Promotions and Roster changes

[MoMo]

On 8/7/2023 at 7:41 AM, FauxPas said:

Regarding Patrick Frenette - I agree wholeheartedly on the deserving, handsome and princely.  Tall - I don't think so.  He is just about medium height and rather on the shorter side.

Jonathan Klein is also medium height.

Same issue with jake Roxander and Tyler Maloney, who both are on the shorter side.

Historically, Keven McKenzie had a preference for promoting tall male dancers (who resembled him in his dancing days).

Examples:  David Hallberg, Cory Stearns, Marcelo Gomes, Alexandre Hammoudi, Aran Bell.  Thomas Forster is also tall but took a long time to promote.

Herman Cornejo, the reigning senior short virtuoso, was held back too long due to his height and perceived inappropriate look for danseur noble roles.

I checked on Patrick’s height with a knowledgeable authority. He is six feet tall, not on the shorter side. 

[ABT Fan]

I keep checking their website for a promotions announcement.....it must be coming any day now. The suspense!

Separately, there were questions on this site about who is running their social media with Conor Holloway having departed. Their roster now says corps dancers Cy Doherty and Erica All:

https://www.abt.org/the-company/staff/

[MoMo]

3 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

I keep checking their website for a promotions announcement.....it must be coming any day now. The suspense!

Separately, there were questions on this site about who is running their social media with Conor Holloway having departed. Their roster now says corps dancers Cy Doherty and Erica All:

https://www.abt.org/the-company/staff/

ABT comes back from vacation in three weeks, for Fall rehearsals. I think promotions will be announced then. 

[nanushka]

Anything's possible, but we don't really know what Jaffe's preferred approach to promotions is, do we? ABT contracts renewed August 1st, I think? That would seem to have been a logical time. Since it didn't happen then, who knows?

[ABT Fan]

56 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Anything's possible, but we don't really know what Jaffe's preferred approach to promotions is, do we? ABT contracts renewed August 1st, I think? That would seem to have been a logical time. Since it didn't happen then, who knows?

Isn’t it September 1, when the new season starts?

[nanushka]

1 hour ago, ABT Fan said:

Isn’t it September 1, when the new season starts?

That’s certainly possible as well. I don’t know for sure.

[ABT Fan]

So, as of this morning Gorak, Shayer and Holloway are no longer on the roster and 6 apprentices have been added. No promotions. Is it possible Jaffe promoted no one? Wouldn’t all roster changes have happened at once? How odd.

[nanushka]

It's definitely possible. She could be waiting until after the fall season, to continue to see how certain dancers do in those circumstances as she continues to get more familiar with the company. But she could also be waiting to announce promotions until the dancers are back for the new season — on Sept. 12, it sounds like — rather then when they're still dispersed. I think we just can't know what she has planned, as she has no obligation to stick to the patterns of the previous administration. Promoting soloists can be particularly risky: while there's something to be said for having a few permanent soloists, one also doesn't want to clog up the rank with dancers who aren't going to continue to advance.

[ABT Fan]

13 minutes ago, nanushka said:

I’d certainly rather she wait then continue this trend of McKenzie’s which is why we have the problem we have now.

*It doesn’t look like my quote of nanushka’s came through above. I was responding to their last sentence, about clogging up the soloist rank.

Edited September 1, 2023 by ABT Fan

[MoMo]

3 hours ago, nanushka said:

It's definitely possible. She could be waiting until after the fall season, to continue to see how certain dancers do in those circumstances as she continues to get more familiar with the company. But she could also be waiting to announce promotions until the dancers are back for the new season — on Sept. 12, it sounds like — rather then when they're still dispersed. I think we just can't know what she has planned, as she has no obligation to stick to the patterns of the previous administration. Promoting soloists can be particularly risky: while there's something to be said for having a few permanent soloists, one also doesn't want to clog up the rank with dancers who aren't going to continue to advance.

I believe that because it is Susan’s first time announcing promotions since her appointment as Artistic Director, she wants to be precise and perform it in her own way. We just need to be patient. 

[Tapfan]

There may not be any announcements of promotions within the company but 6 people from the Studio Company have been promoted to the rank of apprentices. Their names are Finnian Carmeci, Takumi Myiake, Sylvie Squires, Alejandro Velera Outlaw,  Kyra Coco and Madison Brown.  Bravo. They are all exceptional dancers. They can be seen in action on Youtube in in three pieces, "The Go Between" by Gemma Bond, "Concerto" by Kenneth McMillan and "Knife's Edge" by Houston Thomas.

By the way, the promotion of Madison Brown and Kyra Cocco, now brings the number of self-identifying black or black/white biracial women in the company to six. For a major, predominately white, internationally recognized company, that is an astronomical number. 

I know there are those members of this forum who want to know, why do so many people of color  - especially many black folks - make such a big deal out of milestones like this? Well, SOME black folks don't. But for those who do, it's because there are many black folks still walking this earth who never had such opportunities. It warms their hearts to see these young black women succeed in a field that they loved but that excluded them, many times, on purpose. 

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by Tapfan

[naomikage]

Also a fabulous performance of Diana and Acteon by Takumi Miyake, new apprentice at ABT. He was awarded the Ninette de Valois Prize at Royal Ballet School for the most outstanding male graduate of  the year but was unable to be auditioned for Royal Ballet because he was injured then. 

 

[Drew]

33 minutes ago, naomikage said:

Also a fabulous performance of Diana and Acteon by Takumi Miyake, new apprentice at ABT. He was awarded the Ninette de Valois Prize at Royal Ballet School for the most outstanding male graduate of  the year but was unable to be auditioned for Royal Ballet because he was injured then. 

 

Thank you for this--he looks terrific. (Sort of seems odd to me that a prize-winning graduate of the Royal Ballet School wasn't well known enough to the company leadership that he couldn't be admitted to the company despite missing the official audition due to injury.)

[ba11et0mane]

18 hours ago, naomikage said:

Also a fabulous performance of Diana and Acteon by Takumi Miyake, new apprentice at ABT. He was awarded the Ninette de Valois Prize at Royal Ballet School for the most outstanding male graduate of  the year but was unable to be auditioned for Royal Ballet because he was injured then. 

 

osipova brought him out to perform flames of paris when she did her show in new york earlier this year- had no idea who he was at the time but he was mind blowing!! he will climb the company ranks quickly. 

Edited September 4, 2023 by ba11et0mane
spelling error

[nysusan]

14 hours ago, naomikage said:

Also a fabulous performance of Diana and Acteon by Takumi Miyake, new apprentice at ABT. He was awarded the Ninette de Valois Prize at Royal Ballet School for the most outstanding male graduate of  the year but was unable to be auditioned for Royal Ballet because he was injured then. 

 

 

4 minutes ago, ba11et0mane said:

osipova brought him out to perform flames of paris when she did her show in new york earlier this year- had no idea who he was at the time but he was mind blowing!! he will climb he company ranks quickly. 

I also saw that performance and agree 100%. He was incredible, I look forward to seeing him take on the virtuoso rep at ABT!

[choriamb]

I've always felt that announcing promotions at the END of the Summer season was an utter waste from a marketing perspective:  why drop the most exciting press release of the year on your audience months before they can take action on it by subscribing/buying tickets?  For the sake of generating press/excitement about future talent, it would be far better to announce when subscriber (or general) ticket sales begin before the Fall or Summer seasons...especially if that's the same time that you're announcing the retirements of older dancers.

I'm hoping against hope that this is what will happen in the Jaffe regime. (Does anyone know when ABT has to declare dancer salaries on its tax statements? Might some folks have already been promoted...but the announcement is being withheld until a more advantageous time?)

It will be interesting to see how the casting plays out in all of the visible (but lower-billed) demisoloist roles in Ballet Imperial, Etudes, The Dream, and Petit Mort. I'm most curious to see which men are cast in the demisoloist roles to accompany Brandt and Misseldine in Ballet Imperial (i.e. who is being pressure-tested as a partner in an allegro role).

And that "Classics Old and New" program with Piano Concerto No. 1, Petit Mort, and Etudes, would be a  perfect vehicle for a stealth stamina test (c.f. when Brandt and Trenary had to perform demi-soloist roles in Theme and Variations, A Gathering of Ghosts, and The Seasons all in one night during the Fall season before their promotion):  might Curley and Ischuk be cast in all three ballets?
 

Edited September 4, 2023 by choriamb

[tutu]

On 9/4/2023 at 7:23 PM, choriamb said:

And that "Classics Old and New" program with Piano Concerto No. 1, Petit Mort, and Etudes, would be a  perfect vehicle for a stealth stamina test (c.f. when Brandt and Trenary had to perform demi-soloist roles in Theme and Variations, A Gathering of Ghosts, and The Seasons all in one night during the Fall season before their promotion

I had no idea that happened to Brandt and Trenary!  Just demis in Theme would seem to be a stamina test in itself!

[ABT Fan]

On 9/4/2023 at 7:23 PM, choriamb said:

And that "Classics Old and New" program with Piano Concerto No. 1, Petit Mort, and Etudes, would be a  perfect vehicle for a stealth stamina test (c.f. when Brandt and Trenary had to perform demi-soloist roles in Theme and Variations, A Gathering of Ghosts, and The Seasons all in one night during the Fall season before their promotion):  might Curley and Ischuk be cast in all three ballets?

 

They’re basically doing that already to Jake Roxander. He’s doing the 2nd male lead in Etudes and one of the leads in Piano Concerto on Oct 20 (and, debuts for both). Who knows if he’s also doing Petit Mort on the same night, but even if he’s not, those 2 leads will be more than enough! A big test for him no doubt.

[abatt]

I think Jaffe already realizes that Roxander is a powerhouse dancer.  But has his partnering ability been tested yet?  I'm not sure.  

[eduardo]

On 9/22/2023 at 12:52 PM, ABT Fan said:

They’re basically doing that already to Jake Roxander. He’s doing the 2nd male lead in Etudes and one of the leads in Piano Concerto on Oct 20 (and, debuts for both). Who knows if he’s also doing Petit Mort on the same night, but even if he’s not, those 2 leads will be more than enough! A big test for him no doubt.

Pardon my ignorance. I didn't know that the two lead men are first and second. Would you please explain which one is the first?

[ABT Fan]

30 minutes ago, eduardo said:

Pardon my ignorance. I didn't know that the two lead men are first and second. Would you please explain which one is the first?

The first lead man is paired with the female lead for most of the partnering and pas. The second lead man dances mostly solo work (I can't recall just how much partnering of the lead female he does, as it's been a long time since I've seen the entire ballet, but it's less than the first lead man - if anyone else knows, please jump in):

Here's a 24 min clip which you may enjoy, which is titled "the best parts" (subjective, of course):

 

[eduardo]

8 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

The first lead man is paired with the female lead for most of the partnering and pas. The second lead man dances mostly solo work (I can't recall just how much partnering of the lead female he does, as it's been a long time since I've seen the entire ballet, but it's less than the first lead man - if anyone else knows, please jump in).

Thank you, @ABT Fan! That video shows your point 👍 and also I realize that my favourite is the second lead man, especially for those beautiful jumps in the Mazurka.

[MoMo]

2 minutes ago, eduardo said:

Thank you, @ABT Fan! That video shows your point 👍 and also I realize that my favourite is the second lead man, especially for those beautiful jumps in the Mazurka.

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall the “second lead man” was called “the turning boy”, in a production I saw. I saw David Hallberg perform it. 

[eduardo]

15 hours ago, MoMo said:

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall the “second lead man” was called “the turning boy”, in a production I saw. I saw David Hallberg perform it. 

I'm doubtful now, because in the video posted by @ABT Fan upthread, the male dancer who seems to be the one who partners the ballerina the most is also the turning man. Perhaps it is possible to switch different segments between both leading men because of the dancers' abilities/difficulties? I've seen that done for female dancers in the closing number of Suite en Blanc.

[balletlover08]

On 9/4/2023 at 6:23 PM, choriamb said:

I've always felt that announcing promotions at the END of the Summer season was an utter waste from a marketing perspective:  why drop the most exciting press release of the year on your audience months before they can take action on it by subscribing/buying tickets?  For the sake of generating press/excitement about future talent, it would be far better to announce when subscriber (or general) ticket sales begin before the Fall or Summer seasons...especially if that's the same time that you're announcing the retirements of older dancers.

I'm hoping against hope that this is what will happen in the Jaffe regime. (Does anyone know when ABT has to declare dancer salaries on its tax statements? Might some folks have already been promoted...but the announcement is being withheld until a more advantageous time?)

It will be interesting to see how the casting plays out in all of the visible (but lower-billed) demisoloist roles in Ballet Imperial, Etudes, The Dream, and Petit Mort. I'm most curious to see which men are cast in the demisoloist roles to accompany Brandt and Misseldine in Ballet Imperial (i.e. who is being pressure-tested as a partner in an allegro role).

And that "Classics Old and New" program with Piano Concerto No. 1, Petit Mort, and Etudes, would be a  perfect vehicle for a stealth stamina test (c.f. when Brandt and Trenary had to perform demi-soloist roles in Theme and Variations, A Gathering of Ghosts, and The Seasons all in one night during the Fall season before their promotion):  might Curley and Ischuk be cast in all three ballets?
 

If you look at Calvin Royal’s Instagram reel you can see Chloe Misseldine and Jarod Curley standing in the corner. I do believe Jarod is cast in the demisoloist role in Ballet Imperial. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxjoCyZssjR/