Treefrog

I think it is the same one. Petukhov is listed as the Artistic Director of the one performing here.

Second week casting is now up on the KC website, but not the ABT one.

Murphy and Corella are on for the Feb. 8 Swan Lake, the date of the PBS taping discussed in thisclosed thread. (Can we reopen it now that the casting is official?)

This seems to be the correct web page.

It took a fair bit of searching. Most hits on Google were theater listings. Apparently the company is making a swing around the US mid-west -- mostly single-night engagements on college campuses. I did not uncover any reviews. I gather it's kind of a minor company using the St. Petersburg name to appear to be something more major?

I don't think that is the same one. Romeo & Juliet is not listed in their repertoire, and that company is currently on tour in the UK.

Edited to add: this one seems to be the St. Petersburg State Ballet Theatre.

This isn't exactly a recent performance, but an upcoming one.

My daughter has been invited to a performance of the St. Petersburg Ballet in "Romeo & Juliet". (Birthday parties sure have changed since my day, when a movie or bowling was the best to be expected.)

Anyone know anything about this company or this production?

AARGH. The proverbial monkey has thrown the proverbial wrench in my plans. I may have other claims on my time. But, rest assured, if I can go I'll report back!

Patrick Simonello and Taryn Kaschock both moved from the Joffrey to Hubbard Street Dance Chicago a couple of years ago.

Thank you! I had already planned to go, and now I will do so with even more excitement.

Sid Smith in the Chicago Tribune had this to say over the weekend:

James Sewell Ballet: This celebrated American company, hailed as an exquisite gem, makes it Chicago area debut, small-scale specialists in neoclassicism, with works including "Lover," set to Rodgers and Hart. Feb. 11 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 N. Skokie Blvd., Skokie; 847-673-6300.

A search on the board has yielded many links to published reviews (I think Smith's "gem" reference comes from Anna Kisselgoff). Has anyone here seen this company? Know anything about it?

And an excellent thought at that. I agree; the people I know who attend ABT performances here don't care about the casting. I doubt most of them could even name more than one or two dancers in the company (Sasha Radetsky, in the case of the youngsters ... ).

Last year, though, ABT managed to provide us the cast list a good couple of months in advance.

I am duly noting from Ari's experiences the vagueries of casting notices ... but wondering also if the Chicago casting has been released more completely? Anybody know how to get this information?

What is illusion?

By the way, my husband reports that he doesn't "despise" it; quite the contrary, he thinks it's kind of cool!

My husband, who plays Drosselmeyer in our ballet school's Nutcracker, despises wearing the eyepatch. He wants to know 1) do all Drosselmeyers wear eyepatches, 2) what does the eyepatch signify, and 3) when and where did this portrayal originate?

[My area of the audience had to contain our chuckles when some guy sitting near us whispered loudly 'Hail to the Redskins!' during this dance...highly insensitive...but he had us all in stitches.

Explanation of cultural (anti-cultural?) reference here: the DC professional (American) football team is called the Redskins; "Hail to the Redskins" is their fight song. "Redskins", of course, is also an insensitive way of referring to American Indians, aka Native Americans.

What any of this has to do with Coffee from Arabia is beyond me, except that a warm cup of coffee is a great comfort during a long, cold football game ...

I read with interest the contract excerpts printed in yesterday's NYTimes, especially this one:

Extraordinary Risk and Specialized Skills If a performance entails walking on stilts or operating pyrotechnics, an American Ballet Theater dancer's derring-do is rewarded at the rate of $45 extra per performance. The Houston Ballet Theater, which ratified its new contract in July, is even more specific. Artists get a "specialized theatrical skill" bonus of $47 a performance for simulating diving into a lake in "Swan Lake" and playing King Rat in "The Nutcracker."

And I wondered: is a simulated dive into a lake very much more dangerous than, say a fish dive? Do the women get "extraordinary risk" pay for moves like this? Or is this considered an "ordinary risk"?

Wow! And on my birthday no less.

I'm so glad you liked Erica Edwards! I have been watching her for some time, and she always catches my eye with some little extra sparkle, presence, extension.

Chiapuris, I'm so glad you were able to give us that review. My only response is: Yeah, what she said.

I am speechless with wonder over the detail and richness of your review. I was there, and I didn't see (or, I don't remember) half that stuff!

I liked it too. Though, I'm still marveling over the fact that Raymonda shows up at court in a tutu when everyone else is in luscious period costume, and no one bats an eye. Some things about ballet are just too weird to interpret logically.

I don't think you are quibbling -- I, too, did not think that Shipulina and Klevtsov made a satisfying couple. Partly, he did not look commanding enough. That he was a bit on the short side for her only emphasized this weakness. Perhaps we would not have noticed their respective sizes if he had projected a more forceful presence.

Perhaps another reason is that they did not appear to dance for each other, as I expect lovers to do. Shipulina, particularly, seemed to play to the audience. I find it hard to explain what I mean, but she kept flashing her smile to us instead of Basil. I realize that a certain amount of acknowledgement of the audience is called for, and I imagine it is difficult to keep stepping in and out of character. But I don't care for the "did you see what I just did? Aren't I clever?" grin that I perceived (whether she intended it or not).

(In truth, it wasn't just Shipulina. I noticed many times over, both in soloists and the corps, a kind of a very broad smile that I associate with Miss America pageants and the like. It went beyond the very pleasant "I love to dance and you can just see it" exuberance into something more fake. Anyone else perceive this?)

Thank you all for your help. The briefly hoped-for trip seems like it's not going to happen after all :blush: But these are great tips for the next time I jump the pond.

nlkflint, thanks! I'm not sure how I missed that the first time around, except possibly my browser window was short and just happened to catch the first line and cut off the others. I am relieved to know that there are cheaper seats.

And grace, thanks for the detailed seating information!

It still strikes me that these prices are high -- due mostly to the exchange rate, I'm sure. It's not until you get to the middle or back of the Amphitheatre that prices reach our usual range here in Chicago. That is, $80 buys me Orchestra seats to the Bolshoi later this week, but the same $80 puts me in the middle of the Amphitheatre, in "Price Band 6" at the ROH.

grace, what is the Amphitheatre, anyway? Is it like a second balcony?

Thanks for the tip. But, oh my gosh, the cheapest tickets are $102! Do you Brits always have to pay so much?

There's a chance will be in London Dec. 20-23. What's going on in the dance world at that time? I know Bourne's Swan Lake is showing (opinions, please).

We're not interested in Nutcrackers. Is anything else on?

It was an outdoor performance, Amy.

Regrettably, I can't find my own journal just now, but our trip leader's journal reads "One of the most incredible experiences of my life --> Nureyev & Marakova (sic). It doesn't hurt when you need a backdrop of a palace to have the Louvre handy. I have very little experience with dance, but this was great."

You mean I was possibly present for an Historic Occasion? Unfortunately, I was only 16 at the time. While the name Nureyev was familiar to me, Makarova was not. I did not know until this moment that I witnessed a rare pairing! I cannot say I recall any Puddle Incidents at that performance -- which is not the same as saying it didn't happen.