14 replies to this topic

[volcanohunter]

Hello! I'm very happy to have discovered this forum.

Though I have lived in western Canada for many years, I am a native New Yorker and consider myself fortunate to remember the days when great companies filled the stage of the Met all summer long. I'm pretty sedentary now, but my first career was as a dancer (modern, mind you). I'm still an avid dance fan, though my viewing tastes have definitely shifted back to ballet, my first love. I do my best to keep up with developments in the ballet world, watching as many DVDs as I can get my hands on and taking in performances whenever I travel, which isn't nearly as often as I'd like!

If there are any Alberta Ballet subscribers out there, I'd particularly enjoy trading impressions with you.

[carbro]

We're delighted you've discovered us, too, volcanohunter!

You may be our first Alberta correspondent, but we're anxious to keep up with what's happening throughout the ballet world.  I hope you'll share your impressions of what you see.

Of course, broadcasts and dvd's provide far-flung balletomanes to share common experiences.  As I'm sure you've seen on the extensive POB Jewels thread, it's fascinating to compare people's responses.  I'm sure you have many opinions on some of the videos you've seen.

You may also have noticed a good deal of nostalgia (particularly from New Yorkers, past and present, of a certain age ) among the posts.  You no doubt share some of those memories.

We welcome you to BalletTalk and look forward to hearing from you!  

[bart]

Welcome, volcanohunter.  There are a lot of us New Yorkers, now far from our original home.   Dance needs experienced eyes everywhere, even here on the periphery.  So I hope we'll be hearing from you (both about live performances and DVDs) in the future.

P.S.  I also identify with your statement that your dance interests have now returned to ballet, your "first love".  It happened to me too, and  -- I suspect -- to many of us.  

[volcanohunter]

Thank you, Carbo and Bart, for the warm welcome.

[mom2]

welcome volcanohunter!

I live in another part of Canada, but am indeed up here in the great white north and a transplanted american to boot.

I do believe that there are other Albertans here, but the ones I know seem to spend more time on the BT for dancers site.  I'm sure you'll cross paths with them before too long!

mom2

[mmded]

I am not an Alberta Ballet subscriber but I do attend almost all of the Alberta Ballet productions in their northern "home" city as I do group ticket sales for a local ballet school.  I am really looking forward to the Joni Mitchell collaboration this year!  I used to be a National Ballet of Canada subscriber before moving to the west and have been fortunate to have seen Paris Opera Ballet, Stuttgart and Munich in the last couple of years as well as Royal Winnipeg Ballet.  I am first and foremost a ballet mom so I read avidly Ballet Talk but don't often feel knowledgeable enough to post on this site with so many articulate members.

[volcanohunter]

Thanks, mom2, I look forward to reading posts from your part of Canada too. There isn't too much ballet on Canadian TV, and our companies don't tour quite as often as they used to, so eyewitness reports become really useful in keeping up with dance in this country.

And I hope mmded won't be too shy about posting opinions. I'd very much like to share impressions about Alberta Ballet performances with you. I'm also anxious to see "Dancing Joni" since I always look forward to new ballets by Jean Grand-Maitre. He hasn't disappointed me yet. I'm glad that his "Winter Room" and "Cinderella" are back. I liked Emily Molnar's "Portrait of a Suspended Grace," so I'm hopeful about her "Carmina Burana." I love "Rubies," and I'm thrilled that "Serenade" is coming. I can never get too much Balanchine. If Yukichi Hattori is still around next season, I think they ought to revive "Prodigal Son" for him. And if I'm not mistaken, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens brought Nacho Duato's "Without Words" to Edmonton a few years back. I liked it then and am looking forward to seeing it again. On paper it looks like a very good season, so I think you and I ought to inject some life into the "other Canadian companies" forum.

P.S. I noticed that the Alberta Ballet is currently conducting a contest on their web site for tickets to their first show. Who knows, you could win a pair.

[mmded]

I will try volcanohunter!    Ballet is unfortunately a bit of a tough sell in our city compared to other cultural activites.
mmded

[carbro]

volcanohunter, on Sep 10 2006, 08:01 PM, said:

And I hope mmded won't be too shy about posting opinions. . . . On paper it looks like a very good season, so I think you and I ought to inject some life into the "other Canadian companies" forum.

I hope so, vh!  

Mmded, now that you have someone to "bounce off of," I hope you won't feel shy   .  All the better if mom2 is able to attend and report on performances!  

[jsiuluy]

I am originally from Havana Cuba and a ballet fan since I saw Alonso dance Swan Lake back in the late 60's. I now live in Vancouver BC and indulge my ballet cravings mostly through dvd's and looking at pictures.
If any members wish to compare notes, particularly about the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, its repertoire and dancers from yesterday and today, fire me a line.

[Giannina]

Welcome to Ballet Talk, jsiuluy; we're glad to have you with us.  You have a sense of ballet history that I'm sure others would like to share with you.  You can start threads of your own by checking our various forums, especially the ones devotes to ballet companies.

Giannina

[JMcN]

One of our favourite NBT dancers is now with Alberta Ballet - Jonathan Renna.  Alberta Ballet are fortunate to have him and you are lucky to be able to see him dance!

[volcanohunter]

JMcN, on Dec 29 2006, 04:05 PM, said:

One of our favourite NBT dancers is now with Alberta Ballet - Jonathan Renna.  Alberta Ballet are fortunate to have him and you are lucky to be able to see him dance!

Yes, JMcN, Alberta Ballet obviously feels fortunate to have him also since he's given many prize roles to dance. He's done the Nutcracker, Cinderella's Prince, Tybalt and was deeply funny as the Knave in Alice in Wonderland. Renna has also danced the leads in many other ballets by AD Jean Grand-Maître, including Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons, the Lead Angel in Vigil of Angels and Escamillo in Carmen. More recently he's done Balanchine's Rubies and was the Bearer of Time in Emily Molnar's Carmina Burana, which required him to dance "O Fortuna" as solos, no easy task. I also enjoyed him very much in Edmund Stripe's Unquiet Light. Alberta Ballet does not divide its dancers into different ranks, but Renna is a principal in all but name. Hopefully BT's small contingent of Alberta residents will be able to keep you informed about his performances.

I look forward to reading your impressions of Northern Ballet Theatre performances. Many people in Canada still remember David Nixon as a principal with the National Ballet of Canada, as well as Yoko Ichino, of course. I can't claim to be especially familiar with Nixon's work as a choreographer, but I have seen his Madame Butterfly, which he staged for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet some five years ago.

[JMcN]

David Nixon has been doing great things at NBT - a mixture of works he'd already made, including the sublime Madame Butterfly (Jon Renna was one of the Japanese Dancers and a Sailor in this) and a very enjoyable Dracula.  He's also made Wuthering Heights, a new Swan Lake, Peter Pan (a real family show), a truly fabulous Midsummer Night's Dream and this September Three Musketeers.  NBT has traditionally been a company that attracts strong actor/dancers and that concentrates on full evening narrative works.  David Nixon has maintained and expanded on this.  The standard of the dancing has improved significantly during his tenure.  The new season starts towards the end of February with another new ballet "A Sleeping Beauty Tale", which sounds as though it should be very exciting.  There's lots more detail about the company on their website www.northernballettheatre.co.uk

David Nixon is such a talented man - as well as making the ballets, he usually designs the costumes and has done some of the set design too!

Unfortunately I can't be at the opening night of Sleeping Beauty Tale but I will be in Leeds the following weekend and will report back.

[carbro]

Hi, JMcN!.  I'm glad you found your way to the Welcome Page, but where's your introduction?  :mellow:  I hope you'll tell  us a bit about yourself and your ballet-related experiences.

Moderator's note:  The purpose of this forum is for new members' introductions.  Snippets of news of dancers and their career changes are okay, but if you'd like to go into detail, please open threads either in the appropriate company thread or -- probably better if they are associated with more than one company -- the Dancers Forum.

Thanks!