pherank

I completely agree that Facebook streams are not of the same quality - and much about Facebook remains mired in a 1990's web design world. Their notion of "innovation" is often laughable. Just a mess. I enjoy the company classes and rehearsals of ballets, too. Company classes are rarely visible to the audience (unless one has taken ballet classes), so that's the precious part for me. It's kind of sad that we're losing our chance to see these classes - just for one day. You can see the amount of work that went into collecting this list together. Work that should have been done by the WBD people in the first place. Obviously this year's results are a declaration of sorts that it was too much trouble to try to synch everyone up with a single live stream. Only a BBC, ABC, etc. type of media organization has the technology and people power to make that work well.

That would be a very New York thing to do, but there's no evidence that Tomasson has started behaving like that. Scheller spent most of a year in recovery and probably decided that she just didn't want to work so hard on rep she wasn't as interested in - like contemporary and new works. It's just ironic that she was the first cast Aurora in Sleeping Beauty when she was injured. Tomasson/SFB is lucky that Kuranaga actually harbored a desire to return to San Francisco after having been passed on many years ago (she was then a trainee with SFB). Fortunately, Kuranaga doesn't seem to harbor any resentments - she seems very "onward and upward" in her attitude. Trouble is, Kochetkova is getting the extra roles in Berlin with Simkin, and London has no shortage of eager young talent. I can't see the Royal needing to squeeze in another outsider. ENB maybe more likely.

She may be happy with life in New York, and, she is an ABT principal, and for some the title (and salary) may be enough to hang on to. Sarah Lane guested at SFB in The Nutcracker a few years back, and then was "magically" promoted at ABT. ;) Whether she feels it's too late to try other things, I can't say. Anna Maria Scheller - after recovering from injury - moved on from SFB to Ukraine Ballet to dance traditional roles with her life partner Nicolai Gorodiskii (who was let go by SFB, interestingly enough). Scheller just decided to go for it and dance only the roles she wants to dance with the person she wants to dance with. Lane may feel she is doing the same sort of thing now, at ABT - it's just not quite as ideal a setup for her.

It's very difficult to tell where the original livestream could be seen. I find a collection of individual segments archived to YouTube, but I don't get a sense that there was ever a single "home" page for this online event. Am I wrong? Did the WBD website successfully stream the event this year? The Royal Ballet web and YouTube pages seem to be the best bet for finding an organized presentation, and some sort of explanation. "I'm sorry the National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet seem to have dropped the project." > Due to the change in date from the beginning of October to the 3rd week in October, SFB ran into a conflict - they are rehearsing for tour dates in Denmark this week. It's a disappointment as I was hoping to see new, and old faces in class.

THE ROYAL DANISH OPERA HOUSE October 30–November 2 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2019 8:00 PM Romeo: Carlo Di Lanno Juliet: Mathilde Froustey Mercutio: Joseph Walsh Benvolio: Max Cauthorn Tybalt: Luke Ingham THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019 8:00 PM Romeo: Angelo Greco Juliet: Misa Kuranaga Mercutio: Esteban Hernandez Benvolio: Hansuke Yamamoto Tybalt: Daniel Deivison-Oliveira FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2019 8:00 PM Romeo: Carlo Di Lanno Juliet: Mathilde Froustey Mercutio: Joseph Walsh Benvolio: Max Cauthorn Tybalt: Luke Ingham SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2019 1:00 PM Romeo: Angelo Greco Juliet: Misa Kuranaga Mercutio: Esteban Hernandez Benvolio: Hansuke Yamamoto Tybalt: Daniel Deivison-Oliveira https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting/

The advert does say, "Duration 1 hour 45 minutes with one intermission". But from the description and video, it feels more like a gala performance, with small cast (and that's why it needs to be short). Ballet performances without orchestra sometimes feel sad, and de-energized - more like a rehearsal than a public performance. It's really up to the dancers to make it work for the audience. There's a small regional company in San Diego, CA named "City Ballet" (I would describe them as semiprofessional given the meager stipend given to these dancers), and City Ballet performs publicly with a semiprofessional orchestra (consisting of classical musicians and students looking to be members of one of the big orchestras, naturally). They have a Chorus as well! Having an orchestra showing great enthusiasm for the material, playing along beside the excited young dancers has great charm, even for audience members who have been watching the big companies for years. With ballet, the orchestra really makes a difference in the presentation. But, paying for all those musicians is normally expensive, and I can well imagine the traveling Russian troupe simply doesn't have funds for such things. Only the Mariinsky and Bolshoi have state funds to pay for orchestra and dancers, and support staff.

FYI: as first poster (and thread creator) you have the ability to edit your first post, and that includes the title. Editing any of your other posts in the thread will not allow you access to the thread title.

Vanessa Zahorian and Davit Karapetyan's Pennsylvania Ballet Academy is having a fund raising gala on Oct. 12. One of the guest performers will be Taras Domitro (ex-SFB, partnering Adiarys Almeida), along with Ilaria Guerra of Alonzo King Lines Ballet. There may be more performer announcments… https://www.instagram.com/p/B3ctFMZgiyL/

Thanks to Natasha Sheehan for pointing out that Myles Thatcher was one of the choreographers for the new film High Strung Free Dance (opening Oct. 11). https://www.instagram.com/p/B3XO1dCALMv/ https://highstrungthemovie.com/trailer/

Sasha De Sola has organized a benefit for non-profit organization Dancin Power: https://www.instagram.com/p/B3XLPa8DeSg/

This video is worth watching. Lind discusses the move from SF to the Netherlands, and some of the differences between Dutch National Ballet and SFB (she is now in Munich at Bayerische Staatsballett). A Ballerina Abroad: Kristina Lind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcE4pYRqCoQ

Congratulations to Kristina - well done!

Jennifer Homan's latest article (in the New Yorker) is worth a read: William Forsythe’s Self-Portrait in Absentia In “A Quiet Evening of Dance,” the choreographer pulls ballet’s original elements through his own imagination. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/07/william-forsythes-self-portrait-in-absentia

For fans of early Jazz ... I was interested to learn that a documentary about New Orlean's innovative Boswell Sisters has been in production, in fact for some time. Apparently the filmmakers are still hoping to raise money, because, as their website states, "any additional funds we receive would help us acquire more rare, and often expensive, but ultimately priceless films, stills, and recordings that will make this documentary shine even brighter". Makes sense, but unfortunately that means this independent project has dragged on for many years. Hopefully it will be available soon... Filmakers website http://www.boswellsfilm.com/ Two segments from the documentary can be watched for free on Vimeo - The Boswell Sisters: Close Harmony (Excerpt-1) https://vimeo.com/108432428 The Boswell Sisters: Close Harmony (Excerpt-2) https://vimeo.com/108434768 Related Interview: Why The Boswell Sisters Matter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkoVFHTwUOE Connee (originally "Connie") Boswell, though paralyzed in the lower body due to polio, continued on as a crooner after the sister's act broke up. Her career lasted until the late 1950's. Connee Boswell performing Stormy Weather live (1946), she's actually seated on a stool that's hidden by her gown to disguise the fact that she couldn't stand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4tWpH-H2lg Connee Boswell sings Martha, Ah So Pure https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6UmBtGyC0g

The military tattoo is such a particular type of choreography and music - it's definitely a love it or hate it kind of thing. Or maybe that's 'love it, or be bored by it'. ;) There are few things more purposefully traditional than military events and ceremonies, so if that's not your cup of tea, it's going to be painful. (Even with Balanchine putting his own spin on the spectacle.)

Lovette has created something like three ballets at this point, so she's a beginner. There's nothing wrong with that - one has to start someplace, and it's a long process, a life's work, and she's very fortunate to be able to create on NYCB dancers. Most choreographers start out working with other students in dance school. Lovette is learning not just how step sequences are created, but also how to conceive an entire ballet that hopefully feels like an organic whole and syncs well with the chosen music. She's going to learn about visual themes, and variations, narrative lines and building atmospheres and dramatic tension. There's going to be a lot of mistakes made no matter what. It's just interesting that she is doing her initial learning on the "big stage" in front of the NYCB audience. Very few people get that chance (and probably wouldn't want that kind of exposure in the beginning). She seems to have a good attitude about the work though, and that should serve her well. Balanchine was 21 when he choreographed the revival of Le Chant du Rossignol (The Song of the Nightingale) for the Ballets Russes in 1925. His earliest works had been created mainly on his fellow Mariinsky students, in his teens. His first choreographed piece, La Nuit, almost got him kicked out of the school - so Lovette is having an easier time of it already. ;)

Since the August 1 announcement, Kourlas has written 17 dance pieces for NYT, so she's being kept busy. Two of her most recent articles: Lessons From Baryshnikov on Robbins (Less Is More) Mikhail Baryshnikov is back at New York City Ballet, coaching Jerome Robbins’s “Opus 19/The Dreamer”: “It’s like not a dancer who is a man. It’s just a man who is a dancer.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/27/arts/dance/mikhail-baryshnikov-coaching-new-york-city-ballet.html Review: At New York City Ballet, an Intriguing Glimpse of the Future The fashion gala featured two premieres: Edwaard Liang’s had a strong dose of nostalgia, but Lauren Lovette’s imagined a brave new world. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/27/arts/dance/review-new-york-city-ballet-fashion-gala.html

Love is blind. ;) And apparently determines casting. If Scheller's acting skills have improved then she has the total package. So good for her. Maybe you know - where does NB of U list their current season and tour plans? Their website is quite out-of-date.

Goridiskii did not distinguish himself at SFB, imo. I can't imagine quality suffering at SFB performances due to his absence. ;) I think this has a lot more to do with Scheller's needs, and clout, than it has to do with Goridiskii.

An update on the upcoming Ballet Insights seminars: September 22, 1–3 pm: Early Days Get a quick history of American ballet on film and television. See footage of SF Ballet productions from the 1950s and 1960s. Hear from former SF Ballet dancers Sally Bailey, Henry Berg, and Carlos Carvajal about what it was like to perform in these productions. September 29, 1–3 pm: The Dance Boom What was it like to film dance for television at the height of the dance boom? Hear from producer and SF Dance Film Executive Director Judy Flannery about managing the production department for KQED during the 1980s and its partnership with SF Ballet. Hear from former SF Ballet dancers Anita Paciotti and Jim Sohm who performed in SF Ballet’s major works for television, including Romeo & Juliet (1980) and The Tempest (1981). October 6, 1–3 pm: New Modes, New Media With the advent of the internet, modes of transmission have dramatically increased. Learn about what it takes to produce dance films and live streams from SF Ballet General Manager Debra Bernard. Screendance and the SF Dance Film Festival offer opportunities for SF Ballet dancers and choreographers to flex new muscles. Hear from Principal Dancer Benjamin Freemantle and Soloist Madison Keesler about their work in this medium, how dancing on film is different from dancing on stage, and how they transfer their skills behind the camera. Tickets: https://www.sfballet.org/season/events/balletinsights

I enjoy watching these rehearsal videos, since there's so much to learn and think about from the various comments. Russell wasn't part of the original 1st cast that I know of, but she may have been "shadowing" as a 2nd cast member (or injured during the rehearsals?). Original cast as credited by NYCB: Todd Bolender Barbara Milberg Barbara Walczak Roy Tobias Jonathan Watts Melissa Hayden Diana Adams Arthur Mitchell EDIT: Oops, I was forgetting that there are 12 dancers total that appear in this ballet, so there are/were 4 minor roles as well.

It's good that Gorodiskii was able to find another company. ;)

Ah yes, couture craziness. I can't imagine those costumes will hold up for very many seasons. ;) Only a national ballet company can normally afford such a thing.

I didn't mean to suggest that it was new role for Mukhamedov. She's fortunate to already know that role since her plate will be full with new versions/roles to learn for the 2019 season.

Both Misa Kuranaga and Sasha Mukhamedov have mentioned (on Instagram) that they have been working on the Cinderella role. And Kuranaga has also been learning Juliet for the upcoming Denmark tour. I won't be surprised if casting for Cinderella and R&J this upcoming season will feature mainly the new talent, and young soloists/principals.