California

I was glad to see the complete Diamonds, but I didn't like the camera work for the large ensemble sections. One of the amazing things about Balanchine (as a commentator on the show pointed out) is his genius at moving large groups of people around stage. Yet the camera often picked out a small group from the ensemble and focused on that instead. I like to see the evolving patterns of the large groups in his choreography and this was often missed. Great principals, as others have noted.

The performance schedule hasn't been updated yet, but he's listed in the news release that Dale just posted under ABT-Met season. Gillian should be a great partner for him. I wish I could see this.

PBS schedules vary widely, of course, but "Pennsylvania Ballet at 50" is being shown on Denver PBS (Ch. 6) on Friday, May 2, from 9-10 pm. The DVD will be released on May 13, 2014, on Amazon. The program includes Part I of "After the Rain" and "Diamonds." http://www.pbs.org/program/pennsylvania-ballet/ If you order it from Amazon, be sure to go through the Amazon box on this site: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IVLRA76/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you so much, sasark, for this detailed report. I hope it encourages more American/European tourists to central/eastern Europe to visit these lesser-known ballet companies. I just checked the English-language web site for this company. It seems the most expensive seat in the house is 780 Czech Koruna - about $40! I understand they receive massive government subsidies (at least, comparatively) which helps account for these cheap prices. http://www.narodni-divadlo.cz/en/ballet

Royal Ballet just posted a YouTube of rehearsals for Sleeping Beauty, with Yuhui Choi, coached by Anthony Dowell. I did enjoy her performances with Matthew Golding:

Although Russian, it looks like she's been performing in Germany, Hungary, and Monte Carlo for many years: http://www.operaballet.nl/en/node/2244 English is the new lingua franca for Europe - the one language most people are likely to understand. Younger people especially are eager to learn to improve their employability in the EU. I don't know the situation in Russia (it appears that Osipova never learned English), but in many eastern European nations, it's been required for K-12 since the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the Netherlands, English language instruction in the schools has been mandatory since WWII. They realized that in order to regain their trading status in the post-war world, they needed citizens fluent in English. I might add that Rick Steeves, in his PBS travel show on Europe, often says American's don't need to bother learning a language to travel. Seek out younger people, and you'll be amazed at how fluent they are in English, no matter the country. It's nice to learn a few greetings, but not essential, he says, and that's certainly been my experience. So she's had plenty of opportunities to learn English, if she wanted to.

It looks like Golding (and just about everybody else at RB) will be very busy that week with a mixed bill: http://www.roh.org.uk/mixed-programmes/serenade-sweet-violets-dgv (Note, BTW, that Osipova will be doing Serenade -- her debut?) And a week later, Golding is partnering Osipova in The Dream (also debuts?): http://www.roh.org.uk/events/kqw8x

I wonder if others have a better memory on this than me: When ABT premiered Cunningham's Duets in 1980, I remember reading that those dancers were not required to perform in any other works on the program that evening, as the styles were so different. I don't know if that's still the case in recent revivals of Duets.

I have this on DVD, with a credit to WNET 2013. I'm wondering if you saw a rebroadcast of that or if this was a new presentation. (I'm guessing the former, given PBS' endless money problems.) I also saw it at City Center in October 2013. I loved it, but critical responses were very mixed, as I remember. He has brought some coherence to the plot and updated it with clever contemporary elements. It also has some very funny moments. It's much more effective in the theater (as is so often the case.)

Mussel: could I ask why you're asking? I don't see him on the ABT guest list for the met. Is he guesting somewhere else in the U.S.?

I tried googling him (as I'm sure others have, too). He has been a guest in recent years as the prince in Swan Lake at the Slovak National Ballet (a company I saw many times in Bratislava and have recommended on this site), which is a plus for me. (Slovakia borders Ukraine in the east.) I found an interesting YouTube clip of the Wedding PdD from Sleeping Beauty. I'm guessing that was a performance with the Ukraine Ballet, as his partner is one of their principals and the cyrillic alphabet in the title is used in Ukraine. (Slovakia uses the Roman alphabet.) I've often noted that these eastern European countries seem to have the classical arts in their bloodstream and should not be overlooked. (And while under the thumb of the Soviet Union, many of their teachers had opportunities to study there, as well.) The one thing I find odd in this clip: when he stands behind her to support pirouettes, he seems to plie very deeply and awkwardly, as if he's just too tall for her.

Unfortunately, Adam suffered a knee injury last winter that kept him out of Cinderella (as the jester) in February and the mixed bill at the University of Denver in March. I thought he was best as the Chosen One (the Baryshnikov role) in Tetley's Rite of Spring in February 2013. Here's some rehearsal footage: He did peasant PdD with Dana Benton in Giselle in October 2013. Here are some rehearsal clips:

In comparing the most recent print program with the current web site, there have been several changes: http://www.coloradoballet.org/company/dancers Dana Benton and Domenico Luciano have been promoted from soloist to principal. Two soloists are missing from the roster entirely: Adam Still and Caitlin Valentine-Elllis Corps members missing from the roster: Lesley Allred, Christopher Ellis, Charlotte Lanning, Kelsie Nobriga That's only 24 listed at this point, but I suppose there could still be additions before the company returns in August.

They're also going to be guest teachers at the Summer Intensive of the Colorado Ballet Academy (presumably in July after the ABT season): http://www.coloradoballet.org/academy/summer Tudor's Pillar of Fire has been announced for the March 2015 ABT visit to the Kennedy Center. With luck, they'll also include that in the fall 2014 season in NYC. Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner have been staging Tudor works in the past, so perhaps there is some connection there.

Ironically, the Royal Ballet is performing in Moscow in July 2014, although I haven't seen exact dates. If she cancels Segerstrom due to injury, it will be interesting to see where she turns up next. You have to think she'd love to return triumphantly to the home of the Bolshoi Ballet. And it would be fun if Vasiliev turned up in New York in July to perform with the Bolshoi.

A press release with the casting for the first two weeks has been posted on the ABT site: http://www.abt.org/insideabt/news_display.asp?News_ID=476

Baryshnikov has said this was the most difficult choreography he ever performed. When it was over, he felt like his "legs would fall off."

Gomes partnered Semionova in the Ratmansky Symphony No. 9, which included a spectacular one-armed lift, although she was in a deep backbend over his head. Bolle needed both hands for that one. Still, that's a heavy-duty schedule for him in the first week of the season and I, too, hope he isn't injured.

I found a source (there might be others, too): Arlene Croce's "Balanchine's Girls: The Making of a Style" (April 1971). It's reprinted in AfterImages, pp. 416-427. Here's the quote:

I can't remember the source off-hand, but I read that he was influenced by the physical therapy exercises she was getting for the polio and used some of that in Agon. Have others heard that? I assume everybody knows that the DVD is available for pre-order on Amazon, with release on June 24: http://www.amazon.com/Afternoon-Faun-Nancy-Buirski/dp/B00JAGF9Y2/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1398087525&sr=1-1&keywords=afternoon+of+a+faun+tanaquil+leclercq

Indeed! You can get a brief glimpse of them in Don Q in this clip about their guest appearance a few years ago with Festival Ballet in southern California. He mentions in an interview that he doesn't do this role very much at ABT: At the Alonso birthday celebration in 2010, he did the first act, but I can't remember who his partner was for that. (They had different principals for each act.)

Vol. I and II are available for pre-order on Amazon at $31.46. If you pre-order both, then you get free shipping (all orders over $35). Be sure to use the Amazon order box on this site so a sliver goes to support Ballet Alert.

In the latest round of grant awards, the National Endowment for the Arts has made 66 grants, totaling $1,375,000, to dance organizations. Ballet awardees include Ballet Arizona, Ballet Tech, George Balanchine Foundation, Sarasota Ballet, School of American Ballet, and several others. For the complete list for dance, see pp. 23-35 in this announcement: http://arts.gov/sites/default/files/spring-2014-grants-discipline-listings.pdf

The program has been announced for the 2014 SAB Workshop performances: http://www.sab.org/news_events/workshop_performances/program_information.php Serenade, Swan Lake (excerpts), Coppelia (excerpts), Western Symphony (4th movement) Interesting that it's an all-Balanchine program, which hasn't been the norm in recent years. Dates: Saturday, May 31 (2 & 8 pm), Tuesday, June 3 (7 pm)

As I remember, NYCB last year announced the entire next season about May 1 and subscription renewals started right away, for a season that opens in September. Colorado Ballet announced the new season in February at their last big program at the Opera House (the final program is at the University of Denver in late March) and subscriptions were available for renewal at that point, with a deadline of July 1 to keep your seats. Singles will go on sale in mid-July for a season that starts in late September. RE: another issue on this thread: I read that telemarketers in the US do the solicitations for donations and also subscriptions and keep a big % of the revenue. I always deal directly with companies (via their web sites), so all the money goes to the company. I don't know if that's true in Canada.