California

I'm sure I'm not the only BAer who has seen him at performances. My favorite spotting: fall of 2012 at City Center, for the premiere of Ratmansky's Symphony No. 9 (the first installment of the Trilogy). He and Caroline Kennedy were both seated in the orchestra (not together, though), right before the 2012 elections.

Steven Colbert has done a lot to highlight ballet. He once had Hallberg on to show him some steps. And didn't he have Misty Copeland on? If he's as smart as I think he is, he'll bring on some super-athletic ballet men to his show.

I'm as troubled as anybody about his politics (and still refer to the State Theatre), but in fairness to him, he has been very active in supporting ABT long before his marriage to Julia in 1996. ABT just posted this on ABT's Facebook page: American Ballet Theatre mourns the loss of David H. Koch, a steadfast leader, enthusiastic ambassador, and generous supporter of America’s National Ballet Company® for over 40 years. He served on the American Ballet Theatre Board of Governing Trustees for 34 years and served as Vice Chairman since 1990. In recognition of his boundless enthusiasm for ballet and the arts, he was honored at the ABT Spring Gala in 1992 and received the distinguished Lucia Chase Award in 2000. David and his wife, Julia, hosted and chaired countless galas, dinners, performances, and events for ABT at Lincoln Center and at their homes in Palm Beach and in New York City. David championed and supported the work of internationally acclaimed ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky and his world premieres for American Ballet Theatre, including, Shostakovich Trilogy, The Tempest, The Nutcracker, Firebird and The Sleeping Beauty, propelling ABT’s mission of preserving and extending the canon of classical ballet. David’s gift to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts enabled a modernization of the David H. Koch Theater, which is now an important venue for ABT in New York City. David joyfully celebrated the beauty of dance throughout his life, and we are deeply grateful for his commitment to sustaining a living cultural treasure through his support of ABT. 📷: David H. Koch with ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie and wife Julia Koch at ABT’s 2013 Spring Gala

I'm glad to see that the bullying issue is emerging, especially in the current political environment -- this was not just about ballet. https://pagesix.com/2019/08/23/lara-spencer-apologizes-for-laughing-about-prince-george-taking-ballet/?_ga=2.241248065.2127921789.1566483993-1407670083.1553000903

Apologies -- I can't seem to find the discussion back on how to access JStor journals. You can register and get free access to six articles a month: https://support.jstor.org/hc/en-us/articles/115004760028-How-to-register-get-free-access-to-content (If this belongs somewhere else, please move.)

Amazing that they couldn't get their stories straight. Injury requiring medical attention? Or insufficient time to learn the role? At least judging from social media from other dancers, it seems common to rehearse future roles far in advance, as they can work them in. The Sylph doesn't have the sort of technical demands of Odile and it seemed like a good role for her to try. Cornejo had some interesting Instagram last week about his own rehearsals for the role, and it seemed odd we never saw a partner. Now he seems to have gone silent. He was quite the gentleman in speaking about the Swan Lake Met story - the mystery flu that disappeared in time for the second performance.

A dumb question, perhaps: when did the shift away from the knee-length tutus we see in various reconstructions to the short, flat "pancake" tutus happen and where?

It's not just DC. The Met schedule for 2020 will be announced in late October, with a lot of casting (although, as we know all too well, much of that will be shuffled around later). As they skipped Giselle last season, the educated guessing is they'll do it in 2020. But this is the best kind of lobbying for a role -- showing what you'd do with it. She also has rehearsal clips from Bayadere. If they're doing Act II in Chicago on tour, that might be in the plans for Met 2020, as well.

I follow a lot of dancers on Instagram and she is making the best possible use of the medium, in my opinion -- educational, captivating; she makes you want to see her in performance. I love the detail in the coaching -- there's always more to learn, even for us long-time balletomanes. I know others (apparently) enjoy pictures of food, pets, friends, parties, gala costumes, whatever...pretty boring very quickly...

In the relentless Facebook ads from Kennedy Center, the photo of Hallberg in Giselle seems to have disappeared. That all TBA Sunday is intriguing! I'm guessing the Met season will have a week of Giselle -- lots of debuts could make this interesting.

Thanks for the tip about Brandt's Instagram site -- so many great rehearsal/coaching videos! Highly recommended: https://www.instagram.com/skylarbrandt/ And she's only a soloist!

This is on her public Facebook page: SONYA YONCHEVA is with Nicolas Levastre and Julia Aguirre. 12 hrs · A real gentleman, philanthropist, artist, charming and peaceful human being, who is devoted to the new generation of singers in the most humble and respectful way. I know Placido for nearly 10 years and it was, it is always a great pleasure to work with him. You can rarely find today a person who respects more his job, his colleagues, the team of each theater and his fans. An irreplaceable figure in our industry, he, more than anybody else, proved that a successful career depends only on your work and your talent, nothing else can help it or destroy it! Placido Domingo

Just one dance-related grant in the August 2019 cycle: $10,000 to the Chicago Film Archives: among other things, storage of an AV collection on modern dancer and choreographer Sybil Sherer https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/NEH-Grant-Awards-August-2019-PDF.pdf

From the little I've seen so far of Bell, I can't wait to see what he does with full-lengths.

Whiteside's piece was well-received at Vail and it's a chance to show off Aran Bell and Catherine Hurlin. It's first on these clips. I'm wondering when they'll show Jardin aux Lilas - perhaps at the 2020 Met season?

The Washington Post is $3.99/month via Amazon. Excellent national and political reporting.

To fully acclimatize in Denver, we're told it takes 3-6 weeks. In lay terms, the balance of red blood cells increases gradually to absorb more oxygen as the air is thinner. A few days will give you enough strength for normal activities. The U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs is at 6,500 ft. It always seemed to me that training at altitude is a legal form of blood-doping for athletes, but it does take some time. I also noticed an abundance of emergency defibrillators in red boxes in Vail, like you might see fire alarms, but it wouldn't be a bad idea if those were routinely installed everywhere.

I guess you won't find it reassuring that my hotel room had two bottles of water and one oxygen canister. Oxygen canisters in various sizes are for sale at the Vail Village shops. A few years ago, Sara Mearns went home with altitude sickness. I don't think she's been back. Daniel Ulbricht in past years said dancing at Vail was like dancing with bricks tied to your chest. Yet he brought his touring group "Stars of the American Ballet" this year to Aspen, which is about the same altitude. https://www.aspentimes.com/entertainment/new-york-city-ballet-principal-dancer-daniel-ulbricht-brings-stars-of-american-ballet-to-aspen/

Rehearsal footage of Giselle: In performance, they continued on to do Albrecht's solo and her backward moving entrechats. Quite a long excerpt.

A nice clip of Mejia in Fandango Friday night:

A little rehearsal footage from Instagram of Cornejo and Cojocaru in Romeo and Juliet

I ventured back to the Vail Festival this weekend, the first time I've visited since 2010 (!). I attended the two "International Evenings of Dance" and just want to note some highlights -- dancers and roles I'd like to see again and some I won't bother with. Alina Cojocaru and Herman Cornejo: They did Ashton's Rhapsody on Friday and MacMillan's balcony PdD from Romeo and Juliet on Saturday. What a gorgeous pairing. The chemistry was intense, moving, and just unimaginably beautiful. I would love to see her again at ABT (although that would mean evicting a local principal, I know). Perhaps he could do some guest work at ENB? Worth a trip to London, for sure! Joseph Gordon: I've been a fan since I saw him do Coppelia with Ashley Bouder a few years ago. He was wonderful in the Giselle PdD with Lauren Lovette, who was also stunning. They had a very slight bobble when he kneeled in the wrong place before her bouree to lean on him, but otherwise they looked liked seasoned pros in these roles. He partnered Maria Kochetkova in La Sylphide on Saturday. It was no surprise, as a Balanchine-trained dancer, that his Bournonville technique is gorgeous. James Whiteside: This was a great weekend for him. On Friday, he led a huge group of young children in the opening number. On Saturday he did the complete Duo Concertant with Lovette. Pianist and violinist were on stage for this one, as they would be in the State Theater. What a treat! And they got the lighting right, even in that odd outdoor amphitheater, to show her face and stretched arm alone in the final moments. Then Whiteside returned for the final number 1.2.3.4.5.6 by Woetzel and Dorrance -- first with a sizzling combination of mind-boggling chainee turns in ballet shoes and then with tap shoes. I have a new appreciation for him after seeing his Deuce Coupe at the Met this spring. His personality and energy go a long way in a variety of works and his technique is very strong. Roman Mejia: This 19-year-old from NYCB was hot all weekend. He did Ratmansky's Fandango to close the program Friday; originally choreographed for Wendy Whelan, it was modified slightly for him. On Saturday, he was one of eight cast members in the premiere of Alonzo King's The Personal Element. This might be one ballet that is performed again somewhere else. (At the opening announcement for the evening, we learned that Vail has hosted 83 premieres, but they didn't say how many have been performed again elsewhere.) Jacqueline Green: She did two of the old Judith Jamison roles, Pas de Duke and Cry, by Alvin Ailey. Powerful, and a wistful reminder of the glory days of that company. Cunningham/Cage: It was interesting to see two of his pieces, Duet from Trails (Melissa Toogood and Calvin Royal III) and Solo from Antic Meet (Toogood). Another salute to a history mostly gone now and some nice variation from the classical ballet on the program. Tap dancing: Michelle Dorance performed both nights with Lil Buck. Adds some variation in a program of mostly classical brief excerpts. Not my favorites. Disappointments: Catherine Hurlin and Julian MacKay opened Friday's program with the Don Q PdD. He slipped and took a bad fall on his first variation and it seemed to spook both of them. She knocked out the fouettes, but both seemed to be holding back throughout. At the time, I thought, well, maybe it's the altitude. I know she's been spotted as somebody to watch. I'll have to watch her at sea level to decide for myself. Maria Kochetkova: Although her Sylph was lovely on Saturday, she did a writhing, floor-crawling, contortionist solo with dim lighting on Friday that was a big bore (DeGunino by Marcos Morau). I think this was her first visit to Vail and she posted rehearsal video complaining about the 8K+ altitude with a soundtrack of heavy panting. Flower Festival in Genzano: Isabella Boylston and Julian MacKay seemed to enjoy doing this, but it didn't have the sparkle it needed to wow the audience. Excerpts from great ballets: These just don't always work well in this setting. Isabella Boylston and Cory Stearns did a credible PdD from the Act I Bedroom scene in Manon, but without the build-up or set it fell flat. Calvin Royal III and Unity Phelan did a brief excerpt from Apollo. Credible, but not very convincing. Devon Teuscher and Cory Stearns did Todd Bolender's The Still Point to Debussy. Sorry, but this was another big bore. Music: They did use some recorded music, a necessity in this kind of setting, but I was impressed at how often they were able to opt for live music. A wonderful string quartet (Brooklyn Rider) accompanied several pieces and piano, violin and/or viola were used for several other pieces. Vail: One big reason I've avoided this festival for so many years (and am unlikely to return any time soon) is just the enormous hassle of getting to and from Vail for the weekend! I live in Denver and whether you're driving in a car or, now, on the state's new Bustang bus service, you're trapped for 4 hours on the I-70 traffic, which is bumper-to-bumper crawl much of the trip both ways. The state knows it has a problem and there are hopes for re-opening train service from Denver to some of the nearby ski resorts this winter, but that will be limited. The Bustang service is an attempt to get cars off the road. But there aren't many options. There's no feasible way to widen I-70 on those mountain passes and there just isn't a viable alternate route. It's easier and less stressful for me to just fly to NYC, DC, SF, or LA, frankly, to see great dancing. The altitude is an issue for everybody, even though I am acclimated at 5K+ in Denver. You do need to take it easy, drink a lot of water and (for me) lots of aspirin to stave off the altitude headaches. It must be brutal on the dancers and some adjust better than others. Vail Festival: I was very glad to see that the Festival organizers have made some big improvements in recent years, which got my attention. E.g., their friends program now lets you plunk down a mere $200 donation and get advanced access to single tickets, plus access to open rehearsals in the amphitheater in the afternoon 1-4. And you can bring in lunch during the rehearsal! For those of us who have seen enough of the tourist-y shopping and aren't interested in golf or tennis or hiking during the day, this was a really welcome option.

Digital subscriptions are surprisingly cheap. We have to get past the idea that journalists/writers of any kind should work for free.

On the bright side, it looks like they did not opt for the all-freelancer approach taken by so many other newspapers today. Other than the Washington Post, are there any other papers in the US that actually have a full-time dance critic on staff?

There was a 1983 film on Baryshnikov with some biography and a new work created on him by Choo San Goh. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1237371/ If you search on YouTube, it's been posted in segments. Many thought The Turning Point had obvious biographical elements on Baryshnikov. Ditto for White Nights It's expensive to make documentaries and you need a big name. It took YEARS to get the Marcelo Gomes documentary made and it seemed to be quite a struggle to come up with funds. https://www.dancechanneltv.com/anatomy-of-a-male-ballet-dancer-trailer/ https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Ballet-Dancer-Marcelo-Gomes/dp/B07GYX8655/ It's also quite possible that living artists aren't eager to have a documentary made about them. We don't know about those named.