California Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 (edited) Philadelphia Ballet just announced their 2024-2025 season on Instagram and the web. https://philadelphiaballet.org/24-25-season/ 2024/2025 Season: Le Corsaire October 18-26 George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® December 6-29 Swan Lake : March 6-16 Boléro with Dance Card & World Premiere by Stanton Welch AM March 20-23 La Sylphide with Etudes May 8-11 https://www.instagram.com/p/C4arL7Gvcc_/ I saw their Corsaire a few years pre-COVID and recommend it highly. Back then, their only concession to contemporary sensibilities was renaming Aili as a servant, rather than a slave. I have no idea if they'll make additional modifications, of course. I've already marked my calendar to see what they do with Etudes in May. Another Roxander and several very athletic principals should make that very exciting! Edited March 12 by California Link to comment
wallis Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Thank you @California- I too look forward to the 24-25 season, almost as much as the remainder of this season! It is fun to be a fan and go right from Giselle to the Dance Masterpieces this weekend, though it was a long wait from the Nutcracker to this busy March. I notice this is now the second season of programming with little to no Balanchine works besides the Nutcracker (and this season's Prodigal Son). I wonder what reasoning guides these decisions. Link to comment
abatt Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Corella has transformed the company entirely, including the rep. He is making story ballets a focal point. Although Balanchine is in the DNA of the heritage of this company, it is not part of Corella's heritage as a dancer. He certainly performed many Balanchine works at ABT, but Balanchine is not his priority. Are any of the principal dancers trained at SAB. I don't think so. Link to comment
wallis Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 That makes sense @abatt. There’s lots to look forward to with such a versatile group of dancers, with or without Balanchine. Though his choreo never disappoints me. Link to comment
nysusan Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I love his plans for next season, and I am going to buy a subscription. Corsaire, Swan Lake, La Sylphide/Etudes & a modern program appeals to me much more than ABT's spring season. It's just a 1 hr 40 minute train ride away. In fact I'm taking that train ride today to see their Dance Masterpieces program. Link to comment
California Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 (edited) I'm a four-hour plane ride away, but plan to go to La Sylphide/Etudes and maybe Swan Lake. Alas, I have an impossible schedule conflict with Corsaire, or I would go to that, too. Casting hint for Swan Lake: Yuka Iseda. I saw her debut in the role when she was a soloist. Blew me away. Can't wait to see her again. https://philadelphiaballet.org/dancers/yuka-iseda/ EDITED TO ADD: I just found what I wrote about Iseda's SL in March 2018. She was in the corps!! Johnson has now retired, of course. Saturday night was Yuka Iseda (a corps member!) with Jermel Johnson (the only African-American member of the company and a long-time principal). What a knock-out performance - truly memorable. Johnson has the stage presence and experience to exude confidence, command, and calm. His technique was a cut above the others. Iseda was a wonder and I hope to see her again some day in another lead role. Every detail was extended, pushed, held, faster, higher, you name it. The white swan PdD was breathtaking -- it was like seeing it fresh all over again. Her Odile was the same - higher, faster, longer, crisper. Oh my. Just gorgeous. And her acting was spot on throughout -- haunted, almost trance-like as Odette, with a sinister, smirking Odile. But she also let us know that Odile was also under Rothbart's spell with furtive glances ("Am I doing what you want?"). Edited March 15 by California Link to comment
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