California

I would add the Trilogy, especially Symphony No. 9, which stands alone. His reconstructions of Giselle and Swan Lake are both extraordinary and I wish we could see both in NYC or Kennedy Center. I saw the reconstruction of Giselle in the Bolshoi theater stream in January 2020 and the United Ukraine Ballet in London last month. If they could get funding, I think it's a safe bet the Ukrainian production would be a huge hit here.

I've watched the Ratmansky several times. Chock full of innovative movement and wide-ranging emotion. Much more impact because we know the "backstory" from the nightly news. It should play well, though, years in the future. Here's one very trivial pet peeve: as with the Spanish dialogue in the new West Side Story, they don't translate the voice-over in another language. Captions, please? Is this all supposed to remind us that we can't really understand these cultures, hard as we try? PS: Wonderful opener with Allegro Brillante. That just never grows old.

I went to today's matinee of Dracula. I saw this production several years ago and had forgotten how impressive it is. Complex sets, special effects galore, gorgeous costumes, lots of opportunities for lots of dancers. It's more a theatrical work with dancing than a ballet (although with most of the women on pointe) and that might be why it sold out all 9 performances by opening night Friday. There has been a little advertising on local TV and lots of ads on social media. But they stopped selling discounted tickets on Goldstar several years ago, they don't have a rush for students/seniors, and Denver doesn't have a TKTS option. The only real discount is 25% off additional tickets for subscribers. There is virtually no published dance criticism any more in Denver and there hasn't been for years. I suspect this has a lot of excellent word-of-mouth from the showings in previous years. And it's perfect for regional companies, as we've discussed. Chris Moulton was a powerful Dracula. I'll be shocked if he's not promoted to principal next year after Yosvani Ramos' retirement. Chris was an impressive Romeo last year and carried the day with Julie Adams' Cluedo pre-pandemic. Just for comparison, the Denver Center for Performing Arts dropped their mandates for masks and vaccination proof, although I did see a fair number of masks in the audience. Very thorough security, though -- more than at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, strangely.

As of this morning, all 9 performances are sold out, including the extra they added for Sunday night, 10/16! That should help their post-COVID fiscal recovery. According to a quick Google check, Atlanta, Orlando, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, and Kansas City all perform this. I agree with you that regional companies need pop programs like this (along with Nutcracker) to support programs serious balletomanes most appreciate. For me, that will be the mixed bill in April: Prodigal Son, Sinfonietta, Bruch Violin Concerto -- and they cut back to seven performances for that.

They are still using the on-line program and they even include casting now: https://issuu.com/pubhouse/docs/cb_fall_wrap_dracula_22_issuu I'm going Sunday afternoon. I saw this production when they did it a few years ago. It's not a favorite of mine, but it sells very well here and they added a performance Sunday evening 10/16.

Very interesting! Here's a different link that goes directly to the recording: https://pnballet.podbean.com/e/alexei-ratmansky-pnb-s-conversation-series/

I'm planning to buy the stream of the PNB program Thursday, mainly to see the new Ratmansky. Royal Ballet has just announced a streaming service, but it seems to be stuff they have already released on DVR plus some embellishments, not their current season, unless I'm reading this wrong. 99 GBP a year. https://london-post.co.uk/the-royal-opera-house-launches-its-brand-new-streaming-service/

The Colorado Ballet performs in an opera house with 2200 capacity. For shows like Dracula this month and Nutcracker, they sell out. But for less popular programs in the spring, they sell only the first two rows in the top two tiers. Seems a good solution for keeping some cheaper seats available and I wonder why NYCB doesn't do that. Koch holds 2586, not that much bigger than Denver.

If you follow Daniil on Instagram, be sure to look at his stories (which, alas, I can't link to here). Baryshnikov was also in the audience Saturday night and there's a nice shot of him with Daniil backstage.

Another thing that hasn't aged well: the belief that children/marriage and a career in ballet are mutually exclusive.

The Turning Point shows up periodically on cable. It's now on Cinemax/Max, but I don't know for how long. Schmaltzy, hokey - but those dance sequences never grow old.

Thanks for the update. Ratmansky has been a real leader in supporting Ukraine. And it's clear in all his social media postings how passionate he is about this. Looking forward to the digital program!

Thank you for this report! I'm really looking forward to the digital program. If you follow Ratmansky on social media, you know that he's very invested in the Ukrainian cause. I'm still hoping they will find a way to show broader audiences his Giselle reconstruction with the United Ukraine dancers. A North American tour would be ideal if they can find the funding. The way things are going, we aren't likely to see the Bolshoi do it and the version he staged for the United Ukrainians comes very close to that.

Really fascinating! Thanks for posting. And isn't it sad we don't have more venues where work like this can be published, now that Ballet Review has shut down. http://www.balletreview.com/

Anna Kisselgoff's 1983 review addresses some factors that might have motivated Balanchine: https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/08/arts/ballet-la-sonnambula.html I don't know if that is public access, so here are some interesting insights: As a ghost story derived from 19th-century sleepwalker tales, it would seem too romantic for his taste. And yet it moves along anything but literally. For although the ballet has a story, it is one told on an allegorical plane. A baron holds a ball. A poet enters, flirts with the baron's mistress, but is drawn into a fatal encounter with a sleepwalker, the baron's wife. Themes rather than narrative hold sway. The poet is the artist alienated by society. The beauty he seeks in life is available to him only in death. Repeatedly, the social dances of the guests symbolize a frivolous society that covers up feeling. When the poet dies, it is his fellow artists - the dancers hired as entertainers - who carry him and place him in the arms of the sleepwalker.

I'm very interested in reports on Ratmansky's new Wartime Elegy, which I plan to see on the digital subscription. Was he there for the bows?

This is one program I plan to see on their digital offering. I'm very interested in Ratmansky's new piece.

I saw the final three performances, with Alina Cojocaru on Friday evening, Elizabeta Gogidze at the Saturday matinee, and Christine Shevchenko Saturday evening. Ratmansky was seated in the audience at all performances and he came on stage with a Ukrainian flag Saturday evening when they all sang the Ukrainian national anthem. Each performance opened with God Save the King and closed with the Ukrainian anthem and several flags held up by dancers. I don't have the greatest memory for details, but this version was very similar to Ratmansky's reconstruction for the Bolshoi in 2019, which I saw on a live stream in a movie theater in January 2020, before everything shut down. The Ukrainian version includes the Willis Fugue (which I love!), the ending when the earth swallows Giselle and Bathilde reappears, lots of mime, and very different choreography for things like Albrecht's solo. Considering the circumstances and the fact that dancers came from different companies, the corps was really marvelous in their lines and symmetry, in both the first and second acts. I remember Cojocaru fondly from guest appearances with ABT long ago. Sadly, although her interpretation is a lovely as ever, her technique was overshadowed by the other two I saw, especially in things like height and speed. Shevchenko was powerful in all aspects. Gogidze was a wonderful surprise and I hope a North American company finds a way to bring her over. Her little entrechats in act II were gorgeous. Audiences seemed almost sold out at the performances I attended. Now I wonder: what happens next? This week depended on the generosity of so many for costumes, sets, orchestra. I can't imagine they have funds to visit North America, although I am confident they would draw huge crowds. I hope the dancers aren't turned lose to fend for themselves again.

Not a great deal in the US either and I'm really annoyed that it is not included in my annual subscription to Marquee. I have to pay extra, too. Having seen this in the theater last Monday, I can't really recommend it.

If you follow Hallberg on Twitter, you'll remember that last year he was looking for a recording of the Cranko R&J, which had just been released on DVD (as was Onegin). Perhaps he just wanted something different from the MacMillan version most companies use.

The announcement and a short video are also on Yosvani's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CifXfkvgwn4/ I don't know what his plans are post-retirement. He spent several months this summer in England as a guest teacher at several companies, as he documented on Instagram. He was a principal with ENB for many years before leaving for Australia and then the US.

Not sure where to post this...Baryshnikov was having fun yesterday in Vogue's fashion walk in lower Manhattan. Everybody wants to see him move - so he moved! He's 74 years old -- he can goof around if he wants to! https://www.instagram.com/p/Cibg6Y0LOUb/

The Drury has announced that the Monday matinee of Nureyev Legend will go on as scheduled: "In accordance with the wishes of the Royal Household, performances will continue until further notice. https://lwtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/nureyev-legend-and-legacy/

And look at the origins of the money for the Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Ford Foundations (and many others). They do a lot of good now, but historically those individuals did enormous damage to the country. It's interesting that Sackler money is being rejected now with the public awareness of the opiod crisis - or, at least, their name is being removed even if the money isn't being returned.

PBS has had what it calls "enhanced underwriting" since the early 90s - essentially 30-second commercials to offset the loss of federal funding. https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1995-06-07-9506070196-story.html