30 replies to this topic

[sneds]

Hi!
Another suggestion about student rush tickets...

Though the location and availability of student rush tickets does depend on the performance (always check, as they aren't always available), one tip in getting good seats is to buy as soon as possible.  I found that if I was up late, it was well worth buying a student rush ticket online just after midnight.

Cheers
Kate

[sneds]

Hi!
Another suggestion about student rush tickets...

Though the location and availability of student rush tickets does depend on the performance (always check, as they aren't always available), one tip in getting good seats is to buy as soon as possible.  I found that if I was up late, it was well worth buying a student rush ticket online just after midnight.

Cheers
Kate

[Ari]

Lara, the Kirov always sells out in DC, so your best bet is to try for standing room.  I'm not sure when it goes on sale, but you have to buy it in person at the box office.

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, which gives very good accounts of Balanchine ballets, will be at the Kennedy Center in early December, and the Royal Danish Ballet, another world-class company (although not now very strong, from reports on this board) will be there from Jan. 13-18 with one of their signature works, Napoli.

[carbro]

LaraF, on Oct 17 2003, 02:14 PM, said:

where do I find a decent pair of opera glasses/binoculars?   Is one preferable to the other?

Opera glasses are a very personal thing, and I would recommend buying them in person, as opposed to on line or through a catalogue.  A Google search may help you locate a local merchant.

Great improvements have been made since I bought my opera glasses.  My 30-year-old Nikons give magnification/field of vision of 8 X 24, 7 degrees, and that's pretty good for the Fourth Ring of State Theater, Dress Circle of the Met, and rear balcony of City Center.  (I'm not sure what the degree figure signifies.)  Some of my friends are happy with 7X magnification, which is likely what my next pair will be, as that tends to give a wider view of the stage picture.  Also, some newer models offer zoom capability, which is something I might like.  Don't know, have never tried.  The one feature that is indispensible to me is an independent fine-tune for one eye, as my uncorrected vision is vastly different between my left and right eyes, and I have to slide my eyeglasses down my nose to use my opera glasses. :cool2:

[BW]

The best binocculars I've found for viewing ballet are Bushnell "Xtrawide" they offer a 900 ft. field of view, so you can get the big picture, and yet they magnify in a big way as well - 4 x 21. They're made for performing arts or spectator sports...and in my opinion they're not too expensive, though at the moment I can't remember if they were about $50 or $60? They happen to sell them, or did last year, at the gift shop down beneath Lincoln Center, though you can probably get them at a good camera shop. They are auto focus, but believe me I wear progressive lenses (invisible tri focals) and I can wear them with my glasses on...and my non visually impaired husband and daughter can use them just as well.  

Have a wonderful time LaraF at all the ballets and keep us posted! :grinning:

[BW]

The best binocculars I've found for viewing ballet are Bushnell "Xtrawide" they offer a 900 ft. field of view, so you can get the big picture, and yet they magnify in a big way as well - 4 x 21. They're made for performing arts or spectator sports...and in my opinion they're not too expensive, though at the moment I can't remember if they were about $50 or $60? They happen to sell them, or did last year, at the gift shop down beneath Lincoln Center, though you can probably get them at a good camera shop. They are auto focus, but believe me I wear progressive lenses (invisible tri focals) and I can wear them with my glasses on...and my non visually impaired husband and daughter can use them just as well.  

Have a wonderful time LaraF at all the ballets and keep us posted! :grinning:

[vagansmom]

For ballet on TV, go to pbs.org and click on your local PBS station's listings. Our local PBS station tends not to have the same schedule as the NYC stations. We usually have to wait a week or so.

Re NYCB's Swan Lake: I will swim against the tide and say, go ahead and see it! It was the first full-length Swan Lake I'd ever seen and I liked it.  I had nothing else to compare it to at the time other than student productions. A few years later I saw ABT's Swan Lake. I like that too. They're very different from each other but that's what makes it all so interesting, isn't it? Although it's the one I really hanker for, I haven't yet seen Kirov's Swan Lake.

[BW]

Good advice, vagansmom. :yes: I'm with you - see as much as you can from different ballet companies. You'll learn to appreciate different companies and their "styles"...and you'll broaden your ballet horizons, too.

I happen to be looking forward to Christopher Wheeldon's version of Swan Lake with the Pennsylvania Ballet this spring. :huepfen:

[BARRENONE]

My first time to State Theatre was this past summer and I sat in the fourth ring. I thought it was fine, especially if you're not aiming to see anyone in particular and are just viewing as a whole. Plus I thought it was better for viewing the patterns in large ensemble numbers.

As far as opera glasses...they don't have to be real expensive.... a moderately priced pair will do fine. Mine were only $20

[GWTW]

LaraF, I'm also in Philly also on a limited budget  :sweating: Can you share with me the cheapest and easiest way of getting to NYC from Philly??

[Dale]

How long does the bus take from Philly to NY?

[Dale]

How long does the bus take from Philly to NY?

[GWTW]

Thanks a lot. I hope to utilize this info as often as possible.

[GWTW]

Thanks a lot. I hope to utilize this info as often as possible.

[Helene]

When I lived in NYC, my second home was the 4th Ring, and my favorite seats were the ones in the last row at the far ends, where I could see the stage from an angle.  Standing room at the State Theater is behind the last row of the 4th Ring; even so, it's worth standing through the entire NYCB Nutcracker.  At the Metropolitan Opera, where ABT's Spring season is held, there is standing room behind the orchestra, which is a great way to see ballet up close.

When I was 14, I had to watch Makarova's and Nagy's performance in Swan Lake through a pair of binoculars, because I had shattered my glasses two hours before the ballet started!   I find, though, that I enjoy watching the patterns and the contrast of the principals against the corps unaided.