observations 1/10

        NYCB's Winter Season is several steps down from its extraordinary Fall Season, but nevertheless, there are some things to look forward to judging from the first week's casting and a few hints gleaned from Instagram.

        Robbins' In the Night will see a number of interesting debuts. Unity Phelan and Andrew Veyette will take on the "can't live with you, can't live without you" third PdD for the first time. It depicts what the internet therapists would call a toxic relationship. Sometimes the ballerina's melodrama seems to suggest bipolar disorder. That said, it's still total fun to watch and includes some of Robbins' most inventive language.

        Also in that cast, Olivia MacKinnon and Alec Knight debut as the first couple, young and in passionate love, and Tyler Angle dances the second PdD for the first time opposite Sara Mearns. In the subsequent cast, Emilie Gerrity and Aaron Sanz debut in the second PdD and Gilbert Bolden may well be able to match Tiler Peck's theatrics in his debut in the third PdD.

        What we're really excited about, however, is seeing Jackie Bologna's debut as the principal passerby in purple in Fancy Free on Wednesday night. Opportunities for this beautiful dancer are long past due. Additionally, Miriam Miller debuts in Martins' Barber Violin Concerto and Alexa Maxwell debuts in the Wendy Whelan role in Wheeldon's Polyphonia. There are many other debuts throughout the week which make multiple viewings of programs worthwhile.

        While sniffing around Instagram, we stumbled over a startling surprise involving ABT corps member Virginia Lensi. She's starting her seventh year at ABT, but you might not be aware of her because apparently McKenzie wasn't either. Virginia just completed a multi-performance stint as Odette/Odile in the International Festival Ballet's full length Swan Lake. Her Siegfried was Ukranian Mikhail Tkachuk who was schooled at the Kiev State Choreographic Institute and has performed with a number of companies including St. Petersburg Ballet.

        My goodness, Ms. Virginia has herself a technically polished, dramatically interesting Odette/Odile in her pocket. We have no idea how this opportunity or her blossoming evolved (we can guess, however), but oh my goodness, people, look at her Instagram clips and the beauty of her shaping! Her YouTube channel has the full White Swan PdD video.   

 

Comments

[Purple Clematis]

Virginia Lensi is due for a promotion! She performed a lovely Odette/Odile.

[Haglund]

I don't think there will be any promotions for anyone until the union & management come to a contract agreement. Don't think they can promote a dancer to soloist in name only and not give the artist the appropriate contract. Wish we had an update on the negotiations.

[Purple Clematis]

There is a lot of talent in the corps at ABT. Luigi Crispino from Italy. Léa Fleytoux from France. Patrick Frenette from Canada. Jonathan Klein from France. João Menegussi from Brazil. Garegin Pogossian (German-French). Elwince Magbitang from Philippines. Andrii Ishchuk from the Ukraine and many others. Since you posted about Lensi I did a deep dive into Instagam.
And of course Jake Roxander.

[Jeannette]

Thank you for pointing out Virginia Lensi’s beautiful Swan Lake.

[Haglund]

Quite a bit of poetry in her Odette, IMO.

Happy New Year, Jeannette!

[Jose Mansueto]

There’s a video of Le Corsaire PDD with Elizabeth Beyer and Melvin Lawowe in Instagram. Both of them are terrific, deserving promotion imo.

[Haglund]

Thanks, Jose.

ABT continues not to be able to scrape together a sufficient number of performances to permit several of its supremely talented corps dancers to be seen and to grow. At 21-22 years old Beyer should already have a flowering international career. She really needs to fly the coop--perhaps to Paris Opera Ballet where they have 180 or so performances per year and where she would certainly thrive in the annual promotion competitions. It saddens me to see such waste of performing talent at ABT.

[Georgiann]

I remember in earlier times some dancers becoming a Principal while still in their teens. Paloma Herrera was a Principal at 19, Cynthia Gregory was also. Gelsey Kirkland was around 21 when she came to ABT from NYCB. Most of the Soloists are not yet scheduled to perform this summer except for Chloe Misseldine. Without negotiations being settled and performances for the whole company to dance, it must be very frustrating for the dancers. Should a few Principal positions open, a dancer still may not be able to be promoted. Thanks for pointing out Virginia Lensi and Elisabeth Beyers, Hagland. Thet are absolutely lovely

[Elizabeth]

The current state of ABT makes me fear for its future. ABT used to be the gold standard for classical ballet in the US. Only the best of the best were given contracts. Yet, over time, their repertoire and level of dancing has declined. Now with so many less opportunties to perform, talented dancers will want to join other companies instead and the level of talent will further decrease. I so hope that their ship can be turned around and set on a more promising path.

[Haglund]

Elizabeth, I share your concern. More and more, I'm convinced that it is the structure and functioning of ABT's board that is constipating the company's progress.

Look at these numbers. These are the most recent total revenue numbers from the 2022 IRS Form 990s for ABT, NYCB, San Francisco Ballet, and Houston Ballet which compare the '22 and '21 revenues. This was the period in which organizations had to dig out of the hole from COVID. Only ABT did worse in the Current year than in the Previous year.

ABT:
Current year $37.6 million
Previous year $56.2 million

NYCB:
Current year $85.6 million
Previous year $35.1 million

SFB:
Current year $37.1 million
Previous year $27.4 million

HB:
Current year $49.3 million
Previous year $40.2 million

One cannot blame cost of living or dearth of millionaires for lack of donations. Apartment rents in San Francisco average $4 per square foot; apartment rents in NYC average $3.94 per square foot per a 12/23 article in Apartments.com. There are 276K millionaires in San Francisco and 345K millionaires in New York per a 2023 article in the Visual Capitalist.

Something on the ABT Board is not functioning as it should. In addition to all these numbers is the fact that the board had many years advance notice that the Met Opera was going to take away three weeks of ABT's spring season, but the ABT board was not able to put together a workable plan around it by finding alternative performance spaces in NYC.

I note that ABT's board is heavy with members who are also administrative employees. While the board may think that it helps them understand the needs and workings of ABT, it also obviously hampers its independent thinking. Further, administrative employees on the board are not going to cast votes that oppose their artistic director or CEO. Thus, they serve simply as additional votes by the AD or CEO.

https://www.apartments.com/blog/the-most-and-least-expensive-cities-for-renters-in-2023

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/top-20-cities-ultra-wealthy/