California

Dates for the 2022-23 season are now on the web page, although not in the nifty PDF schedules yet: Go to the main page and then "Season and Tickets." http://www.nycballet.org

Sarasota Ballet has announced their 2022-2023 season. A serious commitment to Ashton and Balanchine! https://www.sarasotaballet.org/2022-–-2023-season-overview Program 1 | 21 – 23 October 2022 FSU Center for the Performing Arts World Premiere Choreography by Ricardo Graziano Music to be announced World Premiere Choreography by Asia Bui Music to be announced World Premiere Choreography by Richard House Music to be announced Program 2 | 18 – 19 November 2022 Sarasota Opera House Danses Concertantes (Company Premiere) Choreography by Sir Kenneth MacMillan Music by Igor Stravinsky Dante Sonata (Company Premiere) Choreography by Sir Frederick Ashton Music by Franz Liszt Rhapsody Choreography by Sir Frederick Ashton Music by Sergei Rachmaninov Program 3 | 16 – 17 December 2022 Sarasota Opera House Les Patineurs Choreography by Sir Frederick Ashton Music by Giacomo Meyerbeer The Spider’s Feast (Company Premiere) Choreography by Sir David Bintley Music by Albert Roussel Program 4 | 27 – 30 January 2023 FSU Center for the Performing Arts World Premiere Choreography by Arcadian Broad Music to be announced New Jessica Lang Ballet (Sarasota Premiere) Choreography by Jessica Lang Music to be announced Façade Production by Johan Kobborg Choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton Music by William Walton Program 5 | 24 – 27 February 2023 FSU Center for the Performing Arts The Sarasota Ballet Presents: Dance Theatre of Harlem Program 6 | 24 – 25 March 2023 Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall La Sylphide (Company Premiere) Choreography by Johan Kobborg after August Bournonville Music by Herman Severin Løvenskiold Program 7 | 28 – 29 April 2023 Sarasota Opera House Divertimento No. 15 Choreography by George Balanchine Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The Four Temperaments Choreography by George Balanchine Music by Paul Hindemith Western Symphony Choreography by George Balanchine Music – American folk tunes arranged by Hershy Kay

Osipova's Act I Variation in Giselle from yesterday just turned up on YouTube. I can't find more, but if others do, please post the link.

It's difficult to find information about this, but once you purchase, you have unlimited viewing for only 48 hours, not the entire run through the 24th. Interesting that in the UK it's 14.99 pounds and in the US $14.99. Mmmm...

The New York Times has a story today about the NYCB 2022-2023 season. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/arts/music/new-york-city-ballet-2022-23-season.html I don't see an actual schedule with the Times story or on the NYCB site. If anyone finds that, please share the link. A few more details: On Sunday, December 4 at 5pm, NYCB Principal Dancer Sterling Hyltin will give her farewell performance with NYCB as the Sugarplum Fairy in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, a role she first performed in 2006. The fall season opens Tuesday, September 20. The spring season ends May 28, 2023. https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/New-York-City-Ballet-Announces-2022-23-Season-20220415

Finally, some clarity on this. NYCB just sent out an email: Once purchased, the video will be available to watch for 48 hours, and you will be able to make an extra donation if you wish. Nowhere on the Marquee site will you see that!

The Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act extends the duration of copyright in a work created on or after January 1, 1978, to the life of the author and 70 (previously, 50) years after the author's death. So 2053 will be a big year for those works. https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/senate-bill/505 The Copyright Law of 1976 took effect on January 1, 1978: https://www.copyright.gov/title17/ The rules were very different under the previous Copyright Acts.

I haven't been able to figure out from the Marquee site if you can watch it repeatedly during that window or if it is just one view for the money. The Royal Ballet just now said this in an email: Once purchased, the video will be available to watch until 24 April, and you will be able to make an extra donation if you wish. Has anybody tried it? Interesting pricing: The Royal Ballet says 14.99 pounds. The American Marquee site says $14.99.

The National Endowment for the Humanities today announced a new round of grants totaling $33.17 million. Of interest in dance: Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Inc. Outright: $350,000 [Humanities Collections and Reference Resources] Project Director: Norton Owen Project Title: Digitization of the Moving Image Collection Project Description: Digitization and updated catalog records for 3,336 audiovisual materials featuring performances, oral histories, lectures, and master classes from the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival from 1992 through 2010. Ohio University Outright: $50,000 [Humanities Collections and Reference Resources] Project Director: Miriam Nelson Project Title: The Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis Dance Collection: Developing a Roadmap Project Description: A digital preservation assessment, rehousing, and new finding aid for over 2,000 audio and audiovisual materials dating from 1936 through 2001 in the Alwin Nikolais and Murry Louis Dance Collection at the Ohio University Libraries’ Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections. The project team also would develop workflows and build relationships for incorporating metadata from expert sources. For the complete list: https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/NEH grant awards April 2022 state by state .pdf Press release on all awards: https://www.neh.gov/news/neh-announces-3317-million-245-humanities-projects-nationwide

Mikhail Baryshnikov is starring in The Orchard at the Baryshnikov Arts Center and Virtually this spring. Previews begin May 31 at the BAC, with a limited run June 16 - July 3 at the BAC and virtually. https://playbill.com/article/mikhail-baryshnikov-and-jessica-hecht-will-star-in-the-orchard-at-baryshnikov-arts-center I saw this virtually in February 2021. That one was fully booked very quickly, so I suggest interested persons move quickly when tickets become available. Information about tickets: Ticket prices for Live & In-Person at the Baryshnikov Arts Center are $79, $59, and $39 with premium seating available. Tickets for the first week of previews are $69, $49, and $29. Tickets for The Virtual Experience Online are $28. There are also bundles available for those who want to experience both versions of The Orchard and the prices are $100, $80, and $50 with premium seating available. Tickets go on sale beginning April 12 exclusively for Audience Rewards members (www.audiencerewards.com). It's free to join. Tickets go on sale on April 15 to the public. For tickets and information, please visit: www.TheOrchardOffBroadway.com. Source: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Jessica-Hecht-and-Mikhail-Baryshnikov-to-Star-In-THE-ORCHARD-At-Baryshnikov-Arts-Center-20220412

Marquee TV will stream the Dance for Ukraine Fundraising Gala as a pay-per-view event from April 14-24th for $14.99 with all proceeds going to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. https://www.marquee.tv/danceforukraine This is the fundraiser that Alina Cojacuro and Ivan Putrov organized in London on March 19. (I can't tell from the web site if you can view repeatedly during that time frame or only once.) Dancers: Aitor ArrietaAlina CojocaruAlison McWhinneyEmma HawesFernando Carratalá ColomaFrancesco Gabriele FrolaFumi KanekoIvan PutrovJavier TorresJunor SouzaKatja KhaniukovaLuca AcriMarianela NuñezMarianna TsembenhoiMathias DingmanMathieu GanioMayara MagriMiki MizutaniNatalia OsipovaRebecca Bassett-GrahamReece ClarkeSalvatore de SimoneWilliam Bracewell All proceeds go to Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC), Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

In interviews long ago, McKenzie said he got the job because nobody else would take it and the company was near bankruptcy after Baryshnikov's abrupt departure. Whatever people think of his tenure at ABT, he did salvage something decent. I was glad that Kaufman at least cited Stella Abrera as another option. I don't know if she's considered a successful director at Kaatsabaan, but at least she has some management experience.

Hoping Washington Ballet announces their 2022-23 season soon. Ditto for Boston Ballet and NYCB for next year. Almost all other companies have announced. ABT usually announces their fall season in July.

The Washington Post dance critic, Sarah L. Kaufman, urges that Misty Copeland be named the next Artistic Director of ABT: https://www.washingtonpost.com/theater-dance/2022/04/11/abt-mckenzie-misty-copeland/

The good news for travellers from the US is that we no longer have to have a negative test when we arrive or even show proof of vaccination. The bad news is we need a 24-hour negative test to get back into the US. With such a high infection rate in the UK, that's cause for great nervousness in travelling this year to the UK. Back in November, when I went to a conference in Montreal (which was super-strict on COVID precautions), we had a 72 hour window for the return test, which was easy and cheap to manage. Now we really have to worry about being quarantined at Heathrow for days until we test negative. Ugh!

Skylar Brandt just announced on her Instagram Story that she has COVID and is not able to teach her on-line class. At the stage door at the Kennedy Center, you can see lots of fans with no masks at all and most of the rest with surgical masks, which are much less effective than the KN95s. Impossible to know where she got it, of course. Reports of the uptick in cases might make people decide to be a little more cautious. Scroll through to the stage door shown on the third photo : https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb_R3etvBq7/

The Royal Ballet has announced ballet and dance through June 2023: https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events?event-type=ballet-and-dance Highlights include Mayerling, Sleeping Beauty, and the Ashton Cinderella.

So many international companies would be welcome -- especially those that are providing havens for Ukraine and Russian dancers who escaped the war. Dutch National, Vienna, Estonia, Berlin. I'm sure they need a subsidy -- perhaps the State Department could help?

Thanks for the heads-up. Here's the list: https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/season-announcement/ballet-dance/ It might be a long time before we again see Mariinsky or the Bolshoi in North America.

The Kennedy Center just announced the 2022-2023 Ballet and Dance series: https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/season-announcement/ballet-dance/ Kansas City Ballet: The Nutcracker NOV. 23 - 27, 2022 Kansas City Ballet’s seasonal tradition, The Nutcracker, returns to the Kennedy Center to continue our annual holiday presentation of America’s best Nutcrackers. The company’s production is hailed as “positively oozing charm” by The Washington Post, promising grandeur, laughter, and a snowfall of Christmas magic! National Ballet of China: Chinese New Year (A Ballet in Two Acts) FEB. 1 - 5, 2023 With its dazzling hybrid of western ballet and Chinese culture, National Ballet of China has won a distinguished reputation for performing cherished works and original creations. The renowned company returns to thrill audiences with its luminous fusion of traditions—this time with its adaptation of The Nutcracker. American Ballet Theatre: Romeo and Juliet FEB. 15 - 19, 2023 With a depth of talent and the ability to present multiple casts of dancers in leading roles, American Ballet Theatre brings Shakespeare’s tragic play of forbidden love—Romeo and Juliet. The Joffrey Ballet: Anna Karenina APR. 5 - 9, 2023 The Kennedy Center celebrates the return of The Joffrey Ballet, one of the premier companies performing in America today. Looking beyond the stories we always see, the Joffrey presents a new ballet based on the novel Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Scottish Ballet: The Crucible MAY 24 - 28, 2023 Scotland’s national dance company returns with The Crucible, bringing Arthur Miller’s classic play about the Salem witch trials to the ballet stage. Washington audiences will experience the production’s east coast premiere. New York City Ballet JUN. 6 - 11, 2023 New York City Ballet returns with a program of works from the classic grace of legendary choreographers George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, and a program featuring some of today’s most visionary choreographers: Alexei Ratmansky, Justin Peck, and more.

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts is dropping both vaccination and mask requirements as of April. Both Colorado Ballet and Opera Colorado will be performing this month (along with touring Broadway shows, Colorado Symphony, and live theater groups). I'm not crazy about that and I have a hunch many will stay with masks, even if not required. Political pressures are enormous in Colorado (not that Lauren Boebert is a big ballet/opera fan, as far as I know...)

I just checked the digital program--you're right! They did split Mercedes and Queen for the Sunday matinee.

I was thinking Rose Adagio when Hurlin had problems! In Act III, she is in Attitude position, he turns her all the way around and then waits...and waits...and waits...for her to let go and put her right arm over her head. It was up and down in a New York minute (or is it second?). But injuries, whatever they were, would also mean she's out of shape overall and just doesn't have the strength for this. She's only doing one Swan Lake (the July 6 matinee), partnered by Ahn, probably not the strongest partner for a debut.

I saw ABT's final performance of Don Quixote at the Kennedy Center Sunday afternoon with Joo Won Ahn and Hee Seo. A few observations: Joo Won Ahn was a joyous Basilio who truly seemed to enjoy performing today. I don't know if this was his debut in the role. He was just promoted to principal during the 2020 lockdown. His jumps and leaps have a very nice relaxed and effortless balloon, even if he doesn't add the complications and embellishments we saw this week from Simkin and Bell. Hee Seo has not been one of my favorites, although I understand others have praised her Juliet. Her happiness throughout did not seem as natural and genuine as Ahn's, but okay. She has a solid technique for most of the challenging choreography, including the hops on pointe and pique turns in the dream sequence, but her fouettes in Act III were very unfortunate. I do understand that many on this list think we pay too much attention to the 32 fouettes in this and other works, but I wonder if dancers with real problems shouldn't be permitted to substitute something else (as Makarova often did). She started with a few doubles, then fell off point and had to add a step to get back into the turns, then started travelling seriously on the diagonal to a front corner of the stage where she ended badly. Audiences cheer madly no matter what, but it was pretty awful. I don't know if she was just having a bad day or if she always has difficulties with these fouettes. Partnering: They had a problem with the same Act I move that gave Shevchenko and Stearns problems last night. He lifts her straight up, then brings her down into a fish dive position. So far so good. Alas, she slid down to the floor and lay there flat on her stomach for a moment. It wasn't a great distance, and she didn't seem to be injured, but both seemed startled. The back-to-back mishaps remind us that this move is more difficult than it seems when perfectly executed. The one-armed lifts in Act I seemed solid and they held them for a decent time. No extra curtain calls in front of the curtain, as applause died down quickly. No flowers or flags. Luciana Paris was a sizzling, exuberant Mercedes, but less secure as Queen of the Dryads. Her Italian fouettes got off to a shaky start but finished strong. John Gardner was Kitri's father at some performances and Sancho Panza at others. As recently announced, he and Amanda McKerrow will be Guest Repetiteurs for the Met season. It was nice to see him bring his extensive experience to the stage. https://www.abt.org/amanda-mckerrow-and-john-gardner-guest-repetiteurs-2022-season/ Calvin Royal III gave the Ukraine introduction. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE MET: For those who can only see a few performances in June at the Met, I'd make these recommendations: Daniil Simkin: It is such a treat to see him again as a guest and who knows if he will return after this visit. Don't miss him. Herman Cornejo: He is in top form, but he's 40 years old (41 in May). Don't count on him being around in this shape for many years more. Aran Bell: He is as good as it gets, but (fingers crossed), we'll be able to see him for many years ahead.

I saw the performances of Christine Shevchenko and Cory Stearns at the Saturday evening performance of Don Quixote. A few observations: Shevchenko has a confident and impressive technique, although I kept waiting for her to "push the envelope" and surprise me with something special -- very long-held balances or super-high extensions. She did knock off some super-fast pique turns. At the end, instead of flowers, she ran off stage and came back with a Ukraine flag to wild cheering from the audience. As she told us Friday in the introduction, she was born in Odessa. Stearns has been a principal since 2011 and is 36 years old. Is he in decline or has he always been this blah? His technique is serviceable at best and he made some embarrassing errors. Near the end of Act I, he lifts Kitri straight up then drops her into a fishdive no-hands position. But something went awry, he sidestepped to the side of the stage and finally, awkwardly, got her into position. In Act III, in one of his variations, he was finishing a step sequence with a low turn of some sort, actually sat down on the floor, and finished with a "what just happened" look. While other men do high-flying scissor/beats, he does low basic cabrioles. Etc., etc. This was the only pair that did not appear before the curtain for extra bows as the applause ended quickly. Calvin Royal's height and grand demeanor made for a convincing Espada. Devon Teuscher gave the opening tribute to Ukraine.