Casting is up for June 17-22, 2008:

http://www.nycballet.com/casting/wk8.html?...er1_TSMenuID=30

Dale, at my first glance my eye was stopped by Nicolas le Riche in Suite of Dances on day one. Does anyone know the story behind that?

Le Riche has been dancing Suite of Dances for a while. I'm pretty certain I saw him do it in Paris in '04.

Yes indeed, he's danced it several times at the Paris Opera.

By the way, "Suite of dances" will be part of the POB-NYCB gala at the Paris Opera on Sept 16. The cast list isn't known yet, but I wonder if Le Riche will be performing "Suite of dances" ? (Legris danced it too with POB-I liked both in that role, but found Legris especially wonderful...)

Thanks, Leigh and Estelle. I had forgotten about the upcoming NYCB/POB gala.

I guess inviting Le Riche makes sense, considering the long history of French visitors to NYCB. I have only dim memories of the ballet, except for Baryshnikov. I would think that Le Riche -- who can be pretty mesmerising even when on stage alone (as in the dvds of Ivan the Terrible and Clavigo) i s star enough to grab and hold the audience's attention in the Robbins.

Has he, to anyone's knowledge, danced at (or with) NYCB before?

The Bouder - Woetzel bonanza the next evening should certainly make a LOT of people happy, too.

More like mixed feelings. It's billed as Woetzel's retirement. It's a performance that was sold out before the box office even opened, however that's possible. (Never mind explaining. Of course, donors and subscribers get dibs before the peasants, as they should. Kyra's thoughtful suggestion to schedule her farewell for a non-subscription performance -- and still selling out the house -- might have set a precedent for Damian's and future retirees.)

If I'm unable to scrounge a ticket for myself , my feelings will be a mixture of sadness and frustration. Maybe more than a little anger in there, too.