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I see that ABT is having a two week tribute to Tudor ballets this October at New York City Center, though not all of them--mostly Lilac Garden, Leaves are Fading, and Pillar of Fire. They're not going to perform Dark Elegies, for reasons unknown. So I looked for it on Google and found nothing--ditto for You Tube.

All I could find of Tudor's entire output was Lilac Garden on an ABT DVD and a pas de deux from Leaves on another ABT DVD.

Perhaps ABT will put the entire Leaves are Fading and Pillar of Fire on DVD from their work at City Center. (Crosses fingers)

But why McKenzie would schedule Tharp and Balanchine to run along the Tudor works at City Center instead of more Tudor is beyond me, especially Dark Elegies and Romeo and Juliet.

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ROMEO AND JULIET would be a major undertaking (and expenditure) to get back on stage.

it hasn't been done anywhere, complete, in years.

ABT's programming is meant, i gather, to help sell tickets; it's an often-noted fact that all-Tudor bills do not necessarily sell that well.

ABT telecast a Dance in America program, listed below, but as with numerous Dance in America telecasts it has not been released commercially.

A Tudor evening with American Ballet Theatre / a co-production of WNET/Thirteen, New York, and Danmarks Radio ; produced by Judy Kinberg and Thomas Grimm ; ballets directed by Thomas Grimm ; documentary directed by Judy Kinberg ; choreography by Antony Tudor, staged by Sallie Wilson. New York, N.Y. : WNET/Thirteen, 1990. (58 min.) : sd., col.

Performed by members of American Ballet Theatre.

Music performed by the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Barker.

Lighting, Jorgen Johannessen and Tim Hunter ; executive producer, Jac Venza ; production executive, Rhoda Grauer ; writer, David Vaughan.

Jardin aux lilas / music, Ernest Chausson ; scenery, Zack Brown ; costumes, Hugh Stevenson ; danced by Leslie Browne (Caroline, the bride-to-be), Ricardo Bustamante (her lover), Michael Owen (the man she must marry), and Martine Van Hamel (an episode in his past), with Lucette Katerndahl, Julie Kent, Rosalie O'Connor, Amy Rose, Ethan Brown, Christopher Mattox, Scott Schlexer, and John Summers (friends and relations) ; violin solo, Eric Wyrick.

Documentary on Tudor's life and works, including excerpts from the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in 1986 (presentation speech by Agnes de Mille) and footage of interviews with Tudor, Dame Marie Rambert, de Mille, and Maude Lloyd.

Dark elegies / music, Gustav Mahler ; poems, Friedrich Rückert ; scenery and costumes, Nadia Benois ; cast: Scene 1, Laments of the bereaved: I, danced by Martine Van Hamel ; II, danced by Leslie Browne and Michael Owen ; III, danced by Johan Renvall ; IV, danced by Kathleen Moore ; V, danced by Danilo Radojevic, with Shawn Black, Elizabeth Ferrell, Hilary Ryan, Mary Wilson, and Daniel Chait ; Scene 2, Resignation, danced by entire cast ; singer, Christopher Trakas.

Telecast by WNET/Thirteen, New York, on the Great Performances: Dance in America series on April 13, 1990.

THE LEAVES ARE FADING was telecast in Japan but that telecast, with SYMPHONIE CONCERTANTE, SYLVIA PAS DE DEUX, CORSAIRE PAS DE DEUX & GREAT GALLOPING GOTTSCHALK has not been shown since and certainly not in the US and most certainly has not appeared on the commercial market.

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ABT telecast a Dance in America program, listed below, but as with numerous Dance in America telecasts it has not been released commercially.

Bless your memory (or PC database) for that information, RG. I have emailed PBS/WNET and asked them to consider turning that 1990 Evening with ABT (Tudor documentary plus performances of Dark Elegies and Jardin aux Lilas) into a commercial DVD--to tie in with the ABT program at City Center in October.

Can other BT members try and do likewise?

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Telecast on October 8, 1973 by WNET/13-TV, New York.

Credits Associate producer, Ken Campbell.

Summary Members of American Ballet Theatre are seen in rehearsal, in class, backstage, and in performance. Includes commentary by Agnes de Mille, Antony Tudor, Lucia Chase, and others.

Contents Les sylphides (excerpts) / choreography, Mikhail Fokin ; music, Frédéric Chopin ; scenery, Alexandre Benois ; danced by Karena Brock, Ellen Everett, Christine Sarry, John Prinz and corps de ballet.

Rodeo: Scene one / choreography, Agnes de Mille ; music, Aaron Copland ; sets, Oliver Smith ; costumes, Kermit Love ; danced by Christine Sarry, Terry Orr, Marcos Paredes, and company.

Pillar of fire (complete ballet) / choreography, Antony Tudor ; music, Arnold Schönberg ; scenery and costumes, Jo Mielziner ; cast, Sallie Wilson (Hagar), Ellen Everett (Youngest sister), Bonnie Mathis (Oldest sister), Marcos Paredes (Young man from the house opposite), Gayle Young (Friend), and company.

Swan lake: Black swan pas de deux (beginning) / choreography, David Blair ; music, Peter Tchaikovsky ; sets, Oliver Smith ; costumes, Freddy Wittop ; Performed by Cynthia Gregory and Ted Kivitt.

Swan lake: Black swan pas de deux (conclusion).

The river: Lake / choreography, Alvin Ailey ; music, Duke Ellington ; costumes, Frank Thompson ; danced by Cynthia Gregory, Marcos Paredes, and company.

Etudes: Tarantella / choreography, Harald Lander ; music, Knudage Riisager ; sets and costumes, Rolf Gerard ; danced by Eleanor D'Antuono, Ted Kivitt, Ivan Nagy, and company.

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the telecast noted above w/ PILLAR OF FIRE etc. was called:

AMERIAN BALLET THEATRE: A CLOSE UP IN TIME and has not been shown since.

as i recall those who know the film well and know tudor's ballet say the music was tracked somewhat out of sync with the film.

here are the top credits from the NYPL:

American Ballet Theatre: A close-up in time / WNET/13-TV ; directed by Jerome Schnur ; produced by Jac Venza.

New York, N.Y. : WNET-TV, 1973.(90 min.) : sd., col.

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Another video that would be nice to be released on dvd: the complete Pillar of Fire with Sallie Wilson (from a mid seventies ABT doc - ABT a close up? something like that)

Chris, you might propose that to WNET/PBS as well--it's obviously significantly less costly to covert film or video to digital than to start from scratch if the original film is in good shape. Not to mention showing the documentary and all three ballets again during the October celebration and offering a DVD of all four pieces during a membership drive. Here goes another email...

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ROMEO AND JULIET would be a major undertaking (and expenditure) to get back on stage.

it hasn't been done anywhere, complete, in years.

After reading up on Tudor a bit more, I returned to your comments in regards to his Romeo and Juliet, given that Tudor's version of RJ comes to just one act. What could generate a major investment of resources in a one act ballet?

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ABT telecast a Dance in America program, listed below, but as with numerous Dance in America telecasts it has not been released commercially. A Tudor evening with American Ballet Theatre (documentary, Dark Elegies, and Jardin aux Lilas)...

I received the following reply from PBS in response to my email suggesting they turn this into a commercial DVD in time for the Tudor Centennial this autumn.

"Your suggestion to release GREAT PERFORMANCES - DANCE IN AMERICA: A TUDOR EVENING on DVD has been noted in a report to the appropriate staff for their review."

Hopefully, someone in authority will say, "why didn't I think of that!" Given the lack of Tudor work available on any visual medium, I have high hopes this will come to pass.

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The Antony Tudor Ballet Trust has issued a DVD (and book) with info and video from the Centennial Celebration. It includes student from the JKO school performing Tudor class combinations and excerpts from students from The Juilliard School performing excerpts from "Undertow". I'd never seen it before apart from some still photos, and the male solo, which is in the DVD, is amazing.

The caveat is that many of the dancers are wearing white, and we lost the whole picture in the dance as a result.

Proceeds go to a Tudor scholarship at The Juilliard School.

http://www.antonytudor.org/store.html

(I can't get the website excerpt to work.)

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ROMEO AND JULIET would be a major undertaking (and expenditure) to get back on stage.

it hasn't been done anywhere, complete, in years.

After reading up on Tudor a bit more, I returned to your comments in regards to his Romeo and Juliet, given that Tudor's version of RJ comes to just one act. What could generate a major investment of resources in a one act ballet?

garybruce, greetings. rg is correct to say that reviving the complete ballet would be a challenge. We had a long discussion on the subject of the ballet awhile ago, which is here. Feel free to revive the old thread with any comments you may have!

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