California

What happened? This Dance in America program is in all the TV listings for KCET/LA for 8 pm March 24, including KCET's own web site. Instead they are showing a Pavarotti special. Was it bumped in other cities, too? Has anybody heard if/when it will be rebroadcast?

The Denver Post review: http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_14734416 "If you want to see what our biggest ballet company is capable of, this is the program to watch. This year's installment, which continues through Sunday, is titled "3motions" and brings together a well-balanced, stylistically mixed trio of works from the past 50 years featuring light romance, human tragedy and frothy exuberance."

If you saw Ryzhkina and Lobukhin, I can see why you prefer Murphy and Gomes -- so would I. I saw R&L at the Saturday evening Bolshoi after the Osipova/Vasiliev matinee. Very disappointing. They seemed miscast and uncomfortable in the challenging technique. Something special about Murphy is the incredibly long length of her poses in various positions -- quite amazing. The one-arm lifts in the first scene were also exceptional - they just went on and on and on. And she really threw herself across the stage on the flying fishdives. She seemed to trust him as a partner. I agree that the character dances were wonderful -- nothing at all amateurish. Indeed, Gamache added more flare and technique to his bits than I can remember seeing elsewhere. And the use of children (young teens?) in the village scene and the dream sequence was well-done. They filled out the stage nicely and weren't asked to do anything beyond their abilities.

The Denver Daily News posts this review: http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=7748

I saw the Sunday matinee. The overall production was very impressive, with many strong soloists. Murphy and Gomes were quite wonderful, but I wouldn't put them in a league with Osipova and Vasiliev with the Bolshoi last month. (Sorry!) Murphy had exceptional balances throughout, her fouettes were sprinkled with triples (!), and the partnering was very impressive. They did seem cramped by the stage at the UCI Barclay Theatre (not their fault, of course). But with a great seat in the front row of the balcony for only $20, I can't complain. It looks like Murphy will be dancing Don Q with Stiefel in New York May 29 and June 2. He will be in the Alonso birthday Gala with Herrera June 3. But they don't seem paired in Don Q.

A review of the mixed bill in Opus Colorado: http://opuscolorado.com/2010/03/20/the-col...with-3emotions/ The same review appeared in INDenver Times: http://www.indenvertimes.com/the-colorado-...with-3emotions/ "This is going to be a very enjoyable review to write. Enjoyable, because of the remarkable performance given on opening night by the Colorado Ballet Friday, March 19." I haven't seen any reviews yet in the Denver Post - perhaps tomorrow.

Casting has been announced for ABT's Sleeping Beauty July 15-18, 2010 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemon...ing-beauty.html July 15: Gillian Murphy and Jose Manuel Carreño July 16: Paloma Herrera and David Hallberg July 17 matinee: Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky July 17 evening: Xiomara Reyes and Herman Cornejo July 18: Veronika Part and Marcelo Gomes

The Denver Post has a story about their production of Tudor's Echoing of Trumpets: http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_14658156

They'll perform two nights (July 31 & August 1) at the Vail Dance Festival this summer: http://www.vaildance.org/vaildance/info/sc...t-a-glance.aspx (Interestingly, MCB was there last summer.) I wish PNB would perform at OCPAC. San Francisco Ballet was there two years ago and it seemed very successful. LA Ballet only performs in LA County (at least, so far) and OCPAC draws from northern San Diego as well as Orange Counties. OCPAC's dance series for 2010-11 has not yet been announced, so perhaps that's still a possibility.

The Colorado Ballet in Denver has announced its 2010-11 season, cutting back from 5 to 4 programs: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_14680706 Sept. 10-12, Newman Center, triple bill. Two revivals and a premiere by Pennsylvania Ballet resident choreographer Matthew Neenam. Oct. 15-24, Caulkins Opera House, "Dracula" Nov. 27-Dec. 26, Caulkins Opera House, "The Nutcracker" Feb. 25-March 6, Caulkins Opera House, "Romeo and Juliet"

Baryshnikov will appear at the Ringling International Arts Festival in Sarasota October 13-15: "As for the international festival, set for Oct. 13-17, the event features several United States and world premieres in theater, music and dance. Opening night festivities alone include four premieres at the Florida State University and Ringling Museum campus. That evening will feature the much anticipated “Solos with Mikhail Baryshnikov and David Neumann” with a world premiere dance choreographed by Susan Marshall and the world premiere of “Capricho” by Florida native and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz." http://www.bradenton.com/2010/03/11/212200...-boast-top.html Baryshnikov will appear October 13, 14, and 15, according to the Ringling web site: http://ringlingartsfestival.org/

It was not planned, but in late March 1978 at the Kennedy Center, the world premiere week of Baryshnikov's Don Quixote, ABT had more than one set of principals at one performance. Kirkland and Baryshnikov had done the Saturday matinee and returned to the Watergate Hotel for dinner. Martine van Hamel was Kitri in the evening performance, but suffered a terrible injury on stage in the first act and couldn't continue. My memory is a little hazy, but I believe they first tried to get Cynthia Gregory to finish the evening, but she was scheduled for the Sunday matinee and declined, so Kirkland and Baryshnikov returned to finish the evening performance. I don't recall if they started over or picked it up from Act II. Perhaps others on this list remember?

It looks like the press release is still listing Robbins' Glass Pieces. But it seems to have been removed from the PNB web site. I printed out the 2010-11 subscription information on 1/29/2010. They were still showing an A series on Thursday nights. They were also listing Glass Pieces on the repertory page for 2010-11, but it has now disappeared. Any information on what happened? Does anyone know if it's still planned? http://www.pnb.org/Season/Subscriptions/Renew/Overview.aspx

The programming for the NYCB visit to Saratoga in July 2010 was posted today in the Calendar section of the SPAC web site: http://www.spac.org/calendar.php Also, if you click "Ballet" in the middle left of the home page by "2009 Events" it is showing the 2010 programming. http://www.spac.org/

Kate Moss is making a short dance film with Baryshnikov in July. It's not clear where it will be shown (a fundraiser? for what? where?). Michael Clark will choreograph and direct. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/artic...test-stars.html

The LA Times review, posted on-line Thursday, made it into the home print edition Friday. Small color photo on the front page of the Calendar [entertainment] section, with prominent placement of the review and three B&W photos on p. 3. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemon...rts-center.html

The OC Register review of opening night has been posted: http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/bo...a-vasiliev.html

The company just sent out to its e-mail list links to two reviews of the Balanchine program last weekend: http://www.losangelesballet.org/html/news_reviews.htm

The print edition of the LA Times gave very prominent placement to this review today (Tuesday, 2/23): a beautiful, color photo of Serenade on the top half of the front page of the entertainment section, with the full review at the top left of p. 3 in that section. No review (that I can find) in the UCLA Daily Bruin nor the Long Beach Press-Telegram nor the OC Register, but perhaps that's more forgiveable.

More casting changes were just announced in the LA Times: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemon...formances-.html Alexandrova won't make the trip, due to a family emergency. She'll be replaced by Marianna Ryzhkina, dancing with Mikhail Lobukhin

You see plenty of people with opera glasses. I don't imagine anybody would be bothered by binoculars. But OCPAC-Segerstrom has great sightlines and views from anywhere in the house -- it's one of my favorite theaters for dance. You probably won't need the binoculars.

Neary, in her remarks before the performance, said this was the first principal role that Balanchine created on her. (Von Aroldingen was the other lead.) She said they first worked out the opening duet for the two women in unison. Then Balanchine kept speeding it up and finally said, okay, now the second woman (Neary) will do this a half beat after the first. It makes for a dizzying -- and dazzling -- fugue-like display. The calibre of the principal dancing was just first-rate at UCLA. Enormous credit has to go to Neary for making this work, both in recruiting dancers and coaching them in these demanding roles. I couldn't remember ever seeing this ballet, but it's worth seeing again, if you have the opportunity. The 8-man all-male corps is one oddity -- no female corps at all. The male choreography is filled with what I call -- respectfully -- "goofball" every day movements that Balanchine could incorporate so masterfully. Some reminded me of the "goofball" patterns for the corps in the last movement of Stravinsky Violin Concerto (some of which are out-of-frame on the video in the Dance in America series). Here's the info on the NYCB site: http://www.nycballet.com/company/rep.html?rep=107

The LA Ballet's Balanchine program at UCLA this weekend was quite wonderful: Serenade, Kammermusik No. 2, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2. I'm disappointed that the LA Times did not publish a review (although they reviewed a performance by the Trockaderos in Long Beach...). I also can't find any reviews in the UCLA student newspaper or the Orange County Register. (This is a sad commentary on the state of dance criticism in this country, but I'll leave that for another day.) Co-Artistic Director Colleen Neary started the program with remarks before the curtain about her experiences performing with NYCB in these works, and she staged them here on behalf of the Balanchine Trust. The program this weekend was at the Freud Playhouse at UCLA, a great theater for dance with 586 seats, all with great sightlines. I'd estimate that about 80% of the house was full. If you're in the area, it's a program worth seeing in Glendale next Saturday, 2/27 or in Redondo, Saturday, 3/6. They use recorded music, and there were a few shaky moments in some of the partnering, but any serious Balanchine lover will relish these performances, especially in a region of the country where opportunities to see anything by Balanchine are few and far between. The company's website: http://www.losangelesballet.org/ I'd love to hear from other Ballet Talkers who saw the UCLA performances.

"Baryshnikov by Seliger" is a new site with HD video and still photographs of Baryshnikov at the Baryshnikov Arts Center. It appears to be part of a promotion of Nikon cameras: http://nikonusa.com/d3s/ He's also featured in a new Louis Vitton photo shoot by Annie Leibovitz. Previews are available now, with the full release February 11: http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01...-louis-vuitton/

Mixing a new piece with some tried-and-true favorites makes it less risky, so perhaps that is their rationale. What I like about the schedule is that an out-of-town visitor can see a lot of different ballets in 4-6 days, so it's attractive from that viewpoint. It's more difficult to see several different programs at ABT during a short visit from long distances. I'm curious to see what NYCB schedules for Saratoga in July. I'm guessing they will stay with the two-week season again due to the tough economy. Does anybody know when that schedule is typically posted?