ricaineballet

I am unexpectedly leaving Boston and need to sell the remainder of my subscription. Programs included: Coppelia (March 2019) Full on Forsythe (March 2019) Cinderella (May 2019) Rhapsody (May 2019) + 2 vouchers to bring a friend (cannot be used for Cinderella) + one ticket can be upgraded for free The tickets are all currently for Friday night performances, but the subscription included unlimited free exchanges for dates and/or seats. The face value of the 4 tickets is $55 each (would be $76 without a subscription). I'm asking 220, including the 2 additional tickets. I am happy to help to exchange dates or anything else as needed. I would also consider selling tickets individually.

Whoa - first Forsythe by NYCB since 1994! I hope that's a sign of more to come.

That is correct, though he has battled with injuries for the last few years. That may be why.

Dancers at POB are allowed one year sabbaticals. From the video it sounds like she is taking this option.

Marchard/Gilbert and Ould-Braham/Heymann are the star couples of the POB. Though I much prefer the former with respect to both technique and artistry, all of the dancers cast are elegant representatives of the French style. The pas de trois with O'Neill, Park, and Alu should also be a treat; they are all potential étoiles (and very strong classical dancers). Pujol will be offficially retiring during this run of Jewels.

Where did you find this information? I don't see it on the opera website.

Let's be clear. Aurelie Dupont has complained about the treatment at the Ecole de Danse (implicating Claude Bessy) but not necessarily the training itself. That was more Millepied's domain.

Yes, you're translating correctly. Strange bit to add in the article though. In response to the news today, people seem mostly relieved to have the ties cut. He has done a lot of damage already.

It's unfortunate that they invited Heymann, who is a fabulous dancer, for Le Corsaire. To be honest, none of the French dancers are well suited for this show of bravura and virtuosity (bar maybe Alu and on the female side Sae Eun Park and Hannah O'Neill, neither of whom were trained in France). The French school is the antithesis of virtuosity to the point it's practically punished. Heymann is a lovely dancer but this sort of role would not put him in a flattering light.

Precisely. I used to love the "annual Balanchine piece" that Levefre would program because I love Balanchine, but the Parisian dancers are not that well suited to the movement. At least, it seems slow and strange if you are used to the NYCB style. They do Forsythe excellently here, and Cunningham moderately well, but it's disappointing to see that the bread of butter of Parisian ballet: Petit, Bejart, Lifar, the grand classics, etc. are almost entirely absent. Millepied criticized so much the classical technique here and the need to improve it; this programming seems rather heedless.

The season was released at the Opera tonight. Personally, I am thoroughly underwhelmed: ABT - Sleeping Beauty (Ratmansky) Gala Creation, In Creases, Creation, Blake Works (Sehgal/Peck/Pite/Forsythe) Mozartina, Violin Concerto, Brahms-Schonberg Quartet (Balanchine) The Leaves are Fading, Creation (Antony Tudor, Millepied) Swan Lake (Nureyev) Semperoper Ballett Dresden - Impressing the Czar Tree of Codes (McGregor) A Midsummer Night's Dream (Balanchine) A Bras-le-Corps (Charmatz) Ecole de Danse - demonstrations, gala Walkaround Time, Trio, Workwithinwork (Cunningham, Forsythe) En Sol, La Valse, Bolero (Robbins, Balanchine, Cherkaoui Jalet) Creations ( Bertaud, Bouche, Paul, Valastro )Works from dancers within the company La Sylphide (Lacotte) Creation (Millepied, Parreno)

Letizia Galloni is not Italian, she is French and métisse, or mixed race. I admit there is lack of diversity, but that's not going to change overnight. It needs to start at the school, and if you look at the young dancers in the corps de ballet and the school, there is indeed more diversity than 5 or 10 years ago.

If nothing else, it's blatantly obvious that Millepied does not have any patience. From the start he wanted to uproot a 300-yr old institution overnight.

It's definitely true; it was reported on the radio and by several news sources yesterday (here in English, http://www.france24.com/en/20160203-millepied-quit-paris-ballet-reports?ns_campaign=reseaux_sociaux&ns_source=twitter&ns_mchannel=social&ns_linkname=depeche&aef_campaign_ref=partage_user&aef_campaign_date=2016-02-03) Today's rehearsals are canceled, and Stephane Lissner is giving a press conference this afternoon in Paris. Etoiles Karl Paquette and Stephane Bullion came out scathingly in today's ediiton of Le Monde. http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2016/02/04/benjamin-millepied-va-t-il-quitter-l-opera-de-paris_4858949_3246.html We learned just as everything else, from the press, that BM was going to leave the company, declared principal dancer, Karl Paquette. But we've already been feeling things for some time".... ..."I was shocked by this devastating article (referring to a December article in Le Figaro, in which BM criticized the company), by the lack of respect of Benjamin Millepied, vis-a-vis the company that he is completely denigrating. I have danced for 30 years in this company, I adore the Opera of Paris, and I never felt as bad as I have felt in the last 6 months. For that matter, I read the end of this article as a possible announcement of his departure." The article continues, "In fact, Millepied said, 'If I can't get it done here, I'll go elsewhere.'" Bullion " The ambiance was stormy in December, and things haven't gotten better" En savoir plus sur http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2016/02/04/benjamin-millepied-va-t-il-quitter-l-opera-de-paris_4858949_3246.html#404KpAKZY8sVZiFh.99

It seems Benjamin Pech will be taking over in the interim. He has already taken over as ballet master in the past year. I think it would be interesting to have him as director, though he might not have enough of a "high profile."

BM has repeatedly stated that he wants a stronger emphasis on "classical ballet," but he also says he does not like the term "neo-classical," so in referring to more "classical" I suspect he means more of himself, Wheeldon, Ratmansky, Peck - en pointe.

Danses avec la plume posted some ideas for the 16-17 season and also what has already been publicly announced. http://www.dansesaveclaplume.com/en-coulisse/20044-saison-2016-2017-le-ballet-de-lopera-de-paris/ The certainties: A commission by Ratmansky to Schlaogobers by Richard Strauss Swan Lake during the Christmas season Tree of Codes by McGregor La Sylphide (Lacotte) and Daphnis and Chloé (Millepied) will be performed on tour in Japon. The POB frequently incorporates the ballets on tour into the season. It's highly likely these two also be performed in Paris next year. Invited companies: ABT with Sleeping Beauty (as stated above) and The DresdenSemperoperBallett. The Mariinsky is scheduled for January 2017 (reported by the Russian press quite a while ago already). The danses avec la plume article also suggests further possibilities and rumors not yet confirmed by the direction. The complete program for the season is supposed to be listed online on February 10.

How do you have confirmation of an ABT tour to Paris? This has not been announced in Paris. Paris pricing depends on day of the week but does not depend on who is dancing. The opera has a longstanding tradition of emphasizing the company as a whole over individual dancers. As a personal remark, I doubt that Mistymania would catch on here.

https://twitter.com/BalletOParis

Ludmila Pagliero, a current étoile, did not attend the POB school and was initially hired with a temporary contract. I am not sure of any others. I did not attend the concours, but reports can be read (mostly in French) on Danses avec la Plume. Many dansers chose Balanchine or Robbins for their free variation, a little Millepied inspiration? The complete list of promoted dancers (the men's concours is on Friday) (names from the Paris Opera Ballet official twitter account, info on variations from a copy of the program) As a reminder, the Paris Opera Ballet has five rankings, three that form the corps de ballet (Quadrille, Coryphée, Sujet/demi-solist), Premier(e) Danseur/euse (first solist), and Etoile. Quadrille to Coryphée -Required varation: Grand Pas Classique, Victor Gsovsky Roxane Stojanov Katherine Higgins (American and former stagiaire, hired with a full contract earlier this year) Sophie Mayoux Leila Dilhac Alice Catonnet Coryphée to Sujet: - Required variation: Raymonda, pizzicati variation, Nureyev Marion Barbeau Ida Viikinkoski Fanny Gorse Lydie Vareilhes Sujet to Premiere Danseuse: - Required variation: Spring variation from the Four Seasons, Robbins Hannah O'Neill Leonore Baulac

Two permanent contracts were awarded today in the external competition for entry into POB. The internal competition, held Friday, included only dancers from the POB school; five contracts were awarded. Joy Womack did not figure in the ranking for the women and was not listed in the top eighteen. I'm not really surprised, her aesthetic does not really fit with the French school. I wonder why she chose to audition there.

POB dancers are usually only allowed to take one sabbatical year. Froustey has an agreement with the POB that allowed her to maintain unpaid leave status with the POB ("congé sans solde") for her second year at SF. Because of the administrative structure at POB, it is impossible to hire someone from another company at any level other than the entry quadrille status, and this status preserves her right to come back as a sujet. My point is that she is still considered a dancer, albeit on leave, with the POB for the 2014-2015 season, and it's not altogether surprising that she would be taking class in Garnier or working out on her own. What her plans are for the future remain to be seen.

Which is really unfortunate. Plenty of companies do Balanchine well already (the POB is not one of them), but who can do with Suite en Blanc with the same panache as the French? I'm sorry to see Lifar (and Béjart, Petit, Lacotte, etc.) go, to be replaced by the who's who's of 21st century ballet at all of the other major companies.

"I'm suprised that Dupont was cast in anything besides the Manon farewell - I thought it was understood that she was retired at this point, and only the farewell performance was left to do (and that was placed at the end of the Spring season)." It's not uncommon at POB. Agnes Letestu danced the second movement in Palais de Cristal/Symphony in C in Spring 2014 after retiring officially during the run of La Dame aux Camelias in Fall 2013. As for Millepied modifying the training, we'll see what Elizabeth Platel has to say about that. She runs the show until the dancers integrate in the company, and interviews in the French media make it clear there is no love lost between Platel and Millepied. It seems counterproductive to school the dancers (95% of whom come from the Paris Opera Ballet School) in an asthetic that Millepied is going to try to change as soon as they start their professional careers or for Millepied to try to turn them all into Balanchine dancers.

The POB did not give an official reason about why Dupont was removed. It seems that Millepied is still carving out his generation, of whom O'Neill, Baulac, Hecquet, Loup-Quer, Marchand, and Louvet are all part. Although these are certainly talented dancers by any regard, I hope this does not leave a generation of slightly older but talented dancers aside. It will depend a lot on whether Millepied continues to program like the NYCB. On that note, I grew up with Balanchine but much prefer the French style in romantic roles. Every time they do Balanchine or Robbins, it just doesn't look right. Many of the French dancers with Paris training have a hard time adapting to the speed and angularity of the choreography, whereas the foreigners (O'Neill, Park, Viikinkoski, etc.) usually have training, often Russian influenced, that lends more to the 20th century American neoclassical tradition.