California

Facebook memories just pulled up photos from my visit to NYCB's Balanchine Birthday celebration eight years ago. I had included a photo of the orchestra pit showing those Lucite panels they use for noise protection from each other (an OSHA regulation, also written into the musicians' contract). Now I am thinking those same panels will be useful for COVID protection when they finally return. (Good time to buy stock in Lucite?)

Watched it this morning and plan to watch it many more times while it's available! Nice review. This is so sad and eerie -- their last performance before the lock-down 10 months ago. It's like looking back at newspapers from September 10, 2001. Of course, this is a familiar ballet to many -- from PNB's recordings, NYCB's frequent season end. But it's lovely to see and, yes, sparkling throughout. The chance to see Ratmansky's Symphony #9 again later in the season sold me on taking the plunge for a digital subscription, but so many other nice things are included. And, if I understand correctly,

Most famously, of course, Vestris (choreographed for Baryshnikov) is on the Baryshnikov Live at Wolf Trap DVD. I thought the coaching of the BB dancer was quite good -- very reminiscent of the performance immortalized on that DVD by Baryshnikov. The other two pieces were so different -- very interesting.

The third program opens tomorrow on Boston Ballet's digital subscription and it's impressive: 3 by Yacobson, Bella Figura by Kylian, and Symphony in 3 Movements! I hadn't seen the complete listing until now. The four remaining programs are $120. https://bostonballet.widen.net/s/dk6w2p7h7s/bb_lookbackfocusforward_playbill?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FY21_SUB_EM_RTN_PreShow3&utm_content=version_A EDITED TO ADD: I just watched the program. The three by Yacobson are fascinating and they have a brief commentary by Janice Ross, who published an impor

As a former employee at NEH (LONG ago), I am not crazy about this idea. The two Endowments managed to stay off the radar screen for the last four years and did pretty well with Congress in funding. Elevating them to cabinet status makes them an easy target in future administrations, if not for abolition then massive cuts. I'm also not happy that "Humanities" are not named in the proposed cabinet position. If you study the interesting history of NEA and NEH since their founding in 1965, there have been fascinating shifts in focus. At the beginning, the credibility of the humanities was a

According to the Instagram "stories" this morning, SFB actually had a fleet of delivery trucks taking actual dinner, wine, and flowers to each donor before the streamed gala started! So that would explain the limitation on number. They are raising the bar on streamed events, for sure. (Sorry - no way to give you a link to Stories.)

The Oakland Ballet restaged some of her ballets: https://oaklandballet.org/about/obc-history/ They performed Les Noces at the U of Maryland in 1982, which I was able to see. Very interesting report by Alan Kriegsman: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1982/05/23/the-wonder-of-nijinskas-noces/e299ba5f-32ae-4054-ba65-45e315854cf8/ My suggestion: Classical companies all seem to be in a race to find female choreographers to offset the historic imbalance. Wouldn't it be nice if one of them set about reconstructing her ballets? At least two seem plausible: Les Noce

A little tidbit that might be of interest: newly-elected Rep Lauren Boebert (yes, THAT one) defeated in the Republic primary a moderate Republican, Scott Tipton, who had been a very loyal NEA/NEH supporter. I was part of a lobbying group a few years ago that visited his offices to thank him. https://www.cpr.org/2020/12/15/rep-scott-tipton-says-hell-miss-the-clowns-but-not-the-congressional-circus-after-10-years-in-office/

And here's the 1964 version. My understanding was that Balanchine was concerned about the "flattening" effect of the TV screen for the 1977 Dance in America taping and made changes. Back in the theater, he liked the revisions so much he kept them. But PNB was allowed to do the earlier version, as that was the version Francia Russell knew: https://www.pnb.org/repertory/the-four-temperaments/

Quite a surprise! I think most readers of this site know about the other two versions -- pre-Dance in America filming and after. PNB does the pre version, reportedly with Balanchine's permission. But the tape shows a very different concept. Not sure it works, but it's nice to see yet another example of how Balanchine revised his own work over the years.

I especially enjoyed program one with excerpts from Ashton -- especially since we don't often see his work anymore. But they have all been very enjoyable.

Thanks for your thoughts on this program. I've subscribed for their entire year of digital performances and I am enjoying them. I had planned to see this company last August at the Joyce and hope they're able to return in the future so we can see them in the theater.

If people wonder about the source, Tiler described the symptoms as "covid-like" on Instagram yesterday. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJX148AFZdx/

Here is their exit: https://www.balletchicago.org/serenade?pgid=jpvq0knw-10873e28-bf96-4891-a4f6-eeceaeddab9d Agree with you on the power of Serenade -- it's one of several Balanchine ballets that can make me tear up at the sheer genius of it all. Never gets old!

Definitely worth watching! More innovation from the dance community. I would love to visit that estate in the daytime in good weather. I was intrigued with the see-through masks in the living room and wonder how effective they are -- nice to actually see faces! I didn't like the inclusion of an old-fashioned handshake -- as Dr. Fauci said recently, those should be banished to the dustbin of history even after the pandemic subsides. Wonderful to see Sara Mearns as SPF. Very nice production. Hope they made a little money!