Here's some of the latest news at PA Ballet (thanks to all who contributed items):

Sergio Torrado, who joined in January as a soloist, has advanced to principal. Gabriella Yudenich has been promoted to soloist. There's new corps and apprentices. The roster is here:

http://www.paballet.org/about/dancers.aspx

Here's the release regarding the next program:
Casting is here:

http://www.paballet.org/_uploaded/pdf/prod...anybcasting.pdf

Get set to Boogie with Pennsylvania Ballet this fall

Pennsylvania Ballet presents Paul Taylor’s Company B
at the Merriam Theater October 10 -14, 2007

A tribute to a bygone era, Pennsylvania Ballet presents Paul Taylor’s rollicking Company
B, October 10-14, 2007 at the Merriam Theater at the University of the Arts. The familiar and
upbeat tunes from The Andrews Sisters, and the choreographic allusions to the jitterbug and
other dances offer a stark contrast to the sense of loss and loneliness of the 1940s.
“Paul Taylor’s choreography presents dance styles evocative of the World War II era, and
yet the themes presented in the piece seem just as poignant and relevant today,” says Artistic
Director Roy Kaiser. “This dynamic program seamlessly fuses different generations and
interpretations of the art form that I think audiences will find quite entertaining.”
Also on the bill is George Balanchine’s elegant Concerto Barocco, the first piece ever
performed by the Company and one that remains a definitive piece in the Company’s repertoire.
Matthew Neenan’s As It’s Going, a ballet in seven movements drawn from an Anna Akhmatova
poem by the same name, completes this provocative program. Neenan, a Company dancer since
1994, will retire at the end of this production to continue his choreographic pursuits.
Performances of Company B are as follows:

Lots of new faces!! Congrats to Torrado, Yudenich, and Veyette on their promotions, as well as to the apprentices who've moved into the corps de ballet. Can't wait to read reviews of the new season!

Also noticed a few who are missing. Don't know if they've retired or just moved on, but here's wishing them all the best!

Where is Heidi Cruz?

According to Janet Anderson of Philadelphia's City Paper, a free weekly (http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2007/09/27/pas-de-deux-grand):

"[PAB's] dance roster will be different [....] Neenan, talented choreographer and corps member, resigned from the big company to focus completely on his experimental troupe BalletX. Two PAB dancers, Heidi Cruz-Austin and Tara Keating, have also joined Neenan full time in this endeavor."

The implication here, while not explicitly stated, is that Cruz-Austin, like Neenan, left PAB. (Note, though, that Anderson--not always the sharpest writer--also implies in this article that BalletX is newly independent of PAB, when the truth is that BalletX has always been a separate entity.)

I think Cruz-Austin not getting promoted to soloist at PA Ballet was inexplicable on the part of the company's "artistic" management--locals and website visitors will note, however, that they're still using her pic on promotional material!

Related note: Neenan in the article cited above said that he had reviewed a video of his Carmina for its revival at City Center and "didn't love it." I'm sure the sound of Macauley sharpening his pencil might have had something to do with that reassesment... I hope he gets the support from the company that he will need.