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California

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Everything posted by California

  1. Bell was featured in galas last year in Japan, Australia, and the Hamptons. He'll be featured at Vail in August. He danced with Boylston last weekend in Connecticut in Cinderella. He did Other Dances in August at the outdoor festival at Lincoln Center. But it was a mystery why he danced so little at the fall ABT season. He was listed for several things and then several of those disappeared. No hint ever of injury, fatigue, exhaustion. I do wish we had more opportunities to see him.
  2. I saw the eighth and final performance of Coppelia by Colorado Ballet this afternoon. It is a very nice production, with well-played comedy touches and pleasant dancing by all. It's not really fair to single out just a handful of dancers, as I didn't see the other casts, but two stand out: Liam Hogan was the lead in the Mazurka (partnering Sara Thomas). He is a new corps member from 2020 and I hadn't noticed him before. I have now! Presence up the gazoo! Very strong technique, commanding presence. I will be watching for him in the final program, a mixed bill, next month. https://coloradoballet.org/Liam-Hogan Principal Jennifer Grace was Swanhilda. She admirably knocked off several technical feats: Italian fouettes, turns a la seconde, super-fast chaines, more. She had a little trouble on those difficult turning balances at the opening of the wedding PdD, but got through them. She was partnered by principal Chris Moulton, a late sub for Mario Labrador. He has a strong presence and impressive technique, but seemed a bit tired, having danced this role just last night! https://coloradoballet.org/Jennifer-Grace
  3. I'm a four-hour plane ride away, but plan to go to La Sylphide/Etudes and maybe Swan Lake. Alas, I have an impossible schedule conflict with Corsaire, or I would go to that, too. Casting hint for Swan Lake: Yuka Iseda. I saw her debut in the role when she was a soloist. Blew me away. Can't wait to see her again. https://philadelphiaballet.org/dancers/yuka-iseda/ EDITED TO ADD: I just found what I wrote about Iseda's SL in March 2018. She was in the corps!! Johnson has now retired, of course. Saturday night was Yuka Iseda (a corps member!) with Jermel Johnson (the only African-American member of the company and a long-time principal). What a knock-out performance - truly memorable. Johnson has the stage presence and experience to exude confidence, command, and calm. His technique was a cut above the others. Iseda was a wonder and I hope to see her again some day in another lead role. Every detail was extended, pushed, held, faster, higher, you name it. The white swan PdD was breathtaking -- it was like seeing it fresh all over again. Her Odile was the same - higher, faster, longer, crisper. Oh my. Just gorgeous. And her acting was spot on throughout -- haunted, almost trance-like as Odette, with a sinister, smirking Odile. But she also let us know that Odile was also under Rothbart's spell with furtive glances ("Am I doing what you want?").
  4. Here's his bio from National Ballet of Canada, his current appointment: https://national.ballet.ca/Meet/Leadership-and-Artistic-Staff/Leadership/Barry-Hughson?
  5. This is great news! Thank you! I'll be watching and I'm sure many on this site will be, too.
  6. The Indiana Bayadere by Chan and Fullington: https://operaballet.indiana.edu/events/star-on-the-rise.html March 29-30, 2024. But note that they have a live stream! No information on whether that will be free or what they would charge. If anybody learns more, please pass it along.
  7. This new production of Sleeping Beauty sounds VERY interesting, especially the involvement of dance historian Doug Fullington. I saw the reconstruction by Ratmansky for ABT (as I'm sure many on this site did). But this one doesn't seem to claim to be "authentic," given the setting in the Pacific Northwest. Something PNB does very well is offering additional events (rehearsals, lectures, etc.) to complement the actual production. I wonder if they'll offer a digital alternative for those who can't travel easily in January.
  8. Philadelphia Ballet just announced their 2024-2025 season on Instagram and the web. https://philadelphiaballet.org/24-25-season/ 2024/2025 Season:⁠ Le Corsaire ⁠October 18-26 George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®⁠ December 6-29 Swan Lake : March 6-16 Boléro with Dance Card & World Premiere by Stanton Welch AM⁠ March 20-23 La Sylphide with Etudes ⁠May 8-11 https://www.instagram.com/p/C4arL7Gvcc_/ I saw their Corsaire a few years pre-COVID and recommend it highly. Back then, their only concession to contemporary sensibilities was renaming Aili as a servant, rather than a slave. I have no idea if they'll make additional modifications, of course. I've already marked my calendar to see what they do with Etudes in May. Another Roxander and several very athletic principals should make that very exciting!
  9. SAB just announced the program for the 2024 Workshop Performances: https://sab.org/2024-workshop-performance-program-member-preview/ 2024 WORKSHOP PERFORMANCES Serenade Music by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky Choreography by George Balanchine New Lauren Lovette Ballet (Benefit night only) Choreography by Lauren Lovette Scènes de Ballet Music by Igor Stravinsky Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 (3rd Movement only) Music by Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky Choreography by George Balanchine DATE AND TIME Workshop Performances will take place at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center: Saturday, June 8 at 2 pm & 8 pm Tuesday, June 11 at 7 pm (Benefit Performance)
  10. Houston Ballet has announced their 2024-2025 season. https://www.houstonballet.org/seasontickets/pdps/2024-2025-season/ I'm curious about whether their Raymonda, by Stanton Walsh, has been "sanitized." The Little Mermaid Sept. 6-15 Velocity Sept. 19-29 In the Night Feb. 27 - March 9, 2025 The Sleeping Beauty March 13 - 22, 2025 Raymonda May 29 - June 8, 2025 Sparrow June 12-22, 2025
  11. Miami City Ballet has announced their 2024-2025 season: https://www.miamicityballet.org/2425season Interesting that Pictures at an Exhibition is being shown in both Miami and Salt Lake City next year! A Midsummer Night’s Dream Oct 18 – Nov 3, 2024 A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Balanchine/Mendelssohn) Winter Mix Feb 14 – Mar 9, 2025 Walpurgisnacht Ballet (Balanchine/Gounod) **World Premiere (Tanowitz/Montgomery) La Valse (Balanchine/Ravel) Spring Mix Mar 28 – Apr 13, 2025 *Pictures at an Exhibition (Ratmansky/Mussorgsky) *Chaconne (Limón/Bach) Glass Pieces (Robbins/Glass) Carmen April 25 – May 4, 2025 Carmen (Lopez Ochoa/Schedrin & Acosta) George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® Dec 13 – 24, 2024 George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® (Balanchine/Tchaikovsky) *Company Premiere **World Premiere
  12. Thanks for this. Very smart of Jaffe to pair Misseldine (now 22) with Aran Bell (now 25) for her first Swan Lake. I'm thinking this could be a partnership for a generation, rather than having her learn this with someone on the verge of retirement.
  13. Ballet West has just announced an impressive 2024-2025 season: https://www.balletwest.org/events/season-subscriptions/2024-25-season/ The company has 38 dancers, plus a second company. The season opens with the Utah premiere of Jekyll & Hyde from Oct. 25 – Nov. 2, an edgy adult psychological thriller based on the 19th-century story by Robert Louis Stevenson. Following the smash success of last year’s Dracula, this horror classic arrives just in time for Halloween as Val Caniparoli’s dramatic and intense new full-length ballet explores the dark side of the human psyche. Pictures at an Exhibition is a trio of ballets featuring George Balanchine’s heart-melting Serenade, two major Utah premieres; Alexei Ratmansky’s intimate suite of dances to Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and Tony-Award winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s Vivaldi-inspired Within the Golden Hour, running Nov. 8 – 16. The Nutcracker returns Dec. 6 – 28, celebrating 80 years of America’s first Nutcracker. Ballet West’s holiday classic by founder Willam Christensen remains just a fresh and joyous as its premiere in 1944. In 2023, more than 50,000 experienced this beloved production and most performances were sold out. Prior to the traditional Salt Lake City run of performances, Ballet West will take The Nutcracker to Ogden, Utah Nov. 29 – 30. Full of comedy, romance, and magic is the return of Cinderella Feb. 7 – 15. Sir Frederick Ashton’s world-renowned production is a lavish and extravagant telling of the classic fairytale, with comedic twists and turns. This production is a treat for the entire family featuring new sets and costumes from London’s Royal Ballet, never before seen in Utah. April 4 – 12, the company presents The Rite of Spring, an evening of music by Stravinsky. From the elegant purity of Balanchine’s 1928 ballet of a young God of age in Apollo, to the Utah premiere of Jiří Kylián’s emotional Symphony of Psalms, which takes us on a spiritual journey with a full chorus of singers and orchestra, to a primal exploration of life, death, and rebirth in the popular return of Nicolo Fonte’s The Rite of Spring. Explore Stravinsky’s extraordinary range of evocative music that breathes life into captivating dance narratives.
  14. Altitude: Denver is 5430 feet. Vail is 8239. Altitude is a real thing so be cautious, although it hits people differently. Drink lots of water. Easy on the alcohol. Take it easy. They sell individually sized oxygen at the airport that is worth the money if this is new to you. They keep oxygen tanks in the wings for the dancers. You won't fully acclimate in a few days. https://www.denver.org/listing/boost-oxygen-llc/35558/ Airport: The take-offs and landings at Denver airport are usually turbulent. Something about winds off the mountains to the west, plains to the east. Trust the pilots. They're good at this. But the Vail airport is one of the most dangerous in the country and you might want to avoid it. https://wakeupwyo.com/2-of-the-scariest-airports-in-world-are-in-colorado/ Ground transportation: Take the light-rail A line from Denver airport to Union Station in downtown Denver ($10). https://www.rtd-denver.com/routes-services/rail https://www.rtd-denver.com/routes-services/airport From Union Station, take the Bustang to Vail (West line $17). They have been upgrading the buses and routes to get people out of cars on the seriously jammed I-70 into the mountains. https://ridebustang.com/bus-lines-routes-maps/ https://ridebustang.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CDOT-Bustang_StatewideRouteMap.pdf
  15. The main downside: when it was at the Met, you could buy tickets to performance-only and see the famous people in the orchestra.
  16. So distressing. It took him a year to recover from the other one and he's now 40! I've come to appreciate him as a partner in recent years.
  17. Thanks for these reports on Chloe and Aran. I opted for NYCB this week, but hope to see them at the Met this summer. I am struck by the fact that they are performing once this week and won't do this ballet again until July! Meanwhile, NYCB principals are each performing several times this week, in different ballets. I just have to wonder about how ABT principals feel about such limited opportunities on stage! It must be very frustrating.
  18. Here's the information on the performance, but nothing on performers: https://www.bns.gub.uy/es/sobre-el-bns/temporadas/270/don-quijote
  19. Apologies! Duplicate posting, for unknown reasons. Please remove, if possible. As others are noting, terrible program! If Londoners want to see Balanchine at its best, this isn't it! Hard to explain, especially after their visits to Spain and Paris. Are they thinking they want to say: "we can do more than Balanchine," much as Royal Danish seems to say, "we can do more than Bournonville." Fine. Do that at home. The world wants to see the choreography that these companies do better than anybody on the planet -- their schools, their training, their heritage.
  20. As others are noting, terrible program! If Londoners want to see Balanchine at its best, this isn't it! Hard to explain, especially after their visits to Spain and Paris. Are they thinking they want to say: "we can do more than Balanchine," much as Royal Danish seems to say, "we can do more than Bournonville." Fine. Do that at home. The world wants to see the choreography that these companies do better than anybody on the planet -- their schools, their training, their heritage.
  21. An American dancer with dual US-Russian citizenship has been arrested in Russia for donating to Ukrainian causes. I have never heard of her before. Has anyone? https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ksenia-karelina-ballerina-arrested-treason-for-funding-ukraine-amid-war/ https://nypost.com/2024/02/20/world-news/treason-accused-us-russian-ksenia-karelinas-family-ask-for-help/ https://news.yahoo.com/american-ballerina-dual-citizenship-arrested-000505855.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHSx_XlI1sIOhOZhrzTahre2-AquBbB2FaAvAj4AZdbgFrmeIfOP6O6vOyqgYvjZRordl8En7BiiJXtAC9TuB7ruSMbwl-3-HDP46_My3PR04-XqOsYXFGlB6_twmbwBBIEPE2DM8fnhd0oJePBX1Oi3a_CF2g8nVyeedsjaWnF9
  22. Joe Gordon posted his blooper in Ballo - entering too soon, leaving, then returning. Gotta love it! https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3fe0MgAIHH/
  23. Williams was in the corps for 10 years and has been a soloist for 6. At a certain point, people must come to the conclusion that they will never make principal or become a star and it's time to think about what comes next. https://www.abt.org/people/katherine-williams/?type=performer
  24. I know nothing about the Wiley book, but I have had minor roles in publishing academic books and journals in recent years. Once the publisher's lawyers take a hard look at the manuscript, it's amazing how many ways things can stall. Problems with copyright of images, song lyrics, quotations. Worries about defamation. All sorts of things can delay publication.
  25. From Facebook: American Ballet Theatre, its artists, and its administration are delighted to announce a tentative agreement with the American Guild of Musical Artists, representative of its artists, indicative of a new chapter in artist support and excellence. Susan Jaffe, Artistic Director, stated, "This agreement is a testament to our shared commitment to the art of ballet and to each other. It represents a significant investment in our artists and sets a new standard for support and recognition in our company." The agreement, arrived at after months of negotiations in a challenging economic environment, ensures improved remuneration and working conditions, in line with ABT's dedication to its artists. Jaffe added, "As we celebrate this momentous achievement, we look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of artistic expression and inspire audiences around the world." #ABT #AmericanBalletTheatre All reactions: 1212
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