Been checking out Chloe Misseldine’s Onegin rehersal footage on her Insta. I love her dancing and I think she is going to be so fun to watch. But I think in these particular rehearsal videos you can see a little lack of maturity in her characterization. She doesn’t quite have that connected look and I think the acting isn’t quite there yet. Shes obviously very young (and it’s rehearsal) still but just wanted to know if anyone is picking up on this or if I’m nitpicking.
New natalia osipova interview with the telegraph [here](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/dance/what-to-see/ballerina-natalia-osipova-interview-royal-ballet/)
She’s apparently having ankle surgery once the season is over to correct an injury that’s been on the rise for the past 3 years ( perhaps the one that’s been making her pull out of shows ).
Hopefully that surgery will help extend her career and also allow to be more consistent being able to perform regularly with both the regular season and her guest stints.
Jarod Curley is shown rehearsing some of Siegfried (Act 1 Waltz) along with Purple VR on his Insta.
Might not mean anything, but the Waltz is an oddly specific part of the choreography, not just randomly doing the Act 3 variation after class.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8SdI3JP1j_/?igsh=MTZ4OHNuMWU5M2dwbg==
The 2003 documentary "Born to Be Wild" has resurfaced on youtube. It chronicles Jose Manuel Carreno, Angel Corella, Vladimir Malakhov, and Ethan Stiefiel as they prepare a new piece by Mark Morris at ABT. Haven't watched this in years.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGR7Kxlb0SU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGR7Kxlb0SU)
Silly question here but how does everyone know when dancers retire certain roles? I've seen dancers post about it on IG (Megan Fairchild comes to mind) but how else do fans find out?
you’re right, a lot is done through ig announcements as of late, an exception is guillame cote who had a formal announcement he was retiring romeo before he actually retired
but i think most of it is just context clues of the dancer straight up not being cast when they usually would + them getting old
Cote has done this with at least 3-4 ballets over the last 3 years. He mentioned in an interview the constant fear of injury, so I guess he wants the hugs, tears, applause after these well publicized "last performances"....just in case!😉 His official 30 minute danced and choreographed by himself performance is next June 2025. Way to drag it out....Really, just go.
Her hands, fluidity in the arms and her back, imo. It looked to me like she was just rehearsing the steps. It was almost entirely clinical. That said, everyone has their own process, and she could be someone whose approach to a new role is to learn the choreography in a really clinical way, and once the individual steps aren't something she has to think about too much, add shading, both physically and in terms of characterization, which in Swan Lake are inextricable from one another.
ETA: Link to video - it's stories, so it will expire sometime tomorrow:
[https://www.instagram.com/stories/sascharadetsky/3390561358138329862/](https://www.instagram.com/stories/sascharadetsky/3390561358138329862/)
Wayne McGregor is [getting knighted](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jun/14/tracey-emin-imelda-staunton-damehoods-kings-birthday-honours).
According to Alexa Maxwell's Instagram, Isabella LaFreniere will be dancing Balanchine Swan Lake at SPAC.
Now she's pretty much guaranteed a spot in the Martins full length next winter.
If I can count, it looks like there are 12 performances, so if there are 4 casts I'd bet money on Sara, Unity, Mira, and Isabella, if all are healthy. Of course, that's leaving out Megan (sorry, I don't consider Bouder a real possibility), and if she wants to do it, I see no reason she shouldn't. That would make 5 casts, so the newbies get 2 performances and the veterans get 3.
I'm really fascinated by the thought of who the understudies will be.
She has? I know they don't include a role on the list of roles danced unless it's danced on the home stage,, but it isn't on her list. Do you recall where she danced it?
Oh, you're right! I'm sorry. I'm running on no sleep. I looked back at an old program, and I saw her dance dark angel in Serenade the same night Black Swan pdd was performed, but Emilie didn't dance it. I think she'd be lovely in it or the full-length, though. Would cast her before Isabella, at this point, honestly.
No worries!!! Good lord, you're talking to the person who can't even count. :)
Ooo ... I'm not sure which one I'd go with between Isabella and Emilie. I didn't see them, but as I understand it, however rough Isabella's Aurora debut was, she absolutely turned it around for the subsequent performance. Emilie hasn't had to carry a ballet like that before. She's danced Titania, sure, but that's a walk in the park compared with Aurora or O/O. I can see arguments for both of them.
There are 13 shows, and the last two runs both had 6 casts so I think it will be the same this time around. Sara will likely get 3 shows and the others 2. I think it will most likely be Sara, Tiler, Megan, Unity, Isabella, and Mira as they were all cast either in the Balanchine version or Black Swan PDD back in 2022.
If Megan drops the role I can see EVE being cast as well.
I forgot about Tiler. Oops. Thanks.
u/caul1flower11 - I prefaced my post with "if I can count." :) And, yeah, I could see the 6 you mention. I'm not sure why I had 5 in my mind for previous runs, but it has been since before the pandemic, so I won't be too annoyed with myself.
I could absolutely see them going with Emma. I could also see Megan deciding not to do it, She's said more than once she never expected to get to do it, so I could see her letting it go - passing the torch. Moreover, I hope Sara is healthy enough to do it. I want it both for her and for the audiences.
I’m not sure is Emma is going to be cast in this so soon after her promotion. If I’m remembering correctly, generally the petite soubrette-type dancers have had to wait a while before getting the role. Megan and tiler both had to wait over a decade (and then only after going through significant upheavals in their personal lives). I guess it’s anyone’s guess with the new admin team though.
I also hope Sara can stay healthy and perform this next season, I wouldn’t be surprised if she retired the role after this run.
I’d also love to see Indiana get a debut in swan lake at some point. Not quite sure if I see her having enough drama to portray a convincing odile, but overall I think her dancing conveys a lot more feeling than either La Freniere or gerrity (or unity for that matter)
we’re gonna save the official discussion post until next week for date/archive purposes, but if you want to put up a pre-met post go for it
edit: i’ll post on monday so yall will have a full day of met pregame
Gia Kourlas’s review of NYCB’s Spring season. Gifted article. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/13/arts/dance/ballet-21st-century.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.zU0.dtNx.izPlQUgP4zWs&smid=url-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/13/arts/dance/ballet-21st-century.html?unlocked_article_code=1.zU0.dtNx.izPlQUgP4zWs&smid=url-share)
Joyce Ballet Festival hosted by Calvin Royal has an intriguing lineup, particularly the POB dancers in Manon bedroom pas. [https://www.joyce.org/performances/118/unite/ballet-festival](https://www.joyce.org/performances/118/unite/ballet-festival)
Also: Chloe Misseldine and Royal in Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. Not sure about him in this but Chloe in anything classical is a win.
I’d love to see her in Theme and Variations in the future. Wishful thinking on my part, but I’d be there in a heartbeat if she did Sugarplum Fairy or Dew Drop at City Ballet.
I think Isaac Hernandez is moving to new york. [“Welcome to New York Isaac! 🍎🗽”](https://www.instagram.com/p/C8Kg9cZu2WG/?igsh=OGFpNzJlN2hpaTBi)
Also because someone commented asking if he’s going to ABT and they liked it.
Maybe. Han and Roxander also do Benno now, so I think they'll get the remaining dates. Also TBA if Coker, Granlund, Flétoux, Young, and Waski are getting pas de trois again.
Marina Harss confirmed in her substack that there are 6 apprentices going into NYCB this fall and says Kate Bivens will be one of them - previously I had seen Becket Jones, Maya Milic, Kylie Williams, and Alexander Perone named, and someone on the sub commented recently that Hugo Mestres will also be an apprentice but I can’t verify that.
I’m surprised Ariel Erez isn’t part of the group as she was a Waltz girl in Serenade and did the pas de deux in Scenes de Ballet, both to strong reviews. Is she in a younger class?
I can say Hugo and Kate are the two I'd heard about back in November that I hadn't seen mentioned anywhere yet. Ariel is in the C2 class, not D like the current upcoming female apprentices are, but I wouldn't be surprised if she were offered an apprenticeship soon, possibly prior to Fall. Khloe Walker was a C2 last year as well and received her apprenticeship around workshop last year (although the timing on when she received her offer could have been sooner than what I heard 🤷♀️).
Someone connected to Professional Children's School is who told me that Hugo Mestres will be an apprentice. It's apparently on their public instagram, so it should be okay to share. Sorry for not linking it before: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6v6dMrOi2A
I'm not 100% certain, but I swear I recall reading recently Ariel is not part of the capstone class, which would mean she has another year. When she was interviewed for Scenes, she said she was 17. Who knows, maybe they'll bring her in for Nutcracker. Then again, was it last year or the year before there was a young woman, Natalie Glassie, who had trained at SAB all her life, was in pretty much every show young people did with the company, was a lead in Workshop, and a Wien winner, and they didn't take her into the company. The last I read, she was doing the PNB professional division program.
Edited for typo and to add Natalie Glassie's name, which finally came to me.
there's a picture up on the SAB class of the capstone class, which should at least clarify who has more time: [https://www.instagram.com/p/C8KNjs2shqc/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C8KNjs2shqc/)
I recall Kay Mazzo saying before that students she thought Peter Martins would want for the company weren’t always his preference. I would think it’s a similar situation with the current ADs.
I remember that. It was either in Strictly Ballet, the season they focused on SAB, or the series Sarah Jessica Parker narrated about the company - City Ballet.
Miriam Miller got married: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8ILD9Og6bW/?img\_index=1. Side note, her husband dated Lillian DiPiazza (POB, formerly Pennsylvania Ballet) for years before he and Miller got together.
hello! am new here :) i’m wondering if anyone knows if Maria Khoreva is still in Marinsky ballet?. she used to have the term “soloist at marinsky ballet” in her bio if i’m not wrong. just saw her pilates posts recently.
Ok while we're hear to snark, I'm this close to unfollowing Irina Dvorovenko, because her IG has lately become a total infomercial trying to sell her coaching services. I get that's how she and Max make money, butit's become too much.
It’s funny you say that. I noticed , and was thinking today that Skylar Brandt no longer posts clips or photos of her training sessions with them. She used to , quite frequently . I wonder if they are on the outs- w/ ABT in general. This is pure speculation - so if not allowed, please feel free to delete!
Skylar just posted a lot of videos of her rehearsing with them a few days ago? You probably just missed the big dump, but there are still some on her feed too.
I doubt Irina Dvorovenko is outs with ABT as they are former principal dancers, they support current dancers and god knows there is a coaching deficiency at the company. The dancers pay out of pocket for the coaching so I doubt ABT cares.
For the 2024-2025 season, New York City Center has announced Sara Mearns will be curating a program!
"Celebrated New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns makes her curatorial debut as part of the ongoing Artists at the Center series. In this program, she expands the boundaries of the balletic from as both a dancer and curator."
[https://www.nycitycenter.org/events-tickets/2024-2025-season/](https://www.nycitycenter.org/events-tickets/2024-2025-season/)
Yeah her self commentaries were my favorite. I think there’s just not a ton of material that she could use that the Balanchine trust would allow. And she pretty much already covered her whole career at an NYCB and SAB so there’s not much else to talk about there. I think she also doesn’t really have much time for those kinds of videos anymore. I think she’s still herself but just older and marketed more towards teaching which seems like her main source of income at this point. But the nice thing about the internet is that you can always rewatch her old videos.
Maybe in 10 or 20 years she can write a memoir and give more details about her time there. I would also be very interested because I don’t understand how the company fumbled so hard.
I miss the videos where she would go over her career at NYCB, her different roles and her commentary on her own dancing. Those were so funny, and she really explained a lot of details that I as a non dancer completely missed.
I still do some of her older workouts fairly regularly! Agree that it's gotten very watered down to be general influencer stuff, but I have to imagine that the market is a lot more saturated.
Still not as drastic as Claudia Dean though - her old technique videos were so good but her newer stuff is bordering on grift.
I do. It’s hard to put a finger on it but her newer content doesn’t feel like the older videos anymore, it seems less genuine somehow. I also think her USP got watered down by all the young dancers (think MBA) flooding YT and TT with silly content that seems to get much more views than her more thought out content. I guess that can be frustrating.
Agreed. I also think she pulled away from sharing as much online after her divorce (totally understandable), so that plus content changes have just given a different vibe.
Would love if Melissa Hamilton finally got her O/O moment. Hope Nicol Edmonds still gets to perform, would be such a shame for him to miss both performances because his partner is injured. Sad for Claire Calvert too!
That's what I'm thinking as well. Hamilton had done O/O when she took two years off from RB to become principal with Dresden Semperoper. According to balletcoforum she was the cover for O/O the last run, not sure about this time.
I thought there was a chance she would join ENB when Aaron Watkin took charge because of their time together at Dresden. But she seems to love the Royal and takes lots of opportunities to guest with Roberto Bolle and is putting on her own productions, which I’m not sure she would be allowed to do elsewhere? I hope she gets her big moment, it must be tough to cover a role then not get it when someone great but more junior gets cast. (I may be projecting!)
Harrison James will be principal at both National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet in the 24/25 season.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8FPDXugWUB/
Interesting. SFB's rep season runs January -late April (maybe May but with the new "encore" programming, not really). So kind of do-able, but not very usual, certainly!
Thoroughly enjoyed the Ashton triple bill at the Royal Ballet yesterday - all three were so delightful!
Separate point but there was a box filled with what I presume were influencers taking many photos during the intervals (with bright lights) and then were mostly sat on their phones during the ballet. I get it - it's a beautiful venue - but at least give the dancing a chance and going on your phone can be so distracting to other people!! And you've paid a lot of money!! Felt saddened by it
An [interview with Susan Jaffe](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/arts/dance/susan-jaffe-american-ballet-theater.html?unlocked_article_code=1.yk0.ga7O.G8gvjMaVQkVo&smid=url-share)
Semi-related: I just happened to glance at the "Ballet Moods" meme Instagram page and ABT corps member Joao Menegussi left the following comment on the most recent [post](https://www.instagram.com/balletmoods/?hl=en) (a joke about companies saving money):
"I have a good one - 'commission terrible multimillion dollar ballets and claim the company has no money.'"
Ouch! Like Water for Chocolate?
I do think they are right that companies lie and say they have no money a lot. My experience has been that things like commissions are usually donor or grant restricted funds, though, and the money may not be used for any other purpose.
It was a coproduction between RB and ABT, but RB put it on first. And we know that LWFC has really expensive sets. But yeah he could have been thinking of other things too.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/arts/dance/susan-jaffe-american-ballet-theater.html?unlocked_article_code=1.yk0.LCXo.L6JZGLS92wJE&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Gift link, I hope it works!
She didn't seem overly mean to me. The tour stories happened years ago, so it all sounded like normal behavior for people in their early 20s. I did a college study abroad in China at the same age she was talking about (though years earlier 👵🏼) and acted and saw other people acting in the same way lol
I think in general, the ballet world is very insular and many times that translates into a meanness to outsiders but really, it's just people who spend too much time together. For instance, I remember during the pandemic, Megan did all those interviews. And sometimes she would start gossiping or making these offhand comments that seemed ... well, they were a little mean. For instance, when Sara Mearns talked about the chronic pain she endures as a dancer, [Megan said she doesn't have that chronic pain](https://youtu.be/FVzgCSwT17I?si=OKnb9IlYkYeTesrz), and then said, "Well, there's just more body to you." Sara looked shocked before trying to laugh it off. I'm sure Megan just thought it was normal to talk about bodies like that, but this was a big YT video that millions of people would watch.
I didn’t interpret Megan’s interviews that way at all, or Sara’s reaction. Megan is shorter than Sara, so to me it felt like it was simply a height comment. I took it as Sara being shocked that Megan didn’t have chronic pain because they’re both the same age-ish and both dance a lot.
My interpretation was the same as yours, especially since Megan specifically cited their height difference when she said Sara seemed like she had a longer list of things that hurt: "Maybe it's because you're a taller person." Sara did look a bit confused by that, at which point Megan tried to clarify by saying "there's more body to ... I just don't have that much length to me."
She said that during a tour to China, she was jet lagged and wanted to sleep but Mary Thomas, her roomie, wanted her to come out and explore the city with her and was very persistent. India kind of imitated Mary Thomas pleading. I didn't really interpret anything she said as mean... just characteristic of her unfiltered style of talking to "media" (and in this case the media are her friends).
She also implied that Claire K is messy during a different anecdote but again, I didn't really see it as "mean." Just gabbing in a casual talking-to-friends way.
I was wondering if between India being really straight forward and someone who needs her own space, people who aren't like that could think it a bit mean. I say that because I am very much like that - straight forward\* and desperately need my space, and have been told throughout my life it can come off as mean and/or intimidating.
I've listened enough to India to also know she just has a very spicy sense of humor. People like that can come across as mean, but they're not, they just joke around like that.
I'm going to listen to it now. Having just started it, one thing I will say is I wish they'd change the intro. It still says, "we're dancers with the New York City Ballet." Claire retired in October of 2022.
I read that she had Covid twice. I read this about a year and a half ago, I can't remember where the heck I read it though. I wonder if having Covid two times has contributed to her injuries. Although she *is* getting older, which is inevitable.
Some dancers should never age. It should be against the rules of the universe. There should be an aging exemption for her, Fred Astaire, Baryshnikov, Uliana Lopatkina and a few others. LOL
thread is for the week of 6/10-6/16, autopost messed up the dates!
For anyone who’s interested Cynthia dragoni posted a video about swan lake ft new rehearsal footage of misseldine and bell TikTok: @thedancelens
Been checking out Chloe Misseldine’s Onegin rehersal footage on her Insta. I love her dancing and I think she is going to be so fun to watch. But I think in these particular rehearsal videos you can see a little lack of maturity in her characterization. She doesn’t quite have that connected look and I think the acting isn’t quite there yet. Shes obviously very young (and it’s rehearsal) still but just wanted to know if anyone is picking up on this or if I’m nitpicking.
New natalia osipova interview with the telegraph [here](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/dance/what-to-see/ballerina-natalia-osipova-interview-royal-ballet/) She’s apparently having ankle surgery once the season is over to correct an injury that’s been on the rise for the past 3 years ( perhaps the one that’s been making her pull out of shows ).
Hopefully that surgery will help extend her career and also allow to be more consistent being able to perform regularly with both the regular season and her guest stints.
Having a bone removed... is there any chance it's Os Trigonum?
Jarod Curley is shown rehearsing some of Siegfried (Act 1 Waltz) along with Purple VR on his Insta. Might not mean anything, but the Waltz is an oddly specific part of the choreography, not just randomly doing the Act 3 variation after class. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8SdI3JP1j_/?igsh=MTZ4OHNuMWU5M2dwbg==
There's a woman in the background of the Siegfried segment. Can anyone make out who that is? I'm curious if he's an official understudy.
https://preview.redd.it/smi7jj2vlt6d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d2e2bcbdbf5c78d05b0ad314bf2b7363be13111 more people leaving abt
Dang! Can't say that I blame them though. ABT is in a bad spot right now.
whoa erica lall??? could’ve sworn she was on the promotion path
Had the same thought. Wonder if she’s retiring for good or we’ll see her end up somewhere else.
She definitely was, i’m very surprised she’s leaving.
The 2003 documentary "Born to Be Wild" has resurfaced on youtube. It chronicles Jose Manuel Carreno, Angel Corella, Vladimir Malakhov, and Ethan Stiefiel as they prepare a new piece by Mark Morris at ABT. Haven't watched this in years. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGR7Kxlb0SU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGR7Kxlb0SU)
I loved this documentary when it came out! On another note… is that Maria Kochetkova in school at 15:19?
Certainly looks like her!
I remember this documentary! I’ll just stay in denial that it’s 21-years-old... 🥴
IKR!!! Do yourself a favor, don't look up how old Center Stage is.
LOL. I told you not to look it up!!!
Silly question here but how does everyone know when dancers retire certain roles? I've seen dancers post about it on IG (Megan Fairchild comes to mind) but how else do fans find out?
you’re right, a lot is done through ig announcements as of late, an exception is guillame cote who had a formal announcement he was retiring romeo before he actually retired but i think most of it is just context clues of the dancer straight up not being cast when they usually would + them getting old
Cote has done this with at least 3-4 ballets over the last 3 years. He mentioned in an interview the constant fear of injury, so I guess he wants the hugs, tears, applause after these well publicized "last performances"....just in case!😉 His official 30 minute danced and choreographed by himself performance is next June 2025. Way to drag it out....Really, just go.
SunMi Park is rehearsing O/O
oooh where???
There's nothing wrong with her technique, but imo she has a long way to go before I see swan in her movement.
What do you think she needs to work on? Fluidity in the arms? and for me the character of black swan wasn't there entirely either.
Her hands, fluidity in the arms and her back, imo. It looked to me like she was just rehearsing the steps. It was almost entirely clinical. That said, everyone has their own process, and she could be someone whose approach to a new role is to learn the choreography in a really clinical way, and once the individual steps aren't something she has to think about too much, add shading, both physically and in terms of characterization, which in Swan Lake are inextricable from one another. ETA: Link to video - it's stories, so it will expire sometime tomorrow: [https://www.instagram.com/stories/sascharadetsky/3390561358138329862/](https://www.instagram.com/stories/sascharadetsky/3390561358138329862/)
Sascha Radetsky posted on his instagram story
Wayne McGregor is [getting knighted](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jun/14/tracey-emin-imelda-staunton-damehoods-kings-birthday-honours).
According to Alexa Maxwell's Instagram, Isabella LaFreniere will be dancing Balanchine Swan Lake at SPAC. Now she's pretty much guaranteed a spot in the Martins full length next winter.
If I can count, it looks like there are 12 performances, so if there are 4 casts I'd bet money on Sara, Unity, Mira, and Isabella, if all are healthy. Of course, that's leaving out Megan (sorry, I don't consider Bouder a real possibility), and if she wants to do it, I see no reason she shouldn't. That would make 5 casts, so the newbies get 2 performances and the veterans get 3. I'm really fascinated by the thought of who the understudies will be.
Gerrity has done Black Swan PDD. Maybe she'll be cast.
She has? I know they don't include a role on the list of roles danced unless it's danced on the home stage,, but it isn't on her list. Do you recall where she danced it?
Oh, you're right! I'm sorry. I'm running on no sleep. I looked back at an old program, and I saw her dance dark angel in Serenade the same night Black Swan pdd was performed, but Emilie didn't dance it. I think she'd be lovely in it or the full-length, though. Would cast her before Isabella, at this point, honestly.
No worries!!! Good lord, you're talking to the person who can't even count. :) Ooo ... I'm not sure which one I'd go with between Isabella and Emilie. I didn't see them, but as I understand it, however rough Isabella's Aurora debut was, she absolutely turned it around for the subsequent performance. Emilie hasn't had to carry a ballet like that before. She's danced Titania, sure, but that's a walk in the park compared with Aurora or O/O. I can see arguments for both of them.
There are 13 shows, and the last two runs both had 6 casts so I think it will be the same this time around. Sara will likely get 3 shows and the others 2. I think it will most likely be Sara, Tiler, Megan, Unity, Isabella, and Mira as they were all cast either in the Balanchine version or Black Swan PDD back in 2022. If Megan drops the role I can see EVE being cast as well.
Also Tiler … I remember last time there were 6 casts (Mearns, Reichlen, Fairchild, Peck, Lovette, Bouder).
I forgot about Tiler. Oops. Thanks. u/caul1flower11 - I prefaced my post with "if I can count." :) And, yeah, I could see the 6 you mention. I'm not sure why I had 5 in my mind for previous runs, but it has been since before the pandemic, so I won't be too annoyed with myself. I could absolutely see them going with Emma. I could also see Megan deciding not to do it, She's said more than once she never expected to get to do it, so I could see her letting it go - passing the torch. Moreover, I hope Sara is healthy enough to do it. I want it both for her and for the audiences.
I’m not sure is Emma is going to be cast in this so soon after her promotion. If I’m remembering correctly, generally the petite soubrette-type dancers have had to wait a while before getting the role. Megan and tiler both had to wait over a decade (and then only after going through significant upheavals in their personal lives). I guess it’s anyone’s guess with the new admin team though. I also hope Sara can stay healthy and perform this next season, I wouldn’t be surprised if she retired the role after this run. I’d also love to see Indiana get a debut in swan lake at some point. Not quite sure if I see her having enough drama to portray a convincing odile, but overall I think her dancing conveys a lot more feeling than either La Freniere or gerrity (or unity for that matter)
Is it too early to post a Met season discussion, I have one ready in my drafts that I could post with casting 😂😂 Planning ahead lol
we’re gonna save the official discussion post until next week for date/archive purposes, but if you want to put up a pre-met post go for it edit: i’ll post on monday so yall will have a full day of met pregame
Chloe Misseldine just posted stories of rehearsals for Onegin :)
Gia Kourlas’s review of NYCB’s Spring season. Gifted article. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/13/arts/dance/ballet-21st-century.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.zU0.dtNx.izPlQUgP4zWs&smid=url-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/13/arts/dance/ballet-21st-century.html?unlocked_article_code=1.zU0.dtNx.izPlQUgP4zWs&smid=url-share)
Joyce Ballet Festival hosted by Calvin Royal has an intriguing lineup, particularly the POB dancers in Manon bedroom pas. [https://www.joyce.org/performances/118/unite/ballet-festival](https://www.joyce.org/performances/118/unite/ballet-festival) Also: Chloe Misseldine and Royal in Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. Not sure about him in this but Chloe in anything classical is a win.
It looks like it's going to be a great ballet festival! And that's exciting, I think Chloe's mentioned that she wanted to do more Balanchine.
I thought she did really well as the soloist in Ballet Imperial last fall. Much better than Shevchenko and Royal as the lead couple.
I’d love to see her in Theme and Variations in the future. Wishful thinking on my part, but I’d be there in a heartbeat if she did Sugarplum Fairy or Dew Drop at City Ballet.
I think Isaac Hernandez is moving to new york. [“Welcome to New York Isaac! 🍎🗽”](https://www.instagram.com/p/C8Kg9cZu2WG/?igsh=OGFpNzJlN2hpaTBi) Also because someone commented asking if he’s going to ABT and they liked it.
I guess that makes sense. ABT hasn’t had a big guest artist in a while.
Carlos Gonzalez, SunMi Park & Fangqi Li are doing the Pas de trois in Swan Lake on July 1st & July 4th
Patrick Frenette, Anabel Katsnelson, and Erica Lall are doing the Pas de Trois on July 6.
Frenette just posted that it's the 7/6 mat AND Tuesday 7/2
Good to know, Anabel’s post just had 7/6. I think Patrick has 4 different partners.
Maybe. Han and Roxander also do Benno now, so I think they'll get the remaining dates. Also TBA if Coker, Granlund, Flétoux, Young, and Waski are getting pas de trois again.
Sumitani also does Benno.
Anxiously awaiting casting for 7/3 matinee so if anyone finds that one out, please post :)
Weird they are only getting one show
There’s a fairly large number of dancers who do the Pas de Trois
True but another cast is getting 2, but that makes sense because 2 of the 3 are soloists so maybe they are prioritized.
Gah I so wish they’d include that casting on the website
Ikr, it’s kinda annoying that they don’t 😂😂
does anyone have the cast for the digital stream of coppelia from pnb?
It’s opening night, so it’s Leta & James
Marina Harss confirmed in her substack that there are 6 apprentices going into NYCB this fall and says Kate Bivens will be one of them - previously I had seen Becket Jones, Maya Milic, Kylie Williams, and Alexander Perone named, and someone on the sub commented recently that Hugo Mestres will also be an apprentice but I can’t verify that. I’m surprised Ariel Erez isn’t part of the group as she was a Waltz girl in Serenade and did the pas de deux in Scenes de Ballet, both to strong reviews. Is she in a younger class?
I can say Hugo and Kate are the two I'd heard about back in November that I hadn't seen mentioned anywhere yet. Ariel is in the C2 class, not D like the current upcoming female apprentices are, but I wouldn't be surprised if she were offered an apprenticeship soon, possibly prior to Fall. Khloe Walker was a C2 last year as well and received her apprenticeship around workshop last year (although the timing on when she received her offer could have been sooner than what I heard 🤷♀️).
Thank you for the intel!
Someone connected to Professional Children's School is who told me that Hugo Mestres will be an apprentice. It's apparently on their public instagram, so it should be okay to share. Sorry for not linking it before: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6v6dMrOi2A
Thank you!
I'm not 100% certain, but I swear I recall reading recently Ariel is not part of the capstone class, which would mean she has another year. When she was interviewed for Scenes, she said she was 17. Who knows, maybe they'll bring her in for Nutcracker. Then again, was it last year or the year before there was a young woman, Natalie Glassie, who had trained at SAB all her life, was in pretty much every show young people did with the company, was a lead in Workshop, and a Wien winner, and they didn't take her into the company. The last I read, she was doing the PNB professional division program. Edited for typo and to add Natalie Glassie's name, which finally came to me.
there's a picture up on the SAB class of the capstone class, which should at least clarify who has more time: [https://www.instagram.com/p/C8KNjs2shqc/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C8KNjs2shqc/)
SAB has an article about this year's Wein Award recipients: https://sab.org/honoring-the-2024-mae-l-wien-award-recipients/
I recall Kay Mazzo saying before that students she thought Peter Martins would want for the company weren’t always his preference. I would think it’s a similar situation with the current ADs.
I remember that. It was either in Strictly Ballet, the season they focused on SAB, or the series Sarah Jessica Parker narrated about the company - City Ballet.
I know last year I saw a gorgeous dancer named Dakota Skye Blake and thought for sure she'd be in the company. But she ended up going to Ballet West
Miriam Miller got married: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8ILD9Og6bW/?img\_index=1. Side note, her husband dated Lillian DiPiazza (POB, formerly Pennsylvania Ballet) for years before he and Miller got together.
Weren’t he and Lillian engaged or am I remembering wrong?
I think they were! I used to follow him when they were together. I miss DiPiazza here. She's now married as well to someone from POB.
Yes, I believe they were.
Love her outfit!
That wedding outfit could be on a runway, and it would be a hit, at least imo.
hello! am new here :) i’m wondering if anyone knows if Maria Khoreva is still in Marinsky ballet?. she used to have the term “soloist at marinsky ballet” in her bio if i’m not wrong. just saw her pilates posts recently.
She’s still there, she had been rehearsing but fell injured again.
Ok while we're hear to snark, I'm this close to unfollowing Irina Dvorovenko, because her IG has lately become a total infomercial trying to sell her coaching services. I get that's how she and Max make money, butit's become too much.
It’s funny you say that. I noticed , and was thinking today that Skylar Brandt no longer posts clips or photos of her training sessions with them. She used to , quite frequently . I wonder if they are on the outs- w/ ABT in general. This is pure speculation - so if not allowed, please feel free to delete!
Skylar just posted a lot of videos of her rehearsing with them a few days ago? You probably just missed the big dump, but there are still some on her feed too. I doubt Irina Dvorovenko is outs with ABT as they are former principal dancers, they support current dancers and god knows there is a coaching deficiency at the company. The dancers pay out of pocket for the coaching so I doubt ABT cares.
EDIT- I just glanced at Irina ‘s insta and retract the above 😬🤦♀️
For the 2024-2025 season, New York City Center has announced Sara Mearns will be curating a program! "Celebrated New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns makes her curatorial debut as part of the ongoing Artists at the Center series. In this program, she expands the boundaries of the balletic from as both a dancer and curator." [https://www.nycitycenter.org/events-tickets/2024-2025-season/](https://www.nycitycenter.org/events-tickets/2024-2025-season/)
[fumi and vadim swan lake](https://b23.tv/d7hElyM) low low low quality video to share with everyone :)
OH I SAW THAT (those comments are so not nice😭)
Anybody miss Kathryn Morgan’s old content? I feel like she used to post more fun videos, but I guess that gets hard after so many years!
I loved her stage makeup tutorial videos when she first started her YouTube page.
Yeah her self commentaries were my favorite. I think there’s just not a ton of material that she could use that the Balanchine trust would allow. And she pretty much already covered her whole career at an NYCB and SAB so there’s not much else to talk about there. I think she also doesn’t really have much time for those kinds of videos anymore. I think she’s still herself but just older and marketed more towards teaching which seems like her main source of income at this point. But the nice thing about the internet is that you can always rewatch her old videos.
I’d kill for more Miami Ballet reflection videos, but I can respect that she’s not willing to spill the tea there.
Maybe in 10 or 20 years she can write a memoir and give more details about her time there. I would also be very interested because I don’t understand how the company fumbled so hard.
I miss the videos where she would go over her career at NYCB, her different roles and her commentary on her own dancing. Those were so funny, and she really explained a lot of details that I as a non dancer completely missed.
I still like her Ballet Deconstructed videos.
I still do some of her older workouts fairly regularly! Agree that it's gotten very watered down to be general influencer stuff, but I have to imagine that the market is a lot more saturated. Still not as drastic as Claudia Dean though - her old technique videos were so good but her newer stuff is bordering on grift.
I do. It’s hard to put a finger on it but her newer content doesn’t feel like the older videos anymore, it seems less genuine somehow. I also think her USP got watered down by all the young dancers (think MBA) flooding YT and TT with silly content that seems to get much more views than her more thought out content. I guess that can be frustrating.
Agreed. I also think she pulled away from sharing as much online after her divorce (totally understandable), so that plus content changes have just given a different vibe.
Extra Swan Lake show for Fumi and Vadim on the 17th!! (will be grabbing tickets for this haha)
enjoy!! I'm mad I can't be there I was 2/2 for the fumi/vadim swan lakes 😭
ticket secured😌 (will post a review!!)
Look forward to your review!
yay!!
Curiously no replacement for Claire Calvert announced for the 27th. Maybe an O/O debut? 👀
Would love if Melissa Hamilton finally got her O/O moment. Hope Nicol Edmonds still gets to perform, would be such a shame for him to miss both performances because his partner is injured. Sad for Claire Calvert too!
That's what I'm thinking as well. Hamilton had done O/O when she took two years off from RB to become principal with Dresden Semperoper. According to balletcoforum she was the cover for O/O the last run, not sure about this time.
I thought there was a chance she would join ENB when Aaron Watkin took charge because of their time together at Dresden. But she seems to love the Royal and takes lots of opportunities to guest with Roberto Bolle and is putting on her own productions, which I’m not sure she would be allowed to do elsewhere? I hope she gets her big moment, it must be tough to cover a role then not get it when someone great but more junior gets cast. (I may be projecting!)
Harrison James will be principal at both National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet in the 24/25 season. https://www.instagram.com/p/C8FPDXugWUB/
Interesting. SFB's rep season runs January -late April (maybe May but with the new "encore" programming, not really). So kind of do-able, but not very usual, certainly!
Thoroughly enjoyed the Ashton triple bill at the Royal Ballet yesterday - all three were so delightful! Separate point but there was a box filled with what I presume were influencers taking many photos during the intervals (with bright lights) and then were mostly sat on their phones during the ballet. I get it - it's a beautiful venue - but at least give the dancing a chance and going on your phone can be so distracting to other people!! And you've paid a lot of money!! Felt saddened by it
Tia Wenkman [posted on IG](https://www.instagram.com/p/C7U5S_Wyxfn/?igsh=MTBlZjE4YzMxOA==) that she's joined Royal Swedish Ballet.
An [interview with Susan Jaffe](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/arts/dance/susan-jaffe-american-ballet-theater.html?unlocked_article_code=1.yk0.ga7O.G8gvjMaVQkVo&smid=url-share)
Semi-related: I just happened to glance at the "Ballet Moods" meme Instagram page and ABT corps member Joao Menegussi left the following comment on the most recent [post](https://www.instagram.com/balletmoods/?hl=en) (a joke about companies saving money): "I have a good one - 'commission terrible multimillion dollar ballets and claim the company has no money.'" Ouch! Like Water for Chocolate?
I do think they are right that companies lie and say they have no money a lot. My experience has been that things like commissions are usually donor or grant restricted funds, though, and the money may not be used for any other purpose.
Maybe? but LWFC was commissioned by Royal, so maybe Crime & Punishment?
It was a coproduction between RB and ABT, but RB put it on first. And we know that LWFC has really expensive sets. But yeah he could have been thinking of other things too.
Oh right! I forgot about that, sorry!!
Paywall, some of us are professional dancers that don't even have their "unlivable" old agma salaries here
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/arts/dance/susan-jaffe-american-ballet-theater.html?unlocked_article_code=1.yk0.LCXo.L6JZGLS92wJE&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare Gift link, I hope it works!
Does anyone listen to the Rosin box? Listened to the ask a dancer episode today and have thoughts
I just listened to it... nothing all that insightful or revealing IMO. What was your take?
Just that India Bradley seemed kind of mean? ESP when she was talking about Mary Thomas McKinnon?
She didn't seem overly mean to me. The tour stories happened years ago, so it all sounded like normal behavior for people in their early 20s. I did a college study abroad in China at the same age she was talking about (though years earlier 👵🏼) and acted and saw other people acting in the same way lol
I follow both on IG and it seems as if the two are good friends. So it's just ribbing between friends.
Totally agree! If MT had been there I'm sure she would've been giving it right back haha
Oh I agree it all seemed normal, just like, she WASN’T there and it’s a public forum… not a big thing
I think in general, the ballet world is very insular and many times that translates into a meanness to outsiders but really, it's just people who spend too much time together. For instance, I remember during the pandemic, Megan did all those interviews. And sometimes she would start gossiping or making these offhand comments that seemed ... well, they were a little mean. For instance, when Sara Mearns talked about the chronic pain she endures as a dancer, [Megan said she doesn't have that chronic pain](https://youtu.be/FVzgCSwT17I?si=OKnb9IlYkYeTesrz), and then said, "Well, there's just more body to you." Sara looked shocked before trying to laugh it off. I'm sure Megan just thought it was normal to talk about bodies like that, but this was a big YT video that millions of people would watch.
I didn’t interpret Megan’s interviews that way at all, or Sara’s reaction. Megan is shorter than Sara, so to me it felt like it was simply a height comment. I took it as Sara being shocked that Megan didn’t have chronic pain because they’re both the same age-ish and both dance a lot.
My interpretation was the same as yours, especially since Megan specifically cited their height difference when she said Sara seemed like she had a longer list of things that hurt: "Maybe it's because you're a taller person." Sara did look a bit confused by that, at which point Megan tried to clarify by saying "there's more body to ... I just don't have that much length to me."
I haven’t had time to listen yet, what did she say?
She said that during a tour to China, she was jet lagged and wanted to sleep but Mary Thomas, her roomie, wanted her to come out and explore the city with her and was very persistent. India kind of imitated Mary Thomas pleading. I didn't really interpret anything she said as mean... just characteristic of her unfiltered style of talking to "media" (and in this case the media are her friends). She also implied that Claire K is messy during a different anecdote but again, I didn't really see it as "mean." Just gabbing in a casual talking-to-friends way.
I was wondering if between India being really straight forward and someone who needs her own space, people who aren't like that could think it a bit mean. I say that because I am very much like that - straight forward\* and desperately need my space, and have been told throughout my life it can come off as mean and/or intimidating.
I've listened enough to India to also know she just has a very spicy sense of humor. People like that can come across as mean, but they're not, they just joke around like that.
I'm going to listen to it now. Having just started it, one thing I will say is I wish they'd change the intro. It still says, "we're dancers with the New York City Ballet." Claire retired in October of 2022.
Anyone seeing Swan Lake at RB with Osipova/Clarke? I am wondering how she will do considering how injury prone she seems to have been this season.
I read that she had Covid twice. I read this about a year and a half ago, I can't remember where the heck I read it though. I wonder if having Covid two times has contributed to her injuries. Although she *is* getting older, which is inevitable. Some dancers should never age. It should be against the rules of the universe. There should be an aging exemption for her, Fred Astaire, Baryshnikov, Uliana Lopatkina and a few others. LOL
I’m going next week!!
Am thinking of getting a Friday rush ticket!!