2023-2024 Season

[MarzipanShepherdess]

Ushers waiting to sit latecomers until AFTER the overture ends and the curtain is going up (and the performance is starting) is a very poor choice on management's part. I'd much rather have my view blocked by latecomers during the overture, when there's nothing to see, than have people slowly shuffling their way in dim light past me as the performance is beginning.

 

[deanofdance]

Just a few thoughts on last night’s performance — for my last show in this incredible 75th year — so much dance and so much pleasure — my favorite in all these years of going to NYCB.

Overall, a much tighter, more balanced performance than opening night Tuesday — from the speedier tempo and clearer playing and singing (Bravo to the orchestra — such a treat!) to every dancer improving where improvements were needed.  The ballet moved along and flowed much better.  One thing I finally noticed was the Karinska costumes for the young butterflies — they’re pretty genius in their striking cleverness and variety — what brilliance and dedication to her craft!
I was completely taken by the MCB guest artists, Taylor and Brooks — I found them so young and fresh and their task so daunting and difficult that my heart went out to them — and I could feel my heartbeat increase and my palms getting sweatier as they danced this wonderful pas de deux.  This is one of the joys of live performance — feeling the energies being emitted from the dancers, feeling their initial nervousness, and then their calm, and then their growing confidence.  They deserved a standing O — I think I will remember these two dancers for quite some time. 

Edited June 1 by deanofdance

[cobweb]

3 hours ago, MarzipanShepherdess said:

Ushers waiting to sit latecomers until AFTER the overture ends and the curtain is going up (and the performance is starting) is a very poor choice on management's part. I'd much rather have my view blocked by latecomers during the overture, when there's nothing to see, than have people slowly shuffling their way in dim light past me as the performance is beginning.

I think there is just no good choice here, short of making latecomers wait until intermission... and maybe having to watch the first part on a "crummy little TV" like happened to you, MarzipanShepherdess. To be fair, based on my experience at theaters in NYC and elsewhere, and given modern audience expectations (read: entitlements), the State Theatre is doing a pretty good job with this. I've been in theaters where late seating was a lot more plentiful and intrusive. For me, in many years of theatregoing, the one and only time I missed curtain was about a year ago, when I was going to see the matinee of Oliver! at City Center Encores. My partner and I took an express bus from our outer borough. Unbeknownst to us, that day was the Five Borough Bike Tour, and our bus was first detoured and then got stuck in gridlock on the Triborough Bridge. We were about 15 minutes late. I was crushed. I expected to have to wait until intermission to get in, but to my delight they readily seated us between two songs. Not great for those sitting around us, to be sure, but I was so relieved to get in!

[grandallegro]

NYCB Usher here...hopefully I can answer some of the questions about late seating satisfactorily for those concerned. The late seating policy as it reads on all the signs posted by the doors of the theater is that it is "at the discretion of management," which means it is actually different every program. The late seating policy of each day is decided on between the stage managers, the artistic staff (including the choreographer, if present), and the house managers. In general, the seating at the top of the performance continues as long as the curtain is down which means we continue through the overtures always. Once the curtain is raised, late seating stops. As some of your have noticed, yes, sometimes an usher brings a party in while the curtain is still down, and while the patrons slowly make their way to their seat, the curtain comes up. We don't do that on purpose, we wish everyone walked as fast as we do. It is an imperfect system.

In certain longer ballets (i.e. Nutcracker, Midsummer, Copland Dance Episodes) a second late seating period is agreed on by backstage, artistic, and house managers. This is the case for ballets or acts that are longer than 30 minutes. The late seating cue always comes during a black out or a change of scenery to minimize disruption. Often the black out is short, and once again, people walk slow and don't make it to their seats before the lights come up.

Regarding the Viewing Room--the VR is not available for late seating everyday. Sometimes the box office sells those seats, meaning we are no place to put late comers. On other days, the VR is not sold and we have it as an option for late comers. This changes on a daily basis.

A fourth issue exists which is this: There are a lot of belligerent patrons who will push past us and barge their way in to the theater at an unacceptable time despite our protestations. Just because a person is coming in, doesn't mean the ushers "allowed" it. When people have made up their minds to ignore the rules, there is ultimately nothing we can do to stop them. And it happens almost daily. Trust me, we are tired of it.

All that to say, everything at the ballet is coordinated and deliberate to make the ballet-going experience as enjoyable as possible for all involved. However, human error, slow walkers, and rude people sometimes trump our best efforts. Please know the staff at the ballet is aware of these short comings in the system and are always working to improve the experience.

[Helene]

I think this akin to our company policy, which is 1. Don't allow people to tailgate into the building on your badge 2. If you have any fear about stopping a tailgater, then don't.  There's a 2b, ie call security with a description once you get to your desk, which I'm guessing, is only under emergency conditions in a theater.

I wouldn't try to physically stop someone physically, either, if I were an usher.  I wish there was a way to ban them from the premises going forward, though. 

[FPF]

As per various NYCB dancer's instagrams, it looks like Alec Knight, Jules Mabie, and David Gabriel have been promoted to soloist.

[BalanchineFan]

1 hour ago, grandallegro said:

NYCB Usher here...hopefully I can answer some of the questions about late seating satisfactorily for those concerned.

Kudos to you! That is an all important job, and I know first hand that you all do your best to keep things running smoothly.

One of my first jobs out of college was to usher and the (then) State Theater. I later worked at the Metropolitan Opera House. I loved it, except for the rude patrons.

[Fernie M]

43 minutes ago, FPF said:

As per various NYCB dancer's instagrams, it looks like Alec Knight, Jules Mabie, and David Gabriel have been promoted to soloist.

Awesome and so exciting! Thank you so much for posting.

[mille-feuille]

3 hours ago, grandallegro said:

There are a lot of belligerent patrons who will push past us and barge their way in to the theater at an unacceptable time despite our protestations.

Oh my goodness. I admit I’m a natural rule follower but I am APPALLED to hear this! I’m so sorry you have to deal with that. Thank you for all that you do!

[cobweb]

Great news about the promotions. Alec Knight is a known quantity, and while I'm not sure I see him as having the transcendent qualities that make a principal, I'm happy to see him as a soloist. David Gabriel and Jules Mabie only took on big roles during the Winter season, I believe. So these promotions seem to be based on potential, more than (as with Knight) a proven track record. Granted, they both looked wonderful in the major opportunities I saw in the Winter season, especially David Gabriel in Ballo della Regina. There are lots of up and coming men besides these. I was noticing tonight how many of them are tall. Samuel Melnikov leads the way, I think he's about Ask LaCour's height. Nearly as tall is Mckenzie Bernardino Soares, and Owen Flacke and Oscar Estep are close behind. I can't identify all the new ones, but I know there are more tall young men. Back to the promotions, it's interesting that no women were promoted. There is heavy competition there, of course, but they seem to be waiting for more developments before making a decision. I could see some turnover in the women's soloist ranks in the near future, so maybe they will move some up then. 

Thanks to @grandallegrofor the insight into late seating and the tribulations of being an usher. As I said up-thread, I've always found Koch Theater ushers responsive when I've had an issue. If you were the one who dealt decisively with the person next to me who was eating out of a takeout container, thank you for that!

[abatt]

I hope these promotions (well deserved) are an indication that some of the current soloists are going to be retiring.  Referencing Troy, Daniel Applebaum just to name a few.

[cobweb]

41 minutes ago, abatt said:

I hope these promotions (well deserved) are an indication that some of the current soloists are going to be retiring.  Referencing Troy, Daniel Applebaum just to name a few.

Agree about Troy Schumacher. I would be glad to see Daniel Applebaum awhile longer. I don't think he's danced all year, but when he's at his best, I enjoy him a lot. However, on the women's side it's time for Erica Pereira and Sara Adams to retire. Eager to see how Brittany Pollack comes back from her second maternity leave. Fairchild, Hyltin, Reichlen, Kowroski, and Laracey have led the way on the post-maternity fitness.

[Fernie M]

According to numerous IG stories, today is J. Bologna’s last day with NYCB. I’ve always thought she was an under used talent.

[matilda]

3 hours ago, cobweb said:

Agree about Troy Schumacher. I would be glad to see Daniel Applebaum awhile longer. I don't think he's danced all year, but when he's at his best, I enjoy him a lot. However, on the women's side it's time for Erica Pereira and Sara Adams to retire. Eager to see how Brittany Pollack comes back from her second maternity leave. Fairchild, Hyltin, Reichlen, Kowroski, and Laracey have led the way on the post-maternity fitness.

I also like Applebaum but I'm not sure he's even danced a full season since before the pandemic. Agree about Schumacher and Pereira, but I think LeCrone and Pollack are closer to the point of retirement than Adams. (Adams joined the corps in 2009; she's probably mid-30s.) Laracey is still dancing at a high level but given her age, I assume she'll retire within the next couple of years. 

Knight's promotion was no surprise. I did not expect Gabriel and Mabie to promoted so soon though -- both have only started getting big roles this year. Very deserved nonetheless! Mabie fits more of a typical tall danseur mold whereas I can see Gabriel taking more of the Veyette/Mejia/Huxley/Gordon virtuoso roles. 

[abatt]

I don't think Pollack is old.  She has missed many years due to injury and maternity leave.

I was hoping that Alston MacGill would make it out of the corps,  Maybe next season.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

2 hours ago, Fernie M said:

According to numerous IG stories, today is J. Bologna’s last day with NYCB. I’ve always thought she was an under used talent.

Agreed! She's been cast in at least one ballet in every performance I've attended this season, and was a joy to watch. I'd hoped we'd get to see more of her.

[MarzipanShepherdess]

On 6/1/2024 at 4:41 PM, grandallegro said:

NYCB Usher here...hopefully I can answer some of the questions about late seating satisfactorily for those concerned.

I apologize, I should not have said "when ushers ALLOW" late seating and other words to that effect. I wasn't considering that, as you described, some audience members are so rude that they barrage past the ushers and just seat themselves after the dancing has started.  So sorry you and your colleagues are subjected to that behavior.

Thank you for your post and its insights, and for all you do to make performances run smoothly for us audience members!

[harpergroup]

Prior to the bows from the soloists and principals, Jackie Bologna got a solo bow in front of the corps at this afternoon’s performance, to great applause from her castmates and some of us in the audience.  And after the final “in-front-of-the-curtain” bows, there were huge cheers and applause from the stage.  

[Fernie M]

2 hours ago, abatt said:

I was hoping that Alston MacGill would make it out of the corps,  Maybe next season.

Me too, I am kind of surprised she wasn’t promoted. Does NYCB ever promote on tour?

[vipa]

2 hours ago, abatt said:

I don't think Pollack is old.  She has missed many years due to injury and maternity leave.

I was hoping that Alston MacGill would make it out of the corps,  Maybe next season.

Brittany Pollack joined as an apprentice in June 2006. Along with missing time in NYCB for injuries and maternity leaves, she was out to do Carousel on Broadway and also did the West Side Story movie. Even when she was dancing with the company, I don't recall her being cast a lot. I always found her a lovely dancer, but didn't see her very much. It will be interesting to see if she returns and  how she'll be cast.

Erica Perreira, Sara Adams, and Megan LeCrone are three other women soloists who don't get cast much to varying degrees. I know LeCrone was out with an injury recently, but I'm thinking prior to that. All three seem to be somewhat stuck, IMO, artistically, technically and how they are used. I wonder what/if management is thinking in terms of  a possible shake-up. 

[Brook703]

3 hours ago, abatt said:

I was hoping that Alston MacGill would make it out of the corps,  Maybe next season.

Agree with abatt and Fernie M - thought Alston Macgill would get promoted this season.

[Brook703]

Also, sorry to see J. Bologna retire. Based on IG stories, seems she was liked by her fellow dancers.

[cobweb]

Just a few comments on MSND. I saw the Mearns-Huxley-Stanley-Kikta cast twice, and Miller-Ulbricht-Takahashi-Corti once. Miriam Miller and Sara Mearns were both lovely Titanias. Miller could not have been more beautiful, unfurling those limbs to spectacular effect. I found Sara Mearns also beautiful in what I can only call her Sara-ness, but she sometimes seemed not entirely present or moving with the same force and dynamism I'm used to from her. Watching her, I found myself thinking about how unique and one-of-a-kind she is, and I fervently hope that she continues to be her own incredible ballerina self for as long as humanly possible. For Hippolyta, Emily Kikta was like a force of nature. But I also thought she needs fresh roles to keep from stagnating. Naomi Corti's debut as Hippolyta was unfortunately muted and tentative. Hoping she regains her mojo for her Rubies debut, and I look forward to reports from DC. In the divertissement, I enjoyed the guests from Miami City Ballet, especially Taylor Naturkas who I found exquisite. Last night's performance featured Indiana Woodward and Andrew Veyette, who were sublime. Veyette's showing his age in his face, but still dancing, and partnering, extremely well. I feel like he's an old friend, and I will miss him when he's gone! Finally, adding to all the praise for Taylor Stanley's Puck. Truly otherworldly. Takahashi looked great, but has a lot of work to reach this level of detail and characterization. I wonder if David Gabriel would be Puck next time? I see him potentially following in the mold of Harrison Ball. 

[Novice123]

On 6/1/2024 at 4:41 PM, grandallegro said:

NYCB Usher here...hopefully I can answer some of the questions about late seating satisfactorily for those concerned. The late seating policy as it reads on all the signs posted by the doors of the theater is that it is "at the discretion of management," which means it is actually different every program. The late seating policy of each day is decided on between the stage managers, the artistic staff (including the choreographer, if present), and the house managers. In general, the seating at the top of the performance continues as long as the curtain is down which means we continue through the overtures always. Once the curtain is raised, late seating stops. As some of your have noticed, yes, sometimes an usher brings a party in while the curtain is still down, and while the patrons slowly make their way to their seat, the curtain comes up. We don't do that on purpose, we wish everyone walked as fast as we do. It is an imperfect system.

In certain longer ballets (i.e. Nutcracker, Midsummer, Copland Dance Episodes) a second late seating period is agreed on by backstage, artistic, and house managers. This is the case for ballets or acts that are longer than 30 minutes. The late seating cue always comes during a black out or a change of scenery to minimize disruption. Often the black out is short, and once again, people walk slow and don't make it to their seats before the lights come up.

Regarding the Viewing Room--the VR is not available for late seating everyday. Sometimes the box office sells those seats, meaning we are no place to put late comers. On other days, the VR is not sold and we have it as an option for late comers. This changes on a daily basis.

A fourth issue exists which is this: There are a lot of belligerent patrons who will push past us and barge their way in to the theater at an unacceptable time despite our protestations. Just because a person is coming in, doesn't mean the ushers "allowed" it. When people have made up their minds to ignore the rules, there is ultimately nothing we can do to stop them. And it happens almost daily. Trust me, we are tired of it.

All that to say, everything at the ballet is coordinated and deliberate to make the ballet-going experience as enjoyable as possible for all involved. However, human error, slow walkers, and rude people sometimes trump our best efforts. Please know the staff at the ballet is aware of these short comings in the system and are always working to improve the experience.

Last Fall, during one performance there was an usher who let in multiple groups of late arrivals.  This went on for 15 minutes into the performance.   There was no break in performance while he was doing this.  It was continuous.  It was so annoying that I started to time it and it lasted 15 minutes!   This usher not only was shinning his flash light directly at my face each time but he also stood by the door instead of closing it while holding the flashlight and shinning it directly on my face.  Because he stood blocking the door from closing I could tell that it was a male.  It wasn't just one group and so many groups I lost count.  He was letting late arrivals sit one ring higher.  During the intermission, I went to the customer service booth on the First Ring to complain.  I was told that for this performance, they were taking all the late arrivals and putting them up one ring higher.  I asked that management instruct this usher to not standing and block the door from closing and pointing his flash light down and into my face!  At the very least, turn off his flash light and close the door ASAP.  I only time I've seen worse was at City Center.  One performance was horrible and I went to the manager and she said that for some this particular night was so bad, the ushers gave up.  I saw one group, climb on the side of the balcony and video taped the performance with the flashlight on the phone turned on!  Another person was playing live music, a different music on speaker.  The manager told me that the performing company set the late seating policy and this group said to allow ALL late seating.  I timed this also and it lasted 30 MINUTES!

[FPF]

 

31 minutes ago, Novice123 said:

Last Fall, during one performance there was an usher who let in multiple groups of late arrivals.  This went on for 15 minutes into the performance.   There was no break in performance while he was doing this.  It was continuous.  It was so annoying that I started to time it and it lasted 15 minutes!   This usher not only was shinning his flash light directly at my face each time but he also stood by the door instead of closing it while holding the flashlight and shinning it directly on my face.  Because he stood blocking the door from closing I could tell that it was a male.  It wasn't just one group and so many groups I lost count.  He was letting late arrivals sit one ring higher.  During the intermission, I went to the customer service booth on the First Ring to complain.  I was told that for this performance, they were taking all the late arrivals and putting them up one ring higher.  I asked that management instruct this usher to not standing and block the door from closing and pointing his flash light down and into my face!  At the very least, turn off his flash light and close the door ASAP.  I only time I've seen worse was at City Center.  One performance was horrible and I went to the manager and she said that for some this particular night was so bad, the ushers gave up.  I saw one group, climb on the side of the balcony and video taped the performance with the flashlight on the phone turned on!  Another person was playing live music, a different music on speaker.  The manager told me that the performing company set the late seating policy and this group said to allow ALL late seating.  I timed this also and it lasted 30 MINUTES!

I had what sounds like a very similar experience about 10 years ago, when I traveled from Albany to see NBoC in Wheeldon's Alice in Wonderland at the State Theater. I missed about half of it because the ushers were seating people throughout both acts, even just minutes before the intermission. In addition to the issues you mentioned with the lights, an entire row would stand up to let the newcomers in, thereby blocking the view of everyone behind. It completely ruined the experience--even when I could see the stage, I would have lost the plot. I wrote to the Joyce (who sponsored the performance) and the response was that it sounded terrible but the theater was setting the policy and instructing their ushers.

Edited June 3 by FPF
typo