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

Recommended Posts

At the beginning of the first intermission, Novikova started a short interview with Merrill Ashley, who wasn't particularly articulate, and I really didn't really catch her points apart from the dancers aren't used to working at Balanchine's speed. I sat around for a few minutes at the beginning of second intermission, and I went to the lobby after there was no interview, and I was disappointed to go back in the theater to see that Novikova had been speaking to Shipulina (Tall Girl in Rubies) and Filin. The only part I caught was that he was lauding Shipulina on her performance, and I'm not sure if Novikova said it was possible or planned that Shipulina would be dancing in "Lost Illusion," which, sadly, is playing opposite PNB's first weekend Sunday matinee. As far as I know, there are no encores scheduled for the last two Bolshoi transmissions this season.

Link to comment

there seems to be some transitional period right now for these transmissions.

the press rep. for Emerging Pictures' JEWELS sent word that he'd no longer be handing this 'series' and that, if i understood his message correctly, Pathe was going it alone, or some such.

so while the Bolshoi Ballet is 'on' for the next two transmissions, it seems no one is clearly 'on board' for distributing them, at least locally.

I do see PatheLIVE's icon on the screen before and during the intermissions of Bolshoi ballet show. Could Pathe be the only distributor and technically responsible for the transmissions? It may not be bad thing. Some other movie theater-lines could also pick up the program. Oh well, there were only 4 audiences, including me, in the show-room of JEWELS this morning. A local movie theater has done MET Openra LIVE in HD for years. The manager once said:"The business is really doing good!" Sometimes they even sold out a HD opera show.

Link to comment

There were about 100 in the Scotiabank Cineplex today. It didn't look like a busy day there overall: there were no lines at ~4pm when we got out, and few people milling around. Met in HD's in Vancouver are a lot different: for most operas, one medium-sized theater is usually sold out except for the first five rows (which are dizzy-making) and a smaller-theater that is at least 75% sold. For the ballet, 100 is a big crowd, unless it's "Sleeping Beauty," which sold out. It will be interesting to see how the Royal Ballet/Osipova/Acosta "Giselle"will do a week from Monday.

I thought it was funny that the written commentary said that the ballets in "Jewels" represented the three schools important to Balanchine: Paris Opera Ballet for "Emeralds," American ballet for "Rubies," and Russian classical ballet for "Diamonds." During second intermission, Novikova said that some people explain it this way and others say it represents the three cities most important to Balanchine -- Paris, New York, St. Petersburg -- or three types of performance -- romanticism, musical comedy (?), and classical ballet -- but that Balanchine said it was about the music of Faure, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky.

We also had a little promo video for the National Ballet of Canada School, narrated by faculty member Cheryl Belkin Epstein. She explained a little about the progression through the school, with a lot of focus on partnering. She said that students first learn partnering in character dancing, so they get used to spacial relations and having a partner (and something else I missed.) Then the students progress slowly, with the boys learning what the girls need to stay balanced when being partnered, then learning assisted jumps to work toward full lifts and the gamut of PDD work. The boys work on upper body strength along the way.

Link to comment

Novikova just interviewed Sergei Filin, on stage after a wonderful Rubies

Oh, details, please!

Filin, who was wearing large dark glasses, looked good. (So did his glasses.) His manner of speaking seemed a bit stilted, but you couldn't fault his obvious pride in the production and in the dancers.

While Ekaterina Shipulina (Tall Girl from Rubies) was responding to a question, Filin reached over to the bottom of her mike and gently edged it closer to her mouth, so she could be better heard. He had noticed that she was holding it too low. I know that there has been speculation after the acid attack about the extent of damage to his vision. His kind and unobtrusive attempt to help out Shipulina suggests that he could see both her and the microphone quite well.

I haven't been paying all that much attention to the Bolshoi in recent years, and know almost none of the dancers anymore. But this vibrant, beautifully danced performance of Rubies and Diamonds (not so much Emeralds) makes me look forward to seeing more.

Link to comment

I do see PatheLIVE's icon on the screen before and during the intermissions of Bolshoi ballet show. Could Pathe be the only distributor and technically responsible for the transmissions? It may not be bad thing. Some other movie theater-lines could also pick up the program. Oh well, there were only 4 audiences, including me, in the show-room of JEWELS this morning. A local movie theater has done MET Openra LIVE in HD for years. The manager once said:"The business is really doing good!" Sometimes they even sold out a HD opera show.

It could be good if Pathe steps up to do some distribution and marketing homework, but their track record isn't always stellar. The Met HD broadcasts seem to do really well almost everywhere they're seen -- the company has reached out to local music presenters, and in turn those local groups have connected with the cinemas. We don't see as much of that with the ballet transmissions -- in many cases, the local theaters don't do any specific promotion or even the standard press releases. I have to dig around to find out if something is playing here.

Link to comment

The Met has also blocked cinemas who want to broadcast other opera broadcasts, like the Royal Opera and La Scala. In dance, no company has the clout to do that. While not every cinema/org shows all of the ballet, in Vancouver, Scotiabank (Cineplex) Theatre shows the Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Ballet, and I think they did a Netherlands Dance Theatre mixed bill last season. That allows them to play lots of promos for other broadcasts/showings -- they also do the National Theatre and their own Classic Film Series -- and to print the upcoming months' schedule on the back of the cast lists. They've tried to cross-pollinate with the opera crowd, but ballet seems to be a harder sell than theater to the classically minded crowd, and there's no local classical ballet company to get people excited.

Sunday afternoons out west are a difficult time slot, too: they kill a weekend afternoon. The trade-off for getting to the Met HD's at 9-10am is that it's time for a late lunch on Saturday, but the rest of the day is free.

The Met also has an 80+ year history of Saturday afternoon broadcasts; I've heard many audience members say that they've listened to the radio broadcasts for years. The audience is already marinating.

At the Met broadcasts a Vancouver Opera volunteer gives a short promo speech when there is an upcoming performance, and there are always some promo materials to take away. Ballet BC hasn't done this at any of the ballet presentations I've seen, but their rep doesn't resemble any of the broadcast rep. (Maybe they were there during the NDT program.)

Link to comment

I share the bias for live dance when it's possible, but I think organizations cut off their noses to spite their faces when they pass over the chance to see companies and artists that don't come here, not to mention works that aren't performed here. In the long run, it's in the company's best interest to have an audience that really knows what it's seeing, and knows what else exists in the dance world. It's short-sighted to ignore these opportunities.

Link to comment

there seems to be some transitional period right now for these transmissions.

the press rep. for Emerging Pictures' JEWELS sent word that he'd no longer be handing this 'series' and that, if i understood his message correctly, Pathe was going it alone, or some such.

so while the Bolshoi Ballet is 'on' for the next two transmissions, it seems no one is clearly 'on board' for distributing them, at least locally.

if any new information surfaces on my radar i'll post it.

Thank you, rg.

Link to comment

I thought the camera work for "Jewels" was very well done, and am especially grateful that from time to time the main camera ceded to other cameras in other positions, in particular a camera higher up in the auditorium, so that the movie audience could see the patterns created by the dancers, notably the corps de ballet. I would have appreciated a bit more of this patterning, but was glad to get it at least a few times. During the credits, I noticed there was someone called a "Switcher," and wondered whether that is the person who is responsible for switching the cameras. I also appreciated the close-ups, which enabled you to see the dancers from even closer than you would from the first row of the orchestra. I, too, prefer ballet live, but one benefit of these live-streams is that you get to see the performance in real time while you also get to see the dancers' faces and expressions.

Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

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