abatt Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 13 minutes ago, Papagena said: I feel a bit bad for everyone involved (including Peck). Do choreographers generally speak like this? I'm thinking high level like Ratmansky or Wheeldon (or even Justin Peck). We've seen Derek Deane do it but his was at a more obviously unacceptable degree. But perhaps it's generally normal and I haven't been paying attention. No. This is not normal. It's indicative of Tiler Peck's inexperience and lack of forethought, in my opinion. It was almost like a stream of consciousness interview, where she forgot she was speaking to a publication that will be read by thousands of people. That's proper to say in private, but it is not proper in a NY Times interview. Link to comment
Novice123 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 The expectation and desire by those in the "high" arts for less transparent, less open is fascinating. Reminds me of the SNL skit "You look marvelous darling, simply marvelous". Link to comment
Tumi Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 1 hour ago, abatt said: The Tiler Peck interview struck me in the same way as On Pointe. Peck walked right into the trap of giving India Bradley an underhanded compliment by stating that management thinks she is limited technically, but Tiler has confidence in Bradley anyway that she will keep up with the most technically gifted Emma V E. Interesting! And very curious to hear how a similar kind of trap played out in ON POINTE? Link to comment
abatt Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 22 minutes ago, Novice123 said: The expectation and desire by those in the "high" arts for less transparent, less open is fascinating. Reminds me of the SNL skit "You look marvelous darling, simply marvelous". Criticism, or backhanded compliments, belong in the rehearsal room, not the NY Times. Above, I was agreeing with a Ballet Alert post by someone who posts under the name On Pointe. I was not referencing a publication by that name. Link to comment
Novice123 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 15 minutes ago, abatt said: Criticism, or backhanded compliments, belong in the rehearsal room, not the NY Times. Above, I was agreeing with a Ballet Alert post by someone who posts under the name On Pointe. I was not referencing a publication by that name. So, as far as world knows, or those who reads the NY Times, everyone is simply "marvelous! Darling! simply marvelous!". Link to comment
Drew Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) 1 hour ago, Novice123 said: The expectation and desire by those in the "high" arts for less transparent, less open is fascinating. Reminds me of the SNL skit "You look marvelous darling, simply marvelous". Overall, I found Peck's interview, as I find her, compelling and fresh; I also don't expect leaders to start out of the gate knowing the best wording in every situation. She could, though, have worded things more generally--saying she wants to show off the dancers in new ways, surprise the audience etc. -which may be all she meant anyway! Yeah--it's a little anodyne; it's also respectful. And besides everything else you don't want to inadvertently risk encouraging the audience to look for faults. Opera singers have talked about the fact that if they are "transparent" about having a cold and then go on to sing 100 percent as well as usual, they STILL sometimes hear from an audience member about how the faults were noticeable and of course the cold spoiled things. To put this differently, the issue isn't transparency but professionalism. New York City Ballet is not presenting a workshop with this premier or a work in progress--and it is not trying to be the live equivalent of an extended reality TV show either. Of course the company is developing its dancers with every rehearsal and performance, but a safe atmosphere for that development does require that not every thing suitable for behind the scenes considerations belongs in the public sphere. One interview is not a big deal --Peck was largely very positive and I bet the dancers are delighted to be working with her. I hope the ballet is a success too! Edited January 29 by Drew Link to comment
lmspear Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) 1 hour ago, abatt said: No. This is not normal. It's indicative of Tiler Peck's inexperience and lack of forethought, in my opinion. It was almost like a stream of consciousness interview, where she forgot she was speaking to a publication that will be read by thousands of people. That's proper to say in private, but it is not proper in a NY Times interview. Many years ago I did administrative work at a multidisciplinary think tank (defense, health, education, labor, etc). When describing our jobs we would often just say "We help the geniuses keep their shoes tied."🤣 The "geniuses" were interviewed frequently by print and broadcast media and during my time there management instituted interview training for the researchers because of a few choice bloopers. Public speaking wasn't covered in their educations or early career experience. Anyway, it wouldn't surprise me if a similar training were implemented by a ballet company. Edited January 29 by lmspear Typo Link to comment
abatt Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 (edited) Reviewing the quality of the dancers and their performances is the purview of reviews, and should not be undertaken by colleagues (Tiler Peck) . While I don't think Peck had any intention to embarrass India Bradley or anyone else, that is the result. Tiler's comments were made without any hint of an intent to demean or belittle anyone. It just speaks to her lack of savvy. Edited January 29 by abatt Link to comment
lmspear Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) 46 minutes ago, lmspear said: Edited January 29 by lmspear Accidental repost, please delete. Thank you Link to comment
vipa Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 3 hours ago, abatt said: No. This is not normal. It's indicative of Tiler Peck's inexperience and lack of forethought, in my opinion. It was almost like a stream of consciousness interview, where she forgot she was speaking to a publication that will be read by thousands of people. That's proper to say in private, but it is not proper in a NY Times interview. I don't disagree, at the same time we don't know exactly what she was asked, and how her answers were edited. I assume it was a much longer interview that was sliced and diced to create what is perceived to be most interesting to readers. Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 3 hours ago, abatt said: Reviewing the quality of the dancers and their performances is the purview of reviews, and should not be undertaken by colleagues I assume you mean publicly. Internally these sort of discussions would happen all the time. Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Dancers already know that they are thought to lack A, B or C, because they are told so by artistic staff and/or because they are not cast in certain roles. But I agree that it's a bad idea to raise red flags for the audience, even when a choreographer is confident that a dancer will exceed expectations and surpass perceived limitations. Link to comment
On Pointe Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 10 hours ago, Tumi said: Interesting! And very curious to hear how a similar kind of trap played out in ON POINTE? A bit of disambiguation - I post as On Pointe, and have done so for a number of years, but I have no connection to that website and/or publication. I read the Tiler Peck interview a few days ago when it first appeared, and I had concerns about it then, but I hesitated to bring them up here because I thought maybe it was just me. I'm glad to see that it wasn't. Link to comment
cobweb Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 (edited) Furlan is out in Fancy Free tonight, replaced by Villarini-Velez. Mejia is out in Four Seasons, replaced by Veyette. I’m disappointed not to see Mejia tonight. I will be curious to see if he makes it for his role in Tiler’s opening on Thursday. Edited January 31 by cobweb Link to comment
cobweb Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 (edited) I enjoyed last night's performance in general, especially The Four Seasons. This is a fun piece, accessible and entertaining, with lots of great dancing and opportunities for many. I hope they keep it in regular rotation for awhile. Sara Mearns and Chun Wai Chan looked great in Spring. This is a perfect role for Sara especially, with her large, spacious, expansive dancing, and my did she look glamorous in the swept updo. When she smiled at Chan, I it made him look like the luckiest guy in the world. Summer was Adrian Danchig-Waring and Emilie Gerrity. She was fine, but paled next to my memory from last week seeing Ashley Laracey, who seemed far more organic in the role, not to mention regal, aloof, and sultry. Laracey seemed to have this role in her bones, whereas Gerrity smiled her way through it. In Fall, Cainan Weber had another sensational night, truly sensational. Has to be seen to be believed. I was very disappointed not to see Roman Mejia. Andrew Veyette is a stalwart, but as a ballet practically senior citizen, he should not be having to power his way through this role so often. He looks a little ragged in that very bare costume, but he still dances admirably. And Tiler was amazing. She is a chaine champion, and added some special flourishes to the fouettes, which I lack the technical knowledge to describe, but I don't think I've ever seen before. I enjoyed Fancy Free more this time than last week. Alexa Maxwell and Joseph Gordon, as the purple dress girl and shy sailor, made more of an impression than did Jacqueline Bologna and Harrison Coll. Mary Thomas MacKinnon does well as the red purse girl, strong and unintimidated by the guys. However she doesn't quite project out big enough, and I wonder if there is something she can do to make better use of her eyes. Daniel Ulbricht threw himself into it and was great. I wonder what is up with Roman Mejia. For the past week he appears on the casting sheets, but then is replaced at the last minute. If he is injured, has covid, or a family emergency or whatever, they should announce the casting change in advance so the ticket-buying audience knows what to expect. Disappointing! Edited January 31 by cobweb Link to comment
nysusan Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 4th week casting is up! Nadon as Choleric! Laracey in Liebeslieder! https://res.cloudinary.com/new-york-city-ballet/image/upload/v1706723614/Documents/Casting/NYCB_Casting_February_13-18_2024_lobby.pdf Link to comment
cobweb Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 … and casting for this week is updated. Mejia is out of all of his assignments, except for Tiler’s new piece. Link to comment
matilda Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Mejia is also still listed in next week's Liebeslieder performances, even though the casting sheet has been updated with replacements elsewhere. He's also still scheduled to dance Copeland Dance Episodes, and is supposed to debut a role in Rotunda on the 14th. My guess is that something happened to take him out of Fancy Free and Four Seasons and he's been resting up for Tiler's big premiere. Link to comment
bellawood Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 On Insta Jovani says he's out for the rest of the season. Link to comment
bellawood Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 One beneficiary of injuries has been Alec Knight -- he's gotten a lot of the Sanz roles. Also Huxley is out of 4 Ts but is still doing Ballo? Link to comment
abatt Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 7 minutes ago, bellawood said: On Insta Jovani says he's out for the rest of the season. I enjoy Furlan's dancing, but these past two years have resulted in a lot of absences. He missed a substantial amount of time due to family problems that required him to return to Brazil. Now he is injured. Quite unfortunate. Link to comment
MarzipanShepherdess Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 4 hours ago, nysusan said: 4th week casting is up! Nadon as Choleric! Laracey in Liebeslieder! https://res.cloudinary.com/new-york-city-ballet/image/upload/v1706723614/Documents/Casting/NYCB_Casting_February_13-18_2024_lobby.pdf Interesting that the casting notes Copeland Dance Episodes will now be performed with an intermission. Link to comment
cobweb Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 I hope I'm getting these roles right and not just confusing things. As far as I can tell, for the 2nd cast of Liebeslieder Walzer, we have: Diana Adams -- Mearns Bill Carter -- Chan Melissa Hayden -- Woodward Jonathan Watts - Chamblee Jillana -- Laracey Conrad Ludlow -- Sanz Violette Verdy -- LaFreniere Nicholas Magallanes - Veyette Link to comment
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