lmspear

My first memory of a Met usher dealing with a seat poacher was for a Royal Ballet Swan Lake with Nureyev and either Merle Park or Antoinette Sibley. We were in the Orchestra on the aisle few rows ahead of the standing room section. A couple had slipped into the aisle seats right in front of the standing room area. The usher explained in a very stern tone that these were Mr. Hurok's seats and had to remain empty.

also, the time of the year. Summer in DC is when everyone is gone - fundraising in the Hamptons, etc. Many leave just to avoid the sweltering weather.

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It is the height of the tourist season from April through mid-July, including lots of school groups. You'll often see people who have been visiting museums or other attractions at the opera house in shorts and sneakers or (I assume they didn't have time to make it back to their hotel to freshen up.).

And those in town are probably still at the office.

Here's the URL for the Yahoo group

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/kc-scotty/info

I apologize for not sharing sooner. You can never be sure how "open" you can be about someone else's "open" secret. ;-)

There's an open Yahoo group called kc-scotty. It's run by one of the managers in the subscriptions deparment. Knowledge about it is spread by word of mouth. All you need to join is a Yahoo account.

They never know when they'll have something available and the offers are usually made the day of or the day before via email. Very rarely they will offer comp tickets (usually for the symphony).

$35 orchestra ticket offer for Tues. 6/9 & Weds. 6/10.

Good news!

The Kennedy Center is offering tickets at the special price of $35.00 for orchestra seating for the June 9th and June 10th performances of Royal Ballets Don Quixote.

You can click the link below and your discount will appear automatically. If you call or stop by the Box Office for the discount, be sure to mention Offer Number "203667." See you at the Kennedy Center!

http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/BPBSH?promotionNO=203667

Kevin O'Hare, Director

U.S. PREMIERE!

Don Quixote

Production and Choreography by Carlos Acosta, after Marius Petipa

Music by Ludwig Minkus, arranged by Martin Yates

"Astonishingtheatrical vitality"

--The New York Times

"Enjoyable and exuberant fantastical folly!"

--London Evening Standard

PRINCIPAL CASTING (Kitri and Basilio) subject to change

Marianela Nunez, Carlos Acosta Tue., June 9 & Fri., June 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Sarah Lamb, Federico Bonelli Wed., June 10 at 7:30 p.m.

I've never seen such a negative review of the production's choreography.

Ratmansky as AD for the future with Gardner/McKerrow as Asst. ADs for the heritage.

I just received this $25.00 ticket offer for KenCen performances:

The Kennedy Center is offering tickets at the special price of $25.00 on select orchestra seating for the Thursday, May 28th and Friday, May 29th performances of Scottish Ballets A Streetcar Named Desire.

You can click the link below and your discount will appear automatically. If you call or stop by the Box Office for the discount, be sure to mention Offer Number "202881." See you at the Kennedy Center!

http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/bpbsk?promotionno=202881

Kennedy Center Debut

Scottish Ballet

Christopher Hampson, Artistic Director

with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra

A Streetcar Named Desire

Choreography by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

Direction by Nancy Meckler

Music and Sound by Peter Salem

Design by Niki Turner

Lighting by Tim Mitchell

Based on the play of the same name by Tennessee Williams

Presented through special arrangement with The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee

"Marvelously inventive staging! Draws expertly and seamlessly from a range of dance styles, never straying far from classical ballet, in a manner that flaunts the dramatic and technical flair of this handsome company"

--The Huffington Post

"Triumphantpowerful!"

--The Times-Picayune

"Brilliantly bold and sensitive a new ballet of truly tragic proportions."

--The Daily Telegraph

PRINCIPAL CASTING (Blanche, Stella, Stanley) subject to change

Eve Mutso, Sophie Martin, Erik Cavallari -- Thu.-Sat., May 28-30 at 7:30 p.m.

Araminta Wraith, Bethany Kingsley-Garner, Christopher Harrison -- Sat., May 30 at 1:30 p.m.

In its Kennedy Center debut, Scottish Ballet makes a splash with a sexy, dynamic new take on the beloved American literary masterpiece, Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire.

Dedicated to strong classical technique, Scottish Ballet isn't afraid to take on groundbreaking modern pieces. A contemporary ballet company that specializes in the seminal 20th century canon, they also perform classic full-length story ballets, making them relevant for today's audience.

To celebrate the 65th anniversary of the play, Scottish Ballet collaborated with renowned film and theater director Nancy Meckler (Royal Shakespeare Company) and choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa to create a vibrant fusion of drama and dance set to a specially commissioned jazz-inspired score by Peter Salem.

Trying to leave a troubled past behind her, fading Southern belle Blanche DuBois moves into her sister Stella's New Orleans apartment. Stella's brutish husband Stanley sees that Blanche is not what she appears to be, and sets out to destroy her. The New Orleans Times-Picayune praised the production, saying "before a stunned and silenced house of 2,200 theater goers, the Scottish Ballet showed the depths of its roster and the dramatic savvy of the team that assembled the project."

This performance contains mature content and is recommended for age 16 and up.

Performance Timing: Act I - 60 min.; Intermission - 20 min.; Act II - 40 min.

TO RECEIVE YOUR DISCOUNT BY PHONE OR IN PERSON AT THE BOX OFFICE, MENTION OFFER NUMBER 202881

(202) 467-4600 | Toll-free (800) 444-1324 TTY (202) 416-8524

Unfortunately, we'll never know how much text the copy editor sliced out of this review. There is no mention of any character other than Giselle or Albrecht for either the matinee or evening performance. Were Myrtha and the willies so spectral that they couldn't be seen? I can't remember ever reading a review of Giselle that only commented on the lead performances.

I'm shocked (hand dramatically raised to forehead). In the first paragraph of the article, the Vogue reporter identified the ermine sleeves of the prince's mother's costume as dalmatian. As if!

Here's a link to the Kennedy Center's virtual tour. If your computer or device supports Flash you can get a view of the sightlines from different seating areas. Each tier has only seven rows. The usual rule applies that if you want to see facial expressions and a front focused view get the orchestra tickets, if you want to see the whole stage, choreographic patterns and all the dancers go for the tiers. My personal preference is to sit towards the center from left to right. You start losing the view of the edge of the stage for the side you are sitting on about two thirds of the way towards the outside walls in the side sections.

http://www.kennedy-center.org/about/virtual_tour/opera.html

Well said, Dirac. :-)

Then they'd have to mention that it was made famous by Ethel Merman in 1930. And of course with Gershwin's death in 1937 the film makers and now the show creators got to cherry pick and repurpose from a bunch of great songs that have no association with the time period of the movie or the show. The title piece dates from 1928. Gershwin is timeless, but if you insist on historical accuracy the music is Broadway of the Roaring Twenties and the Fred and Ginger RKO movies in all their glorious art deco escapism.

There could be someone under studying who has not done it. Lots of dancers learn roles and then for one reason or another don't get to do them. I don't know about his role specifically but it would surprise me if no one in the company knew it.

It's a pity that the current ABT management has forgotten the power of the "42nd Street" mythology, You're going out there a youngster, but you've got to come back a STAR.

I wasn't able to see ABT performances at the time, but I remember Susan Jaffe and Paloma Herrera came blazing through very quickly. They should be able to create excitement around their own dancers, or at least not squander the interest audiences display early in a dancer's career.

Dad, the Gershwin fan, chose AIP for his Father's Day gift, so I'll be there in June.

This sounds like a wonderful new initiative.

Sali Ann Kriegsman and Dance Place established The Alan M. Kriegsman Creative Residency with contributions from colleagues, family, friends and artists, in remembrance of Kriegsmans passionate support of artists and their commitment to research and discovery. Through a five-day residency, choreographers have the opportunity to explore the seed of a new idea away from the confines and pressures of their routines. This focused time in the studio can be used to jump-start a project or to deepen exploration already underway. Established artists from across the U.S. are eligible for support and are chosen by a selection committee. The 2015 Selection Committee comprised Suzanne Carbonneau, Sali Ann Kriegsman and Deborah Riley.

https://www.danceplace.org/news/announing-the-alan-m-kriegsman-creative-residency/

Same thing happened to Larissa Lezhnina; DVDs of Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker and no promotion.

Misty Copeland just made the cover of TIME magazine!

Fonteyn...Kirkland...now Copeland! Any other ballerinas ever made the TIME cover? Maybe Herrera...or was that NEWSWEEK?

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Trinette Singleton of the Joffrey way back in 1968. http://joffrey.com/blog_photos/2-27-08-singleton/time-1968.jpg

Misty Copeland & The Washington Ballet discuss Swan Lake at the National...: https://youtu.be/yV5LC_ugChQ

There was a press conference with Weber, Peterson, Misty and Mack last November. This video just popped up as recommended on my YouTube feed. I won't have a chance to watch it for a while, but there may be some additional insights to be had.

The availability situation can change at any minute. Tickets can be donated back for resale up until the performance if the original purchaser decides not to attend and doesn't want to go through the hassle of reselling, despite the potential profit, or tracking down some one to give them to.

You go girl!!

Exactly same price for each show. However, as soon as ticketing was open for single (non-subscription) seats sometime last fall, the two "Misty Performances" were mysteriously declared "sold out." The KennCen website inserted a note to direct all who were interested in those two performances to call the WB. I called that number countless times and was told that the KC erred and that, in reality, tickets to all Swan Lake performances are being handled by the KC. So who is telling the truth? How were all tickets to the two Misty shows instantly sold on the morning when they were made available, yet so many are now on sale at inflated prices on various resale outlets?

Ticket brokers have been known to swoop in and purchased scads of tickets and with Craig's List individuals can do the same. The worst thing is that with the advent of etickets, a dealer can resell the same seat multiple times, by sending each unsuspecting patron a PDF file for the same seats. I was at a performance a couple of years ago when the ushers brought three different couples to the same two seats a couple of rows ahead of me. I don't know how the situation was resolved except that the first couple got to keep the seats.

The Eisenhower only seats 1,100. This may be the artistic equivalent of trying to get Superbowl tickets. :-)

Thank you for the further information, Natalia.

I agree with you that no mention of Cynthia Gregory or Ivan Nagy or Bujones is pathetic.

If anyone needs a reminder, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mH1SvNoZ3gM

How did they treat Lucia Chase in the footage you saw, Natalia?

Lisa