#cate hurlin

[tikitania]

Chloe Misseldine is going to dance Giselle and Sylvia (Ashton's version) at the Met in 2025. Excited, how do you think she will do? I know Giselle is usually not cast that tall (she's 5'9") but I think she can still pull it off.

Chloe Misseldine is a formidable talent! Giselle is definitely within her wheelhouse in terms of technique and artistry. She'll bring that Swan Lake lyricism into the romantic realm and do beautifully. Sylvia seems like a stylistically more difficult ballet — and I'm really curious how she'll do there. It seems to require a lot of bravura and panache, a natural fit for someone like Cate Hurlin, who just exudes that kind of delightful daring onstage.

BTW, Being tall (5'9") never stopped Ulyana Lopatkina from dancing Giselle and being one of the GOAT, so I do not see this as an issue whatsoever. The issue isn't height per se, but the ability to create the illusion of weightlessness. I'm really looking forward to these debuts…and Gillian Murphy's farewell from the stage. It's all very exciting and I hope to get to NYC for at least one performance this summer. Le Sigh…one can hope.

[lovelyballetandmore]

Aran Bell | Cate Hurlin | American Ballet Theatre

[tikitania]

I saw Chloe M in her O/O debut at Kennedy Center in February which was fabulous! She really does have that otherworldly element to her dancing that Marina mentioned. There's also a video here from last August with Reece Clarke which was her first or second time doing White Swan PDD. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9AfUK6xb7R/?igsh=bjBwaGliNW85dDJ5

You can see huge improvements in direct comparison to clips she's posted of the same PDD in January. I really think that Susan is a great coach and she has seemed to elevate Misseldine to a whole other level.

The other impressive thing is how poised and professional she looks. The Met stage sounds scary for an O/O debut at 22 but she never once showed an ounce of fear in her dancing. She doesn't dance like a student anymore and I'm honestly impressed by the level of improvement in her dancing over the last few years. She's always been technically strong but the growth of her artistry lately has been wonderful to see.

How exciting! I really am looking forward to what comes next from Misseldine.

I just came across Marina Harss’ impression of Hurlin — and she raved about her, too.

It seems that Jaffe is bringing out the best in ABT’s homegrown talent. I think that bodes well for the company.

[tikitania]

Favorite ABT dancers?

So…this is tricky because there aren't a lot of bootleg videos of performances online to gauge current dancers. Recently, I've only seen Cate "Hurricane" Hurlin live — and her nickname absolutely lives up to the hype. Hurlin is very, very special — an incredible talent. Same with Aran Bell.

I saw Sarah Lane after she was canned from ABT and I was very impressed. Gillian Murphy is probably their best Odile / Odette in a generation. Years ago, I saw Julie Kent in Juliet…absolute perfection. But they are part of the old guard…. But I think there's an exciting rooster of new dancers catching fire there - Chloe Misseldine, Jake Roxander, Devon Teusch. And I'm excited to see where Susan Jaffe's leadership takes the company. Unlike MacKenzie who relied on bringing big-name international stars, I hope Jaffe develops and promotes internal talent. It creates a healthier working environment. I'm going to try to catch a few performances this fall, but lately I've been relying on Gia Kourlas' reviews in The New York Times and Marina Harss writings in Fjord Review — both have subscription firewalls. Sorry…that's a long response to say "the jury's out" but I'm excited for ABT for the first time in a long time. BTW, Julie Kent is leaving DC and will be co-director of the Houston Ballet. I'm very exited to see what she does for the company.

[ballet-rose]

Cate Hurlin. Picture taken by Rosalie O’Connor.

[balletwarrior]

Cate Hurlin of ABT photographed by Kenneth B Edwards