Oh my goodness, this is good news.
Eric Tamm is back. Happy New Year!
Five years ago Tamm and Luis Ribagorda walked out of ABT after having had enough of watching McKenzie wipe the noses and butts of countless guest artists while ignoring the home grown talent. We had some say about it back then. Tamm always had an elegant warm/cool assured stage presence that harmonized with any of his ballerinas. He was a reason to buy tickets. He was a reason to rejoice at ABT when there was precious little other reason to be happy. Five years is a long time to be gone, but it's also five years with no injuries or wear & tear. We hope he's in tiptop shape.
If Ratmansky puts this guy in a red Désiré coat and a tri-corner hat, Haglund will put himself in the front row of the Met — so long as Aurora isn't the equinarina or fakerina. We see two open slots in Sleeping Beauty where Tamm (and/or Hoven) would fit like a glove.
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Who, besides Haglund, missed the ballet Jeopardy clue last night?
Answer (the DAILY DOUBLE): A pas de deux based on music by Samuel Barber premiered in 1975 with Baryshnikov as Jason and Carla Fracci as her.
Brad Rutter without any hesitation: Who is Medea?
Damn. Who could remember that? It didn't even happen in New York. 😸
10 responses to “observations 1/10”
Just curious, can one come back to ballet after 5 years not dancing. ? i liked Eric too and wish he would do well on his comeback.
Just curious, can one come back to ballet after 5 years not dancing. ? i liked Eric too and wish he would do well on his comeback.
Hi, Jose. I think Eric has been keeping physically active on the peripherals of ballet. He’s at a prime age and hopefully will be able to pick up where he left off. His performances have been missed.
But yes, you have a point. If a dancer had been a couch potato for five years or had been involved in physical training that is contrary to ballet training, it might be fairly hard to return to form.
Hi, Jose. I think Eric has been keeping physically active on the peripherals of ballet. He’s at a prime age and hopefully will be able to pick up where he left off. His performances have been missed.
But yes, you have a point. If a dancer had been a couch potato for five years or had been involved in physical training that is contrary to ballet training, it might be fairly hard to return to form.
During her late 30s Allegra Kent would give one performance a season (to the chagrin of Kirstein).
But she took a daily class, swam, and was, well Allegra. Born with it.
During her late 30s Allegra Kent would give one performance a season (to the chagrin of Kirstein).
But she took a daily class, swam, and was, well Allegra. Born with it.
ABT is also up to something with their subscriptions. For about 12 years I have purchased a subscription in January, I understand cash flow, with the intent to exchange those tickets in March for the performances I really want to see. When I received my tickets this week there was a note with blackout dates for subscription exchanges, which is totally new. The dates are for Hallberg and Osipova performances and the 2 galas. I’m angry! There was no mention in the brochure about these blacked out dates and quite honestly the Hallberg and Osipova performances are all I want to see, I certainly don’t plan to attend anything “Fakeirina” is doing! I phoned the Met Box Office, they agreed with me but can’t do anything about it and were clear that I was NOT the first call they’d received on this. They suggested that I call ABT directly. I’ve been anxiously awaiting the return phone call for two days now. Maybe someone from ABT will read this? And this is the 2nd time ABT has treated one of their loyal fans (but not extremely wealthy) poorly. I had been a monthly donor to ABT for 10 years, I’d upped my donation slightly as the years passed but was comfortable with my level. Two years ago, I received an email from Grey Davis, the Development Director, TELLING me that ABT was increasing my donation so that I could keep the same benefits. Not ASKING me if I wanted to up the donation, TELLING me. Needless to say, I ended that monthly donation!
ABT is also up to something with their subscriptions. For about 12 years I have purchased a subscription in January, I understand cash flow, with the intent to exchange those tickets in March for the performances I really want to see. When I received my tickets this week there was a note with blackout dates for subscription exchanges, which is totally new. The dates are for Hallberg and Osipova performances and the 2 galas. I’m angry! There was no mention in the brochure about these blacked out dates and quite honestly the Hallberg and Osipova performances are all I want to see, I certainly don’t plan to attend anything “Fakeirina” is doing! I phoned the Met Box Office, they agreed with me but can’t do anything about it and were clear that I was NOT the first call they’d received on this. They suggested that I call ABT directly. I’ve been anxiously awaiting the return phone call for two days now. Maybe someone from ABT will read this? And this is the 2nd time ABT has treated one of their loyal fans (but not extremely wealthy) poorly. I had been a monthly donor to ABT for 10 years, I’d upped my donation slightly as the years passed but was comfortable with my level. Two years ago, I received an email from Grey Davis, the Development Director, TELLING me that ABT was increasing my donation so that I could keep the same benefits. Not ASKING me if I wanted to up the donation, TELLING me. Needless to say, I ended that monthly donation!
That doesn’t seem quite fair although since the main gala hasn’t usually been included in subscriptions, it’s understandable how ABT might not want to allow exchanges. Since both of H&O’s performances are part of subscription packages, maybe ABT would allow you the courtesy of changing your entire subscription, rather than exchanging a couple of tickets. Probably not, but it might be worth a try. ABT doesn’t understand that they’re shooting themselves in the foot with these types of restrictions.
That doesn’t seem quite fair although since the main gala hasn’t usually been included in subscriptions, it’s understandable how ABT might not want to allow exchanges. Since both of H&O’s performances are part of subscription packages, maybe ABT would allow you the courtesy of changing your entire subscription, rather than exchanging a couple of tickets. Probably not, but it might be worth a try. ABT doesn’t understand that they’re shooting themselves in the foot with these types of restrictions.