California
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Posts posted by California
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15 hours ago, volcanohunter said:
But in Canada it's a perfectly ordinary weekend. When the NBoC last performed Onegin 7 years ago, there was a conflict on the last Sunday with the Grey Cup final, which was played in Toronto that year, and the city was a bit of a zoo, fans from Calgary and Ottawa overrunning the place. (The climate being what it is, the Canadian football season runs from June to November.) This year, though,the Grey Cup will be played the previous weekend in Hamilton, which is about an hour's drive away, but has its own airport. Conveniently, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be on the road that week, so no influx of hockey fans either, though there will be an NBA game on the 24th.
Onegin is never a monster hit in Toronto. The last time around there were also only six show, there was no Thursday matinee, and as best as I can recall, the top ring remained closed for all performances.
Toronto is easy to visit and very pleasant. I've been there a couple of times in recent years for conferences. Nice airport. Express train into the city. And a wonderful exchange rate for Americans! The problem is in the US Thanksgiving week -- ridiculously long security lines, jammed terminals, overwhelmed ground travel. Ugh. I hope ABT will announce the 2024 Met schedule in late October as they have in the past and we'll find out if Onegin is scheduled. If not, then Toronto might be worth the hassle to see it this November.
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13 hours ago, volcanohunter said:
In those days the Met was heavily subscribed. I remember my aunt's annual ritual of choosing the subscription package with the fewest operas/singers she didn't want to see. Locally, the season at the main theater complex was 100% subscribed a few decades ago. Make-your-own packages and ticket exchanges were unthinkable not that long ago. Over the past 20 years, though, the audience has been tanking.
Michael M. Kaiser, Mr. Fixit in arts administration, has discussed the evolution of subscriptions in his books. They used to provide important cash flow over the summer, but as families became more complicated (two working partners, e.g.) it became much more difficult for people to settle into old, regular routines, like alternate Wednesdays. The emergence of flexibility in designing subscriptions, with exchange privileges, became essential for maintaining that cash flow, although it's nothing like it used to be.
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20 hours ago, Josette said:
I attended about 16 performances of the San Francisco Ballet last season and the attendance was high or sold out.
I'm only able to see San Francisco Ballet one, maybe two long weekends each year. But it's always very difficult to get good seats, even with some priority friends ticketing. And I'm struck that, yes, the house always seems to sell out. It just seems to be a city that really supports ballet, for whatever reason. And they don't seem to be dependent on tourists the way NYC is, although their practice of scheduling two overlapping programs over a few days is a big advantage to visiting out-of-towners.
EDITED TO ADD: Perhaps Josette knows their strength in subscriptions. When I go to buy tickets, even with some Friends priority, I have the sense that all the best seating has gone to subscribers and mega-donors. That's not true at any other theater I can think of. They do have very flexible create-your-own subscriptions, but still...
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2 minutes ago, lmspear said:
Another proem might be that the board of directors doesn't know what it wants or needs. Septime Weber the director before Kent had great marketing skills that connected with the community. His choreography has been ditched except for the customized to DC Nutcracker.
Unfortunate that they dumped Weber. Colorado Ballet has shown his Alice (in Wonderland) and Wizard of Oz in recent years. Both are great productions with lots of wonderful choreography for serious dance lovers and special effects galore for families. Maybe instead of trying to compete with visiting companies at KenCen, they could try focusing on the DC community!
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37 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:
I'm not sure a MacMillan death fest in the bleak days of February would be a guaranteed hit.
But R&J is very popular with regional companies in February apparently because of the obvious marketing with Valentine's day.
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53 minutes ago, FauxPas said:
The last time I remember the Bolshoi coming to New York was the year they did the awful Grigorovich retrospective of his "Swan Lake" and "Spartacus" at the NY State Theater (what year was that?). Hallberg was dancing with the company partnering Zakharova in SL and Smirnova had one O-O too. (BTW: "Spartacus" for me is a delicious but deeply guilty pleasure)
In July 2014 Bolshoi did seven Swan Lakes (some with Hallberg), three Don Qs, and several performances of their hideous Spartacus. It was at the state theater and they insisted on bringing along the Bolshoi Orchestra. I loved their Don Q, which is the gold standard for that ballet, but their Freudian Swan Lake was truly bizarre. Still, I miss having these options in the summer.
Bolshoi was also at Segerstrom in February 2010 with a week's worth of Don Q (and my first sight of Osipova, subbing for an injured Zakharova). https://national.ballet.ca/Productions/Onegin
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12 minutes ago, bingham said:
I read an interview of Reid Anderson a few months ago mentioning that he staging Onegin for National Ballet of Canada and for ABT in 2024 . Unfortunately, I can’t find that interview. I’m still looking.
Canada is doing Onegin this November 22-26, 2023: https://national.ballet.ca/Productions/Onegin I would seriously consider a trip to Toronto, except that those dates are the US Thanksgiving, the worst travel week of the year.
I do hope he'll do Onegin for ABT in 2024! What a treat!
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13 minutes ago, FauxPas said:
The other thing is that Lincoln Center and the Met used to host summer tours from the Kirov-Mariinsky and Bolshoi Ballets (thanks Putin... not happening), the Royal Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet and also the Stuttgart Ballet et al. That hasn't happened for over a decade or more. The Lincoln Center Festival used to host some of these tours but now we must go to the Kennedy Center in DC to see these companies.
They're not at the Kennedy Center either! Nor Segerstrom! I can't imagine the Russians will return for many, many years. And I assume the other international companies require major subsidies. The visit in February from the Ukrainians was made possible by a million dollar gift from Warren Buffett's son. There isn't a single thing on the KC schedule for the next year that I'll bother with.
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22 minutes ago, FauxPas said:
Cathy Marston's "Summer and Smoke" seems to have gone by the wayside. At least from what we have heard. Perhaps, not an unfortunate circumstance...
Marston's "Summer and Smoke" was a co-production with Houston Ballet, which premiered it in March 2023: https://www.houstonballet.org/seasontickets/pdps/2022-2023/summer--smoke/
It's certainly possible that Jaffe travelled to see it and decided to look at alternatives.
This wouldn't be the first time that a partner in a co-production bailed. The Tempest was a co-production with ABT and Canada. https://www.abt.org/ballet/the-tempest/ Canada to this day has never performed it but instead showed Ratmansky's Trilogy. ABT premiered it in October 2013. I saw it twice that month and swore: never again! I vaguely remember that some on this site like it and I think it was shown one more time at the Met. We don't know what's in those co-production contracts, but I'm guessing there is a way to bail out, although it probably isn't cheap.
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29 minutes ago, Josette said:
So this will be replacing the Ballet Imperial program originally announced. A much better choice.
I had forgotten about that! In April they announced Ballet Imperial and commissions by Gemma Bond and Kyle Abraham for the Segerstrom engagement!
https://www.broadwayworld.com/costa-mesa/regional/American-Ballet-Theatre-3825803
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9 minutes ago, matilda said:
Interesting. Has anyone on this board seen it in London?
I haven't seen it. And I'm not finding it on the Royal Ballet stream, Medici, or Marquee.
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ABT will present the North American premiere of Wayne McGregor's Woolf Works at Segerstrom April 11-14, 2024. If past if prologue, it will be on the Met Schedule in 2024:
This is a co-production with the Royal Ballet, which premiered this in 2015: https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/woolf-works-by-wayne-mcgregor-details
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1 minute ago, Helene said:
PNB has done the pairing before, and it's a great juxtaposition.
Yes. I saw the pairing in Seattle in 2010. Overlapping motifs (especially those black dresses). Wish I could see them in person this year, but my schedule does not permit...
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I am looking forward to the stream of Six Dances paired with Petite Mort. The latter is frequently performed by several companies in North America (including ABT and Colorado Ballet), but the pairing is unusual.
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For those of you lucky enough to be in NYC September 30, NYCB just announced what promises to be a very exciting day, with several free events, to kick off the 75th anniversary season:
In honor of New York City Ballet's 75th Anniversary, we're opening our house on September 30 with a range of activities for all ages from morning through evening. Don't miss this special day showcasing NYCB's extraordinary heritage and continuing contributions to the world of dance.
BALLET ESSENTIALS WORKSHOP
10:30-11:45 AM
Led by current NYCB dancers, this workshop for teens and adults of all levels includes a ballet warm-up, choreography, and a brief Q&A session with the artists.
CHILDREN'S ACCESS WORKSHOP
11 AM - 12 PM
This workshop designed for children ages 4-12 with physical disabilities and movement disorders includes a warm-up and choreography inspired by ballets performed this season.
ONSTAGE COMPANY CLASS
12-1 PM
This special look behind the curtain presents NYCB dancers in their daily class, including warm-up exercises at the barre and center combinations moving across the stage.
IN-MOTION WORKSHOP
12:30-1:15 PM
This workshop for children ages 8-12 includes a ballet warm-up, choreography inspired by a featured ballet, and a brief interview with NYCB dancers.
ALL BALANCHINE II PERFORMANCE
2-4 PM
A revival of Balanchine’s Bourrée Fantasque opens this program featuring the apex of his collaborations with composer Igor Stravinsky, Agon, and the glitzy showbiz favorite Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.
ONSTAGE PRESENTATION
5-6 PM
This event highlights the breadth of the Balanchine repertory with dancer-selected performance excerpts accompanied by personal anecdotes from Company members across NYCB's ranks for the ballets on display.
Campaign photo by Luis Alberto Rodriguez © 2023. Ballet Essentials Workshop, Children's Access Workshop, In-Motion Workshop, and Onstage Presentation photos © Rosalie O'Connor. Onstage Company Class and All Balanchine II Performance photos © Erin Baiano.
75TH SPONSORS
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The Guggenheim's Works and Process series has some interesting ballet this fall:
- American Ballet Theatre-October 8
- San Francisco Ballet-October 15
- Lar Lubovitch-December 3
Tickets for the general public go on sale August 22.
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UPDATE: Bell and Hurlin are flying from Japan to the Hamptons Dance Project, then to Australia:
"Aran Bell and Catherine Hurlin are flying in from Japan for this, then they’ll head straight to Australia afterward."
https://pointemagazine.com/hamptons-dance-project/
In Australia, Bell has been featured in promos for the Ballet International Gala, although I haven't noticed Hurlin:
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8 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:
This video was posted on YouTube 4 years, not recently - not even re-posted recently. I'm thinking that this just showed up in California's feed. YouTube does that. So, I don't see any correlation between this snippet and what may or may not be performed next year or when Copeland may retire.
Darn. Well, we can dream. I'm really, really, really hoping for either Manon or Onegin in 2024. Enough with the R&J for awhile!
PS. Canada is doing Onegin November 22-26, 2023 - unfortunately, that's US Thanksgiving weekend, probably the worst weekend of the year for air travel! So, I won't be going to that one.
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1 minute ago, abatt said:
Aren't the ABT employees currently on vacation. This must be a clip of her from many years ago.
Oh, I don't think it's recent. Perhaps it's from the 2019 performances someone else mentioned. Just an interesting clip from ABT while we're all wondering about her retirement and she has hinted that she'll be back at the 2024 met season. I would be ecstatic if they program Manon for 2024!
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On 7/19/2023 at 7:55 PM, MoMo said:
I think Misty is moving on to her other projects ( a book, a short film etc). She will be 43 in 2024 and hasn’t danced onstage since 2019 ( Manon. I saw it).
ABT Official posted a short clip of Misty rehearsing Manon on YouTube. Perhaps a retirement performance in spring 2024?
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7 hours ago, bingham said:
Aran posted in his Instagram account pictures of them in a Tokyo ballet gala . Would this possibly mean that they will be dancing together @ ABT in the coming seasons? I hope so.
Cate just posted the same things. Looks like they did something from Leaves are Fading, as well as Don Q. This was from gala performances called Artists.
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Here's the YouTube link for Vail NOW: PREMIERES. On-line through August 14:
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On 8/5/2023 at 4:40 PM, California said:
The NOW Premieres will be streamed live on Monday, August 7 (7:30 MDT; 9:30 EDT).
The program: https://vaildance.org/event/now-premieres-2023/
The NOW live stream will be available on You Tube for one week:
WE WILL BE LIVESTREAMING NOW: PREMIERES ON AUGUST 7 AT 7:30PM MDT!
The stream will stay online for one week, so be sure to tune in before August 14 at 5pm MDT!
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46 minutes ago, FauxPas said:
Herman Cornejo, the reigning senior short virtuoso, was held back too long due to his height and perceived inappropriate look for danseur noble roles.
I just have to note the irony here. Both Cornejo and Baryshnikov -- by far the most famous and accomplished dancer ever at ABT -- are 5'6".
But in Canada it's a perfectly ordinary weekend. When the NBoC last performed Onegin 7 years ago, there was a conflict on the last Sunday with the Grey Cup final, which was played in Toronto that year, and the city was a bit of a zoo, fans from Calgary and Ottawa overrunning the place. (The climate being what it is, the Canadian football season runs from June to November.) This year, though,the Grey Cup will be played the previous weekend in Hamilton, which is about an hour's drive away, but has its own airport. Conveniently, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be on the road that week, so no influx of hockey fans either, though there will be an NBA game on the 24th.
ABT Met Season 2024
in American Ballet Theatre
Posted
I've been googling to try to figure out what Simkin is doing now that he left Berlin. All I can find is "gala of the stars" stuff in London, Hong Kong, and even Manassas, Virginia, next April.
Also watching the casting for ABT this fall. Simkin does Etudes (and would be truly spectacular). He has also done Lensky in Onegin with Berlin recently. He would sell tickets if they can afford him!
PS. With ABT tickets going on sale to Friends this Tuesday, I hope they announce some casting soon!