Yakobson and his original "Spartak/Spartacus" to the Khachaturian score.  Yakobson's innovations included the use of frieze-like profile dancing though unlike Ratmansky he didn't use pointe work.  Also the free and almost modern dance use of the arms and upper body which are more flexible and relaxed.  The Yakobson version was choreographed for the Kirov Ballet in 1956 and later went to the Bolshoi in 1962 when Plisetskaya danced it and it toured to the U.S.  It was later replaced by the more virtuosic and brilliant Grigorovich choreography in 1968 which became emblematic of the Bolshoi.   

The Mariinsky revived the Yakobson version in 2012 - https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2012/12/8/1_1900/

Ratmansky would be very familiar with the 1968 Grigorovich from his years at the Bolshoi but possibly also saw the Yakobson at the Mariinsky in 2012. 

Here are some excerpts:  Spartak/Phrygia pas de deux with Danila Korsuntsev and Kondaurova:

with Plisetskaya:

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by FauxPas

[ABT Fan]

Eric Tamm was never a soloist. He was a very promising corps dancer, who was given some soloist opportunities, before he left. I always felt he was on track for promotion and was very sorry when he stopped dancing.

[Marta]

Helene said:

I remember seeing photos of dancers in costumes for The Moor's Pavane and Pillar of Fire in one of the ABT program books from the early '70's.  ABT performed a number of the older Tudor ballets, like Dim Lustre and Dark Elegies, and he created The Leaves are Fading in the mid-'70's.  ABT performed over a dozen Tharp works, deMille's Rodeo, Three Virgins and a Devil, and Fall River Legend, works by Nijinska, and among those with legs outside of ABT, Fancy Free, Le Spectre de la Rose, Le Jeune Homme et La Mort,  Miss Julie, Les Rendezvous and Les Patineurs, Gaite Parisienne, Grand Pas Classique, Paquita, Birthday Offering, etc. etc.

I recall seeing several of those ballets, the Tharps, Three Virgins, Fall River Legend, Sylvia PdD with van Hamel and Bussell, Dark Elegies, and Makarova in McMillan's The Wild Boy, in a short work by Bejart, I think, and others.  Why doesn't ABT still have mixed bills in the fall  at City Center, as they did in the early 2000s, even if It's far from ideal theater.

I enjoyed reading all the reviews of Of Love and Rage.  I thought I wanted to see it but the more I read, the less I liked the sound of the overstuffed plot.  I thought most of the costumes were fantastically ugly.  I'm a Ratmansky fan and would be happy to see anything by him.  I'll wait to see if it comes back next year.

Edited June 26, 2022 by Marta
added McMillan's to clarify

[canbelto]

Went a second time tonight. Really enjoyed it more this time -- noticed a lot more of the corps patterns and the dramaturgy. At the end of the evening Christine Shevchenko and Alexei Ratmansky held up a Ukrainian flag.

[ABT Fan]

Just back from today's double-hitter. I had only planned on seeing the matinee, but even though L&R is an imperfect ballet there are fantastic elements in it so I decided to stay for the last performance.

I loved the sets, costumes (truly gorgeous) and the music. The ballet has a full scale opera feel to it that I mostly loved - lots of moving bodies and scenery. Fantastic dancing opportunities for everyone - the corps had a LOT to do, sometimes too much (he needs an editor) and I love how he frequently has so many juicy roles in his ballets. Ratmansky doesn't always choose dance-able scores IMO, but I loved this one. Like others, I was disappointed in the book that he chose - I don't need or want every new ballet to be progressive, woke, enlightened or the like, but a story revolving around a young woman who is passed from man to man and lusted after by every single man - oh, and almost killed by her husband and then she forgives him - is not very 2022. He really couldn't have chosen something different? That said, I admire his choreography and wanted to see what he would he would do with it, and see the up-and-comers.

Hurlin/Bell were very young lovers - innocent, naive, and despite their technical virtuosity they were lacking in dramatic depth here. But, their youth and technique still served the ballet fairly well. Like others said, I didn't see much character development with either of them. By Act II, watching Hurlin being tossed around by every man on stage started to feel icky. When Bell is brought out and he and Hurlin are reunited to their surprise after many years, they were emotionally blank - what a lost moment. Technically, they were both incredible. The choreography was clearly made for them being first cast, and the fast and furious nature of some of the partnering, turns, and leaps suited Hurlin really well. They had no trouble with both of the torch lifts - Bell made it look easy.

On the contrary, Shevchenko/Forster were mature adults who demonstrated the rage, conflicting emotions, forgiveness and compassion that Hurlin/Bell were missing. Forster is a gifted actor and his anger and frustration were palpable. He was clearly devastated over how he treated Callirhoe. When Shevchenko/Forster were reunited, you could see the disbelief and love by both of them as well as Shevchenko's uncertainty and unforgiveness. I had less of an uncomfortable feeling watching Shevchenko being tossed around by the men - yes, same undesirable story but her maturity and depth as an actress made me feel like she could handle it better or maybe even get herself out of that situation somehow. When she and Chaereas came together at the end, it was poignant, touching and I could see Shevchenko working out the emotional logistics of forgiving her love for what he had done. Technically, I thought Shevchenko struggled during Act I with some of the quick choreography but other than that she was expansive and secure. The first torch lift was fumbled, but the second one was a success. Forster's menage of jetes were extraordinary.

Camargo was a strong, dramatic and technically terrific Dionysius - I felt his grief over his dead wife and his love for Callirhoe and her son. Hoven in the same role in the evening lacked that dramatic weight - his dancing was fine, a few bobbles, but emotionally flat.

Curley was Mithridates at both shows and, wow! For someone so young and inexperienced he held the stage and has the most piercing eyes which he used to great effect. He made great choices dramatically, small nuances that made big impressions and he had wonderful jumps. His purple von Rothbart will be powerful.

Misseldine was an absolute queen as Queen of Babylon. Williams was very good but she didn't make as strong of an impression.

I absolutely loved the section with Dionysius' Soldiers - 6 men in gorgeous teal coats exploding across the stage, especially the incredible de la Nuez with his menage of jetes.

I've no doubt left some things out, good and bad. There was a lot that liked about it and I'm so glad I went despite my reservations. I just wish he could have chosen a more, yes, enlightened story.

[Roberta]

On 6/22/2022 at 12:47 PM, Papagena said:

Whenever I've seen Forster/Shevchenko he almost seemed a bit ... overpowered by her? It was first evident to me when they did Firebird together, although initially I wondered if it was a stylistic choice. I was never worried for her as Forster can always save and recalibrate an 'off' lift (from what I've seen), but I'm curious to see how they've improved since then. @canbelto 's  review seems to indicate major improvements. 

 

 

Unfortunately, Forster had to abort one of the two torch lifts in his & Schevy's last performance of OLAR at the Met but, on the whole, he is stronger now.

[abatt]

If ABT has another 5 week season next summer, it's unclear whether they would present Love and Rage again, given that they are already committed to presenting Like Water for Chocolate.  On the other hand, given the amount of expense of the production and the amount of rehearsal time, they will need to present Love & Rage for at least one more cycle.

I agree that while Hurlin and Bell are both superb dancers, their acting was rather one note compared to  the more nuanced acting of Shevy and Forster.

Edited June 26, 2022 by abatt

[aurora]

12 hours ago, Marta said:

Helene said:

I remember seeing photos of dancers in costumes for The Moor's Pavane and Pillar of Fire in one of the ABT program books from the early '70's.  ABT performed a number of the older Tudor ballets, like Dim Lustre and Dark Elegies, and he created The Leaves are Fading in the mid-'70's.  ABT performed over a dozen Tharp works, deMille's Rodeo, Three Virgins and a Devil, and Fall River Legend, works by Nijinska, and among those with legs outside of ABT, Fancy Free, Le Spectre de la Rose, Le Jeune Homme et La Mort,  Miss Julie, Les Rendezvous and Les Patineurs, Gaite Parisienne, Grand Pas Classique, Paquita, Birthday Offering, etc. etc.

I recall seeing several of those ballets, the Tharps, Three Virgins, Fall River Legend, Sylvia PdD with van Hamel and Bussell, Dark Elegies, and Makarova in The Wild Boy, a short work by Bejart, I think, and others.  Why doesn't ABT still have mixed bills in the fall  at City Center, as they did in the early 2000s, even if It's far from ideal theater.

I enjoyed reading all the reviews of Of Love and Rage.  I thought I wanted to see it but the more I read, the less I liked the sound of the overstuffed plot.  I thought most of the costumes were fantastically ugly.  I'm a Ratmansky fan and would be happy to see anything by him.  I'll wait to see if it comes back next year.

They still do (or did) do mixed bills in the fall season, although more recently at State Theater than City Center. This year's Giselle run was an aberration. I'm sure because of the long pandemic layoff they wanted to do a classic.

[ABT Fan]

12 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

Just back from today's double-hitter. I had only planned on seeing the matinee, but even though L&R is an imperfect ballet there are fantastic elements in it so I decided to stay for the last performance.

I loved the sets, costumes (truly gorgeous) and the music. The ballet has a full scale opera feel to it that I mostly loved - lots of moving bodies and scenery. Fantastic dancing opportunities for everyone - the corps had a LOT to do, sometimes too much (he needs an editor) and I love how he frequently has so many juicy roles in his ballets. Ratmansky doesn't always choose dance-able scores IMO, but I loved this one. Like others, I was disappointed in the book that he chose - I don't need or want every new ballet to be progressive, woke, enlightened or the like, but a story revolving around a young woman who is passed from man to man and lusted after by every single man - oh, and almost killed by her husband and then she forgives him - is not very 2022. He really couldn't have chosen something different? That said, I admire his choreography and wanted to see what he would he would do with it, and see the up-and-comers.

Hurlin/Bell were very young lovers - innocent, naive, and despite their technical virtuosity they were lacking in dramatic depth here. But, their youth and technique still served the ballet fairly well. Like others said, I didn't see much character development with either of them. By Act II, watching Hurlin being tossed around by every man on stage started to feel icky. When Bell is brought out and he and Hurlin are reunited to their surprise after many years, they were emotionally blank - what a lost moment. Technically, they were both incredible. The choreography was clearly made for them being first cast, and the fast and furious nature of some of the partnering, turns, and leaps suited Hurlin really well. They had no trouble with both of the torch lifts - Bell made it look easy.

On the contrary, Shevchenko/Forster were mature adults who demonstrated the rage, conflicting emotions, forgiveness and compassion that Hurlin/Bell were missing. Forster is a gifted actor and his anger and frustration were palpable. He was clearly devastated over how he treated Callirhoe. When Shevchenko/Forster were reunited, you could see the disbelief and love by both of them as well as Shevchenko's uncertainty and unforgiveness. I had less of an uncomfortable feeling watching Shevchenko being tossed around by the men - yes, same undesirable story but her maturity and depth as an actress made me feel like she could handle it better or maybe even get herself out of that situation somehow. When she and Chaereas came together at the end, it was poignant, touching and I could see Shevchenko working out the emotional logistics of forgiving her love for what he had done. Technically, I thought Shevchenko struggled during Act I with some of the quick choreography but other than that she was expansive and secure. The first torch lift was fumbled, but the second one was a success. Forster's menage of jetes were extraordinary.

Camargo was a strong, dramatic and technically terrific Dionysius - I felt his grief over his dead wife and his love for Callirhoe and her son. Hoven in the same role in the evening lacked that dramatic weight - his dancing was fine, a few bobbles, but emotionally flat.

Curley was Mithridates at both shows and, wow! For someone so young and inexperienced he held the stage and has the most piercing eyes which he used to great effect. He made great choices dramatically, small nuances that made big impressions and he had wonderful jumps. His purple von Rothbart will be powerful.

Misseldine was an absolute queen as Queen of Babylon. Williams was very good but she didn't make as strong of an impression.

I absolutely loved the section with Dionysius' Soldiers - 6 men in gorgeous teal coats exploding across the stage, especially the incredible de la Nuez with his menage of jetes.

I've no doubt left some things out, good and bad. There was a lot that liked about it and I'm so glad I went despite my reservations. I just wish he could have chosen a more, yes, enlightened story.

I'm quoting myself because I thought of a few more things:

I thought the same-sex partnering for both the men and the women was marvelous, cleverly constructed and added to the narrative (and it did not look like "and, now we're going to do some same-sex partnering" as I've felt when watching some other ballets).

Frenette as the head suitor was superb in both performances yesterday - he always brings depth and dramatic intensity to everything he does (Wilfred, one of the Toreadors) and I'm glad he's finally getting some meatier roles this season. 

I thought the company as a whole looked fantastic, especially the corps which is chocked full of talent. So many women and men corps dancers are able to do so much more as we've seen the past two weeks alone. Yet, the problem is where do they go with a soloist rank that is full with dancers (except one, maybe two) who have been at that level for years and do not have what it takes to move up thus making room for others. Coker needs to be made a soloist already and there are several men who could easily take on that title as well. It's a great thing for the company to have so much corps talent but it's a problem when there isn't room for them to move up to the level they deserve.

[Rosa]

3 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

I thought the company as a whole looked fantastic, especially the corps which is chocked full of talent. So many women and men corps dancers are able to do so much more as we've seen the past two weeks alone. Yet, the problem is where do they go with a soloist rank that is full with dancers (except one, maybe two) who have been at that level for years and do not have what it takes to move up thus making room for others. Coker needs to be made a soloist already and there are several men who could easily take on that title as well. It's a great thing for the company to have so much corps talent but it's a problem when there isn't room for them to move up to the level they deserve.

Am I correct in assuming there won't be turnover in the company once Susan Jaffe takes over which could potentially make room for promotions?

[ABT Fan]

3 minutes ago, Rosa said:

Am I correct in assuming there won't be turnover in the company once Susan Jaffe takes over which could potentially make room for promotions?

Do you mean WILL be turnover?

We’ll have to wait and see what she does, but new leadership usually involves changes so I’m hoping she will make some in favor of promoting some corps dancers (if McKenzie doesn’t do it himself before he leaves). 

[Rosa]

2 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Do you mean WILL be turnover?

We’ll have to wait and see what she does, but new leadership usually involves changes so I’m hoping she will make some in favor of promoting some corps dancers (if McKenzie doesn’t do it himself before he leaves). 

Yes, that was what I meant! 😊

[balletlover08]

On 6/26/2022 at 3:57 PM, ABT Fan said:

Do you mean WILL be turnover?

We’ll have to wait and see what she does, but new leadership usually involves changes so I’m hoping she will make some in favor of promoting some corps dancers (if McKenzie doesn’t do it himself before he leaves). 

When does ABT usually promote? 
 

i think Cat will be promoted to principal soon. Zimmi, Chloe and Betsy to soloist. I’m unsure on the male side but that’s my guess for the next batch of female promotions. 

[MoMo]

7 minutes ago, balletlover08 said:

When does ABT usually promote? 
 

i think Cat will be promoted to principal soon. Zimmi, Chloe and Betsy to soloist. I’m unsure on the male side but that’s my guess for the next batch of female promotions. 

ABT usually promotes during last week of Spring/Summer season. Thus during R and J week. I agree with your female choices. I will add Patrick Frenette, Jarod Curley, Jonathan Klein to soloists. Elwince is an Apprentice and he should be promoted to Corps. ( All my opinion and hope). 

[balletlover08]

12 hours ago, MoMo said:

ABT usually promotes during last week of Spring/Summer season. Thus during R and J week. I agree with your female choices. I will add Patrick Frenette, Jarod Curley, Jonathan Klein to soloists. Elwince is an Apprentice and he should be promoted to Corps. ( All my opinion and hope). 

Oh absolutely yes! I think Patrick, Jarod and Jonathan will be promoted. There is a dearth of male soloists right now so they will need to promote soon. I have heard wonderful things about Elwince so I expect he will be promoted to corps soon. 

[abatt]

Jose Sebastian made a very strong debut as  Purple Rothbart last night.  I would like to see him in other supporting roles to get a better sense of his technique and partnering. 

[AB'sMom]

Maybe ABT needs to follow the European example and have more than three main levels of dancers. There are soloists on track to be principal dancers, but others who are kind of clogging up the pipeline. I don’t mean that to sound as rude as it does. I just mean that there could be a category for dancers like Zhurbin and Paris, and another for dancers who are expected to continue to principal.

Edited June 28, 2022 by AB'sMom