California

I have been looking at almost all the digital subscriptions (PNB, San Francisco, Boston, Sarasota, Louisville -- okay, I'm retired), free things like Arizona, etc., etc., etc. Perhaps it's COVID fatigue, but I most enjoy the comfort food of the classics, usually performed by different dancers than I've seen, which keeps them interesting. So I loved the opening Pas de Sept by Bournonville by Arizona, and the classic PdD at San Francisco. I understand that new work is more interesting for the dancers. Well, okay. If they need that artistic nourishment, fine. But let me see the classics mixed in. It's going to be a long time before we're back in the theater (fall?). MacKay seems very young and there were moments of insecurity, I thought, at both SF and the "Night at the Ballet" with Shevchenko. But he will be very interesting to watch as he matures and gains more confidence.

Facebook memories just pulled up photos from my visit to NYCB's Balanchine Birthday celebration eight years ago. I had included a photo of the orchestra pit showing those Lucite panels they use for noise protection from each other (an OSHA regulation, also written into the musicians' contract). Now I am thinking those same panels will be useful for COVID protection when they finally return. (Good time to buy stock in Lucite?)

Watched it this morning and plan to watch it many more times while it's available! Nice review. This is so sad and eerie -- their last performance before the lock-down 10 months ago. It's like looking back at newspapers from September 10, 2001. Of course, this is a familiar ballet to many -- from PNB's recordings, NYCB's frequent season end. But it's lovely to see and, yes, sparkling throughout. The chance to see Ratmansky's Symphony #9 again later in the season sold me on taking the plunge for a digital subscription, but so many other nice things are included. And, if I understand correctly, we will get to see excerpts from the recent Gala.

Most famously, of course, Vestris (choreographed for Baryshnikov) is on the Baryshnikov Live at Wolf Trap DVD. I thought the coaching of the BB dancer was quite good -- very reminiscent of the performance immortalized on that DVD by Baryshnikov. The other two pieces were so different -- very interesting.

The third program opens tomorrow on Boston Ballet's digital subscription and it's impressive: 3 by Yacobson, Bella Figura by Kylian, and Symphony in 3 Movements! I hadn't seen the complete listing until now. The four remaining programs are $120. https://bostonballet.widen.net/s/dk6w2p7h7s/bb_lookbackfocusforward_playbill?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FY21_SUB_EM_RTN_PreShow3&utm_content=version_A EDITED TO ADD: I just watched the program. The three by Yacobson are fascinating and they have a brief commentary by Janice Ross, who published an important book about him, Like a Bomb Going Off. Excerpts by Kylian. But no Symphony in 3 - just a very brief clip during an interview. I must have misread the program.

As a former employee at NEH (LONG ago), I am not crazy about this idea. The two Endowments managed to stay off the radar screen for the last four years and did pretty well with Congress in funding. Elevating them to cabinet status makes them an easy target in future administrations, if not for abolition then massive cuts. I'm also not happy that "Humanities" are not named in the proposed cabinet position. If you study the interesting history of NEA and NEH since their founding in 1965, there have been fascinating shifts in focus. At the beginning, the credibility of the humanities was able to bring the arts along. Later, when NEH got into some trouble (e.g., over their state humanities councils) the arts dragged the humanities along for survival. When the Mapplethorpe controversy emerged in the late 80s, NEH dragged the arts along for funding and survival. Etc., etc. Please also note that there are actually programs funding art and humanities scattered all over the government -- cultural programs at the State Department, arts education programs at the Department of Education, and many more. There would be pressure to consolidate all into the new cabinet agency and that just makes them easier to cut and more difficult to administer. I would like to see a return to recognition of the importance of both the arts and humanities in the Biden administration and I think we'll see it. European countries typically have a "Ministry of Culture," which the Endowments have sought to avoid and which also played a role in their founding and continuation. So I'd avoid the word "culture" in naming anything. Well, enough.

According to the Instagram "stories" this morning, SFB actually had a fleet of delivery trucks taking actual dinner, wine, and flowers to each donor before the streamed gala started! So that would explain the limitation on number. They are raising the bar on streamed events, for sure. (Sorry - no way to give you a link to Stories.)

The Oakland Ballet restaged some of her ballets: https://oaklandballet.org/about/obc-history/ They performed Les Noces at the U of Maryland in 1982, which I was able to see. Very interesting report by Alan Kriegsman: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1982/05/23/the-wonder-of-nijinskas-noces/e299ba5f-32ae-4054-ba65-45e315854cf8/ My suggestion: Classical companies all seem to be in a race to find female choreographers to offset the historic imbalance. Wouldn't it be nice if one of them set about reconstructing her ballets? At least two seem plausible: Les Noces and Les Biches.

A little tidbit that might be of interest: newly-elected Rep Lauren Boebert (yes, THAT one) defeated in the Republic primary a moderate Republican, Scott Tipton, who had been a very loyal NEA/NEH supporter. I was part of a lobbying group a few years ago that visited his offices to thank him. https://www.cpr.org/2020/12/15/rep-scott-tipton-says-hell-miss-the-clowns-but-not-the-congressional-circus-after-10-years-in-office/

And here's the 1964 version. My understanding was that Balanchine was concerned about the "flattening" effect of the TV screen for the 1977 Dance in America taping and made changes. Back in the theater, he liked the revisions so much he kept them. But PNB was allowed to do the earlier version, as that was the version Francia Russell knew: https://www.pnb.org/repertory/the-four-temperaments/

Quite a surprise! I think most readers of this site know about the other two versions -- pre-Dance in America filming and after. PNB does the pre version, reportedly with Balanchine's permission. But the tape shows a very different concept. Not sure it works, but it's nice to see yet another example of how Balanchine revised his own work over the years.

I especially enjoyed program one with excerpts from Ashton -- especially since we don't often see his work anymore. But they have all been very enjoyable.

Thanks for your thoughts on this program. I've subscribed for their entire year of digital performances and I am enjoying them. I had planned to see this company last August at the Joyce and hope they're able to return in the future so we can see them in the theater.

If people wonder about the source, Tiler described the symptoms as "covid-like" on Instagram yesterday. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJX148AFZdx/

Here is their exit: https://www.balletchicago.org/serenade?pgid=jpvq0knw-10873e28-bf96-4891-a4f6-eeceaeddab9d Agree with you on the power of Serenade -- it's one of several Balanchine ballets that can make me tear up at the sheer genius of it all. Never gets old!

Definitely worth watching! More innovation from the dance community. I would love to visit that estate in the daytime in good weather. I was intrigued with the see-through masks in the living room and wonder how effective they are -- nice to actually see faces! I didn't like the inclusion of an old-fashioned handshake -- as Dr. Fauci said recently, those should be banished to the dustbin of history even after the pandemic subsides. Wonderful to see Sara Mearns as SPF. Very nice production. Hope they made a little money!

I'm still hoping Royal Danish stages a big Bournonville festival again someday. It's been many years since they did that and will be my excuse to visit Copenhagen. https://danceviewtimes.typepad.com/eva_kistrup/2018/06/fighting-for-bournonville.html Although the festival [2015] present (sic) an amount of Bournonville, it is not officially named as a Bournonville Festival. It does appears 13 years since the last Bournonville Festival in 2005, which in its turn was 13 years later than the second Bournonville Festival in 1992, that followed 13 years after the first glorious festival in 1979.

Very interesting -- thank you. I'm curious what you think of the NYCB Nutcracker included in the Medici.tv subscription. It's a 2011 recording with Megan Fairchild and Joaquin De Luz. I assume NYCB wasn't happy about the competition with their Marque for-sale version, but couldn't undo the contract.

I have to think every summer festival director is going through the same calculations -- Santa Fe Opera, Saratoga, Jacob's Pillow. Can they survive two cancelled summers?

Sounds like the Vail Dance Festival expects to be back July 30 in-person. In 2021, we are looking forward to an in-person Vail Dance Festival beginning on July 30th with Calvin Royal III as our Artist-In-Residence and BalletX as our Company-In-Residence, and many of the extraordinary dancers, musicians, and artists who call the Vail Dance Festival their summer home! We are planning for a lively Festival of performances, free events for the community, and education activities including Celebrate the Beat for local Children.* As we look to our return to the stage, there's never been a more important time to support the Vail Dance Festival. There are so many ways to show your support this holiday season. Click the button below to learn more. LEARN MORE *As possible while following local, county, and state COVID-19 protocols

I've watched this several times over the weekend. Such a great pair. Doesn't he have a little summer touring group -- Ulbricht and friends, or some such? He's savvy enough to know Lane's presence would sell tickets, for sure. Next summer perhaps?

SPOILER ALERT! You might have noticed a promise for a "surprise" at 6 pm EST Sunday. It's now appeared on YouTube and you can set a reminder: Maria Khoreva and Kimin Kim in La Bayadere! That would explain the St. Petersburg film crew:

The Royal Ballet just announced that several dancers (soloists and first artists) are leaving the company under a "voluntary redundancy" program during COVID. I wonder how many dancers will be leaving other companies around the world: https://www.roh.org.uk/news/the-royal-ballet-announces-news-of-dancers-leaving-the-company-in-2020

I watched last night and enjoyed it. More lemonade from lemons! I always enjoy seeing new pairings (something Vail does well) and they had several. So nice to see Sarah Lane with Daniel Ulbricht! Shevchenko with Bell and MacKay was wonderful to see, as well. Classical gala PdD, nicely-performed -- Nutcracker PdD, Don Q, R&J, Flower Festival. They got permission for using the choreography of MacMillan, etc. The performing space seemed a little cramped, but okay. I hope they are able to raise some money for this and do another in the spring.

I watched it this morning. It is password protected for people who bought their digital subscription. I was impressed at their ability to make lemonade from lemons, as it were. The program opened with the Nutcracker Grand Pas -- in costume, with white masks and, most notably, a beautiful piano transcription accompaniment by a live pianist! The Ellington was very nicely done -- I had no idea he'd written this music, so that was a pleasant surprise. The company was dressed in basic leotards, pants, and skirts (red, black, white), with black masks -- very effective for each movement. Classical ballet with a jazzy twist that was easy to watch. It's nice to see them finding ways to keep the dancers employed and supporters engaged.