sandik

I think it took longer to come back from her hip troubles than she anticipated.  I'm very sorry to see her leave.  Like others here, I first saw her as a speedy technician, but she's really added to her interpretive skills since she's been back -- she's been a pleasure to watch.

Temps de fleche is a form of a leap, that is, a air moment that takes off one leg and lands on the other. 

I agree that Plot Point is not a traditional ballet, but it is a fascinating piece of movement theater, and well worth seeing.

3 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

When I first read this, I thought "the mister" was like "The Mister" who's been dispatched to the grocery store by "The Little Woman" and is on a quest for kiwi fruit. 😉

oh snap!

2 hours ago, On Pointe said:

But how do they keep the water from seeping under the stage?  Mist is one thing,  rain is another.  How do they collect the water and dry the stage for the next show?

I remember when Singing in the Rain was first produced, there was a lot of discussion about the technical aspects of the show.  And then they took it on tour, so it had to be waterproof and mobile.  I don't know details, but I'm willing to believe it's technically possible.  Performer safety is another thing.

16 hours ago, On Pointe said:

According to viewers,  the onstage rain lasts for about forty minutes!  At some point in the near future,  I expect that Actors Equity will have to demand that the producers take the health and safety of the performers more seriously and cut back on the use of water in the show.  (I really would like to know how it works,  from a stage management point of view.)

Miles Pertl included about 15 minutes of serious mist effects in his recent Shades of Gray for Pacific Northwest Ballet.  There were a couple of sliding injuries in the process, and he modified some of the choreography to keep things safer, but it is possible.  And honestly, it was a stunning effect.

9 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

Honestly, 40 minutes of onstage rain sounds like an effect intended to wow the audience rather than tell the story. It doesn't even sound interesting as theater (although like On Pointe, I do want to know how it works).

I'm told it's a lot like the mister that you find in the produce section of the grocery store.

She is a super smart person, and is willing to take risks when the goal is right.  The studios have become incredible centers for the dance community in NYC.  Really hoping she can pull this one off as well.

Looking forward to seeing this at the end of the month.

6 hours ago, California said:

Kind of a Singing in the Rain thing - on a Broadway stage? Yikes!

Well, there was rain in the Broadway version of Singing in the Rain.  It's become something that people can do, but it does up the hazard.

2 hours ago, Quiggin said:

Would like to see a Guggenheim-like discussion and demonstration of early 20's Ballet Suedois works, including Honneger/Leger Skating Rink and Satie/Picabia Relâche. I especially like the in-character walking/skating bows in Skating Rink. Did this influence Ashton Les Patineurs and even Balanchine Cotillon? The Leger costumes are especially fine.

https://vimeo.com/14390025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHAYeOU9hkU

 

Another reconstruction of a lost ballet, lost before it was first constructed, for a magician repetiteur. Came across this letter to Balanchine yesterday in the Noguchi archives:

 

I don't know that Ashton had a chance to see the Ballet Suedois -- Doug Fullington might know.

I saw Moses Pendleton's version of Relache for the Joffrey years ago and enjoyed it, but I don't think they were considering it a reconstruction. 

Wow -- that letter from Noguchi opens up all kinds of imagined opportunities!

Stephen Petronio's company (featured in When the Dancer Dances) has a couple of Cunningham works in their repertory right now -- while Petronio doesn't feel that his own choreography resembles Cunningham's, he does believe that Cunningham forged a pathway for modern dance that created the Judson Church cohort, and made space for innovation in the field when many of the "classic" modern choreographers had become stagnant.  It is hard to imagine what current modern dance practice would be like without Cunningham's blazing examples.  I agree that, while they are phenomenally well-trained, the Ailey company is not the natural fit for this work -- in general, they are too attached to dance as emotional expression or narrative.  People sometimes think that ballet companies would be a more natural fit since both techniques seem to share an alert uprightness, and an acceptance of dance as an absolute, abstract art, but I think that does both traditions a disservice. 

Hello to you!  I'm based up in Seattle, and get down to Portland every so often to see extra dance (most recently Caleb Teicher's fantastic show at PSU).  Did you see Oregon Ballet Theater's autumn show? (with the revival of Dennis Spaight's Scheherezade)  I was very sorry to miss it.

If this were Facebook, I would be posting a heart.

If you're new to Cunningham's work, you might also appreciate the documentary "When the Dancer Dances."  It follows along as the Stephen Petronio company learns Cunningham's Rainforest (with an evocative set by Andy Warhol) -- there's a great deal of discussion about what makes the repertory important, and how it is distinct from other dance styles.  Plus you see many key sequences taken apart to be taught, which makes it extra exciting to see in performance at the end of the film.

I'm also a Cunningham/Cage fangirl, so there's that, but once you start to watch, there are all kinds of connections to the highly refined and virtuosic world of ballet.

7 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

I would like NYCB to keep on performing Cunningham's Summerspace and not just dust it off once a decade for special occasions. While they're at it they can add Paul Taylor's solo back to Episodes. 

Yes indeedy. We're going to forget how to watch Tudor if no one dances him anymore. 

Not to mention dancers forgetting how to perform his work...

34 minutes ago, California said:

A revival no one has mentioned: Tharp's Push Comes to Shove. At a Met Gala a few years ago, I thought they did just the opening to Scott Joplin and I was hoping they'd revive the entire ballet. They have people who could take Baryshnikov's role - most notably Simkin and Cornejo. I assume Tharp controls this, however, so that might well be the issue.

I don't know what the details are about Tharp's repertory at ABT, but it wouldn't surprise me if she had considerable veto power.  It's in the repertory of several different companies, which makes me think that Tharp controls the rights. 

(if you haven't seen her website yet, do take a look -- it's packed with great information)

3 hours ago, miliosr said:

According to Suzanne Farrell, Balanchine thought Maurice Bejart's version was the best version. Staging that at the New York City Ballet would certainly cause a lot of New York-based critics' heads to explode!

There's always the Pina Bausch version:

I'm wondering how many of the critics working currently in NYC have seen much Bejart -- the work doesn't get to the US anywhere near as often as it did.  And really, the demarcation lines at NYCB (who's an acceptable choreographer and who's not) are far more permeable than they were in the past.

But I do love the Bausch version of Sacre.

16 hours ago, lmspear said:

I've never had the opportunity to see anything by Nijinska.

I'm sorry -- her work is very specific, and while people see aspects of it in Ashton and Tudor,  they take it in their own direction.  There must be something online somewhere, in this YouTube age -- does anyone here have a link?

PNB hasn't done the Tetley since Peter Boal took over the AD position -- they've performed Molissa Fenley's solo version several times (Boal used to dance it, and helped to stage it here)

14 minutes ago, FPF said:

Anthony van Laast was the choreographer for the ENO Mikado. 

Thank you!

22 minutes ago, nanushka said:

I remember reading his book Subsequent Performances in college and finding it very thought-provoking. Seems to be out of print, but I'll have to get my hands on a copy again.

I have a copy around here somewhere.  We're moving soon, and it should surface.  I read it ages ago, but need to take another look.  Especially in reference to this new Dance Magazine article on revising older works. 

2 hours ago, California said:

Seems like a really great time for every ballet company to restage Green Table! Just saying...

Just agreeing!

All kinds of wishes, but I'll try to keep things to a minimum, and just talk about Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Revivals:  Intermezzo, Lilac Garden, Dark Elegies, Crayola (Dennis Spaight work)

Restaging:  Green Table, Nijinska Les Noces, Hodson/Archer reconstruction of Sacre du Printemps

I'm really looking forward to all of this -- the performances and the scholarship!  A fabulous geeky time in store!

On 12/19/2019 at 3:08 PM, dirac said:

Goodbye to Dr. Jonathan. I can’t say I’m sorry, he had Alzheimer’s and it’s sad to think of that freakishly quick mind gone blank.

I hadn't heard about the Alzheimer's and I totally agree -- he always struck me as one of the smartest and most broadly educated people.  What a cruel twist for that mind to be dismantled.

I've been watching bits of his production of the Mikado for the English National Opera (does anyone here know who choreographed that?  I can't find a credit), but I first knew his work in "The Body in Question" -- one of those English television programs that tied together science, history, literature and anecdote.  It was wonderful stuff.  RIP.