California

Royal Ballet just announced the dates for the entire 2021-22 season: https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events

Not sure if this is the same thing, but this clip of Carberry and Baryshnikov is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHWddEiMdt0 She is now an Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Cincinnati: https://researchdirectory.uc.edu/p/carberde

La Scala Ballet has announced their season for 2021-22: https://www.teatroallascala.org/en/season/2021-2022/balletto/index.html Highlights include the Nureyev La Bayadere (with Zakharova), Giselle, Jewels, and Onegin (with Bolle)

Do take a look at Choo San Goh's Fives, showing today only: https://vimeo.com/533274994/8e647d9ec1

New YouTube just posted by Daniil Simkin of his rehearsals with Sarah Lane in Giselle right before their February 2020 performance at the Kennedy Center: Little did we know that those performances would be the last before the pandemic. I think that week also included Stella Abrera's retirement performance, although she did not know it at the time. EDITED TO ADD: Really interesting that Simkin posted this right after the Pointe interview, a reminder that they were dancing together right before the pandemic shut everything down - just in case anybody was wondering about identities! I would love it if he brought her to Berlin for some guest performances. THAT would be worth a trip!

Sarah Lane gave an interview to Point magazine, in which she talks about her departure from ABT and many other things. She herself flagged this article on her Instagram. https://www.pointemagazine.com/sarah-lane-abt-2653128779.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1

Choo San Goh's Fives will be shown May 31. Some of us are old enough to remember when Mary Day brought him to the US to choreograph for the Washington Ballet in 1976. This was one of his best pieces and I'm thrilled it is being shown. https://goh-mageefoundation.org/bio.html "We are thrilled to be closing the festival with an archival screening of pioneer Asian American choreographer Choo San Goh’s iconic “Fives,” presented by the Washington Ballet on May 31." https://www.yellowface.org/10000-dreams

Carla Fracci has died. https://www.ansa.it/english/news/lifestyle/arts/2021/05/27/ballet-great-carla-fracci-has-died-2_9c9128d2-bbd8-4662-80c8-398fd901012c.html Administrators: perhaps you could combine the Fracci notices? I looked to see if this was already posted and didn't see anything. We must have crossed in the internet.

And here is Skylar's White Swan variation debut

Skylar Brandt has posted her Black Swan from her debut at the Boca Ballet a few weeks ago:

I think NYCB's choices for their opening night this September are pitch-perfect: Serenade, After the Rain, Symphony in C. Historic first, surviving tragedy, joyous celebration. I'm surprised Royal did not recognize the historic nature of this moment and the audience's yearning to celebrate.

Remember the lawsuits by the movie industry against VHS/Beta, Blockbuster, etc. in the 70s? They were afraid those technologies would destroy their business. Only later did they realize that they themselves owned valuable product that could actually be sold on those cassette tapes! https://techcrunch.com/2013/12/27/how-the-content-industry-almost-killed-blockbuster-and-netflix/ Performances by European and Russian companies are often available on DVD, yet we flock to see those companies when they tour the US.

The Ballet Connoisseuship series is $25 a session - ouch! https://sab.org/ballet-connoisseurship/ If that had been a perk of membership with SAB (or NYCB), I might have ventured a look, but I skipped all of them. No offense to the dancers and others who participated in this and other programs, but I'm not very interested in listening to talking dancers. Coaching sessions and rehearsals are much more interesting to learn about some of the details and refinements in performance that I otherwise might not notice. The Ballet Banter interviews at ABT for Friends are pretty boring and I have skipped most of those, too. I suppose some find them worthwhile and the companies are finding their way in what to present on-line, so okay.

So much of this depends on the technical capabilities in the theater. PNB, NYCB, and the Met all have that. Will they use it? I hope we are past the view of Jerome Robbins so long ago that ballet looked terrible on TV and people should come to the theater. Many can't do that for whatever reason and clearly many are willing to pay for digital performances. That's new data we didn't have pre-pandemic -- how much people will pay and for what. I commented on the announcement of the Sarasota Ballet season for 2021-22 that there were a few things I'd like to see -- but not enough to travel to Sarasota. A professional society I work with has been running virtual conferences during the pandemic and a recent survey of membership suggests they want some to continue. International travel limitations and lack of travel funds account for much of this. Now that everybody knows what a Zoom conference is like, they'll want it to continue for some things. You can't go home again, as they say! 2019 isn't coming back unchanged.

Just announced by the Joyce Theatre: a free stream of a new work by Ratmansky for Whiteside and Boylston, available May 17 for one month: Photo by ioulex The Joyce is delighted to bring together three of American Ballet Theatre’s biggest talents for the world premiere of Neo, an elegant and spirited duet. James Whiteside and Isabella Boylston take on their first post-quarantine collaboration with a world premiere work by American Ballet Theatre’s Artist-in-Residence Alexei Ratmansky. Featuring live music by Sumie Kaneko and filmed live at The Joyce Theater, Neo begins its free 30-day streaming engagement on Monday, May 17 at 5pm ET. The piece will be accompanied by the latest installment of “Dancing Dialogues,” a Joyce panel discussion series, featuring Boylston, Kaneko, Ratmansky, and Whiteside. Moderated by Tony Award-winning director/choreographer and Joyce Theater Trustee Rob Ashford, they will delve into the creation of Neo. Both programs can be enjoyed at joyce.org beginning on May 17 at 5pm ET. ENJOY NEO and DANCING DIALOGUES Neo and “Dancing Dialogues” will be free to stream on-demand from May 17 at 5pm ET through Wednesday, June 16 at 11:59pm ET.

I got that email and am one of their Friends, but I don't know where the cut-off was. ABT has some perks on-line called "On Demand" at $240 Friends minimum. It does include some nice things, like the Manon they released last year (was that only to Friends?) with Ferri and Bolle in 2007; Swan Lake with Park and Whiteside (filmed in Australia in 2014); Lady of the Camellias (2010, with Kent, Hallberg, Murphy); ABT at Vail; three things from the Guggenheim Works & Process (ABT 75th anniversary), and a series of interviews (Ballet Banter). San Francisco Ballet has an elaborate series of things for Friends at various levels. I do think they all need to do this. Ordinarily, Friends would be invited to open rehearsals, etc. a huge perk for some of us.

PNB just sent out email announcing their 2021-22 season, although without dates. It sounds like the fall programs will have limited seating. I'm disappointed that their reconstructed Giselle isn't scheduled. Maybe next year! Our goal for the 2021/22 Season is to ease PNB patrons back into McCaw Hall as safely as possible. The September and November mixed rep productions are only available to renewing subscribers at this time. We may offer limited single tickets at a later date, if it is safe and advisable to do so. Click here to read more about our plan. Rep 1: Singularly Cerrudo Come admire the creative power of PNB’s Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo in this triple bill of his most beloved work. Breathe in the moving tranquility of Silent Ghost, get a tantalizing look at the spectacular teamwork of One Thousand Pieces, and journey through the unexpected twists and turns of Little mortal jump. At the center of it all? Spectacular dancing and Cerrudo’s compelling perspective on humanity. Rep 2: Beyond Ballet Dove. King. Lang. As we celebrate the unique voices of these three internationally acclaimed choreographers, we can find even more beauty in their common threads. The combination of Ulysses Dove’s mournful Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven, Jessica Lang’s haunting Ghost Variations, and the PNB Premiere of Alonzo King’s The Personal Element promises unmatched emotion, expression, and musicality. Rep 3: Roméo et Juliette You saw it last February on our Digital Stage, but nothing compares to the in-person experience! Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette will sweep you away to Verona and back again. Savor the incredible dancing, the flush of first love, Prokofiev’s rich score, and the drama of Shakespeare’s classic story – all in the course of one stunning ballet. Rep 4: Plot Points Bold experimentation is the theme for this set of trailblazing pieces. Crystal Pite, Justin Peck, and Robyn Mineko-Williams flip expectations upside down and come out the other side in an enigmatic new world. PNB audiences will remember the cinematic suspense of Pite's Plot Point from previous performances. The arresting complexity of Peck’s The Times Are Racing and a world premiere by Mineko-Williams (The Trees The Trees) are sure to make a similarly deep impression. Rep 5: Swan Lake PNB’s triumphant return to the stage wouldn’t be complete without Kent Stowell's Swan Lake. Every element of this production is carefully crafted to keep you on the edge of your seat, from the masterful choreography, to the stunning costumes, to the undeniably iconic score. Most captivating of all? The story at the ballet’s heart: a classic tale of good versus evil, temptation, tragedy, and love of the highest order. Rep 6: All Tharp Our final rep of the season is all about the legendary dancer, director, and choreographer Twyla Tharp. From the sweet echo of her own Quaker roots in Sweet Fields, to the haunting Scottish clan in Brief Fling, to the all-out joy of New Orleans that runs through Waiting at the Station - Tharp draws inspiration from around the globe and yet her style remains quintessentially her own.

Pre-pandemic, it was not unusual to see tourists from Asia with face masks. It was puzzling, but we now understand the advantages! I always get a fall flu shot and will be quite happy to get a fall COVID boaster, if they decide they're needed. But I also usually get one bad cold each winter and this year - nothing! And my allergies aren't a problem this spring! I hope we don't return to the old traditions of shaking hands and blowing out lots of candles on cakes that everybody then eats. I'll probably always carry hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes in my purse in the future, if only to ward off other unknown viruses out there!

Looks like they are planning Push for June 2021 at the Mariinsky: https://balletandopera.com/modern_dance/Evening_of_one_act_ballets___Push_Comes_/info/?sid=GLE_1 What a treat it would be to see! Push has never been revived by ABT, although an excerpt appeared on one of their Gala programs just a few years ago. I always envisioned Daniil Simkiin in the role. Pennsylvania Ballet did it in 2008 (pre-Corella). Has anybody else? https://www.playbill.com/article/pennsylvania-ballet-tharps-push-comes-to-shove-shows-its-sense-of-humor

Am I the only person disappointed that Mariinsky is bringing Jewels to the Kennedy Center? Classic Balanchine, but so readily available in performances and recordings (Medici and Marquee both have the Mariinsky Jewels). I'm wondering if the US sensitivity to cultural appropriation and offenses is making presenters nervous. La Bayadere has known problems with brown-face. Reports recently that Paris Opera Ballet is being criticized for cultural offensiveness in Raymonda. I assume all those Nutcrackers will be appropriately sanitized, which is overdue. And, of course, the shipping costs for sets for Jewels are minimal compared to the 19th century classics. Still... As others note, I hope Mariinsky will visit other US cities next spring, but I haven't seen any announcements.

I watched the livestream and enjoyed it, along with 151 other digital attendees. If you follow Skylar on Instagram, she has a huge collection of short clips on the top "stories" this morning. Skylar and Aran were the guest stars with a performance by the School of the Boca Ballet, so the rest of the dancers were students. But modifications to the choreography were appropriate and the students were well-rehearsed. What a treat for those students to perform with these ABT principals! The stage seemed small, but the sets were quite good, as were most of the costumes. Recorded music, of course, but the dancers were maskless, although an announcement at the beginning reminded the audience they must keep masks on during the performance. I have no idea what precautions were taken for the dancers -- vaccinations? bubbles? testing? It's Florida, so who knows. Skylar is the queen of the long balances and there was one in black swan in arabesque that went on forever, with Aran patiently waiting behind her with outstretched arms. Fun to see. In Act II, she almost seemed a little too deliberate in incorporating all the coaching details, and she needed to loosen up just a tad. Act III was spectacular for both. She's quite the technician -- turns, fouettes, all were impressive. I was puzzled at the choice of an ending. Siegfried fought Rothbart, but then disappeared from the stage, never to return. Rothbart towered over Odette and the swans who seemed to be doomed to that fate forever as the curtain came down. I can understand why a program geared at young people would want to avoid celebrating suicide! But why not have Siegfried defeat Rothbart and show good conquering evil? Not sure I understand that at all. Here's the explanation in the program notes: Odette, after reviving the prince, tells him that due to his unfaithfulness she will forever be a swan. Siegfried reluctantly accepts his fate and returns to the world of earthly creatures, knowing that he will never see her again. I certainly hope Skylar and Aran get to do a real Swan Lake with ABT at Lincoln Center. They've earned it.

This is only on today (Sunday), for those who missed it. Definitely worth checking this out. https://vimeo.com/546622055 I have watched their earlier (free) presentations of Balanchine ballets this past year. For a small regional company (29 dancers by my count), they have an extraordinary rep of Balanchine ballets and, of course, Ib Anderson as artistic director. What a great experience both for Phoenix audiences and the dancers.

Skylar Brandt & Aran Bell will perform Swan Lake on Saturday, May 8 at 7:30 p. m. EDT with Boca Ballet, both in the theater and in a live stream ($25). They have been posting extensive rehearsal clips in recent weeks on Instagram, coached by Max Beloserkovsky. It's Skylar's debut in the role. (Not sure about Aran.) https://www.bocaballet.org/season

For out-of-towners, programs 1 & 2 are really attractive, as you can see both on a long weekend, although I agree that some of the choices would not be my first choice. The other big attraction is program 4 -- two great ballets packed into one program!

NYCB's Spring Gala is on YouTube through May 20: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS-_IjGYWv4