Jayne

Kevin McKenzie has gone on record stating he wants guesting to be more equal -if ABT hosts a Mariinsky dancer, then there is a formal exchange with an American dancer getting coaching at the Mariinsky and a performance opportunity.

So Corey Stearns went to RB, Sarah Lane went to Mariinsky, etc.  It's a good remedy to give dancers more coaching and opportunities while making money at the box office  with a Russian Prima.  

Perhaps exchanges are easier for visa purposes?  Just my hypothesis.

Oh happy clapping!!!  I will pencil it into my calendar.

FWIW, there is an advisory board at SAB with some great people on it, including current ballet master /former soloist Craig Hall.  

https://sab.org/school/diversity__inclusion/alumni_advisory_committee.php

Argh it conflicts with the season encore at PNB

PNB is houng to live stream the encore, is you're interested. Subscribe to their FB page to get the details.

Well once I win the lotto,  or perhaps strike an oil well whilst gardening....this will be top of the list

Definitely go see them if you have the funds!  There is no way to know if they will be performed in 20 years. 

Classical music sounded different on early instruments, and there are symphonies devoted to authentic reconstructions.  But if you grew up on Glenn Gould's recordings of Bach, it would still be a shock to hear the music as originally played. 

I would love to see a choreographer's festival performed as the Olympics are presented: 16 days in a different city with multiple theatres.  With lecture-demonstrations, etc.  What a tourist attraction that would be!  

2018: Moscow

2019: Paris

2020: New York

2021: Buenos Aires

2022: London

Really, you could do the same with Ashton and Balanchine works.  

I know Georgina is mourned deeply at ABT and perhaps it it a measure of comfort that her husband is now with her in the afterlife. 

In that particular case, I think it was the ushers and other building workers who felt they were not paid properly during the 3 year renovation of the theatre.  

I really wanted to see the completed renovation because it is considered one of the most beautiful in the world.  Perhaps I can visit again in the future. 

Paloma Herrera is well-regarded, and if she can manage the company well, perhaps the problems with politics, unions and fundraising will improve.  Everyone wants to be associated with a successful organization. 

"An unending treasure chest of ideas"

great quote!

It will be difficult to avoid speaking of politics if these troubling patterns continue.  All I can hope for is a change in sentiment from politicians in power towards arts and humanities funding in the future.  

The production of Entertainment in the US in a billion dollar business in the US.  Certainly the ROE is difficult to track for the NEA and NEH but I hope there is some push back.  

Is it possible that injuries are the reason for the limited principal casting?  

Thank you, that was a pleasurable read.  

Welcome!  I spent about 4 months in Argentina in 2010 and loved it.  Sadly I couldn't see the ballet at Teatro Colon BsAs due to a theatre worker strike.  Perhaps another time.  

Wonderful news!

Wasn't Oksana the dancer who distorted steps in Serenade?

While the Cuban dancers may be retiring, the Spanish dancers are stepping up!

To Natalia's credit, she doesn't dislike plain sets if they are appropriate to the staging.  She has written many reviews of Balanchine works that she enjoyed.  

I, myself, have written comments criticizing PNB's supernumerary dresses for Sleeping Beauty.  The sillouettes are fine but the material looks like gauche las vegas gold cheap lame from the audience.  A bad dress is a bad dress, and a bad set is a bad set. 

Free tickets, OTOH, deserve nothing but gratitude and a proper thank you letter.  Natalia did nothing wrong, Madame Attache lacked courtesy.  If nothing else she could have followed Balanchine's maxim, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the Prokofiev.  

I started reading this and La Valse began to play on the Classical Arts basic cable channel on my TV.  Ravel's ghost?

Odette's Ordeal reported Lorena Feijoo pulled out of the farewell night today.  

No matter who the new AD was going to be --that person would have an artistic view and expertise.  PAB has Corella's ABT experience, but he also seems to like some neo-classical. 

Nedvigin has Bolshoi and SFB experience.  But he succeeded in other genres too (Balanchine's Coppelia, new works by Possekhov, etc).  I think he deserves a chance to succeed.  I'm interested to see what else he plans to do. 

At PNB Francia Russell and Kent Stowell had their own mid-1950s-mid-1960's Balanchine experiences and their productions reflected that.  But they let dancers go too and underused others.  At their start they brought in dancers from SFB and NYCB so that type of pipeline is not new.  

Who was the character dancer playing the smuggler and (I think the same dancer) the companion to the matron / pistols presenter in the 3rd act?  He was very good.  

I really liked all the dancers (even acting by Zakharova) but the allegorical story telling in acts 1&2 didn't work for me as an audience member.  I would have preferred a beautiful Caucasus scene so we could understand why Lermantov fell in love with the region.  He painted beautiful landscapes of the area that would have been wonderful inspiration.  

The idea of Undine as the romantic era siren makes sense, but the tutus felt forced in this production.   A stormy Black Sea night in a dingy town could have been evoked without the scaffolding.  The Mission Impossible disguise was great though!

Unless of course you count the presenter's gown as levity.  Usually she aims for elegance but this was a risky 1960's throw back look.  I found it quite severe and I didn't think it fit her characteristics very well.  

She would look fabulous in Chanel or Vivienne Westwood.  

Just got back from the west coast broadcast, I think if you didn't grow up with the book maybe it is too hard to understand as a stand-alone ballet.  

The third act was the most traditional and IMHO the most successful for the storyline, set, and steps.  I would see it again.  I think Possekhov's best work is his weirdest work: the character driven oddballs were the most distinctive. He seems to be a contemporary choreographer trapped in a ballet genre.  

 I really liked the music and it gave the musicians a lot of meat.  My objection is that it is so dark and dram-ballet that there are no layers of emotion or levity.   And no leit motifs in the music for characters.  

Well to be pragmatic, swans do swim.