We're so sorry to hear that Rebecca Krohn will retire from NYCB during the fall season, but it is wonderful to know that she and her lovely, unaffected, honest and scrupulous style of dancing are so valued by the boss that he wants her to be a ballet mistress upon retirement. We have very mixed emotions about this. The Stravinsky Violin Concerto, one of her best roles, will be her farewell on October 7th.
NYCB single tickets go on sale August 6th.
I wonder why? She didn't seem to be chronically injured and she certainly was still able to dance all the rep. I would have been much less surprised if Bouder or Mearns announced their retirements, not to mention Kowroski or Stafford.
Posted by: Gerry | July 25, 2017 at 07:11 PM
I'm surprised that Rebecca is retiring prior to Maria Kowroski and I always expected her to work into more of Maria's roles. Rebecca did have more than her fair share of injuries that delayed her promotion to principal, but she has been dancing wonderfully up to now. It was my hope that we would see her in some of the bigger tutu roles like the second movement of Symphony in C and maybe even Diamonds.
With so many women on the cusp of retiring or approaching that cusp, maybe becoming ballet mistress was a now or never opportunity. She will be wonderful. She along with Craig Hall and Jon Stafford are beginning to shape the next generation of ballet masters in the company. Now we can only hope that Stafford will be the next ballet master in chief. There isn't anyone at the moment who would be a better choice. I hope NYCB's board realizes that.
Posted by: Haglund | July 25, 2017 at 07:23 PM
This feels related to Ana Sophia Scheller's departure for SF. Hopefully, leaving for SF Ballet will allow her to dance more classical roles, but neither seemed to be getting many parts (though Scheller also had injuries).
Bouder, Kowroski, and Megan Fairchild are more senior and have very defined reps in the company. The first two are also returning from pregnancies so audience demand for them is high. Then there's the four ballerinas that the Times heavily (and deservedly) promotes, and then the new soloists and corps that need to be pushed. City Ballet's wealth of talent seems to be cannibalizing its own dancers, not a bad problem if Martins can figure out how to manage it. Thoughts?
Posted by: Anon | July 26, 2017 at 12:30 AM
Agreed. Cannibalizing is a good way of putting it. But I believe Krohn is in her late 30's so maybe she's just ready. There are dancers that accept age with grace and then there are those who hang on while the quality of their dancing diminishes greatly. In regards to Scheller, I think that was her mistake from the get-go aiming for NYCB if she preferred the classics.
I've been really unimpressed with Sara Mearns these last couple seasons and she seems to be injured CONSTANTLY if her Instagram account is any indication. She's always talking about "pushing through" and yadda yadda. I get sick of the Woe is Me act in this art form.
Posted by: formerdancer | July 26, 2017 at 11:12 AM
I'm so sorry to hear this because I recently fell in love with Rebecca Krohn when I saw her in Emeralds (was that only last fall?). What a gorgeous dancer! Well, at least she will be giving to the next generation. I will definitely buy a ticket to her farewell performance.
Posted by: angelica | July 30, 2017 at 01:42 PM