Kathleen O'Connell Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 12 hours ago, vipa said: I think they should drop this work. I gather I am the only person in the greater New York metropolitan area who actually likes Rotunda. I wouldn't move heaven and earth to get to a performance of it, but I'm always happy to see it on the program. Ulbricht did really shine in the role Peck made for Gonzalo Garcia—I probably would make a trip to the Theater Formerly Known as State to see him in it again. It was a late-career gift for Garcia, and it's now one for Ulbricht, too. Link to comment
cobweb Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 58 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said: It helps to have good tools. I use a fast desktop document scanner with a proper sheet feeder and excellent OCR capabilities, not a phone or a multi-function printer-scanner-fax machine. I archive the scans using a document database application with very powerful search capabilities. I can easily search through my trove of program scans for obvious things like a particular choreographer, ballet, dancer, date, etc. I can also search for combinations like choreographer + dancer + composer. I've even searched for particular costume designers. The program also allows me to attach searchable notes to the scans, so I can add a quick note about anything that seems worth memorializing about a particular program. (I download and archive NYCB's casting sheets as a reference as well.) I greatly admire your systematic approach, Kathleen!! Link to comment
matilda Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 2 hours ago, cobweb said: This awful trend of random speeches needs to be stamped out now. Thanks for this report, vipa! I hope to get to see Tiler's piece soon. Agree about Daniel Ulbricht, he is having a great season. And also agree about Unity Phelan. I wonder what has happened with her. I also remember thinking she was a special dancer when she was on the way up. Now she regularly seems flat and bland. I don't know if she's lost some sparkle that she used to have, and if so why? Or, was she always flat but that was less evident when she was younger, and we're expecting more from her now that she's covering major roles? I am baffled about how to think about this. In Unity's defense, I have seen some excellent performances from her in the past year -- Sugarplum Fairy, Apollo, and Namouna to name a few. Her Agon was very well received too. I think she's very capable of being not-bland but is cast in too many ballets to do all of them justice. Link to comment
abatt Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 A friend of mine thinks that Unity is cast so often because she "sells tickets". Not sure what others think about that, but I don't think that's the explanation. She is in far too many ballets and in my opinion is not memorable in most of them. Link to comment
vipa Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 33 minutes ago, abatt said: A friend of mine thinks that Unity is cast so often because she "sells tickets". Not sure what others think about that, but I don't think that's the explanation. She is in far too many ballets and in my opinion is not memorable in most of them. I agree @abatt it's hard for me to believe that Unity Phelan is a big ticket seller. I can't imagine what dancer in NYCB would make a big difference in terms of ticket sales. Maybe Tiler Peck because she has something of a cross media presence, and is so active on social media. Even so, I'm not sure it translates into ticket sales. In the fall season, every show I went to was packed. The winter season we're in right now, not so much. I think Unity Phelan is cast a lot because management likes her, and can envision her in many roles. I'd love to hear other opinions on the idea of which dancers might make for increased ticket sales. Link to comment
cobweb Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 I too cannot imagine that Unity Phelan is a big ticket seller. I guess we'd have to define what we mean by "big ticket seller," but agree that Tiler Peck seems the most likely candidate. Sara Mearns is surely known within the ballet world as someone who is a must-see, and maybe Taylor Stanley also has a fan base? Other than that, not sure I see anyone who would be a huge draw, especially outside the world of ballet. Obviously management likes Unity and now that she has debuted so so many of the major roles they are probably committed to her working on these for years. Hope we see progress. Definitely agree with @matilda that the problem could be she was given too much to absorb at once. Link to comment
NinaFan Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 (edited) Agreed. I can't imagine Unity being a big ticket seller either, but I do like her. For the most part, the ballets sell the tickets at NYCB, not the other way round. NYCB has an incredible pool of talent right now and most programs are packed full of world class dancers from corps to principal. I still have my favorite dancers, but I buy most of my NYCB tickets based on programs well before casting is announced. It's the other way round for me at ABT. Edited February 9 by NinaFan Link to comment
abatt Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 There are oily two dancers I make a special trip to see in major roles. Nadon and Mejia. Also Emma von eynk Link to comment
nysusan Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Ava Sautter - WOW. I mean really WOW! Tall, long legged with great extensions - plush 6 o'clocks and great control of those limbs. Beautiful port de bras and intense stage presence that just grabs your attention. I haven't felt this way about a dancer since the first time I saw Nadon. Everything else was fine. I love Bolden but Landscape was all Sautter. Love Ballo, cannot watch that ballet without smiling. Huxley was great and so were the soloists - O. Mackinnon, von Enck, MacGill and Hod. Fairchild was fine but a little underpowered. I do not like Hallelujah Junction, found it extremely boring and really couldn't appreciate Maxwell, Gordon and Takahashi. I've seen the Concert too many times, the gags are getting stale for me. Nadon acquitted herself well, she was charming and goofy but this is not her forte. The rest of the cast was great in this character driven piece, but I'm done with this ballet for at last the next 5 years. Link to comment
nysusan Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 (edited) And I agree with all of those posts about Phelan - I don't think a significant number of people come to the ballet because she is dancing. She has a very striking instrument, beautiful plastique, solid technique and management loves her. I have seen her give some gorgeous performances but unfortunately probably an equal number of flat, boring ones. I agree with people on this board who think that is because she has been thrown into too many roles too soon. I hope they hold off on giving ner new assignments, she needs to settle into the roles she has. I only add performances to see Mearns, Nadon, von Enck, Mejia and Afanasenkov. Now adding Sautter to that list. Also Peck to a lesser degree, and in the old days - Bouder. Edited February 10 by nysusan Link to comment
bellawood Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Hi! Just saw the matinee today. Ballo is a delightful ballet. I know you need the right principal woman for it but it's just so effervescent and fun. Tiler was amazing, as expected. Joe Gordon had a very strong debut except for an entertaining blooper when he entered 8 counts early, realized it, ran off stage, and then reentered 4 seconds later. The middle ballets were interesting because of the casting. Dominika A. was excellent as the "Wendy" in Albert Evans's duet. Really mesmerizing. Alec Knight handled the exceptionally complicated partnering very well. Hallelujah Junction was punctuated by a performance full of verve by David Gabriel as the solo man. Taylor Stanley looked a little out of shape. Lauren Collett was very good. The problem here is that the Martins' choreography is so overdone that it's hard to let anyone breathe. The Concert was, as usual, very entertaining. Mira was very beautiful as the hat girl. Andy Veyette chewed the scenery. If this rumored debut for EVonE happens, I might return to see this program again and leave after Ballo! Link to comment
cobweb Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 7 hours ago, nysusan said: intense stage presence that just grabs your attention. Agree, nysusan! I first noticed Sautter as one of the Tall Ladies of Phlegmatic, back when she was an apprentice. Striking physique, really bringing out the accents of the music, and compelling stage presence. It's great to see her getting bigger opportunities. Same for Asanesenkov, also doing this same role. I'm not sure I'm going to get to see Sautter in this piece, so I appreciate the report! Link to comment
vipa Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 2 hours ago, bellawood said: Ballo is a delightful ballet. I know you need the right principal woman for it but it's just so effervescent and fun. Tiler was amazing, as expected. Joe Gordon had a very strong debut except for an entertaining blooper when he entered 8 counts early, realized it, ran off stage, and then reentered 4 seconds later.lo! I was also there this afternoon. A last minute decision so I could see Tiler Peck do Ballo. Agree with @bellawood that it was a wonderful performance of that ballet. As soon as it was over I could have watched it again. No only were Peck and Gordon scintillating, the soloist woman were delightful (Bradley, Dutton-O'Hara, Jones and MT MacKinnon) and the corps was sharp, precise and joyful. Yes, the Gordon blooper was pretty funny. Ran on from the upstage right wing, turned around and ran off without the slightest pause. I hope he had a good laugh about it! I have to admit that my mind wandered a bit in, In a Landscape, the Albert Evans piece to John Cage music. However Dominkia Afanasenkov was sculpturally beautiful, and ably partnered by Alex Knight. As has been stated before Martins ballets tend to be over stuffed with steps. Hallelujah Junction is no exception. However, the dancers looked good, doing the difficult, some what gnarly choreography and David Gabriel looked terrific tossing off jumps and turns. I'm not very familiar with his dancing so it was a nice introduction. The Concert still makes me laugh. Meagan Dutton-O'Hara, Veyette and Mira Nadon were the hilarious leads. The piece is a masterwork in terms of construction, timing and details. It reminds me of that old saying "Dying is easy, comedy is hard" Lastly, I feel fortunate to be watching these early years of Mira Nadon's career. It's amazing to see such a young dancer carry off Liebeslieder and The Concert in the same week. She is a major talent. All in all, a fine afternoon at the ballet. What a great company Link to comment
deanofdance Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 (edited) Just a few thoughts on last night’s performance: 1) In a Landscape — agree with @nysusan — Ava Sautter — or should we call her Ava Star — as here she was last night — debuting as a full fledged American ballerina — tall, long limbed, rangy and elastic and attuned to the choreography to such an astute degree — she was Albert Evan’s’ dream! I’ve noticed Ava in the corp since last Fall and thought she was ripe for an opportunity — but didn’t expect her to be this physically adept, this fully established — to be this ready for principal roles! Her expansiveness, her control, her inherent grace, her wonderful leanness and length, and most importantly, her inner life — leap frogs her to the forefront of dancers I want to see cast. Her performance last night was that impressive — complete in every way. Bolden was her excellent, solid partner. 2) Hallelujah Junction — shoutout to Victor Abreu and Alston MacGill — they made the haywire choreography their own — esp MacGill — who gleamed like a hummingbird. Edited February 11 by deanofdance Link to comment
Brook703 Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 I have always been an admirer of Alston MacGill, but she reached a new level in Ballo and Hallelujah Junction. Her technique is always strong, but she genuinely seemed to be having the time of her life. I could not keep my eyes off her. I would make a special trip to see her dance a featured part & would love to see her promoted. Also, I really enjoyed Ava Sautter & Gilbert Bolden in Albert’s piece. Mira Nadon is someone I check for in casting when buying tickets. Her expansiveness is alluring. NYCB is looking so good with the fresh talent. Link to comment
abatt Posted February 11 Author Share Posted February 11 (edited) I too was thrilled to see MacGill back and dancing so well. Really enjoyed Ava S. in the Albert Evans work, In a Landscape. However, this work should have been left in the storage room. Didn't care for the gimmick of the sliding platform that takes the ballerina on and off the stage, and the choreography was frequently amateurish. I enjoyed both casts of Ballo. Megan did fall behind the music in her second solo, but other than that she was wonderful. Tiler Peck was also terrific, but there is one point in the ballet where the ballerina must kick towards her head in a Plisetsakaya type movement. Tiler can no longer do that. Joe Gordon and Huxley were both excellent in Ballo. I don't care who is dancing the Concert. Just not my cup of tea. In the Martins work, the revelation for me was Gabriel, who was outstanding. I have seen him in smaller roles, but I thought this ballet really highlighted the quality of his dancing. I thought he was much better than KJ Takahashi in the other cast. Edited February 11 by abatt Link to comment
Fernie M Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 (edited) Tiler posted on her IG stories she will be out due to a (slight) foot injury from yesterday’s show. Alexa Maxwell will dance today. Edited February 11 by Fernie M Link to comment
abatt Posted February 11 Author Share Posted February 11 Wishing Tiler well, but could this create a Ballo lead opportunity for Emma V E? Link to comment
NinaFan Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 I loved yesterday's matinee. Peck and Gordon were superb in Ballo. So sorry to hear that Tiler was hurt during the performance. I hope she won't be out for long. While the second act was my least favorite of the acts, I still enjoyed both ballets. Both dancer’s really poured their hearts out in Evan’s pdd with some really inventive moves. And Gabriel blew me away in Hallelujah Junction with his high energy and beautiful jumps and height. I always love The Concert and yesterday did not disappoint. Mira was hysterical as well as charming, and Veyette played the role as hilariously as always. Link to comment
MarzipanShepherdess Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Late posting this, but I was impressed by Tiler's company choreographic debut. I'd rather see it stay in the rep than pretty much any Martins ballet and a not inconsiderable number of the recent commissions (like the Reisens). She's got chops! And a good eye for casting, and she chose a great piece of music. She is really gifted at bringing out the most in her dancers, giving everyone ample opportunities to do what they do best: Mira looked extra-lush, Roman extra-playful and charismatic, India and Emma extra-quick and precise, etc. Would happily see this one again. Rotunda to me is a bit of a filler ballet: I don't dislike it, but I would feel no pang of disappointment if I never got to see it again. I think Peck utilizes a lot of the motifs he's exploring here to greater impact elsewhere. Though, I'll take any chance to see Daniel Ulbricht get to do something besides Jester/Fancy Free sailor type roles: he was the highlight of this for me, and was wonderful in Odesa as well. My first time seeing Odesa and I loved it! Indiana was just stunning in it and it's so inventive and engaging. I also loved the music Ratmansky chose. So excited for his forthcoming works with the company. Link to comment
Royal Blue Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 7 hours ago, MarzipanShepherdess said: Late posting this, but I was impressed by Tiler's company choreographic debut. I'd rather see it stay in the rep than pretty much any Martins ballet and a not inconsiderable number of the recent commissions (like the Reisens). She's got chops! And a good eye for casting, and she chose a great piece of music. She is really gifted at bringing out the most in her dancers, giving everyone ample opportunities to do what they do best: Mira looked extra-lush, Roman extra-playful and charismatic, India and Emma extra-quick and precise, etc. Would happily see this one again. Rotunda to me is a bit of a filler ballet: I don't dislike it, but I would feel no pang of disappointment if I never got to see it again. I think Peck utilizes a lot of the motifs he's exploring here to greater impact elsewhere. Though, I'll take any chance to see Daniel Ulbricht get to do something besides Jester/Fancy Free sailor type roles: he was the highlight of this for me, and was wonderful in Odesa as well. My first time seeing Odesa and I loved it! Indiana was just stunning in it and it's so inventive and engaging. I also loved the music Ratmansky chose. So excited for his forthcoming works with the company. Not going to contrast Tiler Peck's ballet with any by Peter Martins, or other recent commissions. However, after viewing the "New Combinations" program on February 8 (the second "Art Series" performance of the 2024 Winter Season), quoting the entire post above is requisite since I wholeheartedly agree with various major points expressed in it. Watching Sara Mearns dance to György Ligeti's Hopp ide tisztán in Polyphonia was a moving experience. Musically, nothing comparable occurs in Rotunda, although watching the latter when followed by a couple of terrific ballets such as the other two on the program is not an issue. (Daniel Ulbricht dancing to the music of Jacques Brel as choreographed by Twyla Tharp sounds more appealing.) Ample beauty and excitement permeate Concerto for Two Pianos throughout. The women in particular—soloists and corps—danced arrestingly in their gorgeous costumes. In the plushiest roles, both Mira Nadon and Roman Mejia acquit themselves magnificently. How Tiler Peck would respond to one particularly magical section of Poulenc's score aroused considerable anticipation. In the event, breathtakingly beautiful lighting and color, and heart-melting choreographic allure suffuses this segment danced by Mejia and members of the female corps. Ratmansky’s Odesa is simply phenomenal, every moment of its duration likewise filled with beauty and excitement, in addition to drama. My inclination to defend this ballet when it premiered in 2017, and particularly the potent moment with a woman tossed around by a group of men as one hears the culminating portion of the music, is nothing compared to my willingness to do so today. In a serious role, Indiana Woodward was, indeed, absolutely stunning, displaying simultaneously both an unerring dramatic sensibility and stirring technical aplomb. Nevertheless, Unity Phelan and Megan Fairchild were spectacular too. Nor were the three male soloists—Adrian Danchig-Waring, Anthony Huxley and Ulbricht—or, indeed, all the corps members in the cast, far behind. There is no reason to doubt that the second cast will be outstanding as well, but of the two, I preferred catching the first. It is disgraceful and disappointing, on my part, to view this work and program only once this season! Odesa and the rest of Ratmansky's output for New York City Ballet makes the prospect of watching the dancers listed in the cast for his new work set to the particular movements culled from Mahler's symphonies (especially Mearns, Nadon, Woodward and Laracey) insanely enticing. Link to comment
cobweb Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 Week 6 casting is up. Emma Emma Emma... Ballo della Regina! Link to comment
Jacqueline Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 I will be at that performance! So excited! Link to comment
Jacqueline Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 Also, it appears that the program order for the "Balanchine + Wheeldon" program has been switched and that it will now begin with "Stars and Stripes" and end with "Carnival of the Animals" instead of the opposite. I've never seen "Carnival" so I'm not sure why. Anyone have any insights? Link to comment
nysusan Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 NYCB posted "flash footage" of Sautter & Bolden from In a Landscape on Facebook. Don't know if this will come thru but here is the link https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=7899317113415737 Link to comment
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