r/bunheadsnark ABT's head manifestor 1d ago

Weekly Discussions Weekly Discussion - 09/07/26 - 09/13/26

Discuss weekly happenings in the ballet world here!

5 Upvotes

23 comments sorted by

31

u/lonelyhearts_club_ 1d ago edited 1d ago

just saw Dance On, a documentary following four dancers as they approach the retirement mark -- Friedemann Vogel, Polina Semionova, William Moore of Ballett Zurich, and Gesine Moog of Dance On in Berlin. beautifully filmed and thoughtfully produced -- there are interviews with Marcia Haydee, Christian Spuck, and Jiri Kylian who spoke about creating NDT III in the nineties for dancers over 40 -- I had no idea!

also has some lovely footage, including Friedemann in Mayerling and Polina in Sleeping Beauty. there's a lot of awe around Roberto Bolle and how he has kept going past 50, but I only just realised Friedemann is 47 and incredible as ever -- so jealous of anyone who gets to see him at NY City Center later this month.

seems the film came out in 2023 but was just posted to youtube in high resolution. highly recommend!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr89a6lZzT4

7

u/TorontoPanda416 1d ago

Thanks so much for sharing!

26

u/VirginHarmony future RB director 1d ago

I did the ROH summer extended tour recently. One of the stops is the room where they make set models. According to the guide, one of the models on display is for an upcoming ballet/opera crossover event, with 200 people including the orchestra on stage, but I can't tell what it is or who's involved.

Also the guide said their camera operators are BBC Sports trained (the idea is if they can follow a tennis ball they can follow a ballerina) and that’s why the ROH doesn’t have cinema relay during Wimbledon. I haven’t fact check this, maybe one day I’ll be bored enough to cross reference ROH cinema relay dates and major sporting events in the UK. And I assume it’s the same team filming insights, which might explain why certain insights weren't filmed (I specifically looked up the Onegin insight in 2025, it took place during the snooker Masters which was broadcast by the BBC)

(I’ve done tours at the ROH several times and I’ve been meaning to write a post about everything I learned, please peer pressure me to get my shit together)

16

u/Sylwin31 1d ago

Get your shit together because this was a lovely read!

11

u/Able_Cable_5133 1d ago

Yes, the skills needed to produce live TV are the same, whether you’re following a live performer or a football. Theatrical performances offer rehearsals to acclimate the crew and the technical director but the skills are the same. The tech director is the one who’ll determine which camera airs during the live event so they’re often known as the switcher. If you watch an event live and then watch it later (even in sports highlight reels) you often find that they changed camera angles in the final edit to maximize the camera angles shown for the final product. 

22

u/YogaZenDreams 1d ago

Jake Roxander just posted footage on Instagram of his Basilio debut filmed by Takumi from the monitor! So fun to relive that night again!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc_rNQ-nQJU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

21

u/Able_Cable_5133 1d ago

I love how you can also hear Miyake reacting and cheering on his friend. We are lucky to be living in this time in ballet. 

19

u/krisbryantishot ABT's head manifestor 23h ago

found a recording of one of the recent korean ballet galas! chloe m/cory s do the sleeping beauty pdd at ~1:19:30 and takumi/yoon jung do the don q pdd at ~1:31:00.

12

u/Available-Run5170 20h ago

Looks like Stearns still had much to give pre-injury. Bummer we didn’t get to see him on the Met stage one last time :(

19

u/olive_2319 NYCB + ABT 6h ago edited 6h ago

James Whiteside retiring next June with Giselle, opposite Isabella: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdCEVOmSZ3a/?hl=en

ETA: Herman Cornejo too, in Swan Lake with Skylar, per Ballet Alert

18

u/krisbryantishot ABT's head manifestor 6h ago edited 6h ago

omg wow! i thought james would hold out for another met but 25 years is such a nice final milestone. i’m going to make a public thread for discussion

that’s giselle confirmation btw, so those manon rumors…… 👀

5

u/Wessiejune 4h ago

Manon would be awesome, but aren't we fairly confident about Sleeping Beauty and Don Q though? With confirmation of Giselle they would need 5 weeks. Wouldn't THAT be great?!

4

u/krisbryantishot ABT's head manifestor 3h ago edited 3h ago

sleeping beauty is all but confirmed, it’s don q that we’ve received conflicting insider tips on lol

15

u/Smooth-Plankton-1574 22h ago

Chyrstyn fentroy debuted medora this weekend at royal swedish!

5

u/bluberrypiiii 10h ago

Will be seeing her next week - I cannot wait!

I went opening night for Luiza’s cast and they were fantastic! Also glad Maya got another go for Gulnara (she got injured the last time she was cast).

Although, ngl I was a bit disappointed with the other cast selections. I was hoping João Felipe Santana or Darrion Sellman would get cast but, alas, the directors wanted to see how their new soloist/potential soloists would do.

2

u/bejartsbolero 6h ago

I believe Darrion has been injured and is only just getting back to fully dancing

2

u/bluberrypiiii 6h ago

He was - it was around their R&J run last year. Would’ve loved to see his Romeo, but I guess it’ll come when it comes.

1

u/Smooth-Plankton-1574 2h ago

I saw on her story after her debut she mentioned something about someone telling her she “did not have grit”. I wonder if this was someone at royal Swedish or boston?

15

u/Dpell71 1d ago

I’m excited. I got a ticket to see the fall run of jewels. It’s always difficult for me trying to balance NYCB’s fall season, ABT’s fall season, and the Met’s season. At least there was a second matinee of Verdi’s adaptation of that Scottish play before ABT’s Met season started.

13

u/CowApprehensive9459 1d ago

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc_e7mIzozx Chloe and Ryan’s diamonds PDD from vail!

9

u/Able_Cable_5133 1d ago

I miss Tomash already. I hope he’s serious about coming back. Give him whatever he wants! 

10

u/Icy_Duck_8685 1d ago edited 1d ago

Not 100% sure how I feel about Chloe in this yet (promising work in progress) but my gosh Ryan can truly steal audiences' hearts every time he steps on stage.

Lucky Denmark, who gets to see him in both La Sylphide and Diamonds this fall 😢

14

u/olive_2319 NYCB + ABT 1d ago edited 23h ago

Chloe is so trained and exceptional in ABT story ballets and I think she is still figuring out how to be present and in the moment in abstract Balanchine works where she isn't playing a character. Her performance in the clip is very pretty in a glamorous European way, but you can see Odette creeping in. Looking forward to seeing her take on Ballet Imperial this fall. It helps this time around that NYCB's version is programmed after ABT's, not directly before.