A press release from Yagp (the format might be a bit off but I think it's easy to see which casting belongs to which piece):

World’s largest student ballet competition celebrates
10th Anniversary with 3 performances at NY City Center

April 21 – Final Round of the competition (open to general public for the first time)
April 22 – “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow” – YAGP 10th Anniversary Gala
April 23 – “Peter the Great” Gala: A tribute to a legendary ballet teacher, Peter Pestov

TICKETS: $25-$150  CityTix ® 212.581.1212  www.nycitycenter.org  NY City Center Box Office

New York, NY (March 30, 2009) – World’s largest student ballet competition and festival - YOUTH AMERICA GRAND PRIX – will celebrate its 10th Anniversary with three spectacular performances at NY City Center on April 21-23, 2009.

THE FINAL ROUND OF THE COMPETITION (April 21, 2009 at 7:00pm) – Each year, over 5,000 talented young dance students audition worldwide at semi-final rounds conducted by YAGP around the globe. Only 300 of the most promising young dancers representing 30 countries on 5 continents are chosen for the New York City Finals. Open to general public for the first time, the FINAL ROUND will give New York audiences a unique opportunity to see 60 of the world’s best young dancers before they disperse around the world to study on scholarship at the world’s leading dance academies (over $250,000 in scholarships are presented annually at YAGP). TICKETS: $25 for all seat locations, available at NY City Center Box Office, at www.nycitycenter.org, or by calling CityTix® at 212.581.1212.

“STARS OF TODAY MEET THE STARS OF TOMORROW”: YAGP 10th Anniversary Gala (April 22, 2009 at 7:00pm)
The annually sold-out YAGP Galas have become synonymous with the discovery of new dancers, choreographers, and companies. The unique format of the Gala, featuring the performances of international ballet stars and introducing the world’s brightest young dance talent quickly became an audience favorite and, according to Clive Barnes of the New York Post, “the highlight of the New York ballet season.” The 10th Anniversary Celebration Gala will bring together 23 of the 250 YAGP alumni currently performing with over 50 companies around the globe, representing American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Orlando Ballet, Corella Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Stuttgart Ballet, Dresden State Opera Ballet, and MOMIX. SEE ATTACHED PROGRAM. TICKETS: $45-$150, available at NY City Center Box Office, at www.nycitycenter.org, or by calling CityTix® at 212.581.1212.

“PETER THE GREAT” GALA: A TRIBUTE TO A LEGENDARY BALLET TEACHER (April 23, 2009 at 7:00pm)
Vladimir Malakhov, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Alexei Ratmansky and the last five Artistic Directors of the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet – what do these instantly recognizable names have in common? They have all been trained by Peter Pestov, one of the greatest ballet teachers in history. This extraordinary evening will pay tribute to Mr. Pestov’s legacy by gathering some of his most acclaimed students in one spectacular Gala performance. The audience will be treated to never-before-seen archival footage and will witness an emotional coming together of several generations of dancers, choreographers and teachers celebrating the 80th birthday of the great architect behind their success. The Gala evening will be hosted by Alexei Ratmansky. SEE ATTACHED PROGRAM. TICKETS: $45-$150, available at NY City Center Box Office, at www.nycitycenter.org, or by calling CityTix® at 212.581.1212.

YOUTH AMERICA GRAND PRIX (YAGP) is America’s first and the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition, founded in 1999 by two former Bolshoi Ballet dancers, Larissa and Gennadi Saveliev. Conducted annually throughout the U.S. and abroad (Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and Italy), YAGP is the “internet of the dance world,” a global network of opportunity connecting dancers, teachers, schools and companies all over the globe. Each year, YAGP culminates with a Final Round in New York City and a Gala performance at NY City Center. Since its inception, 25,000 young dancers have participated in YAGP worldwide competitions and workshops, over $2 million dollars have been awarded in scholarships to the world’s leading dance schools, and over 250 YAGP Alumni are now dancing with some 50 companies around the globe, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg, and many others. For more information, visit WWW.YAGP.ORG.

YAGP 10th Anniversary Season is sponsored by Bloch, Capezio, Grishko, Gaynor Minden, Discount Dance Supply, Dance magazine, Dance Teacher magazine, Dance Spirit magazine, Dancer magazine, Pointe magazine, and Sylvia Co.

# # #

“STARS OF TODAY MEET THE STARS OF TOMORROW”
YAGP 10th ANNIVERSARY GALA

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 7pm
New York City Center

ACT I

Skylar Brandt (ABT JKO School),
Brooklyn Mack (Orlando Ballet) “Little Red Riding Hood” – WORLD PREMIERE
Choreography: Viktor Kabaniaev
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Costumes by: Narciso Rodriguez

James Moore - NY DEBUT
(Pacific Northwest Ballet) “Mopey”
Choreography: Marco Goecke
Music: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

Hiroko Asami – NY DEBUT,
Raphael Courmes-Marquet
(Dresden State Opera Ballet)
“Reverence” - NY PREMIERE
Choreography: David Dawson
Music: Max Richter

Angelina Zuccarini (Stuttgart Ballet) –
NY DEBUT Lise Variation from “La Fille Mal Gardee”
Choreography: Frederick Ashton
Music: Ferdinand Hérold

Charles Andersen – NY DEBUT,
Eliabe D'Abadia – NY DEBUT
(Royal Danish Ballet) “The Jockey Dance”
Choreography: August Bournonville
Music: Carl Christian Møller

“Who Cares?” (excerpts)
Choreography: George Balanchine
© The George Balanchine Trust
Music: George Gershwin

Sara Mearns, Jared Angle
(New York City Ballet)
“The Man I Love” (excerpt #1)
Maria Kowroski **, Philip Neal
(New York City Ballet)
“Embraceable You” (excerpt #2)
Natalia Tapia , Matthew Golding

(Corella Ballet) – NY COMPANY DEBUT “Flames of Paris” Pas de Deux
Choreography: Vasily Vainonen
Music: Boris Asafiev

The YAGP 2009 Finalists “Grand Defilé”
Choreography: Carlos Dos Santos, Jr.
Music: Stephen Gunzenhauser

- Intermission -

PLEASE NOTE:

** Ms. Kowroski was invited to join the program as YAGP’s very first honoree.
Several finalists of the YAGP 2009 Student Ballet Competition will be selected to join ACT I of the program.


“STARS OF TODAY MEET THE STARS OF TOMORROW”
YAGP 10th ANNIVERSARY GALA

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 7pm
New York City Center

“Le Grand Pas de Quatre”
Choreography: Jules Perrot
Music: Cesare Pugni

Melanie Hamrick, Christine Schevchenko, Mary Thomas, Katherine Williams
(American Ballet Theatre)
“Adagio”
Ashley Bouder (New York City Ballet)
Maia Makhateli (Dutch National Ballet)
Irina Dvorovenko (American Ballet Theatre)
Yekaterina Kondaurova (Mariinsky Ballet)
“Lucile Grahn variation”
“Carlotta Grisi variation”
“Fanny Cerrito variation”
“Marie Taglioni variation”

Bouder, Makhateli, Dvorovenko, Kondaurova
“Coda”

Kiril Kulish (“Billy Elliot: The Musical”) “Electricity”
Choreography: Peter Darling
Music: Elton John

Karine Plantadit (Broadway Performer), Danny Tidwell “Good Times, Ha!” – WORLD PREMIERE
Choreography: Camille A. Brown
Music: The New York Allstars

Hee Seo, Cory Stearns
(American Ballet Theatre) “Romeo and Juliet” Balcony Pas de Deux
Choreography: Kenneth MacMillan
Music: Sergei Prokofiev

Steven Marshall, Partner TBA (MOMIX) “Tuu”
Choreography: Moses Pendleton
Music: Tuu

Gillian Murphy, Joseph Phillips
(American Ballet Theatre) “Tarantella”
Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: Louis Moreau Gottschalk
© The George Balanchine Trust

Bridgett Zehr, Zdenek Konvalina
(National Ballet of Canada) “The Prokofiev Pas de Deux”
Choreography: Chris Wheeldon
Music: Sergei Prokofiev

Victoria Tereshkina, Vladimir Shklyarov (Mariinsky Ballet); Sarah Lane, Marcelo Gomes (American Ballet Theatre),
Zachary Catazaro (New York City Ballet) “Le Corsaire” Suite
Choreography: Marius Petipa
Music: Richard Drigo

ACT II

Program subject to change.

“PETER THE GREAT” GALA: A TRIBUTE TO A LEGENDARY BALLET TEACHER

Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 7pm
New York City Center

This special program is a celebration of the life and work of a legendary ballet teacher, Peter Pestov.
It features rare archival footage, choreography and performances
by some of Mr. Pestov’s most celebrated students.

ACT I

“Peter the Great”
(Video presentation)


Introductory Remarks
Alexei Ratmansky

Graduating class,
John Cranko School of Stuttgart Ballet Class Demonstration
Teacher: Peter Pestov

Maria Kochetkova (San Francisco Ballet),
Gonzalo Garcia (New York City Ballet) “Raymonda” Pas de Deux - NY PREMIERE
Choreography: Yuri Possokhov
Music: Alexander Glazunov

Sascha Radetsky (Dutch National Ballet) “5 Tangos”
Choreography: Hans van Manen
Music: Astor Piazzola

Wendy Whelan, Benjamin Millepied
(New York City Ballet) “Concerto DSCH”
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky
Music: Dmitri Shostakovich

Viktoria Tereshkina (Mariinsky Ballet),
Marcelo Gomes (American Ballet Theatre) “Manon” Pas de Deux
Choreography: Kenneth MacMillan
Music: Jules Massenet

Alicia Amatriain (Stuttgart Ballet),
Mikhail Kaniskin (Berlin State Opera Ballet) “In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated”
Choreography: William Forsythe
Music: Thom Willems

Vladimir Malakhov (Berlin State Opera Ballet) "La Vita Nuova - NY PREMIERE
Choreography: Ronald Savkovic
Music: Arshak Ghalumyan

Adiarys Almeida, Herman Cornejo,
Joseph Gatti (Corella Ballet) “Le Corsaire” Pas de Trois
Choreography: Marius Petipa
Music: Richard Drigo

- Intermission -

“PETER THE GREAT” GALA: A TRIBUTE TO A LEGENDARY BALLET TEACHER

Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 7pm
New York City Center

ACT II

Elizabeth Schmitt, Sam Zaldivar
(Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy) “Flower Festival in Genzano” Pas de Deux
Choreography: August Bournonville
Music: Eduard Helsted

Ekaterina Kondaurova, Islom Baimuradov
(Mariinsky Ballet) “Middle Duet”
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky
Music: Yuri Khanon

Gennadi Saveliev (American Ballet Theatre) “Gopak”
Choreography: Rostislav Zakharov
Music: Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi

Karine Plantadit (Broadway performer),
Sascha Radetsky (Dutch National Ballet) “Sinatra Suite”
Choreography: Twyla Tharp
Music: Frank Sinatra

Vladimir Malakhov (Berlin State Opera Ballet) “Voyage”
Choreography: Renato Zanella
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Alicia Amatriain (Stuttgart Ballet),
Mikhail Kaniskin (Berlin State Opera Ballet) “Le Grand Pas de Deux”
Choreography: Christian Spuck
Music: Gioachino Rossini

Nikolai Tsiskaridze (Bolshoi Ballet) “Narcissus”
Choreography: Kassyan Goliezovsky
Music: Nikolai Cherepnin

Viktoria Tereshkina, Vladimir Shklyarov
(Mariinsky Ballet) “Don Quixote” Pas de Deux
Choreography: Marius Petipa
Music: Richard Drigo

Closing Remarks
Alexei Ratmansky

Program subject to change.

Thanks, Dale. If Terioshkina and Gomes perform the Manon pdd with the same intensity as they displayed at the recent Mariinsky Festival gala, then NYC is in for one heckuva treat. It's also great to see two other Mariinsky dancers in the line-up -- 'Big Red' Kondaurova and Schklyarov.

Wouldn't it be great if the organizers could add an excerpt from Little Humpbacked Horse? We've got the Tsar-Maiden, Ivan and the Queen of the Seas headed for NYC!

The line up for both galas sounds just fabulous – there is lots and lots to look forward to. It would probably do well to remember that there are generally pretty substantial changes to the initial plans – but these plans sound great!

After Natalia's Mariinsky Festival reviews I can't wait to see Terioshkina and Gomes in the Manon pas de deux at the Peter the Great Gala. I'm also particularly looking forward to seeing DANNY TIDWELL (yippe!) at the Stars Gala along with Gillian Murphy & Joseph Phillips in Tarantella and all those wonderful overseas guests.

RECESSION SPECIAL:
I have just been advised that a friend went to the box office for his Pestov Gala ticket, displayed the YAGP ticket he'd already bought and got a 25% discount on the Pestov.

Thank you, City Center!

Wow. That's very unusual, especially since the lineup for the Pestov Gala looks so good.

According to the YAGP site Gomes won't be performing; and only Kondaurova will be representing the Mariinsky.

http://yagp.org/gala/index.html

I am going to the Wednesday night gala. The lineup looks great, but what happened to Natalia Osipova? I thought that she was performing.

Yes, Osipova and Vasiliev bowed-out a while back. A shame, as they were the absolute 'hits' of last year's YAGP Gala. I believe that Tsiskaridze will be the lone representative of the Bolshoi, unless there are last-minute surprises.

Extremely disappointing that Terioshkina & Schklyarov will not appear and that NYC will not be able to enjoy the Terioshkina/Gomes Manon pdd that thrilled us at the Mariinsky Festival last month. BOO to that! (I feel bad for nysusan and others who specifically were looking forward to this!)

It sure is disapointing to hear that we won't get to see Terioshkina & Gomes do the Manon Pas de deux. I just saw Gomes a couple of days ago with Patrelle Dances so at least his withdrawl isn't due to injury. Without the two of them and Schklyarov I guess we can forget about that Corsaire Suite which looked so good on paper. Also noticed that the YAGP site dosn't list Ashley Bouder who was supposed to dance the Grahn variation in the Grand Pas de Quatre. That's a shame but there are always lots of changes at a gala like this and there's still lots to look forward to. Did I mention Danny Tidwell? Tsiskaridze? Kondaurova? I'm also looking forward to seeing many familiar faces in unfamiliar roles - it will be fun even with all the cancellations!

As of today, the morning of the gala, this is on the YAGP website:

The YAGP 10th Anniversary Gala will feature the finalists of the YAGP international student ballet competition alongside the all-YAGP-alumni star cast led by specially invited guest stars, Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev of Bolshoi Ballet.

I'm sorry, but if Osipova and Vasiliev are not performing, WHY are they still being advertised?

Very good question! And ABT has come in for some criticism recently on the way they handled the issues surrounding Osipova's dates this coming June.

Compared to the sponsors of this event, well....never mind.

I attended Wednesday night’s Gala. This is the second time that I have been to the YAGP Gala. I attended back in 2007, but sadly I missed last year’s Gala. Tonight’s gala had many high points, a few technical glitches, and a few moments of brilliance.

I arrived at City Center at about 7:40 and while City Center was open, the doors of the theater remained closed a few more minutes. When the doors finally did open, there seemed to be no ushers to seat the people. Many members of the audience were not even seated when the house lights dimmed and they started showing the YAGP 10th Anniversary video presentation. People were walking around during most of the video. Then, Christopher Wheeldon came out as our emcee for the evening and repeated a lot of what we had just heard in the video.

The first part of Act I was the winners of the Gala. There was a problem with the music for the young lady who danced to "Harlequinade". Finally, everything was sorted out and thankfully it did not throw off any of these young dancers. Each performer was extraordinary in their own way. I wish I had a list of the performers, but the ones that stood out in mind are the ensemble number, the young lady who brought the chair out (I believe that the dance was called "Pisces"), the young lady who danced to “La Esmeralda”, and the young man who danced to "Hernando’s Hideaway". Christopher Wheeldon told us each name before they came out and I am sure the list will be posted somewhere on the Internet tomorrow.

Then, it was time for the Alumni part of the Gala. We began with “Little Red Riding Hood” with Skylar Brandt of the ABT Onassis School and Gleidson Soares Vasconcelos of the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami. This was the actual fairy tale with a comic twist. I was surprised (as was the rest of the audience) to hear the shriek of Brandt when she realized that she was sitting on top of a wolf. But, this Red knew how to handle herself. It was a playful dance and the two leads looked like they were enjoying themselves.

Next, we had Charles Andersen and Eliabe D’Abadia of the Royal Danish Ballet in “The Jockey Dance”, with choreography by Bournonville. Like “Red Riding Hood”, Andersen and D’Abadia looked like they were having a lot of fun with this. They came out dressed in full riding gear, complete with riding crop, which they had no problem using on each other.

This was followed by Hiroko Asami and Raphael Coumes-Marquet of the Dresden State Opera Ballet in “Reverence”. After the two playful dances, we completely changed tempo with this very darkly lit and moody dance. The two leads were very good in conveying the emotion of the music by Max Richter.

The program listed Angelina Zuccarini of the Stuttgart Ballet as being next in a variation from “La Fille Mal Gardee”, but she was a no-show. Next up was James Moore from Pacific Northwest Ballet in “Mopey”. This was a very unique dance. Moore used every part of his body while running around the stage and on and off the stage. He exited by jumping up and down on his rear end while he was seated.

Bridgett Zehr and Zdenek Konvalina of the National Ballet of Canada were next in “The Prokofiev Pas de Deux”. Except for one small glitch in the dance (Konvalina was leaving the stage and it looked like Zehr tripped over him causing her to put her hand down on the ground to balance herself) this was a beautiful dance. Zehr showed so much control and flexibility during this number.

Our last alumni number was Natalia Tapia and Matthew Golding of Corella Ballet in the Pas de Deux from “Flames of Paris”. Golding is very tall for a dancer, but his height also helped him to get off the ground higher than most dancers. This is a showstopper and both dancers went all out in their solos. At one point, it looked like Tapia did either a quadruple or maybe even a quintuple pirouette.

Act I ended with all of the participants of the YAGP competition dancing to “Grand Defile”. Some of the dancers were so young and tiny. One little boy kept running out and he had such an incredible look of joy on his face, that he received applause without having to do anything. When all of the dancers came out, Sergey Gordeev came out to announce that the World Record was being set for most dancers on one stage on pointe at the same time. They actually had a lady representing the Guiness Book who was there with the official certificate.

Act II began with “Le Grand Pas de Quatre”. My only complaint about this was that the recording of the music sounded awful! They had four ballerinas from the American Ballet Theatre dance together – Melanie Hamrick, Christine Shevchenko, Mary Thomas, and Katherine Williams – and then four different ballerinas performed the individual solos. The four ladies at the beginning made a beautiful tableau when the curtain opened. They captured the grace and elegance of the nineteenth century Romantic ballet. I have to apologize in advance for what I am going to write next. One of the four (I am not sure who it was) is the chunkiest ballerina I have ever seen. Her dancing was lovely, but I was surprised.

Ashley Bouder of New York City Ballet danced the Lucile Grahn solo. Again, there was a technical problem with the music before her solo. Thankfully, the glitch did not affect her dancing. Maia Makhateli of Dutch National Ballet danced the Carlotta Grisi solo. Irina Dvorovenko of ABT (who got huge applause when she came out) danced the Fanny Cerrito solo. And finally, Yekaterina Kondaurova of the Mariinsky (who also got huge applause when she came out – everybody loves Big Red!) danced the Marie Taglioni solo. They were all beautiful. Of the four, I felt that Dvorovenko and Kondaurova were the standouts.

Then came an unexpected surprise. Kiril Kulish, the star of “Billy Elliot” sang and danced “Electricity” from the show. What a talented young man!

Then we had two dances from Balanchine’s “Who Cares?” Sara Mearns and Jared Angle from NYCB danced to “The Man I Love” and Maria Kowroski and Philip Neal (also from NYCB) danced to “Embraceable You”. Both dances were beautiful, playful, and romantic

Karine Plantadit and Danny Tidwell danced to “Good Times, Ha!” While both dancers showed great energy and comic timing in this difficult dance, I have to admit that this was my least favorite of the dances being performed tonight. After a while, the movements got a bit repetitive and it looked like Plantadit was getting tired.

Hee Seo and Cory Stearns of ABT danced to the Balcony Pas de Deux from “Romeo and Juliet”. Lovely Hee Seo remains my favorite soloist from American Ballet Theatre and I was very pleased to see that she will be dancing the lead in “Romeo and Juliet” during the spring. This was beautifully done tonight and it really made me look forward to seeing her in the full ballet. Two years ago when I went to the YAGP Gala, there was a group of screamers, who seemed to feel that every big trick had to be applauded or screamed about. Thankfully, they were not as vocal this year, but it was during this dance that I guess the “natives started getting restless”. The beautiful mood was broken by the screamers in the balcony who felt that they had to go “whoooo” when Seo and Stearns kissed.

Next on the program was supposed to be Gillian Murphy and Joseph Phillips of ABT in “Tarantella”, but that did not happen. Instead, we went right to Marcelo Gomes, who danced to “Percussion 4” from Bob Fosse’s “Dancin’”. Marcelo was absolutely incredible. I have had the pleasure of seeing him dance many times before, but not in anything like this. He showed a completely different side of himself and got a huge ovation when he was finished.

Then came the “Le Corsaire” Suite. We started out with Sarah Lane of ABT and Zachary Catazaro of NYCB and then we went to Victoria Tereshkina and Vladimir Shklyarov of the Mariinsky Ballet. There was also another unnamed dancer (he was dressed in the Conrad costume) who was having a really bad night. He went to do one of those moves that I call the “karate kick wheelbarrow” and it looked like his foot slipped right out from under him and he landed really hard on his rear end. Later on, he fudged a lift with Tereshkina and had to put her down kind of awkwardly. Lane was very pretty in her dance. Catazaro was wonderful. Tereshkina continues to amaze me. I saw her dance Gamzatti last year when the Mariinsky came to DC and then I saw her again last year in “Diana and Acteon” when the Mariinsky was at City Center. Shklyarov was wildly amazing. I thought he was going to spin out of control once or twice, but he kept it together. The screamers in the balcony were also out of control by this point.

Overall, a very good night. I feel very fortunate and thankful that I was able to attend this.

Many thanks for the report, Ceeszi!

Great report, Ceezi! It seems like a jam-packed evening, and a chance to see a remarkable number and variety of ballet dancers.

Anyone else out there with a report?

Thanks for the report, Ceeszi! I was there too and agree that there were a few glitches with this year's gala but considered overall, it was a fun night. Regarding the performers - unfortunately that was definitely not Ashley Bouder in the Grand Pas De Quatre - it was Angelina Zuccarini, who I really enjoyed in the 1st variation. Big Red was the epitome of grace and elegance here as Taglioni. We got Jeni Ringer subbing for Sarah Mearns in the first pdd from Who Cares. As for the Corsaire Suite - Joseph Phillips partnered Sara Lane, and by process of elimination I believe that was Zachary Catazaro having the unfortunate night as Conrad. He is a big, handsome dancer who appears to have strong technique and elegant lines, so hopefully we will get to see him again on a better night.

The Corsaire Suite was interesting and lots of fun. Lane's dancing was pristine and lovely . Schklyarov and Tereshkina were wonderful - absolutely wonderful but both looked a bit out of control - like they were totally jet lagged, found themselves in front of a house full of screaming teenagers and decided to just let loose and have fun. It was something that I don't think we would see them do anywhere else. He pushed his pirouettes a la Corella and settled into a 5th position preparation with a little wiggle and a devilish smile. She was perfection, then about 3/4 of the way through the fouettee series at the end - I'm not sure what happened. I think she fell of point and then just put her other leg down and finished them off on the other leg and in the opposite direction. She did this all with a big smile, without missing a beat so I'm not even sure about what I saw - just that it was a pleasure to see her on the City Center stage again!!

indeed there was some confusion and substitution in the program.
Only the YAPG competitors for this year were duly announced.
The past YAPG etc. winners in the 'gala' part were not, so one had to know, and compare against the program what was and what was not what.
as noted, Bouder didn't appear (she was replaced as noted above in LE GRAND PAS DE QUATRE); Mearns was replaced by Ringer; TARANTELLA sheduled for Murphy & Phillips became the Pas d'esclave (for Gulnare and Lankedem) from LE CORSAIRE for Lane and Phillips and yes the dancer who did Conrad in the Medora (Tereshkina), Ali (Schklyarov) trio was Zachary Catazaro.

Anyone know who the winners are??

I had a great time at the YAGP gala. Tereshkina and Shklyrov (spell?) had an off night. I did notice that Tereshkina came off point, as noted above. Moreover, she seemed to have little control over her turns. They traveled all over the place towards the end of her variation. Ali the Slave was okay, but not thrilling. For me one highlight was seeing Kondourova. I wish they had given her more to do. By the way, Irina Dvorovenko has dyed her hair a copper reddish color, unless that was the stage lighting that created that effect. I enjoyed the City Ballet performers doing excerpts from Who Cares. It was nice to see someone other than Nilas Martins do The Man I Love duet w. Ringer. Hee Seo made an impressive debut as Juliet with Cory Stearns as her Romeo. I also enjoyed Sarah Lane w. Joe Phillips in an excerpt from Corsaire. Danny Tidwell is squandering his vast talents on junk, if last night's performance was any indication of what he has been doing lately, in my opinion. Marcelo's little solo dance was fun, sexy and extremely well danced. Poor Z. Catazaro of City Ballet had a terrible night, as noted above. I think any one of us Ballet Talkers could have done a better job running the house last night than the City Center staff. Totally inept.

As much as I love Danny I'm afraid I have to agree. The best I can say about him and his partner is that they looked like they were having fun. I wasn't. I was very surprised to see Marcelo scheduled to dance a Bob Fosse broadway solo. I'm sure it's never been danced quite that way before and while Fosse experts might take issue with some style elements I thought it was very entertaining. To me that was a great example of a classically trained dancer translating his skills to a different style and perhaps moving out of his comfort zone to try something different that still provided an appropriate platform for his skills and talent.

Nysusan, How was Hee and Cory in the R and J PDD? Thanks.

Thanks for all of the reports. It killed me to miss the gala this year. grrr...

So Tereshkina and Gomes were both there, after all? So perhaps the 'Manon pdd' may materialize at tonight's Peter the Great Gala, maybe? If so - hoorah!

I think it's so cool that Angelina Zuccarini came to NY for this performance. I danced with her at ABT's summer intensive years ago, and she was incredible even then!

Natalia: The program last night also included a listing of the ballets to be performed at the Peter The Great gala tonight. The Tereshkina/Gomes Manon pdd is listed in the booklet. Hopefully it will be performed. I'll be going tonight.

Did anyone else find Danny Tidwell almost unrecognizable? With the chubby cheeks and the double chin & who knows what hiding under the floaty shirt, he was no longer the beautiful Spectre of three years ago.

Sad.

I noticed the considerable weight gain too. I had to look really hard to make sure it was really Danny because he looked completely different from his days at ABT.

Just came back from Peter the Great Gala. Overall - waaaay below expectations, but had some very nice moments. Major highlights - Herman Cornejo in Le Corsaire pas de trois; Saveliev's Gopak; Tereshkina and Shklyarov in Don Quixote pdd. My beloved Kandaurova was stuck in Ratmansky's utterly inept choreography that even she could not save. Malakhov and Tsiskaridze - their usual pathetic selves. Tereshkina and Gomes not very impressive in the bordering on softcore Manon pdd (maybe I was just expecting too much). A couple of very funny comic numbers. Stunning In the Middle Somewhat Elevated from Alicia Amatriain. Terribly boring Raymonda pdd with Kochetkova slipping and falling off the pointe. Pestov's appearance at the end was a very nice surprise that helped end the evening on a rather positive note.

What do you mean?? Have I missed an announcement??

I think he means Herman Cornejo--and as far as i know he is not leaving ABT.

Sorry, my bad

Jose Manuel Carreno was not announced (nor did he appear) for anything in either gala. Joseph Gatti was announced and appeared with Cornejo and Adiarys Almeida in the Corsaire pdt.

Carreno has four dates for ABT's upcoming Met season: Giselle 6/12/2009; Le Corsaire 5/27/2009, 5/30/2009; and Herbie Hancock 5/18/2009 -- not nearly enough to keep me happy, but I guess that's life.

Phew!
I see you've corrected your post.

The winners have now been posted on the YAGP website:

http://yagp.org/eng/NY_winners_2009.php

Did Mr. Pestov's graduating class of 2009 appear in the gala?

I thought the Tereshkina-Shkylarov performance of Don Q pdd was the highlight of the evening. Their performance was exciting and very well done. As one of the posts above states, I find Ratmansky's Middle Duet tedious. I wish Kondourova had been given something better to dance. The classroom segment at the beginning of the program went on for much too long. The Manon pdd with Tereshkina and Gomes was well done, but there was no sizzle last night, in my opinion. I enjoyed Cornejo as Ali the Slave in Corsaire. I thought both solos that Malhakov did were not very interesting. I haven't seen him perform in years. His abilities, I think, have declined since his days at ABT. I enjoyed the In The Middle ... duet. It was thrilling. I've seen Genadi perform the Gopak before, and it is always impressive. I've also seen Tsidskaridze do "Carmen" before. It's starting to wear thin. One person in the rear mez was lustily and heartily booing Tsidskaridze. It was good to see Sascha Radetsky again on stage. His partner, Karen Plantadit, was excellent in the Sinatra Suite excerpt. She understood the nuances and playfulness of the role. As noted above, Maria Kochetkova did a poor job in Raymonda pdd; Gonzalo Garcia was fine. A mixed bag of a night that ranged from thrilling to dull.

I agree with what most people have posted about the Peter the Great Gala. First of all, I noticed that there were many ushers available last night. I think that they wanted to avoid the mess of Wednesday night. The majority of the audience was seated by the time the video started. There was some re-shuffling of the program, but as far as I can tell only Xiomara Reyes was a no-show. Here were my quick impressions:

* I liked the Class Demonstration by the Cranko School, but I agree with what was posted above - it went on for way too long. However, the young men were very impressive.

* The two young dancers who performed "Flower Festival in Genzano", Elizabeth Schmitt and Sam Zaldivar, were charming, but he had a very funny way of sticking out his head when he jumped.

* Alicia Amatrian was wonderful in "In the Middle, Somehat Elevated". I remember seeing her two years ago at the YAGP Gala in 2007 and that she was super flexible. She and Mikhail Kaniskin were so intense in the first act and then their dance to "Le Grand Pas de Deux" in the second act was very funny and entertaining. (I was wondering why the curtain would not open!) A lot of versatility from these two!

* I didn't like either of Vladimir Malakhov's dances. I thought that both dances were kind of dull, especially the one in the second act.

* I have to disagree about the "Manon" Pas de Deux. This was the only dance of the evening that made me cry. Maybe Viktoria and Marcelo performed it better in St. Petersburg (unfortunately I was not there for that performance), but I thought they were beautiful last night! She is such a lovely dancer and how wonderful to actually have her here in New York City.

* Sascha Radetsky was good in his solo to "5 Tangos" (actually there was only one - ha!) and then there was another music glitch for his "Sinatra Suite". He danced in this with Karine Plantadit. Something about her bothers me - not only last night, but on Wednesday night as well. I feel that she is too harsh and rough in her movements. Now I have only seen her in two dances which called for rough choreography, but she still bothered me.

* I liked the "Le Corsaire" Pas de Trois. Herman Cornejo was outstanding as always and I was impressed by the two members of the Corella Ballet - Adiarys Almeida and Joseph Gatti.

* "Gopak" with Gennadi Saveliev was one of the highlights of the eveing.

* I did not care for "Fractal" with Sergey Kheylik, especially the way it just seemed to end, almost as if the choreographer ran out of ideas.

* I felt bad for Maria Kochetkova. I saw her in November in "Giselle" when the San Francisco Ballet was at the Kennedy Center. She is a lovely ballerina, but she was having an off night. I counted at least two slips, but I feel that she got stronger towards the end. Gonzalo Garcia of the New York City Ballet partenered her in this dance.

* Big Red was wasted in "Middle Duet". This went on and on with no end in sight. When they took their bows, did you see the look that she gave Islom Baimuradov? I don't know if she was staying in the character of the dance or if she was really mad at him. That was scary!

* I have mixed emotions about "Carmen" with Nikolai Tsikaridze. First, how happy I am that he was here. I have not seen him dance since last year's Stars of the 21st Century Gala. But, I did not like the part where he took on the Carmen role and danced with the fan. I felt uncomfortable and I saw members of the audience exchanging uncomfortable glances as well.

* The higlight of the night was the "Don Quixote" Pas de Deux with Tereshkina and Shklyarov. I got so excited when I saw Tereshkina do her fouettes with the fan opening and closing. This was spectacular!

*Did they tell Peter Pestov that all this was for him? When he got on stage with his briefcase (which he looked like he didn't want to put down) he seemd very uncomfortable, especially the part where he hit Tskikaridze over the head with his bouquet. He looked like he wanted to get off as quick as possible. I understand the virtue of humility, but come on - this Gala was in honor of him!!

The highlights of Thursday night for me were Corsaire, Don Quixote, Manon, Gennadi Saveliev, and Alicia Amatrian. Everything else was kind of so-so.

QUICK QUESTION: Was that Georgia Engel in the audience from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"?

I saw Xiomara outside the theater shortly before curtain time talking w. Irina Dvorovenko (who, as always, looked stunning in very fashionable clothing). I don't know why her performance w. Genadi was cancelled.

I was at both performances, for obvious reasons.
Below are my impressions to add to the excellent reviews of the other BT attendees.

WED. APR.22 - Stars...meet...Stars...

All the YAGP winners who performed were impressive and interesting and did make me think we have much to look forward to in the future.

* The opening piece, "Little Red Riding Hood", began with a normal classical idiom, but then interjected moments of drama and real-life movements and reactions: at one point it looked like children tusseling on a playground. I was actually most fascinated by the music, which was a modernization (like Ellington's Nutcracker) of the original Tchaikovsky.

* The Jockey Dance was cute, but wasn't up to the RDB standard I was expecting.

* I did like the duet for Hiroko Asami and Raphael Coumes-Marquet, but the lighting and costuming were very similar to many other works I have seen. The choreography, though, was interesting without being particularly distinctive, or dirivative, and unlike others that followed, didn't go on too long.

* Mopey was one of those pieces I thought went on too long, so I started listening to the Bach instead.

* I didn't make it to Morphoses this year, so was interested to see the Prokofiev pdd. Wheeldon's choreography is always interesting, and usually musically sensitive, however I did think it went on rather too long. (Which is something I seem to feel with many of his works this past year.) If he shaved it, I think it would still stand up fine, instead of making me feel he was determined to wring out as much as he could from every last note of music.

* YAGP alum, and former ABT dancer, Matt Golding, is now a First Soloist with Corella Ballet. He partnered CB principal Natalia Tapia. I had never seen them do Flames of Paris before, either individually or together. They were fine, as I expected, and got the biggest applause of the evening up till then--(I think we were all getting a little tired of neoclassical pieces one after the other, that were each a little long, and were waiting for some classical fireworks.) FYI: Matt is tall, but not that tall. I think he's about Marcelo Gomes height. His technique and physique have both improved since last I saw him. (But don't get me wrong, he is always impressive, and is learning a lot at CB from his coaches--one of whom is the AD.) Yes, that was a quadruple or two from Natalia during the fouettes; she is a strong turner, with an elegant ethereal line, high extension, and beautiful articulated feet. I'm very glad the NY audience finally got to see her.

* I thought the ABT corps women who opened the PDQ were ok, but needed to work on their Romantic technique, which was all over the place. It looked very "classical" to me, except when they were studiously trying to remember their "Romantic" technique. Of the more experienced women who did the variations, I agree Dvorovenko and Kandourova stoood out. (Irina D.'s hair looked its normal color to me when I saw her after the show.)

* It's still amazing to me that Broadway dancers can pour it out, and still sing full-out, without losing breath. (They don't lip sync to playback do they?--even if its to themselves?) Mr. Kulish was good and deservedly got much applause.

* I haven't seen D.Tidwell in ages. (Sorry, have never seen the tv show he was on.) So I did notice a slight weight gain, but I've noticed that on many dancers who aren't doing classical full-time anymore (myself as the first example.) Everyone here knows the aesthetic, and the strenuous work classical dance is, and shouldn't expect dancers who branch out to other avenues to continue it at that level if they don't need to. He still danced ok to me.

* Marcelo easily assumed the underlying tension visible in all Fosse's work, but danced it with a more classical edge than Fosse's choreography warrants. (No problem applauding his performance though.)

* I was so glad to finally see Tereshkina live (being in Spain during the Kirov's CCtr tour in April, and not having either time or money enough to catch them elsewhere.) I don't have much to add to the above posts re: Corsaire except both ballerinas were fine--Sarah and Victoria, while the guys were ok, but yes, missing some of the sizzle. Having witnessed a few mishaps this past year, I was worried by the fall, but was glad he was able to dance it through, and was still walking upright later that night.

THURS. APR.23 PESTOV GALA:

The crowd was VERY Russian so THROUGHOUT the performances....lots of wrappers and paper noises, and constant commenting/discussions to seatmates & those across the aisles. Finally, one exasperated patron next to me threatened to call security if they didn't desist. (The Russians thought it funny, and giggled. But at intermission, I told my friend--who also complained--that I agreed it was rude, and put Russians in a negative light here because of it. Maybe my comment was overheard, because the latter part of the evening was quieter.)

* The opening by the graduating students of the J.Cranko School was fascinating to me to see as pedagogy by Pestov. To see how he worked each muscle and ligament through the exectution of technique was truly a learning experience. I hoped there were many in the audience to take note(s). But....OMG it went on for much too long because each exercize was repeated again and again...One tendus were done, couldn't we have moved onto the next sequence without having to see that each dancer knew how to do them!?

* I've seen In the Middle pdd. too many times now, so the shock value has gone, but this was definately the 'sharpest' version I've seen. They really 'punched' the beats--and not only with Amatrain's hyperextension--very kinetic, sharp phrasing, and lacking the stiffness I've seen in others. I started more cynical than I ended, and left impressed.

* I agree with everyone re Middle Duet. But was interested in how the choreography mirrored the escalating cacophony of the music.

* I agree with everyone about Raymonda. It was ok, but not great. ( And I kept seeing Sylvie in my head unfortunately.)

* Generally, good to see Sascha Radetsky again, but only one tango and music problems with Sinatra Suite surely added some tension. I've now seen this, and in '06 - 07: Cornejo, Carreno, Gomes, Corella, (and of course Baryshnikov many times previously) do the entire suite...And still not seen it. (Don't feel bad, Sascha you have good company) This time, "That's Life" (the only excerpt Radetsky and his partner Ms Plantadit did) was extremely fast, which gave it more punch--literally and figuratively--and I was very interested to see how a Broadway dancer interpreted it. But as I've noticed ever since Baryshnikov, it's still 'choppy' & 'broken into, v. distinct, separate, chunky phrases'. I never see the flow any more. Everyone gets it for an infinitisimle moment, and then forgets to follow through.

(Xiomara was also present after the show, so don't know why her performance was cut either.--Time?)

* I've seen Gopak a number of times too, but loved Saveliev. He made it exciting instead of just showy.

* No problems with the Manon pdd. Tereshkina was fine, Marcelo was fine. I saw some slight compensations in the partnering, and also noticed the (maybe) excessive emotionalism, but that's their interpretation and so made it interesting to see for that reason too. But I also agree with an earlier post that in some ways it was just acting, not a reality that made me truly involved, so I probably analysed technique more as compensation. (Anyways, I remember a Ferri matinee a few years ago, that made our jaws drop, so it's tough to compare.)

* Finally got to see Malakhov live and thought both neo-class/modern pieces too similar and rather dull, yet in part during the second piece: answering his romantic/emotional response to music/movement. But again to compensate for my lack of involvement, I watched the technique instead and ended by realising I really missed seeing him in a classical work.

* The Corsaire pdt of course was very interesting to me. The costuming clashed slightly, (Ali's blue pants again were not in tune) and Lankadem's red was very bright--though appropriate when his Act1 solo was done as an additional variation.) I'm glad Joseph Gatti impressed everyone. He should. And Adiarys' charisma onstage and strong technique can do that even when she is still--so here she had no problems. And after seeing a 'turning competition between herself and her AD, the multiples, control, and solid balances were not surprising. Herman of course made me smile throughout. I'm glad they all were appreciated. (CB Company Manager, and former Pestov student, Matt Bledsoe also had his moment onstage.)

* I've now seen Tsiskaridze do Carmen about 7 times, so my only reaction was: He danced it better three years ago for the Kings of Dance, and wasn't there a rose as a prop too? It is an effective piece though in its staging and excerpted choreographic ability to still convey the whole story.

* Two of my favorites this night were Amatrain and Kamiskin in both works they did. Great versatility, great technique, great timing. To include a comedic performance in the rep that night was a great idea--especially as everyone got all the jokes.

* I agree with everyone re Tereshkina and Shklyarov in DonQ. And hooray, she did the hops on pointe in the variation instead of the usual Kirov version retire/passe. And I saw someting VERY educational during that fishdive in the pdd which explained a lot regarding another I saw. The music for variation and coda was VERY fast; I was shocked, but Tereshkina kept up just fine. It was odd to see someone do the male's steps without really interepreting them. (An internal "verve" and understanding that wasn't present?) The piros were "pushed", as someone commented another does, and other tricks too without any mishaps, but I overall I thought "standard showy" not "hold-my-breath exciting". Together, though, it was a great end to an interesting evening.

That's precisely what drove the Mariinsky audience crazy with glee. And how was Marcelo's last 'flop' onto the floor? On the Mariinsky's hallowed wooden boards, one heard the boom and it simply brought home the 'bravos'!!! It could be that the City Center stage is not a bouncy as the Mariinsky's, so Marcello was unable to perform his certified "Big Boom" at the end of the pdd?

p.s. - Thanks for the amazing report, 4mrdncr.

Did anyone catch the final round on Tuesday?

I went to the YAGP Gala and just LOVED this kids! I am surprised no one has mentioned them yet, as there were so many good kids on the program as well...I don't really know which kids performed...If someone has a list, I have many notes! As nice as it is to have these stars come back and dance, I am curious about who the future players will be

I have a by name list if you can add in details of the dancers