sandik

I don't know anything yet, except for those two Barker performances. I will try to see all of them, but short of pitching a tent in the lobby, it's tricky to get it all in.

Not a full cast list, but from the PNB website "Don't Miss: Patricia Barker's final performances in Swan Lake: February 3 at 7:30 and February 9 at 7:30. Ms. Barker retires at the end of the 2006-2007 season." PNB Swan Lake

Oh these are stunning. I love them both, but especially the bookend quality of the Egyptian image. Many thanks!

I don't follow skating very closely, either figure or ice dancing, but have been interested in watching the changes that have developed since the school figures were eliminated from figure skating competitions. It seems, to my not very experienced eye, that there is an increased emphasis on big, flashy movements but no concomitant development of small, detailed footwork.

Tangentially, there is a lovely piece by Mark Morris in the same series "Falling Upstairs."

When Fanny Elssler was touring here in the US, congress recessed so they could go to a performance.

I think we are, and it's an interesting question you've asked. I've had several conversations recently, about different groups and dances, that have all boiled down to the same element -- what does a group do in a dance? What is the significance of an ensemble, what can they tell us and how do they 'read' (how do we know what they're saying?)? This may not be the venue for this conversation, but I've been mulling it over lately, and the news of Wheeldon's new project just got sucked right in. Some people think that the big leap of faith for ballet makers is the convention of the classical vocabulary and the artificial nature of the pointe shoe, but I think that there's an argument to be made for the uses of the ensemble. There are certainly examples of large group dances in every genre, but I think there is something particular about a corps de ballet that makes it very specific, and is central to our understanding of classicism and its manifestation in ballet. Or, to make this very short, what is it about the Kingdom of the Shades that makes me weep before Nikiya takes a step?

Regarding this detail, I'd have to disagree. I think that spatial geometry is Wheeldon's strength as a choreographer. He's shown a gift for it from Mercurial Maneouvres on; Evenfall is another example. Working with the geometry of the corps is the main way Wheeldon approaches classical choreography. Even the Swan Lake you mention, though it doesn't have a massive corps (it couldn't at Penna Ballet) shows a constant experimentation with formations and space - sometimes to the detriment of the story itself. This doesn't affect the rest of your argument, of course - it's just a detail. You've certainly seen more of his work than I have, but this actually clarifies for me what I think I was trying to say -- is he, in this new situation, going to have the resources to work with the geometry, or is it going to be even smaller groups? Thanks again for helping iron out my wonky thought processes. (I know that Pennsylvania Ballet doesn't have a huge roster, and although there were things about Wheeldon's Swan Lake there that made my forehead wrinkle, his use of the ensemble wasn't one of them.)

Bessie was, as you well know, an extremely smart woman about dancemaking.

Like many people in the dance world, I've been mulling this over since the official announcement last week, and I'm still grappling with what I think this might lead to. The previous comment (that Wheeldon, along with other ballet colleagues in his generation, seem to be using the traditional modern dance company as a model for their own independent ensembles) seems to have a great deal of truth and the choice will, I think, have a significant influence on his development as a dancemaker over the next several years. The kind of work that he will best be able to make inside this structure is chamber theater in size and scope -- the internal references will be between individuals and little groups -- the architecture of the space will live most clearly on a smaller scale. Part of what classical ballet has been able to do is illustrate geometry in space using large groups of people. I'm not sure that Wheeldon has been especially interested in that aspect of the art form (even his Swan Lake uses a relatively small group of swans) but he certainly won't have that as an easy choice in this new venture.

Karel Cruz, Chalnessa Eames, and Lesley Rausch are promoted to soloist. From the press release Artistic Director Peter Boal Announces Dancer Promotions Artistic Director Peter Boal announced today the promotions of Chalnessa Eames, Lesley Rausch and Karel Cruz from corps de ballet dancers to Soloists with Pacific Northwest Ballet. “We have all watched with excitement as these three dancers have taken on new roles and triumphed in them. They consistently exhibit the highest levels of technique and artistry. All three have earned admiration and applause.” – PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal Chalnessa Eames is from Bellingham, Washington. She trained at Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton and the School of Royal Winnipeg Ballet and attended Pacific Northwest Ballet School’s summer course. She joined Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 1996 and joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2001. Ms. Eames has danced leading roles in George Balanchine’s Emeralds; Todd Bolender’s Souvenirs; Val Caniparoli’s The Bridge; Ulysses Dove’s Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven; Nacho Duato’s Jardí Tancat; Dominique Dumais’ Scripted in the Body; Nicolo Fonte’s Within/Without; William Forsythe’s Artifact II and In the middle, somewhat elevated; José Limón’s The Moor’s Pavane; Kirk Peterson’s Amazed in Burning Dreams; Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free; Christopher Stowell’s Zaïs; Kent Stowell’s Cinderella (Stepsister), Delicate Balance, Nutcracker (Flora), Quaternary, and Silver Lining; and Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. She originated leading roles in Paul Gibson’s The Piano Dance and Victor Quijada’s Suspension of Disbelief and featured roles in Dominique Dumais’ Time and other Matter and Christopher Stowell’s Quick Time. She has been featured in Balanchine’s Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, Concerto Barocco, The Four Temperaments, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Serenade, Symphony in C, and Theme and Variations; Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow and The Sleeping Beauty; Marius Petipa’s Paquita; Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake and The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet; and Paul Taylor’s Roses. In 2002, Ms. Eames danced in the film version of Guy Madden’s Dracula. Lesley Rausch is from Columbus, Ohio. She studied with Shir Lee Wu at Columbus Youth Ballet and also trained at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as member of the corps de ballet in 2001. Ms. Rausch has danced leading roles in George Balanchine’s Agon, The Four Temperaments, and Emeralds; Val Caniparoli’s The Bridge and Lambarena; William Forsythe’s Artifact II and In the middle, somewhat elevated; Paul Gibson’s The Piano Dance; Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free; Kent Stowell’s Nutcracker (Clara, Peacock); and Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. She has also been featured in Todd Bolender’s Souvenirs; Balanchine’s Apollo, Concerto Barocco, Diamonds, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Serenade, Symphony in C, and La Valse; Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow and The Sleeping Beauty; and Stowell’s Carmina Burana, Cinderella, and Swan Lake. In addition to her performing career, Ms. Rausch has been a guest teacher at New American Youth Ballet in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Karel Cruz is from Havana, Cuba and received his training at Cuba’s Escuela Nacional de Artes. He joined Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1996 and left in 1998 to join Ballet Clasico de Camara in Venezuela. From 1999 to 2000, he danced with Teatro Teresa Carreno, also in Venezuela. He joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2002. Mr. Cruz has danced leading roles in George Balanchine’s Emeralds, The Four Temperaments, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Cavalier), and La Valse; Val Caniparoli’s The Bridge; William Forsythe’s Artifact II; Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow; Kent Stowell’s Firebird, Nutcracker (Prince), and The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (Tybalt); Richard Tanner’s Ancient Airs and Dances; Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s Mercury; and Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs and Waterbaby Bagatelles. He has been featured in Balanchine’s Diamonds, Symphony in C, and Theme and Variations; Nicolo Fonte’s Within/Without; Hynd’s The Sleeping Beauty; Peter Martins’ Fearful Symmetries; Stowell’s Hail to the Conquering Hero, Silver Lining, and Swan Lake; and Paul Taylor’s Roses.

This is a frequent topic in my part of the dance world, and I thought that Ms Solway laid out many of the key elements very clearly in her article. American modern dance is still so young that we are just now grappling with these post-death issues. The Limon company got a head start, and although they had some very difficult times they seem to be doing fairly well right now. With them, I wonder what will happen when there is no longer someone who had first-hand experience with Limon himself to lead the ensemble -- I think that will prove to be another significant hurdle for them. The Graham company, on the other hand, seems intent on pushing away that part of the population. They are, however, working hard on placing some of the repertory in the college dance environment, which will give it ongoing life, and get it in front of young artists, who don't always know enough about their heritage. The Graham company has actually invited other choreographers to create and/or set works on the ensemble -- Twyla Tharp and Martha Clarke have both made new dances for the group, but I don't know that they were considered unalloyed successes and I don't think they are still in the active repertory. Another sad example is the Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis companies. For a time after Nikolais' death, they worked as a combined group under Louis' direction, but even that has evaporated. Some of the dances are still produced with other companies, but not many, and not necessarily the landmark pieces. (at least I can watch a smidgen of Tensile Involvement in the title sequence from The Company...) In modern dance, a single choreographer group often reflects a specific aesthetic or technique -- to see the works performed by artists who are not necessarily trained or focused in that way is a different experience than seeing them performed by 'true believers.' In its own way, it's a more intense version of what we see in ballet when a general purpose company performs Bournonville of Ashton -- they are usually very respectful of the technical and stylistic differences, but they can't necessarily replicate the details. I wonder sometimes if we would be more sanguine about leaderless groups fading away if we had better documentation (film/video and notation) of the works themselves. I think many people feel that the only way to keep the dances alive is to keep the generative company going as well.

I'm very glad to hear good things of Rausch -- I missed seeing her perform in the Dove for the mixed rep, and didn't see her in Nutcracker, so am hoping she's prominently placed in Swan Lake.

You and me both!

My own state (Washington) used to have what we called a 'blanket' primary -- you didn't have to be registered in a political party to vote, you could vote for anyone for any office (not just Republicans or Democrats or others). I grew up with this system, and it has always made a great deal of sense to me, but, alas, it has recently been changed so that you may only vote on one party's ticket for the primary. You don't need to be registered in that party, but you must request the Republican, Democrat, or Independent ballot when you check in. I am hoping that this is a temporary situation, and that we will return to the blanket structure, but here we are till then.

Am I experiencing a senior moment -- January 23 isn't a Saturday. Please don't tell me it's the 13th -- I'm out of town... I'm so excited I'm replying to myself. It is (according to the website) on Tuesday, January 23, at 7:30 pm, and tickets go on sale January 9. And yes, in Seattle it is playing at a downtown theater. Which is fabulous, considering that the original broadcast wasn't playing anywhere in Washington state. I'm very, very excited!

Am I experiencing a senior moment -- January 23 isn't a Saturday. Please don't tell me it's the 13th -- I'm out of town...

I'll be joining you on a bench there. I get so itchy when people give their ensembles tricky names. I've written calendar copy for years, and my eyes roll every time I get one of those twisters. More central to the actual thread here, I'm wondering if this is in fact a good move for him. No matter how peripatetic the life of an itinerant choreographer (which, like any freelancer, is as much about getting the assignment as it is making the work) running your own shop has tasks and responsibilities that he hasn't had to deal with, as a hired hand. It may mean a certain amount of artistic freedom, but I don't know that it guarantees any additional time in the studio. On the plus side, smaller ensembles are much more likely to tour than large groups, which may mean that people outside the bigger dance towns will see something of his work. (ETA) The article mentions that the group will perform work by other choreographers as well -- any speculation about what work Wheeldon might program alongside his own?

Thanks so much for the link and logins -- I love that piece and am thrilled that they're doing it. What a blast!

Well, according to weather.com, it was 50 yesterday, but I have a feeling that's a fluke. How snowy will the sidewalks be in mid-February?

Mmm, tasty. Maybe they'd be willing to take on the Met broadcasts?

It looks like I'll be there as well -- it's my Christmas present!

I've seen very little of his work, and so don't really feel I can comment on it directly, but the sense I've always had is that his view of the theater encompassed a sense of spectacle that many American choreographers were uncomfortable with -- in a funny kind of way he reminds me of Cirque du Soliel.

Golly, this does seem a bit tactless. My pedantic heart does need to say that the company did not do much touring in the last few years of Stowell and Russell's tenure, primarily for financial reasons (they had two capital campaigns back to back, one for a satellite school and one to help remodel their theater). And while S/R didn't like to tour unless they could take the whole company, Boal has been interested in sending smaller groups, which makes the financial challenge much more manageable.

I was glad to see his name again -- I'd lost track of him once he left PNB. I saw him in Billy the Kid not long after he came to Seattle, and he was a very interesting mover.