Jayne

I don't know if early ballets remain in my memory, I was watching things I didn't understand and feeling like they were old fashioned and uncool. Liked Nut as a kid, got sick of it as a 20-something. Later, I gave up feeling like I needed to be "cool" and so here are 5 pieces that made me sit up, riveted and watching intensely: La Valse (especially Louise Nadeau) Symphony in C (again Louise Nadeau) Petite Mort (I could watch it every day for the rest of my life) That's Life from 9 Sinatra Songs (Kauri Nakamura and Seth Belliston) best fight scene in ballet, better than R&J Friar Lawrence's scenes from the Malliot RetJ (specifically performed by Olivier Wevers) When Maya Pliesetskaya died, I posted a full video of her dancing the Bejart Carmen on my FB feed, and it received the most passionate, excited commentary from my non-dancer friends in 8 years of facebook. Just blew them away.

Boooo!!! Boooo!!!! I think the loss of Denis Nahat really was the start of spiralling the drain. On the other hand, the Associate AD position at ABT will come open very soon, could Carreno move back to NYC?

The new choreo festival looks really interesting. I wish Ballet West would build on the Ashton Cinderella and bring in more Ashton. La Fille and Sylvia on the west coast would be splendourific!

I nominate dirac for the BalletAlert Academy's commentary of the year, in the non-ballet category for acerbic wit. If dirac wins, will the bottom screen scroll be used to thank people?

Well, Gnossie, artistic tastes are a bit like gelato flavors - we all have our personal favorites, and there is no use arguing over it. Sarafanov is very much needed at ABT to fill some of the Hallberg TBA slots, so maybe you will get your wish after all? It seems that what Italy really needs is a billionaire (or two) to bankroll Hilaire to start a new company - or shore up a faltering company - that develops Italian talent over the long term, and gives them lots of performance opportunities. I think the Queensland Ballet was very smart (or rather, the AD Li Cunxin) to add MacMillan's Romeo & Juliet and only brought in guest artists to partner with company principals.

Oh yes, I adore Mark Rylance. An Actor's Actor, who speaks with fresh clarity for the everyman audience member. Al Pacino said: If any of you recall the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, Kenneth Branagh kicked things off with a wonderful quote from The Tempest. Originally Mark Rylance was also supposed to participate with some Shakespeare, but his stepdaughter committed suicide shortly before the Games began, and he was too heartbroken to participate. To see a variety of his skills: A Heroic Welsh King Henry V Saint Crispin's Day Speech A Slow Witted American Straight Man Boeing Boeing on Broadway And Trailer Park English Trash Jerusalem

She'd probably get a kick out these comments. It's as if she's the Lilac Fairy in the second world

Fascinating. The lack of promotion of local stars is the same problem that ABT has. I am not so familiar with La Scala's rep, just that they have a lot of Nuriyev and have been adding the Ratmansky Full Length stories. I know they have performed the Balanchine Midsummer int he past. What types of full-lengths should La Scala add to its current rep? What additional serious contemporary pieces?

Maybe the Burlaka / Medvedev production will get shipped to Moscow?

A day late, but I will read some of her old posts again, tonight, in her memory.

I thought Salenko was brought in as a good height match for Stephen McRae? Is she a big ticket seller? I don't think of her on the same "star" scale as some of the other invited guests. It's a shame that RB no longer has a touring company, which is the perfect place to develop soloists.

well, I wish I could program a "remind me" for BalletAlert and I could tell you next year at this time, because Pacific Northwest Ballet will perform the Malliot version. Gnossie, what would you program for La Scala, if you were hired as Artistic Director? Isn't part of the problem the lack of time slots provided by the Opera House? It is so dominated by Opera that there is minimal time for Ballet. Maybe La Scala's ballet needs a 2nd house to perform more often???

PNB at Segerstrom would be a good fit logistically. No passport issues, straight shot on I-5 southbound for sets, and sets that fit a large stage. They should bring Coppelia!

Goodness! In this day and time, Raymonda seems like an excellent allegory to the awfulness of ISIS/Daesh. It doesn't have to present all Muslims in a bad light, but can (in the correct staging) show the seductive bait-and-switch of extremist religious beliefs.

My memory is fuzzy, but I believe PNB went through this with the Stowells as ADs. The board chose to separate the AD and ED role into equally reporting to the board. I believe many companies are organized this way. The push-pull between the artistic goals and financial realities often result in clashes. What a shame for Sarasota Ballet.

I suppose to put it in perspective, imagine if Aurelie DuPont was hired to run NYCB and she introduced all sorts of Petit, Lacotte, and other POB repertoire, but stopped all but a few Balanchine and Robbins works. There would be a revolt at NYCB for sure!

When I heard Millipied was leaving, my first thought was "it must have been the Wagner defile!"

Also, burn out is a real thing! I remember when Ian Thorpe stopped swimming and there was a weird resentment in the Australian Media. As an American reading about it at the time I thought "Australia doesn't own him, if he's psychologically done, that can't be changed". But Aussies are weird about their athletes. Sometimes the fire burns hot, but it also burns out.

A lot of good stuff on in that programming!

Square Dance this spring as the prep work for Ballo next fall??? Yum!

oops, I will correct . I listed the name in roster correctly, but not in the text.

I wish ballet companies would list an "injured reserve" roster, just so we as balletomanes know that ADs are not holding back capable dancers. I realize there are healthcare privacy issues, but with a dancer's permission, some basic information would be useful.

Post Script: In his review earlier in this thread, Bored_On_Wall_Street asked “Why bother?” in reference to the change from Stowell/Sendak to Balanchine/Falconer. For the audience, I think this production helps them hear the Tchaikovsky music with fresh perspective. It is also good for the dancers (especially the PNB School dancers who have never danced the Balanchine version before) because it gives them different steps to dance after so many years of the Stowell steps. Certainly the corps looked enthusiastic, crisp, and energetic in fresh-to-them steps. From what I understand the Stowell/Sendak version has been steadily declining in attendance for a number of years. The “same old-same old” version was trying to compete against ever-new Christmas time Broadway style shows and concerts. So this new production is good for PNB box office in December. Many people who have emigrated or immigrated to Seattle grew up on the Alexandre Dumas book, and could not accept the ETA Hoffman version portrayed in the Stowell/Sendak production. They did not buy tickets as a result, but I think the “refusniks” will now give this version a try. Part of the problem for me as an adult viewer (without children in tow) is that I don’t think the Alexandre Dumas book is a strong story for adults or teenagers to watch. Balanchine created this version for baby-boomer children of the mid 1950’s, who were spoon-fed Walt Disney movies and TV specials. The cultural world of Christmas has changed, and for Gen-Xers and younger adults, we’ve grown up on cartoons with hidden adult humor, cinema like “Bad Santa” and “Scrooged”, books like “Santaland Diaries” and the holiday snark of the Cartoon Network. I kept waiting for someone to spike the punch in this version. Will families keep going when their kids are tweens and teenagers? This war horse works gangbusters for NYCB, so perhaps my doubts are for nothing. I’m not sure I want to see the same Balanchine Nut year after year. I might go every 5th year, and in other years see other stage productions (Scrooge, Seattle Men’s Chorus, etc). There is a risk if more companies acquire the Balanchine Nut that will begin to feel as homogenized as visiting strip mall stores. I’ve mentioned this before, but I will reiterate that what would bring me back every year to the PNB December box office would be more variety. A week of “Jewels” from Boxing Day to New Years. Alternate that post-holiday palette cleanser with an “All Waltz program” to include “Vienna Waltzes”. Or a jazz-oriented program to include some Twyla Tharp, Robbins, Stroman and Ailey. Perhaps altering the existing Nuts would bring me back – odd numbered years for the Balanchine and even numbered years for the Stowell version. I’m sure there would be logistical issues to work out. But in the 21st century continues, audiences will have more options (and probably more Star Wars movies) to tempt them in December. PNB will have to respond with more artistic options for the audience as well. This new Nut should be the beginning of a series of palette cleansers, not the only answer.

Act II began in a Land of the Sweets set that didn’t vary much from the Ten-Arturian version at NYCB. I expected some fanciful Falconer magic in the Act II sets and they were….watercolor renditions of stacked cakes. Meh. I wondered why Falconer didn’t diverge further and offer something completely original? Fortunately Lesley Rausch arrived, now at the height of her considerable powers, as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Notes in the program summarized the original 1892 Russian reviews that the story didn’t give enough for the prima ballerina to do. I have to agree, because I wished for far more stage time for La Rausch. The audience (surprisingly) became very quiet during the angels glide-dancing section and remained so through the Hot Chocolate section featured Sarah Ricard Orza and Guillaume Basso (another excellent addition to PNB’s corps). The entire group wore exceptionally striking appliqué Seville-style costumes, but the steps they dance are not particularly memorable. Laura Tisserand gamely dancing Coffee while wearing a Persian-ish peacock accented turquoise costume. She was applauded, but the dance itself was seductive for 1954….and tame for 2015. Matthew Renko danced beautifully as Tea, and only pointed his fingers “in the Chinese manner” during the finale reprise. There was a *lot* of murmuring in the audience during both Tea sections. I heard the phrase “isn’t that kind of racist?” by several commenters behind me. Maybe Tea would look better if it was danced in Panda costumes or another China-associated animal. I think kids would like dancing pandas. J Ezra Thomson danced Candy Cane lead, on this night he struggled with the hoop, his jumps were low, and his footwork was blurred. I stopped watching him and focused on the children, who were excellent. This is really a brilliant little piece of dancing for children. Marizipan was led winningly by Amanda Clark, and while some seemed charmed by the doily costumes, from a distance some of the audience were heard to whisper “what are they wearing and why does Marzipan need a Shepherd?” As time goes on, perhaps this will become clearer to the audience. Perhaps a sample of the costume could be displayed in the lobby? Also I think an explanation of what Marzipan is would be in order. Seattle attracts families from all over the world, and not just Europe, and the treat is not familiar to many of them (or even many Americans of European descent). Why not serve Marzipan at the food kiosks? The younger children loved Mother Ginger, and while I thought the costumes for the polichinelles were completely inventive and adorable, the scene and dancing are sort of vapid. Then we had the Waltz of the Flowers which again made the corps look wonderful, although not quite as crisp as snowflakes. The peach / pink / butter yellow dresses are lovely, but not a patch on Karinska’s gorgeous tiered pink masterpieces. Dewdrop choreography is one of the best parts of Balanchine’s Nut and Sarah Pasch thoroughly charmed the audience with her rendition. Finally we had the beautiful PPD with Purple Sugar Plum Fairy Lesley Rausch and her Cavalier Batkhurel Bold. Mr Bold no longer has the ballon of the younger men, but he does frame his partner beautifully and lifts her as if she weighed no more than a champagne flute. They carried off the choreography with deft ease and the “slide” moment went without any hitch, to a great cheer and hooting of pleasure from the audience that expanded to wild full throated spasms of bravos to match a Seahawks touchdown at the finish. Ms Rausch really is fabulous as SP, and I am disappointed she wasn’t given opening night Premier. I enjoy Elizabeth Murphy very much and do not begrudge her promotion. But opening night belongs an Etoile. Let the arrows of criticism fly as they may, but IMHO Lesley Rausch is all that and a box of Godiva chocolates. After the usual finale “review” of dancers, the airborne sleigh lifted off with truly elegant flying reign deer who moved their legs elegantly (apparently with with coordinated wind-shield-wiper-motors). The audience cheered loudly, but only a few stood for the ovation.

I wrote this up a long time ago, but forgot to post it on BalletAlert. I apologize for the lack of brevity. Fans of Norman Maclean will sympathize: My review of the December 17 2015 7:30pm “The Nutcracker”, a.k.a. “The New England Nut”. The costumes are based on the Federalist art period of the early United States furniture and architecture, with the odd-ball twists added by Ian Falconer. If you have visited the spare, highly edited, two dimensional character of Federalist art in the Metropolitan Museum, you should get a general sense of the sets. Setting the story in a different part of the USA than the Pacific Northwest was a smart move to help transport us to a different time and place. I went with a large group of family and friends, coordinated by my mother and we sat in Row X in the Orchestra, with excellent views of the stage. So hopefully for PNB, that meant a considerable influx of cash in ticket sales. (January note – PNB was indeed successful, earning $1 million over their target. Huzzah for PNB!) The audience was full and enthusiastic – think figure skating event enthusiasm. There was considerable laughter at times, and cooing at other times. My mother loved it. My friends and cousins politely said they liked it. My sister said “it was ok”. Her boyfriend gamely smiled, after all he didn’t have to pay for the ticket. The animation scene was beautiful and I hope it stands the test of time. The mice details were a wonderful. I enjoyed seeing the artists portrayed on the wall silhouettes or busts on pedestals. Overall the scenery is all saturated color, but 90% simpler than the Sendak sets. The opening act of course is mostly acting, and Cecilia Illesiu (most recently a soloist at Carolina Ballet) was a strong actress as Mrs. Stahlbaum. The ladies’ faux hairpieces were extremely memorable. They wear awkward center crown “tufts” that are true to the time, but slightly more extreme to match the weird quality of Falconer’s designs. The Harlequin and Columbine were played by Margaret Mullin and Nicole Rizzitano, who were effective in the “doll” style. Dylan Wald played the Toy Soldier and he made a strong impression (he’s been given many chances this season and has delivered every time, definitely someone to watch!) In this version Herr Drosselmeier is on stage for a minimal amount of time. I did enjoy the red/white stripes motif that appears in Clara’s dress, continues in Her Drosselmeier’s cape lining and the seat cushions in the house. The real action begins when the mice arrive. Truly, they are the most delightful thing about this production. I wish the marketing had featured them instead of the Sugar Plum. In this version they are benign, bumbling comic relief, without an ounce of menace. The premier year marketing for the Falconer/Balanchine production has mostly been an image of Elizabeth Murphy in a dark purple Tutu, with a lavender background. It could have been an advert for the newly discovered “Amethyst” epilogue for Jewels. It just doesn’t scream Christmas – or even whisper christmas. But the mice sure do! They should be the new “icons” of the PNB Nut marketing campaign. Hopefully for 2016 something more "mouse-friendly" will be devised for marketing. The tree growth a surprisingly quiet scene, both in the tree growth itself (it seemed unmagnificent compared to the glorious music), the lighting and choice of movement along with the music. Contrary to Mr.B’s comment “The ballet is the tree”….well, not in the Falconer set. The walls and false ceiling have been withdrawn from the stage at this point, leaving a stark stage, which interfered with my suspension of disbelief. But then the mice battle started and we were cooking with gas. I really enjoyed how Jerome Robbins blocked the mice vs soldiers (and hare drummer). (Could we have Pulcinella in Seattle, pretty please?) There was significant audience laughter when the sentry shot the mouse in the bum, and more when the cannons fired cheese at the mice. Once the bed moved into the snow scene, we finally saw some significant choreography! I give full credit to Balanchine for choreographing beautiful steps for the corps, in a very small space, considering how much of the stage is crowded by snowy birch trees. The quiet moments of the music are choreographed with adagio arm movements, so we never hear the thump-thuump of 32 toe shoes banging against the floor, or even any squeaking on the fast turns. PNB’s corps looked precise. In fact most of my family/friends group enthused that this new version really shows off the corps. But maybe it’s the snow choreography that makes the corps look so good? PNB leased a “Winter Star” from Dale Chihuly, which is a glass confection chandelier in the sky of the set above the snowy birches. While it added a northwest touch, it didn’t overwhelm the effect of the corps, and hit all the right visual “notes”. Next post.... Act II