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Any tips on seats at David H. Koch theater (Lincoln Center)


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I'm visiting New York in October and want to squeeze in some ballet while there. Does anyone know the David H.Koch theater and can compare it at all to the layout at the ROH for example? There are so many tiers! I want to know which tier is like the front of the ROH Amphitheatre, is the back of the second tier better than being at the front of 3 or 4 in terms of the view overall? Where is good to avoid due to safety rails/pillars etc?

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On the whole the sight lines are wonderful ... It is after all the house that Balanchine helped to build.  The sight lines are certainly better than at Covent Garden or - heaven help us - in so many of the seats at the Palais Garnier.  If you can grab the $29 seats on the sides of the third or second ring ... they are - I assure you - prime.  Personally I think it is a crime that the Fourth Ring is now closed so often.  It is a different world.  It's better to be up for the Balanchine ... Balanchine himself once told me that ... and Lincoln Kirstein ALWAYS had his prime seat on the first ring ... so he too must have agreed.  I would now say that such goes for Peck - and his extraordinary gift for moving large companies/groups of dancers in ever more thrilling ways.  

Edited by Bruce Wall
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what performances are you going to see? Often they close off the 4th ring altogether.

The sightlines are good pretty much anywhere on the main floor. I haven't sat higher up than that.

There's a gala night which is pretty much fully booked which I would have liked to have seen, but my second option is pretty good and lots of choice of seating. It's quite a good mix actually - a new Jessica Lang, Symphonic Variations (adore Ashton) and Balanchine's Prodigal Son which would feed my curiousity having read about it in a ballet book I had when i was little...

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On the whole the sight lines are wonderful ... It is after all the house that Balanchine helped to build.  The sight lines are certainly better than at Covent Garden or - heaven help us - in so many of the seats at the Palais Garnier.  If you can grab the $29 seats on the sides of the third or second ring ... they are - I assure you - prime.  

I am looking at front row of 3rd tier, just off centre for a slightly lower price than bang on centre and I am guessing it is like front row Amphitheatre at ROH. I've been hunting for pics and reviews on Google and so many people say that all of the seats are great. Am a terrible procrastinator when it comes to trying out new seats. Fourth tier seems to be open for this run - looks like they have at least a couple of premiers. I definitely prefer the view from above but dragging my American sister in law along with me and also mother in law so it has the potential to get rather pricey!  

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Blossom, from the rep you mention, you are obviously looking at ABT's fall season; Bruce apparently had New York City Ballet in mind.  While ABT has engaged in some ticketing shenanigans of its own, it has not shared NYCB's recently adopted offensive practice of artificially reducing supply (by closing huge swaths of the theatre) in order to raise ticket prices.

If you are happy in the front of the ROH amphi, I am sure you will be happy in the front of the 3d ring.  My own preference generally is to sit closer, and, while I haven't seen the new Lang, I think both Symphonic and Prodigal are better enjoyed up close.  It seems that you are thinking about the October 27 performance, and I've had a quick look at availability for that performance--you might want to consider AA 5, 7, 9 in the 2d ring, which would get you closer to the stage, but with a virtually full view of it (and no heads in the way).

As for skipping the gala, please don't fret.  ABT galas draw a glitzy crowd and it can be fun to watch the bling, but I think Trenary on the 27th will do a far, far better Symphonic than her counterpart at the gala. 

I hope this helps.

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I am looking at front row of 3rd tier, just off centre for a slightly lower price than bang on centre and I am guessing it is like front row Amphitheatre at ROH. I've been hunting for pics and reviews on Google and so many people say that all of the seats are great. Am a terrible procrastinator when it comes to trying out new seats. Fourth tier seems to be open for this run - looks like they have at least a couple of premiers. I definitely prefer the view from above but dragging my American sister in law along with me and also mother in law so it has the potential to get rather pricey!  

 

Front row of 3rd tier just off the center (not down the sides of theater if I understand you correctly) is an excellent seat. If you prefer to be a bit closer, then you might want to go down to 2nd tier. But I have sat in the last row of the 3rd tier just off the center and found it pretty good. Actually I have sat in 4th ring and found it not bad at all and I'm someone who, on the whole, does prefer to be close.

 

However, just as I was typing this, now voyager posted and said exactly what I was about to type. The ABT program you mentioned (Symphonic Variations etc.) is perhaps a bit more intimate -- not large scale works with a large corps for example -- and 2nd ring would likely be preferable if it's not too pricey for you.

 

I will also mention that sightlines downstairs are not bad. Banking is good unless you are quite short -- a problem I have, but not everyone does -- and sightlines from the sides, where the tickets are often quite a bit cheaper, are also not bad at all.  (In the orchestra you don't want to be too close as the marked banking doesn't start until a little further back -- K/L perhaps? -- and from the first two rows sometimes one can't see feet well depending on how short/tall one is.)

 

But though 2nd ring might hit the sweet spot, I don't think you will find the front of the 3rd ring a problem at all.  Hope you have a great time and write about it!

Edited by DrewCo
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  • 1 month later...

Thanks again for all advice... Ended up in best seats in the house (4 centre seats in first row of first ring) - one of the people I went with insisted on upgrading us, but I think I'd have preferred that for a performance at the ROH. Not sure if it's the crowd, the theatre itself (minimalist vs opulence of ROH) or the mix of ballets, but there didn't seem to be the usual buzzy atmosphere I feel at the ROH or even the Coliseum.

 

The new Jessica Lang piece (Her Notes) was set to a piano suite had a few awkward moments and some rather tense looking shoulders at times but enjoyed.  Loved the (ladies') very simple costumes.  The Playbill listed this as a work of visual art and there were moments of shadow play - interesting but not sure how well this really worked. Not as sophisticated and engaging as Ashton's Symphonic Variations which certainly met expectations.

 

I don't really know how to describe Prodigal Son, it was my first time seeing this and it was a powerful and emotive 'ballet' (or a more a contemporary piece??), great to see something with a specific male focus. Excellent performance by Jeffrey Cirio as the son.  

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