17 replies to this topic

[Jack Reed]

Every day at 6 PM there's a free show at one end of the foyer of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, usually lasting about 45 minutes (a few take place in one of the small theaters in the building instead); they're usually webcast live on this page and the webcasts are usually archived.  (Those run into the thousands, now, I believe, and there's a good "advanced search" function available from this page as well.)  The one scheduled for October 25 features excerpts from TSFB's upcoming two programs to be given in the Eisenhower Theater in three weeks.  (In fairness, sometimes the camera-work etc. on these webcasts leaves something to be desired, but considering how hard it seems to be to put dance on screen, last time TSFB was featured, I thought it was pretty good.)

[pherank]

Jack Reed, on 19 October 2012 - 10:47 AM, said:

Every day at 6 PM there's a free show at one end of the foyer of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, usually lasting about 45 minutes (a few take place in one of the small theaters in the building instead); they're usually webcast live on this page and the webcasts are usually archived.

Thanks for the heads up, Jack. This sounds like a great service to know about.
NOTE: the archived webcasts appear to work best in Internet Explorer. I have some trouble getting the video to show up in Firefox and Google Chrome.

[Ballet Foot]

Thank you for the reminder. I will be there on October 25th.  FYI: There is an open rehearsal of the company on November 7, 2012 @ 1:30pm. Seating still available.

[Jack Reed]

pherank, on 19 October 2012 - 11:45 AM, said:

...
NOTE: the archived webcasts appear to work best in Internet Explorer. I have some trouble getting the video to show up in Firefox and Google Chrome.

Good point.  For anyone trying this for the first time, it might be worth practicing a day or two before.

Ballet Foot, on 19 October 2012 - 11:50 AM, said:

... I will be there on October 25th.  FYI: There is an open rehearsal of the company on November 7, 2012 @ 1:30pm. Seating still available.

Consider posting your impressions of both events?  (This may not be the appropriate forum.)  

When I bought a ticket to the rehearsal recently, the center was already sold out.  A word to the wise, folks.  Only the balcony is available, anyway.

[Ballet Foot]

I called the Box Office.....tickets still available for rehearsal. Perhaps, some patrons donated tickets back to Kennedy Center due to personal scheduling conflicts. Yes, one must be nimble of foot to get the best seating (I knew my ballet training would once again come in handy). I have experienced some rather comical situations in this regard. I wondered if I were @ K-Mart or The Kennedy Center.

[pherank]

Just a reminder - the Suzanne Farrell Ballet presentation will be available online, today, at this URL:

http://www.kennedy-c...ams/millennium/

6pm EST/3pm PST

Look for an additional video link to appear on the page right at 6pm/3pm. You may need to refresh the page at that time to see it (but if they're smart, their using a technology that will refresh the page for you).

[Jack Reed]

Following on pherank's technical remarks, I found that the video started after the performance did, about 2-1/2 minutes past the top of the hour (5:00 here in Chicago), as Ted Seymour led Elisabeth Holowchuk in from the wing, audience right; and my audio was afflicted with a little echo.  Did others have the same experience?  Otherwise, the camera work was good, and might even have been rehearsed.

And the dancing!  Beautiful!  Just lovely!  What a show!  They even did the business at the end of Slaughter where the Gangster rises in the audience, and then did the ending after the ending - which looks like it might have caught some of the audience off-guard.  (Like it should.)

Here's hoping they archive this one.  It deserves it.  We deserve it.

[pherank]

Jack Reed, on 25 October 2012 - 03:06 PM, said:

Following on pherank's technical remarks, I found that the video started after the performance did, about 2-1/2 minutes past the top of the hour (5:00 here in Chicago), as Ted Seymour led Elisabeth Holowchuk in from the wing, audience right; and my audio was afflicted with a little echo.  Did others have the same experience?  Otherwise, the camera work was good, and might even have been rehearsed.

And the dancing!  Beautiful!  Just lovely!  What a show!  They even did the business at the end of Slaughter where the Gangster rises in the audience, and then did the ending after the ending - which looks like it might have caught some of the audience off-guard.  (Like it should.)

Here's hoping they archive this one.  It deserves it.  We deserve it.

Hello Jack,

Yes, I too have seen Balanchine choreography danced live, on the Internet. And no illegalities to boot. Who'd a thunk it?
My experience was the same as yours  - the performance seemed to have started early and was cut into abruptly at 6pm/3pm with the actual broadcast. My hope is that this will be archived with the other Farrell Ballet videos and we'll get to the see things from the beginning. Dancing was very good throughout, just too short! I'm really, really happy to have seen some of the original choreography to "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" - I've been wondering what that looked like for some time. I only know the Gene Kelly version.

[Jack Reed]

Thanks for your report!  Last night, the transmission was about 5 or 6 minutes late.  (I keep my watch set accurately, using my my cell phone's time.)  How did the audio compare with their other webcasts?

[pherank]

Jack Reed, on 25 October 2012 - 03:34 PM, said:

Thanks for your report!  Last night, the transmission was about 5 or 6 minutes late.  (I keep my watch set accurately, using my my cell phone's time.)  How did the audio compare with their other webcasts?

It wasn't bad - not fuzzy or garbled. The video displayed an "HD on/off" button and I set that to ON. But I can't say I noticed a real difference in video or audio having done that. I'm assuming the music was pre-recorded since I didn't notice any signs of a live orchestra.

[ascballerina]

The recording can now be found here: http://www.kennedy-c...ideos/?id=M5205

[Jack Reed]

Thanks, ascballerina!  That's handy, and now I can see it from the beginning, and the audio sounds fine, too.  Now to see when I can stop watching this over and over and get back to the rest of my life...

Yes, I can hardly wait until November.

[Jack Reed]

These dancers deserve to be known, and I can recognize maybe half (until they get into Slaughter!).  Viewers want to know who they are, too.  Was anybody there who picked up a program with a cast list?  Indeed, did the performance take place at one of the usual light-construction stages at the ends of the Kennedy-Center foyer, or in one of the small theaters?  The stage looks a little larger than the ones in the foyer.

[kbarber]

Jack Reed, on 26 October 2012 - 04:29 AM, said:

These dancers deserve to be known, and I can recognize maybe half (until they get into Slaughter!).  Viewers want to know who they are, too.  Was anybody there who picked up a program with a cast list?  Indeed, did the performance take place at one of the usual light-construction stages at the ends of the Kennedy-Center foyer, or in one of the small theaters?  The stage looks a little larger than the ones in the foyer.

The blond in Diamonds pdd and Divertimento is Heather Ogden, guesting from the National Ballet of Canada where she is a principal. Irrelevantly, but a piece of trivia you might like to know, she is married to NBOC Principal and "King of the Dance" Guillaume Coté.

[Jack Reed]

I thought it would be more useful to collect cast information here in an outline of the performance, and since you can navigate through the video on the Kennedy-Center web site by clicking on the progress bar below the video window, I include elapsed-time numbers as well.  As we get more information in this thread or elsewhere, I'll edit it into this post:

Divertimento No. 15: Andante  (choreography by Balanchine, 1956; music from Mozart Divertimento in Bb, K. 287, 1777)

[00:10]  Elisabeth Holowchuk and Ted Seymour

[01:17]  Nancy Richer and Emanuel Abruzzo

[02:20]  Violeta Angelova and Pavel Gurevich

[03:49]  Amy Brandt [?] and Ted Seymour

[04:59]  Heather Ogden and Pavel Gurevich

[06:53]  ensemble

[07:12]  cadenza

[08:16]  coda

[09:36]  Ballet Mistress Kristen Gallagher


[12:10] Danses Concertantes: excerpt [4th pas de trois]  (choreography by Balanchine, 1972; music from Stravinsky, Danses Concertantes, 1941)

Katie Gibson, Melanie Riffee, and Ian Grosh

[14:10] Agon pas de deux  (choreography by Balanchine, 1957; music from Stravinsky, Agon, 1957)

Violeta Angelova and Kirk Henning

[14:14]  entree

[15:06]  adagio

[18:27]  variations

[19:12]  coda

[20:56] Diamonds pas de deux  (choreography by Balanchine, 1967; music from Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 3 in D, 1875)

Heather Ogden and Michael Cook

[30:31]  Kristen Gallagher


[32:17] Slaughter on Tenth Avenue excerpt  (choreography by Balanchine, 1968; from music by Richard Rogers for On Your Toes, 1936, orchestrated by Hershey Kay, 1968)

Elisabeth Holowchuk and Kirk Henning

company

Edited by Jack Reed, 07 November 2012 - 09:29 PM.