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[dirac]

More on "Ocean's Kingdom."

The Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingto...tml?ir=New York

The New York City Ballet's Ballet Master in Chief, Peter Martins, is well-aware that nobody is going to the ballet tonight to see the ballet.

"Every single person in that theater... is there for one reason -- not for the ballet, because of Paul," Martins said of the Paul McCartney-scored ballet, "Ocean's Kingdom," which premieres at the New York City Ballet tonight. In a new interview, McCartney and Martins explain how it all coalesced.

The Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph...f-a-ballet.html

There are dozens more crossover examples. None of those that come to mind, though, feel quite the same as this pop megastar stepping quite so far out of his established comfort zone, to deliver quite such a daunting slab of music, for quite so grand a ballet company.

http://www.nypost.co...3hFyrksJxGH56JL

McCartney made headlines with a romantic tale of his own earlier this month when it emerged he is preparing to get married for a third time, to New Yorker fiancee Nancy Shevell.

"I met Peter at a reception for the NYC Ballet that Nancy and I attended and in conversation with him he asked if I had ever considered writing anything for ballet," McCartney said. "I said that I hadn't but would be excited to think about it because I am always interested in new directions that I haven't worked in before. I have done a few orchestral pieces and really enjoyed working with an orchestra.

[dirac]

A Reuters story on what's next for the Bolshoi.

http://www.reuters.c...E78L04Q20110922

Iksanov said "any radical experiments" in opera and ballet will be performed on the Bolshoi's smaller, more cramped New Stage, where all shows took place during the revamp.

"The main stage will remain more traditional. But it doesn't mean we'll let ourselves get dusty," said Iksanov, 59, who has led the Bolshoi since 2000. But he said the Bolshoi "is not a museum and never will be. As any live form of art, it will evolve".

[dirac]

An Associated Press story on David Hallberg's move to the Bolshoi via The Daily Mail, with photographs of Hallberg and others.

http://www.dailymail...hoi-Ballet.html

In a statement, the Bolshoi hailed its newest 'premier', or principal. 'Mr Hallberg ... possesses all the best qualities of classical dancer - perfect technique, refined manners and outstanding acting abilities,' said artistic director Sergei Filin.

Hallberg's first appearance with the Bolshoi is expected to be Giselle, with the young Bolshoi sensation Natalia Osipova as his partner.The two won raves when they performed the ballet together at the New York based ABT. 'We have a special connection,' Hallberg added.

[dirac]

Four dancers join Tulsa Ballet.

http://www.tulsaworl...K4_CUTLIN182671

Menteguiaga was featured during the gala opening performance at the Roxana Rozsa and Robert Eugene Lorton Performance Center at the University of Tulsa, performing choreography by Tulsa Ballet principal Ma Cong to the song "Maria" from the musical "West Side Story."

Also joining the company is demi-soloist Yoshihisa Arai, who studied at the Royal Ballet School in England before joining the Northern Ballet and who Angelini described as "a talent to watch, (who) has all the ingredients to climb up the ranks and to become a leading dancer"; and corps de ballet members Gabriela Gonzalez, a veteran of Miami City Ballet and Italy's Balletto del Sud, and Stefano Maggiolo, a recent graduate of the Royal School of Ballet.

[dirac]

The National Ballet of Canada arrives at its next stop, Victoria.

http://www.timescolo...1257/story.html

The performance kicks off Dance Victoria's 15th anniversary season and Kain will be present at both a pre-show chat and a gala at the Fairmont Empress Hotel following the opening-night performance.

It will be the National Ballet's first cross-Canada tour since cancelling one in 2009 due to the onset of the recession.

[dirac]

David Hallberg will appear (and dance) on The Colbert Report.

http://artsbeat.blog...colbert-report/

Mikhail Baryshnikov has showed up too, but not to dance, so Mr. Hallberg will be the first ballet dancer to perform on the show. A spokeswoman for the show suggested that viewers might be surprised at Mr. Colbert’s dancing abilities too.

[dirac]

A review of New York City Ballet by Apollinaire Scherr in The Financial Times.

http://www.ft.com/cm...l#ixzz1YiJMttCN

Balanchine liked to compare a well-curated show to a good meal. Who wants only steak or cake? But nothing has proved more satisfying than New York City Ballet’s recently inaugurated Balanchine Black & White nights, which limit themselves to ballets without tutus or much in the way of plots. Episodes, Apollo and The Four Temperaments, for example, are close enough in kind that the first ballet reshapes how we see the second, which in turn refocuses the third. You emerge from the theatre stuffed with insight.

[dirac]

Edward Villella is retiring from Miami City Ballet.

http://www.miamihera...ap-forward.html

The announcement came as a surprise, although, given Villella’s age — he turns 75 on Oct. 1 — it was not entirely unexpected. Villella, who declined to be interviewed for this article, gave the company’s dancers and staff the news at a tearful meeting Thursday morning. The board of trustees learned of the plan at a board meeting the same afternoon.

MCB Board Chairwoman Ana-Marie Codina Barlick said that, although there were no concerns about Villella’s health or leadership now, a small group of board members had been discussing his succession for some time.

[dirac]

Q&A with Stella McCartney.

http://www.thedailyb...-mccartney.html

In a design career that’s now well into its second decade, you’ve never done anything substantial with your father, former Beatle Paul McCartney. Why change that now?

At this point, it seemed like fun, but it took 10 years to get to that stage and to have the confidence that [working with him] wasn’t total nepotism. It was the right time. Definitely it was about having fun. And it doesn’t come around very often, the opportunity to do a ballet with the New York City Ballet with Peter Martins and the fantastic dancers they have. But also, he is Paul McCartney! And how awesome is that?

[dirac]

A National Public Radio interview with David Hallberg. Audio and text.

http://www.npr.org/2...-bolshoi-ballet

BLOCK: How would you describe the Bolshoi's style? What makes it distinctive and maybe different from what you - the way you might be dancing now?

HALLBERG: Yeah. Well, it's very, very different from the way I was trained. I have a very French type of style of dancing. The French style is very simplistic in a sense that the lines of the body are very clean. They're beautiful because of their refinement. It's extremely fast. The work and the speed of the dancer is very, very fast. Consequently, the jumping isn't as high.

And the Bolshoi style is huge. I mean, the Bolshoi means big in Russian, so the stage is enormous. They have a lot of space to fill. The jump is very, very big and one of the biggest kind of concerns and questions from other people is the fact that - is how I will adapt to the Bolshoi jump because it is so iconic and it's so impressive and I'm really going to try and get the best of both worlds. I'm not going to try and be a Russian dancer because I'm not, but I'm going to take as much as I can and try and adapt as much as possible to the style.

[dirac]

Jonathan Renna and Stephanie Hutchison of the National Ballet of Canada talk about appearing in "The Man in Black."

http://www.straight....hops-boots-bugs

“It is completely different than anything we’ve ever done,” confirms Stephanie Hutchison, a former Ballet B.C. dancer who stars as the sole woman in the piece, speaking to the Straight from her Jubilee Hall dressing room before ballet class at their Calgary road stop. The challenge with it isn’t so much the footwear, contends Hutchison, who grew up listening to the Man in Black because her father was such a fan. “It has to be very sincere and real. The biggest comment we’ve had was how touching it was and how much that surprised them [the audience members]. That’s part of the beauty and simplicity of it.”

[dirac]

An interview with Amanda Edelmann of Ballet Arizona.

http://www.ecolleget...lance-1.2635255

The only time school and ballet conflict, she admitted, is about a week before each performance. Rehearsals move to the theater and run into the night. She often gets behind in school during these times because she has to miss classes. But Edelmann has a goal in mind, and she will not stop until she achieves it.

"Since I am only part-time, it will take me longer to get everything done and graduate, but I definitely want a four-year degree," she said, adding that she plans to transfer to Arizona State University next fall. Edelmann considers the degree a fall back plan when she can no longer dance professionally.