California

There are several full-length Giselles on YouTube: LaScala with Zakharova and Bolle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcmvncebpZM Nureyev & Seymour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ui2KPFm3t8 ABT (1969) with Fracci and Bruhn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbYlMnFgp3c Others (ABT-1977 & Bolshoi, e.g.) are posted in short Parts that add up to the entire thing. Of course, the visual quality on YouTube leaves a lot to be desired, but it's free...

If you have never seen Giselle before, YouTube is chock full of clips, some of the complete ballet. I don't know anybody who doesn't love Giselle.

I'm glad to see the reports others have posted about long-standing programs in Seattle and Boston. I should note that the Colorado Ballet has had something comparable in place for over 12 years: http://www.coloradoballet.org/education/vision The existence of these well-established programs (and I assume there are others that haven't been mentioned) might help explain the selection of cities for the ABT program: http://www.abt.org/education/projectplie/partnercompanies/ But ABT's choice of language was perhaps not as diplomatic as might have been hoped: By implication, other companies don't "embrace the goal of diversity"? No, others have already been quite active in embracing that goal. Still, as Sandik notes, anything that promotes ballet to diverse communities is a good thing and I'm glad to see the ABT program, especially the corporate sponsorship and the partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs.

I'm not sure a petition from a public discussion board is the most effective way to proceed. It might be helpful to simply post the full name and mailing address + e-mail of Mariinsky management so individuals reading this can make contact individually, as they wish. (Public addresses and e-mails only, of course.) I also wonder how much say the Kennedy Center management has on casting, although they probably assume it will sell out no matter what. Is it worth contacting Michael Kaiser? If so, individuals might send letters or e-mail, using the address on the Kennedy Center site.

Yes, but all we're seeing (at least on the ABT site) are principal roles. Has she ever done the lead in, say, T&V? She's one of several soloists just aching to get promoted.

Many of us commented on what a great job Calvin Royal did in the second cast of the new Ratmansky ballet Piano Concerto #1, partnering Christine Shevchenko (who also did a fabulous job, filling in for an injured Gilliam Murphy) in the 2013 Met season. Presumably, Ratmansky decides the casting for his new ballets. It would be such a sad and unfortunate result of this initiative if audience members start to think that the only (or primary) reason why somebody is being cast in an important role is to improve diversity for the new initiative.

ABT just sent out a Tweet about this. I see Dale has started a new thread, so people might want to discuss it there. AmericanBalletTheatr ‏@ABTBallet 4m ABT announces Project Plié, a nationwide initiative to increase racial & ethnic representation in ballet http://www.abt.org/projectplie #ProjectPlie

WSJ just sent out a story about the new initiative: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10014241278873392204579071071121764480.html Project Plie will promote diversity in ballet, featuring Misty Copeland. I'm really pleased to see them partnering with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. My brother-in-law worked in related non-profit sectors much of his life and B&GC has a stellar reputation among the many groups working with underprivileged youth. Denzel Washington is one of their many "alumni."

Kickstarter just sent out the NYCO site by e-mail. Looks like they have a long way to go: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1551842735/the-peoples-opera-new-york-city-operas-2013-2014-s?ref=NewsSep1213&utm_campaign=Sep12&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter (This reminds me of an old bumper sticker: "Wouldn't it be great if the schools had all the money they needed and the Defense Department had to hold bake sales?")

I can't find casting information on the Kennedy Center site. Where did you see this? http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSG

ABT sent out the same Tweet yesterday, but I ignored it. I'm hoping for several promotions in the ranks: @ABTBallet 21h Stay tuned for an exciting announcement from ABT later this week!

Thanks for the heads-up. It's open seating, but as of a few minutes ago, it says they only have 13% availability, so they must be getting close to their quota of seats. Here's the site - scroll down near the bottom: http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSG Note that Alexandra Tomalonis also has an event, on January 25 before the opening. The link is on the same page.

This does not bode well for the Kennedy Center season in late January. Let's hope the KC management has some say about casting.

Darn! I wonder if there are copyright issues with the other content on that site. I found out about it from an NYCB Twitter:

You can sign up for notification when this new video series goes "live" on the AOL On site: http://on.aol.com/cityballet It seems to be free, sponsored by Citibank. Parker was at the NYCB Friends Luncheon last February and showed some clips of this very interesting series about the lives of NYCB dancers. (As readers of this site know, of course, she is a member of the NYCB Board.)

He has been Tweeting for days about leaving New York for an extended time. We already knew he was not on the casting lists for the ABT fall, Nutcracker, and Japan seasons. This morning he tweeted that he will be gone for 8 months. So I guess he'll rejoin ABT's roster for the Met season in 2014. Let's hope! Perhaps we can also hope for some Bolshoi live cinema/DVDs while he's away. https://twitter.com/DavidHallberg/status/377049325328932864/photo/1

It seems to me Bolshoi press release is not enough for NYT and it's waiting for announcement from LC to make it official. To read between the lines, I think NYT is trying to say "We can't really trust whatever Bolshoi has to say." This makes a lot of sense. For what it's worth (which might not be much!), the NY visit is still listed on the Bolshoi English-language site: http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/#tour1

I wonder if the non-compete clauses we have discussed elsewhere are an issue here -- not just for Hallberg, but also for Vasiliev and Osipova, who were guests with Bolshoi in their London season last month. As people no doubt remember, that was fatal in the planned Mikhailovsky season last year. The Bolshoi can sell tickets without any of those artists, though I'm sure the tour presenters would be happy to have them. I rather suspect, too, that Osipova's contract with ABT may have changed since she is no longer a principal with the company (and in any renegotiation Ardani would presumably have been ultra conscious of the issue). Which leaves Hallberg...In his most recent article, Macauley at least entertains the possibility that he'll dance with both companies. As abatt noted: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/arts/dance/british-ingenuity-delivered-by-americans.html?pagewanted=all In his interview at the Kennedy Center yesterday, Hallberg said Osipova was his favorite partner. Both ABT and Bolshoi would no doubt love to feature that partnership next summer. As she is no longer a principal with either company and he is a principal with both, this could get very interesting!! Perhaps they could do R&J with ABT and Don Q with Bolshoi...but then what about Vasiliev?? (Earlier reports said the Bolshoi was planning to bring Don Q, Spartacus, and Swan Lake.)

I wonder if the non-compete clauses we have discussed elsewhere are an issue here -- not just for Hallberg, but also for Vasiliev and Osipova, who were guests with Bolshoi in their London season last month. As people no doubt remember, that was fatal in the planned Mikhailovsky season last year.

Here's a 28-minute excerpt from the film: http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/audio-video/video/diaghilev.html It's worth getting the entire 55-minute DVD -- only $14.99 on Amazon (and remember to use the Amazon box on this site): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CLUME24/ref=oh_details_o03_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

While we are reminiscing about the "good old days" on PBS, WNET is showing a 90-minute documentary about some of its historic performances, including Baryshnikov. If you scroll down, they have a 3 minute clip about him (and also Gregory Hines). Notably, they seem to focus mainly on the 1980s, not the even more elusive 70s we have been discussing. http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/THIRTEENs-THE-80s-TRUSTED-VOICE-To-Air-910-20130906 It will be shown in New York Tuesday, 9/10. I suppose the rest of us have to hope it will be picked up by our local PBS channels.

I'm sure Yo-Yo Ma and the estate of Isaac Stern would disagree There's far more to the PBS archives than dance. Oh, for sure. I was only thinking about dance.

Meanwhile, the Cunningham people have found it feasible and worthwhile to put out three separate - and in the first two cases multi-disc - releases since Merce's death. Yes, but he lived long enough to make sure they would have the rights to do all of that. People forget that in the 1970s, the movie studios were trying to block or heavily tax the sale of blank videotapes as they thought VCRs would destroy their business - until they realized they could make serious money by selling tapes of the films in their libraries. It was a very different era and even the industry professionals did not anticipate the digital revolution post-1980.

My memory regarding the 11-year delay in releasing the "Live from Lincoln Center" Giselle with Makarova and Baryshnikov was precisely because the contracts in 1977, when it was broadcast, did not anticipate release in VHS/Beta. Home videorecording machines in 1977 were prohibitively expensive. I remember setting a goal that when prices came DOWN to $1000, I would buy one and that turned out to be 1980. Renegotiating contracts for anything prior to about 1980 is expensive and is only done when they at least think they'll get a return on the investment. The release of "Baryshnikov at Wolf Trap" was even more complicated. The performances were in July 1976 (they did two consecutive nights) and the entire show was broadcast on PBS in fall of 1976. We had to wait many years to get a VHS (and now a DVD), not only because the contracts did not anticipate VHS/DVD release but also because Gelsey Kirkland balked. (She finally relented when they included that statement at the end of the tape.) People who remember the originals from 1976 know that the first movement of Push Comes to Shove (with Tcherkassky and van Hamel, the original cast) disappeared from the VHS. Presumably Tharp objected, as she had a studio version of the complete work (with Kudo and Jaffe) in the works. Anything with Baryshnikov is a money-maker, but other "Live" broadcasts from the 1970s are risky. There are a few, but not many. If they could get past the contract renegotiations, they could explore download and streaming sales to avoid having to make physical media, but the contracts seem to be the bigger problem.

In this lengthy article about opera and ballet companies using live cinema, I was stunned to read this excuse from NYCB as to why they don't do this: I see two excuses: (1) the unions: but, obviously, the other organizations have figured out how to negotiate this. The Met says they share net revenues with the artists and organizations, so presumably that could be done at NYCB, too. (2) The expense: I'm sure there are start-up expenses, but the article also says that the Metropolitan Opera is making $20 million a year in net profits. I suppose the ballet might earn less, but the Met shows it can be done. It's also interesting that ABT is not even mentioned. I wonder if someone there was interviewed? http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/arts/music/stars-of-stage-and-now-screen.html?pagewanted=all The paucity of broadcasts and DVDs from the current iterations of NYCB and ABT is a continuing complaint on this board. I wonder what others think of the NYCB excuses?