California

This just appeared on Facebook: copyright issues over the score. When I looked yesterday, it was still a truncated tape. Let's hope they can repost the entire thing soon. On Sunday August 2nd Ballet Arizona and The Phoenix Symphony showcased the beloved performance of La Sylphide. The music from this ballet was created in 1832, and although The Phoenix Symphony has obtained all the necessary copyright approvals, this performance has been flagged by YouTube. TPS has disputed the licensing concerns and are awaiting a decision from YouTube. We anticipate to have a full video for public viewing in the coming weeks. Our apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.

I have been hoping that companies would try this. I'll be curious to see how much they charge to watch these. From their web site, these are the three programs: PURITY IN MOTION (Program 1) 23 – 25 October 2020 FSU Center for the Performing Arts George Balanchine's Donizetti Variations Ricardo Graziano's Amorosa Paul Taylor's Company B BEYOND EXPRESSION (Program 2) 20 – 21 November 2020 Sarasota Opera House Sir Frederick Ashton's Birthday Offering Sir Frederick Ashton's Dante Sonata Sir David Bintley's The Spider's Feast ROMEO & JULIET (Program 3) 18 – 19 December 2020 Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall Sir Frederick Ashton's Romeo & Juliet Composed by Sergei Prokofiev

The NYCB winter schedule opens January 19. An 8-week season would run through March 21. I don't find anything on their web page that it might be longer. What am I overlooking? https://www.nycballet.com/season-and-tickets/

Washington Ballet cancels their Nutcracker and plans "by virtual performances, such as a “create in place” project that will stream online in October. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/washington-ballet-loses-top-executive-cancels-the-nutcracker-and-rest-of-2020-season/2020/07/30/f5b4fbaa-d28b-11ea-8d32-1ebf4e9d8e0d_story.html I'm not aware of any US companies going ahead with Nutcracker. But I'm intrigued with the emergence of digital pursuits this fall from several companies, such as Ballet Arizona and Washington Ballet.

Briefly, for now. I'm a serious Manon fan, having seen all 8 performances by ABT a year ago plus three by Royal Ballet in London, plus several DVDs (Royal, Australia) and the recent ENB stream with Alina Cojocaro. But I didn't see the 2007 performances at the Met. This seems to be the NY Times review of this performance. It notes that this was Bolle's debut with ABT: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/arts/dance/13mano.html The camera work was surprisingly good. I was afraid that an archival tape would be a static shot of the stage, but it is much more sophisticated, focusing on groups, individuals, etc. as appropriate. The credits recognize the Jerome Robbins Video Archive at NYPL and I wonder if they commissioned this recording. The sound was weak. I had trouble getting a decent volume and am not sure why. It appears that Ferri thought this was her last performance of this ballet with ABT, although it was not her official retirement performance. (I believe that was R&J later in the season?) The curtain calls went on forever and she looked almost grief-stricken. She seemed to take many liberties with the choreography, especially in the PdD -- it seemed she was so comfortable, both with the ballet and with Bolle, that she could take some chances. Gillian Murphy as the mistress and Hermann Cornejo as Lescaut were spectacular. His elegant form and gorgeous technique 13 years ago were very nice to see. It was interesting to watch the credits for the corps and see many familiar names -- Copeland, Messmer, Hamrick

Tyler Rhodes, formerly of the Colorado Ballet Corps, announced today that he's going to Cornell Law School.

Ballet Arizona will stream La Sylphide on Sunday, August 2 for 24 hours, starting at 9 am PDT Ballet Arizona | 2835 E. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85034

Ballet Arizona is cancelling its fall season schedule and promising digital offerings: Director’s Choice, Giselle and the beloved annual production of The Nutcracker have been removed from the performance calendar and a more digitally focused fall season is planned. https://balletaz.org/fall-2020-season-announcement/ It's not clear, but I wonder if they are planning new work that is digital, perhaps streamed or taped, and whether they will somehow charge for it. Their press release suggests that they haven't made any decisions about spring 2021 performances at Symphony Hall and the Desert Botanical Garden. https://balletaz.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Ballet-Arizona-2020-2021-Season-Announcement.pdf

The Colorado Ballet just announced that their 2020 Nutcracker is cancelled. Giselle, originally scheduled for 8 performances in October will replace Ballet Masterworks, scheduled for April. Instead of the five productions originally planned, the season will now consist of three: The Great Gatsby (February 5 –7, 2021), The Wizard of Oz (March 5 –14, 2021) and Giselle (April 9 –18, 2021). https://www.coloradoballet.org/covid19?

I would suggest that people forward their email receipt for the donation to specialevents@abt.org It's supposed to be on-line for a week.

NEH just announced regular grants. Of special interest: Asian Art Museum Foundation Outright: $250,000 [Exhibitions: Implementation] Project Director: Forrest McGill Project Title: Asian Art Museum’s “Dance in the Arts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayan Region” Exhibition Project Description: Implementation of a traveling exhibition about dance in the arts, culture, and religion of the Indian cultural sphere. Chicago Film Archives, NFP Outright: $10,000 [Preservation Assistance Grants] Project Director: Yasmin Desouki Project Title: Refrigeration for At-Risk Films Project Description: The purchase of a storage freezer for nitrate films and a refrigerator for films suffering from vinegar syndrome. The Chicago Film Archives holds over 160 collections and more than 30,000 film items documenting the Midwest, including documentaries; avant-garde and experimental films; industrial, corporate and advertising films; educational films; and home movies. This project would support some of the most fragile audiovisual assets, including rare nitrate prints of 1929 news films from the Chicago Daily News Television Service, Mayor Edward J. Kelly, the 1933 World’s Fair, dancer Ruth Page, the original Hiawatha pageant performed by an Ojibwa community in Ontario, Canada, and a 1921 film about damage to a cathedral in Rheims, France, sustained during World War I. The complete list by state: https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/NEH July 2020 grants state by state.pdf

She has a web site and seems to do a lot of writing on dance and related topics: https://chloesangyal.com/ Her credentials include: I have a PhD in Arts and Media from the University of New South Wales and a BA in Sociology from Princeton University. My academic work focused on Hollywood romantic comedies; my doctoral thesis was about how the genre depicts gender, sex, and power.

Royal New Zealand Ballet has announced performances starting next month on August 20: http://www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/the-royal-new-zealand-ballet-back-on-stage-with-four-works

La Scala has announced a fall 2020 season: concerts, opera, ballet: https://wcti12.com/news/coronavirus/famed-la-scala-opera-house-announces-fall-season-as-cultural-life-resumes

They'll send you an email receipt. I'd suggest keeping it in your in box and forwarding to them if you don't get the link: membership@abt.org and specialevents@abt.org It will be on-line for seven days, so there will be time. Given the disorganized confusion we're seeing on the announcement, it's possible they'll send it out in batches of random order.

I'm guessing that everybody who bought a ticket with a working e-mail address got that message. Well, at least people know what to do if they want to see it. Puzzled by the "limited number" although some streaming services do have limits. The Royal's Sleeping Beauty had 9K viewers on-line.

Just got another email about Manon. This one says: As a thank you for your support, please enjoy this special performance of Manon. Kindly note that this video is exclusively for ABT donors . . . For questions or concerns please contact ABT Special Events at specialevents@abt.org.

Every week I get an email with a lot of links to various interviews, etc. with dancers, choreographers, conductors, past dancers, etc. During a normal season, ABT has a complicated tier of benefits for different levels of support -- number of dress rehearsal, in-studio rehearsals, interviews with dancers, etc., etc. So I don't know if I'm getting the same email all friends get or if this is tailored to the particular level of support for me from last fall. If you can't find this on the public facing part of the site, I think they're missing a great opportunity to bring back lapsed Friends and perhaps bring in some new ones. I suppose it's tricky -- they can't "sell" admission. They're offering access as one of many perks of being a Friend. I'll paste in the email, which doesn't say anything about level of support this went to or what level is needed to get access next week. I think people who are interested might write to their membership director and ask! The email that sent the message: membership@abt.org Dear ABT Friend, We hope you are enjoying the content and ballet tidbits we have been delivering each week. Have you ever wondered how ABT’s dancers are keeping their tone and muscle strength during this pandemic? If so, you may be particularly fascinated by the link we have provided to the daily class led by ABT Ballet Master Carlos Lopez. On this one day, he decided to record the class and give us a window into what went on. So in addition to working through the movements for each combination, as he teaches, he spotlights a few dancers as they take the class. Looking ahead, we are extremely pleased to be delivering a private link next Tuesday evening, July 28th, to a full-length video of ABT’s production of Manon. Filmed in 2007, this celebrated Kenneth MacMillan ballet features an all-star cast, led by Alessandra Ferri and Roberto Bolle, along with Herman Cornejo as Manon’s brother Lescaut, and Gillian Murphy as Lescaut’s Mistress. If you have not made an ABT donation yet this year, you can still do so here and receive this private link with up to a week to view it! Stay safe and healthy! Grey C. Johnson Director of Membership

I should not have said "cancelled." I meant switch to virtual. But the in-person part they talk about is very "iffy." (The historians are switching to virtual as well.) I'm working with a group sponsoring one of the CAA panels and the messages they've gotten suggest they will be virtual. Of course, the uncertainty of progress on the pandemic, cures, vaccines, etc. make planning awfully difficult for everyone.

This seems to be the key requirement for the Kennedy Center season to happen: Full-capacity audiences will be allowed only if Washington has reached Phase 4, which requires the availability of a vaccine and/or treatment for covid-19. Rutter said the arts center will consider smaller audiences if guidelines require. Phase 3, for example, allows theaters to have up to 50 percent capacity but no more than 250 people. The city is currently in Phase 2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/kennedy-center-plans-return-to-large-scale-performances-in-january/2020/07/23/c63d7202-ccf1-11ea-bc6a-6841b28d9093_story.html

Kennedy Center has just announced a spring 2021 dance/ballet season, including NYCB and ABT. I hope they can make this happen! But I have to note that the American Historical Association just cancelled their January convention in Seattle and the College Art Association cancelled their February annual meeting in NYC. Not identical formats, of course, but those meetings are not cancelled on a whim, given the hotel penalties they pay and their loss of revenue. (Both meetings will be held virtually.) https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/season-announcement/2021-ballet-dance-season/

Apologies to Lady MacMillan! Like many Americans, I have trouble keeping all those titles straight. I hope that ABT has serious fund-raising success with this Manon and is encouraged to pursue more. It looks like we have a long drought ahead this fall from live performances. Perhaps their Ratmansky Sleeping Beauty or Nutcracker with early casts?

No surprise, I guess, but Ballet Arizona is streaming Act III of Napoli this Sunday for 24 hours. Ballet Arizona | 2835 E. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85034

In fairness, PNB asked for a donation to get access to their Giselle. I'm guessing ABT had to get permission from Dame MacMillan and perhaps many others to post this one. (the performers? the musicians? the unions?)

If you were looking for another incentive to donate to ABT's Crisis Relief fund, here it is, just announced: Donors will get access next week to a tape of the 2007 filming of ABT’s production of Manon . . . with Alessandra Ferri and Roberto Bolle, along with Herman Cornejo as Manon’s brother Lescaut, and Gillian Murphy as Lescaut’s Mistress.