abatt Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 Thanks. I could not make out who that was sitting and watching. Six performances of Ballo. We now know that Megan will be cast, and probably Tiler Peck. Hopefully Emma VE will also get a chance as third cast. However, I could also see Woodward getting a chance at this role. Link to comment
vipa Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 1 hour ago, abatt said: Six performances of Ballo. We now know that Megan will be cast, and probably Tiler Peck. Hopefully Emma VE will also get a chance as third cast. However, I could also see Woodward getting a chance at this role. Has Tiler Peck done Ballo in the past? I don't remember her being cast in it, but I could be wrong. Link to comment
matilda Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 Tiler is featured in the website photo for Ballo, indicating that she's danced it: https://www.nycballet.com/discover/ballet-repertory/ballo-della-regina/ Link to comment
abatt Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 Yes, Ballo is listed in Tiler's bio on the NYCB website. Link to comment
vipa Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 (edited) Thank. you abatt and matilda. If there are 6 performances of Ballo there are several possibilities with Fairchild, Peck and perhaps Woodward. My guess is Emma VE will do one of the solo roles. Still I have hope she'll be given a shot at principal On another note, Fairchild's rehearsal post on intagram was noticeably under tempo. I heard the rehearsal director pushing the pianist to go faster. Edited January 23 by vipa Link to comment
abatt Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 Nothing against Fairchild but she has been doing this role a long time. Maybe it's time for NYCB to pass the torch to the next generation on this role. Link to comment
matilda Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 (edited) I have a feeling Fairchild is going to retire within the next couple of years (she is 40), so maybe management is just giving her as much as she wants to do until then. She implied on Instagram last month that she was retiring Dewdrop after the 2023 Nutcracker season, which is telling. And, this is just my impression, but she doesn't strike me as a "hang on 'til the bitter end" type. But if you think about how young Fairchild and Peck were when they got to debut some of these major-major roles, it's too bad the younger principals and soloists have to wait until their mid-late 20s or even 30s to dance the same parts! Edited January 23 by matilda Link to comment
tutu Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 22 minutes ago, abatt said: Nothing against Fairchild but she has been doing this role a long time. A really long time: Fairchild first performed Ballo in her SAB workshop, coached by Merrill Ashley. Fairchild is looking so, so great these days, but I know we don’t have that many more years with Fairchild in the role. I’m going to miss her Ballo when she retires it. Link to comment
abatt Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 This was one area where I admired what Martins did. There was more fluidity in assigning roles to promising young dancers under his tenure than under the current admin. The current leaders seem to value seniority as the guiding factor in casting to a greater extent than Martins. Would today's admin allow a teenage ballerina to debut the leads in Agon, Prodigal Son and Titania the way that Martins allowed Miriam Miller to do under his tenure? I doubt it. Link to comment
matilda Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Miller was heavily favored by Martins and is much less so by current management. I think she would be a principal by now had Martins stayed in control. Interesting how these things work out. Link to comment
abatt Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 Definitely. Miller is not favored under current management. Notably Peter Martins selected her for the lead in Barber Violin Concerto, which is in my opinion a good role for her. Miller is rarely selected as the lead for important Balanchine ballets, or for Robbins ballets. Link to comment
Jacqueline Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 (edited) Is it true that the Janice Levin Dancer is announced on the first night of winter season? If so, any guesses -- or intel -- on this year's recipient? And looking forward to reports on tonight's performance! Edited January 24 by Jacqueline typo Link to comment
abatt Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 Per the lobby casting sheet Sanz is replaced in all assignments this week. Link to comment
cobweb Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 7 minutes ago, abatt said: Per the lobby casting sheet Sanz is replaced in all assignments this week. What a bummer!! Link to comment
abatt Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 (edited) Per the lobby casting sheet Sanz is replaced in all assignments this week. Corti is the Levin award winner per program. Going to be a long night. In addition to the Levin award presentation it is a see the music lecture night Edited January 24 by abatt Link to comment
abatt Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 Casting for week 3 is posted on the website Link to comment
nanushka Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Oh how I wish I were seeing Gordon's debut with Peck in Ballo della Regina! Link to comment
Fernie M Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 13 hours ago, abatt said: Nothing against Fairchild but she has been doing this role a long time. Maybe it's time for NYCB to pass the torch to the next generation on this role. Based on the rehearsal footage, as mentioned above and absolutely nothing against Fairchild (who I think is spectacular & she amazes me), she was going slow in the hops on pointe & had very little suppleness to the back. I remember seeing Georgina Pazgoquin’s Instagram with her doing the same variation, and she was absolutely spectacular. I don’t think it was in her stories, so the footage is probably still up there. I re-watched Merrill Ashley’s Ballo on YouTube last night, and I kept thinking about how great it would be to see Mira Nadon in the role. Link to comment
abatt Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 Last night's program started at 7:30 and ended at 10:15. Was it really necessary to have the Levin Award presentation and a See The Dance lecture on the same night? Couldn't they have done that lecture on any other night when The Four Seasons was being performed? Clueless. There was no way I was leaving before Four Seasons because the Fall section was the highlight of the evening. Link to comment
FireDancer Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 12 hours ago, Fernie M said: Based on the rehearsal footage, as mentioned above and absolutely nothing against Fairchild (who I think is spectacular & she amazes me), she was going slow in the hops on pointe & had very little suppleness to the back. Was she off the music or was the music itself slow? If the latter, then it's not her fault... I think someone previously said the rehearsal director was asking for the tempo to be increased, in which case, that would indicate it was not Fairchild's choice. Link to comment
cobweb Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 50 minutes ago, abatt said: Last night's program started at 7:30 and ended at 10:15. Was it really necessary to have the Levin Award presentation and a See The Dance lecture on the same night? Couldn't they have done that lecture on any other night when The Four Seasons was being performed? Clueless. Ugh. I deliberately decided against going last night because of "See the Music." If I had been there and then they added in the Levin Award I would have hit the roof!! Clueless indeed. I am there for the dance -- not speeches from the AD, not music lectures, not awards. And when it's a weeknight, that goes double! Link to comment
Fernie M Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Who was the winner of the Levin award? Link to comment
FauxPas Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) I was there last night. Naomi Corti was the winner of the Janice Levin award. By the way, Jonathan Stafford and Corti were both reading prepared speeches which sounded rather canned and flat as a result. Corti loosened up a bit. "Fancy Free" got a terrific performance with a very stylish mambo from Jovani Furlan. I find the ballet overprogrammed (I saw many ABT performances with the likes of Corella, Carreno, Gomes and Stiefel back in the day). Still this cast was diverting. "In the Night" is lovely (the Mariinsky performed it at BAM many moons ago). Alec Knight and Olivia MacKinnon were really tender and radiant as the young couple - he especially had elegant upper body carriage and arms. Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle were both looking good - both have the maturity for their roles. Angle had to lift and rotate Mearns over his head and was still a strong partner. However, he is not that tall and the rotating moves would have worked better visually with a taller partner. Once Mearns had to bend her leg when coming down from a lift into arabesque. Andrew Veyette and Unity Phelan were good as the passionate couple - Phelan seemed connected to her role and had some authority (which isn't always the case). But it also seemed a little like they were still figuring it out. Lots of potential though. "The Four Seasons" was fun throughout. Emma Van Enck sparkled with Devin Alberda and Villarini-Velez as her jumping duo in "Winter". Huxley and Woodward were fresh and buoyant in "Spring". I loved Gerrity and Danchig-Waring in "Summer" as they projected sensuality and authority. But nothing sparkled like Tiler Peck, Roman Mejia (in whiz bang virtuoso form) and an elfin playful KJ Takahashi in "Autumn". The evening ended on an exciting note. Yes it ended late but I went home happy. Though I missed the last M12 bus... Edited January 24 by FauxPas Mispelling Link to comment
abatt Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 13 minutes ago, FauxPas said: Yes it ended late but I went home happy. Though I missed the last M12 bus... Yes, I missed my last express bus back to Queens. I mostly agree with the praise of last night's performance. The highlight was certainly Mejia in Four Seasons. In his turns a la seconde he jumped as he was rotating. For me that is a highlight. Woetzel used to do this. Not many people have that level of skill. Tiler Peck is still in total command as far as spinning skills and musicality, but she did not have the requisite flexibility in her back to do that Plisetskaya head kick I have seen others do in Fall. Small quibble. Link to comment
FauxPas Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) 8 minutes ago, abatt said: Tiler Peck is still in total command as far as spinning skills and musicality, but she did not have the requisite flexibility in her back to do that Plisetskaya head kick I have seen others do in Fall. Small quibble. Tiler hasn't been taking those risks for a long time since her back and neck injuries. Tiler used to also go off center in turns and pirouettes like she was going to throw herself out of the steps but would pull herself back in at the last moment. No more. She also used to sort of do a pause at the apex of a difficult step in time with the music - creating a risky kind of freeze frame moment. No more. She is still amazing. BTW: on the online casting sheet for Week 3, I see Sanz listed in "Hallelujah Junction" and "Copland Dance Episodes". Also, Ashley Bouder is still MIA and I thought we might get her in "Liebeslieder Waltzes". Maybe a second cast? Edited January 24 by FauxPas Link to comment
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