American Ballet Theatre has announced that a new "Firebird" will be choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky for a Spring 2012 premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House. Stephanie Goodman reports in the New York Times.

NY Times

The full schedule for the Spring 2012 season at the Metropolitan Opera House:

Spring 2012 Met Season

Denis Matvienko, a principal dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet, and Vadim Muntagirov, a principal dancer with English National Ballet, will debut as guest artists in upcoming performances with American Ballet Theatre. The announcement was made today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Matvienko will perform the role of Solor in La Bayadère at the matinee on Saturday, May 26, 2012 opposite Gillian Murphy as Nikiya and Isabella Boylston as Gamzatti during American Ballet Theatre’s 2012 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House.

Muntagirov will perform the role of Solor in La Bayadère at the matinee on Saturday, February 4, 2102 during the Company’s performances at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and on Wednesday evening, May 23 for the Company’s 2012 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House. He will also dance Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake
opposite Irina Dvorovenko as Odette/Odile at the matinee on Saturday, June 30.

Denis Matvienko was born in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. A classmate of Svetlana

Zakharova, he graduated from Kiev State School of Choreography in 1997. He made his debut

with National Ballet of Ukraine as Prince Désiré in The Sleeping Beauty while still a student in

the school, and entered the company at age eighteen as a principal dancer.

From 2001 to 2002, Matvienko danced as a soloist with the Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet.

His repertoire included Basil in Don Quixote, Prince Charming in Alexei Ratmansky's

Cinderella, George Balanchine's Jewels and the title role in his Prodigal Son. Matvienko then

returned to National Ballet of Ukraine and frequently appeared as a guest artist with the Bolshoi

Ballet, New National Theater in Japan, Teatro alla Scala and Paris Opera Ballet. In 2007, he

joined the Mikhailovsky Ballet in St. Petersburg and, in 2009, he was invited to join the

Mariinsky Ballet as a principal dancer.

(more)

MATVIENKO AND MUNTAGIROV TO APPEAR AS GUEST ARTISTS – Page 2

Since returning to the Mariinsky, his repertoire has included Prince Désiré in

The Sleeping Beauty, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Albrecht in Giselle, James in La Sylphide,

Solor in La Bayadère, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Prince Charming in Cinderella, Jean de

Brienne in Raymonda, De Grieux in Manon, Conrad in Le Corsaire, the title role in Spartacus

and Boris in The Golden Age. 


Vadim Muntagirov was born in Chelyabinsk, Russia and received his early ballet

training at Perm Choreographic Ballet Institute. After winning the Prix de Lausanne in 2006, he

was invited to continue his training at the Royal Ballet Upper School. Muntagirov joined

English National Ballet (ENB) in 2009 at the age of 19. His repertory with ENB includes

Albrecht in Giselle, the Prince in The Nutcracker and Cinderella and the Poet in Les Sylphides.

In addition, he was cast as Prince Siegfried in Derek Deane’s Swan Lake and debuted as Romeo

in Rudolf Nureyev’s Romeo and Juliet. In 2011, he won the award for Outstanding Male

Performer as well as for Emerging Dancer, by the London Critics’ Circle.

-30-

Thursday, November 17, 2011

This is so great! Can't wait to see Denis Matvienko)) Not once being in Kiev I visited the performances of the Mariinsky Ballet and every time it was just awesome! I am sure that our audience will also like him.

In the New York Times, Adam W. Kepler reports that principal dancer Ethan Stiefel will retire at the conclusion of the 2012 Spring Season. His final performance will be on July 7, 2012 in "Le Corsaire."

NY Times

The official press release - and hardly a surprise. I think we all could have predicted that the NZ to NY commute was not going to work.

AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

Final Performance Scheduled for Saturday evening, July 7, 2012
at Metropolitan Opera House

Ethan Stiefel, a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre since

1997, will retire from the Company at the conclusion of the 2012 Metropolitan Opera

House season in New York City, it was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin

McKenzie. Stiefel will give his farewell performance in the role of Ali, the Slave in

ABT’s production of Le Corsaire on Saturday evening, July 7, 2012.

Ethan Stiefel was born in Tyrone, Pennsylvania and began his dance

training at the age of eight in Madison, Wisconsin. He studied at the Milwaukee Ballet

School with Ted Kivitt and Paul Sutherland and with Marcia Dale Weary at the Central

Pennsylvania Youth Ballet before moving to New York to attend American Ballet

Theatre's School of Classical Ballet and School of American Ballet on scholarship. At

age 16, he joined the corps de ballet of New York City Ballet. In 1992, Stiefel took a

leave of absence to perform with Zurich Ballet and returned to New York City Ballet one

year later as a soloist. He was promoted to principal dancer in 1995. With New York

City Ballet, Stiefel danced principal roles in many of George Balanchine’s masterpieces

including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Four Temperaments, Apollo, Symphony in

Three Movements, Stars and Stripes, Harlequinade, Theme and Variations, Divertimento

#15, Valse Fantasie, Symphony in C, Tarantella, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Chaconne

and The Nutcracker. His repertoire of Jerome Robbins’ ballets includes Dances at a

Gathering, West Side Story Suite, The Goldberg Variations, 2+3 Part Inventions,

Interplay, The Cage and Quiet City. He also performed the role of Prince Désiré in Peter

Martins’ production of The Sleeping Beauty.

STIEFEL TO RETIRE AS PRINCIPAL DANCER - Page 2

Stiefel won a silver medal at the Prix de Lausanne in 1989. He was the

recipient of a Princess Grace Foundation-USA emerging artist grant in 1991 and was

nominated for the Benois de la Danse Award in 1998. In 2008, Stiefel was the recipient

of the Dance Magazine Award. He has appeared as a guest with many companies

including the Mariinsky (formerly Kirov) Ballet, The Royal Ballet, The Australian

Ballet, Zurich Ballet, New National Ballet in Tokyo, Teatro Colon Ballet in Buenos

Aires, New York City Ballet and Boston Ballet. In 2000, Stiefel starred in the motion

picture Center Stage, directed by Nicholas Hytner with original choreography by Susan

Stroman. He reprised his role as Cooper Nielson in the film’s sequel, Center Stage: Turn

It Up in 2008. In 2006, he became a founding member of Kings of the Dance, which

toured the United States and to Russia in 2007. He also appeared in the ABT Dance In

America productions of

Le Corsaire as Conrad and The Dream as Oberon, broadcast on PBS.

Stiefel joined American Ballet Theatre as a Principal Dancer in April

1997. His roles with the Company include the Boy in Afternoon of a Faun, the title roles

in Apollo, Billy the Kid and Petrouchka, Solor in La Bayadère, the Prince in Ben

Stevenson’s Cinderella, Franz in Coppélia, Conrad and Ali, the Slave in Le Corsaire, the

Gentleman with Her in Dim Lustre, Basilio in Don Quixote, Oberon in The Dream, the

second sailor in Fancy Free, Colas in La Fille mal gardée, Albrecht in Giselle, Lescaut

in Manon, the Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Lensky in Onegin, Cassio in Othello, Blue

Les Patineurs, the Son in Prodigal Son, Jean de Brienne in Raymonda, Romeo in Romeo

and Juliet, Prince Désiré in The Sleeping Beauty, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, James in

La Sylphide and Aminta in Sylvia.

His repertoire with American Ballet Theatre also includes leading roles in

George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Mozartiana, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and

Theme and Variations, Twyla Tharp’s The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Push Comes to

Shove and In the Upper Room, Jerome Robbins’ Other Dances, Mark Morris’ Drink To

Me Only With Thine Eyes and Gong, Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort and Sinfonietta, and

William Forsythe’s workwithinwork. He created leading roles in Black Tuesday, Known

by Heart, Rabbit and Rogue, “…smile with my heart” and Within You Without You: A

Tribute to George Harrison.

STIEFEL TO RETIRE AS PRINCIPAL DANCER – Page 3

In 2007, Stiefel was appointed Dean of the School of Dance at North

Carolina School of the Arts, a position he held until May 2011 upon being appointed

Artistic Director of Royal New Zealand Ballet. Of his retirement from American Ballet

Theatre, Stiefel said, “Although it is not easy to step away from performing, I am

gladdened by the fact that I have other invaluable opportunities to continue to contribute

to the art form. I am deeply grateful to everyone who has helped to shape my success as

an artist and has supported me throughout the years.”

Subscriptions for American Ballet Theatre’s 2012 Spring Season at the

Metropolitan Opera House are on sale now and available by phone at 212-362-6000, or

online at ABT’s website www.abt.org. The Metropolitan Opera House box opens

April 1, 2012.

Monday, January 23,2012

In the New York Times, Julie Bloom reports that principal dancer Angel Corella will be leaving ABT with a performance as Prince Siegfried, partnering Paloma Herrera in "Swan Lake" on June 28, 2012. He intends to spend full time directing and performing with his own company, recently renamed Ballet Barcelona.

NY Times

The full press release:
ANGEL CORELLA TO RETIRE AS PRINCIPAL DANCER WITH
AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

Final Performance Scheduled for Thursday, June 28, 2012
At Metropolitan Opera House

Angel Corella, Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre, has announced he

will retire from the Company after the 2012 Metropolitan Opera House season in

New York City. Corella will give his farewell performance in the role of Prince Siegfried

in Swan Lake on Thursday, June 28, 2012, dancing opposite Paloma Herrera as Odette/

Odile.

Born in Madrid, Angel Corella began his ballet studies in Colmenar Viejo, and

later studied in Madrid with Victor Ullate and Karemia Moreno. Corella won First Prize

in the National Ballet Competition of Spain in 1991 and the Grand Prix and Gold Medal

at the Concours International de Danse de Paris in 1994. He won the Prix Benois de la

Danse in 2000 and received the National Award of Spain in 2003.

Corella joined American Ballet Theatre as a Soloist in April 1995 and was

promoted to Principal Dancer in August 1996. His repertoire with ABT includes Solor

in La Bayadère, the title role in Billy the Kid, the Prince in Ben Stevenson's Cinderella,

Franz in Coppélia, Conrad, Ali, the Slave and Birbanto in Le Corsaire, Basilio in

Don Quixote, Henry in Christopher Wheeldon’s VIII, the first and third sailor in

Fancy Free, Colas in La Fille mal gardée, the Peruvian in Gaîté Parisienne, Albrecht

in Giselle, Des Grieux in Manon, Danilo and Camille in The Merry Widow, the

Nutcracker-Prince and the Cavalier in Kevin McKenzie's The Nutcracker, Lensky

in Onegin, Cassio in Othello, the Blue Boy in Les Patineurs, the title role in Petrouchka,

The Man from the House Opposite in Pillar of Fire, the Son in Prodigal Son, Jean de

Brienne in Raymonda, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Prince Désiré in The Sleeping

Beauty, the Rose in Le Spectre de la Rose, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, the third movement

in Symphony in C, James in La Sylphide, Aminta in Sylvia and Petruchio in The Taming

of the Shrew.

His repertoire with American Ballet Theatre also includes leading roles

in Americans We, Ballet Imperial, A Brahms Symphony, Bruch Violin Concerto No.

1, Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes, Études, In the Upper Room, The Leaves Are

Fading, Meadow, Mozartiana, Other Dances, Petite Mort, Push Comes to Shove, Sechs

Tänze, Sinfonietta, Sinatra Suite, Stepping Stones, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Theme and

Variations, Variations on ‘America’, Without Words and workwithinwork. He created

leading roles in Baroque Game, The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Clear, Concerto No.

1 for Piano and Orchestra, Gong, Known By Heart and Within You Without You: A

Tribute to George Harrison.

Corella’s television appearances include a performance at the 1996 Kennedy

Center Honors, an episode of Sesame Street in 1998 and Born to Be Wild, Le Corsaire

and

Swan Lake for WNET’s “Dance in America.” In December 1999, Corella danced as a

guest artist at the Gala for the opening of the re-furbished Royal Opera House, as well as

with The Royal Ballet. He has also performed as a guest artist with The Australian Ballet

and at La Scala. In March 2008, Corella made his debut with the Kirov Ballet, dancing

Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake opposite Diana Vishneva as Odette/Odile.

Corella is Artistic Director and Principal Dancer of Barcelona Ballet (previously

Corella Ballet Castilla y León), a company he founded in 2008.

ABT is getting VERY thin in the male principal ranks. And their habit of importing talent rather than growing it is really coming back to haunt them.

Essentially, Gomes and Stearns are the only full-time principals.

Stiefel and Corella are doing a couple of performances and then gone for good.

Beloserkovsky has been very limited in terms of rep and performances by age and injury.

Cornejo is doing a lot of dancing elsewhere and has been injured.

Hallberg is now spending more time at the Bolshoi.

Bolle is really very part time and has blown off ABT in the past.

And there's not much at soloist rank - of the five soloists, Radetsky and Salstein are unlikely ever to go higher and have their niche. Saveliev is close to retirement, and Simkin is probably going to be limited by his height. Jared Matthews is the wild card - though I don't think his casting suggests major principal role stardom.

And to be blunt, the majority of the men in the corps have been there for YEARS. There are only a handful who seem to have the potential for movement as far as principal, which I would define as being in the corps less than 6 years and getting good roles. Dancers like Calvin Royal, Joseph Gorak, Eric Tamm etc. But even Gorak who won the Erik Bruhn Prize and Princess Grace Fellowship is still in the corps. Alexandre Hammoudi has by many accounts deserved promotion for the last few years, and Joseph Phillips doesn't seem to have gone anywhere despite his potential. Nevermind Sean Stewart who rejoined the company after a 6 year absence which came after he was blatantly overlooked for promotion (too busy importing hot Spanish talent which has long since bailed).

Of the 25 corps dancers, only 7 have joined the company in or after 2008, and at least 2 of those dancers came as soloists or principals from Miami City Ballet. 13 dancers (more than half) joined in between 1997 and 2004, and almost a decade later are still in the corps. It is a big company, but still to have that many dancers who joined in a two year span still sitting in the corps (11 joined in 2003 or 2004). Chances are they're all probably going to depart within a few years of each other, which could leave big holes in the corps.

It's a real shame because McKenzie had some great talent in his ranks that was ignored/underused/put in a niche. So they either missed out on chances to be promoted or left for other companies. Perhaps financial issues are limiting promotions, but wouldn't it be better to spend less on jetting in expensive guest stars (and thus probably stifling the growth of your ballerinas since they can't form stable partnerships), and use that extra money to promote worthy dancers from the corps.

For all the trumpeting of the Onassis School (see the most recent issue of Pointe Magazine), it doesn't seem to have produced much in the way of male talent. That may change as more classes come out, but none of the bright young stars have burned brightly enough to even make it to soloist level.

Interestingly enough, the real homegrown male talent may now be at NYCB and other companies, in a real change of power. With Corella's departure, there will actually be more Spanish principals at NYCB than ABT (Garcia and DeLuz at NYCB)

Please note that the link in the article does not go to Angel Corella's "Barcelona Ballet" which web page http://www.angelcorella.org/ still is under construction, but to a Ballet Barcelona stuff (no idea what this is about).

In the Wall Street Journal, Pia Catton previews Alexei Ratmansky's "The Firebird," which will open on May 14, 2012 at the Metropolitan Opera House.

Wall Street Journal

In the New York Times, Gia Kourlas interviews Misty Copeland, Sarah Lane, Gemma Bond, Alexandre Hammoudi, Sean Stewart and Roman Zhurbin prior to the May 14, 2012 Spring Season Gala.

NY Times

Mariela Murdocco interviews ABT soloist Maria Riccetto for Fox News.

Fox News

Alastair Macaulay reviews the Monday, May 14, 2012 gala performance for the New York Times.

NY Times

Marina Harss reviews the May 14 gala for the Faster Times.

Faster Times

Leigh Witchel reviews the May 14 gala for the New York Post.

NY Post