California

But please look at the program for September 2018: https://www.washingtonballet.org/performance/2018-2019-season/twb-welcomes Bolero and Les Sylphides are repeats from October 2017: https://www.washingtonballet.org/performance/2017-2018-season/russian-masters Serenade is a repeat from April 2018: https://www.washingtonballet.org/performance/2017-2018-season/mixed-masters

She has been in great form all season and it's sad to see her retiring. At a fundraiser "Fancy Footwork" that the dancers did last week at the studios to raise funds for their Career Transition Fund, Wehner did the final pas de deux from Manon with Yosvani Ramos and it was stunning. He performed this with Australia Ballet long ago, but Manon is not a ballet Colorado Ballet has ever done. I saw the final performances of the season at the Newman Center. They did Tharp's Brief Fling, which is spectacular, and I'd love to see it again. A real work-out for the dancers and they were superb. They also did Tudor's Pillar of Fire and Val Caniparoli's In Pieces. Impressive program. This was their last program at the Newman Center, a relief to some of us. It's a pain to get to the University of Denver, although it's a lovely theater with nice sight lines. Everything next year is at the historic Ellie Caulkins Opera House in downtown Denver.

They actually performed this (along with Les Sylphides) in September 2017: https://www.washingtonballet.org/performance/2017-2018-season/russian-masters So that's three pieces from the 2017-18 season that are being repeated (not counting Nutcracker). Very disappointing. Ratmansky made the Bolero back in 2001: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/arts/dance/31morphoses.html

Nureyev's version for POB was in 1992: https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/season-15-16/ballet/la-bayadere Makarova staged the entire thing for ABT in 1980: http://www.abt.org/ballet/la-bayadre/ and for Royal Ballet in 1989: http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/la-bayadere-by-natalia-makarova I don't know what she used as the basis for her version or how it differs from POB's, but it's not fair to say that we would not have known Bayadere in the west without Nureyev.

I wish we knew something about the choreographers for the three premieres in April. Still, early April in the mid-Atlantic looks very interesting! NYCB at Kennedy Center April 2-7: http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/BTBSD Washington Ballet premieres April 3-7: https://www.washingtonballet.org/performance/2018-2019-season/three-world-premieres Pennsylvania Ballet Balanchine (Apollo, Stravinsky Violin Concerto) April 4-7: http://paballet.org/2018-2019-season/ Mariinsky-Le Corsaire at Kennedy Center April 9-14: http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/BTBSG Pennsylvania Ballet has some serious competition, but there are some nice possibilities there with a little help from Amtrak!

The Washington Ballet just announced its 2018-19 season: https://www.washingtonballet.org/performances/2018-2019 Their brochure: https://www.washingtonballet.org/sites/default/files/TWB_Acquisition_18_19_Web.pdf the nutcracker THEARC THEATER November 24, 2018 - November 25, 2018 WARNER THEATRE November 29, 2018 - December 28, 2018 DC’s perennial favorite! This celebrated production is set in historic Georgetown with George Washington, King George III, other historical figures as well as the traditional Nutcracker characters. Join us again with family and friends or start a new holiday tradition with your loved ones. “[The] Washington Ballet’s fast-paced “Nutcracker” fits this town to perfection.” The Washington Post twb welcomes John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts September 26, 2018 - September 30, 2018 Artistic Director Julie Kent invites celebrated artists from the dance world to share the stage with our company in the nation's capital. contemporary masters The Harman Center October 31, 2018 - November 4, 2018 Works by iconic choreographers who have defined modern dance. the sleeping beauty John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts February 27, 2019 - March 3, 2019 A quintessential classical ballet inspired by the timeless fairy tale of true love's kiss and the triumph of good over evil. three world premieres The Harman Center April 3, 2019 - April 7, 2019 Supporting the relevance and advancement of dance in the 21st century, TWB continues its commitment to the creative process with an evening celebrating the evolving beauty and resonating power of our art.

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The version I understood was that the 1877 ballerina did not like Tchaikovsky's score and wanted to substitute music from her variations in other ballets. Word got back to Tchaikovsky, who wrote the music we now use for Tchai Pas, but she didn't like that either. After WWII, a librarian in Moscow discovered the score. Balanchine somehow heard about it, bought the rights, and used it for Tchai Pas. I'm travelling today and don't have access to reference sources, but will look for that when I'm home.

Your disappointment in LeCrone reminded me of a similar comment I made about her in spring 2016 in Symphony in 3 Movements: "Biggest disappointment: Megan LeCrone. I know she has a lot of fans on this board, but...I was near the front on Friday night and her pasted-on grin was appalling. Her variations alone were limp and uncommitted. In this ballet, as with many others, Balanchine interwove non-ballet moves with classical steps and positions -- jogging, arm pumping, odd shapes, etc. LeCrone almost seemed embarrassed to be doing them. Saturday afternoon, the grin was dialed back, but the movements were just as limp and uncommitted. She needs to OWN that choreography and I just didn't see it. Joseph Gordon had the thankless task of partnering her, but couldn't compensate for her flaccid performance, to my mind. Sorry!" Sounds like she has never figured out how to make this ballet work, after all this time.

A lot of TBAs in there - difficult to make plans! Of special interest: another Peck work for them and Etudes, which I haven't seen in ages. I am so grateful that I got to see the Trilogy in its premiere season at the Met. Especially now that most of those leads are gone (Gomes, Part, Vishneva, Osipova, maybe Hallberg), it would be interesting to see it again with a different company.

Lubovitch and Nijinska also did versions of Les Noces before Robbins. He once said he might not have if he had known about theirs.

Almost every other ballet company, including much smaller ones, has a better site for picking seats and buying tickets on-line. But I guess this is the fault of the Met Opera House, not ABT.

If you want to get tickets to Osipova/Hallberg Giselle, better get them today. Just a smattering of seats left and they're not very good. Single tickets went on sale a few minutes ago. Lots to choose from for the Kim Bayadere, though, and it's probably a safer bet that he'll show up.

OMG is right! So glad I plan to be in town June 1. Although...partnering Seo will be a tad different than the Tereshkina performance many of us were fortunate enough to see at KenCen last fall. I must have missed this before - Bolle is doing two Giselles - the opening Monday, along with the final Saturday night. No announcement of anniversaries or retirements, though, so perhaps he'll be back in 2019.

Aren't Nureyev and Fonteyn associated wth the premiere of MacMillan's R&J (and in a somewhat controversial way, as I understand).

I heard Corella at one of the Preludes events a year ago when he was talking about the new season. He said they were going back to the traditional version, not the Wheeldon, and a cheer went up from the audience. I haven't seen the Wheeldon, but did see the traditional earlier this month. Very traditional, although with a few oddities, as several of us have noted.

The 2018-19 season is now on their web site: http://www.roh.org.uk/seasons/2018-19

RE: the partnering. I can't imagine these two have danced much together - if ever. I like to pay special attention to some of the really tricky partnering -- the floating thing across the back of the stage, the move backing away from Myrtha on the diagonal, e.g. -- things that are so often bungled or awkward. These were smooth as silk as only an attentive partner could manage. And that was really lovely to see.

One detail I just remembered: Baca turned his back on the audience and gestured to the corps -- something Gomes always did. Baca was the only principal to do that in the performances I saw.

And the bows. Marcelo did something he always did at ABT: he turned his back to the audience and gestured to the corps -- three times! What a guy!

And the end of Act II. One detail: I found it interesting that he does the brises on the diagonal instead of those entrechats. Easier at his age??

Missing Marcelo? Thanks to YouTube, we can see most of Act II of Giselle yesterday at the Mariinsky:

Advance Access single tickets went on sale on-line today at 12 noon EDT for Friends above a certain level. This is new. They used to have an offer for Friends WAY above a certain level to send in a form for prime seats, but there was nothing on-line, and I never had any interest in that. So here's how this new Advance Access worked for those of us who can't get to the box office in person. For starters, you could actually log in an hour earlier than they announced (maybe even earlier - I don't know). I logged in just to see if my account information was correct and, by golly, single ticket sales were available. You don't get seat selection as you do in "open buying" that starts next Sunday, but they show you a seat they'll sell you in the section you requested and you can reject it. I was amazed at how good those were and ended up buying what they offered. Very good Grand Tier seat for the Osipova-Hallberg Giselle and no price increase compared to any other performances in that area. That might actually be a bad sign if they're thinking this will likely be a cancellation or substitution of some kind, but you should be able to get those seats for the time being. I don't understand why they can't offer actual seat selection on-line at this stage, like most other companies do, but I gather this is up to the Met box office. It does help to have a seat map handy if you're ordering this way to see what they're offering: https://www.metopera.org/metoperafiles/abt/2018/Seat Map/ABT-Seating_1718.pdf I still find the Met's on-line ordering system incredibly confusing and cumbersome, compared to others.

The Bavarian State Ballet has announced their 2018-19 season: https://www.staatsoper.de/18-19/ballett.html Osipova and Polunin were guests for them, but it's not clear if that will continue next year. Matthew Golding, who mysteriously disappeared from the Royal Ballet roster, and Vladimir Shklyarov also do some guesting. https://www.staatsoper.de/ihr-besuch/aktuelles/meldung/news/gastauftritte-bei-der-ballettfestwoche-2018.html?no_cache=1 One thing they do that I wish other European countries would do: a Ballet Festival week in April when they do no fewer than nine different ballets! Perfect for tourists trying to see as much as possible.

Ironically, the wonderful Aaron Robison did Des Grieux with Houston Ballet two years ago and now he's right there with ENB - which is doing Manon next winter.