15 replies to this topic

[BW]

Just wondering if anyone out there in Ballet Talk land has any plans in the works for this season, where you live or where you might be traveling...?

Thus far, I've had the good fortune to see Suzanne Farrell's company when the made a stop in Brooklyn, NY...and then caught ABT's Master Works program last Wednesday. Had hoped to make it to Pennsylvania Ballet's Dracula but got waylaid.

Next on my agenda is a series at NYCB. That's something I know I'm going to attend - though one never knows for sure if one might have to tinker a bit with the exact dates. ;)

I also plan on taking a road trip to see Washington Ballet after Christmas sometime... Ballet NYC is  another definite in January at Symphony Space..and then I'm 100% sure that we'll be heading on down to Philadelphia for Christopher Wheeldon's Swan Lake with the Pennsylvania Ballet...come hell or high water!

What about you - are you a planner or more spontaneous in your activities?

[Old Fashioned]

I'm definitely spontaneous when it comes to watching ballet or opera because I never know if I'll have something else to do on an exact date, and I like to take advantage of student rush tickets, which aren't always available.  I'll have an idea of which programs I want to watch, though.

[floss]

We have to plan our attendance,once we sort out who wants to go to which performance and when they can go, we have to purchase tickets as soon as possible to get decent seats. Performances tend to sell out fairly quickly here as well.

[Nora]

I live in Baltimore, and though I wish I could go to every available performance at the Kennedy Center in DC, time and money don't afford me that pleasure.  However, a group of friends and I just decided that we would spend New Year's Eve at a performance of Swan Lake by the Kirov!!!!  I didn't think they would say yes when I suggested it, but they did.  It should be one of my best New Year's Eves ever.  

[Hans]

I will be at that performance, too, Nora!  I am so excited; the Kirov is my favorite company

[koshka]

I find that if I don't get the tickets in advance, somehow the space in my calendar just isn't there when the performance dates roll around.  Also, I must say that the Kennedy Center is incredibly accommodating about changing ticket dates, though it can be a problem if I am out of town or not free for an entire run.

I live 10 min by car from the Kennedy Center, so I have 2 ballet subscriptions there (in order to see both programs--usually each company has 2) plus a subscription to the Wash. Ballet's Kennedy Center performances (can't stand the Warner Theater...) plus a subscription to Boston Ballet.  So I guess those are "planned".

Beyond those 20-25 performances, I go to others as they catch my eye or interest.

Sure is a good thing I don't have many other expensive habits.

[Redstorm]

I am definetely a planner. We buy season tickets to the SFB for select performances. I do this not only because if I don't purchase ahead, I will fill my calander up but also because of the benefits to being a subscriber. SFB offers quite a bit to their subscribers including fee free changes if by chance something does pop up on the date we have scheduled.
We will attend other companies performances that come around to Cal or Berkeley if we are free, but the majority of our ballet is watched at the SFB. (My daughters dream company)

[msd]

My daughter and I used to hold ballet season tickets...but there was one year when we couldn't make 2 of the performances (and, for some reason, I couldn't find anyone to go in our place, so I felt rotten about the wasted tickets!   )  Since then, she's been eligible for discounted day-of-show tickets through the pre-pro school where she studies, and also, for a variety of arts events, though a young person's arts program.  It's been great -- we saw the Paul Taylor Dance Company last weekend, great free seats via the arts program, and will see "Stomp!" this Wednesday.  These are great breaks in the Nutcracker rehearsal season, when it seems that we all hear Tchaikovsky in our collective sleep!  

I like the spontaneity of being able to attend the performance of our choice, that fits the schedule of the day, love the price breaks...but last weekend was a challenge -- straight from her ballet class to the venue, hoping for seats (got great ones!), then right after the performance to rehearsal.  She was in heaven...and we managed to make everything on time.     msd

[beckster]

I buy tickets when I can afford them, and I pick things I want to see.  So that means that I recently bought a ticket for La Bayadere (Royal Ballet), which is on this week, and two tickets for performances after Christmas.  I am also trying to organise my friends to go and see Nutcracker! (Matthew Bourne) and if our previous outings have been anything to go by, we will end up booking tickets the day before!

[carbro]

I live 4-5 minutes from Lincoln Ctr. by foot , so when I see NYCB or ABT there, I frequently buy my tkt at the very last minute, after confirming that the cast I want to see will indeed be dancing.

For other venues, I plan in advance, but usually buy tkt on the day of, to avoid steep handling prices.  When a theater offers discounts for multiple tix, I do buy in advance to take advantage.  I already have my Paul Taylor tix -- for March!

Of course, the further you travel, the more you have to plan ahead.  My Spring, 2002, trip to London was booked around a Cojocaru-Kobborg Giselle, so all the above "seat of the pants" flies out the window.  I would have gone to London anyway, but that performance defined my dates.

[Andre Yew]

In Southern California, where we're kind of starved for dance performances, I have to plan my whole season in the summer.  I currently have subscriptions to the LA Philharmonic, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the Music Center Dance series, UCLA Live, the Santa Barbara Symphony, State Street Ballet, and UCSB's Art and Lectures, and everything has to be planned just so, so that there are as few conflicts as possible between events as well as taking into account work, ballet classes, etc.  If there are out-of-town things, things like air travel, hotels, etc. have to be taken care of well in advance, too.

Sometimes some things pop up at the last minute (like next week's performance of Don Q by the Cubans at Cerritos), and it's nice to know your whole schedule so you know when you have a free moment to fit something else in.

--Andre

[dancemomCA]

From the hinterland of Canada's national capital city, I will be taking in Royal Winnipeg, Magic Flute in January and their Nutcracker next month.

In the new year I plan to see Bill T. Jones - has anyone seen his dance?  I'm also taking my teenage daughter to Compagnie Kafig - a group of French Algerian dancers, who bring traditional culture/choreography to hip hop.  This new work claims to questions social roles and womens' place in hip hop.  Lots to be said there.  They also mention mime and capoeria, which I've never come across before - can anyone clue me in on this style/movement? (If that is what it is.)

And, maybe get down to Toronto to see National Ballet of Canada.  

Cheers!

[Helene]

I start with three subscriptions to Pacific Northwest Ballet, University of Washington Dance Series, and Seattle Theater Group.  If I love something, or Mark Morris is in town, I'll get tickets for more than one performance.

I also try to attend ballet and opera performances whenever I travel.  I used to travel a lot for work, and one year, I saw all but one San Francisco Ballet program while working with a vendor in the East Bay!  It's much more possible when work is paying for the flights and hotel room

I live three hours from Vancouver, and I usually drive there for one or two dance performances a year.  Now that Christopher Stowell is running Oregon Ballet Theater in Portland, I'll probably attend a few performances there each year as well.  When I visit friends in NY, I try to sneak in performances, and I've even started travelling beyond the Bay Area to see specific companies, especially in this Balanchine Centennial year.

[piccolo]

I find out about dance performances and put them on my calendar long before I buy tickets. I usually buy my tickets 2 weeks out. I plan to go for much longer than that, but I just don't buy the tickets until later. Basically, I am the bane of Marketing Directors everywhere. I guess I am part of the trend to buy single tickets instead of a subscription.

I watch for performances at the Orange County Performing Arts Center (just saw  the Kirov do Jewels), I'm getting treated to Suzanne Farrell in Santa Fe next week, but am skipping Ballet Nacional de Cuba who is doing Don Q & a mixed program here in San Diego this week. I plan on attending several performances by City Ballet of San Diego, especially their Balanchine tribute in May.

[dido]

I am definitely a winger. I guess I "plan" that I will see Stars and Stripes or Don Q or whatever, but that just means I intend to see it. Usually I decide at the drop of a hat that I want to go tonight/today and head down for rush tickets and spend a few hours eating soup in Chinatown and rummaging through the Brattle bookstore.
Therefore I frequently end up not seeing certain dancers for ages, but I kind of like treating it like a movie or something. Then I don't feel so extravagant when I have to pay real money to see the Kirov.