Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

No forum for your favorite company?


Recommended Posts

Is your home company not on this forums list?

One of the reasons we started the forums for individual ballet companies is to give people a place to talk about their home companies. We want to hear what they're doing and what you think about it. Please tell us about that company (here or over on "Recent Performances" if you prefer), and encourage others to do so as well. If there are enough people to sustain a

conversation (it only take three or four) we'll be happy to make a forum for your favorite company.

What to talk about? Dancers, repertory, company news. Did you just get a new artistic director? Interesting guest artists this season? What are you seeing? We'd love to read reviews.

We have people from all over reading this board, and they may well zip out of Lurkdom and join in. So start talking and let us know about your home company!

Link to comment

I was told Ballet Alert had posted

Christopher Stowell's inaugural season

as artistic director for Oregon Ballet

Theatre on its pages.

Where would I find it?

It is of no small interest to those of us who enjoyed his dancing at San Francisco Ballet, and who remembered his father,

Kent Stowell, when he too danced with San Francisco Ballet when it was under

Lew Christensen's direction.

Thank you.

Link to comment

Anyone know where to locate information/discussion about Ballet Florida, based in West Palm Beach? After 3 years in the area, I've become a big fan, but find that they are almost invisible on the internet.

This is a small but very ingratiating company, with highly individualistic dancers and a wide range of choreographic styles (currently doing a number of Ben Stevenson pieces). Despite the size, they mount a huge and joyful Nutcracker each December (9 performances in the 2000-plus seat Kravis Center). Last year they performed at the Joyce in NYC and they tour in Florida and, occasionally, out of state. Even in West Palm, they are out-gunned (financially, in size, and in classical technique) by Miami City Ballet, which does four programs a year in West Palm and recently opened a Palm Beach County liaison office at the Kravis. But they have a good school, a 40-week employment contract for the dancers, most of whom have stayed with the company for years, and a very loyal, enthusiastic fan base. Several friends have commented that the dancers seem to be having fun -- something that cannot always be said of performances by Royal Ballet, NYCB, or ABT. This comes, of course, with recurrent financial difficulties. One symptom is a web site that is rarely updated. (For the entire 2002-03 season, they site listed the performance schedule for the previous year.)

It is easy to find lots of internet talk about larger companies (all the principals, every cast in every last Swan Lake). But smaller companies can't get forums beyond the local -- and even have to struggle to get that. Hope someone can help out with Ballet Florida. Or at least with discussion of similar companies in other parts of the country.

Link to comment

Another small but exciting company, now in its 25th year, is Maine State Ballet. They have made some important accomplishments in the last five years, and did get a mention on this board last summer.

see:

http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/32318-sunday-august-8/page__p__273328__hl__%2Bmaine+%2Bstate+%2Bballet...__fromsearch__1#entry273328

But, like Ballet Florida, they don't get much exposure outside local press! The artistic director is a former NYCB dancer under Balanchine. Repertoire includes Serenade and some great original choreography as well. A new piece is in the works for this summer.

Link to comment

The only ballet company I have attended is California Ballet Company, who uses the Civic Theater in Downtown San Diego. I haqd thought they were the biggest/most prominent in town, but I only see San Diego City Ballet (?) on here. Does anybody else live here in San Diego (city or county, I live in the Hillcrest district)? Maybe you know the scene a bit better.

Also, I was reading the Daily Aztec, SDSU's newspaper, and a young woman chatted me up about the article I was reading, which, IIRC, was complaining about the lack of ballet within SDSU's school of music and dance. Are there any universities anywhere that are prominent in their own rite as far as giving performances and such? I've heard U. of Utah, but I think they contract with Ballet West (no clue how an of that works).

Anyhow, if there's any love for Cal Bal, raise your hands!

https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaBalletCompany

Link to comment

There are a number of colleges and universities that have substantial dance programs, whose students perform on a next-to-professional level. The balance between ballet and modern varies, both in terms of curriculum and student body (some years are stronger than others, as far as students are concerned) Off the top of my head, in California, take a look at Cal Arts, Chapman University, UC Irvine. And at this point, it's anyone's guess what Forsythe might add to the Glorya Kaufman school at USC, or what will come out of the Colburn conservatory program.

Elsewhere, if you're thinking specifically about ballet, the U of Utah program does indeed have strong performance opportunities for their students, as does Butler U, Indiana U, Southern Methodist U, U of the Arts (Philadelphia), New World School of the Arts (Miami), SUNY/Purchase, NYU, and of course Julliard.

I'm up here on the other end of the west coast, and I don't know very much about California Ballet. What have you seen them in recently, and what did you think?

Link to comment

There are a number of colleges and universities that have substantial dance programs, whose students perform on a next-to-professional level. The balance between ballet and modern varies, both in terms of curriculum and student body (some years are stronger than others, as far as students are concerned) Off the top of my head, in California, take a look at Cal Arts, Chapman University, UC Irvine. And at this point, it's anyone's guess what Forsythe might add to the Glorya Kaufman school at USC, or what will come out of the Colburn conservatory program.

Please also take a look at the Cal State Long Beach Dance program: http://www.csulb.edu/depts/dance/

And there are substantial dance programs at UC Riverside: http://dance.ucr.edu/

and UCLA: http://www.wacd.ucla.edu/

College students seem to lean more toward modern dance, understandably, but the programs all include ballet training.

Link to comment

Please also take a look at the Cal State Long Beach Dance program: http://www.csulb.edu/depts/dance/

And there are substantial dance programs at UC Riverside: http://dance.ucr.edu/

and UCLA: http://www.wacd.ucla.edu/

College students seem to lean more toward modern dance, understandably, but the programs all include ballet training.

And those are all good dance schools (I thought clarafan was asking mostly about programs that included pro-level ballet performance). Riverside is one of the best dance history schools in the country, and often presents early dance work in its programming -- beautiful on its own and an incredible insight on the roots of ballet. The World Arts and Culture program at UCLA is doing amazing work in cross-cultural research and training. I don't know as much about the program at Long Beach, but an added bonus there is Karen Clippenger teaching dance science -- one of the best physical therapists for dance there is.

Link to comment

Sorry, I'm probably not clear. I'm not a dancer. I just enjoy watching. Back at college in Vermont, I did some intro dance classes that were modern/improv/whatever you call it. As well, the town it was in had its own gathering once a weekend for those that wanted to come and improv dance with eachother. Big hippie area. As USA Today once said, a college town (area) without the college (in the town proper).

So, I'm speaking as just a fan. SDSU's School of Music and Dance has performances of music and/or dance that are open to the public to attend. Wasn't sure how widespread this was.

But also, prpfessionally, any Cal Bal fans? I've only been to their Nutcracker (I'm a newb to ballet), but I thought it was lovely. Different than Mariinsky or SFB, which I was just watching online, but still very good. We almost lost our opera recently. Be tragic to lose ballet.

Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...