Alexei Ratmansky, photo by Vyacheslav Podorozhy for NYC Ballet

Alexei Ratmansky, the current artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, will join American Ballet Theatre next year as its resident choreographer, according to an NY Times article.  This move is a slap in the face (the Times said a “gracefully placed thumb in the eye”) to New York City Ballet, which last February offered Ratmansky a contract that he eventually turned down.  Hopefully Ratmansky will infuse ABT with some of his choreographic and artistic brilliance.  The company, which focuses mainly on full-length story ballets, could certainly use a boost from someone who recently said that “Swan Lake is dead”.