American Ballet Theatre - Spring Season 2012!! — Page 4

HorseTears, I believe ABT premiered their new production of The Bright Stream in DC in 2011 prior to their spring season at the Met. I think their present production of Swan Lake also premiered outside of NYC.

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Isn't Osipova AMAZING as the Firebird!?!?

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I hate you all.

I'm glad it was a great performance. I havce mixed feelings about their abridged version just in terms of missing some of my fave divertissements (but these often get cut--even in the original 1895 Petipa/Ivanov revision most versions are based on), and Rothbart's swamp man incarnations.

Joan Acocella, who seems to be one of the few writers in the mainstream press still doing really great ballet reviews/articles, had a good piece about this season at the ABT in the New Yorker this past week. Mainly about the long standing, and long controversial way they use so many guest stars which she approves of (she's particularly a fan of Cojacaru, but finds Osipova, despite her technique, often cold), but says has left the company often suffering in terms of raising up their own dancers to the star positions--she particularly thinks Misty Copeland, who I admit I've never seen, should be risen from her soloist position.

(An abstract on the article is here http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/dancing/2012/06/25/120625crda_dancing_acocella )

Oh sorry, I meant I don't really like him as the Swamp Man--but that's a costume choice with ABT (as is having him played by two different dancers) and every company seems to handle him differently anyway--the Bolshoi's interpretation has him a the Evil Genius, for some reason.

One season ends. Another is planned:

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ABT'S 2012 FALL SEASON AT NEW YORK CITY CENTER, OCTOBER 16-20, TO FEATURE WORLD PREMIERE BY ALEXEI RATMANSKY AND REVIVAL OF JOSE LIMON'S THE MOOR'S PAVANE

Company to Celebrate 70th Anniversary of Agnes de Mille's Rodeo


6/28/2012 - American Ballet Theatre's 2012 Fall season at New York City Center opens Tuesday evening, October 16 for seven performances including the World Premiere of a new work by Alexei Ratmansky, a revival and repertory, October 16-20.

Principal Dancers for the New York City Center engagement include Roberto Bolle, Herman Cornejo, Marcelo Gomes, Julie Kent, Veronika Part, Xiomara Reyes, Polina Semionova and Cory Stearns.

American Ballet Theatre's 2012 New York City Center season will begin at 6:30pm on Tuesday, October 16 with an Opening Night Gala benefit. A benefit dinner at The Pierre Hotel will immediately follow the performance. For benefit tickets and information, please contact ABT's Special Events office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3245.


WORLD PREMIERE

The season will be highlighted by the World Premiere of a new work by Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky. Set to Symphony No. 9 by Dmitri Shostakovich, the new Ratmansky work will receive its World Premiere on Thursday, October 18. The ballet will be the first of a full-evening of three one-act ballets which will be presented during ABT's 2013 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House. The Shostakovich trio of works will feature scenery by George Tsypin and costumes by Keso Dekker. Following the World Premiere performance, the new work by Ratmansky will be given three additional performances, October 19 evening and the matinee and evening of October 20.


70th ANNIVERSARY OF AGNES DE MILLE'S RODEO

American Ballet Theatre's Fall Season at New York City Center will celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Agnes de Mille's Rodeo with a performance of the choreographer's most celebrated work on Tuesday, October 16. First presented by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at the Metropolitan Opera House on October 16, 1942, Rodeo features music by Aaron Copland and scenery by Oliver Smith. The World Premiere cast featured Agnes de Mille as the Cowgirl, Frederic Franklin as the Champion Roper and Casimir Kokitch as the Head Wrangler. Rodeo was first performed by Ballet Theatre in Wiesbaden, Germany in 1950. A new production, featuring sets by Oliver Smith and costumes by Santo Loquasto, was given its Revival Premiere in 1989 in St. Louis, Missouri. Rodeo will receive two additional performances on October 18 and the matinee of October 20.


REVIVAL OF JOSÉ LIMÓN'S THE MOOR'S PAVANE

A revival of José Limón's The Moor's Pavane, set to music by Henry Purcell, is scheduled for three performances at New York City Center beginning Wednesday evening, October 17. Last performed by American Ballet Theatre in 1981, The Moor's Pavane is based on William Shakespeare's tragedy of Othello and features costumes by Pauline Lawrence and lighting by Jean Rosenthal. The Moor's Pavane received its World Premiere on August 17, 1949 with Limón in the leading role and was first performed by ABT at the New York State Theater in 1970. The ballet will receive its Revival Premiere on Thursday, October 5, 2012 at The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Clay Taliaferro will stage American Ballet Theatre's revival of The Moor's Pavane.


RETURNING REPERTORY

The 2012 New York City Center season will also feature performances of Mark Morris' Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes, Twyla Tharp's In the Upper Room and Antony Tudor's The Leaves Are Fading.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre's 2012 New York City Center season start at $20 and go on sale by phone at 212-581-1212 and on online at www.nycitycenter.org on July 23. The City Center Box Office will open for sales on September 4. For more information, please visit ABT's website at www.abt.org.


American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre. Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. The 2012 New York City Center Season is also made possible with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

David H. Koch is the Lead Underwriter of the three-part World Premiere Shostakovich works. The World Premiere works are generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. Mary Jo and Ted Shen are Lead Sponsors of the World Premiere at New York City Center. Support for the World Premiere Shostakovich works has been generously provided by Michele and Steven Pesner and Mary Jo and Ted Shen.
ABT's 2012 Fall Season at City Center

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If you asked me off the top of my head who the word "Beloved" would describe in the world of ballet: My first response would be Angel Corella.

I can't even begin to describe how emotional that night was.

Any farewell is emotional. Any Goodbye is sad.

But when the whole thing feels forced, when the whole things feels like it should not be happening - the sadness is palpable.

It was on Paloma's face all night long. Finally, at the curtain call, she put her bouquet before him and hugged him and burst into tears. She cried the entire curtian call.

He never stopped smiling because that's him. He never stops. He is as open and sunny as one could ever imagine a ballet dancer (never mind one of the finest we had in the last 20 years) to be.

But there were moments when the smile stopped. Moments when he looked like he didn't understand what was happening, You couldn't help but be moved.

The farewell was astonishing. The whole company was there. The faces said it all. Julie Kent with her children, looking 22, with tears down her face. Gillian Murphy with her head down. Carreno looking sad. Gomes looking happy with his new boyfriend.

Backstage was chaos all night long and the green room dressing area was packed.

A very sad night.

The Steifel farewell Sunday should be fun. He needed to leave about 4 seasons ago.

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Updated On: 7/2/12 at 01:22 PM

Wow, how did I miss Carreno? Although Steifel was never a favorite of mine (he always came off bland for some reason), his farewell should be emotional as well.

I could tell that Herrera was very emotional during the salute to Angel.

Personally I think it's time for Kevin McKenzie to leave. He really did a great of building the company up in the 90s, but it just seems that he has too many guest artists at the moment, and not building the company up within.

I was usually very good about spotting dancers in the corp, but there aren't that many that have stood out to me as of late. That being said, I did enjoy Melanie Hamrick's dancing in the pas de troix.

I was also surprised that Von Rothbart was being played by two dancers from the corps as opposed to a principal and soloist.

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Whizzer, this clip is for you. From the 9:20 mark it is absolutely thrilling and brings me right back to June 1996 at the Met (although there are no clips of that particular performance). Gives me chills and tears at the same time, and I'm so happy I got to witness it for myself. My mom still comments at how excited I was when I called her to say how exciting that evening was as I have never to this day experienced a ballet performance quite like that.
Pas de Deux - Don Q.

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Am on the wrong side of the pond to be able to add anything to the ABT discussion - though i love reading about it - but just thought I'd post as some lovely person has put the BBC Documentary about the English National Ballet up on You Tube and if you haven't seen it, it's 3 hours (1 hour per episode) well spent.

It's called Agony and Ecstasy and searching on that will find it.

I just saw that on Ballet Alert as well, was surprised I hadn't heard anything about it.

The Fall season looks interesting--Ratmansky has done some good work to Shoshtakovich (I'm sure I spellt that wrong) before, and I'm excited to see them reinstate Rodeo into the repertoire, though I would have liked to have seen another Agnes DeMille work brought back as well (maybe Fall River Legend?). Always great to see an Anthony Tudor piece back though--for a while it seemed like people were forgetting his work.

Stunning.

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