Premabalrina

A Marie Antoinette ballet would be beautiful. Think elaborate costumes. I was entertaining this idea with my co-workers after seeing the Sophia Coppola movie.

What other ballet boards are there where you can freely speak your mind? Anyone know?

From the research I did, I found that it is only being broadcasted on PBS HD (High Definition). Anyone know if it will be rebroadcasted on regular PBS in the near future??

Correct me if i'm wrong, but I don't believe that Suki was ever a principal dancer with NYCB.

I can tell you for a fact that the pictures of the male dancer is Bryce Corson who currently dances with Arizona Ballet.

Yes, it is indeed Faye Arthurs on the left. As a former classmate and friend of hers, I see that her looks have definitely changed! [snip] Either way, she looks beautiful in this picture, and has come a long way to become such an accomplished dancer. I look forward to seeing her move up in the ranks at NYCB!

And it seems that PBT is all about PNB! That would be an interesting merge for sure!

This is the latest news in the story I have been following about Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's financial problems. It seems that a lot of companies have had to cut back this season, but most have made cuts in the staff, not hired more dancers, or simply not offered raises to the dancers as alternatives to helping the particular companies financial situation. In a city like Pittsburgh, cutting the orchestra from the ballets while keeping the ticket prices the same is not going to encourage more ticket sales which is essentially why PBT didn't make a significant amount of money last season. If they can save money, great. Anything to keep PBT in Pittsburgh. As long as the company is still alive, that's all that really matters. I just hate to go see a ballet performance in Pittsburgh without a live orchestra where the Pittsburgh Symphony is one of the best, world renowned symphonies. It is an honor to hear them play and even more of an honor to dance with them. Hearing the live orchestra is a perk to going to the ballet. Imagine going to see NYCB with no live orchestra! Not that PBT is of their professional or financial status, but I feel that at one time PBT was regarded very highly in the ballet world. I think most of all this is heartbreaking to me, having grown up with PBT... *Quote courtesy of Pittsburgh Post Gazette, to read whole article visit pittsburghpostgazette.com

Weird thing is, her Freed pointe shoe maker retired too!

Report back after you see the ballet to let us know how it was!

I think that dancers who seem to have the best musicality have studied music in their youth or come from a musical background. Some are born with a good musical sense, others have to work hard to "hear" the music or even count the music. I think it would be hard to be a dancer without good knowledge of music. I know SAB used to make their students take piano lessons to better their musical understanding. I'm not sure if they still do this today, but I think they were on the right track.

That site is wonderful. Not only does it have photos of Ballet Austin, but also other companies in Texas including Texas Ballet Theatre and Houston Ballet!

I am a former apprentice with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. I was there during the first year PBT did the "Grad Program". There were only 8 Grads, 4 boys and 4 girls. Then, the grads actually were paid for the company performances they were in and given shoes, much like the apprentices. These days, I am hearing from the staff that the grad program has grown to 20-some dancers, making it much like a trainee program. With the school directors changing yearly, I would be hesitant to commit. However, PBT is a wonderful environment to train in. I think the grad program is perfect for girls recently graduating high school, who think that they need another solid year to concentrate on training. It is the perfect "stepping-stone" to joining a company. Good luck to you and enjoy! You'll absolutely love it there!

Looks like the Rockettes will be performing Nov. 10-Dec. 4 which would possibly cut into the first week of Nutcracker. This would also cut ticket sales for PBT since people might be spending their money on Rockette tickets instead of the Nutcracker. With the "million dollar" defecit, Orr should cut down the usual 4-5 week Nutcracker run to just 2 weeks. That way the ticket sales wouldn't be so spread out, giving the ballet a chance to fill the house. It was one thing when PBT performed Balanchines "Nutcracker", but with the "New Nutcracker" reviewed as 'not so exciting,' I doubt that it has reached out and touched previous non-ballet going Pittsburghers. That's what I would propose to the board to save money. Not sure about this one...I will try to find out though.

These quotes are curtosey of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. www.post-gazette.com/pg/05146/510566.stm What will happen to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre? With their recent losses of many key board members, marketing director, fund raisers, and the school director, Roberto Munoz, it seems as though everyone has given up on the company. Will ballets such as "Tribute to Paul Simon" really lure in the conservative Pittsburgh crowd, helping to rid the company of its dept? Or will performing such non-classical ballets just contribute to it?