NYC Ballet Seminar on Monday, January 25th

On Monday evening, January 25th, I attended the New York City Ballet's seminar entitled 'Meet the New Talent'.  Joan Quatrano moderated a panel of young dancers from the Company that included Harrison Coll, Cameron Dieck, Megan LeCrone, Unity Phelan, and Indiana Woodward.

Four of the five panelists (unfortunately not Mr. Coll) had danced the Sugarplum or her Cavalier in the Company's holiday season performances of 'George Balanchine's The Nutcracker'.  They talked about how they had learned that they'd be dancing these iconic roles, how they had prepared and been coached, and how they felt about their performances.

Megan LeCrone, Indiana Woodward and Unity Phelan watch from the wings as another ballerina rehearses the Sugarplum variation from 'George Balanchine's The Nutcracker'.
Photo by Andrea Mohin for NY Times

Ms. LeCrone, a soloist who is 31, has been injured several times since she started as an apprentice with the Company in 2001.  Some of her injuries required surgery and significant recovery times.  She said that she felt that her chance to dance the Sugarplum had slipped away and is particularly grateful to Peter Martins for surprising her with the opportunity.

Ms. Phelan and Mr. Dieck made their debuts in the Nutcracker roles together.  They talked about how supportive the entire Company was at their first performance.  They received performance tips from some of the Company's most senior dancers which helped them overcome some of the stress associated with their debuts.

Ms. Woodward also talked about the support she received from the Company at her debut and how at her first entrance as Sugarplum she was literally blown onto the stage by all of the dancers watching from the wings.  Apparently, being blown onto the stage is a Company 'good luck' tradition for all new Sugarplums as they bourree out from the wings at their first entrance.

Although Mr. Coll didn't have the opportunity to dance the Cavalier, he did make an anonymous debut during the 'Nutcracker' run as the 'bed boy' -- usually a teenage student from SAB who crouches under the bed and propels it around the stage during the Snow Scene.  Having been a student at SAB since 2003, Harrison had danced in the Party Scene and as the Nephew/Nutcracker/Prince, but had somehow missed being the 'bed boy' and jumped at the chance when it became available in December.

The four younger dancers praised Megan for being a welcoming presence in the Company -- helping to ease their transition from student to apprentice to corps and offering encouragement and advice during their early years.

I suggest that Ms. Phelan, and especially Ms. LeCrone, stop playing with their long hair -- or better yet pull it up and away from their faces.  This nervous habit was distracting and often kept the audience from focusing on the interesting things they had to say.

All-in-all, this was an interesting discussion where the audience got to hear from a new generation of dancers in the Company.  Of the five only Harrison has a 'screen test' on the Company's website (http://www.nycballet.com/Dancers/Dancers-Bios/Harrison-Coll.aspx) so this was a good chance to find out more about what makes these kids tick.