Treefrog

Yup, you read it right! $9.90 a ticket. Decent tickets, too; they are regularly $75. I think mine are row Q, fairly far to the left. There's a good chance they will have a limited view of stage right, but ... who cares?

WOOHOO! Tickets went on sale at noon today, and the first 50 people in line got TWO tickets for $19.80! Guess who scored?

I was confused too. Triple bills are still the mainstay of the Joffrey, which now typically offers two triple bills and one full-length in its three seasons (not counting Nutcracker). I haven't thought to notice whether the audiences are greater or smaller for triple bills.

I, too, love this music. Here's a link to an earlier discussion we had, mostly about what is meant by "Appalachia" and "Spring".

It just would have sat better if he had said something about "Chicago's great support for ballet, as demonstrated by the fondness you have for the Joffrey and how you have welcomed that wonderful company and helped it to grow and become a part of the community ... we're so pleased to bring our own brand of ballet, which you know is so different from the Joffrey's" ... or something like that. Noblesse oblige goes down so much better when it is gracefully done.

Thank you for setting me straight. So ... for copyrighted pieces, is there ANY level at which they can be taught to ordinary students without permission from the rights holder? Can they be taught, but not performed? I can easily see that the choreography could soon get bastardized this way: Teacher A "leaves a little out" for a student who can't quite master it, and that student teaches it the same way when she becomes a teacher, and so on. My apologies if this is more appropriate to BT4D, since I seem to be mostly talking about teaching ballet. I felt that since the core of my questions involves preserving the history and integrity of choreography, it was okay to persevere here.

If I'm reading things correctly, the Balanchine Trust's main interest is in preserving the integrity of the ballets; receiving royalty income from performances is kind of secondary. Is that correct? Is it tougher, then, to get permission from the Trust than from other rights holders? It sounds as though some rights holders say, "Sure, go ahead, glad you like the choreography" and others (e.g. the Trust) say, "only if we are certain you are presenting it correctly".

Is it okay if I broaden the discussion? For what kind of performance must permission be obtained when rights are held by someone? Would a student have to get permission from the Balanchine Trust, say, to do a variation in an end-of-year student recital? I'm just wondering where the line lies.

I'm no expert on Irish dance, but I think the point of it is the complicated rhythms and the intricacy of the steps. I don't think it's meant to convey much emotion. To the extent that the dances in Riverdance do convey emotion, that's a modernization. I've seen Riverdance maybe four or five times over the years (in part because we knew someone in the touring company). My sense is that it was much, much better in the earlier years -- less flashy, but also more electric. There seemed to be more integrity and depth in the dancing ... I can't explain it better than that.

[Please pass the Moderator's beanie, carbro] To the extent that you want to know about working conditions at the company, this conversation should be taken over to BT4D. That is the board for dancers, dance training, and dance careers. This board is about WATCHING ballet. Information or opinions about repertoire or style would be appropriate here. [Moderator's beanie freed for use elsewhere]

A well-executed play is truly a thing of beauty! Thank you, Kyra, for bringing this back up. Amy made an excellent point when she said that Chicago and DC are two very different towns. I remember my media-consultant husband saying that demographically, Chicago counts as redneck or Joe Sixpack or something like that in things like Nielsen ratings. Alas, I believe the Joffrey has changed advertising staff. I don't recall seeing any advertisements recently. Not saying they aren't around, just that I don't recall seeing them. Which is effectively the same thing ...

balletgirl22sk -- Hmmm, I see the problem. Unless things have changed, you are supposed to be able to view most parts of BT4D --including the thread linked here -- without registering. However, I just tried that, and got an error message. I'll mention it to the administrators.

Northern Plains Ballet is mentioned in this discussion about company auditions on our sister board, Ballet Talk for Dancers. There are some interesting comments.

Okay, this isn't about the movie, which I've not seen, but a stage production of Rent that I endured yesterday. I think I didn't get it. Clearly, there's a sort of a cult that DOES get it, judging from the huge cheers, the instant standing ovation, and the incredibly long line waiting to buy pricey t-shirts before and after the show. I think I am too old, too much of a fuddy duddy, and too curmudgeonly. Are we supposed to actually care about the characters? Why? What is exciting/positive/redeeming about this life they are trying to hold onto? Aside from sex and a certain "we're in this s*** together" sense, why are they attracted to each other? (Except for Angel and Collins -- I get that. Angel is the ONLY character I felt any kind of sympathy for or attachment to.) Why is it such a horrible thing for Benny to try to come in and clean up the neighborhood? I don't remember a single song. I actually fell asleep at one point. Now, I'm willing to believe that it was this particular production that failed (and will someone clue me in to how the Broadway in Chicago series gets away with charging $70 for a NON-EQUITY production featuring a bunch of college actors with mostly obscure shows to their credit?). But ... am I way off base? Why do people like this show?

Never was so much money spent on ballet in one short time period -- at least, not in this household. Will probably go see all three programs. carbro, the Harris is small and doesn't have any cheap (nosebleed) seats a la the Fourth Ring. It DOES have some limited sightlines on the side, but they don't discount those seats at all You just find out when you sit down . Let's hope that some sort of mini-subscription is offered ... but I'm not holding my breath.

Loved your take on the performance, miliosr. Interestingly, what you hated about it is what I liked -- in a way. The stories in these ballets ALWAYS seem incongruous to me. The characters NEVER seem well-developed. Everything ALWAYS seems contrived. In this case, I was able to put most of that aside and just see the plot as a thin excuse for two hours of glorious dancing. I think you did pretty much the same with Beloserkovsky: Too bad the rest of the production didn't work as well for you. Incidentally, I agree with you about Radetsky -- he couldn't really pull off the "bad guy" role of Birbanto. The house was quite full for the Sunday matinee -- I don't think I saw an empty seat in the orchestra. Dale -- I can't find my program just now! From memory, I'd say Ricetto, Liceica, and a player to be named later. Couldn't for the life of me tell you who was which, or how they danced on a case-by-case basis.

This is wonderful news! This ballet fan is excited. The Harris is an interesting choice. It's a fairly small theater, very tech-modern. I am accustomed to seeing modern dance there (e.g. Hubbard Street, River North, and Mark Morris), but never ballet. It will work well for smaller rep pieces, or even medium size ones. I don't think it is suited to anything large and full length, but that probably isn't what NYCB has in mind. At least, I hope not! I hope we get lots of Balanchine and Wheeldon. Chicago has not, to my knowledge or memory, had any exposure to Wheeldon at all. I am looking forward to seeing his work. I don't recall seeing anything with live music at the Harris. Certainly not a 60-piece orchestra. It will be interesting. As for how this will affect Joffrey attendance and revenue: that's a hard call. Certainly, ABT this past week was a bigger draw than anything Joffrey does (except Nuts). I don't know if it's ABT or the full-length story ballets that bring people out. But I think it's a mistake to characterize the Joffrey rep as "pop", or its audience as wanting pop. In recent years, they have mounted three seasons, each with a distinct character: one is a full-length story ballet (e.g. Cranko's Taming of the Shrew or Romeo and Juliet ; next year will be Ashton's Cinderella ); one is a retrospective or revival of the smaller "museum" pieces the Joffrey does so well and keeps alive, and one is Joffrey and/or Arpino rep. Next fall, they will mount Cinderella a week or two before the NYCB run. I really don't know if NYCB will affect their ticket sales or not. I'm guessing that either it won't (since it comes after Cinderella and there won't be any "GEE, I enjoyed that! Let's go see more ballet" effect) or it will steal away those casual ballet-goers who think they only can see one ballet a season or year. What do others think?

Looking forward to your comments, miliosr! Meanwhile, here are my impressions from this afternoon's (final) performance. Gomes (Conrad), Radetsky (Birbanto), Corella (Ali), Cornejo (Lankendam), Reyes (Gulnare) and Murphy substituting for Herrera (Medora). Even though Murphy was an apparently last-minute substitution, the partnership between her and Gomes was flawless. Not that I'm any expert, but the partnering in this ballet certainly looks difficult, particularly on some of the lifts and dives. Not only were there no hitches, but their lines looked lovely -- at times, almost as if they were one being. It goes almost without saying that Corella was a showstopper. He managed an appropriately abject demeanor throughout, as befits a slave, but when he danced he just pulled out the stops. Amazing height and hang time -- he opened one pas with a cabriole that seemed almost lazy, it was so deliberately and precisely executed, as if he had all the time in the world. Reyes was the one who caught my heart. Just about the time I was reflecting, as seems habitual for me, on the incongruity of 19th century ballets -- in this case, the presentation of apparently healthy, happy slaves in classical tutus -- along comes Reyes. Clad in a tutu, yes, but there was nothing happy about her. She projected dejection, sadness, despair. Her dancing saved the scene for me, pulling me back into the fantasy. In the grotto, she was a totally different dancer -- beaming, animated, charming. Wow. Why did this ballet take so long to reach American shores? And why -- other than the requirement for an impossibly deep male bench -- is it not performed more frequently? It seems to me that it is more accessible than many, and that the dancing has great crowd appeal. It's even got 32 fouettés. It doesn't seem to me to be any less artistic than the other standard story ballets. Oh -- I thought the supers did an extraordinary job, especially the pasha's litter-bearers/servants. (Yes, that would be my husband, who is making a minor second career of supering -- funny that he's the one in the family who has made it to the ballet big leagues!)

Things seem better for me so far! I am able to toggle back and forth at will, and stay logged in on both boards. Thanks!

So, Giselle05? What did you think? My take on the gala: Afternoon of a Faun: Julie Kent/Jose Manuel Carreno Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux: Irina Dvorovenko/ Maxim Beloserkosky Manon: Alessandra Ferri/ Julio Bocca Black Swan Pas de Deux: Paloma Herrera/ Marcelo Gomes Le Corsaire Suite: Gillian Murphy, Stella Abrera, David Hallberg, Angel Corella, Herman Cornejo Rodeo: Xiomara Reyes, Sascha Radetsky First off, I have to say that the program was beautifully constructed. The flow was just terrific, starting with the quiet introversion of Afternoon of a Faun and ramping up the action until we reached the pyrotechnical Corsaire Suite. Rodeo made a lovely one-act second half. It would be difficult to say what stood out, as everything was wonderful in its own way. I loved the simplicity of Afternoon of a Faun (this was the Robbins version), and seeing basic movements executed so precisely and lovingly. Manon was simply steamy! I would have said that on the face of it, it was the dance I liked the least, and yet ... there's gotta be something to dancing that makes you wonder whether the dancers are actually going to take their curtain call or just proceed to .... ahem .... well, you know This was Bocca's penultimate Chicago performance (the ultimate being Corsaire last night) and he received very enthusiastic applause. The cool thing about the Black Swan Pas de Deux was that this was the first time I've really seen Odile's witchiness! Yes, and from Herrera too! Hedy Weiss in the Sun-Times review said her acting was lacking, but I really think Weiss's view was colored by the Common Wisdom. Corsaire was spectacular, and I'd be astounded if anyone who didn't already have tickets didn't rush to the box office at intermission to get them. Corella was especially fabulous as (I think?) the slave Ali, and the crowd responded very enthusiastically. Rodeo was kind of like an ice-cream nightcap: soothing, sweet, satisfying. Reyes was astoundingly apt as the Cowgirl. She had all those male mannerisms and movements down pat. ABSOLUTELY believable as a girl who's been raised on the ranch and wants to compete with the hands. And then when she gets to the dance there's just a moment of hesitation and uncertainty about her role and her identity before she throws herself whole hog into the celebration. She never really loses her Cowgirl swagger, just channels it. I liked that. Radetsky's Roper was goofy/sweet. I did NOT like McKenzie's opening remarks. It's bad enough having to thank all the patrons and sponsors -- although that seems to be becoming a de rigueur necessity these days -- but I really thought it gauche of him to trumpet the ABT as "America's National Ballet". That might play in the provinces, but here in Chicago we have our own nationally recognized company, thank you very much. We don't need your "National Ballet". Although, darn it, we sure love it when you visit.

Hmmm .... maybe I spoke too quickly. It seems I can keep one board logged in, but not both. Currently, I can toggle over to BT4D (using the link on the menu bar above) and be logged in every time, but each time I toggle back over here (using the corresponding link) I have to re-login. I suspect there's something about which board you login to first, but haven't tested that hypothesis.

I didn't have any duplicates, but I went ahead and deleted all cookies from the two boards. So far, there seems to be an improvement in that I logged in, closed the window, then reentered through the Bookmarked page (which used to require me to log in every time) and -- voila! -- I was still logged in. This was on BT4D. Thanks.

My extremely non-religious parents instilled in me the etiquette that one does not clap in church. There was no explanation. It just Wasn't Done. Times, of course, have changed mightily. At one time, gentlemen simply did not wear hats indoors. Nowadays, one sees baseball caps everywhere. I think some of the old customs -- say, stopping at stop signs -- just are not known or recognized by the general populace these days and it is hopeless to try to enforce the old etiquette. In addition ... even my ingrained rule of "No Clapping in Church" would not have prevented me from clapping in this instance. For me, the rule applied to the locale, not the performance. In fact ... I do think I would be annoyed at paying for a ticket to the ballet, only to find that I was attending a religious observance. MacMillan may have meant it as a work of religious significance, but for me, once it is taken out of the proper venue for religious observance, i.e. a church, it simply becomes culture. This is where my ingrained rule becomes useful: if I choose to visit a church -- a place of religious significance, in which one expects to observe rituals and performances of religious significance -- I am content to follow the etiquette that demonstrates respect for the customs and observations therein. Outside of the church? All bets are off. Normal concert etiquette prevails.

I also have this problem at home (where I use Safari), but not at work (Explorer). And it's on both boards. It started happening after the last software update. I can get around it by using "History" or "Go" to click on a previous log-in session. But, it's a pain. For me, it happens most with BT4D -- always, in fact -- and less with BT.

I wasn't sure whether to put this here or in the "Modern and Other Forms of Dance" forum. It's not really dance, and yet, strangely, it is. This is worthwhile viewing for any fans of movement interpretation of music. Moderator's note: Click "The Big Finale" screen on the right.