Jayne

Small consolation, but it’s only a 90 minute train ride from DC to Philly to see a PAB story ballet next season.

I like a strong dancer. The extra muscle makes for higher jumps, faster dancing and quicker petite allegro steps. We don’t have access to dancers’ medical files, so we don’t know their health concerns.

I don’t think we will get the real story until more dancers retire. Reputation is so important, and if dancers sudition elsewhere to leave the toxicity, they cannot have any negative gossip ruin their prospects. Some ADs produce beautiful reps yet are terrible managers.

Ugh, I detest mixing these politics with art and sport. But I suppose they are unavoidable in Russia when so much funding is from the state.

Ballet would be so boring if audiences were homogeneous in their preferences for one particular style, technique, choreographer, etc. Viva la difference! I hope Hallberg makes a speedy recovery.

Miami?

Perhaps her prior apt was bought when prices were reasonable in the 1970’s, and when she sold it in 2003, she had enough capital gains to purchase the condo pictured in the NYPost article. Now I understand why she had so many plants!

I am neutral about Slingerland. I would much rather see other things.

No, it is still terrible. I like Red Angels, but nothing else on the program is exciting. I wish they were reviving Artifact II, NY Export: Jazz, Arms That Work, or bringing in Ivenesia. Or better yet, Symphony in Three Movements. I am debating exchanging my tickets for a second night at the subsequent rep. Why waste my money?

If you can go, you should go! Alexandrova was born to play Kitri (snd Gamzatti, and Raymonda, etc).

Lourdes Lopez as AD, Suzanne Farrell and Wendy Whelan as Assoc. ADs so they can focus extensively on staging. That’s my hiring plan, and I’m sticking to it!

Or... we will look back in 20 years and think of the accusers in the same way we think of Anita Hill today.

Go see them for Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven!!!

Septime Webre’s work is beginning to travel to smaller regional companies. OBT is performing his Alice this month. Here is his Hong Kong Ballet bio, which lists other companies that have performed his works. http://www.hkballet.com/en/About-Us/Artistic-Members-And-Dancers/Artistic-Members/Septime-Webre.html

Lots of performances! I wish them tremendous success. Definitely family-friendly, and if it shores up their financials and stabilizes dancer salaries, all the better.

I think Rojo is a product of her upbringing: namely RB and ENB before. She learned her standards of professional behavior from difficult personalities at both locations during her long career. That doesn’t make it right, nor does artistic success make it right or acceptable. Quality of work does not negate bad behavior.

Based on recent changes at other companies, these changes seem to go slow unless the prior AD pulls rights. If you are the new AD, what would you program? Both mixed rep and story works? Commissions?

Binet’s works were well received at NYCB and SFB. I fon’t think he is known south of the border as a hack.

There are people like this in normal work life too. They are just not putting videos on YouTube. I hate that she threw her coach under the bus. For all we know the director just reassigned Zhanna to work with a different dancer. Why is she still soliciting donations? She has a principal’s position at Universal Ballet.

There may be a time when marrying at 21 seems just as weird as The Little Mermaid marrying at 16 (Disney version).

PNB has retired nearly all of Kent Stowell’s work, but I hope they hang onto this one. I’d like to see his Firebird revived, rather than Carmina Burana.

Well I don't want to delve into politics but popular acceptance of the art form and professional oportunities (not dominated by Russian ex-pats) are important for the art form to succeed.

I think there is untapped potential in the Middle East for dancers with enlightened parents. But will the governments subsidize the companies and schools?

Saw the Friday night cast of Rausch / Tisserand and the Saturday night cast of Pantastico / Orza. I liked them both for different reasons. Rausch is a Balanchine-thin fragile swan-queen. You sympathize with her plight, and admire her tensile strength as an an exotic, heartless, aviary Odile. Jerome Tisserand is simply PNB’s best prince for beautiful form and acting. Everything was superbly performed, easy, and secure. Pantastico is a Romantic 1950’s womanly queen-swan, who makes us fall in love with her nocturnal humanity, and bewitches us with her more sensual, humanized, two-faced Odile. Her 4th act goodbye was very different, more human gestures of emotional farewell. Seth Orza lifted her without problems, but he looks like a man on his 31st birthday, not his 21st. Which is fine, Prince Harry will tie the knot at 33 in May. I just wish Doug Fullington would not list the prince’s birth milestone year in the program. Makes the suspension of disbelief easier to leave it vague “The Queen insists the time has come to marry a princess”. Back to the dance - I only wish Seth could avoid grimacing during his 3rd act leaps, he looked pained (maybe he was) but this is supposed to be a joyous moment, and I expect principals in story ballets to act! Fouettes went fine for both who used the same format: triple turn + 30 fouettes + double turn, ending on the beat. At least that is what I think I saw. I have no instant replay to verify. The crowd went wild both nights. I have to work tomorrow (boo!) so I will follow up later with small role reviews. I hope someone reviews the Superbowl vocal performances (and if Left Shark returns).

I am going to somewhat disagree with you. The future for students who do not have strong school-to-company feeder connections will do well in these competitions. So yes, the kids frim Asian, South American and other places with minimal local prospects of full time dance employment flock to these competitions. Maybe Africa, India and the Middlle East will be the hot beds in 10 years? Students who are already at Vaganova, School of American Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet School, etc will get noticed by ADs teaching their classes, and ADs attending their school performances.