California

I can't even get the single-ticket option to work on-line. I'm logged into my account and have tried accessing "purchase tickets" several ways. Has anybody else had any luck with that? Also, do you know if they are starting the orchestra with row A (as NYCB does) or row B (as the Bolshoi is doing this summer)? EDITED TO ADD: You can now purchase single tickets. You can select your own seat from the charts, which is great, of course. But when you click on a seat, a little balloon pops up that says it has been added to your cart. In fact, it has not been added. You have to go to the red button in the lower right "add to cart" and click that before it's really added. No sign of multiple ticket discounts yet. You can pick out your entire purchase and at check-out do your log-in. A little confusing, but so glad you can pick out your own seat (unlike Bolshoi). And they are starting with Row A in the orchestra, as NYCB does. ANOTHER EDIT: As of 1:25 EDT, you can purchase the packages of 2 or 3 ballets, but it doesn't appear there is anyway to pick out your seats from the charts used for singles. You just select a section.

He also had a very brief stint at Ballet Pacifica in Irvine in 2006, but that unravelled when funds expected for the season did not materialize. I don't think anyone would hold his resignation against him, given the situation there. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/15/arts/dance/15etha.html?_r=0

I'm curious if anyone else watched this streaming video. Most importantly, I'm so impressed at the frequent live-streamed performances we are able to access in the US from European and Russian companies. Other than the Guggenheim Works & Process stream, I can't think of anything comparable from US or Canadian companies. I didn't recognize a single name on the cast list, but thought the performances (especially Nikyia and Gamzatti) very impressive. Solor was acceptable. The corps had a few rough edges (mainly lines and positions that did not perfectly align in the Kingdom of the Shades), but otherwise was just fine. Nikyia slipped and fell at one point in the first act, but we see that at NYCB and ABT as well. The production seemed lavish and the interior of the Opera House just gorgeous. A man in a business suit came out after the intermission to (apparently) announce some kind of delay, but it was in German without captioning, so I don't know what the explanation was. The camera work was mostly okay, but had some odd moments. In a couple of places, it looked like several camera angles were being superimposed to create a blurry ethereal/other-worldly sense. As the theater audience didn't see it that way, I wish they would skip these "special effects." I was annoyed in several places where I was only seeing principals from the waist up, when I knew interesting things would be happening in the footwork. But for the most part, I was shown what I wanted to see. One interesting touch in the transmission: they had a live camera on backstage at the intermission for a time and we could see dancers warming up and speaking -- often in English, which seems to be the current lingua franca of the EU. We also got a good look at the steep stairs the corps climbs up to the ramps for the Kingdom of the Shades.

I've had the sense from his Twitter account and YouTube channel (which are very active) that he's trying to show he's a star in his own right, dancing alone and with other partners (even Don Q). His partners in DC and NY (Herrera and Reyes) look like good choices for him -- not just size-wise; they're unlikely to come close to his pyrotechnics, making him look even better (or so he might think).

It says they will both appear November 18 & 19, the evenings with three short ballets. But it's not clear they will be appearing in the same ballet(s)! When the box office opens, I hope somebody posts here quickly. After the rave reviews of Osipova's Giselle with Royal, I would guess those will sell fast.

Casting has been announced already! http://davidhkochtheater.com/moreinfoMB.html I'm not sure I would bet the farm on those Don Qs with Osipova and Vasiliev!

A few hours ago, Vasiliev tweeted a link to clips from his gala at the Mikhailovsky, which was just a few days before the ABT Japan engagement. I don't have a link to it, but vaguely remember that he was said to be too ill/exhausted to make the trip to Japan: http://www.mikhailovsky.ru/en/media/video/ivan_vasiliev_gala/ Buying tickets for his future engagements with Osipova looks to be a very risky venture!

The news release about the guest artists (and the March 30 box office opening) was just posted: http://www.abt.org/insideabt/news_display.asp?News_ID=471

ABT acquired the Tetley version in 1976 as a vehicle for Baryshnikov; a few old-timers might remember those performances. Colorado Ballet staged it in spring 2013 and I really enjoyed it. They have a few rehearsal clips on-line which give you an idea of the movement quality:

Royal Ballet just tweeted that the DVD of Acosta's Don Quixote will be released on 3/31/14. I don't see it listed yet for pre-order on Amazon, but it says it's an international format, so let's hope they carry it. http://www.roh.org.uk/products/don-quixote-dvd-the-royal-ballet-2013

I tried Google translator, too, and got "Mary" something. Does that ring any bells for anybody?

I'm sorry to hear about the streaming problems. There were just a few times when the screen went black, but never for more than a few seconds and I never got the trailer. My cable network connection is pretty good, but not technologically the best, so this is a puzzle. Osipova and Sarafanov certainly deserve accolades for their performances.

I'm curious if anyone else watched this live stream. (And, yes, it will be on-line for another 24 hours.) I don't recall seeing Duato's choreography before and have mixed feelings. Some of the lifts and partnering were amazingly intricate and interesting. But much of the movement vocabulary seemed stilted and gimmicky to me -- e.g., the "Egyptian" arms (I don't know what else to call it - they reminded me of the old Steve Martin "King Tut" routine) -- repeatedly bent up and down at the elbow; the extremely deep plies again and again. At first, I was disappointed that Osipova was in soft shoes, as that excises much of her potential, but it did force me to focus on her other gifts (flexibility, extension, etc.). The minimalist set was okay. The bows seemed odd. For the first few minutes, Sarafanov seemed very glum, scowling, but he did start to smile later on. She didn't offer him a flower (do the Russians follow that tradition?). Duato came out for bows (was this the premiere?). It just seemed odd.

The 2014-15 ballet season at the Kennedy Center has just been announced: http://web.kennedy-center.org/~/media/Files/KC/Press%20Releases/Season%20Announcement%202014-2015/press%20release%20FOR%20PRINT%20-%20Ballet%20Season%2014-15.pdf November 28-30, 2014 The Suzanne Farrell Ballet December 10-14, 2014 Ballet West’s The Nutcracker January 27 – February 1, 2015 Mariinsky Ballet March 24-29, 2015 American Ballet Theatre April 7-12, 2015 New York City Ballet May 28-30, 2015 Scottish Ballet June 9-14, 2015 The Royal Ballet

Indeed! As I was reading about possible sanctions that western nations might take against Russia, cancellation of visas for Russians visiting the U.S. was on the list and my heart sank. Lincoln Center would refund my tickets, but I doubt the airline would refund the ticket to get to NYC. More importantly, though, I can think of several dancers trained in Kiev now working in the U.S. It must be horribly difficult for them to watch the news about Ukraine. I also just got e-mail from a friend in one of the former Warsaw Pact nations and they are very, very worried about this, too. They remember the last time Russians invaded their country.

Some time ago, somebody asked when single tickets go on sale. I couldn't find an answer anywhere on the ABT or Met sites -- but I just got an e-mail from ABT with a last-minute plea to order a subscription: ". . . for best available seats before individual tickets go on sale to the general public on March 30. " So, I guess that's it!

That's odd -- I'm not a subscriber. You might try again. Eifman: West Coast premiere of an American story, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Tender Is the Night,” choreographed by artistic director Boris Eifman Mikhailovsky: Flames of Paris (but the original, not the Ratmansky version) Spain: no information

Here's the LA Times story, with the rest of the season at Segerstrom: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-segerstrom-center-season-ballet-broadway-abt-eifman-20140220,0,7054190.story#axzz2uTG3pWiz Nov. 28-30 is Thanksgiving weekend, an odd time for a major show like Mikhailovsky. Given the airport chaos that weekend, it won't be encouraging for out-of-towners. The rest of the season: *ABT: March 3-8, 2015 - The Sleeping Beauty (Ratmansky) *National Ballet of Spain: April 24-26, 2015 *Eifman Ballet: June 5-7, 2015 The Times story notes that the Koch gift of $2.5 million for SB is a matching grant. I don't recall that his previous gifts were matching gifts that would require a huge fund-raising effort by ABT in addition to their regular fund-raising.

Yes. Both are members of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities: http://www.pcah.gov/members

The news release about the upcoming season was just posted: http://coloradoballet.org/about-news/colorado-ballet-announces-2014-2015-season-adds-special-halloween-production I believe Dracula was last performed in fall 2010 and was a huge hit. (I've never seen it.) It looks like a good idea to do this again on Halloween weekend and edge back to five programs a year after having to cut back to four.

The Colorado Ballet has announced the 2014-15 season: http://tickets.coloradoballet.org/subscription/packages.aspx A Midsummer Night's Dream (Wheeldon): September 26-October 5, 2014 Dracula (Pink): October 31-November 2, 2014 The Nutcracker: November 29-December 27, 2014 Ballet Masterworks (Concerto Barocco, Fancy Free, New-TBA): February 20-March 1, 2015 Peter & the Wolf (Smuin) and Bruch Violin Concerto (Tippet): March 27-29, 2015 (at University of Denver)

And a very busy fall season too. Parade of ballet companies in chronological order: NYCB ABT Boston Bolshoi National Ballet of Canada NYCB ABT Mikhailovsky NYCB Do we have any dates for these, especially Canada and those following?

The schedule has been posted for the 2014 Vail Dance Festival: http://www.vvf.org/content/events/vail-international-dance-festival.aspx Tickets go on sale to the general public March 25, 2014

The schedule for the NY visit has been posted on the Koch Theater site: http://www.davidhkochtheater.com/moreinfoBB.html Wednesday, JUNE 25, 2014 7:30 PM The Second Detail, Martinez World Premiere, Cacti Thursday, JUNE 26, 2014 7:30 PM The Second Detail, Martinez World Premiere, Cacti Friday, JUNE 27, 2014 8:00 PM Symphony in Three Movements, Afternoon of a Faun, Plan to B, Bella Figura Saturday, JUNE 28, 2014 2:00 PM Symphony in Three Movements, Afternoon of a Faun, Plan to B, Bella Figura Saturday, JUNE 28, 2014 8:00 PM Symphony in Three Movements, Afternoon of a Faun, Plan to B, Bella Figura Sunday, JUNE 29, 2014 2:00 PM The Second Detail, Martinez World Premiere, Cacti

Along with her many talents, I've always admired her courage in the 1930s for her insistence on dancing with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in a couple of her films and holding his hand! Think of it -- in the worst of Jim Crow America, a little white girl holding hands with a big tall black man. I understand from various biographies that she insisted on it and that many theaters in the old south refused to show the films. Thank you, Shirley, for helping nudge the long struggle for civil rights forward in your own way. The NY Times Obituary reports that she danced with Bojangles in four films: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/arts/shirley-temple-black-screen-star-dies-at-85.html?hp&_r=0