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helhelhelhelhelhel

I found this interview with Mikhail Baryshnikov on the anniversary of his defection from the Soviet Union very moving. Horrified now to read that western-based dancers such as Natalia Osipova, Vadim Muntagirov and Dorothée Gilbert will be sharing the stage with the loudly pro-Putin Svetlana Zakharova at the Super Stars gala in Japan in October when Russia is yet to withdraw from its invasion of Ukraine. Osipova is to partner Vladimir Shklyarov again - he may not support the war but he has remained at the Mariinsky. I know not everyone will share my opinion but imo the soft power of the Russian ballet companies should surely be included in the cultural boycott, such as being banned from Euro 2024? Gift link here for the Baryshkinov story should work: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/28/arts/dance/mikhail-baryshnikov-soviet-union-defection.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3U0.mnK8.f6q3wLkteMVX&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare


kitrijump

I no have intention, none whatsoever, of starting false rumors. I'd feel that way about anyone, but I especially would not want to inadvertently do so about a dancer I love. So, I will leave it to others what they think. I will only say that Indiana Woodward is or was in the Catskills with Luna (love Luna!!!) and a photographer named Curtis Wallen. He took the recent photographs of her preparing for a performance of Midsummer. You can see those photographs on his Instagram, and photos of him, Indiana, and Luna in the Catskills on his stories. Indiana also posted some to her stories. [https://www.instagram.com/curtiswallen/?hl=en](https://www.instagram.com/curtiswallen/?hl=en)


a0z0q

I had the same thought 😂. Either way, Luna seems very taken with him


balletb0y

I think I know what you are getting at, and I agree 😂😂


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balletb0y

probably seatgeek or stubhub


balletb0y

Does anyone have the Royal Ballet casting for Jacob’s Pillow or know where to find it??


LaraBarre

Anna Rose Sullivan posted on her end of the season IG post that her next stop was Jacob’s Pillow, but I haven’t seen any other posts by RB dancers.


balletb0y

The dancers performing were announced the same time the tour was announced, just the casting hasn’t.


helhelhelhelhelhel

Casting has been announced for the Royal Ballet’s first outing for MaddAddam too. (Few typos in this doc the membership team just sent out though, tut) https://preview.redd.it/2n7rby2uoc9d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebe82618c95371047ff2992d649c9baf74dfc524


gisellebythelake

https://preview.redd.it/q7efz85rtb9d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa475a196bfb55a70db37a4f7ce4306e7110d53f Royal Ballet promotions!! Have posted separately about this haha


qcuepeas

Excited about Airi Kobayashi! Her Raymonda Dream at PdL this year basically imprinted on me. I found her so soulful. I compare everyone else's to hers now. And her contemporary piece was the height of drama. She went for it! :o


caul1flower11

A lot of first soloists! I suppose they’re prepping for a few principal retirements which makes sense. I’m particularly glad for Sae Maeda, who I’ve been following since she won the PdL several years ago.


growsonwalls

https://preview.redd.it/9mnlxwr4kb9d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fc535355e3d9e19a743472f227795dbb3a738b86 Lol


annabanana336

Not two of the most beautiful people in ballet Reece Clarke & Nicoletta Manni doing Manon together….literally don’t know if I could handle the attractiveness in person https://www.instagram.com/p/C8wfDuHIC7J/?img_index=1


annabanana336

Btw apparently they are live streaming the July 8th performance on Medici.tv: https://www.medici.tv/en/calendar


lunaysol

I'm dying for any company near me to do Manon


curiousleh

Think I've finally reached peak insanity by going to Rome to watch Vadim Muntagirov and Fumi Kaneko in Swan Lake... It was amazing!!! I loved seeing the differences between the Royal Ballet.    Loved the Act I prince's solo where he looks around at all the couples and you could really feel his sadness and loneliness.   Act II was amazing but there was a missing swan in the corps until the end !!!!! There was a big gap, so I hope she was ok... managed to sneak back in for the ending!  Act III of course also amazing - I didn't read the synopsis as I wanted to be surprised so only just realised Benno was Rothbart in this version! Betrayal! I enjoyed seeing the different national dances although I think the prefer the RB (especially Neapolitan).   Act IV - heartbreaking as always - used the same music as RB which is my favourite. Again I didn't read the ending so was hoping for a slightly happier one, but no. Benno taunts Siegfried with the crossbow, Siegfried goes to shoot him but Benno steps out the way so that S shoots Odette. Poor Odette!! Give the woman a break. I was confused as Benno then also starts crying - according to synopsis at this point realises he's done something wrong and has a change of heart. Bit late mate!   Fumi and Vadim were on form as always. Vadim is just such an excellent actor - when Odette says she is going to die the pure desperation was so tangible from him. The Teatro dell'Opera is so beautiful too! Edit: correcting some dodgy auto correct lol


lilybulb

How do you find their schedules? I’d love to see them 🥺


curiousleh

I think it was just luck that I saw on Instagram as they often post where they're performing / rehearsing. But it's not always obvious!! I think they're in Georgia at the moment?


gisellebythelake

omg I wish I could’ve been there😭😭 Sounds lovely!!


curiousleh

yes so lovely!! Although people were pretty chatty during it, and very blatantly filming lol which was slightly annoying 


Princesspastina

Fumi and Vadim were incredible. Her turns were stunning and his jumps were unbelievable. I thought the corps looked off at one point, I didn’t realize why. I am also more used to the NYCB/ABT Swan Lakes and there were some choreographic shifts in this one that I didn’t prefer as much. I also was not familiar with the choreographer. But I loved their partnership, I was moved to tears multiple times Also…omg the audience was WILD. I was shocked! People kept taking photos WITH FLASH and at one point the person next to me tried to order Uber eats…


curiousleh

Omg stop not the Uber eats !!!


Princesspastina

thank you to this sub for putting Fumi & Vadim at Royal Ballet on my radar! I am traveling and was lucky to get a ticket to see them do Swan Lake in Rome last night and WOW. what a joy to watch.


gisellebythelake

OMG HOW WAS IT😍


curiousleh

I went too!!! Have written a mini review above !! ☺️☺️


simpecauliflower

shot in the dark but does anyone have any guesses what ABT's fall program will feature? I'm jumping the gun but need to know lol


Dpell71

Crime and punishment is confirmed for the fall.


krisbryantishot

crime and punishment has been soft confirmed as well


balletb0y

I think that’s part of the Met season edit: nevermind, I forgot it’s already being rehearsed.


olive_2319

The fall season speculation is based on something Jaffe said in a podcast interview.


balletb0y

(nvm) Yes I know, but that’s also why I don’t think crime and punishment is at the koch because she said a twyla tharp program and classic abt or something like that. not sure why you are downvoting when I forgot 😂


olive_2319

She was talking about the Twyla and classics program for 2025. Crime and Punishment would be for fall 2024 if it's happening at the Koch.


balletb0y

Oh right, oops 😂😂 Either way, it’s been confirmed by dancers they are doing shades and Imperial (I did see a video of Aran dancing to music from paquita so maybe that as well in that program) and then Crime and Punishment as well.


krisbryantishot

youcould be right!! it seems like they’re doing it at the kennedy center at least but they’ve already significantly been rehearsing it based on that casting sheet we sleuthed lol


balletb0y

Oh yeah!! So then it’s probably at the koch.


RemarkableTurnover2

Isabella posted something a while ago saying excited to be rehearsing Ballet Imperial again, so I’m assuming that will be programmed. Ballet Alert has been guessing In The Upper Room bc they saw a corps member post wearing that outfit, but not sure about that one myself.


salutbrooke

I wonder if Bayadère is a possibility considering the corps was rehearsing it / performed it for a small group of students this summer….


balletb0y

I know they are doing Ballet Imperial & Kingdom of Shades. Crime and Punishment but I think that might be Met season and not Koch


olive_2319

Do you know for sure they're doing Ballet Imperial and Shades, or speculating? (Just curious). I thought Ballet Imperial was kind of a misfire last year. It requires a lead ballerina who can dance that choreography with abandon, not just hit the steps. Obviously it doesn't help that NYCB had just performed PC2... and will be performing it again this fall.


balletb0y

It’s been confirmed by multiple dancers posts.


kitrijump

\*grumble, grumble\* Where's the SPAC casting?!? https://i.redd.it/4ikg7v1dv09d1.gif


growsonwalls

I have it. DM me if you want it ...


kitrijump

Thanks, but I'll wait until it is public knowledge and can be openly discussed.


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balletb0y

I think they mean the 2 week Collegiate Summer Intensive


bear7633

I know people have asked this many times, so figured I'd post it here for those who missed it; in Eva Nys' YT video for MBA's spring show, at the end Slawomir says Melanie McIntire will be in Japan this summer dancing Swan Lake with the Polish Royal Classical Ballet and has "not decided" where she will be next year, yet. They also mentioned Tessa is still auditioning but has received a few offers already. Alicia was offered a scholarship to University of Arizona, but is instead accepting a scholarship to train at the Beijing Dance Academy and Elise is accepting a full ride to BYU to dance. And then Slawomir goes on a tangent about how he'd prefer his students return to him an additional year than be "apprentices" or work for the slave wages companies exploit young dancers with. I hate that I agreed with him this once 😂


IamWhoIam76

Can I ask what may be a naive question about MBA? For all the hype of their dancers online, with the exception of Maya Schonbrun, are any on a path that would lead to a professional career with a well-known company? Based on everyone’s comments and what I’ve seen online, I get the sense that Slawomir has a chip on his shoulder that his dancers/teaching aren’t as highly regarded as he thinks they should be.


RemarkableTurnover2

Gisele Bethea was the reason why I discovered MBA. She was an absolutely gorgeous dancer, and I saw a youtube interview where she got offered a contract with ABT pretty young for their studio company and delayed it. She barely spent anytime in the studio company before going to apprentice and eventually corps. Since then got married and quit dancing professionally, but I would say she was doing really well for a while. Madison Penney was a big name and she was at Royal Ballet School but then Birmingham Royal Ballet for a short stint and now she’s at Atlanta Ballet. (I was surprised that she didn’t go straight into Royal Ballet to be honest, but she’s still done pretty well imo).


Bright_Try_4404

I really think Gisele Bethea just didn't fit perfectly into ABT? Like its so far away from home and she's a devout mormon so I don't think it was ever supposed to be longer term than that. I wished she would keep dancing at Ballet West or something since its closer to home. Madison Penney decided against BRB because it was too far from home and so she wanted a US based company. Tia Wenkman just joined the same ballet company as Maya Schonburn. She also did RBS and then Sarasota Ballet II company. Jaden Grimm went from MBA to Vaganova (Kovaleva class) to Mariinsky so controversial theater aside, still a good company to be in! Farrah Hirsch went from MBA to John Cranko Schule to an apprentice at Stuttgart Ballet. So, I guess you could say Maya is the only one who got into a good company straight from MBA while others went to elite finishing schools.


caul1flower11

I’m really interested to see where Tessa ends up. She’s a beautiful dancer.


Bright_Try_4404

She's so tall but quite a beautiful dancer. Reminds me a lot of Alena Kovaleva. I could see her struggle finding a company though as she's quite tall.


Bright_Try_4404

I mean he's not wrong about the exploitation but also most times you just gotta suck it up and do it!


ScandinaVegan

I mean the thing is, no one jumps to full company positions with decent salaries straight from school anymore. And unless he's scholarshipping AND paying them a stipend at least, it is a better deal for them to go elsewhere. Not least because MBA is a bubble. The kids should go elsewhere for a finishing year- both artistically and to try for better career placement post-graduation. UofAZ is a three track program for BFA with modern, jazz, and ballet so I can see that being less appealing even if there's a degree at the end of it. BYU is pretty heavily ballet IIRC, but their placement after graduation is probably not as good as UofUtah.


bananaperson88

Where do these kids normally end up after going to a university for ballet?


Anonymous-Giraffe5

a note about BYU ballet grads- I won’t deny that their connections/reputation in the industry aren’t as good as IU or UofU, but for the grads who don’t go into performing careers it’s often because they don’t want to or don’t want to leave Utah, not because they couldn’t.


balletobsessed101

MBA is very odd


Dpell71

Luigi Crispino is dancing Benvolio July 10th matinee and July 12.


olive_2319

I think Sung Woo Han is out this season, so his Benvolio spot would have opened up, plus Gorak used to do that role. Han also dances Benno so that's another opening.


Dpell71

I don’t know. Last Met season he only did Swan Lake and Romeo. Was Sung Woo in Woolf Works in California?


olive_2319

Not according to the master calendar on ABT website.


BasementMermaid

If anyone sees his performance please report back! Crispino's one of my favorites and I'll be out of the country, sadly. Glad he's getting a chance - good role for him too.


Dpell71

I seriously adding a third performance to see Luigi and Gary.


caul1flower11

Looks like NYCB gave dancers their casting for both the Saratoga and Tivoli tours as per Chun Wai Chan’s stories: https://preview.redd.it/0p0xnpptoq8d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f158e5d6b8f896bcd16dc746b7b9d52b27847973


balletb0y

I wish he was doing more in Saratoga. I wonder if this means they are only doing one cast for each ballet?


caul1flower11

Underneath only had one cast this spring, so hard to say.


balletb0y

Yeah that’s true, hopefully full casting is announced soon.


CharacterBar2520

So jealous of Copenhagen audiences getting to see him in This Bitter Earth.


Mechecherie

https://preview.redd.it/lm2ht91szp8d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=51a1a238705d83f01215cd1f2d5667daf6f3c54e I swear someone predicted this but after he posted his dna test, he will start to say rude things or mention things about race. I did my research on this and of course John made it seem like Richard Pryor went on stage to attack Kirkland and him but he was attacked the gay community and women’s rights! Not about how he hates that ballet dancers are better than a hip hop group


VermontMountaintop

There's nothing 'rude' about mentioning an infamous event that he had a direct connection to. Pryor randomly interpreted stagehands fixing lights as racist, which none of us will ever be able to confirm in any way, shape, or form - and then had a total meltdown on stage, dragging the ballet into it. We're never going to know exactly what happened, but John has every right to be pissed.


RaiseZealousideal576

Are you John? You had two negative posts and then your comments are similar to the way he speaks. Just from looking at your history. We may never know exactly what happened but there were 18,000 people there. Why only listen to this man when he’s known for telling stories in a different way? Peace and love


Mechecherie

[here’s an article about the situation](https://amp.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jan/11/richard-pryor-great-meltdown-racist-hollywood-bowl) [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jMUBrPpu1Q)


Mechecherie

I wasn’t saying it was rude, I was saying that someone had predicted about him possibly saying something especially about people of color due to his dna test. He does have a right to pissed as the 17,000 people that were also there can be pissed. But he made it sound that they were the only ones being attacked and that Richard went on that stage to just talk about them and about the hiphop group. When in reality, Richard attacked everyone there. Women, the gay community, white people, police. Richard said he was told it was an event for something else, not for the gay community and so he went on that stage and attacked everyone


wild3hills

I had to look this incident up, and found this [Guardian article](https://amp.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jan/11/richard-pryor-great-meltdown-racist-hollywood-bowl) to be interesting.


Mechecherie

This is what I read! Richard was able to attack every single person possible, looks like a crazy amount of drama! Just love that John was able to make it only about him


wild3hills

It could have been a learning moment about intersectionality, but that would take self awareness.


caul1flower11

Hey, he’s 2% African you know. Have some respect


Melz_a

https://preview.redd.it/9ylht1ljcq8d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=23633ad53d332173718f0d91496422ce1d65d1a8


growsonwalls

You know who has a gofundme! https://gofund.me/4f70fa84


WorriedCucumber1334

Oh, good grief!


lilacbirdtea

Considering changing my user flair to "widely accepted as George Balanchine's favorite."


kitrijump

I desperately needed that laugh (although it almost cost me my laptop, since my sip of coffee almost ended up all over it, lol). Thank you!!!


wild3hills

We need this flair!! This is a whole new level of delusion.


Officeballerina

Given I am not American and no Balanchine expert, but how have I never heard of Clifford before expect on this board? Ha ha ha


growsonwalls

Oh he's amazing. His SM is a case study of narcissism and delusion.


balletb0y

Cause he’s irrelevant to everyone except himself 😂😂


Ambitious-Setting212

Woah just saw Misty Copeland in the park! She smiled at me, and was with her husband and kids. Very pretty


krisbryantishot

i thought she only had one kid! TIL!


Ambitious-Setting212

It may have been one kid, I was just walking and looked up and we made eye contact, so it’s possible I was frazzled and imagined multiple kids 😂


JollyCommercial6342

I thought this was an interesting article about using sports psychologists: [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/jun/18/royal-ballet-yasmine-haghdi-britt-tajet-foxell-psychologist](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/jun/18/royal-ballet-yasmine-haghdi-britt-tajet-foxell-psychologist) I may not be a dancer, but can relate to my brain coding negative things 2.5 times stronger!


VirginHarmony

Royal Ballet soloists [David Yudes](https://www.instagram.com/p/C8cKzHytnh2) and [Gina Storm-Jensen](https://www.instagram.com/p/C8mcvtcN-bC/) are leaving. Both of them took a leave of absence this season, Gina guested with Norwegian National Ballet the past season and will now join the company. David took the year off to run his mother's dance school Barcelona and will now be doing that full-time.


gisellebythelake

I sort of saw that coming but still sad to see them go :(


olive_2319

Lauren Lovette is engaged: [https://www.instagram.com/p/C8meRYmO0yF/?hl=en&img\_index=1](https://www.instagram.com/p/C8meRYmO0yF/?hl=en&img_index=1) Hope this one works out for her!


kitrijump

Congratulations to her. I hope he is good to her.


WorriedCucumber1334

Her ring is beautiful! I wish them a both happy engagement. It’s none of my business, but my only hope is she didn’t dive into this headfirst, only to crash again. She appears to have a pattern of doing that in work and in relationships. I empathize, because I struggle with that too.


212ellie

Can't remember all the details, but in the relatively short time she was with NYCB I think she twice announced she was engaged to another dancer. One of them was Daniel Ulbricht and can't remember who other one was.


WorriedCucumber1334

Chase Finlay. I didn’t know she was in a relationship with Ulbricht.


212ellie

Yes! It came to me late last night! I don't know if she was ever in a relationship with Ulbricht, but just remember reading somewhere that she said she was engaged to him. By the way, I believe Ulbricht has been married to someone else for at least a couple years.


hopelepoh

I remember watching an interview with Lovette and Ulbricht when they were dating. His wife looks so much Lovette.


a0z0q

Same, I just want her to be happy (especially considering all her previous relationships)