California

What a treat to see Kimin Kim -- I saw him at the Kennedy Center in La Bayadere and looked forward to seeing him again with ABT. His technique is rock solid and elegant, but the partnering often seemed a little shaky to me - like having to re-grab her to get a good hold. I wonder if they have performed much together before. I don't remember that from his partnership with Tereshkina. I think this is available for 24 hours.

They could do what PNB did to see their Giselle: send them a donation and you'll get access. They could even set a minimum donation. If it's as good as early reviews suggested, this would make me MORE likely to buy a ticket to the theater next year, not less.

Yup! We have gotten so spoiled in recent weeks by the incredible amount of new programming by major companies showing us complete works we had not before seen on DVDs or elsewhere. This "gala" was even sadder in contrast. It might have sounded like a good idea in isolation to have us watch an endless stream of celebrities toasting ABT's 80th, but with so little dancing it was mainly just a big bore. ABT has announced a schedule of other things in the coming weeks, and I wonder if we'll see some serious performances or just more classes and interviews.

San Francisco Ballet's Romeo and Juliet is starting now on Lincoln Center at Home with Kochetkova.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk9WDFKf3TjXwk1rf1tgfGg/featured Not listed yet, but this is where I'll look. Their web site says it will be available there and on YouTube: https://www.stuttgart-ballet.de/

Yes, this is the "secret" at the typical regional companies with about 30 dancers on regular contracts (including Colorado Ballet). It's why they can manage huge productions like Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Don Quixote, etc. But I've never been disappointed. And this not only provides serious performing opportunities in a wide-ranging rep for dancers at all career stages, it also introduces regional audiences to major works they would never otherwise see in the theater.

La Sonnambula is starting (9 am PDT):

The tape is on-line until May 13 -- try contacting them?

It's already streaming and definitely worth it! So many details that vary from the more "traditional" versions we are used to - and also vary from the Ratmansky reconstruction we saw from the Bolshoi. I'm watching Act II and look forward to comparing notes with others later. (My invitation arrived at 1 pm PDT.)

A sobering look at the performing arts in Colorado post-COVID. This might be more representative of cities around the country than NYC. https://coloradosun.com/2020/05/08/colorado-arts-companies-risk-failure-coronavirus/?mc_cid=ba07f973fe&mc_eid=b6e6ac669f My personal view: our governor (Jared Polis) has been doing a great job managing this crisis and, as the article explains, there are many philanthropies helping. As best anyone can tell in retrospect, the virus got to Colorado very early thanks to people from NYC and Europe heading to Vail and Aspen for winter ski holidays. Central City Opera has been cancelled for summer 2020, but the Vail Dance Festival is hanging on, with a generous policy on ticket refunds and exchanges. I've been wondering if the covered but still outdoor amphitheater gives them more leeway for spacing, etc., etc.

On this 75th anniversary of VE day, Perm Opera Ballet has posted an interesting one-hour documentary. It includes extensive b&w footage from WWII, interspersed with interviews with elderly people who seem to be speaking about those experiences. No translations from the Russian, alas. I have spoken with Colorado Ballet Russians trained at Perm. They speak fondly of how the Kirov and Vaganova school were evacuated from Leningrad during the War to Perm. Even today they take great pride in their Vaganova traditions. If anybody on here can give us a sense of the Russian interviews, please do.

A new work by Miami City Ballet on-line this Friday: Miami City Ballet marketing@miamicityballet.org via response.wordfly.com Join us on Friday at 8pm to salute the essential workers | View in browser A Dance For Heroes Inspired by and dedicated to the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic Friday May 8 at 8pm EST on Facebook Join us on Facebook this Friday night for a special event. Full of love and vitality, A Dance for Heroes is an expression of the generosity and bravery of all of our essential workers who have worked with uncompromising courage and grace throughout this crisis. A Dance for Heroes features four extraordinary dancers: MCB Principal dancers Jennifer Lauren and Renan Cerdeiro, and MCB School Pre-professional dancers Taylor Naturkas and Erick Rojas. Please join us online this Friday to connect with fellow dance-lovers, and salute the inspiring people that are selflessly caring for others during this challenging time. Visit this link to the MCB Facebook page and click ‘Get Reminder’. Join us on Facebook We are incredibly grateful to all those that have supported Miami City Ballet during this time. As a non-profit organization, MCB employs over a hundred fiercely dedicated operational and artistic staff members, faculty and dancers to deliver the world-class performances, education and engagement programs that bring arts into the community. As we look ahead to a changed world, we depend on the vital support and generosity of our audiences and donors. If you can help, please consider donating here. Socially Distanced Creation This new MCB work was created in isolation during the past few weeks. The dancers learned the choreography remotely via video link, and each part was filmed separately at our MCB studios. Read about how the work was created in Artburst here, and watch a sneak peek of behind the scenes here. Choreographer Durante Verzola This world premiere is choreographed by rising star Durante Verzola. Durante has another world premiere coming up; a Miami-inspired work as part of Ablaze during MCB's 2020/21 Season.

Dance against Cancer: today only (Tuesday)! 10-year retrospective

Better late than never -- the refund for my ABT subscription finally posted this morning on my credit card statement. I have no idea why it took so long.

What a treat - thank you! Corella is even better than we remember - the rock-solid pirouettes that go on and on forever, the super-high split jumps, the endless one-arm lifts...best of all, he seems to enjoy himself so much. His enthusiasm is truly infectious.

Opera, not ballet, but the Central City Opera Festival just announced that the entire 2020 program will be postponed to 2021. It strikes me that this is smart in terms of rehearsal time, ticket sales, etc. https://centralcityopera.org/ If you plan to attend Vail Dance in the future, you might consider a day or two in Central City. I'm not an opera buff, but I go with family members who are, and we always enjoy the caliber of this festival in a charming historic, beautifully restored opera house from the 19th century. (Those old miners loved their operas!)

Yes. I was so looking forward to seeing him partner Sarah Lane in Giselle in the now-cancelled season. Will we ever see those two together again? Will we be able to travel to Berlin to see Simkin in the coming years, or will we have to self-quarantine for two weeks first? He posts a lot of clips, which are great fun. (And I think he grew up in Berlin, didn't he?)

I watched the Bolshoi stream this morning and remembered why I didn't bother with it after the first season -- it was an interesting novelty to see major dancers in drag at the Met (Simkin, Hallberg) + curiosity about Shostakovich, ballets in the Stalinist 30s. But nothing particularly interesting enough to want to go back the next year.

I see the problem a bit differently: serious balletomanes love to see the historic reconstructions, but those don't sell tickets over the long haul to broader audiences. I loved seeing the Swan Lake reconstruction and had been thinking (pre-COVID-19) that it might be worth a trip to Miami to see it again. But in truth, things we expect in contemporary productions are missing as aesthetic standards have evolved. Today, most in the ticket-buying audience love seeing the super-athletic interpolations. They're thrilling, even if they're not historically accurate. I saw a few performances of the Sleeping Beauty reconstruction the first season but haven't been back. I find all those gigantic wigs, demi-pointe, long tutus, etc. boring and would rather see a contemporary version with more flash and pizzaz. For Golden Cockerel, once was enough for me. Ditto for Harlequinade. Glad I saw them but I'm not going back. (Meanwhile, I would happily buy tickets repeatedly for Trilogy.) The Giselle reconstructions seem to fare better at the box office (PNB and Bolshoi), as elements we love about contemporary productions are mostly there, along with some interesting reconstruction elements (the Wilis fugue, e.g.). But Ratmansky's other reconstructions are mainly of historic interest. So the dilemma: if we want to see these very expensive historic reconstructions, are we willing to support them with ticket purchases and perhaps donations? If not, then we need to understand why companies revert to more contemporary versions that sell tickets. Joffrey did some historically important reconstructions in the 70s/80s, but they disappeared from the theater. Oakland Ballet performed historically important work by Bronislava Nijinska in the 80s, but those apparently didn't sell either. At least the Joffrey reconstructions survive from PBS recordings.

If I read the dates correctly, this was her retirement performance. Most of that is included on her DVD, Restless Creature: https://www.amazon.com/Restless-Creature-Whalen-Linda-Saffire/dp/B075P9VPCX/ And it's included (for now) on Amazon Prime, if you subscribe.

If you're missing Joaquin du Luz, this wonderful performance will remind you why. He's terrific! So is Kochetkova. I was much more impressed by this than I ever was by her performances with ABT years ago. Free-lancing seems to serve her well. And they are both obviously having a great time.

Oh, I know, but more casual ballet audience members might think there are other more worthy causes that didn't get PPP. We're all being bombarded with pleas for $$ from every performing arts group, museum, college, restaurant, etc. that has our e-mail address. I just sent in my donation so I can see the Giselle May 8! Can't wait, but I'm still hoping I can see it in person someday, along with all the extras!

Perhaps they're going in alphabetical order or perhaps starting on the east coast and moving west? Mine hasn't arrived as of two minutes ago.

I don't think there is a public list (yet) of everybody who has gotten one. (If I'm wrong, please post the link.) It's possible they did and it's possible they applied for the more recent offering. Ditto for NYCB. More cynically, if people know you got PP, they might be less likely to donate to your emergency fund-raising.

A quick google for "ballet" and "paycheck protection": San Francisco Ballet, Smuin Ballet, and Lines got these grants. Oakland Ballet did not. I wonder if large companies with administrative, fiscal, and legal staffs that could move very quickly benefitted most. https://www.kqed.org/arts/13879630/in-the-dance-world-a-struggle-for-relief-funding-forces-new-approaches