ABT Met Season 2023

[fondoffouettes]

3 minutes ago, abatt said:

Paris only does character roles now, and she's not particularly impressive in them either.  

I have to admit I've had the same thought -- she didn't make a strong impression in the character roles I saw her in this season.

With Shayer and Gorak's departures, they now have just two male soloists (one of whom is Hoven, who now rarely dances). I really hope this means we may see two or three men promoted to soloist in the near future. 

Edited July 24, 2023 by fondoffouettes

[abatt]

I hope Curley gets promoted.  He deserves it. 

[nysusan]

4 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

With Shayer and Gorak's departures, they now have just two male soloists (one of whom is Hoven, who now rarely dances). I really hope this means we may see two or three men promoted to soloist in the near future. 

Yikes, they really do need more male soloists. I think Curley will be promoted for sure. It would be early to promote Roxander, but I wouldn't complain! Possibly also some combination of Gonzalez, Frenette, Ishchuk, Maloney and Klein. Would love to see Agoudine & Tamm promoted but I doubt that will happen

[ba11et0mane]

 when should we expect promotions? after the wolf trap shows? 

[ABT Fan]

I'm surprised Paris and Hoven aren't also leaving. Like others have said, they barely dance and in nothing memorable.

Curley and Klein deserve to be promoted; they should have been last year. They also need to make room for Coker, even if there isn't a "spot" open for the women.

Edited July 24, 2023 by ABT Fan

[fondoffouettes]

37 minutes ago, ba11et0mane said:

 when should we expect promotions? after the wolf trap shows? 

I think it remains to be seen whether a pattern emerges under Jaffe's leadership. While McKenzie mostly promoted dancers in conjunction with the Met season, some promotions were occasionally announced in the fall or winter (I believe those tended to be singular promotions, rather than whole groups of dancers). 

1 hour ago, nysusan said:

It would be early to promote Roxander, but I wouldn't complain!

Me neither! He added much-needed excitement to a season that felt dreary far too often.

Edited July 24, 2023 by fondoffouettes

[ABT Fan]

31 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

Me neither! He added much-needed excitement to a season that felt dreary far too often.

Same! If Roxander is promoted, I just hope it’s in conjunction with Curley (at a minimum) and Klein. 

[bingham]

I have a feeling Curley, Klein, Gonzalez Will make it now and Roxander Just before the next MET season. If Hoven leaves then Frenette Will make it too., I hope.

[MoMo]

2 hours ago, nysusan said:

Yikes, they really do need more male soloists. I think Curley will be promoted for sure. It would be early to promote Roxander, but I wouldn't complain! Possibly also some combination of Gonzalez, Frenette, Ishchuk, Maloney and Klein. Would love to see Agoudine & Tamm promoted but I doubt that will happen

I agree that the sparse group of male soloists needs to be fortified. Sung Woo Han is carrying the soloist roles essentially alone. I agree with your list given. Although Jake Roxander was spectacular this Season, he just joined the Corps. in 2022. Hoping for a promotion for Zimmi Coker too. 

[onxmyxtoes]

I don't see any reason to not promote Jake Roxander even though he joined the company in 2022. If someone is clearly a star, performing at a level higher than one's rank and higher than the level of people at the rank above... it sounds like good cause to promote.

[matilda]

SunMi Park officially joined the corps in February 2022 and was promoted to soloist that summer. That was a great decision, as she's also a rising star. No reason to keep Roxander back either. He more than proved his abilities in peasant pas and as Mercutio. 

[aurora]

17 minutes ago, onxmyxtoes said:

I don't see any reason to not promote Jake Roxander even though he joined the company in 2022. If someone is clearly a star, performing at a level higher than one's rank and higher than the level of people at the rank above... it sounds like good cause to promote.

100% agreed.

 

[nanushka]

20 minutes ago, onxmyxtoes said:

I don't see any reason to not promote Jake Roxander even though he joined the company in 2022. If someone is clearly a star, performing at a level higher than one's rank and higher than the level of people at the rank above... it sounds like good cause to promote.

I agree as well. I was delighted to read Kourlas's opening tribute to him, and it effectively expressed all that's great about him. He seems to have the complete package. I think my order of preference would be Curley, Roxander, Frenette, Klein, Ischuck, Gonzalez.

[MoMo]

14 minutes ago, nanushka said:

I agree as well. I was delighted to read Kourlas's opening tribute to him, and it effectively expressed all that's great about him. He seems to have the complete package. I think my order of preference would be Curley, Roxander, Frenette, Klein, Ischuck, Gonzalez.

Susan Jaffe definitely has a lot on her plate and I am sure she will be diligent in her decisions. 

[cobweb]

37 minutes ago, onxmyxtoes said:

I don't see any reason to not promote Jake Roxander even though he joined the company in 2022. If someone is clearly a star, performing at a level higher than one's rank and higher than the level of people at the rank above... it sounds like good cause to promote.

Agree. I have not seen ABT at all this summer, but I saw Roxander and Magbitang in the Neapolitan last year. Magbitang at the time was getting a ton of attention (has he danced at all this season), but it was Roxander who really caught my eye with his very large dancing and warm, compelling presence. At the time he must have just joined the corps or still been an apprentice. He looked very good then and has obviously made great strides. The company needs new talent and excitement. Why hold back? 

[ABT Fan]

18 minutes ago, cobweb said:

Agree. I have not seen ABT at all this summer, but I saw Roxander and Magbitang in the Neapolitan last year. Magbitang at the time was getting a ton of attention (has he danced at all this season), but it was Roxander who really caught my eye with his very large dancing and warm, compelling presence. At the time he must have just joined the corps or still been an apprentice. He looked very good then and has obviously made great strides. The company needs new talent and excitement. Why hold back? 

Magbitang danced in the corps (peasants, villagers) in 3 performances that I saw for Giselle, SL and R&J. Unfortunately, yet understandably, his size is going to hold him back quite a bit. I remember last year when he made his debut as the lead gypsy in DQ with Cornejo and I was surprised to see that he was smaller than Cornejo - not just in height but his frame as well. That is going to really limit who he can partner. Doing the lead gypsy and Puck were natural roles for him, and he didn't have to partner anyone (very limited partnering as the gypsy). Even Coker, who is quite small, would probably be too large for him. So, I wasn't surprised to not see him cast in peasant pas or peasant pas de trois. Did he do Neapolitan in any SL that anyone saw?

I think Roxander is a star in the making. If he was promoted now, he would deserve it.

[nanushka]

18 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Did he do Neapolitan in any SL that anyone saw?

He was scheduled at least twice with Roxander that I saw (Wednesday and Saturday evenings), but in both cases he was replaced by Klein.

Edited July 25, 2023 by nanushka

[choriamb]

ABT has recently promoted its female principal-track dancers in two-person cohorts by height (short, mid-height, tall) and supplemented them with one mid-career terminal soloist at each height. If they follow that same pattern for their men, Curley and Ishchuk are shoe-ins for the next tall principal-track cohort (with possibly Sebastian or Frenette as a new tall terminal soloist).

My guess for the next short-to-mid-height male cohort is Gonzalez and Roxander, less for their dancing than for their pizzaz and chutzpah. (The main complaint about ABT's recent short-to-mid-height men is that they had technique and style, but needed more confidence as actors and partners.)

But, financing aside, I wouldn't be surprised if their promotions were delayed a year to give the public more time to absorb the tall guys.

From a marketing perspective, ABT has had an insane amount of people to attempt to re-launch to the press and audiences in just 2 years:  Trenary, Brandt, Hurlin, Forster, Royal, and Ahn. And, to a lesser extent, Misseldine, Granlund, and Park.

9 dancers. 2 years. After an extended absence. In brief, one-month-season spurts.

I imagine that ABT has probably asked some senior dancers to delay retirement simply to avoid shifting the marketing focus away from the new principals. Cornejo, Copeland, or Murphy's departures would have overshadowed an entire season. (And Paris, Fang, and Hoven have been such stalwarts that I suspect ABT is delaying their departures until a time when they can give them a more graceful, visible exit, now that they new folks are more established. Fang has a small but very committed fan base. And Paris has danced a wider swathe of character roles and harder technical soloist/corps roles than anyone in recent memory...and I'll drop everything to see her in a lot of them.)

[cobweb]

Thank you for this analysis, @choriamb. There's a lot to consider besides audience favorites!

[MoMo]

2 hours ago, choriamb said:

ABT has recently promoted its female principal-track dancers in two-person cohorts by height (short, mid-height, tall) and supplemented them with one mid-career terminal soloist at each height. If they follow that same pattern for their men, Curley and Ishchuk are shoe-ins for the next tall principal-track cohort (with possibly Sebastian or Frenette as a new tall terminal soloist).

My guess for the next short-to-mid-height male cohort is Gonzalez and Roxander, less for their dancing than for their pizzaz and chutzpah. (The main complaint about ABT's recent short-to-mid-height men is that they had technique and style, but needed more confidence as actors and partners.)

But, financing aside, I wouldn't be surprised if their promotions were delayed a year to give the public more time to absorb the tall guys.

From a marketing perspective, ABT has had an insane amount of people to attempt to re-launch to the press and audiences in just 2 years:  Trenary, Brandt, Hurlin, Forster, Royal, and Ahn. And, to a lesser extent, Misseldine, Granlund, and Park.

9 dancers. 2 years. After an extended absence. In brief, one-month-season spurts.

I imagine that ABT has probably asked some senior dancers to delay retirement simply to avoid shifting the marketing focus away from the new principals. Cornejo, Copeland, or Murphy's departures would have overshadowed an entire season. (And Paris, Fang, and Hoven have been such stalwarts that I suspect ABT is delaying their departures until a time when they can give them a more graceful, visible exit, now that they new folks are more established. Fang has a small but very committed fan base. And Paris has danced a wider swathe of character roles and harder technical soloist/corps roles than anyone in recent memory...and I'll drop everything to see her in a lot of them.)

Thank you for this detailed analysis. It makes so much sense. As I said, Susan Jaffe has a lot on her plate, as she is now temporary Executive Director too! Lots to do! 

[matilda]

I'm not sure if marketing strategy comes into play as much when promoting soloists vs. principals. Nobody is due for a principal promotion right now. The New York Times review was centered around the company's "next act" and "important new faces." What better way to signal the start of an exciting new era than to move up some rising stars? ABT has looked so stale for so long, with the same old casting under McKenzie, and Jaffe has already started to shake things up in exciting ways by casting Park, Li, Roxander, Misseldine, and others in big roles. I do wonder about the company's financial situation right now and how that might be impacting promotions. 

[nanushka]

I have no inside knowledge, but I don't see ABT's marketing strategies being that sensitively refined (e.g. delaying some soloist promotions so the public can "absorb" previous ones), and I can't imagine they'd keep on the payroll a soloist like Paris who currently seems to perform no really significant featured dance roles just for the sake of giving her a "graceful, visible exit." (She's not going to get a major farewell performance, after all.) If current soloists are staying on, I'd assume it's because they've simply chosen not to retire yet and the administration has agreed to continue renewing their contracts. And even for principals, I find it difficult to believe that a fear of "shifting the marketing focus" would be a primary consideration in the timing of most retirements. (Maybe for someone really big, like Copeland. But I think there are other factors at play there.)

I certainly could be wrong, though.

Edited July 25, 2023 by nanushka

[ECat]

16 hours ago, onxmyxtoes said:

I don't see any reason to not promote Jake Roxander even though he joined the company in 2022. If someone is clearly a star, performing at a level higher than one's rank and higher than the level of people at the rank above... it sounds like good cause to promote.

Agreed!  In fact Susan Jaffe was promoted after only a year or two in the company.

[meunier fan]

I'm a both a subscriber and a patron so am grateful for the early access in a couple of days.  Does anyone know if you can buy single tickets to the Winter Season 'access' performances at that time?  If not, do you know when those go on general sale?  Seems an aging brain would like to know.  Much thanks for your kind advice.  

[California]

21 minutes ago, meunier fan said:

I'm a both a subscriber and a patron so am grateful for the early access in a couple of days.  Does anyone know if you can buy single tickets to the Winter Season 'access' performances at that time?  If not, do you know when those go on general sale?  Seems an aging brain would like to know.  Much thanks for your kind advice.  

Early access for NYCB Patrons and Subscribers starts this Thursday, July 27. In the past, you could buy tickets for the entire year -- fall, winter, spring seasons.

Early access for ABT patrons for the fall season starts Tuesday, August 29.

What are the "access" performances?