I'm curious as to why they're bringing in another dancer from the outside. I don't think it's for diversity, as Anthony Huxley is Asian. There's a couple of Asian men who have reached the top ranks at prominent companies such as Ryoichi Hirano at the Royal Ballet and Kimin Kim at the Mariinsky. I'm completely unfamiliar with Chun Wai Chan. I tried looking him up on YouTube, but haven't found much in the way of recent performances to evaluate his technical skills. I hope he's a tall technician. He looks tall to me, but it could just be his longs legs Maybe we might get a tall couple for Tchai Pas and T&V. I hope he does well in the company.

Catazaro was in Germany for a while, but it seems like he's learning to fly airplanes these days.

Also, MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet starring Matthew Ball and Yasmine Naghdi.

It makes no financial sense that some companies have opted not to use the funds for payroll when that's what makes the loan forgivable.

Not performances, but looks like the Balanchine Foundation is making some coaching sessions from their archives available on YouTube.

I think it's coincidence. Tiler has been on twice as well. I do wish we'd get the full ballets for some of the pieces they're presenting. But I'll take the excerpts that they're giving.

The Balanchine Foundation is also probably another hurdle. It would be nice if NYCB could stream some Balanchine though. They have that show they filmed in Paris, for starters.

I listened to his interview on the City Ballet podcast, and I enjoyed hearing about his background and experience. However, once they started discussing his new piece, it was red flags all over the place.

Roman's interpretation of Allegro Brilliante felt a bit too much Basilio from DonQ. Not my favorite approach for the role, but you can't deny the wow factor. I would love to see his Oberon.

Looking forward to seeing Emilie Gerrity in Stravinsky Violin Concerto. I wonder if Sterling Hyltin is injured.

I hope that this Winter season turns out better. I was a bit disheartened this past fall after a disappointing performance of Symphony in C. There's also only a handful of shows that interest me in the spring. Why so little Balanchine and Robbins?! The first three weeks only have four shows that feature Balanchine. I probably won't be attending much until the 2nd half of that season.

Having dancers retire roles is definitely something Stafford and Whelan will have to learn how to do. I know Whelan talked about that talk with Martins like it was some kind of natural disaster, but even in her account Martins was firm and professional about it. It's not a fun talk, but ADs shouldn't spoil their dancers. Likewise, any professional dancer should be able to navigate this situation gracefully and accept it, harsh as it may feel at the moment. Though I bet there are some who would come running to the NYT when something doesn't go their way. Is there more grand allegro in SPF than in Diamonds and Mozartiana? I missed this year's Jewels, but I thought Maria was still dancing Diamonds beautifully? Perhaps that is why she was still cast as SPF this year. But, I do remember some of her turns in Mozartiana being being a little wobbly.

I hope the Jewels broadcast would feature Alena Kovaleva as the Diamonds ballerina. She was a highlight of the Lincoln Center multi-company Jewels a few summers back. It would be great to get her performance on film.

It really is too bad. Both times I saw her in Giselle, she had a problem with the hops en pointe, and I think she might have been injured or still recovering from one at the time. It's probably for the best. I will miss her presence on the Met stage.

Great season wrap-up! How unfortunate for Symphony in C. I was thinking of attending the Sunday performance since I didn't feel like I got my dose of Bizet this season, but ended up not going. The performance I saw had no major mishaps, but was kind of low on energy. I agree about Emilie Gerrity. Absolutely breathtaking in Serenade! I hope she gets to dance Sanguinic again come Spring. Megan Fairchild has also been delivering at every performance I saw her in.

I may have dozed off a bit during Lovette's ballet. I regained my consciousness by the curtain calls. Poor Unity Phelan must have drawn the short stick to have been saddled with that atrocity of a tutu. Although I thought it looked kind of cool from the front.

I'm gonna be out of town for the first week of the season. Sad to miss Mira Nadon's debut. I cannot wait to hear how she does!

I hope Matt Ball & Yasmine Naghdi's Romeo and Juliet gets a screening in NYC. Unrelated: most of the defendants in the Waterbury case have now responded, with SAB requesting sanctions.

Casting is certainly disappointing. I hope Gorak can still handle T&V. He barely gets cast in principal roles.

McKenzie is trying to lure Julian Mackay?

And disproved by the fact that Finlay and Lovette have been cast opposite each other up multiple times since they broke up their engagement.

I totally forgot about Longhitano.

I honestly can't fathom how the claims against NYCB & SAB won't get dismissed. Ditto for Ramasar & Catazaro There could be plenty of embarrassing things on Finlay's phone or email if that goes to trial. I would hope Finlay's lawyer is able to limit discovery to just messages involving Waterbury.

I relished reading the legal bitch-slapping handed down by SAB's legal team. In reading the correspondence between Eaton and Merson, you can immediately see how she lays out her facts plainly. Whil Merson, on the other hand, does the equivalent of "no, you!" In particular, Eaton's last letter where she tells Merson her intent to file a motion to dismiss was so badass. "We have a deal. Thanks and have a nice weekend."

I’m so unenthusiastic about this ABT season. I’m gonna see a couple of performances of Manon, and a couple of performances of Sleeping beauty. That’s about it. I couldn’t make it to any of the Tharp or Ratmansky programs, either. Oh well. Praying Herman will be able to dance Des Grieux.