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Colorado Ballet New Artistic Director


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Is hiking a good way to get in shape to play golf, Golden Gate? :)

It's interesting that the Armstrongs have (according to the Rocky Mountain News) jumped back on the ship in a big way.

[snip]

Well it's nice he's good at golf too... good enough to teach it and be a past ballet master at ABT... he probably has good BALANCE which is what CB needs desperately. The dancers had a BIG say in this choice, so I am sure he will be fine... but Martin Fredmann cannot be replaced in any way, and he will never be forgotten.

Hopefully Gil will give summer lessons... I am a lousy golfer.

The Armstrongs haven't been totally gone that long... it just wasn't announced to the press until today. They've been in the wings for a while now.

Glad to have them back in the front line again... Liz and Bill are wonderful.

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It's interesting that the Armstrongs have (according to the Rocky Mountain News) jumped back on the ship in a big way.

I apologize for not mentioning for the benefit of the vast majority of the users who aren't all that familiar with the Colorado Ballet who the Armstrongs are. They were the Colorado Ballet's largest donors and were on the Board of Trustees until last Spring when they resigned at about the time that the former Executive Director of the Colorado Ballet quit.

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... good enough to teach it and be a past ballet master at ABT...

I am not quite sure where you are getting this information. Perhaps a little more research should be done. Mr. Boggs, I do not believe, was ever a Ballet Master at ABT. He retired as a soloist.

He is a lovely man. If someone must replace Mr. Fredmann (very hard shoes to fill), at least Mr. Boggs is a kind person, with artistic knowledge.

I have found the information or the source, however...http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/spot...4447748,00.html

I have read the announcement in the RM News, but find it confusing. When the heck was Mr. Boggs Ballet Master at ABT? Is there anyone who knows the dates?

Edited by vrsfanatic
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I found the following through MSN and Google Searches:

From the Atlanta Ballet website

"1980 Gil Boggs, principal dancer with the Atlanta Ballet heads the U.S. delegation to the International Ballet Competition of Varna, Bulgaria. Robert Barnett and ballet master Mannie Rowe serve as official coaches for the U.S. The following year, Barnett will serve as head coach in Moscow"

A photo of him on the Chelsea Piers Golf Club website. (Don't know how long it will be up, now that he's leaving.)

A first-hand account of how Boggs helped writer Dina Gan choose her first set of golf clubs.

He guested with the Seiskaya Ballet.

His dancer page on the ABT website no longer exists (sometimes the pages are left, but the links are deleted), but he is still in the ABT video dictionary performing tour en 1'air.

I didn't find any articles that list Boggs as a Ballet Master at ABT, but I did find lots of articles on Wade Boggs and Gil Hodges.

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1993, Mr. Boggs is listed in a program as a principal dancer at ABT. Great to see he was elevated to the well deserved position.

In May of 1996, Mr. Boggs was still listed as a Principal dancer. May 2, 1996 Don Q, N. Ananiashvilli/J. Bocca

I am not really up on ABT ballet master employment between 1995 and 1997, however as I recall Mr. Boggs retired from ballet to become a golf pro. I remember his final performance with ABT. I sat next to his mother (I do not know his mother), who very proudly announced to the surrounding audience that Mr. Boggs was so pleased to become a golf pro. I do not remember the year. I do know however that it was after May 5, 1996.

As of 1997 I have had students consistantly in ABT, in one form or another. Mr. Boggs has never been a ballet master during this time. I will continue to research, but it really does not matter one way or the other. Just a point of interest. Mr. Boggs is a qualified individual, a professional and a nice person.

Later...a 1999 NYTimes article

My Webpage

...In some instances, he can be a seasoned principal like Gil Boggs (now in his final season), Guillaume Graffin and Robert Hill; at this stage, their artistry prevails over pyrotechnics. ...
Edited by vrsfanatic
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Found out some more yesterday... his wife Sandra Brown was a principal dancer at ABT too... and they have a 10 week old son (busy on many levels!).

The CB dancers all agreed to Gil, and I think it's really great that he and his wife have been on both sides of the coin... so to speak. The perspective is greater.

Here's an excerpt from Colorado Ballet's press release yesterday:

"Boggs is a former Ballet Master and principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, whose illustrious dance career has spanned 21 years. During that time, he has worked with and studied under some of ballet's greatest names, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Twyla Tharp, Agnes De Mille, Jerome Robbins, Anthony Tudor and Paul Taylor.

The Artistic Director Search Committee was formed and began conducting the search process in October 2005. The group, headed by Colorado Ballet Trustee Ann Frick, partner at Jacobs, Chase, Frick, Kleinkopf and Kelley, received interest from over 35 applicants from around the world and consisted of board members, representatives from the musician’s union, two current company dancers, former dancers, two administrative staff members and community activists. The unanimous recommendation to hire Boggs was made by the committee to the Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees of Colorado Ballet, and was also approved unanimously.

“We were delighted at the response we received and Gil quickly rose to the top,” explained Frick, "Gil's combination of proven artistic and business experience, strong interpersonal and leadership skills, extensive contacts in the dance world, his passion for the art form and his vision for the future of Colorado Ballet promises to take Colorado Ballet to new heights.”

Let's look to a productive and positive new future.

Golden Gate

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Actually, Sandra Brown was a soloist at ABT -- never a principal -- leaving a couple years ago, making Complexions her base. What an exciting performer! Underutilized, IMO, and not completely suited to ABT's increasingly tutu-laden rep, but stunning in modern, dramatic and contemporary one-acters. I wonder if she'll join the company as a dancer. Lucky you, if she does!

Her bio on Complexions.org gets her name wrong on the title line, but correct in the body. :)

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In any event... very glad to have them both, I have high hopes... as does most of the company I think.

I don't know if she'll dance, I would imagine that at the most she may teach at some point... pointe... ha ha ha... but with a cross country move and a 10 week old son to busy her, perhaps the stage is not in the forefront of her mind just now. Who knows what the future will bring. How often do ballerina's have children and dance professionally again? Is that common?

One of CB's best from the past, 'Michelle Dolighan' has had two children in the last three years (4 years?) and she is teaching in the academy only this last season.

It will be interesting to see what new direction it all goes in. It's been a roller coaster over the last few years.

[Edited to add: a discussion of Ballerinas and Motherhood has been moved to a thread of its own:

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...ic=21619&st=15]

Edited by Helene
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I have found the information or the source, however...http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/spot...4447748,00.html

I have read the announcement in the RM News, but find it confusing. When the heck was Mr. Boggs Ballet Master at ABT? Is there anyone who knows the dates?

The Denver Post's article is at http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_3485314. I doubt that it will add much clarity for you.

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All golf jokes aside, I looked at the Colorado Ballet website today and found no information at all about this appointment, just a note that said to come back later for more developments. This week the company is presenting a touring company of the Matthew Bourne Swan Lake, but they supposedly have another program coming at the end of March, Martin Fredmann's Cinderella in rotation with a mixed choreographer program, which is most likely already in rehearsal -- I'm wondering when they're actually bringing Gil Boggs into the picture, and how that transition will work

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All golf jokes aside, I looked at the Colorado Ballet website today and found no information at all about this appointment, just a note that said to come back later for more developments.  This week the company is presenting a touring company of the Matthew Bourne Swan Lake, but they supposedly have another program coming at the end of March, Martin Fredmann's Cinderella in rotation with a mixed choreographer program, which is most likely already in rehearsal -- I'm wondering when they're actually bringing Gil Boggs into the picture, and how that transition will work

1- CB is presenting Matthew Bourne's "Swan Lake" in conjunction with the Denver Center Theatre Co. for 6 days this week... opens tonight. Tickets are on sale for a discounted price for certain shows; there's another thread about this under todays topics. As this is a presentation in name only for CB, there is no relevancy to Gil.

2- The other two shows; Cinderella and the Choreographers Showcase are running simultaneously Mar 4-Apr 1. The choreography in Cinderella is Martin Fredmann's. I've seen this one and it's absolutely delightful. Excellent show. The Choreographers Showcase is CB's annual triple bill. This years show features Twyla Tharp's 'Nine Sinatra Songs' (costumes are Oscar de La Renta) and to my knowledge this has only been performed by three other companies since it's debut in Vancouver, Oct 1982... so this 4th show in 23 years is a lovely feather in the cap, also featured is Paul Taylor's 'Company B'... which will also be a wonderful production to see - I love swing -, and the last is Jessica Lang's premiere created for CB... she danced with Twyla for a bit, and is one of the hottest up and coming choreographers in the dance world.

Gil will be present intermittantly and will be part of (but I doubt altering) the upcoming shows. He officially takes the reigns in April, I believe.

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The Choreographers Showcase is CB's annual triple bill.  This years show features Twyla Tharp's 'Nine Sinatra Songs' (costumes are Oscar de La Renta) and to my knowledge this has only been performed by three other companies since it's debut in Vancouver, Oct 1982... so this 4th show in 23 years is a lovely feather in the cap,

It is indeed a very popular work, but I Googled around a bit and found it in the repertory of Ballet BC, Hubbard Street (where Tharp set most of her rep when she dissolved her first company), Pennsylvania Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet, Washington Ballet, Kansas City Ballet (run by former Tharp dancer Bill Whitener), and just this month at Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Gil will be present intermittantly and will be part of (but I doubt altering) the upcoming shows.  He officially takes the reigns in April, I believe.

Any idea when they might announce their 2006-07 season -- if he's not coming in till April, some of those decisions will probably be made before he arrives.

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I have found the information or the source, however...http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/spot...4447748,00.html

I have read the announcement in the RM News, but find it confusing. When the heck was Mr. Boggs Ballet Master at ABT? Is there anyone who knows the dates?

The Denver Post's article is at http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_3485314. I doubt that it will add much clarity for you.

The Denver Post had another article about Gil Boggs in its Feb. 19 edition (basically a short professional biography):

http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_3517198

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Thank you YouOverThere for the update. I do read the links forum of BalletTalk a few times a day so I have already seen this article. Actually my questioning of the report in RM News was a bit sarcastic since I was well aware that Mr. Boggs was not a ballet master at ABT. This is not to slight Mr. Boggs in the least, I hope I am understood, I knew from years of experience with ABT and having done homework that he left ABT as a very respected principal dancer. :)

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Nice article in the Denver Post on Gil Boggs...He sounds like a great guy who will bring positive energy along with expertise and experience to the company. I saw Mr. Boggs dance Mercutio in ABT's "Romeo and Juliet" (MacMillan) and I thought he was terrific in the role. I worked years ago with Martin Fredmann at SFB in the 70s and always thought him a talented and very nice man...

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