sandik

I like this video very much, and used it often when I taught dance history -- the ambience of the theater really fits the works they dance. I appreciated a full-length PdQ, and thought that Alonso and Fracci exemplified what we think we know about the Romantic performance style. The tag team Giselle pas de deux always seemed a bit gimmicky to me -- I would be happy watching one couple, but distracted by the change in personel, only to have the whole thing repeat after I'd settled in to watch the 'new' couple. It chopped up what should be an extended sequence into smaller bits. (and, copping to a guilty pleasure, I love Fracci's accent in the interview session)

I am so sorry that one of your teachers is gone, but I do appreciate your comments here. I love to hear about teachers, especially ones that might be considered eccentric. It reinforces the personal aspect of the art form, and reminds me of my own collection of memorable teachers.

This makes me so sad -- we're undergoing a similar real estate development boom in my part of the world, and it's displacing artists right and left. "tap dancing in ice skates" I'm desolate that I missed this.

For those who might be here at the end of March, the company is doing a couple of different mixed reps, with Bejart's Firebird, the Golden Section, Reflections in D and Revelations on Friday, March 28. I've never seen the Bejart in the theater and am glad for the opportunity.

Well, to add an example from the middle, when Balanchine and Danilova staged Les Sylphides without the set and the Romantic era costumes (though with live music) I've been told it was still recognizable as the Fokine work, but a slimmed-down, abstracted version of same. And, since it's on in my neighborhood right now, the Jean-Christophe Maillot version of Romeo and Juliet has jettisoned all kinds of choreographic and staging elements from other, more theatrical versions, which has an interesting affect on the new work. It's still R&J, but a very different one.

I'd put Bolender's Souvenirs in that category. And I think NYCB has dumped Balanchine's one-act Swan Lake there as well. ... To me, for instance, Les Patineurs feels incredibly dated and pursues no aesthetic purpose--I can't imagine the gain it confers on any company performing it. I'm sure others feel differently! I think perhaps there's a subsection of this side question -- ballets that need to take a break and come back after they've shifted from "dated" to "retro" (or whatever titles are appropriate at the time) For ages "Western Symphony" made me cringe, the cultural cliches grated on my sensibilities like chalk on a blackboard. But the last couple of times I've seen it, in the Pacific Northwest Ballet staging, I've been able to get beyond the stereotypes (and the pastiche score) to appreciate the wit and facility of the choreography. But then, I still love Patineurs in all its coy glory.

Add Dracula and you have a season! I'm surprised that no company has contacted us yet to plan next season's programs for them. Umbrella title: "Lost Masterpieces". Well, I vote for a Dracula festival, with all the versions in rotating rep. This could run alongside a modern dance project I've always wanted to see, called "Everyone's Dances with Chairs, All Performed at Once"

At the risk of sounding smug about my corner of the map, the Chamber Dance Company at the University of Washington does pretty much just that -- staging works from the modern dance rep. They've performed most of the Humphrey that's available, big chunks of Duncan, Limon and Weidman, some Nikolais, Louis, Sokolow, Nagrin, Taylor and Graham. They just finished work on a DVD of work by Michio Ito (it's available for academic use) and are working on one about Dore Hoyer. They only do one major production a year (the company members are former professional dancers who are enrolled in the MFA program at the school) but it's a big contribution to the maintenance of this historic rep. I feel quite lucky to see them.

Saw this over the weekend and was very impressed. I liked both graphic novels, but had reservations about their translation to animation -- the visuals didn't seem universally kinetic to me -- but I was wrong, wrong, wrong. She tells the story of a surreal time with visuals that match.

Nutter indeed. "She said members of the church had already purchased plane tickets to picket outside the Oscars, scheduled for Feb. 24 in Hollywood." It's almost enough to make me hope that the writer's strike isn't over and there isn't a telecast (and that their tickets are unrefundable...)

[Admin note: topics merged] Casting is up for the two week run at romeo casting Noelani Pantastico will dance Juliette for all but one of the performances (Carla Korbes sustained an injury and had to back out) Jonathan Poretta is Mercurtio for all the shows, and most of the other main roles only have two people cast -- a shift from previous policy where several people would get a chance at a part. Bernice Coppieters is dancing Juliette for the 2/9 matinee. She originated the role and is supposed to be stunning in it -- worth the fuss to see, even if you have to miss the Democratic caucus.

I got this LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER Brahms's String Sextet No. 2 See--for a limited time--a Live from Lincoln Center webcast, which will feature a special 30-minute web-only broadcast performance of Brahms's String Sextet No. 2. This webcast will only be available until Jan. 17. http://www.pbs.org/livefromlincolncenter/ from a PBS listserv I subscribe to -- makes me wonder if perhaps we might see some dance in a webcast at some future point.

Thanks for posting this -- she was indeed an invaluable link to the Humphrey/Weidman heritage, and I'm so sorry that she's gone.

I saw Juno this week, and think it is all-around excellent. Very well written, dialog and otherwise, clean acting from everyone, very deft touch with a potentially bathetic premise. I saw it with my 13 y.o., and was glad of the conversation we had after, but even without that I would have been very impressed. We've been spending the time since then trying to remember bits of dialog and humming the songs.

This seems very like the Metropolitan Opera theatrical broadcasts. I saw the Taymor Magic Flute here in Seattle last year, and was thrilled at the opportunity.

The whole thing sounds quite lovely and I wish you all the best of luck.

Oh, I don't know -- I think Gautier would have been quite pleased...

I imagine that most people have already seen this, but just in case -- I noticed that the Arts channel is running the Waltz of the Flowers from Bejart's Nutcracker in their current rotation.

Messac did indeed continue her performance career here in Seattle, and I remember her as a very intense and stylish dancer with strong dramatic gifts. She was involved in bringing William Forsythe's work to the company -- I remember seeing her in the house when they first performed "In the Middle..."

about ownership I think you've put your finger on a major element in all this -- Upper Room was one of the last (possibly the last) work that Tharp made for her original, pre-ABT, company. She holds a clear copyright to that work. I'm not sure what her contractual relationship was with ABT and with NYCB, but I imagine that the commissioning companies had some kind of vested interested in the works she made there. I don't want to imply any sense of manipulation on the part of Tharp and her administrators in this kind of distribution. Some of her works are more accessible than others -- Sinatra is an excellent example of her use of popular music/culture and is a great introduction to her aesthetic, as well as being a turning point work in her development. I'm just a greedy girl, and want to see as many of her works as possible in active repertories.

I've done a little mousing around on the Tharp website, looking to see which pieces from her repertory have been reset on other companies, and I've noticed that they seem to license works in waves -- there was a big run on the Sinatra works (both the Nine Songs and the Suite), Baker's Dozen, The Golden Section (from Catherine Wheel), and another surge in productions of Room (7 different companies since 2005, and 4 more scheduled for 2008). I don't know if this is a function of several artistic directors asking for the same thing, or if they approached Tharp and were guided to these particular works.

It's not on the website yet, but casting has been announced. From the press release: George Balanchine’s Agon ~ 50th anniversary On Thursday, November 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m., principal dancers Louise Nadeau and Olivier Wevers will perform Agon’s central pas de deux. The first pas de trois will be performed by soloists Maria Chapman and Leslie Rausch with corps de ballet dancer Benjamin Griffiths. The ballet’s second pas de trois will be performed by principal dancers Mara Vinson and Batkhurel Bold with soloist Karel Cruz. On Friday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 3 at 2:00 p.m., principal dancers Carla Körbes and Stanko Milov perform the pas de deux. The first pas de trois will be performed by principal dancer Jonathan Porretta with soloist Chalnessa Eames and corps de ballet dancer Kylee Kitchens; and the second pas de trois by principal dancer Noelani Pantastico with soloist Lucien Postlewaite and corps de ballet dancer Seth Orza. Susan Marshall’s Kiss Marshall’s Kiss will be performed by principal dancer Mara Vinson and corps de ballet dancer James Moore on Thursday, November 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m. Principal dancer Casey Herd and corps de ballet dancer Kari Brunson perform the work on Friday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 3 at 2:00 p.m. David Parsons’ Caught ~ PNB Premiere! Principal dancer Jonathan Porretta performs Parsons’ 6-minute solo, Caught, Thursday, November 1 at 7:30 p.m., principal dancer Noelani Pantastico on Friday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m., principal dancer Batkhurel Bold on Saturday, November 3 at 2:00 p.m., and principal dancer Olivier Wevers on Saturday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m. Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room ~ PNB Premiere! In the Upper Room, the third work from Twyla Tharp to enter the company’s repertoire, will feature thirteen PNB dancers for each performance. Principal dancers Batkhurel Bold, Casey Herd, Carrie Imler, Jonathan Porretta, Mara Vinson and Miranda Weese will perform with soloists Maria Chapman, Chalnessa Eames and Lesley Rausch, and corps de ballet dancers Kiyon Gaines, Kylee Kitchens, Jordan Pacitti and Anton Pankevitch on Thursday, November 1 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m. Principal Dancers Batkhurel Bold, Casey Herd, Carrie Imler, Kaori Nakamura, and Mara Vinson will perform with soloists Chalnessa Eames, Lucien Postlewaite and Jodie Thomas, and corps de ballet dancers Rachel Foster, Kiyon Gaines, Benjamin Griffiths, Kylee Kitchens, and James Moore on Saturday, November 3 at 2:00 p.m.

PNB, like many theater groups in Seattle, offers discounted tickets to people under 25, as well as sponsoring separate "groups" (combo performance watching/socializing) for younger audiences. They've been after this demographic for several years, but the idea of age band marketing has recently got a lot of attention locally. I haven't seen the statistical results yet, though I should look for those.

I think possibly because there was a great deal of dance all over town for those two weeks, as well as several popular theater events. The arts season is starting off with an avalanche this year...

I love her memoir, and I know there have been many essays and articles, but is there a straight-ahead biography of Karsavina somewhere? (RG -- you would know if anyone would)