Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

California

Senior Member
  • Posts

    4,336
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by California

  1. Thanks for all the great reports on opening night. This morning, Ratmansky posted the final bows on stage with all the alums. https://www.instagram.com/p/CxZlvBisJ0D/
  2. Yes, What a treat! I love that they're being taped from the wings, close-up. It would be even better if they'd leave them on the account after the usual 24 hours!
  3. I look forward to reports from the New Yorkers on tonight's opening night at NYCB, especially alums in the audience and perhaps on-stage and any other special celebrations. Wish I could be there, too! It's too bad they aren't selling digital subscriptions, as PNB does.
  4. I really enjoyed this program and assume they'll be repeating it during the week several times. They didn't mention that they premiered their Giselle in September in London, months before the Kennedy Center engagement that they focused on. I guess they can only do so much in a program like this! They also didn't mention that this is the reconstruction that Ratmansky did for Bolshoi back in 2019, but that would have complicated the story too much for general audiences! From the press release - looks like it might end up on Max eventually. If you have HBO then you should have Max. The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps on Sunday, September 17. “Ukraine: Dancing in Defiance” will be available on demand beginning Monday, September 18, 2023 to pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps, and Cable Operator Platforms. Past episodes of The Whole Story are available to stream now on Max.
  5. I'm disappointed that Bell and Murphy aren't doing Other Dances, but I guess they figure NYC audiences saw it recently in those outdoor performances. Perhaps they'll bring it out on tour or for the Met gala. I confess that I like the "old-fashioned gala" feel to this. Guilty pleasures!
  6. The recording with Baryshnikov is on YouTube:
  7. I'm seeing plenty of items on Instagram Stories of ABT dancers back in the studio today (9/12). Not a hint of any promotions, and nothing has changed on the ABT web page. If Jaffe is promoting anybody, nothing has been announced!
  8. I did some serious googling, but Ratmansky's new Coppelia doesn't appear to be a co-production with anybody. ABT seems more interested in pursuing contemporary art works, like Woolf Works and Like Water for Chocolate. Coppelia (especially by Ratmansky) would be appreciated by serious balletomanes, but probably not the audience ABT seems to be trying to reach.
  9. Thanks for the heads-up! I just watched Royal's Woolf Works on the ROH Stream. All-star cast, starting with Ferri, Lamb, and Osipova. But I wonder: to really appreciate this, do I need to visit/revisit Woolf's novels? (I did revisit Plato's dialogue The Symposium after seeing the Ratmansky of the same name, and I don't think that helped - indeed, it was more a distraction.) Woolf Works is super-artsy-postmodern (pardon my French!) with stunning sets, lighting, costumes all quite different from anything we've seen before in ballet. That seems likely to attract a diverse contemporary arts audience who will be curious to see all of this. All the women in pointe shoes, interestingly. I think I'm going to need some guides from seasoned ballet writers to help me understand what's happening.
  10. A selfie with Simkin and the ABT Studio company posted today in Instagram stories. Any chance he's in town prepping for the spring Met season? He did Lenski with the Berlin State Opera ballet last year in Onegin. Be still my heart!
  11. If you're wondering about Daniil Simkin, he'll be in Melbourne, Australia for their Nutcrackers in December 2023. I am still hoping he will come back to ABT for spring 2024! https://fb.watch/mVrIumv2C0/
  12. SAB just sent out email that elaborates (slightly) on some of the staff changes discussed here. Of special note: Suzanne Farrell will be a visiting teacher! Chair of Faculty Darla Hoover informed us in August that she was stepping down from her position and ending her tenure on SAB’s faculty effective with the start of this Winter Term. We extend our sincere thanks to Darla for her leadership and wish her all the best in her next steps. Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford has consequently added the role of Chair of Faculty to his responsibilities and will now supervise the day-to-day work of the faculty alongside his existing oversight of SAB’s artistic functions. In addition, Susan Pilarre will not be returning to the faculty for the 2023-24 Winter Term. Joining our faculty this year will be Christopher Charles McDaniel. Christopher first entered our studios as a National Visiting Fellow and returned as a Teaching Apprentice for the past two years while concluding his performing career with Dance Theatre of Harlem. New Associate Faculty members Madison Hicks and Taylor LaBruzzo, both Juilliard alumnae, will teach weekly choreography composition and contemporary dance classes for intermediate and advanced students. While ballet technique centered on the Balanchine aesthetic remains at the core of our syllabus, this expanded curriculum will help SAB continue to ensure our students have vital exposure to the choreographic innovation and styles found in many of today’s leading ballet companies. We are also pleased to announce that SAB and NYCB alumni Debra Austin and Silas Farley will be this year’s Principal Guest Teachers, and they will be complemented by an exciting slate of guest teachers for our advanced students that will include Suzanne Farrell, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, and numerous company directors from around the U.S and abroad. Our Teaching Apprentices will be NYCB dancers Olivia MacKinnon and Harrison Coll as well as former National Visiting Fellow Michael Crawford.
  13. I found a source on the broken promise by NYCB to pay the musicians during COVID. No wonder they're angry! On Aug. 6, 2021, Arbitrator Barry Peek issued an award upholding New York City Ballet’s (“NYCB”) refusal to pay its musicians any compensation whatsoever during the 2020-21 season. The musicians of the NYCB orchestra, represented by Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, have been without any pay since June 2020 – despite the fact that NYCB had agreed on March 24, 2020, to guarantee twenty-four weeks of employment and compensation to the musicians during the 2020-21 season. NYCB management’s decision not to compensate its orchestra for the 2020-2021 season will now stand. https://slippedisc.com/2021/08/ny-city-ballet-is-told-it-does-not-have-to-pay-its-orchestra/
  14. I subscribe to Google Alert for NYCB and this is the only announcement I've received far - published yesterday: https://www.westsiderag.com/2023/09/05/exclusive-new-york-city-ballet-musicians-poised-to-strike-over-pay-benefits
  15. Any more news on the potential musicians' strike at NYCB? https://www.westsiderag.com/2023/09/05/exclusive-new-york-city-ballet-musicians-poised-to-strike-over-pay-benefits The company could use recorded music, but I doubt the members of other unions would cross the picket lines -- dancers, stage hands, etc. My memory is vague on this - didn't NYCB initially say they would pay the musicians in full during the COVID shut-down and then reneged? Or am I thinking of some other company?
  16. Judging from today's Instagrams for several ABT dancers, they are back in the studio today. Hope they make some announcements of promotions!
  17. Would it be worth contacting the London Symphony to see if their recordings are still available somewhere? https://www.lso.co.uk/
  18. Are you looking for a recording? sheet music? The complete recording is on YouTube, recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra:
  19. My disappointment was that Kochetkova never seemed to "push the envelope" and surprise us -- faster, higher, cleaner, etc. "Workmanlike" is too harsh, but I always wished for more from her.
  20. I thought she was also friends with Simkin, both Russian-born. If you google "Simkin Kochetkova" all kinds of examples pop up -- they danced together in Berlin, Russia, Teatro Colon, Tokyo, going back many years before and after her time with ABT. I have no idea if Simkin recommended her or if ABT management thought she'd be a good partner for Simkin or she wanted to join ABT and got his help. Perhaps all of the above!
  21. Just a heads-up to others who might be buying ABT tickets today: After ordering all but one of the performances I wanted, it threw me into the waiting room "You are being blocked for suspicious activity." Same warning I got the first day of NYCB tickets. So I waited about 5 minutes and was able to get back in, with all my previous ticket choices intact. Looks like they have lightened up a little on the security measures. PS. You can buy regular seats for the Gala Oct 24. Looks like the best ones in orchestra and 1st tier are being held for the people going to the real gala, but lots to choose from.
  22. The ABT Calendar doesn't want to appear. Perhaps overloaded? And the PDF at the end of the press release says "unavailable." Where are people seeing this casting??
  23. I've been googling to try to figure out what Simkin is doing now that he left Berlin. All I can find is "gala of the stars" stuff in London, Hong Kong, and even Manassas, Virginia, next April. Also watching the casting for ABT this fall. Simkin does Etudes (and would be truly spectacular). He has also done Lensky in Onegin with Berlin recently. He would sell tickets if they can afford him! PS. With ABT tickets going on sale to Friends this Tuesday, I hope they announce some casting soon!
  24. Toronto is easy to visit and very pleasant. I've been there a couple of times in recent years for conferences. Nice airport. Express train into the city. And a wonderful exchange rate for Americans! The problem is in the US Thanksgiving week -- ridiculously long security lines, jammed terminals, overwhelmed ground travel. Ugh. I hope ABT will announce the 2024 Met schedule in late October as they have in the past and we'll find out if Onegin is scheduled. If not, then Toronto might be worth the hassle to see it this November.
  25. Michael M. Kaiser, Mr. Fixit in arts administration, has discussed the evolution of subscriptions in his books. They used to provide important cash flow over the summer, but as families became more complicated (two working partners, e.g.) it became much more difficult for people to settle into old, regular routines, like alternate Wednesdays. The emergence of flexibility in designing subscriptions, with exchange privileges, became essential for maintaining that cash flow, although it's nothing like it used to be.
×
×
  • Create New...