sandik

Fascinating, especially the orientalist material.

I saw Oregon Ballet Theater's production last October, and it had a very authentic feel -- they built their own sets/costumes, and so I'm hoping they're keeping the ballet in the repertory.

I love Emeralds in any context, but it is especially thrilling in a rehearsal setting. (right now you can watch the Bayerisches Staatsballett's production on You Tube -- no idea how long it will be there. It seems a bit rushed to me, but that's just my opinion) T and V was made on Alonso, and she's taught it for years in Cuba. She has a lot to say about it...

I remember hearing about a new production, but I must have missed the announcement about De Keersmaeker. Interesting indeed!

And Maddie Ziegler, from all over music videos. But this, from the end of the article, is making me wonder: "An unrelated stage revival of West Side Story, directed by Tony winner Ivo van Hove and choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, is slated to premiere on Broadway in December." De Keersmaeker?

"There are many clips of Merce Cunningham himself dancing. It's not an exaggeration to say that he is one of the greatest dancers of all time. His signature movements – raising one's foot on high demi-pointe while extending a leg forward and balancing in sculptural stillness, the astonishing array of direction-changing jumps, the deep squats into the floor – those are moves that when danced by him and his amazing dance troupe look as natural as breathing. " I heard Douglas Dunn speak recently -- he described Cunningham's dancing as that of an "elegant animal."

I dipped in and out of the live stream, and am looking forward to filling in the blanks over the next few weeks! It's such a bracing repertory.

In a way, I think that Balanchine was making a little bow to Petipa's structural development of the 3 (4) act ballet, where the story is all tied up in a bow before the final "happy ending" act.

2019 is the centennial of Cunningham's birth, and there have been a multitude of projects to honor that milestone -- today is the 100 Solos livestream project, where 100 dancers, in three different locations/time zones, will perform solo work by the choreographer. These will be available for streaming on the Cunningham website for the next three months, so even if you have to tend to the rest of life today, you can dip into this amazing repertory later. And here's a great piece from the radio show Studio 360 that includes some really wonderful interview material with Cunningham.

And this: "Dorothy Hild, another teacher, took him on a tour of state fairs in 1956." I would love to know what that was like.

bingo

Thanks for the link to your Oklahoma review -- I haven't been following along with this production and it does indeed sound very distinctive. "what was the symbolism of all the falling boots from the ceiling?" Not sure, but perhaps a reference to men keeping their boots/shoes on when they visit a brothel?

Oh oops -- I skimmed when I should have read more slowly! Honestly, I'm not sure that Porretta will do T&V if he's doing all of Prodigal -- that's such a grueling work. (not to mention the Duato duet, if he does that as well) And yes, Foster's comments about making way for the next generation was truly generous.

Oh yes, absolutely. She's the guest for the Thursday evening Conversation on the 11th, before the dress rehearsal. She's a very interesting speaker -- it should be a great session.

Trying to predict casting -- Foster will likely do the Wheeldon, and Porretta will reprise his performance of Prodigal. Any other guesses?

And that is a problem that many repertories face. As time moves forward and styles morph, we find ourselves looking at older works as examples of their period, but not examples of current possibilities. And so those works become "vintage" or "heritage" -- a separate part of the repertory, rather than an element in a living organism. There are a few dancers and ensembles that specialize in these older works in the modern/contemporary dance world, but ballet doesn't seem to cultivate that specialty. Ironically enough, I think the Trocks often do the best job of performing older works as they were made to be danced. Miliosr is right in pointing out that Graham is not alone in this. The Limon company still manages to work as an ensemble, and does try to maintain their repertory, but has had a hard time finding works they can add to that collection. But think of all the works that aren't being actively maintained, that we are in danger of losing -- we are indeed in a fraught position.

I knew she would be leaving sooner or later, but I was hoping for later. Am now wondering what she'll be dancing in the Encores program...

"Caught" is a popular work -- Parsons' company performs it regularly, but he's also staged it on many different people. Here in Seattle the Chamber Dance Company has performed it, as have several folks (men and women) at Pacific Northwest Ballet. It always reminds me of Parsons' work with the photographer Lois Greenfield, especially in her book Breaking Bounds. She made a very popular calendar out of images from that period -- I imagine many of us have seen it.

Dante Sonata!

Glad to see this review -- the company has been struggling with its direction ever since Graham died, and though they've managed to reclaim their original repertory, it sounds like they're still having a hard time with new works.

So glad to see Porretta return to this role!

I had another obligation last night, and so could not go to this -- thank you so much for these notes. I wish that the company would revive the Morris "Kammermusik." I remember some really interesting moments from it, even after all this time.

Yes, please -- show me a lovely rabbit hole I can jump into!

She did astonishing work, and we are all the richer for it.

I skimmed Kaufman's followup to her original story about the Trust -- I was disconcerted at the news that they don't actually keep spreadsheets about their finances.