Beyond Ashton and Balanchine: Ballet in the 20th Century

[Leigh Witchel]

We’d like to announce that starting next Tuesday, November 13, we’ll open what we hope will be the first of a series of special concentrated discussions.

In Beyond Ashton and Balanchine: Ballet in the 20th Century we’re going to focus on lesser-known choreographers deserving of wider attention, and the environments they worked in.

The following topics have been scheduled day by day:

Tuesday, November 13

A sense of place

To understand the works, understand the places where people worked. We’ll talk about New York, London, Paris, St. Petersburg etc. and the environment that produced these ballets.

Wednesday, November 14

Choreographers

Looking at overlooked choreographers and they works they made.

Thursday, November 15

In the Room With –

What it was like to work with these artists.

Friday, November 16 –

Companies –

The companies where they worked.

Saturday, November 17 –

Tying it all together –

Looking at ballet in the context of the wider art world.

Sunday, November 18

Final discussions and links to more information.

We have formal posts scheduled from writers and dancers including John Percival, Victoria Leigh and Andrei Bossov as well as others, and we’ll talk about choreographers deserving of more attention including Andrée Howard, Walter Gore and Leonid Jacobsen.

Please come and participate in these discussions to read, ask questions and most importantly, contribute your own recollections. Did you see Massine’s work? Do you know what Paris was like when Lifar was working? Please share it with the rest of us.

There will be a special forum opened up for these discussions on the 13th – we hope you’ll join us!

[Alexandra]

This is Leigh's idea from suggestion to organization -- and I think it's an excellent one. It's the kind of thing I've always wanted to do on the forum. We've had past "special events," most successful being the different forums on each of tlhe big 19th century ballets, and another one on employ. We talk about Balanchine and (less) Ashton a lot here, and we need to remember that there really are other classical/neoclassical choreographers. This seminar is just the way to do that.

I hope anyone who is interested in choreography, or ballet's past or its future, will participate in this!!

[ViolinConcerto]

I look forward to reading and learning some wonderful things.

Thanks, Leigh.

[Paul Parish]

I'll add in what I can about Christensen and the choreographers that worked with or were restaged by Oakland Ballet (Loring, Massine, Jooss, Tudor, Nijinska). And also Smuin (his Romeo and Juliet was really good).

Maybe Gina Ness will talk about dancing in Christensen's ballets -- i think she was in "Norwegian Moods" and some others.

Funny, the best production of jinx recently was Oakland Ballet's, not SFB's.

And WHAT was Filling Station like before they started dancing everything square on the counts?

but enough for now -- till next week.

[Alexandra]

First, YAY that you'll ring in on Christensen and Oakland Ballet.

And two, re "Filling Station," it's filmed on the Jacques d'Amboise DVD. Have you seen that? I'd love to read your comments on it.

[Leigh Witchel]

Paul -

Thankyouthankyouthankyou.

Contributions like this are what will really make this valuable.

[liebs]

Looking forward to this. I was lucky enough to see some early Cranko and some of the Joffrey stagings of various works. Leigh, thanks for this.