sandik

I've been mulling this over for awhile. Like the rest of arts presenting, there are a combination of elements involved, some based in the art and some in the audience. For some schools, the college is the primary (or only) arts presenter for their audience. The idea of the "college town," a community with more cultural resources than its size would usually support, thanks to the presence of a school, still does apply in many places (although the rise of cable television, video/DVD rental and the internet has changed that dynamic significantly). In other locations, the college theater is just one of several venues, and their programming is in competition with those other colleagues. But in both of these cases, the college presenter has responsibilities to their school as well as to the outside audience -- their choices usually reflect academic goals as well as purely artistic or commercial ones. This all gets complicated by the general challenges of touring dance. I don't need to describe the overall situation to this crowd, except to say that we've all noticed a nose dive in the number of ballet groups who tour steadily outside of major cities. Even if you're committed to presenting ballet specifically, there just aren't as many groups to call on as there were even 20 years ago. Modern dance in the US has a very strong connection to the college touring circuit -- artists like Martha Graham and Jose Limon would often go from school to school, teaching in college P.E. and dance programs and performing on what they used to call the "gymnasium circuit" (since many of the venues were converted gymnasium spaces). At the same time, ballet companies (like the Ballet Russe) performed in former vaudeville houses, on tours run by bookers like Sol Hurok. There was a de facto divide between the dance forms -- modern was intellectual and ballet was entertaining. There is still a whiff of that distinction in programming choices today. Next to those traditional influences is the contemporary image of dance. Where 20 years ago most people might automatically think of ballet or musical comedy if you asked them to name the kinds of dance you'd watch in a theater, the influence of music videos, contemporary dance films and hip hop/breakdancing have broadened the popular image of dance as a performing art. A college venue that wants to include "dance" on a performance series with music and theater won't necessarily think of ballet as a separate form, distinct from all their other dance choices. One other element, at least in the college venues, is the increase of world/ethnic arts presenting. There has been a concerted effort over the last 20 years to bring artists from all over the globe to American audiences, and this has also broadened the general definition of "dance" for most presenters. And since there are still only 52 weekends a year, a rise in the number of options means that any one choice will have a smaller part of the pie. Alas, the tightening of touring visa requirements and rising costs for processing will likely shut that part of the market down for smaller theaters. This is getting long, so I'll end here, but it is a big issue, and I know that presenters do take it seriously.

Oh this is big fun -- many thanks for the look. I didn't really watch this show when it was first broadcast, and so hadn't seen this episode.

This could be a very smart commission. Grupo Corpo has been incredibly successful here in Seattle -- they've been brought back to a local venue multiple times -- I can think of only a couple of groups that have been here on tour more often than Grupo Corpo

This always makes me want to gnash my teeth.

I was wondering how the Teatro ZZ were planning to use Lallone, and this has big potential. Montevecchi has had a very lush career, and her personal style will certainly complement and be complemented by Lallone's.

FYI - A colleague (and good friend, for full disclosure) Martha Ullman West is working on a book about Bolender and Janet Reed and their role in the Americanization of ballet in the mid-20th C (I'm sure she would have a better synopsis!) She's been doing an incredible amount of original research, including interviews with people who really haven't been "debriefed" about their experiences up to now, and the final product should be very substantial.

Libretti based on his work anyway (he died in 1822)--and rather less gothic than their Hoffmann sources...though productions may well choose to underline Hoffmanesque elements. The Pacific Northwest Ballet production does point up some of the darker elements, especially the part of the story where the young girl is bitten by a rat and becomes ugly. I read an interview recently with an author who had written screenplays for a couple of his novels, and I think I can boil his lengthy and detailed comments down to this -- films are about what you can see. It's possible to "show" an interior process, but more often than not, the parts of a novel that translate well to film are the parts that can use the visual world to communicate the story. I think that holds for dance as well.

Did they get that hammer from Fred Flintstone?

I am kind of embarrassed to say that my son doesn't know the lyrics to most operas he's seen, but he does know the Spike Jones lyrics to Pagliacci and Carmen, and will sing along at any opportunity. "There's Don Schmoze, he's dressed up like a bull, now Escamillo gives his tail a pull..."

I think Mel's point about repetition is probably the best explanation -- I certainly doubt that the caption writer was trying to convey subtle nuances about styles and roles. I did notice, though, that Shearer was wearing a hat and gloves, while Chase had neither. Do you think that's just coincidence?

James Canfield's Dracula, made for Oregon Ballet Theater, has its goth moments. I'd be interested in seeing a steampunk influenced ballet, though I'm not sure whose repertory it might fit in with.

Marcia Siegel also wrote about this experiment, particularly about Curry's work with Tharp on After All. I cannot find the review at the moment, but it is worth seeking out. I remember being gobsmacked by the solo when I saw it, and how Tharp worked within and outside of the conventional aspects of figure skating at that time. I wouldn't have wanted her to shift to that world full-time -- I've loved too many of the dance works she's made since then -- but if I were part of the figure skating world, I would still be grieving for opportunities lost. This was not the most successful of experiments. You are quite tactful. I actually thought it was pretty interesting as a theatrical experiment, and very, very dim as a use of ballet dancers. One exception that might prove part of a rule here would be the film choreographer and director Busby Berkeley -- his use of dancing figures as surreal architecture was phenomenal, and is still influencing filmmakers and cinematographers.

Oh, ouch! I am hoping that someone will take a look back at Feld's transition from dancer to dance maker, and the ups and downs of his choreographic career while he is still around to be interviewed about it. I remember when he was the freshest thing on the market, and the comments that people made when he left ABT to create his own ensemble. The buzz surrounding Wheeldon's Morphoses experiment reminded me of that hubbub, and I wondered if anyone else was looking at Feld's trajectory when they were speculating about Wheeldon. I would give a lot to see Intermezzo again.

I've come back to look at the "playlist" several times, and am struck by how contemporary it is. For a time, there was a great deal of discussion about a kind of homogenization of repertory -- everyone doing the same Petipa works, the same starter-level Balanchine... this list seems to be absolutely not that kind of program.

While it's not required that a choreographer be a truly skilled dancer in order to make dances, I can't really think of too many people who were absolutely without experience -- can you give us an example of who you're considering?

"Wall to wall Pachelbel." It's August, alright, and the silly season is underway!

Adding my thanks as well -- it's been awhile since I've seen his work. And that's part of the reason he just doesn't seem to come into the conversation here -- we hardly ever saw him, except on public television.

While it does seem unfortunate to overlook Makarova, Reed was in the original cast of Fancy Free at Ballet Theater

There were similar remarks passed about Carrie Imler's performance of the peasant pas in the lec-dem presented in Seattle -- the original choreography was tighter and faster than most contemporary dancers were comfortable doing. Part of it has to do with current tastes -- we seem to place more value on moving out and covering space than we do on complex interlaced steps directly underneath the performer, so that's what we teach and rehearse. It isn't that people aren't capable so much as we don't choose to emphasize those skills. But this is where I'd like to argue for a larger definition of virtuosity. I don't think it's exclusively related to the Olympic virtues of "farther, higher faster" -- there's more to virtuosity than anatomical facility. To use the recent screenings of the 3D Giselle as an example many of us have seen, Sarafanov's performance as Alberecht was physically very adept -- he pulled turns and beats and extension out of a seemingly endless bag of skills. But however long his list of accomplishments, they didn't seem to be in service of the character in a dramatic sense or the logic of the choreography in a more abstract context. As far as I can tell from the commentary, and my own opinion, it wasn't until quite far into the second act that he actually seemed to be using all those steps to make something larger. Only then, for me at least, did he approach virtuosity in his performance.

I always loved Peter Schickele's commentary on Beethoven in his guise as PDQ Bach -- this was a great reminder that the joke!

I'm sure she'll do a stellar job, but even without knowing her, I would be intrigued by the title of the series. I've spent a good deal of time talking with friends and colleagues about what ballet does and doesn't do well -- what a great jumping off point for those individual topics!

Between the three of them, this is such a great day for Seattle dance!

Olivier Wevers has won a Princess Grace award for his choreography with Whim W'him. Here's the announcement: Olivier Wevers Receives Princess Grace Award First Seattle Choreographer To Receive Award For Seattle Dance Company Olivier Wevers, Artistic Director of Seattle dance company Whim W’Him, has been awarded the prestigious Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship. Wevers, a former principal dancer at Pacific Northwest Ballet, is the first recipient of the choreographic fellowship award residing in Seattle, as well as creating a new work for a Seattle-based company. Donald Byrd, Artistic Director of Spectrum Dance Theatre, nominated Wevers for the prestigious award. A portion of the award will go towards funding a new creation by Wevers for Spectrum’s upcoming season. In nominating Wevers, Byrd said ‘As he leaves his career as a dancer Olivier enjoys strong public and critical interest in his choreography and I would like to help to build that support. At Spectrum Dance Theater he will find a platform for deep investigation of his ideas and ideas are what will sustain his career." Wevers choreographic career started in 2002 and the new works he’s choreographed for Whim W’Him ‘s sold-out audiences since 2009 have caused a stir not only on the local and national dance scene but also abroad. In April, Whim W’Him was the first and only US dance troupe invited to compete in the 4th Copenhagen International Choreography Competition. In 2010 Whim W’Him picked up the Grand Prize Award at the 13th Annual Dance Under The Stars Choreography Festival in Palm Desert. Two of Whim W’Him’s dancers, PNB principal dancer Lucien Postlewaite and PNB corps dancer Andrew Bartee were the recipients of Princess Grace Dance Awards in 2008 and 2007. Wevers will be recognized in an award ceremony hosted by Prince Albert II of Monaco November 1st at Cipriani in New York City. Joining him will be his husband, Lucien Postlewaite. They are the first married couple in the country to both be Princess Grace award recipients. ### The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is a national foundation dedicated to identifying and assisting emerging talent in theater, dance, and film by awarding grants in the form of scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships. It was named after Princess Grace of Monaco. Spectrum Dance Theatre Under the artistic direction of choreographer Donald Byrd since 2002, Spectrum Dance Theater has thrilled audiences in Seattle and across the nation with dynamic, rigorous, thoughtful and provocative contemporary dance. " . . .the toughest, sexiest, wiliest dance troupe in town.", Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times. Whim W’Him: Recently voted 2011 Best Arts Organization by Seattle Weekly readers, Whim W'Him is Seattle’s hottest young dance company, led by former PNB principal dancer and choreographer Olivier Wevers. Committed to innovation, collaboration, and high caliber relevant art that engages and challenges audiences Whim W’Him is both “entirely classic and entirely now”.

I was very taken with it when it was performed here -- alongside the comic elements, which were great fun, I loved the forced perspective of the set, and the odd 'from the side' point of view we got. The double front aspect of the performance part of the work (the false front on stage right of the ballet and the real front for us in the audience) was very cleverly done -- a smartypants kind of trick from Wheeldon.

The woman who does their in-house video work is very skilled -- they've made excellent use of their website, especially the video component.