observations 9-5

It seems that ABT has been unable to update the dancers' bios to show, for instance, that Stella Abrera triumphed as Giselle and as Ashton's Cinderella last season (not to mention all of her international guesting), but the company has been able to quietly erase Rachel Moore from the website leaving Kevin McKenzie as the Acting Executive Director in addition to Artistic Director. The company has also been able to take care of former dancer Julie Kent by adding her and her new staff position to the staff directory. Apparently all of that is so much more important than crediting the dancers with their hard earned artistic accomplishments.

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Megan Fairchild will return to dance the final performance of On The Town on Sunday replacing Misty Copeland. We're very anxious to see what Megan will be dancing during the upcoming fall season at NYCB. Casting for the first week should go up on the website next week.

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Beginning next Sunday, September 13, everyone will be able to ride the #7 train all the way to Hudson Yards to our brand new park and to our soon-to-be constructed Culture Shed where major stuff is going happen in a very major way. There's going to be a party over here during the afternoon on Sunday, so come and join in. Haglund can't be at the party, though, because he has an exciting date to wade through a Louisiana swamp that afternoon which he'll blog about afterward.

Here's a 14-second look at our new (partially finished) 4 acre Hudson Yards Park. Fountains galore – this video shows only one of them. The last frame of the tall building is 10 Hudson Yards. Our new Culture Shed will be somehow attached to its base. It will be beyond – way beyond cool:

 

 

 

Comments

[Georgiann]

Stella's ABT debut in Giselle this summer received rave reviews from many critics. She more than rose to the occasion on short notice; a real boon to ABT. Who at ABT is responsible for this glaring omission?

[Haglund]

Answer: the same one who doesn't want anyone to know that she danced Aurora in Sleeping Beauty 10 times to international acclaim in New Zealand and Giselle to rave reviews in Australia. It would take the spotlight off of other, less capable dancers.

On the other hand, maybe this will jog memories at ABT that she did indeed dance Giselle and perhaps they have been remiss in not acknowledging it in her bio: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/07/arts/carrie-brownstein-carly-rae-jepsen-and-others-on-first-time-cultural-experiences.html?_r=0 (scroll down)

[Haglund]

Finally, the dancers' bios have been partially updated. However, still no mention of Stella Abrera's guest principal appearances with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Ballet Philippines, or the Australian Ballet. There seems to be no trouble noting guest work in bios of other dancers, including Isabella Boylston; nor is there any trouble identifying Alban Lendorf as a former Exchange Artist with ABT. But apparently, the fact that Stella was an Exchange Artist going the opposite direction (to Australia) was considered an inferior accomplishment not worthy of mentioning.

What is the problem with this damn company not being able to credit its artists with their ballet accomplishments? How hard is it to simply cut & paste this sentence from the press release that announced the recent promotions: She has performed as a guest artist across the United States and Europe, as well as with The Australian Ballet, The Royal New Zealand Ballet and Ballet Philippines.

What. Is. The. Problem.

[Georgiann]

I like how the Royal Ballet writes their dancers bios. They may not list every single ballet ever performed, but they DO acknowledge the dancer's most important accomplishments. Adding a full length portrait in costume and a video in addition to the dancer's head shot is another nice touch by the Royal Ballet.

Stella's guest performances internationally as well as her astounding ABT debut in Giselle last May need to be updated now!