California

I saw Jaffe's debut with Godunov! It was at the Kennedy Center in December 1980. Kirkland and Bissell had just been fired by Baryshnikov, then brand-new as artistic director. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/12/12/susan-jaffes-dream-debut/fa16a829-c923-4761-a089-cb793e4b1de6/

Yes. And on Instagram Stories, Chloe had some that included Aran Bell. Anybody on this site see the performance?

Please give us a full report on Chloe's Friday matinee debut. She has the best possible partner for her debut (Aran Bell). Rehearsal clips this morning on Instagram. So wish I could be there!

The National Endowment for the Arts has just announced 81 grants, totaling $2,280,000, for dance. The complete list, by discipline: https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/FY24-RoundOne-DisciplineListReport-updated.pdf The list by state: https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/FY24_RoundOne_StateListReport_updated2.pdf If you have personally benefitted in some way from a grant from NEA, please write to your representatives in Congress, to let them know how important this funding is. I was intrigued by a $20,000 grant to NYCB to support creation of new work by Tiler Peck and Amy Hall Gardner.

I didn't see the movie presentation, but I wish these broadcasts could be distributed in additional ways -- for sale as a download, or a rental on Amazon Prime, or an addition to Medici or Marquee. I assume the problem is licensing and union restrictions, but it's a shame something couldn't be worked out

A favorite memory from about 10 years ago with ABT at the Met: a "double-header" on a Saturday with Cojocaru at the matinee and Osipova in the evening in the pre-Ratmansky Sleeping Beauty. Such a treat! I saw Cojocaru again last January in London in the United Ukrainian Ballet's Giselle. Her technique has declined, but not her artistry. I hope she can bring her new work to North America.

As per Instagram Stories, after several months in Australia, Simkin is now on his way to Tbilisi, Georgia, where Maria Kochetkova has been performing for some time.

New York Review of Books has posted an archive of her writing. I think this is all public access: https://www.nybooks.com/contributors/joan-acocella/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NYR-01-09-23-Acocella_theme&utm_content=NYR-01-09-23-Acocella_theme+CID_3938b533263c2bc7a8d444ed3df92d63&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_term=the%20full%20archive%20may%20be%20found%20here

The Baryshnikov version was performed at the Met in May 1977: https://www.nytimes.com/1977/05/20/archives/new-jersey-weekly-ballet-grownup-nutcracker.html It was shown again with Gelsey Kirkland at the Met in September 1977: https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/24/archives/gelsey-kirkland-is-a-joy-in-the-nutcracker.html It was performed annually at the Kennedy Center (where it premiered in December 1976), for many years. I don't know if it was ever performed again in New York. I also don't know if the McKenzie version was every performed in New York: https://www.abt.org/ballet/the-nutcracker-mckenzie/

The Ratmansky version premiered at BAM in 2010. I assume they thought they had a good venue and were disappointed after a few years at the drop-off in ticket sales. https://www.abt.org/ballet/the-nutcracker/ Before that, they had a version by McKenzie: https://www.abt.org/ballet/the-nutcracker-mckenzie/ and another by Baryshnikov: https://www.abt.org/ballet/the-nutcracker-baryshnikov/

If you follow Ratmansky on Instagram and Facebook, he seems devastated by the carnage in Ukraine and often posts shots of the bombardments. I'm glad I have tickets to see the new one and wish I had seen the one he did for PNB, Wartime Elegy. https://www.pnb.org/repertory/wartime-elegy/ Interesting that Symphony in 3 Movements, with its allusions to WWII, is show on the same program. This would be a great time for ABT to revive Tudor's Echoing of Trumpets, his tribute to the Czech town of Lidice that was destroyed by the Nazis in 1942. It was shown by Colorado Ballet in 2010 by McKerrow and Gardner, who now work for ABT. It would work for the State Theatre this fall. https://www.antonytudor.org/ballets/echoing-of-trumpets

Don't overlook the importance of major local supporters at Segerstrom, starting with the Segerstrom family and William J. Gillespie at their school. They also hold a big fund-raiser in Beverly Hills while they are at Segerstrom. Could they find replacements for all of that in NYC? Doesn't seem likely! https://www.scfta.org/education-community-programs/camps-classes/abt-william-gillespie-school

They seem to have performed in four different theaters in December, but had a live orchestra at only one (Dolby). I saw them many, many years ago when Colleen Neary was the artistic director and they were performing Kammermusik to recorded music. Melissa "Call Me Ben" Barak is the new director. LA is a very tough town for ballet!

I never saw the Ratmansky Nutcracker on the east coast, but remember concerns about ticket sales. If you are taking your family to one Nutcracker, at great expense, for the holidays, you'll likely choose Balanchine and Lincoln Center. I have made two trips (2019 and 2021) to Segerstrom to see the Ratmansky, the only version of Nutcracker I truly enjoy and a chance to see a lot of favorite principals. With the skimpy offerings at the Met this summer and who-knows-what in the fall, I might go again some day! There are dozens of Nutcrackers in Southern California, but they are mainly local/school-related. Is there another one of the caliber of ABT's? I think this was a smart move by ABT. https://socalfieldtrips.com/50-nutcracker-performances-in-southern-california/

Thank you! I'm in town for the 23rd and have been wondering how to get a ticket. I wonder how they publicize the $40 tickets and who gets first dibs.

Graham McFee, a noted dance scholar/philosopher, has died. https://british-aesthetics.org/resources/obituaries/graham-mcfee/ https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/alumni/2023/11/08/professor-graham-mcfee-1951-2023/

Thanks for posting this. Excellent video quality and streaming reception. I am not a van Manen fan, so I skipped that. As for the Balanchine, I LOVE the final movement -- Balanchine-does-Slavic (sorry!) and the upbeat, joyous music.

Has anyone seen Ashton Roxander with Philadelphia Ballet this month? He's doing Cavalier, Tea, and Candy Cane. https://philadelphiaballet.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Nutcracker-Casting-2023-Dec-20-30.pdf

I watched Maestro on Netflix and found it interesting. I turned on captioning so all the musical snippets throughout were identified. (Were those visible in the theater?) The Fancy Free excerpts are great fun and the lengthy Mahler performance near the end was quite extraordinary. I was disappointed that West Side Story didn't get much attention. I slogged through the credits at the end to find Peck's listing as the choreographer. The credits run over a complete performance of Overture to Candide, one of my all-time Bernstein favorites, so it ends on a high note. But I didn't feel much incentive to watch this one again.

Edwaard Liang has already been named the new AD of the Washington Ballet, arriving in spring 2024. We don't know what relationship he has had with Mack or Lane, but it would be nice to bring in both of them, even as guests. https://www.washingtonballet.org/leadership/

Sarah Lane is performing Nutcracker with Brooklyn Mack at Festival Ballet Theatre in southern California. I've also been wondering what happened to him and whether he'd consider rejoining Washington Ballet with a new artistic director. https://www.instagram.com/p/C09nr7DJ4hd/

Teuscher just posted in Instagram stories that she can't dance Nutcracker Saturday night due to a "health issue," but Boylston-Whitehead will sub. I don't see that change on either the ABT or Segerstrom site.

You have to wonder if scheduling the Cornejo event at LWFC was an attempt at shoring up attendance! Doesn't seem to be working on this site! I watched the Royal Ballet stream last year and decided not to bother seeing it in the theater.

Interesting documentary with clips of Nureyev in his last decade. It would be exciting to see his charisma, even with the technical decline. But I think Baryshnikov had the right idea. Word would get out that he was doing his last performance of ballet X or Y. After his ugly departure from ABT in 1989, he moved over to contemporary things choreographed for him with his middle-age abilities.

Thank you for this report on the Brandt-Cornejo performance. It's not surprising that Cornejo is slipping technically. People saw the same thing in his Etudes and Dream performances this fall. This isn't in a league with Nureyev's painfully visible deterioration when he refused to leave the stage, but I hope Cornejo is realistic about his strengths and increasing weaknesses and retires on a high note. Did anybody see the Bell-Hurlin performance Saturday night? Kicking myself that I didn't make plans to see them at Segerstrom this year.