2023-2024 Season

[Brook703]

6 hours ago, vipa said:

Emma Von Enck should be great as Butterfly. Hippolyta is a terrific opportunity for Corti.

Agree with Vipa about Emma VE and Corti. Also, I cannot wait to see Macgill as Butterfly. Macgill has had a great season. 

[Brook703]

I also think Olivia M has had a stand out season! 

[Brook703]

Footage from Interplay pas with Victor & Alston posted on FB

https://fb.watch/s4-DqmCTsx/?mibextid=CYgPv5

[Mary Mellowdew]

4 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

I miss Ball in everything, but especially in Midsummer as Puck. His Puck is not some jolly sprite you'd like to have a beer with: he's genuinely otherworldly. 

I was not particularly looking forward to Ball as Puck a year or two ago, but was amazed when I saw him.

[pirouette]

6 hours ago, cobweb said:

I am seeing ads on Facebook for the Jewels run. They are advertising it with a beautiful photo of Unity Phelan and Adrian Danchig-Waring in Emeralds, and also a segment of Rubies -- with Mejia and a woman I can't identify. Doesn't look like Tiler Peck, doesn't look like Megan Fairchild. Has anyone else seen this, and can you tell who she is?

I've been seeing the Jewels ads on Instagram as well, and I just saw a video ad of Rubies — it was Mejia and Erica Pereira. I'm not sure if this is the same ad you are talking about, but I recall they danced it together sometime in 2022. 

[cobweb]

1 hour ago, pirouette said:

've been seeing the Jewels ads on Instagram as well, and I just saw a video ad of Rubies — it was Mejia and Erica Pereira. I'm not sure if this is the same ad you are talking about, but I recall they danced it together sometime in 2022. 

Thanks pirouette I think you’re right it’s Pereira. I guess I was hoping for some exciting debut from an unknown corps member!

[pirouette]

14 minutes ago, cobweb said:

Thanks pirouette I think you’re right it’s Pereira. I guess I was hoping for some exciting debut from an unknown corps member!

That would've been exciting!

On the topic of the Jewels run at the Kennedy Center and possible debuts.. if Nadon is debuting in Diamonds, I wonder if that means she'll drop her role in either Rubies or Emeralds? If not, that would be a heavily loaded week for her. Though I think this really speaks to her versatility and greatness as a dancer! 

[deanofdance]

A few thoughts on tonight’s performance:

1) This Bitter Earth — Beautiful.  Andy (like Tyler and Daniel) seems refreshed and rejuvenated — and how chivalrous he was to Unity — and how she trusted him — really a lovely partnership — and they made it all seem so easy!   Since last season’s Tschai Pas I’ve sensed an ember gradually growing in Unity — glowing and shimmering — and it’s lovely to see.  
2) Herman Schmerman — A great fit for Tiler and Roman (NYCB’s Taylor and Travis) — and this partnership seems to be keeping Tiler rejuvenated as well — she’s dancing as free and as voracious as she ever has — and she finally has an equal in Roman!  And I’m sorry — but a shirtless Roman, his bare torso sweaty and gasping for air is worth the price of admission.  Encore!
3) Love Letter — so much depends on casting — I remember that Jonathan Fahoury was in the original cast — and it wasn’t until Taylor replaced him that this ballet took off. And after multiple viewings, I’m thinking why aren’t more African American dancers cast in the solo roles?  For example, seeing Olivia Bell on stage and how she moved — I wished she were given a larger role.  And Mabie isn’t a good fit — neither in the ballet or with Taylor.  Represent.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

12 hours ago, deanofdance said:

Love Letter — so much depends on casting

Just comparing the cast lists for this season's performances of Love Letter (on shuffle) with those from its premiere to its March performances in London, it looks as if two male roles have been dropped or combined. There were 16 dancers cast in the work up until this season, nine women and seven men. The cast for this week's performances has nine women, but only five men. I have no idea what got changed or swapped around, but it certainly didn't seem like there were too few dancers on stage. 😉 And ... I'm going to guess that Abraham had planned on casting Stanley from the get-go. 

Here's the original cast for the ballet's 2022 premiere:

1. Harrison Ball
2. Jacqueline Bologna
3. Naomi Corti
4. Jonathan Fahoury
5. Christopher Grant
6. Emily Kikta
7. Claire Kretzschmar
8. Ruby Lister
9. Malorie Lundgren
10. Alexa Maxwell
11. Tiler Peck
12. Mckenzie Bernardino Soares
13. Quinn Starner
14. Sebastián Villarini-Vélez
15. Peter Walker
16. Cainan Weber

Here's the cast for the London performances in 2022:

1. Olivia Boisson
2. Jacqueline Bologna
3. Naomi Corti
4. Christopher Grant
5. Emily Kikta
6. Ruby Lister
7. Malorie Lundgren
8. Jules Mabie
9. Alexa Maxwell
10. Roman Mejia
11. Tiler Peck,
12. Mckenzie Bernardino Soares
13. Taylor Stanley
14. Quinn Starner
15. Peter Walker
16. Cainan Weber

Here's last night's cast:

1. Olivia Bell
2. Olivia Boisson
3. Jacqueline Bologna
4. Naomi Corti
5. Emily Kikta
6. Ruby Lister
7. Malorie Lundgren
8. Jules Mabie
9. Mckenzie Bernardino Soares
10. Taylor Stanley
11. Quinn Starner
12. KJ Takahashi
13. Kennedy Targosz
14. Peter Walker

[cobweb]

On 5/15/2024 at 7:37 PM, Mary Mellowdew said:

I was not particularly looking forward to Ball as Puck a year or two ago, but was amazed when I saw him.

Same, Mary Mellowdew! Harrison Ball was so off-and-on, here-and-gone-and-back for so long, that I kind of lost track of him. Then when he finally blossomed into an insanely beautiful dancer, it was all too brief...  

[nanran3]

Emma Von Enck has been promoted to principal! So well deserved!

She is outstanding and I can't wait to see her develop in the years to come.

[vipa]

8 minutes ago, nanran3 said:

Emma Von Enck has been promoted to principal! So well deserved!

She is outstanding and I can't wait to see her develop in the years to come.

She is so ready! Any other promotions announced?

[Brook703]

10 minutes ago, nanran3 said:

Emma Von Enck has been promoted to principal! So well deserved!

She is outstanding and I can't wait to see her develop in the years to come.

In complete agreement . Such good news! 

[Fernie M]

2 hours ago, nanran3 said:

Emma Von Enck has been promoted to principal! So well deserved!

She is outstanding and I can't wait to see her develop in the years to come.

Thank you for passing along the wonderful news! So exciting and so well deserved!

[nanran3]

10 hours ago, vipa said:

She is so ready! Any other promotions announced?

Not that I know of!

[BalanchineFan]

On 5/15/2024 at 5:01 PM, volcanohunter said:

I'm not surprised. Winning new audiences is never as easy as that. So on balance are the high-profile commissions and expensive costumes worth it?

They had the 4th Ring closed at last Sunday’s DAAG/BSQ program. Imo, they need to keep doing things like the Solange Knowles commission, not abandon it. 

[BalanchineFan]

On 5/16/2024 at 12:23 AM, deanofdance said:

) Love Letter — so much depends on casting — I remember that Jonathan Fahoury was in the original cast — and it wasn’t until Taylor replaced him that this ballet took off. And after multiple viewings, I’m thinking why aren’t more African American dancers cast in the solo roles?  For example, seeing Olivia Bell on stage and how she moved — I wished she were given a larger role.  And Mabie isn’t a good fit — neither in the ballet or with Taylor.  Represent.

I loved Jonathan Faboury in Love Letter. He left the company (practically) the next day. I couldn’t understand who else could do it, but of course Taylor Stanley is perfect. Stanley is SPEC* TAC*ULAR in Kyle Abraham’s work. 
 

So glad that Emma von Enck was promoted!! I was at the rehearsal of Symphony in 3 yesterday and she was on fire. So clean and sharp and energetic. Well deserved. 

Edited May 17 by BalanchineFan

[MarzipanShepherdess]

Great news about Emma Von Enck! I saw her last night in Rubies and I kept thinking geez, when are they going to move her up already? She was just mesmerizing. I love how she plays with the music and particularly how she finishes her phrases: there's always a little extra oomph, a little more juice she squeezes out at the last moment. It makes me not want to watch anyone else while she's on stage because I don't want to miss a moment of what she's doing!

Dig the Say: definitely a showboating moment for Roman and Tiler (and not much more than that as choreography) but boy can Roman showboat. Tiler seemed a bit inhibited, which makes sense coming back from a recent injury. My favorite part of her performance was seeing how she just genuinely BEAMED at Roman, the interplay between them is really sweet to see.  It's funny, sometimes when I see a dancer do something thrilling on stage I have an impulse of "I wanna see that again, right now!"--and this ballet delivers that, twice over, with the jump Tiler does from the wings into Roman's arms--but each time it had less impact for me. I guess sometimes one and done is better!  The audience seemed to love this piece, huge applause.

In Creases: New to me thought it premiered over a decade ago. I enjoyed seeing Peck using a different register of his choreographic voice: more structured and formal, darker in tone, taking more cues from Balanchine than from Robbins. I liked the lines of dancers with their weaving hands and then legs, and the more contemplative solo danced very well by Jules Mabie. Dominika was dancing like a soloist, so much presence and grace (her promotion seems inevitable at this point). 

Underneath There Is Light: This would have been inoffensive but became almost painful for me to watch because it exhausted the ideas Garner had for the dancers early and then just...kept...going. I really struggle to remember a single specific moment of the choreography, which was REALLY repetitive. The cast certainly were giving it their all and Garner chose some great dancers but this one was a flub IMO.

[Novice123]

3 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

They had the 4th Ring closed at last Sunday’s DAAG/BSQ program. Imo, they need to keep doing things like the Solange Knowles commission, not abandon it. 

Agreed, majority of new works will not be hits but every company has to move forward 

[abatt]

Glad to learn that Emma VE was promoted.  It is a well deserved promotion.  A little surprised nobody was promoted out of the corps up to soloist.  

 

[cobweb]

Great for EVE. Well deserved. 

I assume Gilbert Bolden will be promoted at some point, probably soon, and Alexa Maxwell seems in line for principal promotion as well. Hoping for Emily Kikta as well, of course.

For corps-to-soloist, I think there are quite a number of contenders but no one obvious, slam-dunk, must-promote-now. Judging from casting, contenders appear to be Macgill, Afanasenkov, Corti, Abreu, Bradley, David Gabriel, Jules Mabie, Ava Sautter, maybe MT MacKinnon, maybe Cainan Weber (appears to be out this season?) ... but all could use more testing in big roles. 

[matilda]

I think Alec Knight is a slam-dunk soloist promotion, and I was surprised when he wasn't promoted with Bolden and Riccardo last fall. He's gotten big opportunities in the past year, especially as a partner. He's very tall and incredibly handsome. He's scheduled for the last performance of the season, when promotions are often announced... and so are MacGill and Maxwell for that matter. 

Regarding Kikta, she also performed Rubies last night -- the same performance after which Von Enck was promoted. So that would have been the perfect time. Now, I don't think it's going to happen. 

[deanofdance]

If I were a gambling man, my money would be on Dominika as the next corps to soloist promotion —her height and slight build (and talent!) give her an advantage in terms of versatility and range when it comes to casting  — as I can see her cast in more roles than say, a taller dancer like Corti, or a shorter dancer like Alston. 
Yes, a well deserved (and long awaited) promotion for Emma!  I’m thinking the next in line will be Miriam and Alexa.

Edited May 17 by deanofdance

[Helene]

How was Von Enck's promotion announced?  Was it onstage?  In front of the curtain? And/or in an Instagram story, YouTube video (I don't see one), etc.?

The website hasn't been updated, there's no press release on the site, and there are no announcements by the company or her on Instagram (regular, not sure about Stories), Facebook, or twitter.  She last posted on Instagram about a week ago, and in the last 24 hours, two people have congratulated her on her promotion, a private account and former NYCB dancer Sandra Zigars, in reply to it.

This is wonderful news that NYCB could and should be jumping on.

[matilda]

The news was apparently announced after the curtain went down on Rubies last night. Numerous company members have posted about it on their Instagram stories -- I think Roman Mejia might have been the first. Emma has shared most or all of them on her own stories.