sandik

Excellent news -- I've been so curious about this production, and am glad to have a chance at the film version.

The article is primarily about the costumes, but I think it's pretty clear from looking at the second act set that the Trust doesn't want anyone straying too far from their original designs. I've seen a couple other works designed by Falconer that were much more innovative than this, which is primarily a loving homage to the Ter Arutunian set.

Harris has been working with breakdancing styles in concert dance for many years -- he's made some astonishing things. Go see, and let us know what you think. Yes, but not a part of the Fall for Dance festival...

As I said elsewhere, the Voice was the mothership of the alternative weeklies, and created the model for that kind of smart, local coverage.

That sounds like something she would love to do -- I took dance history with her at the same time as I was working on notation, and she would often set our reading assignments in notation class based on whomever we were discussing in history.

Thanks for the heads-up, and that's an amazing price...

There's a link in the NYT obituary to a Facebook posting of a clip from Episodes (I think it must be public facing, since I was able to look at it, but apologies if it is not). A fascinating piece of choreography, and a very sad coincidence, to lose Taylor and Frame in the same week.

You've put your finger on the core issue here.

Oooh, hadn't seen this! Thanks for the heads-up!

Thanks for the clarification -- I didn't recognize his byline and so made an assumption.

Fascinating -- I'll have to think about some other examples, but one thing that does come to mind is when the Eugene Ballet used to tour in the Northwest under a different name (at one point they were Ballet Idaho in Boise, though that's an independent company now) -- I don't know enough about their administrative structure to know if they did separate fundraising. I'd also wondered about companies like the Joffrey, who used to spend a significant part of their year on tour -- I know at one point there were local organizations that would fundraise for the company's local appearances ("Friends of" groups), or presenters that primarily show touring groups who raise money for those endeavors. But none of this is primarily across political boundaries. I have a feeling that there was less concern about this before state and local arts agencies sprang up in the 1960s and 70s with the mandate to serve a geographic area.

I think you're likely right, but it just points out the difference between insider and outside for me -- those who have been following the company for years don't really think twice about the title, while those who are coming to this transition relatively uninformed would look at that and wonder "what in the world does that mean?"

The comment that raised my eyebrows was this one: "And the job title is changing, too: Mr. Martins was the company’s ballet master in chief, a grand, perhaps grandiose title; the new leader will be an artistic director." I've never thought of "ballet master" as grandiose -- indeed, it always felt like the modest choice (or at least modest like Diaghilev's comment that he "arranged the lighting") But as someone pointed out above, this was written by a business reporter, not a dance writer, and so reflects an outsider perspective. Which will be interesting to follow as this process goes forward -- the company will get a great deal of attention from people who don't really have much of a history with it.

I'd be grateful if that were the issue, but I think it's likely not. As companies become more and more dependent on their boards of directors, who are, for all their virtues, usually not dance professionals, we'll see more and more of the standard business language coming into the structure of company life. Many different business have "directors" -- it's a familiar term. Mastery of an art form, or of any skill, is a virtue that implies a deep dive into a subject, and perhaps even a sense of apprenticeship or devotion. This is not necessarily a popular choice right now, when we are asked to exhibit skills in multiple areas on a regular basis. (Remembering Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking!) We are shifting in multiple directions right now when it comes to vocabulary -- on the one hand people are generating "gender-free" designators all the time (Latinx rather than Latino or Latina), but we are also extracting the gender from others (dude or actor for men and women). I think we chatted about this on Facebook, but it's my understanding that Balanchine preferred "ballet master" in part because it kept him in the studio, and implied his ongoing relationship to the dancers in class as well as rehearsal. A fast look at a PNB program -- we've got an artistic director, but we also have three ballet masters, one of whom is a woman. (interesting detail -- when the company was first formed, Janet Reed came on as a leader, but was not named "artistic director." She was a ballet mistress. Next in line was Melissa Hayden for a brief and volatile time -- she was an artistic director.

Greetings from Seattle! You've got the English National Ballet coming in February/March with a new version of Giselle by Akram Khan -- you lucky duck!

Thanks so much for the link -- I hadn't been watching for this. Boal is doing the lec/dem about male solos in the Robbins repertory here in Seattle in late September as part of Pacific Northwest Ballet tribute to Robbins. It should be very interesting -- he's spoken about some of his experiences before and he's quite engaging. And I hadn't heard that English National is taking Akram Khan's Giselle to Chicago (2/28-3/2) Now I'm really torn about where to travel this season!

I've got it and think it's worth the read. I'm old enough to remember when there were all kinds of choreographers out there whose work we knew primarily (or in some cases only!) through written description -- considering the incredible amount of dance on the internet right now, there are still a few who are really only available in real time and space. I think this shift has changed how some of us watch the art form.

I still feel very underinformed about his choreography -- envy you your access!

Have you seen the Yakobson before? He's still relatively under-programmed here in the states -- I wish I was going to get a chance at it.

Thanks for the heads-up!

ditto that!

While we're waiting for the new season to start, tell us a bit about what you've seen lately that really moved you.

PNB has presented a wide variety of audience education programming, starting with the Stowell/Russell years, and increasing with Peter Boal's directorship. Last year they folded most of their independent offerings (not attached to a specific performance like pre and post show talks) into a series under the title Ballet 101, which included some fantastic material. (the session on "The Business of Ballet" was especially great -- I posted some over-long notes about it earlier in this forum). This season they're continuing with this format, and have announced all the topics for their series. Like last year, they have both lecture and studio demonstration events, some keyed to specific programs and some more general. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens! #1 Dressing the Dance: Costumes & Wardrobe at PNB Tuesday, October 9 October 23, 7:00 pm (changed date, see next post) PNB boasts one of the most highly-regarded costume shops in the country. Learn what goes into building and maintaining the many costumes (and more) in the PNB repertory during this panel discussion featuring Costume Shop Manager Larae Theige Hascall and her team of artists. #2 Ballet Basics: Ballet in Form – Online Dance Education Resources Saturday, November 17, 3:00 pm Discover more about ballet technique and instruction in our latest Ballet Basics session, a studio presentation by PNB School faculty member and former PNB Company soloist Marisa Albee, founder and producer of Ballet in Form, the first educational website from the professional ballet world. Ms. Albee will be joined by fellow faculty member and former New York City Ballet dancer Dana Hanson, with Professional Division students of PNB School. #3 Ballet Classics: The Sleeping Beauty Fairy Variations Saturday, January 19, 3:00 pm The six solos choreographed by Marius Petipa for Princess Aurora’s godmothers in the prologue of his 1892 Sleeping Beauty are a study in symbolism, structure, musicality, and pointe work. Dance historian and PNB Audience Education Manager Doug Fullington will lead this studio presentation featuring PNB School Professional Division students dancing Petipa’s original choreography for these solos. #4 Music at PNB: The PNB Orchestra, Conductors & Pianists Tuesday, April 2, 7:00 pm The New York Times has dubbed the PNB Orchestra “the best ballet band in America.” Meet the team that heads up music at PNB in this panel discussion including Music Director and Principal Conductor Emil de Cou with members of the PNB music staff and orchestra.

You're right when you point to Tharp's work with the Joffrey and Deuce Coupe as her open door to the next part of her career -- Joffrey, who took Diaghilev as a role model when it came to repertory development, was looking for the newest work he could find, and Tharp represented the downtown world to him. If I remember the discussion about Ratmansky correctly, his objections were more about gender roles in performance than they were about who stands in the front of the studio in rehearsal. He had some fairly lame things to say about breaking traditional roles in ballet ('men should lift the women and women should get the flowers' was a part of it), but I think the strongest evidence against what seemed like a slapdash comment is his own work, which often reaches far beyond the 19th century conventions.

I'm very pleased to see this program and think that Eva S will do an excellent job with these young women. I'm looking forward to a day when we don't need to make a special place for women in this endeavor, but we aren't there yet.