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  1. Today
  2. Yes, the experience of standing inside his words was/is amazing. The Dia space in Beacon NY really fit his hugeness. So glad to have his works.
  3. I agree that Portner's idea is not original. islands reminded me of the duet Fukuoka that Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau staged for Montreal's Les Grands Ballets. We had the opportunity to see it in 2021 during the company's Covid-era stream. The duet was influenced by flamenco and was more interesting and wittier than islands. https://themontrealeronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/gbcm_fukuok.jpg https://themontrealeronline.com/2021/06/les-grands-ballets-offers-a-series-of-new-webcast-works/
  4. Yesterday
  5. Oh, this is sad news. Two of my happy places are standing inside Serra's works at the Nasher in Dallas and the Olympic Sculpture Park, here in Seattle next to Puget Sound. May he rest in peace.
  6. Another master gone. Someone whose work strikes a strong note that helps guide you. Serra was part of a group that came on the scene in the mid sixties that included Chuck Close, Nancy Graves, Brice Marden, Joan Jonas, and Philip Glass. His prop / leaning pieces were inspired by Judson Church dance works of Yvonne Ranier, Trisha Brown and Simone Forti – especially Brown's "Leaning Duet," with its "applied equilibrium."
  7. Performers now listed. She is dancing with Jeffrey Cirio. Bns | Ballet Nacional de Sodre
  8. Studio 5: Celebrating Arthur Mitchell Free on YouTube: Wednesday, March 27 - 6:30 pm EDT https://www.nycitycenter.org/pdps/2023-2024/studio-5/ Free on-demand through April 9 Join Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) Artistic Director Robert Garland and New York City Ballet (NYCB) Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan in a celebration of the legacy of iconic dancer and choreographer Arthur Mitchell, who would have turned 90 on March 27. Mitchell was the first Black principal at NYCB under George Balanchine, and Mitchell went on to found DTH in 1969, in the height of the Civil Rights Movement and as a response to the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the year prior. The evening will feature performances by DTH and NYCB as well as conversations about the Black aesthetic and its impact on Balanchine's ballets.
  9. Friday, March 29 at 7:30pm EDT: livestream of the world premiere of Phil Chan and Doug Fullington’s Star on the Rise: La Bayadère Reimagined! featuring Marius Petipa’s choreography revived from notation, and a newly orchestrated Ludwig Minkus score by Larry Moore. Indiana University’s website: https://iumusiclive.music.indiana.edu/#/
  10. Thank you for posting, but oh my goodness, I totally agree with you. Why would they chop up the ballet into bits like that? That's fine if you want to analyze and write an essay, but the interruptions destroy the continuity and make it impossible to enjoy the solo.
  11. Thank you so much for posting. Can't wait to read the entire book!
  12. Rehearsal clips of Aran and Chloe in White Swan. https://www.instagram.com/p/C4-k4r6A8T5/
  13. I attended the first three performances of the triple bill. I am completely baffled by the decision to present William Yong’s UtopiVerse, given its thematic similarity to Wayne McGregor’s MADDADDAM, premiered a year and a half earlier. I am just as baffled that Hope Muir didn’t point out to Yong that 40 minutes was just too long for his piece. UtopiVerse is pompous, bloated and, in my case, literally sleep-inducing. The movement vocabulary is uninventive. The signature move has the dancers grabbing their left ankle/foot/shin and extending it to their foreheads again and again. There is also a repeated modern-style renversé on a bent supporting leg, with the arms thrown behind the back with clawed hands. There are enormous video projections of dancers, which inevitably dwarf the action on stage (they always do), little glowing cubes signifying…I dunno, and a large metal oval above the stage that rises and falls. The program stated that “UtopiVerse presents an alternative way of seeing traditional notions of utopia, paradise lost, the Garden of Eden, human evolution and the meaning of God. These iconic ideas are reimagined, each in its unique futuristic context, challenging our preconceived notions and inviting us to explore new dimensions of thought. “The ballet dances between the domains of the hidden and the overt, unveiling the complexities of information and misinformation. Dancers embody the ever-shifting landscapes of truth and illusion, evoking a deep sense of wonder. On stage they embark on a journey of different mindsets, exploring the ideas of inventing, rediscovering, engineering and rerouting to forge a new utopia.” I saw nothing that fit that description. I did see Christopher Gerty, dressed like a Franco-era tourism poster, and Ben Rudisin both looking extremely uncomfortable in the choreography and vaguely embarrassed. In the second cast Noah Parets and Siphesihle November fared a little better. The saving grace was Emma Ouellet, who has a wonderfully grounded quality of movement. Had the music been less substantial, the shortcomings of the piece might have been less obvious. The score consisted of various and sundry pieces by Benjamin Britten, including the first movement of his violin concerto, well played by Alexi Kenney. This worked for dancing. Two excerpts from Britten’s string quartets did not. There were also a few selections from Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge. Hans van Manen made a ballet to the entire piece, and it occurred to me that had the bill included his Frank Bridge Variations instead, it would have made for a much better program: less pretentious and more concise. Emma Portner’s islands was conceived as a commentary about how classical tutus physically distance women in ballet. So instead she dressed them in a conjoined pair of four-legged trousers. The first part of the duet plays on optical illusions in which the audience tries to figure out which legs belong to whom. (This is hardly a new idea; it has been used often enough by circus clowns and vaudevillians.) In the second part of the duet the trousers come off and they dance as if joined head-to-head, which looks a lot like typical contact improvisation. In the third part they separate and dance mostly side by side in unison. I thought the pairing of Heather Ogden and Ouellet on the first night was most effective in putting the piece across. I didn’t appreciate Hope Muir’s “suggestion” that the piece also be danced by a man and a woman. Sure, a man can physically perform the choreography, but the point of the piece is lost. Furthermore, Alexandra MacDonald’s legs did not look as though they could possibly belong to Alexander Skinner, so the visual element was dulled as well. What that pairing showed us is that women are bendier, and men have a higher vertical jump. During the intermission I also observed that the queue to the men's toilet was shorter than the queue to the women's toilet. Serge Lifar’s Suite en Blanc proved to be an enormous challenge for the company. Lacking the numbers of the Paris Opera Ballet, the National Ballet’s staging had the Adage and La Flûte performed by the same ballerina, who also did the fouettés in the finale. The female soloist of the Thème Varié performed the manège in the finale. And the company followed POB practice by having the Mazurka soloist do the diagonal of barrel turns and the Adage man do the manège that follows. On opening night Monika Haczkiewicz gave confident performance in La Sieste, while Svetlana Lunkina and Harrison James danced a marvellously regal Adage, followed by her highly refined Flûte. Everyone in between looked terrified to varying degrees. The dancers were vexed by the tight swivels in fifth from croisé on one side to croisé on the other side, by the quick changes from effacé to croisé and back again, by the super-slow fouettés, and by the weight shifts back and forth between en avant and arabesque. There was little chance of them dancing with the requisite French articulation or style. I found myself railing against the state of the company’s classical technique: it should be dancing Bournonville, it should be dancing a lot more Balanchine, there need to be frequent performances of Etudes and Suite en Blanc, different teachers need to be hired to teach class!!! On the second night there was finally a majestic Thème Varié. Koto Ishihara looked much happier here than in the Pas de Cinq the night before (and did a sensational manège in the finale). Thanks to Naoya Ebe and James in that section and Lunkina in La Cigarette, we finally saw some first-class entrechat-six. Ayano Haneishi, making her debut a day early, seemed totally at ease in the Pas de Cinq. On the third night 19-year-old Aidan Tully delivered by far the best Mazurka I saw. Although he didn’t have much in the way of batterie, I admired the elegance and musicality of Donald Thom. I also admired how Tene Ward shot out of the wings like an arrow in her diagonal in the finale. Emerson Dayton has lovely fouettés, even if she didn’t finish them immaculately the first time out. By the third performance the dancers looked much more confident and at ease, though my opinions about Bournonville, Balanchine, Etudes/Suite en Blanc and more persnickety teachers stand. On opening night Charles Jude, who had staged Suite en Blanc for the company, came out for a bow. I was sorry that most people in the audience didn’t seem to know who he was.
  14. Brandt and Roxander as Olga/Lensky sounds amazing. So jealous of all of you in New York!
  15. Last week
  16. The beautiful Bleuenn Battistoni was promoted to Étoile on March 26, 2024, after dancing Lise in La Fille mal gardee with Marcelino Sambe (superb Principal with The Royal Ballet) as a guest Colas. (Sorry about the missing accents.) https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=962940948529386&set=a.811478167008999
  17. Thank you for the excerpt. New release date is March 12. https://www.academicapress.com/node/611#:~:text=Balanchine and Me is dedicated,to lead for 35 years. https://www.amazon.com/Balanchine-Me-Peter-Martins/dp/1680536265/ref=sr_1_1?crid=AVDDNZ7UIXVE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rSYwLjBUrjJQZ-oPUKJ6X5qZ7ZGwbUws7tjwgmy_wjylWI1gHXIk-IRHnogw6YkO1i3K43Tibl_ysRSYGdGkWo7l3a0GTT1SUHU3my1XHyLv8Q_6AdoHBCeWVW7zDiIFDvCXni8kFQZ9aUwWNp16q7uqV9w2wbUt9v-xuqgQ4E8J3jDH25qH8_MV48Uy7Iiq8MbD5vJmdb_FIhXjwbQ3CqaGSUGy2AvErfthicwbfMs.xFPoBumw7Q-r04oyTV2Xg3_AY-a6NHljJEWzmZMx_pg&dib_tag=se&keywords=Balanchine&qid=1711490227&s=books&sprefix=balanchine%2Cstripbooks%2C99&sr=1-1
  18. A news release: 2023 CLIVE BARNES AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED 14th ANNUAL AWARDS CEREMONY TO BE HELD MONDAY, APRIL 29 AT 5:30PM AT FLORENCE GOULD HALL CEREMONY TO BE HOSTED BY NY1’S FRANK DiLELLA, NINA ARIANDA AND NORTON OWEN TO SERVE AS PRESENTERS AWARD CEREMONY TO FEATURE PERFORMANCES BY ZOEY ANDERSON, CHRISTOPHER BLOOM, GILBERT BOLDEN III, MIRA NADON, AND EVAN RUGGIERO New York, NY – March 26, 2024 - The Clive & Valerie Barnes Foundation (CVBF) has announced the 2023 finalists for The Clive Barnes Award in Dance and Theatre. The finalists are among the many outstanding young artists of promise in New York theatre and dance. Emmy Award winning journalist and TV host Frank DiLella will host the Awards ceremony on Monday, April 29 at 5:30pm at Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street in New York City. Dance Finalists: Michael de la Nuez, Frances Lorraine Samon, Jake Roxander, Mac Twining Theatre Finalists: Jordan Dobson, Liam Pearce, Lark White, Anna Zavelson For the first time, the ceremony will include featured performances by dancers Zoey Anderson, Christopher Bloom, Gilbert Bolden III, and Mira Nadon, and actor Evan Ruggiero. Tony Award® winner Nina Arianda (CBVF, 2009 winner) and Jacob’s Pillow Director of Preservation Norton Owen will serve as Presenters at the Awards Ceremony on Monday, April 29 at 5:30pm at Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street in New York City. This year’s finalists have been nominated by the Foundation’s 11-member Selection Committee comprised of arts journalists and accomplished professionals in each field. Nominees were selected based on live performances given in New York City between January and December of 2023. Winners in each category will be awarded an unrestricted gift of $5,000. "We are delighted to honor this year's finalists and winners, and to expand the celebration of young emerging talent with special performances by our alumni in theatre and dance,” said Lloyd Mayor, President of the Clive & Valerie Barnes Foundation and 2014 winner of the Clive Barnes Award for Dance. “The Foundation has planned a thrilling and vibrant award ceremony, a showcase of the best in today’s performing arts.” Tickets to The Clive Barnes Awards Ceremony and post-awards reception are priced at $30 for general admission, and $20 for artists, students of the arts, and arts administrators. To purchase tickets and read bios on the Award’s finalists, please visit: https://www.cvbarnesfoundation.org/ About the Foundation The Clive and Valerie Barnes Foundation supports young artists through recognition, encouragement, and financial support. Throughout his professional life, Clive Barnes was caring and generous to his colleagues and friends, always ready to advise and listen. After his death, many condolence letters spoke of his generosity and practical help, especially to young people. In this spirit, The Clive Barnes Foundation was formed in 2009 (renamed in 2020 to honor founder Valerie Taylor-Barnes) to create Annual Awards giving recognition, encouragement, and financial support to two talented young professionals, one in Dance and one in Theatre, thus, honoring the memory of the many years of critical work and the warm personal generosity of Clive Barnes and Valerie Taylor. Select past winners of The Clive Barnes Award include Nina Arianda (2009), Isabella Boylston (2011), Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (2011), Rob McClure (2012), Alex Sharp (2014), Zoe Anderson (2018), Andrew Burnap (2019), Celia Rose Gooding (2019), Mira Nadon (2021), Justin Cooley (2021), and Lorna Courtney (2022).
  19. 2024 Spring Gala: Ballet Brilliance Swan Lake (Act II pas de deux) Boylston, Ahn Onegin (Olga and Lensky pas de deux) Brandt, Roxander Woolf Works (“Becomings” excerpt) Misseldine, Royal Romeo and Juliet (Act III pas de deux) Murphy, Forster Onegin (an Act I pas de deux) Shevchenko, Stearns Like Water for Chocolate (Act III pas de deux) Trenary, Cornejo Woolf Works (excerpt from “Tuesday”) Teuscher, Whiteside Swan Lake (Act III pas de deux) Hurlin, Bell
  20. FPF said: I'm happy to have seen this since I haven't seen the ballet yet, but not a fan of this new format for Speaking In Dance where the dance is chopped up into individual clips rather than a single, continuous performance. I would also have preferred to see Gordon's entire body--there are a number of shots that cut off his legs. Oh, so true. I saw the ballet and loved it, but I lost patience when I realized it was chopped up that way. Why??
  21. The NYT has a new "Speaking in Dance" on the solo from Ratmansky's Solitifude with Joseph Gordon. Hope this free link works: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/25/arts/dance/nyc-ballet-ukraine-solo.html?ugrp=m&unlocked_article_code=1.fk0.iJYv.NEgTrk_9l-_s&smid=url-share I'm happy to have seen this since I haven't seen the ballet yet, but not a fan of this new format for Speaking In Dance where the dance is chopped up into individual clips rather than a single, continuous performance. I would also have preferred to see Gordon's entire body--there are a number of shots that cut off his legs.
  22. SFB released this video with some highlights from the various performances: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRxtxbHivdQ
  23. Thanks for posting this info. I wasn't aware that Martins had written a new book and I look forward to reing it.
  24. There's a substantial excerpt in The New Criterion.
  25. So Misseldine and Roxander are performing at the gala! Misseldine is maybe doing one of the SL pas, but I’m betting Roxander will get Lensky and perform one of those pas at the gala.
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