I may be in NYC for the weekend of June 21-23 and was wondering if anyone knows what ballets ABT will be performing then? I can't seem to find their calendar on the website! If I am also ordering NYCB tickets, should I wait for the confirmation before ordering ABT ones ( you have to give an alternative date, and if i end up getting tickets on the alternate date it may conflict with the ABT tickets as I am only in town for 2 nights)?
One more thing, on the order form it asks you to please include a donation of at least 20%. Do all of you do this? I feel terrible giving less, but the tickets are already expensive for me, and they don't have a student price. If I were to add 20%, I would probably have to buy seats in a cheaper section. I feel especially bad, because I know just how much time and costs it takes to mount these performances. What should I do?

Here's a link to ABT's casting:

http://abt.org/performances/met2002cast.htm

Basically, they're doing Le Corsaire. Any of the three casts should be pretty good. I'd say try to see Ananiashvili (Friday) first, because she's pretty damn good in just about everything she does. Dvorovenko is also very good in Corsaire, and she's also a very special dancer. Kent is usually quite good as well, although she didn't get the greatest reviews doing Corsaire in Washington recently.

Honestly, you should have no trouble getting your first choice for NYCB tickets. I wouldn't worry about it.

Paquita, don't worry about adding a donation to your ticket order. I don't know anyone who does this. Not that it isn't a good idea—the company certainly needs the money, but then so do we! Other companies have the same line on their order forms. It's good of you to want to help them, but, believe me, they will be happy just to get your ticket order!

Thanks for the advice! I'm a bit torn now between seeing 2 NYCB performances (different programs) or 1 NYCB and 1 Corsaire... I have the Corsaire video, and it is a great piece to showcase their talented dancers, but I'm also eager to see some of NYCB's short ballets which we don't see in Canada. If I was going the next weekend when ABT's doing Giselle, I would definately go see them, but Corsaire is not one of my absolute favorites. My mom also prefers contemporary ballet.
What are your impressions of "Circle of Fifths"? Philip Glass' music certainly is interesting... When are the Diamonds Project ballets announced? Thanks for the help!

I believe that contributions made with ticket orders are split between ABT and the Metropolitan Opera House. If one wishes to make a contribution to ABT alone, a check to the company at 890 Broadway would do the trick.

I have a vague memory of "Circle of Fifths" as well-crafted and entertaining but not, well, memorable. The new Diamond Project choreographers have been announced: Christopher Wheeldon, three company members -- Melissa Barak, Miriam Mahdaviani, and Albert Evans -- plus Stephen Baynes and Mauro Bignozetti, who are unknown to me. Wheeldon has produced several interesting ballets already, and the two women have each done stylish and enjoyable pieces for the company and/or the school. No new classics have appeared, but it's a nice change from the same old same old. Who will get what spot will be determined as the works take shape, since Peter hopes to create balanced programs. The company is very proud of its web site, so details should appear there as quickly as anywhere else.

Another suggestion, if you'd like to make a last-minute decision ... Come June weekends, the City Ballet often has a nice assortment of returned subscription tickets on sale right before the performance. Don't go to the box office, but to the nice ladies at the marble table in the lobby. The price is the same (though they take only cash) and you get subscriber seats. Of course, if something unusually exciting happens, they disappear fast, but the odds are definitely in your favor, since trendy New Yorkers assume that "everyone" is out of town on summer weekends.

Paquita -

By all means make a donation if you have the cash to spare, but if you don't, I think the companies will be just as happy to see you there in the theater. You can always make donations later if you loved the performances, too!